The True Beginning of the Academy Tournament

The Academy Tournament's opening day featured two matches total—one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The first event was the obstacle race that Togun and Marily had participated in. The second was the maze escape competition that Arina and Jeon Raydel were currently preparing for.

"They really need to do well."

Watching Arina and Jeon Raydel talking on the screen, Marily bit her lower lip in anxiety. If her maid had seen it, she would have been heartbroken over the damage to the lips she had so carefully maintained. But Marily had no mental space left to worry about such things.

Like the obstacle race, this was essentially a warm-up match designed to let participants experience what virtual reality felt like on the first day. As such, the maze escape competition didn't carry a particularly heavy point value. However, it had one crucial difference from the obstacle race.

Points weren't awarded only to first place—every ranking received a different score. Additionally, bonus points could be earned based on performance during the match itself.

In a way, one could say this maze escape competition marked the real beginning of the Academy Tournament.

'We didn't score anything in the first match, so we need to rack up a lot of points here.'

The goal was to secure as many bonus points as possible while achieving a high ranking. It was a far more hardcore mission than the obstacle race, where simply taking first place had been enough.

'Thankfully, it looks like the student council president isn't participating this time either.'

The representatives from Benedict Academy were Baraki Nepiri and Silvia Cristel. The fact that Aaron Dice wasn't competing was quite encouraging. The real problem, however, was Sirionella Private Academy.

Their participant was the boy with the lion's-mane hair who had dominated during the obstacle race. Given the monstrous power he'd displayed back then and the rules of this match, it was painfully obvious he would go even more berserk here.

'It looks like the other academies are starting to send out their aces as well.'

The only two people who truly needed to be watched in this tournament were Chris and Aaron Dice. Arina and Jeon Raydel's skills weren't inferior to the students from other academies, but with so many participants involved, there was no telling what variables might arise.

'Please ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do your best.'

The obstacle race had undeniably been her own mistake. Marily stared intently at the screen, desperately hoping Arina would make up for it.

Amid Marily's worries, the artificial intelligence AI acting as both referee and camera announced the start of the match. Moments later, a sudden change occurred in the scene on the screen.

＊ ＊ ＊

The rules of the maze escape competition were simple. In a virtually created maze-style dungeon, the first team to find the exit and escape within the time limit would win. Points from first to tenth place would be awarded based on the order in which the two team members escaped, while any team that failed to escape would receive zero points.

There was one additional bonus rule. Scattered throughout the maze were not only escape rooms but also several secret rooms. Inside them lurked virtual monsters similar to the ogres that had appeared during the obstacle race.

If a team defeated one of these monsters and still placed within the top ten, they would receive bonus points. These points would be added to the team's overall tournament score rather than just this single match, serving as a key opportunity to pull ahead of the other teams early on.

Of course, if someone focused too much on hunting monsters and exceeded the time limit or fell out of the top ten, it would all be for nothing. Therefore, the top priority was to find an escape route first without getting greedy.

"......"

Without any warning—no flicker, no distortion, nothing. The world simply changed completely the moment she blinked once.

Instead of a clear blue sky, dark stone walls enclosed the space above her head. A world reminiscent of the deep caves she'd seen on TV unfolded before Arina's eyes—jagged stalactites and stalagmites protruding everywhere.

It was clearly a space where not a single ray of light should penetrate. Yet the fact that her vision remained completely unobstructed indirectly confirmed that this was a virtual world rather than reality.

'It feels more like a cave than a maze.'

No matter how she looked at it, it didn't seem like a maze. Of course, once she started moving forward, two or three branching paths would likely appear and make her realize it truly was one.

'Jeon Raydel isn't here either, as expected?'

The starting points for the maze escape competition were determined randomly. Even teammates were no exception. If they were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lucky, they would spawn near an escape room. If unlucky, they would be placed at the farthest possible location.

It was still too early to tell whether her luck was good or bad.

Thinking that, Arina placed her right hand against the cave wall.

Alchemical formula interpretation magic circle deployment.

Mana radiated a bright light around her. The flow of mana forcibly generated wind in this airless space. The mana restriction cuffs and emerald turtle keyring dangling from her hand jingled as they moved.

The formula began to wriggle along her right hand where it touched the wall. Part of the formula composing the maze was erased, and the magic circle flowed down onto the floor. The shape-shifting, liquefied magic circle suddenly leaped up in front of her eyes.

It coalesced into a spherical shape. Floating gently in the air and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spinning around her as if acting cute, it looked almost like a spirit.

"Find the path to the escape room."

Unlike a real spirit, this one had no ego. Arina stroked its head with her finger as she gave it the pre-programmed command.

Arina was a 3-star mage. Therefore, it was still impossible for her to interfere with the formulas of this entire ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠virtual space. However, if she plucked out only an extremely small portion, she could manipulate that detached fragment.

Shape-shifting magic. Its concept had been derived from black magic's necromancy. Kain had reinterpreted the method of treating a broken magic circle as something "dead" and resurrecting it through necromancy as a form of magic.

