161 The Moment of Truth

"Shari, it’s headed your way!" I yelled.

"—[Big Wave]!"

The next morning, we didn't waste a second. We were already down by the beach, currently locked in a messy skirmish against two separate pairs. That’s right—four people were gunning for us at once.

Thanks to the periodic announcements, the fact that I held the most plates was public knowledge. Everyone knew I was the man to beat.

Naturally, that meant people were forming makeshift alliances just to take me down. Of course, the moment one of those "targets" looks vulnerable, those alliances tend to crumble into a chaotic backstabbing spree. Keeping up with a battlefield that changes by the second is the single most important part of this exam.

Then there was the gear issue. I was stuck with a single dagger, and Shari was completely empty-handed. Meanwhile, the guys we were fending off were already decked out with bows, longswords, and magic staves.

I’d wager most of them were specialists in detection magic. Since the Original Story of Noblesse was a game, the protagonist’s circle was packed with combat monsters. To avoid redundancy, it seemed like the other students had focused their builds on support roles.

It couldn't be helped, but in a place like this, better gear translated directly into higher combat potential. It’s not exactly fair, but hey, that’s a battlefield for you.

Not that I was looking down on them. I didn't think for a second that they were weak. These guys had been honing their craft just as hard as I had. The least I could do was face them with everything I had!

"—[Blessing of Healing and Impulse of Destruction]!"

A massive magic circle rippled across the sand. But I wasn't the only one moving.

"—[Defense Formula Barrier]!"

Shari timed her move perfectly, erecting a wall in sync with my activation. Usually, you’d use a barrier to keep the bad guys out. Shari, however, did the exact opposite.

She used it to make sure they couldn’t get away.

"Guh! [Magic Shield]!"

"[Fire Shield]!"

The two students scrambled to deploy their defenses while leveling their weapons. One held a bow, the other a longsword. They were a well-balanced duo; I was actually having a hell of a time trying to dodge their synchronized strikes. The archer was particularly gifted—their fire rate was no joke.

But here’s where things get fun.

"[Shadow Smoke]."

Shari chanted the spell while touching my back. In an instant, the world went black.

Her spirit magic allowed her to grant buffs to others, but it worked both ways. By maintaining physical contact with me, she could channel my [Darkness]. With my own power boosting the spell, it wasn't just a physical cloud; it completely jammed their [Mana Sense]. They were blind, deaf, and totally lost.

I, however, was perfectly fine.

I activated [Dark Eye].

Between the magic circle highlighting their positions and my enhanced vision, I could see their every move. In a pitch-black void where no one knows which way is up, it doesn't matter how shiny your sword is.

"I—I can't see anything!"

"Stay sharp! Weiss is coming!"

"Too late."

The smoke eventually cleared, revealing the two defeated students. Their plates shimmered and vanished, reappearing on my own nameplate.

That brought my total to sixteen points. Not bad, all things considered.

But the "one-and-done" rule was still in effect—one loss and I'd be back to zero. Plus, with the announcements painting a giant target on my back, the pressure was only going to ramp up. I couldn't afford a single moment of complacency.

"Guess this is a bust too," I muttered, nudging a bow that lay on the sand. The moment I tried to pick it up, it crumbled into dust.

Apparently, once a weapon was "authenticated" to a user, it became useless to anyone else. Talk about a well-designed system. The devs really didn't want us looting our way to victory.

"They’re really focusing all their heat on you, Weiss," Shari noted.

"It’s a pain when only one of us accumulates all the points."

Since the points from nameplates couldn't be split evenly, the distribution was getting incredibly lopsided. That meant I was getting targeted way more than Shari, and we were seeing a lot more "divide and conquer" magic aimed our way.

Just then, a new announcement blared for Duke and Lilith. They’d just wiped out three pairs at once—six people in one go. There had been another announcement for them earlier this morning, too. Even without the bonus points from the "targets," they were sitting at sixteen. It was safe to assume they were currently tied for first.

"Moving on. Let's hurry, Shari."

"Right. Oh! Wait!"

"What is—"

I followed her gaze toward the shoreline. A barrel was bobbing in the surf. I focused mana into my eyes, and through the haze, I could make out the words "Fruit" written in [Nobless Script] on the side.

Food! Actual food!

I scrambled toward it like a starving monkey, completely ignoring the fact that I was soaking my boots in seawater.

"W-Weiss?!"

I pried the lid open with frantic energy, only to find a single slip of paper inside. It read: Don’t be such a glutton.

This was Milk-sensei's doing. I know it. Only she could be this cruel.

"...Let's just keep going," Shari said, patting my shoulder with a look of pure pity. Her words of comfort had never stung so much.

◇

To the south, Duke Billian was in the thick of it. He had left the rear guard to Lilith and was currently dismantling the opposition solo.

"[Fire Magic: Endless Waltz]!"

A spiral of flames roared toward him. Duke didn't even flinch, bobbing and weaving with a series of tight ducks. Even with his high [Magic Resistance] and defensive stats, a direct hit from a spell that powerful would have left a mark, but he didn't let it slow him down. He closed the gap using the shortest path possible.

The moment he reached his target, he delivered a brutal blow to their ribs.

"Gah... hhh...!"

The sound of ribs snapping echoed through the student’s training uniform.

"Sorry about that. Don't worry, Coco-sensei will have you fixed up in no time."

[Waaria: First Elimination. Plates transferred to Duke Billian.]

[Rossialia: First Elimination. Plates transferred to Duke Billian.]

"Phew. That puts me at sixteen. I can't believe Weiss and Shari actually took out Olynn and Carta."

"Indeed," Lilith replied. "It seems we are destined to clash with them eventually, just as we planned."

"Yeah. But Lilith, if it comes to that—"

"Duke-san," Lilith interrupted, her face wearing a radiant, terrifying smile. "I have no intention of going easy on you. I wasn't soft on Cynthia-san, was I?"

"...Right. My bad for asking." Duke scratched his cheek sheepishly.

Suddenly, a surge of intense mana radiated from the sky. The two shared a brief look before moving into a synchronized stance, hands raised toward the clouds. They layered their [Defense Formulas] just as a massive [Mana Cannon] blast hammered down on them.

"Urgh...!"

"This... this is Carta-san!"

They barely managed to deflect the blast, but there was no time to breathe. Four [Demon Wolves] lunged at them from all sides with blistering speed. Just as Lilith began funneling mana into the focus stone in her hand and Duke braced for impact, one of the wolves was suddenly sliced clean in half.

Whatever had cut it was now hurtling straight for Duke.

"Ha! Now this is more like it! Lilith!"

"On it!"

The two dropped low to the ground. The "thing" whistled over their heads, slammed into the [Demon Wolf] behind them, and sheared it in two before vanishing into the brush. Duke and Lilith didn't miss a beat, finishing off the remaining two wolves with a single strike each.

Sensing yet another pulse of mana from above, the two looked at each other and nodded.

"Two teams at once, huh? Lilith, let’s do this our way."

"Yes!"

Carta watched from the sky, while Olynn prowled the forest floor. And hidden behind the treeline, Tura and Cecil were already locking onto their targets.