Ch. 182: The Second in Class and the Wizard

After we were done cheering for Iris, Class D had a match with Class C.

Edward: Whos the one that made this crazy schedule!!

Igni and his group hurried to the meeting room, and when they arrived, he saw that Edward was quite fed up with the crammed schedule. The schedule was made by President Miru, so Igni kept quiet on the matter.

Yoori: But all the Class Competition Matches will be over in the morning, Edward. Edward snorted and turned away at Yooris words.

The individual competition is in a tournament knock-out style, but the Class Competition is a round robin.

Thats why for the majority of students, managing both the Individual Tournament schedule and the Class Competition schedule was difficult.

If they made the Individual Competition into a Round Robin, the Competition would never end. Thats why it was set up this way.

Edward: Okay, everyone. Lets begin with our strategy against Class C.

Edward blew out a sigh, and clapping his hands once, he had the whole Class focus their attention on him.

Following Edwards call to the class, his 2 friends brought out a white board and placed it where everyone could see it.

Edward: The next Field is [Ice]. The freezing temperature will suck out your stamina, and because its a Spell created by a Dragon, the ice walls will stand in our way and neutralize all Spells. Does everyone have their winter gear?

Everyone nodded to Edwards question.

A Wizard cannot always fight under the best of conditions. At times, they will have to fight in the middle of winter fighting the freezing cold. Other times, they will have to fight in the middle of summer with boiling temperatures mirroring the scorching desert. The purpose of the Competition was also to train under those conditions.

Edward: I also heard that the Dragon will also intermittently cause blizzards on the field. Everyone, be careful out there.

With the news, half the group turned pale, and the other half remained unchanged.

That is not surprising. Only those who have suffered through an actual blizzard understand how terrifying those conditions are.

The [Demon Kings Realm] is located in the north, so during the winter, the extreme amount of snow and strong winds would make it nearly impossible to survive, so Igni also knew how dangerous blizzards were.

Edward: And in Class C, you have to be most careful with her.

Edward slapped the board and placed a photo onto it.

There, Igni saw a photo of someone he was very familiar with.

Edward: The Second in Class, Elina. Shes dangerous.

Edward innocently dug deep into Elinas wound without knowing it as he placed and moved pieces onto the white board.

Edward: She can do both Spells and sword fighting and is from a famous Noble household. Without a doubt, she has studied tactical warfare, and because of that, they wont even compare to Class B. Thats why were going to change our strategy too.

Igni: Youre going to change it now?

Edward nodded to Ignis question.

Edward: Yeah, if we split the defense evenly like last time, its hard to recover when one point is breached. Thats why were going to protect one flag only. This will keep us from complete defeat. While we hold them off, the Attack Team and Mobile Team will quickly take all their flags.

Igni: I see. Even if they take 2 of our flags, as long as we protect the 3rd, we cant lose, huh.

Igni nodded in approval of Edwards plan.

Edward: Yeah, but the Class Competition only lasts 30 minutes. If both teams protect their flags to the end, the team with the most flags taken will lose. This is a gamble.

As Edward spoke, he moved all the Defense Teams pieces around their flag, and placed Ignis Teams marker on the enemy flag.

Edward: This is a gamble. Either Igni and his team will punch through the enemy defenses and take their flag. Or our defenses will fall, and theyll take all of our flags. It will come down to which one comes first.

Igni: Thats a lot of pressure.

Edward: Yeah, were counting on you.

With that, Edward redistributed the Defense Teams members into one team.

Ignis Mobile team had no changes.

Their plan was to gun for the enemy flags and take it. That was it.

Edward: Igni, we may need you to stop Elina during this match.

Igni: Me? Edward: Yeah, shes Second in Class. That means she went above Fray and took that position. Plus, she was Head of Class when we started the semester. To be frank, no one else in this class except you could go head to head with her.

Igni: ........got it. Then hold her back till I get there.

Edward: Thanks. Im counting on you. As Edward spoke, the bell to announce the end of the preparation period rang.

With that, Igni and his Class proceeded onto Hayems Ice Field.

Alicia: ........its freezing.

Igni: It is cold. Igni and Alicias breaths turned into white fog.

Igni: (As expected, Hayems Spell is amazing.)

With his winter gear on, Igni headed towards his starting position.

And as they arrived, the signal to start the match rang.

Igni: Go!

And the 3 of them shot off with Ignis signal.

They arrived at the first enemy flag, but there was no one defending it.

Thats right. There was no one here.

Igni proceeded carefully looking for traps and pulled out the flag, but nothing happened.

Igni: [Edward!]

Igni realized Elinas plans and shouted into the earpiece.

Edward: [Whats wrong?!]

Igni: [We got the flag, but theres no one here!!]

Edward: [No one?! No one on defense?!]

Igni: [Thats right! I think Elina is doing the same thing as us!]

Edward: [...........!]

Igni could hear Edward swallow hard, and above them, the scoreboard showed that Class D lost a flag. But it was not 1, but 2 flags at the same time.

Edward: [..........no! They got us!]

Edward spat the words out bitterly.

Edward: [Elina betted that we would continue relying heavily on Igni to rush for a fast victory! Attack Team! Can you take the 2nd flag before Elina arrives to our last flag?!]

[No! They set up a lot of traps, and we cant get close!]

Edward: .......Igni! We need you back! We need to protect the last flag!!]

A moment later, Igni heard the sound of someone screaming in the background.

Edward: [.....theyre already here! Its Class C!!]

Igni: [Got it! Im on my way!!]

Igni looked towards the direction of their main flag and gave orders to Alicia and Iris.

Igni: Im going back to hold Elina back. You two regroup with the Attack Team and take their flag.

Alicia: Okay. Iris: Yes, understood, Sir Igni!

Igni turned around.

Initiating his [Equip Flame Engine] {Accel Boot}, he shot off towards their main base.

Igni: ........?! [Equip Flame] {Ignition}!!

But as he arrived, Elina had already drawn her sword and rushed towards the flag.

Igni: [Launch] {Fire}!

Elina: Sh!! (*sfx exhale)

Elina blew out a quick breath and deflected the {Fireball} with her sword.

Elina: .....youre late to the party, Igni. Igni: Its been a while, Elina. Elina readied her sword as she turned towards Igni.

Igni pointed a finger in her direction and began manipulating Magic.

Elina: .........ha. I believe its the first time to face against you in actual battle.

Igni: Yeah, thats true.

Elina: Reminds me of the time when you told me that you need to defeat Magic Swordsmen before they draw their sword. Igni: .......yeah. Elina: This summer, I have become even stronger. Ill show you the fruits of my labor.

And Elina kicked the ground.