While the others were built the base, the raid team held a meeting.

  “Alright, let’s introduce ourselves properly. I have the stigma of archery, granted by the main goddess Arca.”

  Everyone introduced themselves and Nox quickly realized that these were not ordinary students.

  “Makes sense. Every skilled player wants to raid,” he thought. For the first time he wasn’t concerned for the raid team but for the hundred students in the defence line.

  “What about you?” Alma asked, looking directly at Nox.

  “Oh, I have the stigma of ice. I don’t know which god it’s from,” Nox replied.

  “Wait, I know you. You’re the strong newbie from the tournament,” she said, stepping closer.

  “I- I guess.”

  “Could it be that you’re from one of the two secret gods?” she whispered. He could feel her breath against his face.

  “Luckily for you, I’m single again,” she added, grabbing his chin. A sad flicker appeared behind her eyes.

  Before Nox could react, he was pulled back violently by Lina.

  “We should prepare for the fight,” she said, grabbing his hand. Her voice alone made even Alma shiver.

  Nox quickly followed her.

  “Ouch-, are you okay?” he asked, as his hand was being squeezed intently.

  “Ah, sorry. I just… didn’t like that she was that close,” Lina replied. Her expression was confused as she glanced down at her trembling hands.

  “No problem. She’s a bit too old for me anyway,” he said, breathing out in relief.

  “Look, there’s Regea!” Beatrice shouted. In a matter of minutes, their base had already taken on the form of a big castle.

  “Hey guys, we’re almost finished,” Regea said, constructing golems on the front gate.

  “Did you change them? They have steel armour now.”

  “Oh, I advanced to stage two of my stigma, so I unlocked this steel equipment for my golems,” he replied, proudly looking at his work.

  “I’ll show you around,” he added, stepping through the entrance.

  “Our flag is before this rock formation, so the enemies will have to attack from there,” he said, pointing at a small trail in the forest.

  “We have towers in each corner. The sides are being protected by golems, fairies, and spirits.”

  “That woman is even summoning a golem giant!” he said, looking at a member of the Swifties with glowing eyes.

  Beatrice immediately turned to the girl with a jealous gaze.

  “Relax. She’s not gonna steal your man,” Lina whispered with a smirk.

  “H- He’s not my…”

  She stopped mid-sentence and quickly followed Regea.

  Their base was stable and big, but the students didn’t seem all that confident.

  “No wonder. They don’t know each other and they’re mostly from the lower classes. They just want to earn some passive points by standing here,” Nox thought, looking around with a concerned expression.

  Lina wrapped an arm around him and patted his head.

  “You worry too much. They’re a hundred students!”

  When Nox looked still worried, she let out a deep, but happy sigh.

  “I’ll allow you to sleep next to me until this is over,” she whispered, “and I won’t even tie you up.”

  “Wow, thank you so much little princess,” Nox replied, his smile returning.

  “Little? I’m taller than you, puppy,” she said, choking him.

  “Cough- let’s come up with a plan then.”

  ***

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  A few kilometres away, two men stood on a large tower.

  “That’s such a cheat. Only half a day has passed, and we’ve already earned 800 points just by standing here,” one said, looking over the grassland below them.

  “It’s weird that I haven’t spotted any enemies at all,” the other replied.

  “Don’t worry. Even if they have someone with the invisibility stigma, our walls will hold them off.”

  “Yeah, but our strong groups aren’t here.”

  The air behind them warped slightly.

  “Did you feel tha-”

  The sentence never finished.

  A compressed flame tore through the space between them, cutting through their armours.

  One guard collapsed and was instantly teleported back to the academy.

  The other opened his mouth to scream as thick vines wrapped around him, sealing all sound.

  “Looks like the other towers are cleared as well,” Regea said.

  “Yeah, thanks to the invisibility guy and Lina’s teleportation stone,” Nox added.

  The four turned around and snuck over the castle walls carefully.

  “There aren’t any enemies. Let’s take a look at the courtyard,” Beatrice suggested.

  They peeked around the edge and saw thirty students standing in the centre.

  Nox's thoughts raced before a half-formed idea came to him.

  “It’s impossible to defeat them without a sound,” he said, “but I have a plan.”

  Ten minutes later, Beatrice and Regea rushed along the walls, positioning themselves above the front gate.

  “U- Uhm, are you ready?” Regea asked, grabbing Beatrice’s hand nervously.

  “Y- Yeah,” she lifted her arm and a giant flame flew into the air, exploding above everyone’s heads.

  The enemies immediately turned around, gazing up at the two people above them.

  “Fuck, I told you not to do that! Now they’ve noticed us!” Regea shouted, stepping backwards.

