Chapter 306
Chapter 306
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 306
Chapter Title: Academy Team Battle - 3
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Right after the team battle kicked off.
"Let's occupy the Glorious Mansion first!"
"Whoa, you're a smart one!"
"Yeah, even if we're from the lower ranks of the academy! If we grab a building first and fortify our defenses, we can take on those mid-to-top-tier teams!"
"Alright, then we'll set up barricades ahead of time, block off the windows, and remodel the inside for easy fighting!"
The nameless ten-man party had come up with a solid plan and bolted toward the Glorious Mansion faster than anyone else. And they were the first ones there.
"The inside is cleaner than I expected..."
The Glorious Mansion, built by Professor Alejandro, was incredibly sturdy. You couldn't knock down or move the walls. Even shifting the pre-placed furniture was a hassle.
"Then we'll use materials from outside...!!"
So they chopped down nearby trees to improvise obstacles on the spot, incorporating indestructible furniture objects to boost stability, pouring every ounce of effort into fortifying the mansion.
But moments later.
Unwelcome guests showed up at their freshly built stronghold.
"Boss! Someone's coming... It's Gordius's party! They've got tons of gear!"
"They had the same idea as us...!"
And worse, it was clearly an upgraded version. Gordius's party looked like they were straight-up transplanting an entire household—food supplies and all, with one guy even hauling a chandelier. A chandelier, of all things.
The students who'd claimed the mansion first shouted out.
"Hey, Gordius! Even you won't break through here easily! We've got the narrow entrance locked down tight!"
Gordius, backpack bulging like it was about to burst, looked up at the warning shouts from the second-floor mansion and grinned.
"I don't want to waste time. Just drop out quietly."
"Hmph, you think we'll fall for empty threats?! We'll fight to the death..."
"Rise up."
"...???"
Rustle rustle. Students poured out from the bushes. They too were lugging massive bags. Twenty, thirty, forty of them...!
A whopping forty-nine-man mega-alliance!
Even just hurling rocks one by one, they could knock out that many people. Terrifying numbers.
"That's cheating!"
"There was no announcement banning alliances."
"Y-You sneaky bastard! Fight fair!"
"Wealth, rhetoric, and brute force are all part of strength. Getting swayed by pity? That's the real unfair play. Everyone, charge."
"Waaaaah—!!"
They'd dug in first, but with a five-to-one numbers disadvantage, there was no hope. The students got steamrolled into elimination and booted out, while Gordius and his forty-nine bandits successfully seized the Glorious Mansion.
"L-Let me go! I won't fight back! Just let me score some partial points!"
"No. Execute them."
"Arrrgh!"
They left not a single survivor.
Gordius's party finally dropped their heavy backpacks in the second-floor hall with a collective sigh of relief. Hauling all that stuff had been brutal.
The student who'd been carrying the chandelier was utterly spent. Sprawled eagle on the floor, he asked Gordius,
"...What's the big idea, Gordius? I get the food and building materials, but this chandelier? No clue. If it's some lame 'it looks pretty' reason, we're both dead."
"You sure you wanna know? Once you hear it, you won't leave this place."
"...???"
Gordius grinned slyly.
"Think about it. What's the win condition for this game...?"
"Put on the crown and hold out in this building for an hour."
"Right. But do we really have to fight for it? The academy's full of monsters. No matter how many we have, overwhelming individuals beat groups every time. Head-on fights... equal instant loss. That's my conclusion."
"Then how do you plan to win...?"
Gordius quietly pointed upward with a finger. Following his direction, they saw the dome-shaped ceiling. What about it?
"This building's two stories, with wide-open halls on each floor. So we'll... wait on the third floor."
"What."
"We'll use the materials we brought to build a ceiling-slash-floor up here, hiding in a brand-new third floor that never existed. No one will even guess. No one will know we're here."
"And this damn chandelier...?!"
The students realized his true intent and shivered. Perfect camouflage for the ceiling!
