Ray looked up through gritted teeth, sweat running down the side of his face.

"W-what...?"

Cassien leaned down slightly.

"Because you do."

Cassien laughed out loud the second after.

"I really got you there... You thought I was going to say some cool-ass line with the tension rising, and that’s the conclusion I came to. How lame was that, eh? What do you think?"

Cassien grinned.

"Though if you really wanted an answer... you’re just a weakling who built his confidence by beating people weaker than himself."

The arena went silent.

"You bitch! You dare make a mockery out of me! You don’t know anything about me!"

"Oh?" Cassien smiled. "Then tell me. Who was the strongest opponent you’ve ever fought?"

Ray froze. The answer didn’t come. Then, the audience joined in.

"He actually has a point..."

"Eight wins and I’ve never even heard of him."

"Wasn’t he known for farming weaker students?"

Ray’s face darkened.

"Shut up!"

Then, it was met by a terrifying scream as Cassien stepped on his hand again, twisting it sideways.

"Ahhhhh!"

"You should be the one shutting your mouth," Cassien said, continuing on.

Up until the referee finally blew his whistle.

"Stop it! The duel is over, Cassien Artfold wins!" The referee went to check up on Ray. "Paramedics!"

Cassien smiled while walking away, the announcer calling the duel’s victor.

"Winner by unanimous decision... Cassien Artfold!"

The students didn’t clap, though. They just watched him walk out of the arena.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Arena Victory Recorded]

Opponent Defeated: Ray Foster

Record Updated: 2 - 0

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The podium showed both the final results and the new record Cassien now held.

While walking out of the arena, he couldn’t help but smile.

’Now everything is set up, finally.’

...

Amelia greeted him just as he exited the facility.

"Was there a need to go that far?" she asked calmly.

Cassien looked at her. "Since when were you against violence?"

"I’m not," she murmured. "But you realize he’s a student from Class 1B. They’ll come back to hunt you. Your focus is clearly only at the top. The other classes are just as powerful if they use their intellect wisely."

"Then let them come for me."

"Huh...?"

"Where’s the fun in an adventurous exam with no stakes?" He smiled. "I practically handed them a reason to."

Amelia stared at him. "You realize that sounds insane, right?"

"Insane has two meanings. One could be bad, the other could be good. So I’ll accept the good version behind it."

Cassien began walking away from the front entrance.

"Wait."

She called out one last time.

"Warning. Watch yourself."

Cassien chuckled. "A warning from a beauty like you? Truly, I’m flattered."

"Not like that, dummy." She squished her cheeks. "Fuck you."

Cassien looked back.

’A feisty one.’

During the walk back, the sun was setting slowly.

And in the middle of it all, looking for more quests, was Aiysha Moon.

"Looking for missions this late?" he asked. "No surprise."

Aiysha remained focused on the quest sheets.

"I’m trying to stockpile. Leave me alone."

Cassien stepped forward, stood beside her for a second, then leaned into her ear.

"Well, Ms. Moon, good luck," Cassien whispered.

She didn’t flinch.

Turning around, Aiysha let out one last sentence before selecting a certain quest and leaving.

"Mock me all you like, but I will escape from my chains."

Afterward, Aiysha began walking away from the area.

The academy was steadily shifting relationships.

What would happen on [Elaris’s Deserted Island] would now shape the future.

If Cassien couldn’t beat the plot now, then he wouldn’t be able to change his fate later on.

He had to win to understand Cassien’s future actions.

If he didn’t win, all his efforts until now would have been in vain.

Because losing to the plot was no small disappointment.

Especially not to him.

Cassien watched the beautiful sun set on the distant horizon, the wind brushing against both sides of his face.

Life here felt real...

Too real.

Grasping the concepts of the [Death Game] and [Fate] was no small task.

Right now, the stakes finally felt like life or death.

Unlike before, tomorrow was going to bring a new set of changes.

Cassien purposely stabbed his dagger into the billboard, then sighed.

’Come on, Cassien. Just like you’ve been doing. Win.’

With that thought concluded, he began walking back to his dormitory.

Meanwhile, the student council president watched Cassien closely from his own window before closing the blinds.

"This set of students seems quite interesting this year, don’t they?" he murmured across the room to the other nine members of the Council of Ten.

"It feels so exhilarating to see who will win!"

"Say, Victoria, you went on that mission with that bunch of first-years during the unexpected demon incident. What do you think about them?" the president asked.

"Each of them is powerful. But there’s one person who stood out in comparison to the rest."

"And who might that be?" the president asked.

The obvious answer should have been Cassien, but it wasn’t.

"Ren. Ren Castor, I believe his name is."

One man, quite buff and clearly into action, joined the conversation.

"I watched that kid during the entrance exams. I still don’t understand how he made the cut. What makes him so interesting, Purple?"

Victoria looked at him.

"It also happened to us. Somehow, Ren was replaced outside the caverns without any of us noticing. It’s definitely possible, but without any witnesses, especially when we were so close to each other? It almost felt too easy, like he planned for it to happen. I didn’t bring it up at the time. The student council isn’t allowed to interfere with lower-year troubles."

The president finally closed the blinds completely, then adjusted his glasses.

"Ren, you say... He’s in Class 1C? I’ll be making sure to keep an eye on him." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Then, a cute, short girl allowed herself to speak.

"There was one short, cute-looking guy. I never saw him during the trials, but I saw his fight today. He called himself [The Abandoned Co-Writer]."

The student council president’s grin widened.

"Now that’s interesting."

He raised his arms.

"Members, stand up."

Everyone stood.

"Let us enjoy ourselves for the next couple of days during the Elaris Island Exam."