Class 5 and Class 1 split into two groups and sat in circles around their respective professors.
“Any students volunteering to compete?”
“I recommend Leo and Chelsea first!”
When Cal raised his hand and spoke, the students nodded in agreement.
Leo was not only the school representative but had also impressed everyone during the temporary lesson period, solidifying his reputation as a skilled student.
Chelsea, as a member of a prestigious hero family and the top scorer in Class 5’s entrance exam, was an obvious choice.
“Leo Plov, Chelsea Lewallin. Any objections?”
“None.”
“I have no objections either.”
“Good. Cal Thomas, who made the recommendation—you’re going in too.”
“What? M-me? Wouldn’t it be better for someone else to go…?”
“You have no veto power.”
“Understood!”
Cal reluctantly agreed with a miserable expression.
“Next?”
“I’ll go!”
“Me too!”
Iliana and Tade enthusiastically raised their hands.
“Iliana Laden, Tade Marcoa. Four more to go.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Nella Caven.”
When Nella announced her participation in a lazy voice, the male students eagerly raised their hands, motivated by the participation of one of the class’s most beautiful girls.
And so, eight participants were selected.
“It seems Class 5 has finalized their team. Then!”
Sedgen spread his hands wide.
Vroom-!
Lines of light appeared on the training field, forming a rectangle.
At the edges of the rectangle, mana-made goals materialized.
The players from both teams gathered in the center.
“The match will last 20 minutes. Winning is important, but fair play is even more crucial. I’ll give you a moment for strategy discussions.”
Sedgen, who had given them time for strategy discussions, moved to the referee’s seat.
“How dare you step up like this?”
“We’re going to crush you.”
Celia and Chloe glared at Cal with vicious smiles.
Terrified, Cal hid behind Chelsea.
After greetings, the players from both sides gathered in the center of their respective areas.
Leo was appointed captain on Chelsea’s recommendation.
“The top students aside, look at the rest of Class 1.”
“They’re all from prestigious families.”
“They’re clearly aiming to win at all costs.”
“Class 1 has the highest average among all the classes, right?”
As everyone nervously strategized, Leo, wearing a blue glowing vest, asked a question.
“But doesn’t the Knight Department have an absolute advantage in physical activities?”
“What are you talking about, Leo? Bastera doesn’t automatically favor the Knight Department. The Magic Department and Summoning Department also play critical roles!”
Tade answered.
“Why?”
“Why? Well…”
Trailing off, Tade suddenly seemed to realize something and asked, “Leo, have you ever played Bastera before?”
“Nope.”
“You’re from the Kingdom of Delad, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, that explains it. The Kingdom of Delad is a border region, so you wouldn’t know.”
Tade facepalmed.
“In Bastera, the team that scores the most goals within the time limit wins. However…”
“However?”
“The strategy time is over. Captains of each team, step forward! We’ll determine the first possession.”
Leo stepped forward as the representative of Class 5.
Class 1’s representative was Duran.
Sedgen, holding a coin, asked Leo, “Heads or tails?”
“Heads.”
When Sedgen glanced at Duran, he nodded indifferently.
Ping-!
The coin flipped into the air and landed on the back of Sedgen’s hand.
“Tails. Class 1 will start with the ball.”
Duran, receiving the transparent ball, smirked menacingly.
“This time, we’ll crush you for sure.”
Leo shrugged off Duran’s provocation.
Frowning, Duran returned to his side and handed the ball to Celia.
“Finish explaining.”
At Leo’s prompting, Tade shouted nervously, “There’s no time to explain! Just experience it! They’re coming!”
“Huh?”
Whoosh-!
The transparent ball turned red and burst into flames.
“Here we go!”
Celia threw the ball with all her might.
Flash-!
The ball flew in a straight trajectory at incredible speed toward Leo.
Leo quickly dodged.
Thud-!
“Ack?!”
The male student behind Leo was hit in the side and screamed as he was knocked back.
Thud! Roll, roll, roll!
As Celia swept her messy hair back, she high-fived her teammates.
Watching their fallen classmate writhing on the ground, Leo asked seriously, “He’s not going to die, right?”
“The protective gear helps, but… it still hurts a lot,” Cal answered in a trembling voice.
Tade swallowed nervously.
“This is what Bastera is! If you hit your opponent with the ball, possession changes! But if they’re incapacitated after being hit, they’re out! If someone strong throws it, it’s a dangerous game where lives can be at risk!”
Leo finally understood why the students had been so tense.
Scoring goals was one way to win, but incapacitating all the opponents was another path to victory.
“Impressive! Powerful! Elegant! As expected of a direct descendant of the Zerdinger family!”
Sedgen clapped joyfully.
“Harlin! Your class could never beat ours!”
“The match has just started.”
“Hohoho! True! But with Celia on our team, we have a massive advantage! Surely you know how specialized the Zerdinger family is in Bastera!”
“…”
At Sedgen’s remark, a Class 1 student raised their hand and asked, “Why is the Zerdinger family advantageous in Bastera?”
“Good question! In Bastera, fire attributes with high destructive power are the most efficient! And the Zerdinger family’s flames are considered the strongest among humans!”
With a triumphant expression, he pointed at Harlin.
