The First Move

A few minutes had passed since the faculty members had vanished from our sight. Above us, the Magic Bird began to circle the sky.

This was it. The signal.

"—All right, everyone. Please proceed according to the plan. As I explained before, the four—"

Cecil’s voice came through, relaying the initial strategy.

The plan was to divide our forces into four units and locate the Shrines as quickly as possible. We needed to figure out the scale of the defenses Coco was deploying—how much area they covered, the density of the protection, and the distance between the remaining Shrines.

On paper, we had the upper hand. Our numbers were overwhelming. The wasteland was vast, sure, but our Advantage was massive.

"One minute! One minute until the start of the match!"

Allen, Shari, and Duke were practically vibrating with adrenaline. Carta, Tura, Olynn, and Cecil were just as keyed up. Over to the side, Luna was huddled in a last-minute huddle with Cynthia and Lilith.

I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath. Once this starts, it’s a sprint to the finish. There won’t be any time to stop and catch my breath.

I’d analyzed this. I’d obsessed over every detail. I’d thought about this until my brain felt like it was going to leak out of my ears. I was going to win. I was going to beat the faculty—I was going to beat Teacher Milk.

"Ten seconds! Ten seconds to go!"

I exhaled slowly.

But then, a cold prickle of dread crawled up my spine. It was a tiny, nagging sense of wrongness. I suddenly recalled the way Milk Abitus—the Strongest Adventurer—had smiled right before she left.

She had always hammered the same lesson into my head, over and over again.

—Always take the first move.

But this was a defensive battle. The roles of attacker and defender were clearly defined.

...Or were they? Would Teacher Milk really play by those—?

My head snapped toward Cecil. I opened my mouth to scream.

"Cecil—!"

"Fansent—!"

To my horror, she had realized it at the exact same moment. Goosebumps broke out across my entire body.

That Magic Bird’s countdown... it wasn’t just a timer for the start of the game. It was a countdown for an incoming strike.

"—Everyone! Get in the air, now—!"

"Fly! Get off the ground, damn it!" I roared.

"—Match start! Match start!"

Only about half of the Intermediate-year Students managed to react to our desperate warnings. Allen and his group were among them, along with Cynthia and Lilith. From the Lowerclassmen, I saw Belk and Meryl leap upward just in time.

A heartbeat later, a blade of pure, terrifying power tore through the air from the far horizon.

It was colossal, a wave of energy that made Tura’s All Kill look like a pocket knife. It moved so fast my eyes could barely track the blur of it. The magical blade slammed into us, kicking up a blinding wall of dust and obliterating the Training Uniforms of dozens of students in a single, echoing blast.

Some had managed to chant defensive spells, but it didn't matter. They were crushed instantly.

Standard magic theory says that the further a spell travels, the more its power and accuracy degrade. But looking out across the empty wasteland, I couldn't even see the faculty members. They were miles away.

[Eliminated: Student Name] [Eliminated: Student Name] [Eliminated: Student Name]

A list of the fallen began to scroll rapidly through my vision.

There was no doubt in my mind who had suggested this. Teacher Milk. No—Milk Abitus, the Strongest Adventurer.

I felt a manic grin tugging at the corners of my mouth. Ha. Fine. You want to play like that?

For today, she was the enemy. And I was going to give her everything I had.