70~ An Excellent Matchmaking Mechanism
“Hey, Prince Divine, shouldn’t the Crown Gem刷新location be at the northern valley? Are you sure we shouldn’t try our luck?”
“Try our luck? We’d need more than luck to grab the Crown Gem, wouldn’t we?” The burly Divine Prince, walking ahead with his sword and shield, retracted his gaze from his scouting. “If we all know the Crown Gem is at the northern valley, do you think the other teams are oblivious?”
“Right now, the northern valley is probably a bloodbath. With our team’s current power level, diving in without any intel is a surefire way to get blindsided and end up clueless on how we even died.”
“Exactly! Word on the street is that this year’s Crown Gem is a Zylith stone found in the deep mountain caves. Powerhouses like Princess Filisia and Aistride will surely have their eyes on it. Marching toward that right now would be pure s*icide,” chimed in the mage.
“Look, why don’t we get smart about this one? Kings and commoners have their own ways to live; there’s no need to push for supremacy. Staying alive is the priority here. We haven’t even secured the bare minimum yet. Let’s find some weaker teams and pad our k*ll count, lest we end up getting eliminated for nothing.”
“I feel like we should give it a shot. What if—just what if—we actually get the opportunity?”
The team bickered on with their half-hearted discussions, completely unaware that every word they spoke was relayed perfectly into Tillysha’s ears, who was crouched in the bushes nearby, listening intently.
Tillysha had read about the Crown Gem in the competition’s rulebook before the event. Every Crown Cup had a rule: select a treasure from the Academy’s vault as a prize, and this year the students had the option to take it.
Of course, taking it meant you’d need the skill to protect it—or else the Crown Gem would end up in someone else’s hands before the competition ends. Usually, the Crown Gem belonged to the first place winner, adding prestige to the new Crown Champion, but there was no obligation to take it.
However, Coleman Academy only named one ‘Coleman Champion’ each year; to earn this title, capturing the Crown Gem and winning the Crown Cup were both non-negotiable requirements.
Being named the ‘Coleman Champion’ wasn’t just a great honor—it came with various privileges within the academy, such as a personal residence called the ‘Champion Manor,’ a permanent permit to the Coleman Grand Library, and having one’s name inscribed in Coleman Academy’s history books.
It also indirectly granted everything from fame, access to educational resources, to priority in mating choices—things that young students drooled over.
Thus, during the Crown Cup, there was no way students would overlook the Crown Gem as the ultimate prize. Everyone aimed for it.
The Crown Gem’s location didn’t need to be specially sought after—it would automatically appear on the token.
Tillysha knelt down momentarily to check her token, noticing a small purple dot far north from the current blue marker.
This must be where the Crown Gem is.
She returned the token to her waist and quietly drew her bow in the jungle. A golden light converged at her bowstring, forming an arrow pointed towards a few oblivious people strolling along the jungle path.
“Hey, isn’t marching into the woods like this a bit risky? What if there are ambushes?”
“It’s been said already, the Prince Divine used [Wide-Area Perception] to scan. There’d be signs if anyone was nearby,” the mage rolled his eyes at the twitchy alchemist. “Are you questioning our Prince Divine?”
“No, just… it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious. Maybe we could take smaller steps into the jungle.”
“Don’t worry. If there’s a fight, it’ll be us upfront. We’ll follow the drills just like we practiced—Prince Divine guards the front, me and our Divine Princess handle the firepower, and you just react accordingly from behind,” the mage shrugged.
The alchemist, with a few alchemical potions tied to his belt, felt he had little choice. Everyone knew alchemists contributed the least in a team fight, and since his teammates weren’t saying anything, he didn’t dare open his mouth either.
“As long as our Divine Princess is still in the game, we can definitely knock off a few opponents,” the mage smiled at the silent Divine Princess standing beside him.
“But we should still be vigilant. If our Divine Princess were to get taken out first…”
“Would you stop being such a downer? It’s impossible! With Prince Divine and I here, how could the enemies take her out without us noticing…?”
“But…”
The alchemist hesitated, staring wide-eyed behind the mage’s shoulder, his face ashen, too terrified to close his mouth.
“What now?” The mage felt a sudden sense of dread, looking back behind him.
The heavy artillery Divine Princess who had just been walking calmly behind him froze, her eyes wide with shock, finally realizing the arrow piercing her neck.
Apparently, having overestimated the Prince Divine’s scan, she had neglected to activate her [Divine Princess Domain.]
‘Team 9’s heavy artillery Divine Princess Rick has been eliminated by Team 30’s ranger-class Divine Princess Tillysha.’
“d*mn it!” The Prince Divine cursed, realizing what had happened, and drew his sword while glancing around.
“An enemy?!” The alchemist quickly searched for cover. The stealthy bow-wielding enemy had taken out their team’s main firepower so silently, it terrified the remaining trio.
“Their ranger is hiding in the woods! Stay behind me!” The Prince Divine raised his shield to protect the mage and alchemist, using [Divine Analysis Technique] all the while to search for their opponent in the jungle. But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find any trace.
How could this be? The enemy should be nearby now—why wasn’t the [Divine Analysis Technique] detecting anything?
At this point, there was no time to question why the [Divine Analysis Technique] and [Wide-Area Perception] techniques had failed. The Prince Divine immediately began guiding the last two members toward the jungle’s edge to avoid danger.
Unbeknownst to them, however, Tillysha had already moved after firing her first arrow, now hidden within the jungle nearby.
Fighting elves in their natural habitat was considered one of the worst mistakes anyone could make—it was akin to battling a shark in the sea.
“Our enemies don’t intend to chase us further. You two retreat!” Preserving their strength was important. As the team’s only frontline soldier, the Prince Divine stood guard to cover their escape.
Confused by the silence, he turned back only to freeze with icy dread.
His remaining two teammates lay on the grass behind him, arrows piercing where their necks were still quivering faintly with residual magical energy.
The cold announcement declared their elimination.
His heart sank like lead. Stealthy, precise, merciless—eliminating an entire team in the blink of an eye.
What kind of excellent matchmaking mechanism is this?! Are these even opponents on the same level as them?!
The Prince Divine wanted to curse out loud.
Impossible. There’s only two people capable of showing such skill—Princess Filisia and Aistride. But they should be at the northern valley trying to capture the stone. Why would they be here?
—
The jungle remained silent, broken only by the echoing sounds of rustling leaves.
