The sky was clear. Flowers lined the path, the grass trimmed short and neat. Dusk was settling in, and the air felt tight with tension.

  Daike couldn’t stop studying his new partner. The guy seemed sharp—clearly intelligent—but he’d been grinning like an idiot ever since they started walking toward the forest. There was something almost heroic about him.

  After a long stretch of silence, Otto’s expression turned serious.

  “Who do you think should carry our orb?”

  “I’ve got a few daggers, so I can fight mid-range. Though I’m better with a sword,” Daike replied.

  “Mmh. I’m more of a head-on fighter. My attacks are a bit slow, but they hit hard. I’ve trained my body a lot. I don’t have much tarmo yet, but I can take a beating and dish out some serious damage.”

  Daike thought for a moment before answering.

  “Then I should carry the orb and stay in the rear. Though… what happens if someone’s orb gets destroyed in a fight?”

  “Oh. We should ask the director,” Otto said cheerfully.

  Yeah, because I’m dying to talk to that guy, Daike thought.

  A few minutes later, they reached the forest entrance. Other pairs had already gathered there, along with the director, who stood beside a tent.

  “We’re here!” Otto called out, excited.

  More time passed until every pair had assembled. The tension thickened as the sun dipped lower on the horizon.

  The director straightened his back and raised his voice.

  “Listen carefully. You will now receive your crystal orbs.”

  As he spoke, assistants emerged from the tent and handed an orb to each pair.

  “Once distribution is complete, you will have ten minutes to enter the forest. During that time, no stealing and no attacking. You may only position yourselves.”

  “When you’ve secured three crystal orbs, return to this tent. That will mark your success in this phase of the exam.”

  Otto shot his hand up immediately.

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  He’s not actually going to ask, is he? Daike thought.

  “What do you require, axe warrior?” the director asked, visibly irritated.

  Otto took a breath, steadying himself.

  “What happens if we break someone’s orb in battle—or if ours gets broken, sir?”

  The director’s irritation deepened.

  “Isn’t it obvious? You reassemble it with your tarmo. If you can’t manage something that basic, you don’t deserve to be at this university.”

  Reassemble it with tarmo? That’s not basic. That’s advanced. I can barely do it properly. Damn it… ever since I got here, I feel like I’m falling behind, Daike thought as he took their team’s orb.

  Once every orb had been distributed, the air felt heavy.

  “The second phase has begun,” the director announced with a faint, twisted smile. “You may enter the forest.”

  Daike leaned closer to Otto and whispered, “Let’s wait a few seconds. See where most of them run.”

  “Okay,” Otto said, flashing a thumbs-up.

  After most of the pairs had taken off, Daike spoke again.

  “We’ve got about five minutes left to position ourselves. Most of them went west or toward the center. Let’s head east and find higher ground.”

  They sprinted into the forest.

  Among the few pairs who hadn’t moved yet were the two girls from earlier.

  “If we keep arguing, we’re getting nowhere,” one snapped. “I’ll handle navigation. You fight.”

  “Fine, fine. Otherwise we won’t pass. But at least tell me your name. I’m Tala.”

  “Kira. And we’re heading east. Fewer pairs that way.”

  Meanwhile, Daike and Otto found a slightly elevated area just as the ten minutes ran out.

  “Otto, I’m climbing this tree. I’ll scout for other pairs. Best case, we jump into a fight when they’re already exhausted. You watch the ground,” Daike said, still catching his breath.

  Otto stiffened.

  “Jump into a fight? You’re joking, right? We’re not doing that. We pick a pair and fight them head-on. What you’re suggesting has no honor.”

  Daike had already reached the top of the tree, scanning the forest.

  “You’re not wrong. But if we do it your way, our odds drop. And we risk someone doing the same to us.”

  “I don’t mind failing. I’ll try again next year. Just trust me. We’ll pass. I just want to keep my honor.”

  “Ugh. Fine. We fight pairs directly. No interfering in ongoing battles,” Daike muttered.

  Suddenly, Otto tensed.

  “A pair’s coming. Get ready.”

  Daike stayed silent, remaining in the tree.

  An arrow flew out of nowhere, aimed straight at Otto. He deflected it with his double-bladed axe.

  A spear wielder rushed in right after, attacking without warning. Otto barely managed to block in time.

  The spearman isn’t sensing tarmo. He’s channeling everything into his arms and legs. The archer’s distributing it evenly… but he can probably tell I’m here, Daike analyzed while Otto struggled against the relentless spear strikes.

  Another arrow shot toward Daike. He dove from the tree, narrowly avoiding it.

  I should help Otto… but the orb’s probably with the archer. I’ll go for him and trust Otto to handle the spear guy.

  Daike reinforced his legs with tarmo and sprinted toward the archer, maintaining his detection ability. Another arrow came at him mid-run. He barely deflected it with his sword.

  Damn it. Boosting my legs and sensing tarmo at the same time is exhausting.

  He ducked behind a tree for cover.

  He was close now. On the other side, Otto and the spearman were locked in a dead-even fight. Both were tiring fast. And at any moment, another pair could interfere.

  Can we actually win this? Daike wondered, tension tightening in his chest as he caught his breath behind the tree.