The Gathering Place
All members of Team 7 had gathered without a single dropout because the map-guided training to the assembly point had been straightforward.
As they pitched their tents and settled into rest, Academy Instructor Etila appeared and summoned the team leaders.
Cesset rushed over to the other leaders, listened to Instructor Etila’s words, and returned to Team 7.
“Look at this— I got a token!”
Cesset held up the token and announced it proudly. The token bore the Regandia Academy crest, but it was no real gold coin, only a gleaming golden object.
“We’re basically at the bottom of the standings, so we only got one token!”
“Whoa— I’m so excited!”
The bright voice of Cesset clashed with Rai’s completely indifferent low tone. The cheerful Cesset who had been running over suddenly tripped and collapsed, flinging the token in front of the three of them.
“I got scolded hard for throwing away the supplies… I hate Instructor Etila…”
“You didn’t explain the reason.”
“Of course not. This token is the key that can save me. If other teams in similar situations do the same, there won’t be any merit.”
Cesset’s sad expression suddenly twisted into a mischievous grin as she stood up.
After straightening her posture, Cesset explained what Instructor Etila had said.
The tokens were simply the score for each team. The team with the most tokens won.
However, tokens could be exchanged between teams. The trade items were free to choose, but exchanging between teams was allowed.
“This rule is so annoying.”
“Yes, it feels like a test of flexibility. We’ll see if you’re willing to spend high scores when necessary, or how you choose to spend them. Since it’s an individual evaluation anyway, most people probably don’t care much about the team score, so exchanges will probably happen frequently.”
“Hee— if I’m lucky, I can catch two rabbits at once.”
Cesset and Rai exchanged meaningful smiles. With their cute appearances and evil grins, the pair of them faced each other laughing while Zeroa instinctively felt uneasy and looked away.
The place was a safe zone, so they slept without needing night watches. As they finished eating dinner and shared the instructor’s briefing about safety precautions, Cesset clapped her hands.
“Well eaten! Then I’m going to sleep!”
Although the sun had set, it was still early for her. Since every second mattered, Cesset was trying to preserve her stamina. Even though she wasn’t a pure mage, several academy students who thought like her were already preparing to sleep early.
‘Why do the strong ones bother to be so diligent? Some of us who are just chasing along could use a little thought.’
Cesset narrowed her eyes at them until she suddenly remembered something and turned to Aria.
“Let’s sleep together, Aria~”
“Yes, I should sleep early too.”
Grabbing Aria’s hand, Cesset headed toward the tent. The academy students’ gazes naturally followed.
“Uhhung~ When I sleep, I hug Roberto. But tonight there’s no Roberto.”
“Are you sleeping with your fiancé already?”
“No, no. It’s my doll. Aria, don’t you hug your doll when you sleep?”
“I don’t really… but I’d like to try hugging someone.”
Aria shook her head quietly, and the adorable sight made Cesset stare blankly for a moment before snapping back.
“Then let’s sleep hugging each other today.”
“Huh? Like that…”
Dragging the flustered Aria, Cesset headed to the tent.
“Damn… why am I not Cesset. Damn…”
“Pure love, excellent.”
“Stop!!! The Goddess will get dirty if she does that!”
The watching students wailed in protest, but Cesset who had opened the tent door paused, turned back, and looked at Aria.
Confused, Aria tilted her head. Cesset walked over, climbed straight into her arms, and hugged her tightly.
Stunned by the unexpected action, Aria froze for a second, then stared at Cesset before gently stroking her hair.
“Hehe, let’s go inside.”
Cesset opened the tent door, ushered Aria in first, crawled in with her legs first, then poked her face out with a playful grin.
“Then, good night to everyone.”
Showing the romantic night scene, Cesset waved goodbye and disappeared into the tent. The students staring blankly later burned with envy toward her, but none had the courage to rush the tent where Aria was, leaving them seething inside.
“She’s such a wonderful leader.”
“Hahaha… I probably won’t sleep well either.”
“Still awake?”