  “Take the stairs and surround them!” someone screamed, pointing at them with a smirk.

  “Hah, so stupid,” the students said, as fifteen of them ascended the stairs.

  “I’m sorry, I had to act like that,” Regea whispered.

  “I know. The real problem is right here.”

  They positioned themselves, still holding hands. Mana fused between their twin rings, strengthening them both.

  As the enemies reached the top, they were immediately bombarded by flame attacks.

  Golems and plants blocked their way, holding the students back for a few seconds.

  “Now!” Beatrice screamed.

  Alma and a dozen teammates appeared on the other side.

  They shot arrows and magic missiles at the group waiting below. A giant smoke cloud emerged, the ground trembling.

  “T- That’s too high,” Regea said, glancing down.

  “Just close your eyes,” Beatrice replied. Before he could react, she embraced him and jumped off.

  A snowball rolled through the crowd and stopped right under them, blocking their fall.

  Beatrice and Regea ran to Alma, fending off the remaining enemies who glared at them with a mixture of distain and greed.

  “Are you sure they’ll be alright?

  Lina and Nox stood behind a corner, watching the battle unfold.

  There are even more people approaching,” Lina said.

  “Don’t worry, almost all of them are fourth years. We should focus on the flag now,” Nox replied, sneaking into the base.

  On the inside was a single big room. In the middle stood the flag, protected by forty students.

  “I had hoped they would run outside, but they seem to know that it’s a distraction,” Nox thought, desperately trying to find a way.

  “Hey, look over there! They’re not with us, right?” Lina whispered, pointing across the room.

  On the other side was a group hiding behind one of the stone pillars.

  “They’re probably from another team… they seem to have the same problem as us.”

  “Wait, I know who they are,” Lina said. “They are the ‘Pros’ group, who placed second in the last ranking!”

  Nox’s face lit up. “Then I know what to do.

  He turned to Lina with a doubtful grin, his hands trembling as he gave her his red stone sword.

  I hope you can fight.”

  As he told Lina his plan, she gulped heavily and brushed through his silver hair.

  “Just be careful.”

  A light ball emerged before them, merging with Nox’s body.

  -You have received light’s sacrifice

  A familiar warmth surged through him, clearing his mind.

  “Your stats feel good,” she whispered.

  Nox carefully snuck around the room until he stood 30 meters from the other group who observed the forty students.

  He launched a ice crystal at the group, perfectly refined and with incredible speed.

  However, a red-haired man turned around in a split second, melting it with a blue fireball.

  “Someone’s there!”

  The forty students glared right at them, conjuring mana spells.

  “Shit. Why would that bastard attack us?” the other group screamed, blocking the enemy’s attack.

  Although they were clearly outnumbered, the Pros group wouldn’t just go down easily. A single spell was able to block multiple attacks.

  “They’re the Pros group! Everyone, attack!” someone shouted, dashing forward.

  Nox was bombarded as well, his ice crystals shattering faster than he could conjure. He could literally feel the mana being sucked out of his core in a matter of seconds.

  “Already?”

  Another impact.

  Another fracture.

  His arm shook as he raised it again, ice forming slower this time. He grabbed for his sword that wasn’t there.

  “I can’t hold much longer!” Nox thought. He nodded at Lina, who stood on the other side of the room.

  “Let’s see what I can do with his strength,” she muttered, dashing forward.

  Only four people were now protecting around the flag. They nervously glanced around, not sure what to do.

  “There’s another one!”

  “It’s the princess!” they screamed, turning to her. Their eyes turned greedy at the free points before them.

  She extended her arm and performed a stylish spin. Before the others could react, she slammed her sword into the ground.

  The floor shook, making the guards lose their balance.

  Her arm tore open as she pulled out the trembling weapon.

  “Isn’t she a healer?” they thought, as she ran past them with incredible speed.

  Someone tried to cast a spell, but she dodged it effortlessly.

  Her blonde hair glimmered, reflecting the yellow glow of the cleanly sliced flag.

  At the same time, dozens of armours started beeping and players disappeared.

  “Team D is eliminated,” the principal’s voice rang out over the battlefield.

  Only Nox, Lina and the five players of the Pros group remained.

  “I must admit… that was smart” a red-haired man said. His eyes narrowed as he scanned Lina, a flame arrow forming at the tip of his finger.

  He launched it with such an incredible speed not even Nox could block.

  “I can’t…” Lina thought. She stumbled back and as the missile flew toward her, the heat obscuring her view.

  Boom-

  The fire arrow scattered sideways, melting the wall behind her. Three wooden arrows fell onto the ground before Lina.

  “You did a good job. We’ll take it from here.”