Soon—
the long awaited Nexus Festival had finally begun.
A festival that would last an entire week.
The event itself wasn't limited to just the academy tournament either.
There were games.
Competitions.
Spirit showcases.
Food stalls hosted by both students and instructors.
Even merchants from nearby cities had arrived to take part in the celebration.
During the night—
the entirety of Nexus Academy felt alive.
Rio quietly walked through the campus while observing the bustling atmosphere around him.
Everywhere—
students moved through the festival grounds excitedly.
Some gathered together in large groups laughing loudly.
Others explored the stalls together.
A few couples quietly wandered beneath the glowing lights decorating the academy pathways.
For once—
the academy truly felt peaceful.
Soon—
Rio noticed a familiar group nearby.
Samuel Crimson walked together with Selena Thorne and several other students while chatting casually.
The red-haired spear user laughed loudly while speaking about something dramatically.
Then suddenly—
a voice echoed inside Rio's head.
[Mortal.]
[Over there. Quick.]
"…Hm?"
Rio glanced upward toward the black cat currently resting atop his head.
Astravax's golden eyes narrowed seriously.
[There appears to be divine food nearby.]
Rio sighed the moment Astravax began scratching his head impatiently.
"…Fine."
"Calm down."
The moment they approached the nearby food stall—
Rio blinked in surprise.
The place was packed with students.
Even several upperclassmen stood in line.
Then—
his eyes widened slightly.
"…Instructor Ron?"
The brown-haired instructor stood behind the stall wearing a dark apron while cooking skillfully.
Ron glanced upward before snorting.
"Oh?"
"Brat."
"What're you doing here?"
Rio looked confused.
"…Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
Ron shrugged casually while continuing to cook.
"Well…"
"I figured I'd volunteer for the festival."
Then—
his eyes shifted toward another nearby food stall.
"And there's also someone I need to beat."
Rio followed his gaze.
At the neighboring stall stood a sharp-faced man with gray hair wearing elegant noble attire completely unsuited for street food cooking.
Which somehow made the entire scene look ridiculous.
"…Who's that?"
Ron immediately answered.
"Instructor Solren Voss."
"He teaches the second years."
Almost instantly—
the gray-haired instructor scoffed loudly.
"Shut the hell up, commoner."
"It seems my stall has more sales than yours."
Ron's eye twitched visibly.
"Huh?"
"Four eyes."
"Are those useless eyes of yours not working properly again?"
"Shut up."
Rio slowly closed his eyes.
…What exactly am I watching?
Eventually—
Rio sighed before pointing toward the food.
"…Can I just get some takoyaki?"
"Sure."
The moment Ron handed over the food—
Astravax immediately perked up again.
[B-But order that one too.]
"No."
[BITE.]
Rio visibly flinched as the black cat bit his hair aggressively.
"…F-fine but stop biting me"
He awkwardly pointed toward another dish nearby.
"C-Can I get that too?"
Ron nodded casually.
"Sure."
A few moments later—
Rio quietly glanced toward the amount of food now in his hands.
"…How much?"
Ron immediately waved him off.
"Don't worry about it."
"We're not charging students during the festival."
Rio blinked slightly.
"…Oh."
"…Thank you."
As I walked through the festival grounds—
I eventually spotted several familiar figures gathered near one of the stalls.
Silver Ryker.
Darius Whitemere.
And Reinheart Verilian.
The prince noticed me immediately before smiling lazily.
"There you are."
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
"What are you guys doing?"
Reinheart casually held out a paper toward me.
"Sign this."
"…What is it?"
Before Reinheart could answer—
Darius immediately spoke with a serious expression.
"Don't."
"It isn't worth it."
That alone already made me suspicious.
Reinheart sighed dramatically.
"You people are no fun."
Then—
he answered casually.
"A cross-dress competition."
Silence.
I stared at him in disbelief.
"…What the hell?"
"I'm not signing this shit."
"Too bad."
Reinheart smiled innocently.
"I already signed your names."
Silver's cold eyes slowly shifted toward the prince.
"…You did what?"
Even Darius looked moments away from violence.
Reinheart simply shrugged.
