In the evening, the group packed up their things and walked back to the castle in exhaustion.

  “My stats went up by three in one day!” Nox said.

  Stigma: Stigma of combination

  Strength: 22,8 (+5)

  Stamina: 17,6

  Agility: 19,7

  Mana: 26,6 (+8)

  Equipped items: Red stone sword (+5 strength), Mana ring (+8 mana), Twin ring of healing meditation, Special elemental necklace (-20% mana usage for special elements)

  Skills: Earth spikes, Water release, Water ball, Small wave, Wind strike, Wind launch, Freezing wind, Ice crystal, Ice crystal launch, Ice crystal growth, Icy field, Ice boost, Snowball, Magnetic field, Magma chamber, Spider shot

  His body still felt slightly off, as if his mana hadn’t fully settled back into place.

  “I even got a new skill,” he thought, looking at his Small Wave skill.

  “W- We just trained in the arena meant only for the six lions,” Regea muttered, as if he still couldn’t believe it.

  They marched through the backdoor and back into the dining room.

  “Oh, you’re here! Dinner’s ready,” Lina’s mother, Lana shouted from the kitchen. The kitchen was not that big as Nox had expected and it had direct view to the wooden table.

  “I thought you were the royal family. Why the hell is your mom cooking?” Nox whispered, as she brought plates with fish and meat.

  “We like to act as a normal family,” Lina answered, “That’s why I’m usually not allowed to enter the treasure vault or get a lot of money.”

  “But you spent ten gold coins for me at the auction?”

  “That’s something else,” she replied, quickly turning away.

  “Alright. Enjoy your meal,” King Halos said, his mouth already half full.

  “You said you’re from the Strier family, right, Nox?” the blonde mother asked.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Was your ancestor one of the six great heroes?”

  “Yes, it is said that he saved a god during the great demonic-celestial war, which earned him the status of a noble,” Nox replied.

  “What about your two friends?” she asked.

  “U- Uhm, we are commoners,” the two said, lowering their heads.

  Beatrice’s fingers tightened around her fork, while Regea avoided eye contact altogether.

  The silence stretched long enough to make the thought feel real.

  Suddenly, a bright laugh rang out.

  “Did you really think that would be a problem for us? Sometimes we would like to be a normal family too, after all,” the two parents said, smiling brightly.

  Regea let out a sigh, still trembling slightly.

  “You guys have no idea how stressful it is to be the king,” Halos said, breathing heavily.

  “And now, after that incident with my sons, I don’t know who will take my position as king,” his expression darkened slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

  “You sure you don’t want to take my position, Lina?” he asked nonchalantly.

  “I already told you, Dad,” she replied.

  “She doesn’t seem extremely sad about the death of her brothers anymore,” Nox thought, carefully placing his hand on her leg.

  He could sense her feelings without having to look at her.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “It’s getting late. How about you sleep here?” Lana said, glancing at the tired faces of Beatrice and Regea.

  “You can all sleep in Lina’s room. There should be enough beds for everyone,” she added.

  “Aren’t there any guest rooms?” Nox asked carefully.

  Lana's expression changed instantly to one that Nox knew all too well. She leaned over the table and scrutinized his face from close up.

  “My, my, you sure want a lot,” she whispered.

  “U- Uh...”

  “She’s just teasing you,” Lina said.

  “Everyone would want to sleep in a room with my daughter, after all,” Lana bragged.

  But Nox didn’t back down.

  “It’s not like it’s my first time sleeping with her,” he countered.

  Regea and Beatrice looked at Nox with shocked faces, afraid he might end up in the prison soon.

  “Don’t say that!” Lina shouted, stomping on his foot.

  However, her mother just laughed and nodded with a serious expression.

  “Well, you’re a cutie. If I was younger, I would als-”

  “Mom!” Lina interrupted, staring at her with an embarrassed face.

  “Wow, that’s a new side of her,” Nox thought.

  “Anyway, you guys should go and rest now,” Lana said, realizing she might’ve gone too far.

  The four walked out of the room, leaving the two parents alone.

  “I should test that guy properly before he becomes my successor,” Halos said with a serious face.

  “First you desperately wanted a successor, and now you want to test this poor boy?” Lana scolded, “but he is indeed special. His aura feels different.”

  “He could be of great help if Asura’s attack really were to happen,” King Halos said.