After all, even necromancers could detach a zombie's limbs and control them separately—there was no reason magic circles couldn't do the same.

Whoosh~!

At Arina's command, the sphere of light that had been spinning in place shot forward rapidly. Just as a severed body part could provide clues to find its owner by following the soul's connection, this small fragment detached from one massive magic circle still maintained an unbroken link to the greater whole.

Using this connection, she could roughly map out the internal structure of the maze. She wouldn't know the precise terrain, but at the very least, she could locate the most important areas—like the escape rooms.

'I found it faster than I expected.'

The search had finished quicker than Arina anticipated. In other words, the escape room wasn't that far from her current location. Realizing her good fortune, a bright smile spread across her face.

She hurriedly chased after the sphere of light.

Whoosh!

As she passed through a fork in the path and rounded a curve, a fireball the size of a soccer ball suddenly flew toward her without warning.

"Kyaaaaah!"

Startled by the unexpected attack, she clutched her head and collapsed on the spot. The sphere of flame passed scorching hot just above her head and collided with a stone pillar behind her.

"One-two~ One-two~ One-two-three-four~"

A rhythmic clapping echoed through the cave. With an upbeat tempo, a man emerged from behind the pillar and pointed his finger at Arina.

"You dodged my surprise attack! What incredible luck you have, little lady!"

The mysterious man had yellow hair covering one eye. The brown roots visible at his scalp suggested the yellow was dyed rather than natural. Looking at his uniform—black base with elegant yellow flowers and stems—he was likely a representative from Dominic Academy.

'What a strange person.'

His "uhuhu, uhuhuhu" laugh made him seem like a complete pervert. He gave off such a bizarre aura that it created a bad first impression—even worse than Professor Karlsen, who made everyone uncomfortable.

He aimed his index finger at Arina and shouted loudly.

"But your luck ends here! Because you've met me—Leon Nenfil of Dominic Academy!"

Was that his name? She had heard the surname Nenfil before. She vaguely recalled there being a territory by that name near Vivaldi Territory when she'd visited recently.

'Is he a noble?'

Having a territory would mean he was at least a noble. She didn't know what rank his title was, but it was certainly higher than her own status.

"The reason Dominic Academy didn't win the obstacle race was because I wasn't there! Cry and regret the misfortune of meeting me from the very beginning!"

Leon Nenfil laughed triumphantly as he shouted. Marily Raymond, Jeon Raydel, Aaron Dice, Silvia Cristel, Baraki Nepiri, and so on—most high-status peers her age had their own unique aura. But this was the first time she'd met a noble who completely shattered her preconceptions about them.

'Is this what Uncle calls the stormy period of adolescence?'

The time in life when people did the strangest things. Would she end up like that once she got a little older? It was an image she absolutely did not want to become.

"One-two~ One-two~ One-two-three-four~"

Whether he knew what Arina was thinking or not, Leon began counting the beat again. The embers that had scattered from hitting the stone pillar suddenly floated up around her. Like musical notes hovering above a score, the embers drifted through the air before suddenly swelling in size as they surrounded her.

Elemental magic—Firefly.

Her vision was obscured by hot flames. Beyond them came an elegant chuckle.

"Disappear as ash along with my performance."

Look, everyone. At my splendid performance (magic). Ah, I can hear it. The cheers from the stands. Everyone is going wild over my spectacular display.

'What should I say in the winner's interview? Should I say I studied magic mainly from textbooks?'

Leon closed his eyes, lifted his chin, and spread both arms wide as if already basking in the spotlight after defeating Arina. Because of that, he failed to notice.

Hummmm.

The mana restriction cuff on her left wrist. Arina pulled out one of the layered magic circles stored within it and aimed it at him in the form of an arrow.

Bang!

Using her mana sensitivity, she detected her opponent's position beyond her obstructed vision. The magic circle arrow flew along that trajectory and struck Leon's throat, which was still filled with ecstasy.

"Guhk!"

The pain wasn't as bad as he'd expected. The virtual space had greatly reduced the damage he'd taken. However, the confusion in his eyes after having his throat pierced refused to fade.

Why had an arrow embedded itself in his throat? Why was the girl who emerged from the flames completely unharmed?

'I picked a fight the moment I saw her because she looked like the weakest one...'

Instead of showing off his skills to the audience, wasn't he just making a complete fool of himself?

Finally realizing the truth, Leon despaired. At the same time, his body pixelated and vanished.

"I'm sorry. Please rest for ten minutes."

The result of picking a fight without properly assessing his opponent's strength was a ten-minute expulsion. He would probably respawn at a random location in ten minutes, just like when he'd first arrived.

Since it was a match with a time limit, a ten-minute freeze was quite a heavy penalty. Especially since he would have to start searching for the path from scratch upon respawning.

Arina gave a small bow toward Leon, who had been subdued and disappeared in the blink of an eye, then hurriedly followed the sphere of light that had begun moving again.