"The four of us losing during the tournament and then appearing dressed like shrine maidens sounds entertaining."
"…I'll kill you."
"You say that now."
Reinheart smiled smugly.
"But imagine the reactions."
Before the situation could devolve further—
another voice suddenly spoke from behind us.
"What exactly are you all doing?"
I glanced backward.
Yelena Zephyr stood there wearing a beautiful dark blue kimono decorated with silver patterns.
The outfit suited her surprisingly well.
Beside her—
Alyssa quietly held onto Yelena's hand sleepily.
The pink-haired girl gave me a small wave the moment she noticed me.
"…Hi."
I gave a small nod back.
Meanwhile—
Reinheart immediately folded the paper behind his back suspiciously.
"Nothing."
Yelena glanced at the suspicious paper hidden behind Reinheart's back one last time before sighing softly.
"…Whatever."
Then—
her eyes shifted toward another section of the festival.
Various game booths filled the area while students gathered around laughing loudly beneath colorful lights.
"Instead of standing around doing suspicious things…"
"Why don't we actually enjoy the festival?"
Reinheart smirked immediately.
"See?"
"The woman of common sense has spoken."
Alyssa quietly tugged Yelena's sleeve afterward before pointing toward a nearby food stall sleepily.
"…Hungry."
Astravax instantly lifted her head from my shoulder.
[FOOD?]
"…Of course you reacted to that."
Soon—
the group began walking through the festival together.
The first attraction Reinheart dragged us toward turned out to be a spirit archery game.
Arrows.
Moving targets.
Simple enough.
Reinheart confidently stepped forward first.
"Watch carefully."
"I'll show you true royal technique."
He dramatically fired his first shot.
The arrow completely missed the target—
and somehow struck a lantern behind the booth instead.
The instructor stared blankly.
Silver sighed.
"…Amazing."
"The prince of the Empire everybody."
Reinheart coughed awkwardly.
"…The wind shifted."
"You missed by twenty meters."
Silver stepped forward next.
Without changing expression—
he released three arrows smoothly.
Each one pierced directly through the center.
Perfect accuracy.
Several nearby students immediately gasped.
"As expected of Silver Ryker…"
"He's terrifying…"
Yelena clicked her tongue afterward before stepping forward herself.
Electricity suddenly crackled around her fingers violently.
CRACKLE.
The surrounding air instantly grew sharp.
Then—
she released the arrow.
BOOOOM.
A streak of lightning exploded forward.
Not only did it obliterate the target—
it destroyed the entire board behind it too.
Silence.
Smoke slowly rose into the air.
The instructor looked moments away from tears.
"Y-you weren't supposed to use mana"
Yelena blinked once.
"…Too much?"
"…A little," Darius answered honestly.
Meanwhile—
Alyssa somehow won a stuffed animal prize despite looking half asleep the entire time.
No one understood how.
Even Astravax narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
[That sleepy human concerns me.]
Eventually—
we moved toward another attraction involving mana reaction speed.
The objective was simple.
Hit the glowing crystals before they disappeared.
Simple.
At least—
until Reinheart somehow triggered every crystal at once accidentally.
Silver dodged several explosions calmly.
Darius broke part of the machine with raw strength alone.
And Astravax—
who jumped onto the platform midway through—
casually achieved the highest score in the booth's history.
The black cat proudly raised her head afterward.
[Hmph.]
The instructor stared blankly.
"…I just lost to a cat."
"…Honestly," I muttered quietly.
"You're not alone."
For the next several hours—
the group continued wandering throughout the festival together.
Laughing.
Competing.
Arguing.
And for once—
everything genuinely felt peaceful.
Then—
a sudden commotion nearby caught my attention.
Students quickly moved out of the way as a black-haired man sprinted directly through the crowd at terrifying speed.
Behind him—
a woman wearing elegant royal attire chased after him furiously.
"O-Oh come on, Ismeria!"
"It was just a prank!"
"Can't you let it go for now?!"
"S-SHUT THE HELL UP, COMMONER!"
"GET BACK HERE!"
The surrounding students immediately burst into laughter.
Several upperclassmen nearby sighed helplessly.
"Haah…"
"Sylas has done it again."
