Editor : Amethyst00



Class 5 and Class 1 split into two sides and sat in circles around their respective professors.

“Any students volunteering to play?”

“I recommend Leo and Chelsea first!”

When Carl raised his hand and spoke, the students all nodded in agreement.

Leo was not only the year’s representative but had also left a strong impression during the temporary class period, firmly establishing himself in the students’ minds as a capable individual.

Chelsea, needless to say, was from a prestigious hero family and had also earned the highest entrance exam score in Class 5.

“Leo Plov, Chelsea Lewellin. Any objections?”

“None.”

“None from me either.”

“Good. Carl Thomas, since you suggested them, you’re in too.”

“Huh? M-me? Wouldn’t someone else be better—”

“No veto allowed.”

“Yessir!”

Carl was forced to go along, tears in his eyes.

“Next?”

“I’ll go!”

“Me too!”

Eliana and Tade raised their hands eagerly.

“Eliana Raden, Tade Markov. That leaves four spots.”

“I’ll do it too.”

“Nella Caven.”

Nella announced her participation in a languid voice, and the male students immediately scrambled to volunteer as well.

The fact that one of the class’s most beautiful girls was entering the match fired them up.

And so, eight players stepped forward.

“Looks like Class 5 has chosen their members as well. Then—!”

Sedgen spread his arms wide.

Vwooom—!

Light flared on the training ground, drawing rectangular lines.

At the corners of the rectangle lines, goalposts formed out of lines of mana.

Both teams gathered at the center.

“Match time: 20 minutes. Winning is important, but fair play is more important. I’ll allow a brief strategy meeting.”

Professor Sedgen, after giving them time, went to the referee’s stand.

“You really came out without fear?”

“We’ll smash you.”

Celia and Chloe glared at Carl with wicked smiles.

Terrified, Carl hid behind Chelsea.

After the introductions, both teams gathered at the center of their sides.

By Chelsea’s recommendation, Leo was chosen as team captain.

“Forget about top scorers, but look at the other Class 1 kids.”

“They’re all heirs of noble families.”

“They’re serious about winning.”

“Class 1 had the highest average entrance score, didn’t they?”

While everyone planned nervously, Leo, wearing a glowing blue vest, asked,

“Isn’t Class 1, mostly knight automatically at an advantage since this is about physical movement?”

“What are you talking about, Leo? Bastera isn’t just about knights. Magic and summoning are super important too!”

Tade answered.

“Why?”

“Why? Obviously—”

Tade trailed off, then suddenly asked,

“Leo, have you ever played Bastera before?”

“Nope.”

“You’re from the Delad Kingdom, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, right. Delad’s on the frontier, so of course you wouldn’t know.”

Tade covered his face.

“Bastera is simple: within the time limit, the team that scores the most goals wins. But—”

“But?”

“The strategy meeting is over. Captains, step forward! We’ll decide who serves first.”

Leo stepped out as his team’s representative.

Class 1’s representative was Duran.

Sedgen held up a coin and asked Leo,

“Head or tail?”

“Head.”

When Sedgen glanced at Duran, he simply nodded indifferently.

Ting—!

The coin flipped into the air and landed on the back of Sedgen’s hand.

“Tail. Class 1 goes first.”

Taking the transparent ball, Duran flashed a savage grin.

“This time, I’ll crush you for sure.”

Leo just shrugged off Duran’s provocation.

Scowling, Duran returned to his team’s side and handed the ball to Celia.

“Finish explaining the rest.”

At Leo’s words, Tade shouted with a tense expression,

“No time to explain! You’ll experience for yourself! It’s coming!”

“Huh?”

Fwoooosh—!

The transparent ball glowed red, suddenly engulfed in flames.

“Here I go!”

Celia hurled the ball with all her might.

Flash—!

The ball streaked forward in a straight line at tremendous speed, aimed right at Leo.

He barely dodged.

Thud—!

“Gahhh!?”

A boy behind Leo was struck in the ribs and sent flying with a scream.

Thump! Roll, roll, roll—!

Celia brushed her disheveled hair back and high-fived her teammates.

Watching their classmate twitch on the ground in pain, Leo asked grimly,

“…He won’t die, right?”

“They’re protected by gear, but… it hurts like hell.”

Carl answered with a shaky voice.

Tade gulped hard.

“This is Bastera! If you hit someone with the ball, possession switches! But if they’re down and can’t move, they’re out! If someone really strong throws, it could even kill—this is a dangerous sport!”

Now Leo understood why the students had been so tense.

Scoring goals was one path to victory, but knocking out the entire opposing team was another.

bl

“Magnificent! Powerful! Elegant! As expected of a direct descendant of the Zerdinger lineage!”

Sedgen applauded gleefully.

“Harrid! Your class can never beat mine!”

“The match has barely begun.”

“Hahaha! True! But with Celia on our side, we have an absolute advantage! No one knows better than you how specialized the Zerdinger family is in Bastera!”

“……”

At Sedgen’s words, a Class 1 student raised a hand.

“Why is the Zerdinger family so advantageous in Bastera?”