“Yeah?! No—!”
Surprised, Zeroa shouted loud, but when people turned to look, he turned his head in embarrassment.
“What is it? Really, it’s, it’s cute!”
“Rai-kkang!!”
A girl ran up and shoulder-checked Rai with all her strength. Rai toppled forward, but the girl spoke to him as if nothing happened.
“Rai-kkang, Rai-kkang. What were you doing?”
The girl who swung her waist-length blue hair looked down. Rai touched his waist, stood up.
“You, that’s not cute at all, so don’t do it.”
“What? Rai-kkang? Or the shoulder check?”
“It really was a shoulder check. Anyway, both of them, don’t do either.”
“I don’t like it. Rai-kkang is so cute.”
Rai, who did as he pleased, felt like he was being toyed with. Zeroa stared blankly. The girl who was boasting about her long blue hair was someone Zeroa knew.
At the academy, the Genius of a Thousand Years, Violet and Sozeta, had entered. When talking about prodigies who had stood out from childhood, the next person mentioned after those two was this girl.
Diana Deschubella. Second daughter of the famous Deschubella Knight House and a blessed talent. Though she trailed slightly behind the other two in swordsmanship, her bright and sociable personality gave her an obvious edge in tactics, magic, and alchemy.
She mainly used swords but said she could handle spears or axes equally well when needed. What was even more surprising was that she wasn’t a hard worker. She listened well in class but was never seen training in her free time; she was always with others or out playing.
Yet anyone who had sparred with her in real combat or theory would rank her at the top. Even those equal to her had trained obsessively in one area, so if she decided to put in real effort, she could surpass them anytime.
Because of her outstanding skill, she had plenty of friends, so Zeroa couldn’t help but know her.
“Hello, Zeroa. No, no. Nice to meet you. Zeroa-kun.”
Diana pretended to grab the air like she was holding a skirt and curtsied gracefully. Then she giggled with amusement.
“You know me?”
“I fought with Philia, so of course I know.”
“We didn’t really fight though…”
“As long as I won, it’s fine.”
Since shoulder-checking seemed like a habit, Diana laughed “kya~” and bumped Zeroa’s shoulder. Luckily she didn’t hit with full power like Rai. Zeroa felt a faint floral scent and a flutter, but Diana ignored it and walked over to where Rai was tapping his waist.
“Hey, Rai-kkang. How much is that?”
“Ten million two thousand three hundred seventy-nine gold coins.”
“If it’s that much, we could buy the whole continent? Not gold, tokens.”
Zeroa, who had thought they were close enough to speak casually, was shocked when Diana suggested exchanging Rai for tokens and stared.
Rai glanced at her face dismissively and waved his hand lazily.
“I’m not going. Don’t talk nonsense and get lost.”
“Why? Because of Aria? Our team has the princess, so can’t I use her against the goddess?”
“You’ll get executed for blasphemy.”
“Ehehe, Aria is kind and will forgive me.”
Zeroa tilted his head at the name Aria, then realized belatedly. The 6th Princess in their year was Emilia Shane Briqueville. She had the same middle name as Aria but was a direct descendant of the Emperor.
Zeroa wondered how sociable Diana could be, calling the princess by the affectionate nickname “Aria” while she was standing there.
“Actually, I wanted Instructor to come too. Our team came 3rd here and has ten tokens. If I seduce Rai, I’ll climb up. What do you think of that idea?”
“I’m not selling.”
Cesset, who had somehow poked her face out of the tent, was glaring with furrowed brows. Diana turned and smiled brightly.
“Hello, Cesset. Long time no see.”
“You were trying to steal my teammates and you’re smiling so innocently. I’m not selling. Get lost. I’m not giving.”
“Why— sell it. I’ll get more tokens. Fifty should be enough, right?”
Cesset’s eyes widened at the surprisingly large number, but Rai’s intense stare snapped her back. She denied it loudly to deny her own feelings.
“I’m not selling!”
