Chapter 28
Class 5 and Class 1 split into two teams, sitting in circles around their respective professors.
“Any volunteers to participate?”
“I nominate Leo and Chelsea!” Carr Thomas raised his hand, and the other students nodded in agreement.
Leo was not only the class representative but had also impressed everyone during the temporary class period, firmly establishing himself as a skilled student.
Chelsea, a member of a prestigious hero family, had scored the highest among Class 5 in the entrance exam.
“Leo Plov, Chelsea Lewellin. Any objections?”
“None.”
“I don’t have any either.”
“Good. You, too, Carr Thomas—since you nominated them, you’re in.”
“Huh? Wouldn’t it be better if someone else—”
“No veto.”
“Yes, sir!”
Carr Thomas was forced to join, despite his reluctance.
“Next?”
“I’ll do it!”
“Me too!”
Eliana and Tide raised their hands enthusiastically.
“Eliana Laden, Tide Markoa. That’s four—four left.”
“I’ll join too.”
“Nella Carven.”
When Nella volunteered in her languid voice, the boys all shot their hands up.
One of the class’s most beautiful girls had decided to play, igniting their enthusiasm.
Thus, eight players stepped forward.
“It looks like Class 5’s team is decided too, then!”
Professor Sedgen spread his arms wide.
Vooom—!
Lines of light appeared on the training ground, forming a rectangle.
At each end, a goal made of lines of Mana materialized.
The players from both teams gathered at the center.
“The match will be twenty minutes. Winning is important, but fair play is even more so. I’ll give you a moment to strategize.”
With that, Professor Sedgen moved to the referee’s seat.
“Coming out here so recklessly, huh?”
“I’m going to smash you.”
Celia and Chloe glared at Carr Thomas with menacing smiles.
Frightened, Carr hid behind Chelsea.
After exchanging greetings, the players gathered at the center of each side.
By Chelsea’s recommendation, Leo was named captain.
“The top students aside, look at the rest of Class 1.”
“They’re all from distinguished families.”
“They’re determined to win at all costs.”
“Class 1 had the highest average, right?”
As they nervously strategized, Leo—now wearing a blue vest—asked,
“Isn’t this kind of event always an advantage for the Knights Department?”
“What are you talking about, Leo? Bastera isn’t just about knights. The Magic and Summoning departments are hugely important too!” Tide answered.
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? Of course—” Tide trailed off, then looked at Leo.
“Wait, Leo, have you ever played Bastera?”
“Nope.”
“You’re from the Delard Kingdom, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Aha, that explains it. The Delard Kingdom is way out in the sticks, so you probably wouldn’t know.”
Tide covered his face in embarrassment.
“In Bastera, you win by scoring the most goals within the time limit. However—”
“However?”
“Time’s up. Team captains to the front! We’ll decide who serves first!”
Leo stepped up as his team’s representative.
Duran was Class 1’s representative.
Professor Sedgen, holding a coin, asked Leo,
“Heads or tails?”
“Heads.”
Sedgen glanced at Duran, who nodded indifferently.
Ping—!
The coin flipped through the air and landed on Sedgen’s hand.
“Tails. Class 1 serves first.”
Duran received the transparent ball, flashing a dangerous smile.
“This time, I’ll crush you.”
Leo just shrugged off Duran’s taunt.
Scowling, Duran returned to his team’s side and handed the ball to Celia.
“Finish explaining the rules,” Leo said.
Tide, looking tense, shouted,
“No time to explain! You’ll have to learn by experience! It’s coming!”
“Huh?”
Fwoosh—!
The transparent ball turned red and erupted in flames.
“Here it comes!” Celia shouted as she hurled the ball with all her might.
Flash—!
The ball shot toward Leo in a straight line at tremendous speed.
Leo dodged frantically.
Thud—!
“Gack?”
The boy behind Leo was struck in the side and went flying with a scream.
Thump! Roll roll roll!
Celia brushed her disheveled hair back and high-fived her teammates.
Watching the classmate who had rolled miserably across the ground, Leo asked with a serious face,
“…Is he going to die?”
“Well, there’s protective gear, but… it really hurts,” Carr answered in a trembling voice.
Tide swallowed hard.
“This is Bastera! If you hit someone with the ball, possession changes! But if you’re hit and can’t move, you’re out! If a really strong person throws it, it could even be deadly!”
Now Leo understood why the students were so tense.
Scoring points is one way to win, but you can also win by incapacitating all opponents.
—
“Marvelous! Powerful! Elegant! As expected from a direct descendant of Zerdinger!”
Professor Sedgen applauded with delight.
“Harrid! Your class can never defeat ours!”
“It’s still early in the match,” Harrid replied.
“Indeed! But just having Celia gives us an overwhelming advantage! You, more than anyone, know the Zerdinger family is specialized for Bastera!”
“….”
A Class 1 student raised their hand.
“Why is the Zerdinger family so good at Bastera?”
“Great question! In Bastera, the most efficient attribute is the high-powered flame type! The Zerdinger family’s flames are considered the strongest among humans!”