That's why he'd stocked up on so much food! He planned to hunker down in the 'secret floor' for three days with all forty-nine of them!
"Then why'd you send Envers off separately...?"
"I've got two plans. First: Envers grabs the Crown successfully and makes it back here safely. We hold out in the ceiling for the hour."
"And if he doesn't...?"
"While the top contenders wear each other down, we smash through the floor and drop in for a surprise attack."
Perfect. A flawless strategy! This could actually win it...!
Who could predict a 'hidden third floor'? Especially with a chandelier hung up. Even the strongest student would panic when a pristine ceiling caved in with forty-nine attackers dropping down.
Whoosh.
Materials floated into the air, intertwining and assembling on their own. Gordius had built giant robots inside sessions before, so whipping up one floor was child's play.
Though aesthetics were an issue.
"It blends perfectly. Looks just like it belongs in the mansion."
"Identical to a noble's estate. Seamless!"
No one among them could tell the difference.
They pitched tents on the new third floor, nibbling on emergency rations as they settled in for the long haul. They'd brought everything they needed. No reason to ever step outside.
Gordius crunched on a biscuit, seventy percent sure of victory. Until he learned about the gimmick called the Mad Wizard's Great Labyrinth.
Right after the Great Labyrinth kidnapping incident.
"Why are you pressing your ear to that metal pipe?"
"Physical eavesdropping magic. Quiet."
The 'third floor' Gordius had created in the mansion had one fatal flaw: no way to peek outside. No windows, no holes. They'd designed it that way to avoid detection.
But that didn't mean they could skip scouting entirely. Their solution? Metal pipes running to spots all over the lower floors.
Thanks to the Aqueduct Knights' collaboration, Gordius had the 'eavesdrop without mana via metal pipes' technique. From the pandemonium sounds below, he gleaned key intel.
One: The Great Labyrinth was alive, moving around, and visiting the mansion periodically.
Two: The Glorious Mansion had screens they hadn't spotted, showing protected capacity.
Three: Protected capacity decreased under special conditions.
Four: They'd been busted hiding inside the mansion.
"...Was bringing so many allies the mistake? No, it was an unpredictable variable. Regret's inefficient."
But if they'd had exactly ten members, they might've dodged the first labyrinth raid detection. That stung. It halved their surprise advantage.
They didn't know exactly where Gordius's party would emerge, but they'd prep for raids now, right?
This wasn't enough. They needed a new plan.
Launch a raid right now before getting fully exposed? No. Unless the Pale Princess brought just a few up to the second floor like before, it'd be a head-on clash.
Forty-nine could overpower her in a straight fight. But it'd rack up casualties, leaving them too weakened to beat White Snow.
Tap. Tap. Gordius drummed his pant leg, deep in thought.
A way to preserve full strength while eliminating strong rivals. A way to leverage their numbers effectively. Did it exist?
"It does."
It did.
The key to victory was the Great Labyrinth.
If they could lure it back to the mansion like before, and let it snatch up the competition, victory was in the bag.
"Sounds good, but... problems? Like how to call it, and we don't know 'protected capacity' rules."
"We don't know. But we can infer."
"The numbers?"
"The intent."
Why bother with a mobile labyrinth raid when students could just fight each other? Why did this mad professor set up such an event?
"Figured no one would enter its dungeon willingly, so he's forcing it on us?"
"Maybe. But the point is, the labyrinth acts like a timer here. Dawdle too long, and it comes. 'Fight each other already.' It's prodding team battles."
"Then..."
"Protected capacity won't increase—only decrease. So our top priority now is figuring out how to reduce it."
Crack the formula, then deliberately shrink the numbers. Keep shrinking. Ideally down to match their third-floor headcount.
Then hold out, and the next Great Labyrinth visit sweeps everyone except Gordius's team.
"But nothing says it won't grab us instead of the others?"
"No. It grabbed people from closest to the entrance first. Sound cues suggest that. So... we're safest on the top floor."
Gordius swept his sharp gaze over his teammates.
