"Now that the siege is over, the only thing left for us to collaborate on is the relay."
"What are you talking about? We're all on the same Blue Team. We'll keep cooperating."
When Ihaan spoke in a sentimental tone, Jaei responded with a pout. Seeing him turn around and seek agreement, Sihyun, feeling melancholic, nodded reluctantly, watching Jaei take out his phone. As Jaei stood still without doing anything, he tapped the screen with his fingertip.
"Why are you staring blankly? I need your number. Don't you want to give it to me?"
"Um..."
"Well, I'm not forcing you, so you don't have to. But do you really want to leave it like this?"
The tone sounded as if asking whether our relationship amounted to just this. Feeling hurt, Sihyun looked at Haeun, whose expression was similar to his. Before he knew it, Jaei had already entered my number despite it not being what he requested. Then, turning back with a smile, even though Jaei wanted something else, his face was confidently firm.
"Oh, Jaei, did you expect to be disappointed because you got my number?"
"It's not like that. Besides, we haven't really talked much, have we?"
"What's so great about being on the Blue Team? We're already friends internally!"
As Haeun laughed and coquettishly spoke, Jaei laughed too, indulging Haeun's joke. Thinking they matched each other well, Jaei then approached Ihaan and handed him his phone.
Sending a surprised glance at the unexpected request for their numbers, Ihaan smoothly smiled and said it's fate, tapping out a typical dialogue line. While Haeun openly mocked it, Gunwoo, taking Ihaan's phone, entered his number. Meanwhile, Hamin also accepted Ihaan's phone, caught up in the atmosphere.
In the midst of the wave of exchanging Blue Team numbers, Sihyun, not wanting to be left out alone, confirmed the newly added numbers in his contacts. The length of the scroll doubled with just one swipe down. As he scrolled through the newly entered numbers, Hamin grabbed Sihyun, asking if he was going or not. As everyone was leaving the waiting room, Sihyun followed belatedly. The siege match, which must have ended in a tie with such high scores, was almost over, leaving little time for rest afterward. Participants in the next event like Hamin and Gunwoo had barely a minute to come down and prepare for their matches again.
Seeing them off, Sihyun turned to check the time on the scoreboard. It was significantly later than the schedule they had received in advance, likely due to extending the siege match from its original 10 minutes to 20 minutes. Because of this, he muttered that they might have lunch late, but Haeun assured him that they wouldn't. His doubtful words turned out to be true.
"Isn't it really amazing?"
"Hmm?"
Haeun, who was enjoying his meal while listening to Sihyun's mumbling, raised his head from his lunchbox. Sihyun glanced over Haeun's figure as he held his lunchbox, which he could eat on time thanks to the forfeit in soccer. It seemed miraculous to Sihyun that merely predicting something could make it a reality by now.
Asking why they hadn't been told to receive a "divine intervention," a group of A-class students from Team White sat down near a staircase, which was separated from the path leading downstairs. They stealthily crossed over to the Blue Team's area.
"What's in your lunchbox? Anything tasty?"
"Hey! This is the Blue Team area, and the White Team is crossing over!"
"What, are they here to die? How bold."
With a force that seemed like he had chewed some gum, Down approached with a forceful presence and inspected Haeun's lunchbox. Hiding his lunchbox as he feared having his delicious side dish stolen, Haeun engaged in a lunchbox snatching battle with Down, which resulted in chaos as they chased each other around.
"What are you doing while eating?"
"If you're curious about the menu, just look at mine. It's not much different from yours."
Seeing him, Sihyun hesitated to put down his own lunchbox, feeling that even preschoolers wouldn't behave like this. Down, who seemed to have noticed his hesitation, checked Sihyun's lunchbox. When asked why he wasn't eating, Sihyun nodded, and his brown eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why aren't you eating?"
"I've eaten enough."
"Are you a baby? Eat quickly."
Warning him that if he continued being reluctant, he wouldn't let him off, Down handed him chopsticks. Half-coerced, Sihyun hesitated for a moment before starting to eat the remaining food little by little. Although the taste wasn't bad, he wasn't particularly hungry, so his chopstick movements were slow.
As he rummaged through the rice, unsure if he was eating or just stirring it, a piece of meat suddenly popped out from behind. It was a different kind of meat from what was in his lunchbox. Sihyun's head turned abruptly at the unexpected sight. As he had anticipated, a familiar face filled his vision.
"What's this?"
"Your eating seemed lacking."
Following Down, Seowoo, who had crossed over to the Blue Team area, surprisingly replied. Then he poked the meat again as if to say, "Eat it." With the tip of the meat touching his lips several times, Sihyun eventually relented and ate it.
Opening his eyes narrowly and then opening his mouth to accept it, he smiled satisfactorily. As Sihyun wondered why he was so pleased with just eating one piece of food, Gunwoo, who was beside him, handed him a pickled radish, and Haewoon put a neatly sliced fish into his mouth. Accepting what they offered in waves, Sihyun checked Down, who was looking at him with a pitiful expression, and shivered.
"Are you really a newcomer?"
