15~ Crown Team vs Crown Team
“Hey, hey, Filisia big sis, do you feel like something’s been going on in our dorm lately?” Wenfu sat on the bench, listening to the lecture while whispering gossip to Filisia beside her.
“Hmm? Like what?” Filisia feigned ignorance.
“I feel like…without us noticing, something’s changed.” Wenfu glanced at the table behind her, hinting at Filisia.
“There’s a footnote here that the teacher might have missed. You should jot it down…” Tillysha, with one hand twirling her side hair and another lightly tapping the textbook, spoke in a gentle voice that made one’s ears feel ticklish and a bit red.
Aistride had a cool expression, focused entirely on listening to Tillysha’s explanation while diligently taking notes. She appeared impeccable, but upon closer inspection, one could notice a subtle blush creeping onto her ears.
The teacher may be a professional hired by Coleman Academy, but he still doesn’t explain many points thoroughly. Of course, compared to Tillysha, who’s lived for hundreds of years, everyone else falls short. Nevertheless, as a human teacher, this gentleman is already considered top-tier.
With Tillysha sitting next to Aistride, she could easily tutor her, helping her grasp what the teacher didn’t cover in class.
Aistride listened attentively. Whether her mind was entirely on the lesson or not, well, that’s a different story.
Tillysha leaned so close that she was almost resting her head on Aistride’s shoulder, their breathing so near that one could feel the warmth of the other’s breath.
The stunning blonde could smell the alluring scent of her body, a touch of natural mint, as if standing in front of the sacred Holy Tree of the elves, giving a serene sense of comfort.
Gold Elves truly are the ‘roots’ of the Holy Tree. Their great affinity is like invigorating sunlight nourishing tender grass, and under this bright golden sun, it felt like an elevation of the soul.
“Are you sure everything’s alright?” Wenfu asked in a low voice. “Just a few days ago, these two seemed to not get along well at all, one avoiding the other. How did they go from that to getting cosier than ever practically overnight?”
“Pay more attention to studying instead of gossip, Wenfu. Then you wouldn’t struggle so much.”
“Meow…” Chastised by Filisia’s cheerful scolding, Wenfu pouted. She was genuinely curious about what had happened between these two. It seemed like overnight, the other two roommates under the same roof had undergone some kind of change she had no idea about.
What had she missed?
Curiosity killed the cat, and Wenfu couldn’t figure it out.
Filisia, however, didn’t seem particularly curious, as though she knew it all.
In an instant, Wenfu felt a sense of impending doom, like she was the only one out of the loop. Even Yimi, who joined the team later, had become well-informed about the team’s gossip. Only she remained an outsider.
After Yimi joined, the biggest improvement in the team was Wenfu’s academic performance, which shot up dramatically.
Previously, even though the professional tutoring team conducted regular reviews, Wenfu’s improvement was relatively minimal. No matter who taught her, she simply couldn’t grasp the lessons. Tillysha’s method was only applicable to struggling students. Once her grades improved a bit, the method’s effect waned. Now, Wenfu, who ranked in the lower-middle of the entire school, had stopped relying on that hit-and-miss method.
Yimi’s arrival greatly improved Wenfu’s dire academic situation. Perhaps their similar heights gave them a common topic. Every time Yimi explained some profound knowledge points to Wenfu, Wenfu would have an epiphany and call Yimi learned.
Yimi, though not verbally responding, was inwardly quite pleased, evident from her reddening ear tips after receiving praise.
She acted like a delighted child.
Over time, their relationship grew closer. As a prodigy, Yimi’s learning ability and grades didn’t need to be questioned. She was, after all, a Gold Elf that lived for four hundred years. Even if she lost most of her memories, knowing nothing would be absurd.
In the initial monthly test after starting school, Wenfu’s score improved significantly from the previous semester. As the saying goes, the capable have more responsibilities. Therefore, from now on, Yimi would be responsible for Wenfu’s academic issues.
