[380] Vol. 16 - The Meaning of Survival (2)
"Then of course I'm Shirone."
Amy moved to the red team, high-fiving Shirone, Iruki, and Nade in turn before taking her place.
"Tch, he's itching to show off. This is exactly why freshmen can't be trusted."
Screamer didn't like that Shirone had been the first to make a move.
Even students who'd been in the graduating class for two or three years were being careful about picking teams. For Shirone to snatch up the team flag so boldly was a disregard for seniority and a flaunting of himself.
"At least that one's not so bad."
Screamer glanced back at Dante.
Seeing he was still hesitating confirmed that first-place people had their own mutual understanding. It didn't change the fact Screamer disliked him, but letting emotion influence judgment was a fast route to elimination.
"Hey, stick with me on Fermi's side. I did it last year—I know. Fermi's an auto-win. Sure, I'm not weak either."
If he could pull Dante in, Shirone would be isolated. Then he could recruit even more teammates.
"Hmm."
Dante didn't even pretend to listen to Screamer.
Lost in thought, he gathered his companions.
"Let's go. I've decided."
Screamer's face twisted.
Even Dante, said to be the kingdom's top talent, was joining the team Shirone had started.
"What the hell is going on? They're not kids…"
By the time Dante was followed across the line by Canis and Arin, Screamer's incredulity had curdled into irritation.
"Are you out of your mind? Do you even know what survival is? If you'd just looked at last year's results—"
In last year's survival evaluation, the red team-to-blue team ratio had been a staggering 22 to 8.
The majority had been right.
Of course Fermi had been in the twenty-two, enduring to the final five stages.
"Annoying. I can't believe we have to do this again."
Screamer ground his teeth.
What they were about to experience in the virtual zone were extremes that wouldn't even appear in nightmares. Difficulty was prepared up to level seven, but it wouldn't come to that for most of them.
He'd heard only one person in the entire history of the Alpheas School of Magic had passed survival level seven—and even that was unverified.
"Fine, be my next score sacrifice. Let's go, Pony."
Screamer spun and headed for the blue team. Pony, who had been watching Shirone for a moment, followed him.
As more students made their choices, Boil thought long and hard before turning to Pandora.
"I'm going with the blue team. You hurry up and pick too. I don't want people saying you only joined me later."
Pandora cocked her head.
"Blue? You got a reason to be confident?"
"Sort of. But I won't tell you. I don't want to influence your decision."
"Go on, tell me. I won't be swayed."
Only then did Boil look around and lean close to Pandora's ear to whisper.
"As you know, survival is about endurance—not technique. It's about patience."
"And?"
"I heard only one person in school history completed the whole survival trial. We probably won't last to the end either. So let someone specialized in this take care of it, and we should worry about records and appearances."
"Hmm..."
"You know Fermi was the final survivor four years in a row."
"I get your point. But Shirone isn't exactly weak in that regard. He's an Unlocker. His mental resilience is probably high—he did well in perception and decision-making."
Boil sighed.
Why set the survival evaluation so high? If even one person could be certain to get through level seven, the whole contest would collapse. Everyone would flock to that person and team balance would become 30 to 0.
So whether Shirone or Fermi failed was almost irrelevant. Given that, Fermi—who'd run the survival tests for over four years—was clearly the safer bet.
Boil's observation that most Class Two students were heading to the blue team without much doubt only reinforced his conclusion.
"Anyway, the call is yours. I'm going with Fermi."
Boil didn't reveal the rest of his reasoning. It was his judgment. They shared information from years of study, but the moment you try to convince someone, the alliance begins to crack.
Pandora watched Boil join the blue team. She hesitated, but in the end she chose Shirone—the one she'd seen perform.
That was probably why most of Class Three ended up on the red team too—they'd reached a similar conclusion.
"Well, it's one or the other anyway."
Pandora followed Boil to the blue team.
Graduating students had no mercy, but that also made them appreciate allies more.
"If it's fifty percent, then if we die, we die together."
By the time Pandora chose the blue team, the teams were taking shape.
Students who hadn't performed well in evaluations were being extremely cautious until the last moment.
One of them was Maya.
Having been in the graduating class for a long time, she knew it was advantageous to join Fermi's side.
"Hmm, maybe..."
Maya turned toward Fermi. Screamer, on the blue team, flicked his chin up and said, "Hey, you aren't planning on joining them, are you?"
Collie admonished him sternly.
"Screamer, coercion during team selection is forbidden."
"I was just asking."
"Consider this a warning. One more warning and you'll be eliminated."
"Tch!"
Screamer clicked his tongue and looked away. But that was part of his calculation.
He could push Maya away with a single warning.