With a triumphant expression, he pointed at Harrid.
“At Lumene Academy, there’s a legendary alum! The Empress of Bastera—a Zerdinger and one of my first students, along with Harrid!”
Listening to the explanation, Sena smiled.
“We have a student who wields the Aura of flame as well.”
Harrid watched as Leo took the ball.
Flames erupted from the ball in Leo’s hands.
—
‘It’s filled with non-elemental Mana?’
Leo, having analyzed the ball’s properties, rolled it lightly across his palm, shrouded in a flame Aura.
The students of Class 1 watched Leo nervously.
“Carr.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you allowed to attack or grab people with your abilities?”
“No. You can block them from passing, but only the ball can be used to attack.”
‘So the ball is the only means of attack. Whoever holds the ball has an absolute advantage.’
“Got it?”
While Leo was sorting out the rules, Nella approached the boy from their class who’d been knocked down first and activated her Aura.
A white Aura burst out, and the boy’s expression visibly eased.
‘Oh? A healing-type Aura? That’s a rare attribute.’
Auras can have various attributes.
Most are offensive in nature, but, like Nella’s, there are also attributes that heal wounds.
“Leo, if you hold onto the ball too long, it’s a foul and you lose possession.”
“Got it. One more thing—there’s no problem kicking the ball with your foot instead of your hand, right?”
“No problem. But your aim will suffer.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Leo tossed the ball into the air and kicked it hard.
Boom—!
Aura exploded from Leo’s toe, adding explosive force to the ball.
With the sudden surge of Aura and Leo’s overwhelming physical strength, the ball flew toward Class 1’s goal even faster than Celia’s throw.
“Block it!”
Celia shouted urgently.
Crack crack crack—!
Magical power surged from Chloe, instantly creating a thick wall of ice in front of the goal.
Bang—! Crack—!
The ball slammed deep into the wall of ice.
“As long as I’m here, you’ll never—”
“Are you sure about that?”
Leo dashed into Class 1’s territory, flashing Chloe a grin as he charged the goal.
The Class 1 students were flustered.
“W-What…!”
Leo leapt at the wall of ice.
“Ah!”
Crash—!
He performed a flying kick on the ball stuck in the ice wall.
Crack—! Snap—!
The wall shattered, and the ball shot into Class 1’s goal.
Beep—!
“Class 5… scores the first point.”
Professor Sedgen, whistle in hand, announced in a frustrated voice.
“As expected of the class representative!”
“That reflexes are amazing!”
Class 5 erupted in cheers.
‘He’s definitely not easy.’
‘Ugh! I let my guard down.’
‘That bastard!’
Celia, Chloe, and Duran all scowled at Leo.
“Nice! Getting the first point is huge!” Carr Thomas gave a thumbs-up.
“Alright! Let’s defend against Class 1’s attack and take possession!” Eliana, the team’s mood-maker, raised her hand with a shout.
“Yeah!”
Class 5’s energy soared.
“It looked reckless, but he scored by seizing the moment!” Sena exclaimed in awe, but Harrid shook his head.
“No, that was strategy.”
“Huh?”
‘If Ain was right, he took the lead on the ship even on entrance day. That means he’d already figured out Chloe Mueller’s specialty.’
Chloe was a specialist in ice magic, with the fastest casting speed among the first-years.
She was, in other words, the most specialized goalkeeper in Class 1.
Leo had identified her in advance and exploited her opening.
‘He’s a remarkable strategist for his age.’
Harrid stroked his chin, his eyes shining.
Meanwhile, Class 1’s counterattack began.
Duran, holding the ball, charged into Class 5’s territory.
Crackle—!
Sparks of golden Aura flickered across his body.
Swoosh—!
As he dashed forward, Chelsea instantly matched his speed.
Lightning and wind—both attributes specializing in speed.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“Tch!”
As Chelsea persistently trailed him, Duran clicked his tongue and passed the ball to Celia, who was following behind.
“Ah!”
Chelsea was caught off guard.
‘Unlucky, but his pass is precise.’
Celia, having received Duran’s pass, charged straight toward Class 5’s goal.
Other students blocked her path, but Celia easily slipped past.
Then Leo appeared in front of Celia.
“Hello.”
“I knew you’d come,” Celia smiled brightly.
“But what are you going to do? Annoying as you are—”
Crackle—!
“This guy’s speed is no joke.”
“You’re one to talk about brute force, Celia Zerdinger.”
Meanwhile, Duran, having evaded Chelsea, jumped above Celia.
No matter how fast Chelsea was, there was no way she could outpace Duran in a sprint.
Celia and Duran exchanged grimaces.
The two were, of course, on very bad terms.
But they wouldn’t let personal feelings get in the way of victory.
Whoosh—!
Celia passed the ball to Duran.
Leo didn’t even attempt to intercept.
‘What’s this, did he give up?’
With no effort to stop the pass, Celia glanced at Leo in confusion.
But as she caught a look at Leo’s face, she realized something was wrong.
“Duran, wait—”
But before she could finish, Duran had already thrown the ball.
Crackle!
“This’ll tie it up!”