When looking at Iris, I couldn’t help but be reminded of that “mom’s friend’s son” who had never taken a single private lesson or cram school class but still aced every mock exam like it was nothing.
It made sense, though—martial arts like Moonlight Divine Technique or Moon Flash Step were not the kind of skills that could be mastered alone without the guidance of a mentor.
Even in the game, these martial arts could only be learned after meeting a hidden master in Mid-Heaven Realm, the dimension of the wuxia world.
But Iris was just reading the mnemonics and rapidly improving her mastery.
The only thing she lacked was magic power, which had been reduced to one-tenth overnight due to the reversal of her Yin-Yang attribute.
Fortunately, an event that could replenish it was approaching.
“A school trip notification, huh? The way it looks, it’s practically an enlistment notice. So, skipping lectures is fine, but the school trip is mandatory?”
A school trip—just hearing the word made my heart race.
In academy settings, it was the highlight event.
But that was only true in romance-comedy stories.
At Pantheon Academy, the school trip was a Battle Royale event planned under the strong belief of Headmaster Dragos that students shouldn’t be raised as delicate greenhouse flowers.
Of course, it wasn’t literally a “Kill each other now!” scenario where only one survivor remained, but it was still bound to be a brutal trial.
Especially for me, a perpetual last-place student with no special artifacts, no strong connections, and no contracted Constellation to back me up.
It was basically a direct path to getting expelled.
Even so, as the saying goes, crisis is an opportunity.
This school trip event had various fortuitous encounters hidden throughout.
And if one managed to win first place in the Battle Royale, Headmaster Dragos would grant the winner a chance to pick one treasure from his personal hoard.
“A chance to get a high-performance artifact that would be impossible to obtain in the early game… But obviously, I’m out of the question, and ironically, so is Iris. She’s ranked first, which actually makes it harder for her to win.”
As I mentioned before, Iris had a lot of fans due to her diligence and kind personality—but she also had plenty of haters.
Normally, because of the professors watching, people couldn’t openly harass her.
Instead, they just talked behind her back about how annoying it was that she was always acting so nice.
But in a Battle Royale setting, they wouldn’t hesitate to gang up on her to improve their own rankings.
And no matter how strong Iris was, with her magic power currently down to one-tenth, it would be hard for her to endure consecutive battles.
That’s why, instead of aiming for first place, I planned to gather spirit herbs scattered throughout the Thousand Trees Forest of the Hermit, the Battle Royale’s stage, and feed them to Iris.
This would not only restore her magic power but also help prevent an early elimination due to other students’ interference.
What about me, you ask?
I’d just dig a hole and camp in it.
What else could I do?
It wasn’t even a matter of getting worn down by multiple battles—just meeting anyone would likely mean instant elimination for me.
So, I resolved to choose a shovel as my starting weapon when the Battle Royale began and headed to the academy’s grand hall, where the school trip briefing was to be held.
“A school trip means we’re going to another dimension, right? Ever since I entered Pantheon Academy, I haven’t gone outside even once, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
“The dorms are equipped like luxury resorts, but staying in the same place all the time is suffocating. I want to see the ocean or the mountains.”
“They say we’ll be riding an Albatross airship. I heard it looks so amazing it’ll leave you speechless!”
Only the top 100 students get resort-tier dorms, you elitist brats.
And for students ranked below 200?
Forget chairs—they’re basically given tree stumps to sit on.
Clicking my tongue at Pantheon Academy’s blatant discrimination based on seating quality, I took a seat on a rotting tree stump.
Pretending to doze off, I activated my Constellation’s Awareness to check on Iris’s condition.
Unlike me, she was sitting on a throne-like chair so lavish that she looked uncomfortable.
“Nameless King, are you nearby? I wanted to consult you about this school trip. Once we arrive at the destination, I won’t be able to have a room to myself like I do now. What should I do? I don’t mind sparring with Professor Kate, but I absolutely don’t want to skip my basic training.”
“Don’t worry. This Pantheon Academy school trip isn’t what you think it is. If you want to do basic training, I won’t stop you, but you won’t exactly have the time to leisurely do squats.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll find out soon. Just pay attention to Headmaster Dracrus’s speech. Oh, and for the first 30 seconds, it’d be a good idea to use magic to protect your ears.”