"You kept offering."
"You're eating everything I give you, so it seems like you're eager. If someone sees, they might think you're submissive."
Muttering like that, Down, instead of eating, placed a piece of garlic on Sihyun's lunchbox. Although it seemed like he didn't want to eat it unlike the others, Sihyun, feeling conscious for no reason, ate it anyway.
Even among the first-grade A-class students, those who boldly invaded the Blue Team's area returned to their own seats only after mealtime ended. Since track events like relays or obstacle races were scheduled at the end, they could watch games like tug-of-war until then.
As they watched the children around them leave one by one to participate in the games, the teachers above blew their whistles and gathered the players for the color plate flipping event. Unlike before when they sat and watched, this time they participated, so Sihyun, rising from his seat with Haeun on his left and Gunwoo on his right, followed the teacher's guidance and went down to the field.
Though he tried his best to flip the plates, the results were not satisfactory compared to his efforts.
Losing 3:2 and going back up, Sihyun was taunted by Hamin, who said he could flip the plates faster than that. Thinking about the White Team kids who flipped the plates aggressively, Sihyun, unusually, accepted Hamin's words without any rebuttal.
It was because his speed was too slow compared to his efforts.
Watching Haewoon stumble while skipping and Haeru successfully jumping over the highest bar, as well as Down setting a record for the longest rope skipping, the performance competition time arrived, and the teacher called him.
"Come back with first place."
At Hamin's words, spoken as if it was natural for him to come in first, Sihyun raised his index finger to warn him, fearing that the White Team members might hear. Then, he headed towards the impromptu stage, made on the spot, with Haeun on his left and Gunwoo on his right. Until now, multiple games were played simultaneously, so the audience's attention was divided. However, during the performance, everyone focused on each performance, so the spacious field was filled only with the performers, including him.
As the murmuring of the crowd subsided, the inside of the gym fell silent. Feeling awkward in the suddenly solemn atmosphere, Sihyun looked around.
Was this the second reason the guild officials said they watched the Supreme Physical Competition?
The first reason was the siege, and the second was the performance. Both were games that used abilities, so Sihyun, who had heard from Haeun that guild officials watched them with interest, scanned the stands. Remembering the seat where Hayuk had been sitting earlier, he looked in that direction and met his eyes, still sitting upright.
Feeling a slight embarrassment, Sihyun lowered his head once and then focused on the teacher's voice explaining the rules of the performance.
"The performance competition showcases the best art that participants can demonstrate through their abilities. Each team's total score, based on the performances of its members, determines the winner. Now, let's start with the students from the White Team. Yoomartin, please come up on stage."
The first female student to perform stepped onto the stage and drew a sword from her waist. As she signaled towards the White Team's seats, the sound of drums echoed. Soon, the girl's sword moved smoothly. It was a sword dance.
The silver blade moved swiftly, leaving faint traces in the air. Enthralled by the spectacle, Sihyun watched absentmindedly until the first round ended and the next person took the stage. This pattern repeated several times.
Fortunately, Sihyun wasn't the last one this time. After the third-year student who had shown a splendid garden made of plants, it was Sihyun's turn to take the stage.
Taking a deep breath, he observed the audience. Until he saw the previous performances, he had vague thoughts of creating a masterpiece famous for water, but after seeing the garden made of plants, his mind changed.
He took a deep breath and began to move his hands. It would have been easier if there were staff, but he had come up without them, as not being able to use his ability was not an option. Still, it would have been too embarrassing to hold the pink staff all the way here.
Haehyuk must be watching, he thought, and decided to ask him to seriously change weapons after the event ended. Under the sunlight, clear water appeared, and it spread thinly over the floor of the arena. Since he had prepared to use half of his mana from the beginning, it was not too difficult to do a bit of digging on the arena floor.
Then, waving his hand, Sihyun erected a large tower-like structure made of water, and on the right side of the arena, he created a slightly larger circular shape.
Attempting a new task while maintaining the shape of what he had already created was challenging. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed once and continued his work. As the time to showcase his performance approached, he increased his work speed. People soon noticed what Sihyun was trying to do and were astonished.
As the murmuring from the audience gradually grew louder, Sihyun finished all his work and descended from the stage. The sudden impromptu action bewildered the spectators. Just as the teacher in charge of the performance competition was about to call Sihyun, taken aback by the sudden change, Sihyun lifted his left foot, stepping down.
Crunch.
In an instant, from under Sihyun's foot, all the water inside the arena began to freeze, maintaining its blue color.
People marveled at the rapidly cooling water. Finally, after seeing all the water freeze, Sihyun created small ice fragments in the sky above the arena, dispersing them.
"..."
The onlookers fell silent, speechless. Witnessing the small ice fragments falling from the sky above the arena, they shattered the heavy silence in an instant.
"Wow!"
"You're the best, Kang Sihyun!"
Amidst the deafening cheers, Sihyun, unintentionally using 60% of his mana, smiled faintly in accomplishment.
With three seconds left until the end of the performance, the completed ice amusement park was enough to thrill the crowd.
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