"Ten of you, form a detachment. You'll exit the third floor and operate independently. Two objectives: conceal and misdirect our main force's location on the third floor, and reduce protected capacity."
"Hey, Gordius. Making scapegoats to do the dirty work while you chill up here...?"
"No, I'll join the detachment. I'll make sure you get points, so trust me and follow."
"...You eat something bad?"
Gordius turned wordlessly. This wasn't the old him. He'd become a man who could shoulder burdens.
Besides, compared to world-saving, an academy exam was a light load.
His confident leadership eased the students. A solid, unwavering leader inspires trust and obedience.
"I'll go."
"Me too, me too."
"The guy's... got a different vibe now."
Volunteers stepped up one by one. In a flash, the ten-man detachment formed. Gordius listened intently, timing their descent.
When the second-floor noise finally died down completely. Before breaching, he left final instructions.
"No comms—risk of eavesdropping, and tracing could expose the third floor, ruining everything. If you think you're busted, fight without hesitation. Don't screw around without me."
"...Come back safe, leader."
"Bring good news."
Clunk.
They opened a section of the third-floor flooring and lowered ropes. The ten-man detachment, led by Gordius, descended carefully hand-over-hand.
Thud.
"......"
Second floor: deserted. As pre-scouted via pipes, they were huddled on the first floor for a meeting. Gordius signaled silently. Move quiet as mice.
As teammates cracked windows to rig an outside escape route, Gordius spotted the second-floor screen.
"...That's it, huh. Down from before, as expected."
"Leader, ropes down to the curtained first-floor window. No one patrolling outside."
"Good. Let's descend."
Swish. Swish swish.
One by one they rappelled. First ones down caught the followers to muffle sounds. Voices drifted from behind the curtain—the Pale Princess's team chattering...
"...What's the plan now?"
"Disrupt first. We've been hiding underground till now. Make noise to get spotted. Got it?"
"Then we need to look dirty and dusty. Perfectly understood."
Pat pat. The ten rolled silently across the ground. One had worked mines pre-academy, so expert consulting ensured perfect grime coverage.
Afterward.
"Ground Agitate."
They sent vibrations mimicking a burrow from below. Shadows stirred beyond the curtain. Nibble hooked.
Shwoosh—!
The curtain yanked back roughly amid a roar.
"Who's there!"
"Retreat."
"Princess! It's Gordius's crew! Coming up from underground!"
Gordius bolted instantly toward where the Great Labyrinth had vanished. That path should've been cleared of students.
"Princess, orders to pursue!"
"No. Outside's unpredictable with the Great Labyrinth lurking... and small numbers. Could be a feint to raid our empty house. We hold the mansion."
Knew it. They wouldn't chase.
Gordius smirked at the thrill of his plan clicking perfectly.
"Scout the area too, track Envers. Check Crown status while at it..."
"Hey, ahead!"
"Why ahead... damn!"
But then, an uncalculated wildcard hit.
"Heave-ho, sixth cabinet down... Huh, that's Gordius, right?"
"Looks like. Turtle Can't Beat Rabbit."
"...Full throttle from the start?"
"Even lions hunt rabbits at full strength."
They'd run headlong into the Selbia-White Snow duo en route to the mansion.
The cabinets Selbia and White Snow used to escape the Great Labyrinth sank into the ground and vanished for good.
"One-use, huh?"
"Doesn't want the battle turning into hide-and-seek. So then..."
"Alright, we'll smash every cabinet we see except the ones we need. Pull up the ladder."
"Love it."
Plan set. They'd burn through all cabinets, erasing visible safe zones. Maximize eliminations in the next labyrinth raid.
Then... just as they neared the Glorious Mansion, they bumped into Gordius's detachment.
Perfect. Crush them.
No words needed—perfect sync. Selbia channeling heat, White Snow cold, gearing up for wizards' signature mass slaughter.
"—The Glorious Mansion has a secret! Let's negotiate with that!"
Gordius threw up both arms, invoking the parley table.