As the match began, balls rained down from random spots in the sky.
Hestia, bracing herself with firm determination in her legs, prepared to catch them, only to realize that no one was attempting to hinder her.
…Why?
Was she appearing too easy to be challenged?
A muscular girl who hadn’t even mastered the Mana Flow Technique?
Thud!
Bam!
Her pride was hurt!
Just you wait.
I will definitely catch that ball.
Looking up at the balls falling above her, Hestia loaded her legs with determination.
However, contrary to her firm resolve, she couldn’t jump.
It wasn’t because the seniors’ swamp magic was binding her feet.
No, something even more outrageous was happening.
Whoosh!
Zoom!
Seniors of all sorts were whooshing up into the sky.
They were flying on brooms, carpets, and even performing tricks like standing atop sheaths.
“There’s no way this is allowed!”
“Isn’t flying cheating, seniors?!”
The seniors responded with faces that looked like they were about to burst out laughing at the squawking of the first-year chicks.
“Why can’t we fly?”
“Is it cowardly?”
“There’s no rule against flying!”
Indeed, the rules didn’t state that flying disqualified you; they only mentioned that stepping on the line would get you disqualified.
“But we can’t fly!”
“Then that’s your own fault.”
The third-year seniors openly mocked the speechless first-years.
“If you wanted to fly, you should’ve learned flying magic. Who threatened you not to learn it while holding a sword?”
“Who threatened us not to prep while holding a sword?”
“Let’s just threaten them. If they don’t learn flying magic, we’ll kill them!”
The seniors, high above, openly mocked the first-years using message magic.
The exhausted first-years stepped on the lines and disqualified themselves voluntarily.
Hestia, with nothing but a lifeless hammer, was in the same boat as the defeated first-years.
*
The stubborn first-years were soon disqualified due to the overwhelming chaos.
The third-years attacked from above, and the first-years kept dropping one by one.
“Stone Shower.”
“Come on, kids. Want to take a guess? One out of a hundred is a real dodgeball!”
“Hey junior. If you sign this contract to donate 200ml of blood to the [Vampire Club] every week, we’ll disqualify you painlessly. Hurry up and sign the enrollment agreement!”
“This junior has such pale skin and looks so delicate; we should recruit them into our [Brute Force Club] for body modification. Come join us! Or else… I’ll break your arm!”
“FORFEIT! FORFEEIIIIIT!!”
“Fo-fo-fo… gag?!”
“Shut your mouth!”
“Don’t let them forfeit!”
“Block the instructor and student council’s view. While buying time with illusion magic, quickly step on the line!”
The students who were able to forfeit were those considered lucky.
They weren’t forced into a terrible situation of being abducted into the seniors’ clubs!
“Oh, this junior is wearing heavy armor.”
“I can’t see a single bit of flesh.”
“We should recruit this one into our Brute Force Club as well.”
Mob, who had been strutting around among the first-years as the Black Knight Mob, trembled in fear under the intense scrutiny of the seniors.
“Th-thank you, seniors, but I prefer personal training.”
“Such a thoughtful heart!”
“Thank you… Is it rude to ask if it would be acceptable to inquire whether I can now step on the line and forfeit?”
“You can go.”
“Th-thank you…”
Mob was close to tears.
“But can you please loosen your grip?”
“If you can shake off our hold with your strength, we’ll acknowledge that your personal training wasn’t wasted!”
Mob felt unjust.
Why did he have to take a test during the dodgeball match to shake off seniors standing on flying dumbbells?
And failing that would mean he would be dragged off to join their club!
Rainboooow Attack~~!
Wham!
The familiar voice that came to save turbulent Mob.
“Oknodie!? Wh-what are you doing? Attacking third-years?!”
The third-year who had his head tilted at a 90-degree angle snapped it back with a crack and grinned.
“Oh, this kid has some real power.”
“If we recruit him into the Brute Force Club, winning the First-Year Champion title will be a given, right?”
“Then the student council will increase the support points for our club.”
“With points, we can demand more advanced new facilities than the current ones!”
“Points!”
“Weight!”
The seniors who had captured Mob released him and began flying toward Oknodie.
“Oknodie! Quickly forfeit!”
“Oh come on. Where’s your sense? You’ve bought Mob time to avoid weird training from strange people. Mob should be the one to forfeit!”
“Are you sure that’s okay…?”
“Hurry and forfeit!”
“Sorry, Oknodie. I promise I’ll be more of a help next time…!”
The rainbow ball, with its frightful gimmick of infinite acceleration repeat, can unleash a stream of attacks after blocking just the first strike with minimal damage.
The third-year member of the [Brute Force Club] used his developed neck muscles to inject mana at the moment of impact to enhance his muscle performance, blocking the rainbow ball.
He was strong, unlike the second-year Four Kings member [Deadcat], who lost his life multiple times before finally forfeiting!
