SWNOVELXO Chapter 95
International Solo Exhibition.
A friendly competition held between the academies established by heroes in order to remember the past.
The friendly competition takes place at the Holy Ground of the Great Hero Olfram.
To honor Olfram’s heroic deeds, the academies aimed to show that they still support the world.
“Wow, so this is Olfram’s Holy Ground!”
Seron peeked out of the carriage, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Next to her, Card was looking outside with a more somber expression than usual.
It was understandable.
Card was sent here as a spy, and the person who sent him would be present today.
As our eyes met, he casually flashed a smile.
“What’s wrong, Wang Non? Nervous? Don’t worry, I’m taking first place.”
He’s so predictable.
Hania and Iris were traveling in a different carriage for the first time in a while.
“In a solo competition, we’re enemies. No more of the same issues we had during the team match.”
I led the team to victory against Iris’s team during the team match, so Hania was prioritizing victory over contract romance this time.
Iris looked at me with a disappointed expression, but she went along with Hania’s opinion.
Isabel was in the same boat.
“This will be a continuation of what we did last time. Look forward to it.”
During the boycott incident, I quit fighting with Isabel in the middle and slipped away.
She meant to treat this solo competition as a sequel to that.
“I’m looking forward to this.”
I wondered how much Isabel had grown.
Her role in the story would increase significantly from now on.
I hoped she had made great progress.
As the group surrounding me dispersed, the problem child trio gathered again.
“Prince Sweet Potato, what place do you think you’ll get?”
Seron asked about the international solo competition rankings.
It’s something you can only know once you try, but I smiled indifferently.
“I’ll be in the top 6.”
The fame of the six stars.
I was determined to step in.
＊＊＊
The arena prepared for the international solo competition was reminiscent of a massive coliseum.
Since all students from the six academies would be competing, the arena naturally had to be huge.
But given the number of participants, it was impossible to accommodate everyone, no matter how massive the arena was.
Thus, the international solo competition would first mix students from the six academies starting with the preliminary rounds.
The kids were showing their resolve, saying they would definitely pass the prelims.
From the main event onward, important figures from each kingdom and empire would come to watch.
To make a name for themselves there, they had to pass the preliminary rounds.
In this way, everyone was assigned to their preliminary round groups.
“The groups are split.”
Seron looked at me with disappointment.
As she said, she was in a different preliminary group than me.
“Heh, feeling jealous? I’m in the same group as Wang Non.”
On the other hand, Card was in the same preliminary group as me and was teasing Seron.
Seron punched Card in the side and turned to me.
“Are you going to miss me, Prince Sweet Potato? I know you are.”
“Yeah. I was planning to eliminate you first. Now it’s a bummer.”
“Even if it’s just a lie, you should say you want to be with me!”
“I’m too honest to say things like that.”
And then I got punched in the side by Seron.
She grabbed my collar firmly and said,
“If you don’t say you want to be with me, I’ll give you a kiss.”
What kind of crazy threat is this?
I looked at Seron with bewildered eyes, and she turned bright red after saying that.
Seron clutched her skirt tightly, trembling.
If you’re going to act like that, then just don’t say anything.
“I expected this a bit, but it’s a pretty amusing sight.”
Card chuckled as he watched us.
Getting hit in the side by Seron and still being fine shows he has great resilience.
“Jerion Academy.”
In that moment, we heard Professor Veganon’s voice.
The eyes of the gathered Jerion Academy students turned to her.
She looked at everyone and said.
I thought she was going to say some useless nonsense as usual.
“This is your chance to shine. Don’t come back defeated.”
But what she delivered was encouragement.
During times like this, supporting was just like her.
“If you lose and the academy’s reputation declines, my salary gets cut.”
She didn’t forget to add that last part.
“Maybe cutting Professor Veganon’s salary isn’t so bad.”
“Keuhk, true.”
As the kids whispered among themselves, Veganon glared at them with fiery eyes.
“Stop talking nonsense and go do well.”
With that, the kids dispersed with determined responses for their group tests.
Seron was in Group 1.
Card and I were in Group 2.
As a result, we parted ways with Seron and headed toward Group 2.
On the way, I occasionally saw familiar faces.
“Hm, Wang Non, it seems most of your friends have scattered into other groups?”
“Right.”
The kids I used to hang out with were mostly not in my group.
The preliminary round gathers students in one place, and only those who survive move on to the main event.
Given these circumstances, it wasn’t exactly a cheat to form teams.
Having a lack of acquaintances in such a situation was disappointing in many ways.
Just then, I spotted someone.
My lips naturally curled into a smile.
“I’m not completely alone.”
“Grantoni.”
“Huh?”
The person I called turned to look at me.
Inside his white skeletal face, red eyes shone.
A small burial site.
Belonging to the second year Special Studies department, Grantoni.
He was a character who dealt with the unique special techniques of soul magic and corpse magic.
He was a familiar face, having once teamed up during the previous group match.
“Oh, hehehe, Hanon, you’re in Group 2 too?”
“Yeah, there’s a position open for healing. How about we team up again?”
