How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game - Chapter 586: Continental Festival 11
Chapter 586: Continental Festival 11
“Oh…”
Perched on top of a massive boulder, Reina sat cross-legged with her sword resting across her knees.
The faint glow of their team’s mana crystal pulsed steadily beside her, like a silent guardian.
Her eyes flicked up toward the giant announcement screens that hovered across the battlefield, and her lips parted in surprise.
“Senior Kagami got defeated so early on?” she muttered, her brows knitting together.
“Maybe he just got stuck with useless teammates.”
The casual reply came from Flamme, who was lounging a few feet away, leaning back with her hands folded behind her head.
She plucked a silver pin from her pocket and began to idly adjust the strands of her long gray hair, as if the elimination of one of the academy’s top fighters wasn’t worth even half her attention.
When the scoreboard updated again, she smirked.
“Haah~ doesn’t this remind you of that joint evaluation exam a while back? Everything’s noisy and chaotic for everyone else, but for us…” She let out a satisfied sigh. “Haah~ nothing beats an easy life.”
Reina turned toward her with a mix of exasperation and disbelief.
“You should try taking this seriously, Flamme. Even Senior Kagami fell, and you know as well as I do that he’s no pushover. Our opponents aren’t just ordinary students—they’re the top talents from their respective academies. And don’t forget, our very own academy peers are just as much our enemies as the outsiders.”
Her voice carried a faint edge of worry.
She knew Flamme better than anyone—the girl had always been far too easygoing for her own good.
But sitting back and relaxing during a continental-level festival where every team was clawing for points?
That wasn’t just careless. It was dangerous.
“Pfft, haha~” Flamme chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. “You’re way too much of a worrywart, Reina. Come on, who do you think set up this nice little vacation spot of ours?” She tapped the boulder with her heel and winked. “That’s right. Me. So just sit back and relax. My spirits are already handling the hard work.”
She gestured lazily towards her right hand.
The faint shimmer of mana around it pulsed irregularly, evidence of the summoned spirits roaming the battlefield, unseen but effective.
“See? Thanks to them, we’re already at the top of the scoreboard. And don’t worry—I gave them strict instructions not to pick fights with any ‘formidable’ groups out there. No need to stir up hornets’ nests. The plan is simple.” Her smirk widened into something sharper. “We rack up as many points as possible while everyone else exhausts themselves. Let them bleed each other dry.”
Reina sighed again, though her gaze softened slightly.
She hated to admit it, but Flamme’s laid-back strategies often worked.
Still, she couldn’t shake the unease gnawing at her chest.
“Flamme, I got your juice!”
A cheerful voice rang out, breaking through the quiet hum of the crystal beside them.
Kendrick, their teammate with a mop of messy orange hair and freckles splashed across his face, came jogging over with a bottle in hand.
“Ohhh, thanks, Ken-Ken,” Flamme sang out, flashing him a lazy smile as if they were on a picnic instead of a battlefield.
“You’re welcome,”
Kendrick replied, beaming before he spun around and went straight back to the makeshift kitchen they’d set up behind the boulder.
Pots, snacks, and even a kettle were lined up on a flat rock as if this really was just another day at camp.
Reina let out a quiet sigh.
She rested her chin on her hand, eyes narrowing slightly as she studied her team.
With how relaxed everyone was, it didn’t even look like they were taking the Continental Grand Festival seriously at all.
Do they even realize we’re being live-broadcasted right now?
Her gaze drifted over Flamme, lounging without a care in the world, and Kendrick, who hummed happily while fussing over their supplies.
Of course, Reina was grateful things had gone this smoothly so far, and she wasn’t about to complain about being teamed up with Flamme—their duo was rare, even among the academy elites.
Two top-ranked students in one team gave them an undeniable advantage.
But still… she wasn’t satisfied.
The foreign academies had come with teams stacked from top to bottom with their very best.
In contrast, Lumen Academy’s students were scattered at random, their teams cobbled together by the principal’s whims.
It was the kind of gamble that could either create dark horses… or easy prey.
Yes, they were strong—Lumen was the greatest academy on the continent, after all—but strength alone wasn’t enough.
She had just seen proof of that. Kagami, one of their most dependable seniors, had already been eliminated.
Her lips pressed into a thin line. If someone like him could fall that early… then what about the rest of us?
