"Aren't you coming up?"
"I will."
As Kang Sihyun hesitated at the entrance, Najik, who was behind him, threw a light jab. Even as Sihyun stepped into the bus, he turned his head to check the expressions of the others. It seemed like he was the only one with doubts about this situation.
It seemed that I still didn't understand much about the Catastrophe Class. Considering that I had thought the sports day would be held in the auditorium or the playground like in other schools.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that we would have our school sports day at a comprehensive sports stadium.
Somehow outsiders could come to watch too. As Sihyun's curiosity about where they would sit was satisfied, he dug into his pocket and pulled out the sports day schedule. He hadn't known that the meeting point was the sports stadium at 9 o'clock.
"Why does Sihyun have such a deadpan expression?"
"He was like that earlier too."
"Feeling nauseous?"
"I have motion sickness pills."
"Leave him alone. It's only a 10-minute walk to the comprehensive sports stadium."
The A-Class kids, oblivious to the fact that my expression was more sullen than usual, chattered amongst themselves. As Sihyun exhaled heavily with his head resting against the window, he noticed the fog forming on the glass. Swiftly, he etched out words with his finger.
This school is insane.
Having etched out those words, Sihyun pondered over the sports events he had chosen. It was a relief that he hadn't chosen activities like running or jump rope. Holding the sports day in a comprehensive sports stadium meant that a lot of people would be watching, and if anyone fell during the event, it would be an unforgettable embarrassment.
Feeling satisfied with his choice of events, Sihyun gazed out the window at the scenery beyond. Before long, the comprehensive sports stadium came into view.
After the formal opening ceremony and the broadcast guiding the siege, each team was led to their respective waiting rooms.
Entering the waiting room for the Blue Team, Sihyun and the other first-year Class A members were greeted by senior students who had arrived early.
"You're late. Our team is starting with Water so hurry up and come choose your special mission."
Lee Hamin said with a wave of his wrist, indicating the empty chair. Ban Haru, who had lost at rock-paper-scissors and was assigned to Water, glared at Najik. Najik, seeming unperturbed, showed them the paper with details of the special missions.
"There are four special missions: Rock, Lightning, Life, and Fire. Read through them and discuss which one would be best for each of us. We've already talked amongst ourselves."
Listening to the kind explanation, Sihyun checked the details of the special missions.
The Rock special mission involved the fort being surrounded by rocks, making it difficult to invade. The Lightning special mission involved lightning striking outside the fortress every hour, dealing damage to the siege team when they entered. The Life special mission granted each member of the Water team a resurrection voucher. Of course, the scouting team was exempt.
The last, Fire, was similar to Rock, with the area around the fortress engulfed in flames. Considering that the enemy formation might have intelligence, it was practically an ineffective mission. So, after pondering over it, Sihyun spoke up.
"I think Life might be the best option, don't you? If Lightning misses, it's over, and once you're inside, Rock doesn't matter."
The others murmured their agreement.
"But with Rock, it takes quite a while to enter. After respawning, trying to come back in will be quite challenging, won't it? The same goes for Lightning. If you get hit, it takes away 50% of your mana, so it's quite okay. And there's no buffer on the opposing team, like Haeun or me. There seemed to be an alchemist with a similar type, but that's a lower compatible class for buffers, so it should be quite useful."
In response to Iha Hyuk's comment, Haeun mentioned that Lightning would be good, while Geonwoo and Hamin chose the Life special mission, just like Sihyun. After everyone had chosen their missions, Iha Hyuk, who had been humming softly, smiled faintly.
"It seems like many of you also think the Life special mission is better."
"Did the seniors think the same way?"
"Yeah. We got 8 votes for the Life special mission."
That was already more than a majority. Adding their own votes, it was almost a definite decision. Looking at them, Iha Hyuk nodded in agreement.
"Then let's go with both Teams A and B choosing the Life special mission. Anyone has any objections?"
There were none. As everyone remained silent, Iha Hyuk informed the teacher in charge of the results of their mission selection. The teacher, who had seen them before, smiled and called Team A to the game room. Seven people rose from their seats.
"I'll be back, Sihyun! I'll do my best and come back cool, so watch me closely!"
"Don't troll."
As Haeun's lively voice teased him, causing a chuckle, the members of Team A laughed. Seeing them agreeing with her, Sihyun, before Geonwoo left, nodded his head and waved to bid him farewell. Upon hearing Hamin's advice to learn from his brother's example, he gently raised his middle finger or index finger.
Seeing that he never received positive reactions, he muttered about being good and left with a word of waiting for him to do well. After seeing off Hamin, when he turned his head, everyone from Team B was looking at him as if he were strange.
"...What?"
When he asked the seven seniors, who were staring at him as if he were some rare animal, Jihye, who had been blinking her eyes, was the first to come to her senses and parted her lips.
"You seem to laugh quite well with them. I thought you were like the twin peaks of cold hearts when you were with us, always expressionless. I thought you were the cold heart of Team B."
"Don't give me weird nicknames."
Even just being called a cold heart was enough, but what were twin peaks of cold hearts? Feeling uncomfortable being referred to with Ban Haru, he still felt awkward as he glanced at the people who were still staring at him. He cleared his throat, feeling the probing gaze.
"Just, um... Because we're close."
If I had heard that half a year ago, I wouldn't have been surprised enough to stop my heart. I really didn't know it would turn out like this back then.
At his nonchalant answer, Iha Hyuk, who smiled despite his disappointment, said it was a shame. Even though they had practiced together every day for a week, he hadn't shown them a single smiling face. Sihyun was a little surprised.
I didn't know I was so indifferent. I thought I had been smiling more lately, but apparently that was only limited to when I was with the kids in Class A.
"Well, since we've seen both the youngest laugh and play jokes, I'm sure the game will go well. Everyone saw something rare, right? Right?"
Jihye shrugged and spoke eloquently. As the seniors exchanged glances, they all nodded their heads and bowed their heads toward Sihyun. They prayed for the game to go well, clapped their hands, and waved them. Everyone treated him as if he were some sacred statue.
Even if he knew how to curse them with his fingers, when he responded to Jaeyi, who teased him without hesitation, he ended up blaming Hamin, who was babbling nonsense.
"Stop teasing me, hyung."
When he tried to stop him, the TV screen in the waiting room brightened. Finally, was the game starting? Everyone's attention turned to the TV. Along with the unfamiliar voices of the commentators, the game began.
The screen was filled with the sight of the Blue Team's fortress, and the faces of Team A players were shown one by one in close-up. Watching the real-time movements of people, it seemed like there was a separate broadcasting function within the virtual reality.
As the commentators continued their fluent explanations, Sihyun focused on the game. The large TV screen split, and the images of the two teams conducting the siege and the search team searching for treasure in the Colosseum appeared on separate screens.
Centered around a senior named Yoo Sia, the siege team entered the fortress. Haeun, who had planned A Team's strategy, sent one senior to the underground and placed 90% of their forces on the top floor. It was a distribution that predicted the siege team would focus on occupying the crystal beads.
And such Haeun's prediction turned out to be perfectly accurate, without a single error.
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