Chapter 86: Growing Gratitude and Regret I messed up.
I was supposed to make the right calls and lead my teammates, but I ruined the match because of my own carelessness.
Why didn't I check the lake?
I was so terrified of provoking Seika that I ended up handing Clyde the opportunity.
I really am a coward…
The moment that thought crossed my mind, Seo Yeon-woo's face flashed before my eyes.
A handsome junior that anyone would find likable.
Why am I so afraid of him? Everyone else likes him…
If only I hadn't been scared of him, if only I had checked the lake, if only I had overcome my fear to fix our fractured relationship and stood by his side…
Even though he kept trying to reconcile throughout the tournament, I acted like a selfish fool.
Was it because I was scared? No, it was because I hated him.
I finally understand the negative emotion of truly disliking someone.
And I hate even more that this resentment is directed at Seo Yeon-woo—someone who devoted himself to the team, did more than his fair share, and earned even Angelica's trust.
He's someone I have no reason to hate, so why do I…?
"…Unnie."
I hate Seo Yeon-woo, I hate myself for hating him, and I hate this situation where my emotions ruined everything for the team.
Have I ever felt such a strong sense of loathing before?
As a leader who ruined everything, even this kind of self-pity feels like an undeserved luxury.
How am I supposed to look at the faces of the people who believed in me?
"Scarlet Unnie!"
"… …"
At the sound of Angelica's voice, I opened my eyes to see a pure white waiting area.
How…?
My last memory was being struck by Clyde's attack and falling as tree roots coiled around my body.
Did he fail to control the power of his magic?
As my vision cleared, I saw many of my teammates gathered there.
Wasn't Clyde trying to capture the Red Team?
"Unnie, are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine… What happened?"
"Yeon-woo came."
With a joyful expression, Angelica explained what had happened while I was unconscious.
Just as the Red Team was on the verge of annihilation, he made a dramatic, hero-like entrance. He fought a fierce battle with only Shizuka by his side and eventually sent the teammates to the waiting area using a wide-range attack.
"I'm going to head out first. You're not going back to Seika, right?"
Masayoshi, who had been in the waiting area first, asked for our next move.
When I couldn't answer immediately because I was still dazed, the teammates stared at me, waiting for my instructions.
It's not over yet…
Seo Yeon-woo gave me one last chance.
Even though I had avoided him and treated him poorly, he didn't blame me; he sacrificed himself for the team.
Tears threatened to spill over, but I forced them back.
I couldn't let his gift go to waste with something as useless as tears.
I had to do my job.
"Right. Move to point B-3 and collect the materials in that area. Senior Alex and Yen are at G-4, so once we respawn, we'll scatter to each region and deliver the collected materials to the nearest research team."
"Okay."
"Understood."
"Listen carefully. We cannot waste the opportunity Yeon-woo and Shizuka gave us by sacrificing themselves. Don't worry about Seika. We're already ahead, and we only need to find the 7th effect. We can find it. We must find it."
I relayed my resolve to the team and assigned everyone to their respective regions during the waiting time.
Despite my failure to notice Clyde's plan and the mess I made, my teammates remained proactive and showed their trust in me.
Thank you… thank you so much. And I'm sorry.
I waited through the remaining time anxiously, Yeon-woo's face lingering in my mind.
Time crawled by—every second feeling like a minute—until most of the Red Team respawned at the starting area all at once.
"What a mess. You said he did this on purpose? How the hell did he know?"
Someone chuckled while looking at the forest, which was still engulfed in flames.
Setting the forest on fire wasn't just a prank; it was his foresight to obtain the 3rd effect.
Just how many past tournament records did he dig through?
He acted like he didn't care about the tournament and even pretended to interfere, but he must have read all the past data and prepared extensively.
That was a job I was supposed to do.
The more I learned, the more my gratitude and guilt toward Seo Yeon-woo grew.
Even as I ran toward the collection area, my gaze kept drifting toward where Seika would be.
With both Black Dragon and Blue Lagoon ganging up on him, he must have been defeated by now.
My head understood that, but my eyes kept searching for him as if he were still there.
Just then, a signal flared high into the sky.
"That's…"
I wasn't the only one watching; someone else muttered as they saw the signal.
It was the signal we had pre-arranged for the remaining Alex and Yen.
Seo Yeon-woo and Shizuka were still holding out.
And they had even taken down Seika—the one we had failed against.
"Everyone, move to the desert!"
Since it was a color-coded signal, there wasn't detailed information, but knowing the location and the type of material to gather was enough.
At my shout, everyone turned around, and I saw teammates who had been heading elsewhere joining us from afar.
No one had expected those two to still be holding on.
Even though we had given up, those two survived until the end and found the answer I couldn't reach.
Since Yeon-woo hadn't heard our plan, that signal must have been fired by Shizuka.
What happened to him?
For his sake, we had to win.
However, not long after, a large screen appeared in the sky, and I stood there, devastated.
"The secret medicine has been completed. We will now conclude the match."
Professor Suero, who was in charge of this match, calmly announced the end.
The team that completed the medicine was Blue Lagoon.
I had hoped it might be one of our teammates who had headed to the desert first, but it wasn't.
Dammit…
Even though he gave us a chance… even though he did his absolute best… we were only one step away…
Upon hearing the news, the other teammates groaned and slumped in frustration.
I'm sorry, everyone. It's because I'm a pathetic leader.
I'm sorry, Yeon-woo.
The tournament was over.
I thought second place was a good result, but Scarlet and the other teammates seemed to feel differently; they were incredibly depressed.
Well, I guess it is hollow to lose right at the finish line after climbing up from dead last.