“FORFEIT!”
After a late forfeit, Mob looked anxiously at the dodging Oknodie still entangled and whether they could forfeit safely.
Like how he had assisted Mob when he was unable to forfeit, was Oknodie now planning to help another student, not fleeing despite the seniors approaching?
Jaku tapped on his concerned shoulder.
“Who’s worrying about who? Get it together, fool.”
“Those seniors seem way too strong.”
“Well, that’s true… but still, they probably didn’t collapse at a single blow from someone like the third-year Four Kings. No way a normal third-year could withstand Oknodie’s attack, right?”
To Jaku, a member of the foundation, Oknodie was the Chief Scholarship Student at the peak of all scholarship students.
A figure like this, explicitly revealing their status, was unprecedented even in the Wahyhiemhai Foundation.
You wouldn’t expose such a status like Chief Scholarship Student without absolute confidence in your skills, nor would the foundation openly reveal you without trust!
“You really don’t understand, junior.”
“…Are you perhaps a fourth-year?”
“No, I’m a second-year. Relax.”
Jaku flinched upon hearing from nearby spectator stands, genuinely letting out a sigh of relief.
“Barcksar, head of the Brute Force Club. It’s true that that muscle monster is a third-year in the upper class, but he’s nowhere near the third-year Four Kings.”
“Is that really true!?”
“Yeah. By the third year, there shouldn’t be anyone in the upper class who can withstand an attack from the phenomenal Dark Princess Oknodie.”
“Who are you to know such valuable information?”
“Bigstone. Member of the Alchemy/Chemistry Club. When you do club activities, you inevitably learn about the third-years, whether you like it or not, about how much of a monster you need to be to become a third-year within a year.”
It had been tough just to follow along in the first year, balancing between bizarre lectures and managing to keep up, but by the second year, they began to feel the pressure of advancing to the third year.
“You’re quite kind, senior.”
“Kind? Ha! A kind person doesn’t stick around in the second year. You need to have a bad personality or be cunning. I’m just letting you know so that talented juniors give up and drop out sooner.”
“…I will retract my compliment about kindness. You’re quite cunning.”
“Thanks for the compliment~.”
“But you still need to know this as a second-year.”
“Hm?”
“How dangerous it is to be the Chief Scholarship Student of the Wahyhiemhai Foundation.”
Oknodie caught Barcksar mid-air with a hand-to-hand grapple, spinning him two rounds and then tossing him toward the incoming Brute Force Club members.
Just as much as Jaku was surprised, Bigstone was also in shock.
“That’s a monster wearing the skin of a little kid.”
*
━━━
[Rescue the first-years in crisis!]
Emergency! Emergency!
Something more dangerous than animals oblivious to cars running onto the road has occurred.
It’s that the first-years aren’t forfeiting in the match against the third-years!
At this rate, a disaster may leave haunting aftereffects on the bodies and minds of the first-years, whether alive or dead.
Please help all first-years to forfeit or be disqualified!
━━━
━━━
Current remaining first-years – 7
━━━
After saving Mob and defeating the foolish seniors from the Brute Force Club, some relief was felt.
The bizarre muscle seniors flying around on flying dumbbells were likely too shocking, leading the first-years to whoosh and forfeit.
“Big Gruesome Barcksar, who even receives personal tutoring from Professor Plato, got spun around like a windmill!”
“I can’t believe it. This can’t be real!”
“What was our three years for! Uugh!”
It seemed that the third-year seniors were also facing cracks in their morale, but just then was a once-in-a-lifetime lucky punch.
Rather than underestimating the first-years, it seemed like Barcksar was overly cautious so he wouldn’t break a first-year with excessive force.
Using that distraction, he somehow pulled off the secret to fusion grafting and wiped them all out.
All seniors who fell from their flying dumbbells landed gracefully, but they were all disqualified for stepping over the line!
Now, if I disqualified or made the remaining six students forfeit, the surprise event would be a success.
The six students were split into a group of five and one.
But… whichever side, it’s quite a jackpot.
“Second Princess Masugaki. I’m in awe of your Dark Mana. Would you like to join the Dark Cult and indulge in the secrets of mysterious cults?”
“Ahhh~~!? A club that handles Dark Mana~~? Amazing ♡ I really want to join ♡”
The remaining Masugaki Princess, who used no power, was brimming with spirit.
“I heard there are seniors among the third years who are the roots of our Western Noble Union. Shouldn’t we greet them when we pass by?”
“Grand Duke’s words are right.”
“If they’re truly seniors from the third year, we should at least make a good impression.”
“Doesn’t it help that we’ve come this far?”
“Hopefully, they’ll let us know about the final exam test paper. Right?”
The group of Seoguyeon was unfazed, staring boldly at the Grand Duke Andersen and the nobles remaining calmly in one corner of the court, despite being clearly among the six unfortunate hopefuls for suicide.