Tillysha didn’t attend Coleman Academy in her previous lifetime, but she had experienced similar academies.
Just as in her previous school where there would be mock exams and monthly tests at the start of the year, Coleman Academy was about to conduct one too. Afterward would come a practical battle to test individual abilities.
However, this year’s practical battle for the first year students would differ from previous years—it would involve pitting first-year students against second-year students.
Of course, the practical battle results wouldn’t affect their scores. According to the school’s explanation, this year’s first-year students were extremely spirited, and Coleman Academy was thriving, making them fully capable of competing with the second-year students. Furthermore, such a competition would help the students recognize the gap between themselves and the upperclassmen.
After the news spread, second-year students all grinned secretly. The chance to teach the juniors a lesson in public while earning a few admirers was a win-win situation.
Meanwhile, the first-year students moaned in unison. Though the scores wouldn’t matter, no one wanted to embarrass themselves publicly, let alone being played around like monkeys in a circus!
It’s common for first-year students to lose to second-year students, but if they were completely wiped out in no time, it would reflect poorly on their reputation.
Hence, all eyes turned to the designated top team of the first year, Brilliant Sun and Moon.
Setting aside the incompetent captain who didn’t seem to contribute much, this team was filled with gods and geniuses.
Would these battle gods be able to contend with the second-year students?
To sum up, after confirming that their practical battle opponents would be the second-year students, all teams intensified their training. Some had even reached the point of neglecting meals and sleep. However, there was one exception—Brilliant Sun and Moon.
Upon learning their opponents would be second-year students, Wenfu showed obvious signs of unease, biting her nails and praying not to face extremely strong seniors.
Filisia, on the other hand, was exhilarated, ate a few more bowls of rice, then disappeared after dinner, undoubtedly to practice more.
The others continued their lives as usual, unchanged.
When Yimi heard the news, she yawned and simply told Wenfu not to panic.
Between prodigies, battles were more intellectual contests rather than physical clashes.
Aistride, upon hearing the news, merely nodded to indicate that she understood.
Tillysha, after some contemplation,
had originally intended to hold back during the practice battle because it wasn’t right as a centuries-old elf to bully rookies. Now, however, she saw no need for such restraint.
After two years of study, they must have learned something, so it was improper to treat them like first-year freshmen anymore.
It’s time to unleash the full force.
The mock exam ended, and the day of the practical battle arrived.
With several practical battles every few days, Coleman Academy proved to have an abundance of martial virtue, explaining why every graduate was extremely capable.
Filisia and Wenfu arrived early at the square, securing the best positions. Yimi sat beside them quietly reading, seemingly completely unaffected by the commotion around the venue.
“Filiesia big sis, why hasn’t Aistride big sis, Tillysha sis, and Mister Dillin arrived yet?”
“They might be busy with something. Don’t worry, just do your best,” Filisia comforted Wenfu, giving her an affectionate head scratch.
“But… But… Wenfu is the first to go today!” This time was different as Wenfu didn’t calm down after being scratched; instead, she became even more agitated.
“Ah? You’re the first? What a coincidence! Mine is the second,” Filisia said while showing her number.
“Eh eh eh? We’re both in the first day group?”
Yimi, who was reading beside them, glanced at the two but said nothing. The number of her hidden badge was the third.
Since their rounds were all in the earlier part, they arrived earlier, though their reasons differed.
Filisia couldn’t contain her excitement and arrived early to soak in the atmosphere; Wenfu came due to her anxiety and restlessness.
“Oh? What a coincidence! I’m the sixth,” a familiar and gentle voice echoed as the golden-haired Elf girl strolled over with light steps and joined the group, idly playing with her number badge.
Wenfu could sense that after Tillysha arrived and took her seat, the number of people looking at their group significantly increased. Many students sitting not far away started whispering about Tillysha.
“Tillysha sis, you’re also competing today?”
“Yes, I think Aistride and Yimi are too,” Tillysha casually observed the calm Yimi.
Soon after, Aistride arrived, displaying her number badge. She was the fifth.