There was the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament final after that, but that's more of an individual event, so they don't even give points from the quarterfinals onward.
Even if they did, Akito won, so Blue Lagoon would have won anyway.
Winning that in your first year is seriously hard, but he pulled it off.
In the game, no matter how many perks you unlock, only 30-40% of your stats carry over to the next playthrough. To win in the first year, you have to pull off a pathetic, tear-filled struggle, but Lord Akito managed that impossible feat.
He really is something else. He's not the protagonist for nothing.
Seeing him win so easily actually made me certain that he wasn't possessed by someone else like I was.
Is this right? It's almost scary that he's that strong without any outside help.
"Sigh… yesterday felt like a festival, so why do we have to be doing this now?"
Rio let out a sigh and doodled in his notebook.
Why? Because it's exam time, that's why. The tournament was an exam, too.
Even if the tournament counts as an exam, they can't exactly put written portions into the match.
They can't exactly broadcast students sitting at desks solving exam papers, can they?
While the tournament was ongoing, people studied in their spare time, and I was no different.
But from a student's perspective, the schedule is absolute garbage.
There's a reason Yggdrasil students go crazy whenever exam period rolls around.
They gave us a day to rest after the tournament ended, but who's going to actually rest? Everyone's too busy studying.
Currently, it's the third day of exams.
I'm busy enough to vomit, but I'll endure it because if I get through today, I'll get my temporary license.
"MVP. Is this the right answer?"
"Don't call me MVP."
After the tournament, my new nickname was MVP.
It's a good title, but the problem is that it was given to me by Park Yu-jeong, who snatched the victory at the last second.
The moment I stepped out of the capsule after the match, Park Yu-jeong put her arm around my shoulder and welcomed the "MVP of Blue Lagoon."
She said I deserved to be called the MVP for being the biggest contributor to keeping the conspicuous Akito hidden.
Goddammit, she really is a crazy bitch. Her tea-bagging is top-tier.
But honestly, Blue Lagoon deserved to win.
Blue Lagoon kept Akito and his followers thoroughly hidden.
I was so busy causing chaos that even I had forgotten about him, not to mention Shiori and the Samurai.
It's hard to know the team's progress by the hour, but with Akito's protagonist buff, Blue Lagoon probably found the effects at a similar speed to Red.
Then, after Park Yu-jeong finished her talk with Willas, she broke away and joined hands with Black Dragon.
Blue Lagoon's plan was to catch Seika first to get the answer and then find the remaining effects through gathering.
And Park Yu-jeong, along with Black Dragon, kept their biggest rival, Red, in check.
They won because they deserved to win, so I'm not even bitter.
"But why do you keep hanging around here?"
"… …"
"You, I'm talking to you. Why are you pretending to study when you aren't even doing it?"
"Yeon-woo, that's a bit harsh."
Rio, you bastard, have you already forgotten what Takeo did to you?
Maybe they got close after the tournament, but Takeo was naturally studying with us as if he belonged in the Comedy Duo.
Even if he's turned over a new leaf, he should pay for his sins first. The nerve of this guy.
"If it's uncomfortable, I'll leave."
"No, no. Sit down. It's fine. He's just sensitive because of the exams."
Did you take a bribe from Takeo or something?
No matter how good Scarlet was at rallying the team, I never dreamed she'd lump the Gag Brothers and Takeo together.
And you, you thug, you've got a thick skin, don't you?
Takeo, who was pretending to get up reluctantly, sat right back down the moment Rio stopped him.
Man, Akito is steadily building his harem party, so why am I surrounded by nothing but dicks?
Well, I guess it doesn't matter since Takeo failed his midterms and won't be getting a temporary license anyway.
"Alright, time's up. Everyone put your things away and get ready for the exam."
The ever-cheerful Penny said as she walked in with Lumia.
Finally, today is the last day.
It was tough, suffering through the tournament and then jumping straight into exams.
Once this is over, I'm going to have some wild sex with Yukina and the others.
"Huh?"
Penny, who was watching the Class A students take their seats, tilted her head and looked at the empty chairs.
"Is Akito not here yet? Shiori and Kurumi… Ailee and Emma are missing too? Could someone try calling them?"
What the? Why aren't you guys here?
Akito and his followers, who should obviously be here, were missing from their seats.
Angelica was here, so I guess it wasn't all of them.
But seeing as the four who always stick with Akito were gone, something must have happened.
"They're not picking up."
"Uh… what should we do in this case?"
Penny asked, but Lumia didn't have much of an answer.
One or two students missing an exam is one thing, but with five people missing, they probably didn't know how to handle it.
The other students tried calling the missing ones, but no one answered.
What's going on? Did something happen?
It's not time for demons or monsters to show up yet.
Think. What reason would they have to skip the exam?
Maybe the Geukryu Society raid and Haruna's kidnapping affected Yggdrasil, since the tournament started two days late, but there shouldn't be any events happening right now… right?
"For… now, let's start the exam. We have to stick to the schedule. Everyone, turn in your phones and get ready."
Wait, are we really just going ahead?
No way… that can't be right.
Skipping the exam? Then how are they going to get their temporary licenses?
If they don't get their temporary licenses, the story won't progress, and it's an automatic Game Over.
Well, it's not a literal Game Over in the system, but the main story really kicks off with the requests during summer break. If they don't get their licenses, the window passes and it's the end.
He'll probably show up soon, acting like he's got a bad case of protagonist syndrome.
Yeah, it's Akito. What is there to worry about?
Don't mind it. I just need to do my own job well.
However, Akito and his followers never showed up, not even by the time the exam ended.
Are we… fucked?
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