235: Underestimated

Once the forced teleportation ended, Duke-san and I moved immediately to regroup with the others, just as we’d planned. Based on the initial spawn points, the Upperclassmen should have been sent to the Royal Castle—the center of the facility. That meant the area near the Outer Gate was safe.

In this Joint Exam, the most important thing is to form a party with good synergy before anything else. Whether we're going on the offensive or hunkering down to wait, being separated is the greatest risk of all.

In other words, no one should have been attacking anyone yet. Prioritizing the rendezvous was the only logical solution.

And yet, Weiss-kun had already taken down several Upperclassmen. I could hear announcements echoing through the air, declaring that—unbelievably—the Intermediate-year Students were actually defeating Upperclassmen.

...Something is wrong. This isn't the time to be fighting. So why is everything going so smoothly?

"Cecil!!!"

We were darting across the rooftops near the inconspicuous Outer Gate when Duke-san suddenly screamed my name and lunged in front of me. An instant later, a Mana Cannon blast of terrifying proportions came screaming toward us.

A spell that large always has a "tell"—a buildup of preliminary mana. Just like the wind-up of a physical strike, I should have been able to sense it.

And yet, I felt absolutely nothing.

"Haaah!"

Duke-san funneled power into his right fist, hardening the mana he’d refined within his body to punch the spell right out of the sky. We were supposed to be as far away from the Upperclassmen as possible. Who could have possibly—?

"Because you’re our biggest headache, and yet the easiest to break."

"Just as we predicted."

Neil-san and Priscilla-san appeared before us. It’s impossible. How did they—?

"Cecil, you're a genius," Neil-san said. "Some people think Battle Universe is just a game, but I don't. I believe it has even more value than real-life combat. To me, being the best in that game is synonymous with having the greatest tactical mind in the world. But even you have one fatal flaw... You underestimate yourself. You probably think you aren't a big deal compared to everyone else. You're wrong. We decided from the start that our only priority was taking you off the board first."

Following Neil-san’s lead, about ten Upperclassmen emerged to surround Duke-san and me. At the front was Priscilla-san, hovering with Flight Magic while conjuring fire in her right hand and water in her left.

The teleportation was supposed to be random. How did they find me so accurately?

"Human wave tactics," Priscilla-san answered, her voice cold and detached as if she were reading my very thoughts. "After the random teleport, every single Upperclassman ignored the risks and moved single-mindedly to sense your mana. We lost people to Weiss Fancent and others during the search, but the cost... it was worth it."

They ignored the theory of regrouping. Every Upperclassman had acted alone, taking a massive gamble just to hunt down one person. Me.

"Cecil, run!"

Duke-san moved with incredible speed, charging at Priscilla-san. To my horror, Neil-san stepped in to shield her. He didn't even try to block the blow; he took a direct, full-force hit right to the stomach.

It was a serious strike. I saw his mana scatter, leaking and overflowing from the impact. And yet... for some reason, every drop of that mana flowed right back into Neil-san’s body.

"Wha— How is that—?"

"As expected of the Billian Family. That's a solid hit," Neil-san remarked. "But attacks don't work on me."

I was so stunned I couldn't even form words. Duke-kun launched a flurry of follow-up attacks, but Neil-san dodged them with effortless grace. Then, Priscilla-san appeared before me again.

This exam was for Lilith’s future—no, the convictions of Fancent-kun and Allen-san were riding on this. It was a match I couldn't lose. I absolutely couldn't lose.

"I won't give up! Priscilla-san, even if I have to go through you—!"

"I'm sorry, but strength of will doesn't decide the winner," she said. "The correct move would have been for you to suppress your mana and hide. If you had done only that, we would have lost."

◇

[Cecil Antwerp, Duke Billian: Eliminated. Points awarded to Neil Albert and Priscilla Schertz.]

I stared up at the Magic Bird circling the sky, unable to process the announcement. The fact that Duke and Cecil had been taken out in less than twenty minutes was... incomprehensible.

"Weiss, this is..."

In our original plan, the members excluding Cynthia and me were supposed to prioritize regrouping with Cecil first, and each of them would follow her instructions. The iron-walled Duke was her guardian; from our perspective, there was no safer setup.

But Neil and Priscilla had seen right through it.

My guess is the Upperclassmen didn't bother regrouping at all. The four guys I’d crushed earlier were organized, but I couldn't figure out why they were so far out of position. Now I knew.

They were hunting for Cecil.

Not every Upperclassman is a combat specialist. Some are rear-guards; some are trap-setters. And yet, they all prioritized Mana Detection over their own safety. If they hadn't found Cecil immediately, they would have been in a desperate spot.

But they won the bet. They even managed to take down Duke, our primary vanguard. If he’d been alone, he could have escaped, but he must have fought recklessly to try and save Cecil. This was going to make the upcoming indoor battles a nightmare.

But still...

"I knew this wouldn't be easy. This is a battle with lives on the line. The war isn't over yet."

"...Yes! I'm sorry, Weiss. I let myself get shaken for a moment."

Cynthia responded to my words by letting the fire return to her eyes. We’ve survived far worse death zones than this. We weren't going to break now.

The problem was the other Intermediate-year Students. They had to be panicking. If so, what I needed to do was—

[Dorsty Bull, Elia Holly: Eliminated. Points awarded to Allen and Shari Elias.]

[Emo Ann, Calgos Hallis: Eliminated. Points awarded to Allen and Shari Elias.]

Ha! Talk about perfect timing.

Dorsty was one of the heavy hitters among the seniors. He was definitely strong enough that the current Allen shouldn't have stood a chance.

As expected of that Idiot Protagonist. He just has to go and blow past his limits the moment things get dire.

But he understood. There was no point in mourning Cecil's loss. The only key to victory was to keep looking forward.

"If they went all-in to take out Cecil, there must be other Upperclassmen still wandering around solo. We’re going to hunt them down and crush them before they can regroup. Don't forget, Cynthia—this exam is about points. We’re going to win this war, and we're going to take the top spots on the leaderboard while we're at it. I don't play to lose."

"Yes! Weiss, I am your wings and your heart. I will follow you to the end!"