  The next morning, Nox found himself lying beneath Lina on the floor.

  “Did you push me off the bed?” he asked, his eyes still closed.

  His back ached faintly, the cold floor a sharp contrast to the warmth he’d fallen asleep in.

  “Mmm-, poor boy. You wanted to sleep next to me after all,” she whispered.

  “Your mom forced me,” he said, gazing at her.

  “Yeah, yeah, don’t stare at me like that,” Lina replied. She half- heartedly covered her chest with her hands, while laughing in amusement.

  “Wake up, guys!” Nox shouted, making Regea and Beatrice shoot up in shock.

  The group briefly ate breakfast and prepared to leave the castle.

  “Where are your parents?” Beatrice asked.

  “They’re probably working right now, but I bet they want to see you again sometime.”

  They walked through the teleportation gate. The familiar pull of spatial magic twisted Nox’s stomach for a split second before releasing him.

  After a moment, they saw the teleportation hall of the academy. Tons of students were rushing toward the cafeteria with excited faces.

  “What’s going on?” Nox asked.

  “Didn’t you listen? Today’s the beginning of the flag tournament,” Lina replied, dragging him upstairs and toward the cafeteria.

  Just as they entered, the principal started his speech.

  “Hello, students! Today is the start of the flag tournament. It could last for only one day or for more than a month…”

  “I should show you directly though.”

  A teacher stood up and clapped his hands. In an instant, every student was teleported to a large meadow.

  “You will be split into four teams. Every team must put up a flag within a ten-kilometre radius. You can protect that flag by building whatever you wish. If it is destroyed, everyone is automatically eliminated,” Albrecht van Winkelhouse shouted.

  A few students swallowed nervously, looking for other groups to the team up with.

  “Your group will be assigned a team randomly,” the principal added.

  Disappointed murmurs went through the crowd.

  “However, to make it fair, your group will be evaluated independently thanks to your magical armours,” Albrecht said, clapping his hands as a large screen appeared.

  Point distribution:

  Survive: 10 points per hour

  Defeat an enemy: 200 points × year × class

  Protect the flag: 1 point per minute in your base

  Destroy the enemy’s flag: 20,000 points

  Win the match: 10,000 points per group

  “What is that weird formula?” Beatrice asked, looking around in confusion.

  Several older students exchanged knowing looks instead of answering.

  “Take ourselves as an example. If someone defeats me, he will get 200 points times one, times six, because we’re in First year Class A,” Nox replied.

  “That means we’ll get 4’800 points by defeating someone of Class A in the fourth year!” she shouted, eyes gleaming with excitement.

  “It seems everyone understood how it works. As soon as you’re defeated, you will automatically be teleported to the academy. Your armours are now stronger than before because we had a few incidents during the last tournament…”

  “The groups will now be assigned,” Albrecht shouted, clapping his hands once again.

  Nox’s eyes immediately scanned through the teams. He felt a faint tightening in his chest. Random teams meant unpredictable allies.

  Team C:

  -Swifties

  -Nessy

  -Bunnies

  .

  .

  .

  “I think the Swifties were in fourth place in the last ranking,” Lina said.

  “Then let’s follow them!” Beatrice replied. She pointed at five women in their early twenties running away.

  After ten minutes, the group came by a big rock formation. Before it was a small forest, behind it a steep canyon.

  “Huff, how are they so fast?” Nox whined, putting Lina back on her feet.

  “Your stamina is just really bad.”

  People were slowly pouring in, following one another.

  “Hello, guys. Looks like everyone’s here. I am Alma from the Swifties.” A short black-haired woman jumped onto a nearby rock and scanned through the crowd below her.

  A small bead of sweat rolled over her shiny earrings, but her posture remained rigid despite the intense summer heat.

  “We should split ourselves up into two groups. Everyone who wants to raid a base can come to me. The others should go there,” she said, pointing beneath her at a small yellow flag.

  Of the 120 people, almost 100 went to the flag, leaving only Nox’s group and a few others behind.

  The imbalance was obvious and potentially fatal.

  “Makes sense. You get points just by staying in the base,” he thought.

  “Alright, everyone with a constructive stigma, please start building this base,” the woman said, pulling out a construction plan and handing it to the girl next to her.

  “I should help them,” Regea said. A proud grin flitted across his lips as he set about doing what he did best.