She'd long been paired with him in strategy drills, and he'd suffered significant point losses because of it. If they ended up on the same team again, win or lose the score gap would remain and he couldn't escape being grouped with her in tactics.
If they split and he won, the gap could be as much as forty points. That would free him from Maya.
"Please, let's split here. You go to Class Three and I'll go to Class One."
Deflated by his hostility, Maya stepped toward the red team.
Even if his behavior hadn't been direct coercion, his attitude had robbed her of the courage to be on the same side.
She approached Shirone.
Since Shirone had picked the red team first, she figured it was basically his team.
"Can I join you?"
Shirone smiled brightly.
"Of course. The more the better. And you're not being taken by me—you're choosing our team."
Iruki and Nade stepped aside on either side to make room, a gesture meant both to ease Maya's annoyance and to give her a sense of belonging.
"Endurance is influenced by psychology. The more people who can hang on, the better."
In the end, those with stronger stamina would remain, but being with teammates was itself a powerful advantage.
"I'll come too."
Dorothy, rubbing sleepy eyes, joined the red team.
Luman followed, and timid Suabi, glancing around, timidly stepped forward as well.
"Oh, that's unexpected."
Nade glanced sideways at the three who had just joined.
Luman, who disliked Shirone, choosing the red team suggested Dorothy's decision had driven him. While Dorothy might be the only person Luman was close to, Suabi's instant participation—despite her indecisiveness—required a second look.
"Some in Class Two put a lot of trust in Dorothy's judgment. So... is Iruki right—are they the brainy type?"
With everyone choosing teams, only Aider remained.
Being the youngest made this difficult too. His older brothers and sisters were split across both teams, and he didn't know where to place his loyalties.
"Hmm, which side will make people say I picked well?"
Shirone looked at him with a warm smile. Feeling that trust, Aider grinned and ran straight over.
"Ahem! Ahem!"
Screamer covered his mouth and cleared his throat.
He couldn't risk making any sound that would earn a second warning, so he resorted to this silent signal. Luckily it worked and Aider glanced back.
Collie's sharp gaze swept the group, so Screamer feigned distraction to buy time.
"Screamer..." Aider thought.
Screamer was the one who used Aider the most in the graduating class. But he also took care of him a lot, so Aider couldn't afford to get on his bad side.
Changing his mind, Aider bowed to the red team and then turned and ran to the blue team.
"Teacher! I'm sorry! I'll switch teams!"
Collie sighed.
But he couldn't issue a warning on mere suspicion, so he let it pass and closed the matter.
By coincidence, the red team and blue team each ended up with exactly fifteen members.
"Hmm, a close match. It's been a while."
No—this was the first time since Fermi had stood out in the survival tests that teams were so evenly matched.
"Does that mean Shirone's presence is that significant?"
Although upper and graduating classes belonged to different worlds, the title of the kingdom's top prospect still carried weight. It didn't hurt that Shirone had dethroned the former strongest, Dante.
"Teams are set. Enter the virtual zone."
Thirty students formed up and moved to the center of the virtual zone. Collie followed them, explaining as he walked.
"Listen carefully. This is a matter tied to your lives."
The Class Three students, many facing the survival test for the first time, wore especially tense expressions.
"The virtual zone isn't mere data transmission. It doesn't convert information into anti-magic and send it. The rune markings engraved on the floor use refined magical-engineering techniques to inject specific sensations into your Spirit Zone as if they were real."
If the body comes under the mind's control, someone trapped in a freezing warehouse could freeze to death. This time, they were directly inserting information into the highly sensitive Spirit Zone.
"Even though it's virtual, it can strain your mind. Once you enter the survival test, your brain will fall into a half-conscious state from the shock. So you won't be able to consciously exit the virtual zone."
A dark shadow crossed the faces of the Class Three students.
"Especially from level four onward it gets truly dangerous, so teachers will monitor your condition through divination. But because this is an official Red Line evaluation, remember we cannot intervene to rescue you even if dangerous situations occur."
Collie held up two fingers.
"There are two ways to get out of the virtual zone. First, deactivate your Spirit Zone. Second, if deactivation is impossible for some reason, shout 'Toako.' Remember that. Toako."
Toako was a meaningless word—an arbitrary code created for the survival test.
Using a meaningful word could allow it to be exploited during the test.
"If you call anything other than 'Toako,' teachers will not respond. Begging for mercy, saying you give up, complaining the virtual zone is malfunctioning—none of it will get you rescued."
Every student in the graduating class showed a determined look.
"One last thing: do your best, but don't stubbornly refuse to give up. This is only a rehearsal. If you feel off after leaving the virtual zone, report it immediately so you can receive mental treatment. Is everyone clear?"
"Yes!"
Their voices echoed through the training hall.