As suspected, it wasn’t a mere coincidence; all five of them were scheduled on the same day, with their matches lined up consecutively.
Clearly, this was intentional, meant to have them lead the way for the first year students.
Filisia could hardly contain her excitement, feeling her inner warrior spirit boiling, eager to rush down and challenge a lucky second-year student for a fight, savoring the joy and satisfaction after defeating a formidable foe.
As the match schedule entered the countdown, the first round was about to commence. Most of the spectators on-site were fellow participants.
“Ah, isn’t it strange? Where is Mister Dillin?” Wenfu suddenly noticed the gap.
As the countdown was already underway and the venue was about to close, where was the team captain, Dillin?
Upon this question, the other four present remained unusually silent, as if it didn’t matter to them whether Dillin came or not, with the exception of Wenfu.
“How dull! I can’t wait for it to be my turn!” Filisia leaned against the railing, rubbing her body. She wore a revealing outfit that exposed her navel and thighs, still retaining the sweat from her early morning practice.
“Tillysha, Yimi wants a juice.”
“On the battlefield? Where am I supposed to get you juice? Be patient, we’ll get it after the match.”
“Last night’s moonlight was quite nice,” Aistride mused, looking up at the sky. “No wonder the weather is good today.”
“Eh? Eh?” Wenfu stared wide-eyed at the group, each talking about different matters while no one was answering her question, wondering if she’d asked another unimportant question.
“Mister Dillin is here,” Tillysha rubbed Wenfu’s head. “You just can’t see him yet; he’ll be on the field soon.”
“Is that so?” Wenfu seemed to comprehend only partially.
“First match, First-year Brilliant Sun and Moon’s Wenfu versus Second-year Twilight Blaze’s Kamo.”
Soon, the first match began. Hearing the referee call out her name, Wenfu’s tail behind her instantly shot up. Nervously, she hugged her wooden stick, took hesitant steps, frequently looking back at her teammates with a forlorn look, resembling a lost puppy abandoned by its team, making the onlookers somewhat amused.
The battle of Shaman-tier prodigies turned out to be quite interesting.
Though similar to other stages in terms of combat abilities, the specifics for this level differed substantially from the others.
As for the opponent Kamo, though Tillysha wasn’t familiar with him, she had heard about the Twilight Blaze team.
The champion of last year’s Crown Cup in the second year.
This battle thus marked a head-to-head competition of the elite teams between the first and second years.
Ace vs. Ace.
True, although first-year teams are also elites, they were definitely at a disadvantage, as they were facing last year’s top-tier competitors.
No problem.
Tillysha gave Wenfu an encouraging look. Lately, she’d been teaching Wenfu a set of self-preservation staff techniques, which might prove useful now.
Once Wenfu entered the arena, the gate closed. She clutched her wooden stick and stood in the corner, looking pitiful.
Previously, while in the arena, she could lean on her teammates. This time, she had no one to rely on except herself.
Her opponent was a tall, lean young man with dark skin who was expertly wielding a grapple hook, which he seemed to be extremely skilled in using.
This was not simply a Shaman prodigy; in the team’s usual combat, he also played the role for harassment.
Tillysha mused.
“Wenfu, go for it! Don’t lose to him!” The bold Filisia stood up to cheer Wenfu on.
“Ah, uh-huh!” Wenfu frantically nodded her little head, but her legs, bound in maid stockings, trembled on the stage.
“hee hee…” Seeing Wenfu’s expression, Kamo couldn’t help but laugh, the sound akin to a villain’s in a cartoon.
This little girl was too inexperienced, absolutely no match for him.
His attitude was, in essence, the attitude the Twilight Blaze team held towards Brilliant Sun and Moon.
They may be elite teams, but they were just inexperienced younglings with slight talent, easy prey who could be easily dealt with by simply flicking his fingers.
He, along with his team’s prodigy, would, as seniors, teach these juniors a lesson. Youth shouldn’t be too arrogant.
