Chapter 112: The Opening of the Sports Festival

The rules and team assignments for the sports festival broke down like this:

The entire student body was split into two sides, the Red Team and the White Team. These divisions were calculated based on school year—Lowerclassmen, Intermediate-year Students, and Upperclassmen—while also taking grades and various other factors into account.

Points were tallied by year level, though certain events were "Joint Battles" where different years competed together. For every program, points were awarded to the teams finishing between first and fifth place. In the end, whichever team had the highest cumulative total would be declared the winner.

However, the final battle followed a different scoring system entirely.

Once the matches concluded, Individual Points were distributed to members of the winning team based on their personal performance. Since every single event influenced one’s Individual Points, being on the winning team didn't guarantee safety—if you spent the whole day at the bottom of the rankings, your total points could actually end up in the negatives.

Furthermore, an MVP award would be chosen for each year level, coming with a massive payout of special points.

Basically, I realized, it’s a polite way of saying "work your damn butt off in every single match."

My biggest threat was Eva, but since this was a team-based competition, even she wouldn't be able to snatch up every point for herself. The real headache was that the Allen Team, the Cecil Team, and even Eleanor were all on the opposing side. On the bright side, having Cynthia, Lilith, Tura, and Sierra as allies was a massive relief.

But this wasn't just some run-of-the-mill sports festival. This was a magic-sanctioned sports festival. Depending on the event, you were even allowed to interfere with your opponents. Considering how much stronger everyone had become compared to the game’s timeline, the difficulty level was likely far beyond the Original Story.

I had to lead my team to victory, sweep first place in my individual events, and secure that MVP title. I was going to crush anyone who stood in my way, no matter who they were. If I racked up enough points in this tournament, I’d finally hit B-class Rank. Honestly, if I didn't rank up here, I probably wouldn't be able to reach S-class before graduation.

This was a critical turning point for me. It was also the final event of our first year as Lowerclassmen. Points aside, there’s no way I’m letting myself lose this, right?

"Weiss, leave it to me. I will give this everything I have," Cynthia said.

"Me too, Lord Weiss!" Lilith added.

They must have read the look on my face, because they both chimed in to reassure me. It seemed Lilith had been putting herself through some pretty reckless training after the Battle Royale; she was practically vibrating with motivation. Then again, that probably applied to everyone. This tournament was going to be a collision of everyone's hard work.

"Fufufu, I can't wait for the sports festival to start! We're definitely going to win!"

A short distance away, Tura was shouting with pure glee. I’d forgotten she was the type to actually enjoy school events. Even though she'd been suddenly thrust into this high-stakes Point System, she was still as energetic as ever.

There were no tedious gymnastics formations or long-winded speeches; we just separated into our designated team seating. As I reached for my distributed red ribbon, Lilith nimbly snatched it from my hand and tied it around my head for me.

"Do you remember, Lord Weiss? You were wearing a ribbon just like this when you first declared you were going to start trying."

"Yeah... feels like a lifetime ago."

"—This time, I’m the one who’s going to work my hardest," she whispered.

Cynthia watched the exchange from the side, looking on with a heart-warming smile.

"Alright, let's win, let's win! Let's do this!" Tura cheered, her face also bright with a grin.

[The first event is the 1000-meter run.]

Apparently, the student executive committee was handling the management, and they were even providing live commentary. The faculty, including Teacher Milk, were watching from the sidelines. As someone who knew the Original Story, it was a surreal sight. Actually, as expected of the Noblesse Academy, the scale of this crowd is off by an entire order of magnitude...

"Weiss, we're counting on you!"

"Weiss-kun, do your best!"

As I stepped forward, I even heard cheers from the upperclassmen. This was the kind of camaraderie you only got in joint battles. I was up first, alongside four other Lowerclassmen. Two of them were the people I expected would be my biggest rivals.

"Yo, Weiss. Sorry, but I’m taking first place," Duke said.

"I-I won't lose either, Weiss-kun," Carta added.

I scoffed. "Hah. Have I ever lost to you two even once?"

It was Duke and Carta. Wait... I’m getting a bad feeling about this.

As we lined up at the start, I noticed that Duke’s muscles had reached a terrifying new level of definition. This guy... he’s been seriously bulking.

But more importantly... weren't Carta’s "assets" significantly larger than they were in the Original Story? Was this also an alteration of the world? Seeing them jiggle with every step she took... truly, that was the weight of Noblesse Oblige.

[Ready... Start!]

I let myself get distracted for a split second, and it cost me my initial burst. The moment the "Bang!" of the starting signal went off, Carta’s "assets" swayed, and my brain short-circuited.

Dammit, what a monstrous alteration to the plot!

But the real cheating was that Carta was literally riding her staff. There was a rule against hovering more than two meters off the ground, but she was still moving at an incredible speed. Isn't that way too unfair?!

"Uooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Duke, however, was currently in the lead. Between his Power Up and... what was that? Had he learned some kind of high-speed movement technique? Or was that just the raw power of his muscles? I couldn't tell, but I had to catch up—fast.

"Unnatural. Fast Movement."

The academy grounds were massive, with a single lap being 500 meters. Using gaze induction, I placed invisible magical footholds in my path and sprinted across them, doubling my leg strength with every stride.

"Uooooooooooooooo!" Duke roared.

"I-I won't lose!" Carta cried.

Duke and Carta were on the same team, but it looked like they were both gunning for first place individually. There was no interference yet. I dashed with everything I had until I was finally running neck-and-neck with them.

Currently, Duke held the lead by a Narrow Margin. Carta was giving it her all, but she couldn't quite close the gap.

"Too bad," I grunted as I pulled level. "You guys are still missing one thing."

I chanted a Wind Magic spell. The air resistance around me vanished, replaced by a gust that shoved me forward from behind. I lunged, tearing through the finish line tape. My training with Tura had paid off—my control over the elements had reached a new level. Honestly, if I hadn't had that, I might have actually lost.

[First Place: Red Team, Weiss Fancent. Second Place: White Team, Duke Billian. Third Place: White Team, Carta Wiore. Fourth Place...]

I’d won, but it was only by a Narrow Margin. Even if I’d been delayed by a jiggle at the start, it was clear those two had been putting in an insane amount of effort.

"I lost... Dammit. I'm winning the next one," Duke growled.

"You two are way too fast... but that was fun," Carta said, panting.

"Hah. Well, feel free to try," I replied.

Compared to the previous Noblesse exams, this event felt almost... peaceful. It was like a classic school event mixed with the tension of the Point System. Still, seeing how much everyone had grown through their training was genuinely interesting.

I’d keep this momentum going and show them all.

[First Place: Red Team, Tura Enizi.]

"Yay! First place! I'm so happy!"

Also, I noted as I watched her celebrate, Tura seems like a much better person than she was in the Original Story.