“I’m in! I wasn’t really concerned about the preliminary round anyway!”
Grantoni was only interested in the otherworldly realm.
So he came along when asked to participate in the international solo competition.
In reality, he didn’t have that much determination.
After all, Grantoni’s real goal lay elsewhere.
But having someone pull you along makes a difference.
Grantoni had the kind of personality that would perform when it was necessary.
“Nice! With you, it’ll be much easier.”
Our chances of passing the prelims went up significantly.
“Oh.”
Just then, a sigh escaped Card’s lips.
“…Wang Non, this is going to be quite difficult.”
I followed Card’s gaze.
What came into my view was a gray wolf-cut hairstyle.
As soon as I saw that unique hairstyle, I immediately recognized who it was.
“Solvas Umbra.”
The vice president of Aquiline Academy from the Fantasy Kingdom.
One of the six stars.
“Looks like we’ve been placed in the same group.”
I understood why Card reacted like this.
It made sense because Solvas was the person he reported to.
The Umbra Count family has traditionally supplied the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Fantasy Kingdom.
The main job of such a ministry is to extract favorable information from other countries and trade it under the guise of coercion.
Hence, the Umbra Count family is a source of fear in the Fantasy Kingdom.
Their infamous reputation spread widely even to foreign nations.
Card, on the other hand, operated as a spy for that very ministry.
Naturally, Solvas, who was the son of the current minister and his future successor, was his superior.
Solvas was smoothly engaging with those around him.
For now, he was wearing the hat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His eloquence was outstanding.
And I knew well that those kids would soon be victims of that eloquence.
“Card.”
Card glanced my way.
“What would happen if one of the six stars were to drop out in the prelims?”
A sly smile crept across my face.
As Card watched me, he rolled his eyes slowly.
“…Are you confident?”
There’s a common saying in life.
Bosses who overextend work are often despised.
The reason Card had been reporting extreme fatigue lately was that the Ministry had been squeezing him dry.
Jerion Academy had faced one calamity after another.
There must have been heaps of information that could be extracted from those calamities.
But the Ministry didn’t realize that they had been taking Card to the cleaners.
For Card, the incidents at Jerion Academy were nothing short of a disaster.
Above all, there were too many risky situations for him to stick his neck out.
The most important rule of spy work is to not get caught.
If a spy’s identity is revealed and they get captured, things can get awfully tough.
Card had been strictly adhering to this rule while fulfilling his duties.
But here came a superior—Solvas, the son of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“When have you ever seen me speak without confidence?”
Card chuckled.
“Never.”
I’m someone who accomplishes everything I say.
This was something Card, who had been living with me all along, knew best.
“Great. If one of the six stars drops out in the prelims, it’ll make a beautiful rumor.”
Card’s face broke into a devious smile, mimicking mine.
“Hehehe.”
Grantoni laughed along, clueless about what was going on.
What a good guy.
“Group 2, we will now begin the preliminary match.”
A professor from another academy called out the students in Group 2.
Soon his assistants started quickly distributing bracelets to the students.
“You will now move to the locations indicated on the bracelets to conduct the preliminary match.”
At that moment, the bracelets emitted light and pointed the direction.
“The light on the bracelet will go out once you reach your designated location.
We will begin the preliminaries only when everyone has arrived, so make sure to double-check your spots.”
The direction led into a forest that was surrounded by a massive defensive magic barrier.
It was a large-scale magic barrier set to prevent outside intrusions.
And that forest would be where the preliminary matches would take place.
“Since we are tracking your biometrics, the light will go out if you become incapacitated.
There are currently 300 participants, and the preliminaries will continue until 16 remain.”
The preliminary rounds are divided into four groups.
When they say they will pick 16 from one group, that means the main event will consist of 64 participants.
“16 out of 300, huh.”
“That’s too few.”
Whispers of concern spread among the children.
After all, the majority were implying that it would mean elimination.
“In addition, there are defensive spells activated should your lives be seriously threatened.
This is merely a friendly competition; harming an opponent will result in immediate disqualification and legal consequences.
Please remember, we are holding a friendly competition.
The real enemy is the Magung. Don’t risk your lives in this match.”
The professor repeatedly cautioned the children.
This was due to accidents constantly happening in international solo competitions.
Fortunately, no one had ever died in an international solo competition so far.
“Unfortunately, that won’t be the case this time.”
Just one person.
In this scenario for the international solo competition, one person will die.
And I know who that will be.
This is one of the bad endings I must prevent.
“Now, students, please move to the preliminary match locations.”
After glancing at Card and Grantoni, I set off with determined steps.
I was curious about where I would be placed at the start.
Depending on the assigned location, the tasks I would need to undertake would vary.
Amid such anticipation, as I arrived at my designated spot, I spotted a familiar face from a distance.
“Hmm?”
Oh no.
“Hello there! The one who got confessed to by the Blue Flame.”
He smiled brightly upon seeing me.
He already knew my name, yet his tone was relaxed.
The Son of Shadows.
Solvas Umbra.
Things started off all jumbled.