Chapter 110: The Competition Stratagem

Chapter 110

The Competition Stratagem

Today, the entire institute had a full day off. It’s the day when all the students will start their competitions. Since Ellie didn’t have any competitors, she wandered around to watch the various rounds of competitions. The competition that garnered the most attention was the one described in the novel. It involved sending groups of students into a forest filled with beasts and people. They had to survive as the last group standing, with all members intact.

Aman and Koross were together. They often quarreled but knew each other better than anyone else. Originally, Koross and Aman were not friends until Koross got a new task as Ellie’s follower. Aman also shifted his focus to Ellie, giving them more opportunities to work together. Over time, they developed a trust in each other that surpassed anyone else.

Koross had previously spent time following Aman under orders, so he understood Aman’s personality thoroughly. Therefore, when it came to working together, Aman could move forward confidently while Koross would be the perfect follower without needing any instructions.

Those two competing together made Ellie doubt that anyone could defeat them, even though they were only second-year students...

"What is that? It’s hilarious," said a female student next to Ellie, interrupting her observation of Aman’s and Koross’ movements. The student’s finger pointed to a group of girls, one of whom Ellie recognized well.

And yes...that person was "Nara."

After having to withdraw from the potion concocting competition, Nara sought other competitions where she had a higher chance of participating. She even pleaded with some fourth-year seniors to let her join their competition team. After much effort, she was allowed to join, but with a specific condition...As she was to be nothing more than a burden to the group, Nara’s role was to "stay still." No! More precisely, her role was to "shine" during the competition.

Their plan was obvious: use Nara to attract the enemy’s attention and draw them into their trap. Since the rules didn’t prohibit the use of various equipment, the fourth-year seniors who accepted Nara planned a devious strategy to earn points. As long as they could eliminate their competitors, they would receive bonus points. The best way to ensure their rivals were eliminated was by setting traps.

Around Nara now, there were numerous traps, with Nara herself as bait. The fourth-year seniors believed that other competitors would also want to earn these bonus points. Seeing the bait standing right in front of them, even with the traps...they would likely want to try their luck.

Thus, the scene turned into Nara appearing like a clown. Many spectators pointed at the glowing girl who was trying to draw attention from the other competitors. It was a completely dishonorable act.

Wouldn’t Nara feel humiliated down there? But she had no other choice. As long as there was a chance to earn extra points, that was enough. She couldn’t go out and fight like the others. Her light power now only allowed her to summon light elemental power and enlarge it to glow—that was all.

Luckily, Professor Lucien had guided her earlier. Otherwise, Nara wouldn’t have been able to summon her light power at all. The summoning method taught by the professor was special, different from what other professors taught their students. Each person had a unique approach, and Professor Lucien’s method made her magic power deplete slower. It was the most efficient way to use magic power. Unfortunately, Nara had only learned the basics. But with such delicate control of magic, it was no wonder the Church would consider her, even though her magic power was extremely limited!

Nara was still at the early stage of Level 2. No matter how hard she trained, she couldn’t advance any further. It was her luck to manage to reach Level 2, making her progress still ahead of other first-year students. Given this speed, it was not surprising that everyone believed she was a scholarship student, just like Ellie.

Most students reach Level 3 by the time they graduate, so Nara had an advantage in this regard, allowing her to glow longer than other first-year students who were only at Level 1.

Ellie watched the heroine, once praised, now struggling to make a living, and felt quite sorry for her. If Nara were still Professor Lucien’s disciple, she would have quickly reached Level 3 upon entering her second year. It was truly a pity that her future was ruined by her own actions.

"That first-year student is quite daring. If it were me...I definitely wouldn’t do anything that strange."

"How can she not do it? I heard she still needs almost 5,000 points for her first year."

"Really? There’s less than 3 months left. Why is she collecting points so slowly? If she worked hard on missions, she should have almost enough points by now, right?"

"Well...what can she do? No one wants to accept her into a mission group. They say her only power is glowing, just like this. Many groups accepted her thinking she had learned healing. Wasn’t she initially taken as a disciple by Professor Lucien? She should have learned something from him. His healing powers are even better than those of the priests."

"Sigh, it’s her own fault. If she hadn’t been so greedy and tried to steal from her fellow villagers, she wouldn’t be in this mess."

"By fellow villagers, do you mean Lady Ellie?"

"Yes, that’s the one. She was once a scholarship student, but in the end, she used her charms to make Lord Aman fall for her, earning herself the future title of lady of the house."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! What’s with these scholarship students? Our year has one too. Even though he’s a man, he’s probably just as shameless. I think I’ll have some fun with him today."

"Don’t speak too loudly. Who knows if Lady Ellie might be around here?"

"Hmph, how could she be around here? Isn’t she busy learning from Professor Medik without any free time? They say she’s in the Botanical Building day and night, being groomed to become the best apothecary."

