Chapter 56 – The Golden Sun Appears
The dead of winter arrived quietly, and while the students at Coleman Academy had a brief reprieve from the tension of studying and competing, it was nothing more than a fleeting calm. As the holiday approached, the streets of Coleman City seemed conspicuously lacking in students from the academy.
Upperclassmen were busying themselves preparing for exams, striving to secure a favorable ranking in the next year’s arena battles, even though Coleman Academy doesn’t assign homework during breaks. For them, vacation simply means more work.
While the older students were frantic, the younger ones weren’t faring much better, especially those freshmen not yet formally recognized. They were grinding harder and more fiercely than even the upperclassmen. The training grounds were packed with new students, an unprecedented sight.
There was a reason for this: tomorrow would decide whether these freshmen would become shining stars, or mere onlookers forever overshadowed by others.
The Crown Cup is a team-based competition, where various teams are placed in the Secret Realm to battle it out until the strongest remains. Essentially, every member’s success or failure will reflect directly on the entire team’s performance.
After reviewing the competition rules, Tillysha couldn’t help but think that she was about to enter a game of “Battle Royale.”
“Isn’t this setup kind of… watered down?” she wondered aloud. “Even in Battle Royale, some players just ‘camp’ to survive.”
But once she finished reading all the rules of the Crown Cup, Tillysha realized that camping won’t get anyone very far in this competition.
When teams enter the Secret Realm, each participant has a numbered tag. If someone suffers a fatal injury, their tag will shatter, nullifying that one deadly blow and teleporting them out of the realm, marking them as eliminated.
Here’s the kicker – all participant numbers are transparent and openly visible. In fact, a team can track another team once during the competition, revealing all the location of their opponents’ tags on their own. However, the tracked team’s locations will also show up on the trackers’ tags.
“Deliberately designed to encourage feuds,” Tillysha thought darkly, “If you’ve got a grudge, now’s the time to settle it.”
Moreover, the academy was clearly aware of camping tactics and had preemptively countered it. The elimination matches would be scored on a points system where remaining alive counted for very little. If you left the Secret Realm without taking out at least one other team, you’d be politely shown the door.
So, no one should assume only the bottom ten performers will be eliminated. Those who don’t contribute enough kills will be forced to leave as well.
Coleman Academy has no place for slackers.
That morning, Dillin broke his routine by sleeping in. Lazily climbing out of bed, he grabbed a couple of slices of bread from the cafeteria and ambled past a crowded, noisy training ground.
The freshmen were making this their last practice before the Crown Cup. They were trying to develop the teamwork necessary for tomorrow’s competition, so the training grounds were packed. Spots had to be lined up for.
Dillin, knowing what he wanted and what he needed, casually yawned as he strolled by.
“Grabbing spots in the training ground? Not necessary.”
He had no use for it.
His team consisted of only him. What would he do with a booked spot in the training ground? Train by himself? Why bother when he could just take a nap and recharge?
“Hey there, Dillin,” a familiar, grating voice called after him. “Relaxed as ever, huh? No stress, no worries. Typical.”
Dillin didn’t need to turn around to know the voice belonged to the guy he least wanted to see today.
“Didn’t I tell you, seeing your face ruins my day,” Dillin replied.
“What was that now?” Fland asked with a smirk.
“So, no thanks to you.”
Fland stood there for a moment, trying to process the insult, before laughing in disbelief. “Fine, act however you want. After all, in three days, I’ll never have to deal with you again.”
Fland walked off with a smug expression, congratulating himself on his cleverness. In his mind, Dillin was too lazy to fight for training spots because he knew he was going to get expelled anyway.
Not like it would’ve mattered much anyway. Except for the incompetent Wild Female, Fland knew Dillin didn’t have any other teammates.
…
Time flies; one moment the sun was up, the next it was pitch black.
The blonde-haired girl sitting cross-legged on the bed opened her eyes. She glanced at her personal stats.
The transformation into a Wild Female was coming into its final hours.
It was ten thirty at night, and despite skipping dinner, the girl named Gold-haired Girl felt no hunger. Her body was electric with energy, and a mix of anticipation and anxiety churned within her.
She took a deep breath.
The timer read: 90 minutes.
Perfectly on schedule, just as the clock struck midnight.
“Gold-haired Girl,” she whispered to herself, stroking the scar on her face. “Please, grant me a miracle.”
As the minutes seemed to turn into hours, the anxiety and excitement only grew. With each passing second, she could sense herself changing, her body ascending into something unfamiliar. This was both frightening and strangely hopeful.
Her eyes closed as beads of sweat dampened her radiant golden hair.
…
“Tell me, Your Highness, are you confident about tomorrow’s Crown Cup?” one of the elves chattered animatedly in the presence of Their Royal Highness Aistride.
“To be honest, the Crown Cup already seems to crown you, Your Highness,” chimed another.
Aistride sipped her tea in serene silence, but she too felt the strange energy surrounding them. She looked out the window, transfixed, to see the silver moon shining in the heavens. Suddenly, it seemed to part, revealing a brilliant golden sun blazing behind it. Its light far outshone the moon, putting it in the shadows.
“Could it be…”
This astronomical miracle happened right above Coleman Academy, stunning those lucky enough to catch a glimpse. However, as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, leaving some to question if it was merely a trick of the eye.
While most students simply dismissed this strange phenomenon as an anomaly, a select few knew the truth.
“Golden Sun… could it be?” muttered the silver-haired youth leaning on a cane inside the silver temple at the center of Coleman Academy. His expression darkened as he sensed the impending storm.