“The legendary alum of Lumerne Academy, the Empress of Bastera—one of the first students Harlin and I taught—was from the Zerdinger family!”
Sena, who had been listening, smiled.
“We have a student who can handle flame aura too.”
Harlin looked at Leo, who was holding the ball.
Flames flared from the ball in Leo’s hands.
‘It’s filled with non-attribute mana?’
Understanding the ball’s properties, Leo casually rolled the flame-imbued ball on his palm.
Class 1 students looked at Leo with tense expressions.
“Cal.”
“Yeah?”
“Can I attack or restrain someone using my ability?”
“No. You’re only allowed to block them from advancing, but attacks can only be made with the ball.”
‘So the ball is the only means of attack. Possessing the ball gives an absolute advantage.’
“Got it.”
While Leo was understanding the rules, Nella approached the first student who had fallen and activated her aura.
A burst of white aura emerged, and the student’s expression noticeably relaxed.
‘Oh? A healing attribute aura? That’s rare.’
Auras come in various attributes. Most typically enhance offensive capabilities, but some, like Nella’s, have healing properties.
“Leo, if you hold onto the ball for too long, it’s a foul, and possession will switch to the other team.”
“Got it. One more thing: I can use my foot to kick the ball, right?”
“That’s fine, but your accuracy will probably decrease.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Leo tossed the ball into the air and kicked it with all his might.
Boom-!
The aura at the tip of Leo’s foot exploded, transferring its recoil force to the ball.
With an instant surge of power from the aura and his overwhelming physical ability, the ball flew toward Class 1’s goal at a speed even faster than Celia’s throw.
“Block it!”
Celia shouted urgently.
Crack, crack, crack-!
Chloe unleashed her magic, forming a thick wall of ice in front of the goal.
Boom-! Crack-!
The ball embedded itself deep into the thick ice wall.
“As long as I’m here, scoring is impo—”
“Possible, you mean?”
Leo smiled at Chloe as he charged toward the goal.
The Class 1 students were flustered.
“W-what the…!”
Meanwhile, Leo leapt toward the ice wall.
“Ah!”
Crash-!
Leo delivered a flying kick to the ball embedded in the ice wall.
Crack-! Shatter-!
The ice wall broke apart, and the ball went into Class 1’s goal.
Whistle-!
“Class 5… scores the first goal.”
Sedgen blew the whistle and announced the score in a frustrated voice.
“As expected of the school representative!”
“His reflexes are incredible!”
Cheers erupted from Class 5.
‘As I thought, he’s no pushover.’
‘Ugh! We let our guard down.’
‘That guy!’
Celia, Chloe, and Duran glared at Leo with grim faces.
“Nice! The first goal is super important!”
Cal gave a thumbs-up.
“Alright! Let’s defend Class 1’s attack and regain possession!”
Iliana, the team’s mood-maker, raised her hand enthusiastically.
“Oh yeah!”
The morale of Class 5 soared.
“It looked like a reckless move, but he used quick thinking to score!”
Sena exclaimed in admiration, but Harlin shook his head.
“No, that was a strategy.”
“What?”
‘According to Ain, he already took the lead role on the ship during the entrance ceremony. That means he likely analyzed Chloe Mueller’s traits in advance.’
Chloe specializes in ice magic, and her high-speed casting ability is unmatched among the first-years. She is the most specialized player in Class 1 when it comes to guarding the goal.
Leo anticipated that and exploited the opening.
‘He’s an exceptional strategist for his age.’
Harlin stroked his chin, his eyes shining with interest.
Meanwhile, Class 1 launched a counterattack.
Duran, holding the ball, charged toward Class 5’s side.
Spark-!
Golden aura sparks crackled around his body.
Swish-!
As he sprinted, Chelsea quickly caught up to him.
Lightning and wind—both attributes are specialized for speed.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
“Tch!”
As Chelsea persistently followed him, Duran clicked his tongue and passed the ball to Celia, who was trailing behind.
“Ah!”
Chelsea was caught off guard.
‘Annoying, but his pass is precise.’
Celia, receiving Duran’s pass, charged unhesitatingly toward Class 5’s goal.
Even though students blocked her path, Celia skillfully avoided them.
Leo appeared in front of Celia.
“Hello.”
“I knew you’d come.”
Celia smiled brightly.
“But what can you do? Even though you’re annoying…”
Spark-!
“This guy is pretty fast, don’t you think?”
“It’s ironic for someone as destructive as you to say that, Celia Zerdinger.”
Meanwhile, Duran had leapt over Celia’s head after shaking off Chelsea.
No matter how specialized Chelsea was in speed, she couldn’t win a footrace against Duran.
Celia and Duran exchanged irritated looks.
The two of them were notoriously on bad terms.
But they didn’t let their personal feelings interfere with the match.
Whoosh-!
Celia passed the ball to Duran.
Leo didn’t even attempt an interception.
‘What’s going on? Did he give up?’
Seeing no attempt to block the pass, Celia looked at Leo in confusion.
Then, after seeing his expression, she realized something was wrong.
“Duran, wait—”
But before Celia’s words reached him, Duran had already thrown the ball.
Spark!
“This will tie the score!”
End Of Chapter
