Survival Treasure Hunt
Colorful orbs lay hidden throughout the virtual field. The contest went to whichever side found them first and collected all seven colors of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. It was the first true winner-takes-all event since the opening day of the Academy Tournament. Unlike the other matches that distributed points on a sliding scale as long as teams reached their objectives, only first place claimed every point here. Of course, if the time limit ran out before anyone gathered all seven orbs, the surviving participants would split the total score equally, the way lottery winners divide a jackpot. Originally Marily had planned to enter this event herself—since she had no hope of taking first anyway—and send the other three to different matches to farm points. But with two of her teammates, herself included, now effectively out of the running, she decided to flip the crisis into an opportunity. All or nothing. She would gamble everything on this match.
Can we really pull this off?
Honestly, she had no certainty. She simply believed the odds were not zero.
Luckily, her prediction had been correct: the one representing Sirionella in the Survival Treasure Hunt was Chris, not Aaron Dice.
Unlike Aaron Dice, who had tasted the full terror of the Anti-Magic Sword during the mock match at Benedict Academy, Chris had only sensed something suspicious on the first day. He had never experienced it firsthand. That artifact could slice through concepts themselves—even those of an eight-star transcendent—if Togun could react in time. It was worthy of being called a divine relic. Anyone who had never faced it before would have no choice but to fall.
Give it everything you’ve got.
In the mountainous field, Marily watched Togun loosen up among the thick trees for a moment, then turned her back. While he fought his battle, she had her own match to attend.
“Haah…”
That side faced hardship but at least had a path forward. This side, though? She had no idea how to steer them. Jeon Raydel, a living bomb disguised as Arina who could destroy the entire team the moment she was exposed, and finally herself—a zero-star mage more useless in combat than anyone else participating in the tournament. As she walked toward the two of them, the only future she could see was last place. A complicated shadow settled in Marily’s eyes.
It was the third day of the Academy Tournament. By now most participants had grown used to existing inside this virtual world. To Togun, however, the magic rejector, the space still looked unmistakably artificial.
“……”
The world in front of him kept swaying. It felt exactly like being trapped inside an animated cartoon. The discomfort could escalate into dizziness and nausea if it grew severe enough. A textbook case of virtual-world incompatibility.
I wish I could feel what real sensation is like, just once.
Togun gave a bitter smile and ran his hand along the sturdy tree beside him. The drawbacks of his constitution were not limited to sight. Smell, hearing, and even touch were distorted. During yesterday’s boat race he had felt as if he were being pelted by water that refused to wet him. Right now the bark beneath his fingers felt as hard and flat as the concrete wall of an apartment building.
Because of this body, gathering even a speck of mana inside me is nearly impossible.
No matter how many times he thought about it, there was nothing to like about this cursed constitution.
“Still… at this particular moment, I’m actually grateful for it.”
The next patriarch of the Masao family, who had inherited the family heirloom ahead of schedule. The heretic who, enamored with tales of the Majoan, had fled his clan’s mockery and enrolled at Benedict Academy to become a mage. All his life he had resented this constitution that arbitrarily decided his fate and blocked the path to his dream. Yet right now, Togun was honestly glad he had been born with it.
If not for this body, he would never have had any chance of standing against a four-star mage no matter how many times he reincarnated.
Shaaah!
Strange noises echoed from every direction. Amid the muffled sounds—like being underwater—a sharp, clear noise suddenly pierced Togun’s ears. It belonged to a real player, not the virtual world. A mental spell that manipulated objects. A telekinetic shell twisted between the trees and flew at him like a bullet.
Bang!
Togun twisted his head to dodge, spun on his heel, and sprinted toward the direction the projectile had come from.
Beast Imitation Footwork—Tiger.
Using explosive leg strength, Togun’s body shot forward. He leaped higher than the treetops, far faster than the earlier shell, landed on a thick branch, and sprang forward again.
“Eek!”
The participant hiding behind a giant tree let out a terrified gasp at the sight of Togun closing the distance in an instant with pure physical power that surpassed most body-strengthening spells. He whirled around in panic. He looked exactly like a hiker who had stumbled upon a bear and was now fleeing in blind terror. But he didn’t know the most important rule of the mountain: when you meet a bear, you never turn your back. Slowly retreating while keeping your eyes on the animal gives you a far higher chance of survival than showing it your spine. Never let a predator think you’re prey.
Slice.
That foolish act of turning his back on a beast ended exactly as one would expect.
In a single smooth motion Togun drew the Anti-Magic Sword from the scabbard at his waist and severed the branch that had blocked his view. The moment the sight line cleared, his eyes locked onto the enemy without missing a beat. He raised the blade high overhead.