Still, there was no point in letting her teammates see her doubts.
She tipped her head back, exhaled slowly, and glanced up at the leaderboard glowing above the battlefield.
“Well… at least we’re at the top for now,” she murmured.
Her eyes landed on the name glowing at the very peak.
[Rank 1 — Team Hell]
….
“What’s wrong with this bastard?!”
“Ugh, damn it—why can’t I even get close?!”
“L-Let’s get out of here!”
“P-Please, just let us go!”
The cries were the same every time.
At the start of the Continental Grand Festival’s battle royale, the sight of cut-down students had become routine for Seo.
To her, it made no difference whether they came at her willingly or stumbled across her path by accident.
The result was always the same.
Bodies sprawled on the ground, weapons clattering from their limp hands, and the same expression etched onto their faces: regret, fear, confusion.
They never seemed to understand how hopeless it was until the moment her blade touched them.
And all the while, Seo’s expression never changed. Cold. Apathetic. Almost… bored.
“No! Our crystal!”
“She’s too fast!”
Her hand moved lazily to the hilt at her waist.
[Hidden Blade Technique]
[First Form]
[Blue Moon]
SWIIISHHHH!!!
A streak of crescent light arced across the field, brilliant and merciless.
Everything in front of her—armor, steel, flesh, even the ground itself—was carved through in one blinding sweep.
It didn’t matter how many opponents stood before her. One swing was always enough.
And yet, strangely… they kept coming.
Seo tilted her head slightly as another group stumbled toward her, their insignias marking them as students from the Eastern Empire.
That detail alone gave her pause.
Out of all the opponents she’d faced so far, almost every single one had been from there.
“I-I give up, please!” one boy whimpered, dropping his sword and backing away.
Seo turned her back on him without hesitation.
That was when she heard it—boots crunching against stone, the telltale whistle of steel cutting through air.
“Haah, got you—!”
SHKKK!
Her blade was already sheathed when the man behind her split in two, collapsing lifelessly at her feet.
She hadn’t even looked at him.
Seo’s pale eyes scanned the carnage she’d left behind.
She knew these so-called elites were supposed to be the pride of their respective academies, the strongest their countries had to offer. She had expected resistance.
Challenge. Something.
But reality was far different.
“Boring…”
Even training with Snow and the other girls had felt far more lively than this—despite them being mages.
They had laughed, shouted, and argued with each other during sparring, making every session unexpectedly noisy and chaotic.
Training with Riley was another matter altogether: sharp, demanding, and strangely fulfilling.
Compared to those moments, what she was doing now felt like dragging around dead weight.
“Haah—s-senior, please wait!”
“C-Can we… take a short breather?”
“Haha… it’s actually hard carrying this thing around. Just a little break, senior, please!”
From behind her came the pitiful voices of nine other students—her so-called teammates.
They stumbled after her, sweat dripping down their foreheads, their steps heavy and uneven.
Each of them clutched their weapons awkwardly, looking more like recruits who had just finished boot camp rather than proud academy students.
Surprisingly enough, all nine of them were freshmen.
For reference. Not one had made it into the top ten of their respective departments.
Seo paused, tilting her head slightly, her blank eyes resting on them.
“Didn’t you guys say you wanted to reach the top?” she asked, her tone innocent, almost childlike.
“Y-Yes, well, we did, but…” one boy rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward laugh.
Another girl spoke up, panting, “We didn’t think you’d move that fast, senior. Honestly, we’re already feeling bad… letting you handle almost everything. And also… we’re already in the top spot thanks to you, so we’re satisfied now. We’re lucky enough to be on the same team as a top-ranked Knight Department student like you. Anymore would just be… shameful.”
Seo blinked slowly, their words not quite sinking in. To her, it sounded like excuses. Weak ones.
“Is that so?” she murmured.
The group nodded frantically, some too exhausted to speak.
Seo turned away.
She didn’t care enough to press them further.
Whether they followed her or collapsed on the ground, it wouldn’t really matter.
Even though the entire Continental Festival was supposed to highlight unity, competition, and the pride of each academy, to Seo it all felt like a poorly staged play.
Even someone like her, who avoided crowds, avoided chatter, and preferred silence… could see it.
A fiasco dressed up as a grand event.