“Excellent question! The most efficient attribute in Bastera is fire which is destructive in nature! And the Zerdinger family’s flames are said to be the strongest among humans!”

He proudly pointed toward Harrid.

“At Lumene Academy, one of the legendary alumni, our very first student and the Empress of Bastera herself, was from the Zerdinger family!”

Hearing this, Sena laughed.

“Our side has a student who handles flame aura too.”

Harrid looked at Leo, who was holding the ball.

Flames burst out from the ball in Leo’s hands.

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‘So this ball’s infused with non-attributes mana?’

Analyzing its properties, Leo lightly rolled the flame-wreathed ball across his palm.

Class 1 students stared at him nervously.

“Carl.”

“Yeah?”

“Are we allowed to attack or restrain directly player with powers?”

“Nope. You can mark to block movement, but the only way to attack is with the ball.”

‘So the ball’s the sole offensive weapon. Whoever controls it has the advantage.’

“I see.”

While Leo was grasping the rules, Nella approached the boy who had fallen first and activated her aura.

A soft white light burst forth, easing the boy’s pain.

‘Oh? Healing attribute aura? That’s rare.’

Aura came in many forms. Most enhanced offensive power, but rare types like Nella’s could heal wounds.

“Leo-oppa, holding the ball too long is a foul. Possession will switch.”

“Got it. One more thing. I can kick the ball instead of throwing, right?”

“You can, but the accuracy drops.”

“That’s fine.”

Leo tossed the ball up and swung his foot.

Boom—!

Aura exploded from his toes, the recoil force slamming into the ball.

With the burst of aura power combined with his monstrous physical strength, the ball shot faster than Celia’s throw, streaking toward Class 1’s goal.

“Block it!”

Celia shouted urgently.

Crackle, crackle—!

Chloe’s magic flared, raising a massive wall of ice in front of the goal.

Boom—! Crack—!

The ball slammed deep into the ice wall.

“As long as I’m here, you’ll never—”

“Score? You sure?”

Leo had dashed into Class 1’s side, smiling at Chloe as he charged the goal.

The Class 1 students panicked.

“Wh-what the—!”

Leo leapt at the ice wall.

“Ah!”

Crash—!

He kicked the ball embedded in the ice wall.

Crack—! Shatter—!

The wall broke apart, and the ball flew into Class 1’s goal.

Bweeep—!

“Class 5… scores first.”

Sedgen blew the whistle, his voice seething with frustration.

“As expected of the year’s class representative!”

“His reflexes are insane!”

Class 5 erupted in cheers.

‘As expected, not easy.’

‘Ugh, we underestimated him.’s

‘That bastard!’

Celia, Chloe, and Duran scowled at Leo.

“Nice! Scoring first is huge!”

Carl raised his thumb.

“Alright! Let’s block Class 1’s next attack and regain possession!”

Eliana, ever the mood-maker, shouted with her fist raised.

“Yeah!”

Class 5’s morale soared.

“It looked reckless, but he pulled off a brilliant score!”

Sena exclaimed in admiration.

Harrid shook his head.

“No. That was a plan.”

“Huh?”

‘According to Ain, even on the ship during the entrance ceremony, he naturally took on a leader’s role. That means he had already grasped Chloe Müeller’s specialty.’

Chloe’s specialty was ice magic, and among first-years, she was unmatched in rapid casting.

In other words, she was Class 1’s most specialized goal defender.

Leo had anticipated this and exploited the gap.

‘He's far too sharp for his age.’

Harrid stroked his chin, eyes gleaming.

Meanwhile, Class 1 launched their counterattack.

Duran charged into Class 5’s territory with the ball.

Crackle—!

Golden sparks of aura danced across his body.

Swoosh—!

As he sprinted, Chelsea instantly pursued him.

Lightning and wind, both attributes specialized in speed.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“Tch!”

Hounded relentlessly, Duran clicked his tongue and passed the ball back to Celia.

“Ah!”

Chelsea was caught off guard.

‘What a jerk, but damn his passes are accurate.’

Celia, receiving the ball, charged for Class 5’s goal without hesitation.

Students blocked her path, but she evaded them easily.

Leo appeared before her.

“Hello.”

“Knew you’d come.”

Celia smiled brightly.

“But what now? He may be a pain in the ass…”

Crackle—!

“But he’s fast.”

“Can’t believe someone who only has brute firepower is saying that. Celia Zerdinger?”

Unnoticed, Duran had shaken off Chelsea and leapt above Celia.

No matter how speed-focused she was, Chelsea couldn’t outrun Duran in pure sprinting.

Celia and Duran scowled at each other.

Naturally, they despised one another.

But they wouldn’t ruin their chances of winning over personal feelings.

Whoosh—!

Celia passed the ball to Duran.

Leo didn’t even attempt an interception.

‘What? Did he give up?’

Puzzled at the lack of a block, Celia glanced at Leo.

The moment she saw his face, she knew something was wrong.

“Duran, wait—”

But before her words reached him, Duran had already thrown the ball.

Crackle!

“This ties it up!”