“Uwaaaaaaaaagh!”
The overhead strike slammed down. The opponent screamed once before disintegrating into polygons and vanishing.
Survival Treasure Hunt. True to its name, the event carried the nature of a battle royale. Any form of elimination meant game over. Finding treasure was important, but surviving was even more so.
“Ugh, that scared me.”
Why scream right next to my ear? It’s not like you even feel pain properly.
Thanks to his sensory distortion, Togun experienced pain more realistically than others. The other participants, however, had their pain heavily suppressed for mental protection. Even losing an arm would probably only feel like a bad case of pins and needles. The same mismatch that let him notice the ambush so easily also made him suffer more pain than everyone else. In this world, every advantage came with a matching disadvantage.
“Yeah.”
After storing his sword following the nameless participant’s elimination, something new caught Togun’s eye. A conspicuously withered stump stood out among the lush trees. Beneath it, something sparkled as it caught the sunlight. He approached and discovered a dark-blue orb the size of a palm, its surface smooth as glass.
“Oh. Lucky.”
He had found the first orb faster than expected. Pure luck—he never would have spotted it if he hadn’t chased down the enemy who attacked him. Deciding the match was off to a fortunate start, Togun picked up the orb and slipped it into his pocket.
But these things are bigger than I thought.
Carrying three or more was going to get cumbersome fast. Unlike the other mages who could fight from stationary positions, Togun had to move his body constantly.
Yeah, this magic-rejector constitution really is the worst.
He let out a short sigh, then immediately set off again without rest.
I have to move even faster than usual in this match.
The most dangerous person here was undoubtedly Chris, Sirionella Private Academy’s representative. Yet unlike the other events, the strongest favorite to win this match wasn’t him. The special rule—that the first team to gather all seven differently colored orbs would take every point—changed the math completely.
In other words, this was an event where the benefits of teaming shone brightest. If several people pooled their strength to find orbs and funneled all seven to a single teammate, they could secure first place faster than anyone. In a sense, the rules deliberately encouraged lower-ranked teams to form alliances in order to check any single group that tried to monopolize victory. Moreover, a large-scale teaming alliance already existed in this tournament, created specifically to oppose the four-star mages Aaron Dice and Chris.
Originally this match would have been a faction war. The surest path to victory would be who could gather the largest force through superior negotiation and leadership.
But that premise had been irreversibly shattered on the very first day by Ennya Dexspin of Lorelei Academy. The reason Marily had abandoned any hope of first place beforehand was not only Chris’s presence but also the high probability that the alliance would win. Having heard the details from Marily in advance, Togun’s steps through the forest quickened. To gather every orb before they did using only his own power, he would have to move several times faster than everyone else.
Meanwhile, while Togun raced busily through the trees, Chris had remained completely motionless for a long time even after the match began.
“……”
He stood blankly, gazing up at the sky. Sunlight filtering through the dense blue-green branches sparkled like the Milky Way against the night sky.
No matter how dark the road ahead may seem, do not lose your way, boy. Even above the pitch-black night sky of a great city, stars still twinkle and shine.
Chris loved stars. More precisely, he loved the way they sparkled. It was less a preference and more a wish, a longing. Just as Professor Repli had once told him, he believed those sparkles would light up his own dark future. Among countless magics, he had chosen elemental light magic not only because it resonated with his ebon, but because it carried his yearning for that stellar glimmer.
“……”
After staring at the sunlight’s sparkle for a long while, Chris finally lowered his gaze. His pale eyes turned toward the dense forest ahead. For the first time since the match started, he took a step.
Time to begin.
In this event, teaming was not a choice but a requirement. Seizing first place alone was simply too difficult. Like Togun, Chris understood that fact clearly. However, his chosen method differed.
Rather than peacefully trying to gather orbs faster than any teamed group, Chris had something else in mind.
Hunting.
From the very beginning, he had never intended to search for orbs himself. He would steal every single one from the participants who had formed teams. After all, this was ultimately a survival match. If he couldn’t collect the orbs faster than everyone else, he simply had to erase everyone else who could. As always, he would monopolize first place.
Vrrrr.
With that thought, his eerily wide pale eyes stared straight ahead. They were opened wide enough to see through thick tree trunks. At the same time, the mana surrounding him condensed into a brilliant radiance that wrapped his body in dazzling light.
Flash!
Chris shot forward. Thirty minutes after the match began, the worst hunter of all—the one who would prey on every participant in this event—had been unleashed from his cage.