Iris tilted her head in confusion at the sudden advice to cover her ears.
But that only lasted for a moment—on the stage, a girl who, at face value, looked no older than an elementary school student stepped forward.
However, no one dared to underestimate her.
After all, she had antlers that would put a stag to shame and a massive tail reminiscent of an anaconda.
Not that her physical features even mattered—there were very few Constellations who would dare to disregard Lyn Dracrus, the founding director and headmaster of Pantheon Academy.
“HEY, YOU DAMN JUNIOR DIVISION BRATS!!!!”
A thunderous voice erupted from her small frame.
I heard some of you chumps back there yapping about rivers and oceans, huh?
Getting all excited about your first school trip?
YOU DAMN FOOLS!
Do you really think I’d waste my precious budget just to send you on a fun little vacation?!
HAH!
Right now, I already regret spending a single coin on you bottom-feeding failures who can’t even crawl their way up the rankings or form a Constellation contract!
And you think I’d send you on a leisurely trip?!
Her piercing gaze swept over the hall, and then she sneered.
“You bastards sitting in the back row—you know I’m talking about you, right? Originally, I was gonna make you sit on the bare ground, but the professors convinced me to at least give you tree stumps. So be grateful!”
Despite her petite build, her voice boomed across the hall.
She wasn’t even using a microphone, but she had infused a hint of Dragon Fear into her speech, making it feel like a megaphone was blasting right into the students’ ears.
Some of the lower-ranked students even staggered and collapsed, their insides shaken just from the sheer force of her voice.
I probably would have ended up the same way if I hadn’t switched my consciousness to my Constellation beforehand.
Thankfully, I had anticipated this and avoided the worst.
“Alright, enough chit-chat! Let’s get straight to the point. This school trip’s theme? A Death Game in one of the most notorious haunted locations in the Mid-Heaven Realm. I’m sure you’ve all had that one bastard you’ve really wanted to beat the crap out of, but you held back because of the instructors, right? Well, this is your chance to settle the score—completely legally.”
She grinned wickedly before adding:
“Not only that, but if you perform well, you’ll get the chance to steal some of the precious treasures I’ve gathered over the years—legally, of course. How’s that? Tempting, isn’t it?”
A nervous student raised a shaky hand.
“H-Headmaster Dracrus, d-do we really… have to fight each other to the death? I-I’d rather forfeit if that’s the case…”
“Oh, obviously not! Are you a moron? Use your damn brain and filter what I say!”
That hysterical personality of hers hasn’t changed a bit.
Still, despite her temperament, Lyn Dracrus was, at her core, a dedicated teacher who genuinely cared for her students.
According to the game’s lore, she simply believed in the philosophy of “throwing lion cubs off a cliff to make them stronger.”
That’s why she ran things this way.
After her dramatic speech wrapped up, the instructors entered and began handing out pamphlets with details about the school trip.
Since I was in the back row, I ended up receiving mine first.
And as soon as I saw its contents, my eyes widened in shock.
The location was still The Hermit’s Sunken Forest.
But the rules of the Battle Royale had changed.
Instead of a solo battle, it was now a duo battle.
A massive shift.
Naturally, switching from solo to duo meant that all the exam’s detailed rules had also been tweaked.
My previous plan would have to be completely overhauled.
“Where the hell did the butterfly effect come from?!”
I had made sure to avoid any noticeable actions since the beginning of the semester, specifically to prevent changes in the scenario.
Was it because Iris’s recent drop in grades was more significant than I expected?
It wasn’t impossible.
Iris was a rising star who had caught the attention of not just the instructors but even Headmaster Dracrus.
It wouldn’t be strange if her presence alone influenced academy events.
But I wasn’t the only one thrown into confusion.
Plenty of other students were startled as well.
For many of them, this was their first time dealing with this kind of exam format.
And in a Battle Royale, the importance of a partner couldn’t be overstated.
A frenzied game of silent observation and maneuvering began as students tried to find the best possible duo partner.
And soon enough, a significant number of them swallowed their pride and approached Iris Lunai with partnership offers.
Even though her recent performance had slightly declined, she was still, without question, the undisputed #1 student in the Junior Division.
Who wouldn’t want a free ride on her coattails?