“Then lend it to me. Just for one day, and I’ll pay back fifty.”
“I can’t hear you. Can’t hear you. Can’t hear a thing.”
Cesset plugged her ears and disappeared into the tent. Diana pouted, then looked at Rai.
“Anyway, I told you about the princess~”
“Why would that princess do that?”
“I don’t know either. If you’re curious, come find me.”
Diana stood up and walked back to her team while exchanging cheerful greetings with countless people. Zeroa didn’t understand where she had told the princess’s story, but Philia, watching quietly from the side, understood.
She wanted to talk face-to-face for a while.
‘Why does the 6th Princess want to see that man?’
Zeroa didn’t know Emilia well, but because she was high-ranking, Philia had heard many stories about the princess.
A noble who could be called the epitome of nobility. She carried dignity without arrogance, treating everyone equally. She greeted academy staff warmly and remembered their names one by one. Everyone praised her character.
Philia frowned, still annoyed by the shoulder-check from Diana, watching Rai lie on all fours begging Zeroa to pat his back like a dog.
Philia could imagine the princess fainting from shock if she met Rai.
The personality difference between Rai and Emilia was vast.
There was no need to arrange a face-to-face meeting just for greetings, so Philia abandoned the unresolved thought and decided to sleep.
Before entering the tent, Philia saw Gilbard sitting by the bonfire talking with the students. It looked like he was fixing his equipment, but no matter how she looked, he didn’t seem to be fixing anything for maintenance.
The bonfire and the night air outside the academy must have excited the students, because Gilbard was boasting martial exploits to the gathered students. Drawn by the bonfire’s mystery and the magic of the night air, they listened attentively.
“First, I’m going to sleep. Don’t stay up too late.”
“Okay, I’ll do it. Who do you think I am? I’m the Gilbard-nim who single-handedly defeated an orc tribe.”
The students laughed loudly when Gilbard said “orc,” but Philia only hoped he would sleep as he promised and headed into the tent.
More than half the academy students went to sleep early, promising tomorrow. But there were also students who couldn’t sleep and were enjoying the afterglow. They sat in front of the bonfire, chatting without noticing the time passing, while Gilbard kept talking until exhaustion hit and he finally fell asleep.
In the quiet assembly point where everyone slept, only the crackling of the remaining bonfire remained.
Instructor Etila, who had checked which team had arrived, rose in the silence and took a deep breath.
“Intrusion!!! Intruder!!!”
The voice carrying mana spread everywhere, making the entire assembly point ring with her shout.
Zeroa, startled awake, was the first to see the academy staff swinging a bell and shouting “intrusion” while walking around. Among them, the familiar Brown stood out the most.
The bell swung lazily, and Brown’s mouth moved as if he were grumbling instead of shouting. His expression of “I don’t want to do this” was so funny that Zeroa smiled. At that moment, someone smacked his shoulder.
“What are you doing? Put on the armor.”
Rai had quickly put on his own armor and thrown it to Zeroa while Brown was distracted for only a moment.
Cesset and Aria emerged from the tent carrying armor. Aria put hers on immediately, but Cesset also moved skillfully and put hers on. Zeroa struggled awkwardly, trying to put the armor on.
“Situation report: Intrusion alert. The only confirmed thing is that the academy staff gave the intrusion notification.”
Rai quickly helped Zeroa and reported the situation to Cesset, who had come out of the tent.
Cesset quickly surveyed the surroundings, but Etila’s shout rang out.
“Form a shield wall in the center of the assembly point!”
The students rushed to the center in a rush as soon as the voice came. They threw away all their belongings and quickly gathered. Shields were distributed, and they arranged themselves in formation.
But since they weren’t from the same team and hadn’t drilled together, they messed up their positions. Every time they did, Etila’s shouts echoed, and the students who were corrected became tense and tried to fix their lines.
The students were distracted, but when the shield wall formed and they raised their shields toward all directions, only silence and darkness remained.
The students stared fixedly outside the assembly point, but without mana, their vision only reached the distance lit by torches. The silence was so quiet that students kept exchanging glances.