"Seriously, how is he still alive?"
Meanwhile—
the black-haired man continued running for his life while laughing shamelessly.
Sylas.
Then—
another figure suddenly appeared behind the Crown Princess.
A beautiful black-haired woman wearing the student council uniform.
The atmosphere around her alone immediately felt different from ordinary students.
"Lady Ismeria!"
"Please calm down!"
"COMMONER!"
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EVEN DO THIS TIME?!"
Even she sounded exhausted.
Yelena blinked before glancing toward me.
"…Why is the student council president chasing Lady Ismeria?"
"And why is the princess chasing that black-haired idiot?"
Reinheart sighed deeply beside us.
"Seraphina Ravenshade practically worships my elder sister."
"She's basically her shadow at this point."
Then—
his golden eyes shifted toward the running black-haired man.
"As for that idiot…"
"He enjoys making people suffer."
I spoke calmly afterward.
"That black-haired guy is Sylas."
Silver's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Sylas?"
"As in the fourth year?"
"Yeah."
"The one and only."
Darius looked surprised.
"That guy?"
"He feels weak."
That's exactly what makes him terrifying
Even now—
despite everything—
Sylas still barely radiated any mana.
Yet somehow—
every instinct inside me warned otherwise.
The strongest student within Nexus Academy.
The monster standing above even the Crown Princess herself.
And currently—
he was running away from royalty while laughing like an idiot.
Soon—
another massive commotion caught our attention from deeper within the festival grounds.
Loud cheers echoed across the academy loudly enough to shake the surroundings themselves.
"OOOOOOHHHHH!"
"PUSH HIM!"
"DON'T LOSE, SENIOR!"
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"…What now?"
As we moved closer—
a massive crowd surrounding a circular arena soon came into view.
Then—
my gaze landed on the large board above it.
SUMO TOURNAMENT
"…Sumo?"
The center arena itself had become complete chaos.
And standing proudly in the middle—
was a gigantic man with bulging muscles and wild brown hair.
Mitch Rozenberg.
Vice Headmaster of Nexus Academy.
Also the spear instructor responsible for training many cadets—
including Samuel Crimson himself.
Unlike Aurelia—
Mitch felt loud.
Explosive.
Like a walking battlefield.
The man currently laughed loudly while crossing his massive arms.
"HAHAHA!"
"All those muscles and you still can't move me even one step, brat?!"
Standing opposite him—
Samuel Crimson gritted his teeth while pushing against Mitch with everything he had.
"I WON'T GIVE UP!"
Veins bulged across Samuel's arms violently.
The arena itself trembled slightly.
Yet—
Mitch still hadn't moved even a single inch.
"…Monster," Darius muttered quietly.
Then—
Mitch's eyes suddenly shifted toward the crowd.
Toward me.
The man immediately grinned wildly.
"HAHA!"
"ISN'T THAT THE SO-CALLED APEX?!"
"You interested in SUMO, BRAT?"
"…What?"
"No."
"I was literally just passing by."
The moment those words fell—
I suddenly noticed something horrifying.
Silver.
Yelena.
Darius.
Even Reinheart.
All of them had quietly moved away from me.
"…W-Wait."
Before I could escape—
the surrounding crowd suddenly shoved me forward.
"LET'S GO APEX!"
"APEX!"
"SHOW HIM!"
"BEAT SAMUEL!"
"THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD!"
"…You bastards."
And just like that—
I somehow found myself standing inside the center arena.
Mitch burst into laughter loudly.
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT!"
Samuel glanced at me before grinning confidently.
"Oh?"
"This should be fun."
Mitch suddenly raised something in his hand dramatically.
A golden ticket.
"How about it then, brat?!"
"You against Samuel!"
"And whoever wins gets THIS!"
He proudly pointed toward the ticket.
"The VIP ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT RESTAURANT PASS INSIDE THE CAPITAL!"
For a brief second—
silence filled the air.
Then—
the black cat sitting atop my shoulder slowly lifted its head.
Its golden eyes began shining with a terrifying light.
[Synchronization Rate Increased.]
[Astravax Bond Synchronization: 12%]
"SERIOUSLY?!"