The highly anticipated mock war between the first and second years of Mythos Academy was finally upon us.

As Nero announced it, the shock in my class was palpable, but so was the excitement to gauge the level of the second-year students.

'You monsters would be fine, though,' I mused internally.

In this mock war, I had two main missions:

1. Blackmail and coerce Jin and Kali into becoming my subordinates.

2. Secure the pill Kali possessed to boost my mana core rank.

Additionally, there was the challenging task of leading my year to victory against the formidable second-year students.

You see, barring the top seven of my year, we stood no chance in an equal war against the second year. That's precisely why we had several advantages.

The realism setting favored us at 60%, compared to the second years' 80%. We also enjoyed a more favorable position with fewer dark beasts to contend with. Of course, there would still be dark beasts present, as the Academy aimed to ensure its students could handle non-human adversaries.

I was appointed the head strategist, a role that suited me well given my knowledge of everyone's abilities from the novel. Well, at least all the main players.

In the VR room, all hundred of us first years gathered. The room was expansive, with two-meter-long pods lining the walls for us to enter the VR world. A cluster of screens in one corner allowed instructors to monitor us, although their role was somewhat redundant since the scoring would be done by the machine, and VR ensured no real damage could occur.

It was permissible to bring personal relics into the world, but most students stuck to elite-grade weapons. Even those were good enough for the strongest to use their full strength.

The school's AI scanned the relics, converting them into data for VR use. After Nero's briefing, it was game time.

I hopped into the VR pod, settled into the helmet, and darkness enveloped my senses. I descended into a deep slumber.

[Fingerprint scan… completed!]

[Retina scan… complete!]

[Full body scan… completed!]

[1 relic on body detected…]

[Relic: Mythos Academy Sword. Sword-type weapon relic. Rank estimated– .]

[Full checkup complete. Student ID recognized.]

[Rank 8, first-year student Arthur Nightingale, do you wish to start Link?

Speak Yes or No.]

I couldn't recall how long the scans took, but when prompted to start the link, my excitement propelled a quick "Yes!"

[Starting Link…]

Upon consenting, a blinding light burst forth, prompting me to close my eyes.

After what felt like an eternity, the light subsided, and as my eyes fluttered open, I found myself on the terrace of a towering building.

Casting a curious glance around, I spotted other classmates awaiting the arrival of the remaining students.

In the backdrop, my peers stood against a city in ruins—buildings partially demolished, smoke lingering, roads shattered, and vehicles vandalized. As expected, we spawned right next to the city unlike the second years.

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–"Arthur is here! That makes 100!"

"Hey, Lucifer," I called out, stepping into the midst of Class 1-A.

Lucifer flashed me a grin as he spoke with a booming voice, "Now that everyone's here, it's time to talk strategy! I've chosen Arthur Nightingale, Rank 8 of the first year, as the head strategist. I also need two more strategists, so anyone with a knack for that, step forward."

Numerous students stepped up, but I had my eyes set on two specific individuals.

"Lucifer," I whispered, "Pick those two."

He narrowed his eyes but decided to trust me, selecting the pair I had indicated.

Rank 17, Class 1-B's Rose, and Rank 52, Class 1-C's Leon.

Strategists shouldn't be battle experts, given we need maximum combat power to stand a chance against the second years. Although they dealt with more dark beasts, it wouldn't be a walk in the park.

"Got our communication set?" I questioned. "I suggest we swiftly secure the city's supplies and wait for the second years. They're farther away, and it'll take them some time to reach us."

Lucifer pondered before nodding, setting off a ripple effect with everyone falling in line. Seems like his victory against the third-year had a significantly positive impact.

Time for the hunt.

"There won't be much strategy needed in this, so is it fine if we focus on fighting?" I asked, turning to Lucifer.

"You don't need to ask for my permission, Arthur," he said, clasping my shoulder. "I trust in your judgment."

I smiled as we all jumped down. Seraphina naturally came to my side as we sprinted through the city.

"Dark beast!" A student yelled at the sight of a wolf-like creature.

Dark beasts differed from magic beasts as they utilized black magic—a variant not accessible to humans, elves, or dwarves. Only races like dark beasts, vampires, demons, and Shadow Seekers could harness it.

Beings capable of using black magic were inherently hostile to normal mana beings, contributing to the ongoing conflict in the world.

The school's AI had data on thousands of dark beasts from the south, now being used to train students.

The beast the student faced wasn't weak, requiring a Class A student to handle it. However, I didn't need to intervene.

Shing-!

An arrow of light magic cleaved through the beast, obliterating it. Rachel winked at us, as if unleashing a potent 4-circle light magic was a casual affair.

In the novel's typical fashion, light magic proved highly effective against black magic, and was often deemed the most powerful element.

While light magic might be considered beneath the triad of space, time, and gravity in terms of raw power, many believed it surpassed them, earning it the title of the king of elements.

For good reasons, of course.

Light magic was the fastest element, capable of naturally countering time magic. Additionally, its healing abilities exceeded that of water and air magic.

This explained why Rachel, with an affinity for light magic and natural talent as a mage, held Rank 3 in Class 1-A.

'I believe she picks up the bow in the second year after Jin surpasses her in the end-of-year festival,' I thought.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I saw a giant bear-like beast approaching.

Almost as if we were telepathic, Seraphina attacked the bear using her swordsmanship, while I prepared to use [Fire Lance].

The bear grunted from the assault of the plum blossoms that emerged from Seraphina's sword. Before it could retaliate, my fiery lance tore through its natural defenses, taking it down in one shot.

'Did I overestimate how strong the dark beasts in this VR world were going to be?' I wondered.

Soon enough, all the dark beasts were cleared, and we reached the supplies dropout. The supplies consisted of rations.

While our real bodies would receive the necessary nutrition to survive, in this world, we could still feel the sensations of thirst and hunger, affecting our strength.

Yes, we can feel hunger, thirst, and lethargy!

Circulating mana within your body gives you a feeling of fulfilment but it can't erase hunger or thirst completely. At one point, you'll reach your limit.

It would be at 60% of the effect of reality, but the sensations would still be present.

We quickly made camp in the abandoned building next to the one with supplies. The camp was simplistic, tents with beds segregated by class and sex. I was in the conference room with all the other Class A students.

"What do you think we should do now?" Ian asked as he munched on the bread.

"We need to assign captains and then send reconnaissance teams," I said. "This is to discover the enemy team's position before they reach us. Meanwhile, the others should rest up and create traps for the incoming second years."

Everyone seemed to agree with my decision-making so far.

"Not a bad idea," Rachel said as her brows furrowed, "Specially since we hold the advantage of location."

"Yeah, we need to have them come to us so we can beat them," Cecilia said, faking excitement like the sociopath she was.

"Who do you suggest should go?" Lucifer asked.

"You, Ren, Cecilia, and Rachel," I responded. "Take six of the quickest students. Avoid engagement if possible, and ensure they don't discover you."

I needed to deploy as many of our strategic assets as possible to focus on dealing with Jin.

"Rose, Leo," I said as I turned to my two correspondents, "Begin by designing these traps." After informing them about what kind of traps they should make, they moved out with approximately forty students.

"Jin," I said, turning to the dark-haired necromancer, "Sera, with me."

It was time to get myself a new shadow.