Even if mana wasn’t used, there should have been some presence, but nothing was felt.
However, Etila stood proudly in the center holding the flag and calmly facing the darkness beyond.
As time passed and the students began to relax, thinking it was just a simple training, slight movements appeared. While adjusting uncomfortable postures, the shields in the middle of the wall showed faint tremors.
“There.”
A small, low voice made both Rai and Etila turn their heads. Their gazes were directed at Violet. She calmly said one thing, but then stood still, facing forward without any reaction.
Some students were actually hidden in the darkness for training. Although their skills were good and they were simply waiting far away, she had spotted them immediately.
Rai smiled amusedly and turned his head to look at the other students’ conditions, then faced forward.
“Some are too tense, and some are relaxed.”
“Make sure to notice the weak girl who can’t hold the shield properly.”
Cesset struggled to support her shield and spoke.
Rai turned his body toward her and supported her back with his upper body, making her comfortable.
“If your body is comfortable, think. The shield wall is an art created by unified spirits. How can we unify them?”
“That’s Instructor Etila’s job. What can a mere soldier do?”
“Sometimes the flow must come from the soldiers themselves.”
“I’m a pure mage, so I don’t know much about momentum. Besides, I’m a bit chubby. Can you hold my shield for me?”
Most students heard the conversation because the surroundings were too quiet. When the two were chatting with the enemy in front of them, Philia struck her shield with her sword.
— clang, clang, clang —
The familiar rhythm made more students follow and beat their shields. This rhythm was known to anyone in the Imperial army.
And Rai hated this sound the most. This song called the marching anthem was not actually a song but a simple rhythm of beating shields with weapons.
It was a ritual to raise the morale of the Imperial army when they advanced.
Anyone who had seen the sight of enormous Imperial soldiers slowly approaching while beating shields with their weapons would have shivered.
“Uuuuuuu—”
Philia’s deep, low voice pulled from inside her chest. The students followed and chanted together, their voices overlapping. The sound of shields and voices merged into a massive military band, and the students glared at the unseen darkness.
The enemy in the darkness had no intention of appearing for a long time, but the marching anthem that burned with morale did not stop. Watching the students show confidence and spirit as if they were attacking, Etila took a deep breath.
“Stop!!! Training is over. The enemy retreated due to our rapid response. Raise your shields! I didn’t say to lower them!”
The students who had lowered their shields were startled by Etila’s shout and raised them again.
“The enemy failed the intrusion, but the assembly point has been exposed. Clean up within ten minutes and move the assembly point.”
The students frowned at Etila’s words. They had expected something, but no rest and night march? They thought they would have a long night and sighed inwardly.
“Before disbanding, first Philia Serios.”
“Yes!”
“Even if the commander is not trustworthy, it is better for soldiers not to act rashly.”
“I’m sorry!”
Philia answered without turning back while maintaining the shield wall. Etila smiled satisfied and spoke again.
“But you showed the great spirit of the Imperial army even when ambushed. You contributed to raising the army’s morale.”
“Thank you. It was thanks to Instructor Rai’s advice.”
“Yes, you followed Headmaster’s words to learn from many things. Well done.”
“Thank you.”
Though praised, Philia did not relax her gaze toward the front and answered. The other students glanced at the praised Philia. There was admiration for the praise, but also envy in some of them.
And among them was Gilbard standing right next to her, sending an envious look.
“Lower your shields and disband. You have ten minutes. Clean up and gather.”
The time given by Etila was too short for cleaning the tents. The students who threw down their shields ran like madmen toward their own tents.
But Team 7 was relaxed.
“At times like this, it’s better to have few belongings.”
“Minimalist life is truly the freedom of life.”
While others moved hastily because time was tight, the two of them walked chatting as if they had just come out for a stroll. Etila looked at them with an incredulous expression.
---
[Team 7 has completed the initial assembly point checkpoint. Remaining: 10 minutes until next phase.]