"What can she do? To be worthy of Lord Aman, she has to make herself valuable."

"Honestly, I’m quite surprised. That girl looks so plain, almost ugly. Why does Lord Aman protect her so excessively?"

"Well...the poor probably have their own tricks. How could we, from high-ranking families, know their secrets? Otherwise, how would so many men from noble families end up with mistresses?"

"That’s true, haha," the joyful laughter echoed nearby. Ellie, sitting right in front of them in a cloak, went unnoticed by the women. If they knew it was her sitting there, who knew if they would still be so bold with their words.

She looked up to watch the competition. For the spectators, the institute provided equipment to view the competition up close if desired, or from a distance. It was similar to a smartphone screen but worn like glasses. If one looked in any direction, the scene would turn to follow that direction, allowing viewers to see the battle as if they were right there on the field.

As for the bold-talking women behind her, Ellie ignored them. There were many people here, and it seemed the whole institute treated this as a joke. So, she turned her attention back to the fight on the field.

Ellie was no longer interested in Nara’s ridiculous display. Instead, she focused on the sharp combat skills of Aman and Koross. The young men moved exceptionally well, especially with their wind and fire powers complementing each other. In just an instant, they had taken down the beast. Such precise fighting made Ellie dream of achieving the same.

The only regret she had was her inability to find the script needed to link to her spirit. Otherwise, by now, she would have entered her spirit dimension and formed a bond with a powerful plant.

But it wasn’t all that bad. Having only the mushroom in her bond had significantly accelerated its development. Ellie wasn’t very familiar with the progress of others for comparison, but judging by her Professor Medik, the highest level his bonded plants reached was only Level 4. Her Purple Mushroom was already at Level 3—just one more step to match Professor Medik’s plants. This rate of growth...if he knew, he might be shocked to death.

Professor Medik had 2 or 3 bonded plants, but the one he used most frequently was his first bonded plant, which was at Level 4. It was often summoned and frequently nourished by his energy.

He had taught her that bonded plants grow by absorbing their owner’s magic power. Naturally, her Purple Mushroom was the same. However, its power could also increase rapidly by absorbing other life forces, causing it to boost its power exponentially.

Even though all this sounded like self-consolation, Ellie had already planned that once she reached the second year, she would directly request a magic scroll. If she didn’t form another bond by then, it might not keep up with her Purple Mushroom’s power...

Boom!!

While Ellie’s thoughts wandered, there was suddenly an explosion in the middle of the field. People in the arena didn’t know what had happened, but those watching the competition saw something terrifying!

"W-What is that!?"

"A Level 1 Star Beast! How are they in the competition?"

"Usually, the institute doesn’t include beasts of that level, right? This is too dangerous. Something must be wrong with this competition."

"They’ve already reported it to the institute. They must be hurrying to investigate. However, fixing the competition stratagem isn’t something that can be done easily."

"Professor Nico isn’t at the institute either! If he’s not here, then how will they fix the stratagem!?"

Many students felt extremely fearful about the situation, as those inside the competition had no idea what level of the beast they were facing. They continued to compete, with no cooperation whatsoever. Their sole focus was on defeating others and eliminating them from the competition. As time passed, the tension only increased. Could they really afford to care about the safety of other groups?

With such fierce competition, even if those outside wanted to warn them or signal them to be cautious, it was impossible. Not only did the participants inside not want to listen, but they couldn’t hear anything from the outside either!

To prevent cheating, the students inside couldn’t see any movements from the outside. They were entirely focused on the battle. This setup was beneficial under normal circumstances. However, now the most skilled professor in stratagem control was not at the institute due to an urgent assignment. He wouldn’t be returning anytime soon. As a result, the activated stratagem was like a large room that wouldn’t stop until a winner emerged according to its rules.

"Scream!! Run. Run quickly! Do you think hiding like that will fool a Level 1 Star Beast? They’re Level 1 Star Beast!"

A student screamed out, clearly recognizing the student hiding near the Level 1 beast. The girl tried to shout a warning, but it was too late.

Typically, Level 0 beasts don’t have enough intelligence to search through bushes for prey, but that’s not the case with Level 1 Star Beasts. Once they catch a scent...their hunting instincts kick in immediately.

Boom!!

The massive claws of a beast, resembling a bear, slammed into the ground, causing a tremor and kicking up a cloud of dust. The beast’s roar echoed as a wounded student lay nearby. Although he tried to dodge the claws, the impact left him winded and unable to get up.

"C-Can the beasts chosen by the institute really attack this fiercely?"

The students inside were slightly confused, but they still hadn’t realized something was wrong. The professors outside were also trying to help, but this stratagem was one of the hardest to break. This meant the students’ safety was critically compromised!