Wiping the sweat off my forehead and brushing back my hair, I complained,
"It’s already been three hours?"
In reality, I still had tons of energy left in my body and could go for another two hours if need be.
Anything to win.
Just as I expected, a firm and confident voice sounded from beside .
"You’re tired, already? Ready to forfeit the bet?"
Scoffing, I quickened my pace, passing by Mira, and said.
"Yeah, right."
As we reached what was probably our final area to search, considering the ti left, I expectantly waited in the forest, keeping my ears open for Mira’s instructions.
But none ca.
Instead, Mira actually entered the forest with and walked around while curiously gazing around.
A mont later, she finally spoke...but not with the words I wanted to hear.
"There’s nothing here...I guess you’ve won the b-"
The Silent Observer was giving up...on observing?
Yeah, right.
Not buying any of Mira’s conceding words, I shrugged my shoulders and interrupted.
"Who cares, there’s thirty minutes left. Where to?"
Surprising , Mira suddenly raised her foot and stamped it down on the forest floor, like a child throwing a tantrum, and said.
"No, no, you’re supposed to celebrate and mock for losing. Then, I can suddenly co out and show you why I’m better."
"..."
At a loss for words, I simply sighed and gestured for her to continue.
Huffing, Mira took a deep breath before adding.
"You know how I said magic particles are attracted to elental particles, right?"
Already knowing her plan, I raised my hands and said.
"I can’t even create one elental particle, let alone the thousands required to attack mana particles."
Mana particles wouldn’t react at all to any amount of elental particles below at least five thousand, so simply staying still and trying to attract them wouldn’t work, even for Glavie Academy juniors.
Shaking her head, Mira sighed and pointed straight ahead, through gaps in the trees, at a familiar massive building.
The coliseum.
And, like a lighthouse in a world of darkness, the shining red phoenix levitated above it, casting warmth upon the entire area.
"Those are elental particles, right?"
Nodding my head, I followed Mira’s gaze, pausing upon seeing the glowing blue fireball before the phoenix’s golden beak.
The number of elental particles needed to create a fireball that size was already massive.
However, since the fireball had been heated enough to turn blue, there had to be over a hundred thousand fire elental particles.
Yet, as I gazed at the massive fireball, there was not a single mana particle in sight.
Sensing my confusion, Mira smiled and said.
"The particles are dormant, so that they don’t hurt anyone. If you went up there and touched that flaming hot fireball, you’d feel absolutely nothing."
Raising her right hand and pointing at the fireball, she continued.
"So, we activate it."
At that mont, I imdiately stepped forward, in front of Mira, blocking her path toward the coliseum.
In no world could we activate those particles.
Because, in the process, sothing else might awaken as well.
Looking at with a confused expression, Mira tilted her head, her deep ocean-blue eyes locked onto my figure, and asked.
"What? Let’s go; don’t you want to win? This is a surefire way...just imagine all the mana particles we’ll get with that fireball."
"The perfect last stunt!"
Pausing and raising my hands, I tried to think of a way to stop Mira from activating the phoenix’s fireball without being suspicious.
Yet, in every scenario I imagined, she would see right through my lies.
Did I have to tell her the truth...?
But, then how would I tell I knew?
Suddenly, before I could even think of what to say, a sowhat sullen and saddened voice sounded from in front of .
"Ah...you don’t want to get caught. I get it...winning this small event isn’t worth risking our position in the Imperial class."
She had answered for .
"Let’s head back...there’s no point if I win this, alone."
As those words left her mouth, her pupils dropped to the bottom of her eyelids, her eyebrows falling as well.
Her eyes no longer contained that excited and glittery sparkle, but now seed to be dull and as deep as a pitch-black abyss.
With every breath she took, a visible smoke of white air appeared before her mouth, partially covering her expression.
However, her forced, tightened lips and slightly flushed-red nose spoke volus.
As a silence descended upon us in the empty forest, I looked up, beyond the trees, at the light-blue sky, which was illuminated by the bubble surrounding the academy.
Even if a phoenix were released here...the principal should be able to subdue it and prevent it from leaving with the mana bubble...right?
And, what are the odds we wake it up, anyway?
In the book, it had only awoken from its slumber after a massive fight between two A rank forces.
Mira and I were just so low-level background characters.
Seeing her turn around and take a step back toward the Imperial dorms, I suddenly smiled and activated Phantom Mirage.
Instantly, five different clones of myself appeared behind , each hiding behind a tree trunk.
As I stepped backward, I instantly commanded one of my clones to take my place while the others simply hid in nearby trees.
Then, without looking back at all, I sprinted as fast as I could toward the massive Coliseum in the distance, curving around trees and jumping over bushes.
Just as Mira’s figure was about to disappear from my sight, I turned around and yelled.
"I told you I’d win the bet."
When she suddenly turned around, her eyebrows raised and her eyes sparkling for a slight mont, I had already reached the path leading up to the Coliseum.
The path was completely empty as everyone believed that the area had already been searched, so I freely sprinted forward.
Behind , the sound of sticks cracking and the dirt falling could be heard as Mira quickly followed behind .
Reaching the massive steps that led upward into the coliseum, I loudly yelled.
"WHAT NOW!?"
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