The Test Competitive Exam

Yamato, Arina and Yuki spawned at the edge of the barrier. It was safe to assume that the teams would be placed with a fair starting distance. So they should have at least a little time to plan this out. Yuki confirmed this by letting Yamato know that there was no one closer than 2 km to each other, which she knew due to her mana detection.

Arina felt a bit nervous since she didn't know the two that well and this whole situation was extremely sudden.

"Uhm… So, why did you guys chose to team up with me and not somebody else?"

"Because we're best friends, silly~"

Responded Yuki enthusiastically.

"…We are?"

"Of course! We studied together after all, remember?"

"Ah… I guess we did… Okay, let's do this then!"

"That's the spirit~!"

But Yamato was focused on something else. This whole exercise was a problem. With groups of three that meant there were five teams in total, so four to beat and 12 armbands to collect. There were multiple viable strategies for these kind of things that Yamato considered.

"1. Go all out with Yuki and just forcefully take the armbands. But that's not an option… First of all Yuki has to appear somewhat normal. Second of all does that hardly help our class to get closer. It's just not a good option and winning is hardly worth that, if at all.

2. Wait until another team has all the armbands and only fight that team in the end.

3. Team up with another team.

Sounds weird since they don't seem to get anything from it at first, but if they team up with us they can save their strength that way for the end, while also eliminating teams they couldn't have taken on by themselves. Of course, that goes for every team and not just ours. If we seem like the strongest, it is more likely that they will team up against us and after we are defeated they would all have higher chances of victory in the end. I can even say with absolute certainty that at least one team up is going to take place, but it's hard to tell whom they will team up against… I should only use Yuki to conceal my lack of magic. Winning is not my primary objective here. If I get to know all the students abilities through this exercise, that would be far more valuable. So we should just "survive" for as long as possible. Meaning option 2 is the way to go. But I also can't forget about Arina… she seems to be willing to follow our lead, but she might want to win more than she lets on. But I already have a plan for when that happens to affect us…"

"Hey, Arina, could you scout our surroundings while Yuki and I build a camp. We have to stay for 3 days at most after all, and we should prepare as soon as possible for the night. You seem like the fittest among us, so if you don't mind taking on that task so it won't take as long as if we were to do it?"

"Sure, I can do that. Leave it to me!"

She immediately went off determined to proof herself valuable to the group. Once she was far enough away Yamato and Yuki could talk properly.

"What was that for, Master? We already know no one is close."

"Yeah but we need to know about the terrain and I suspect some sort of supply drops are or will be deployed for us, if we are supposed to stay here for multiple days. Besides, she doesn't know that you scanned the surroundings. And telling her that you can do that might not be the smartest move for us at this moment."

"Ah… that makes sense."

"Anyway, now that we are alone I'm gonna give you instructions for this exam, we might not get the chance to speak freely later on which means you need to remember this. Don't fight any team on your own. Just stay with me the entire three days unless I tell you otherwise and make sure to not over do it against our opponents if it does come to a fight."

"Okay~"

"Why are you grinning now…"

"Stay with me for the entire three days, you said~ Can't stand being away from me, Master~?"

"…Sure."

"Hehe~"

Suddenly, sooner than Yamato had expected, Arina came back. Slightly out of breath but not too exhausted.

"All done! There is no one around and I found a river close to us. There seems to be a mountain in the middle of the area covered in the barrier."

"That's good information… Well, you came back so quickly, we didn't really get anywhere yet. Yuki can get fire wood and you and I could go get some leafs so we don't have to sleep on the ground."

"Sounds good!"

Arina was still enthusiastic about it all, as she and Yamato wondered off and Yuki was left to get wood, which she could get in a minute by cutting down a tree with her wings or by summoning her sword. Which she quickly did, and then went after Yamato and Arina.

"Was I wrong about Arina after all?! Could she be after Master and wants alone time with him?! Ah… but he invited her. And he assigned her to him just now… But there's no way he would prefer her over me! She just wants her to feel welcomed. He's so nice, I love him!"

Needless to say, nothing happened between Yamato and Arina. And when they came back, Yuki pretended like she just finished bringing the last pieces of wood. She felt like Yamato noticed that she didn't take the entire time he was gone for gathering wood. But she just pretended like nothing happened.

After a while, they had a small camp. It didn't seem like it would rain, if that was even possible through the barrier. In any case, was this all they had for now. But it wasn't that late, and Yuki noticed how two teams were getting dangerously close to each other. Which of course she reported to Yamato. Though it wouldn't affect them at the moment wether they would fight or team up, it wouldn't hurt to know which one it ends up being. Yuki of course would be able to tell wether they team up or not by keeping track of their location. Arina didn't know any of that of course, which is why she was more careful about other teams attacking them then Yamato and Yuki.

"You guys, I think we should explore the area a little more… Besides, I'm kinda hungry, so we should think about finding something to eat?"

"Sure, we can do that. But we shouldn't go too far away. And you should prepare for the possibility that we won't find anything to eat today."

"Okay, that makes sense…"

Just when they were about to go, Yuki sensed three people rapidly approaching them. They were headed exactly towards their location, as it knowing exactly where they were. They were abnormally fast too. If they kept this up, they would be facing them in about 2 minutes.

"Uhm… there is a team headed directly towards us. Like, directly towards us."

"How do you know that?"

It slipped Yuki out and now Arina got suspicious. But there's no time to wonder about that. Sure, in a real fight they wouldn't be a threat to Yuki. But the goal was just to remove the armbands. That could be done with unique uses of magic that don't require actual fighting, which is why they could be a threat even though they couldn't hurt them.

"Just trust me on this, okay? They'll be here in like a minute."

"That's way too soon!"

Arina complained but didn't seem nervous about it.

"From where?"

"Over there."

Yuki pointed to their left. Yamato had to act quickly. This fight seemed unavoidable.

"Arina, listen. I can't fight them."

"What!?"

"Don't worry, Yuki can. You guys got this. I will give you calls if I find anything out about them while you fight. I'm good at this kind of stuff. Trust me in this."

"Why do you both just say that and expect me to go along with it!? But sure, whatever!"

"Thank you."

"That was ironic!"

Suddenly, Team Yellow arrived. Consisting of three boys, who all levitated through the air infront of them. In the middle was Mikio Sera. According to Yamato's observation and estimates when Mikio introduced himself:

Mikio Sera: Confident, probably due to being talented since his early childhood. Used to praise but not demanding of it. Around 178 cm (5.8 ft.) tall, average physical strength and probably talented in magic.

Next to him were Fuse Tadashi and Toma Masa: They all seemed to know each other quite well and trust each other. Though their abilities were average in all regards as far as Yamato could tell for now.

Knowing all this, it was clear that Mikio was the center of their team and thus the leader as well. Their ability to track them down like this was probably thanks to him too. Meaning taking him out was the most efficient strategy against them.

"Well, you heard professor Isaac. Don't take it personal. It's just how this exercise works, y'know? If you just hand over your armbands we can get this over with quickly."

Mikio seemed confident in his ability to take the armbands with force if necessary. Yuki was getting increasingly irritated at his haughty tone. But to Yamato's surprise, it wasn't Yuki that lashed out. Instead Arina was the first to respond.

"What do you think this is… Us just playing along to your arrogant display of disrespect? We may be classmates but if you think you win this just by talking then you're wrong. I've studied very hard to make it here… And if getting stronger requires me to beat up my classmates and steal their armbands, then so be it!"

She pointed at Mikio who was surprised by her determination, but also willing to do it the hard way.