Soren Arden POV
"Hello?" Soren called, his voice deliberately low and calm.
He made sure it carried just enough to be heard without sounding forceful.
At the same time, he kept his posture loose, shoulders relaxed, steps measured.
No sudden movements.
No weapons drawn.
He already knew Olivia was nearby; his bracelet confirmed that much.
What it didn't tell him was whether she would trust him.
'Who in their right mind would trust someone during a battle royale?'
The thought flickered through his mind, followed immediately by the uncomfortable truth: he needed her to.
Out of every plan he had come up with over the past week, ambushes, hiding, reckless gambles, this was the only one with a realistic chance of success.
Even the idea he had shared with Felix didn't come close.
Quest rewards didn't care about pride.
So Soren raised both hands slowly, palms open, making his approach obvious.
He even made sure his footsteps were audible against the forest floor, crunching leaves and snapping twigs as he walked.
If she was going to panic, better now than later.
As he closed the distance, a figure emerged between the trees.
A girl only a bit taller than Lilliana, with soft brown hair and matching eyes.
Her build was rounder than most academy students, not unfit, just… gentle.
Someone who looked more at home in a chapel than on a battlefield.
"「Information」" Soren whispered.
.
[Olivia]
Age: 18
Gender: F
Race: Human
.
'Bingo.'
"Hello?" she replied, her tone bright and surprisingly relaxed.
The moment she noticed his raised hands, the tension in her posture melted away far more easily than Soren expected.
If anything, she looked relieved.
That caught him off guard.
Still, he answered smoothly.
"Hi there."
"Who are you?"
'What should I say here?'
If he mentioned his rank, everything would fall apart instantly.
Ninety-sixth place carried a certain… reputation.
"Soren," he said after a beat. "I'm a magician."
Luckily, his name still didn't mean much to most students.
Combined with Olivia's apparent lack of suspicion and her tendency to live in her own world, it worked.
"Oh! Nice to meet you!" she said, smiling warmly. "I'm Olivia, a priestess. So… why are you here, Soren?"
She tilted her head, genuinely curious.
'She's dangerously cute…'
The thought slipped out before he could stop it; he forced it back down and kept his tone polite.
"I'm looking for a teammate. I saw your name in the top ten and remembered you from the mock duels, so I thought I'd ask."
That part was genuine.
What he didn't mention was his realisation from a few minutes ago.
There was a key piece of information Soren had overlooked while trying to find teammates.
He had assumed only model students and combat-focused students cared about midterms, overachievers, nobles who wanted to impress their family, and thrill-seekers.
But there was another group.
Commoners.
More specifically, students without money.
Each semester, students were allocated a certain amount of funds to cover their daily living expenses.
It was barely enough to survive, Soren knew that better than most.
But Stellaris Academy had an invaluable system for students who didn't think that allowance was enough.
The achievement system.
Students who demonstrated noticeable improvement in their studies or achieved remarkable results were rewarded with additional living funds.
For nobles, it was pocket change.
For failing students, it was irrelevant.
That was why Soren had ignored it until now.
But for someone like Olivia?
It was a lifeline.
"A teammate?" she repeated, brow furrowing slightly.
"Yeah. This exam seems like it would be way too difficult alone."
"But why me?"
"Because you seem trustworthy."
It wasn't a lie.
At this moment, Olivia was the most trustworthy person in the entire exam.
Even Felix didn't compare.
Felix understood violence too well.
Olivia… didn't.
She trusted him because he was unarmed and polite.
There were, of course, many downsides to such naïveté, but for Soren, this was perfect.
Someone as naive as this wouldn't dare to backstab or betray, unlike most other students participating in the exam.
"Eh? Really?" she said, rubbing the back of her head shyly.
"Yeah. If you're okay with it, I'd like to team up."
"Hmmm…"
She gave the appearance of someone lost in thought.
However, in reality, there was no other choice.
Alone, separated from Alex, relying on luck and prayer?
This was the safest option she would get.
"…Sure! Why not?" she said brightly. "You seem trustworthy, too!"
The smile she gave him made something twist uncomfortably in Soren's chest.
.
[Rewards: Rare Magic Skill, 150 Points]
.
The guilty feeling vanished instantly.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
"Soren, you're really good at this!"
He gave a small smile in response.
An hour had passed since they had teamed up.
In that time, they had collected ten mana beads, splitting them evenly.
Better yet, they had only encountered one other student, and upon seeing a pair instead of a lone target, he had backed off without a fight.
Soren pulled up his sleeve to reveal his bracelet.
.
– 1st - Amelia Einhardt (25 Points)
– 2nd - Raylin (13 Points)
– 3rd - Renen Karnstein (10 Points)
– 4th - Eiser Undyne (8 Points)
– 5th - Esper Rupindolf (7 Points)
– 6th - Carlen Frenun (7 Points)
– 7th - Edward Undilten (6 Points)
– 8th - Alex (6 Points)
– 9th - Annie (6 Points)
– 10th - Olivia (6 Points)
.
'Safe.'
The plan itself was simple, but it was working perfectly thus far, which was the most crucial part.
Since she had already found a bead before they met, she would always be ahead of Soren by a single point.
Then all he had to do was keep her close.
Let her stay visible on the leaderboard.
Continue splitting beads evenly.
Then, near the end, as long as she stayed in 10th place, overtake her.
It was a flawed plan, far from perfect, but all that mattered was the outcome.
The guilt lingered, faint but persistent, but even if he finished tenth, Olivia would still place eleventh, far better than she ever could as a lone priestess with no offensive power.
"Are you doing okay?" he asked as he looked up at the person who made this entire plan possible.
"Yup!" she replied cheerfully. "I can't fall behind when you're doing this well!"
'She's such a likeable person.'
There was a part of Soren that had been worried after seeing the differences between game and reality time and time again between Lilliana and Felix.
Still, for now, Olivia seemed to be the same as he remembered from the game.
Relief settled in his chest.
He smiled and stood up from his spot.
"Shall we get go—"
BOOM—!
Just as he was about to finish his sentence, an explosion rang out not too far from their current location, cutting him off.
Soren's expression hardened instantly.
He realised he had been forgetting something during his time with Olivia and quickly pulled up his bracelet, swiping through the top 10 students' locations.
'Annie's far, so is Edward… Esper and Raylin are together on the other side of the exam site…'
He kept checking through the students, then he saw it.
"Shit."
A curse slipped out.
"What's wrong, Soren? Did something happen?" Olivia asked, panic creeping into her voice.
He turned his arm to show Olivia what he had discovered, and her face immediately paled.
"T-That… Uhm, what should we do?"
There was no discussion to be had; only one thing could be done in this situation.
"Run."
They turned and fled in the opposite direction of the explosion, sprinting blindly through the forest.
Whatever lay ahead couldn't possibly be worse than what was behind them.
————「❤︎」————