“I can’t believe we’re about to start our first tournament,” Marianne squealed, bouncing on the cushioned bench she was sitting on. It was basically a couch, and they were all lying to themselves, calling it anything else.

They were currently sitting under the coliseum in the class S waiting room. Since the tournaments were held over four different days, with each year group given a day, there was only one waiting room per class.

They’d get individual rooms later on when they were down to the last twenty contenders in the tournament. For now they shared, not that it was a grueling task for class S, as their room was huge. There were large bathing rooms attached, lockers big enough for one to walk inside of, even an area for them to spar or warm up with training dummies prepped and waiting.

Truly, the Academy did not hesitate to splurge when it came to spoiling their beloved class S. Liliana doubted class E had anywhere near as many amenities afforded to them.

“It’s the first of eight we’ll have to go through during our time here,” Liliana said nonchalantly, but she was excited too.

She nibbled on a macaroon; they were provided with snacks and drinks by academy staff. Sadly, they lacked any food buffs. That would be pushing favoritism a bit too far, even by Academy standards.

“Everyone remember the Plan?” Alistair asked, and Liliana could hear the capital p.

“I’d hope so. I helped come up with it.” Liliana muttered, earning herself a glare from her uncharacteristically stoic brother. He was trying to hide his nerves behind a calm facade, but the way his knee bounced revealed his anxiety.

This was their first tournament, their first chance to show the rest of the school their abilities.

While the tournament wouldn’t make or break their rankings if they scored high enough on their exams and general grades, it still mattered. The entire Academy came to watch all the tournaments, and the older years would be on the lookout for standout talent to recruit once they took over their families or made names for themselves outside of the Academy.

It wasn’t unusual for older years to mentor younger years, usually after their first tournament. Such relationships could be highly beneficial for both mentor and mentee, enabling them to make use of each other’s connections and network.

For nobles, it was less necessary than it was for commoners, who desperately needed connections to lift themselves from their humble beginnings. However, even for nobles, it was useful: alliances had been built and solidified on the coliseum sands.

Some would go so far as to say noble houses had been made and destroyed there, too.

For heirs of their family names, it would show other nobles if they were strong enough to hold that title, or if one day their territory would be ripe for the taking from such weak hands.

For Liliana, this meant even more. She was no heir, and she knew her time as a noble was limited, the sand in the hourglass shrinking every day. She needed to start making connections with strong allies to help her when she broke away from her father for good. Strong connections and allies would help her when she had to make her way on her own. Her future could very well depend on her ability to impress older, more powerful students who would be watching them.

For Alistair, whose heir position had become more tenuous and fragile as Liliana grew in power, he would need to make his own impact. He’d need to make it known he was no weakling to be easily pushed aside, and he’d need to impress others to help make connections and solidify his standing. He would, of course, have more chances to redeem himself later, but first impressions mattered and if he failed abysmally here, many would never forget that.

There was a time for lying low and diverting attention, but the tournaments were not it.

“Yes, we remember. Stay close, find a wall, build defenses and let the rest tear each other apart while Polaris, Emyr, Basil and Rathwater rain hellfire on everyone.” Marianne recited, waving off Alistair’s worry with a pout.

She was still peeved she wouldn’t get a chance to wreak unrestrained havoc and chaos during the first round. It was too much of a risk. The first round was always a battle royale. All 220 students would be pitted against each other and stray shots could as easily take down squishy targets like healers as a direct attack. Their best chance to survive and last to the next round was to utilize their tanks and Liliana’s high level bonds to survive.

Many students would adopt an every man for themselves strategy. While some of them would survive, it would be the students who had the intelligence to make use of the friends and allies they’d already made and team up that would be the majority of the winners.

The battle royale would last until 50 students were left standing and, as a result, would be a battle of attrition once the chaos calmed, and a team meant it was easier to manage Mana and Stamina.

Liliana couldn’t help but think Rauk’s insistence on team fights in Battle Training was a subtle hint that such a configuration would be necessary for the tournament. The professor had helped as much as he could, even if only the truly perceptive would ever realize the aid they’d been given.

Liliana had known this, thanks to the knowledge she had brought of the game into this second life, and had started putting together her team soon after the dungeon. Alistair, Emyr, Marianne and Anya had been obvious choices.

Firstly, because of their strong bond and natural synergy in battle. Secondly, because of the usefulness of their classes in such an environment. Alistair could erect strong defenses to protect them, especially when combined with Nemesis and Lelantos.

Anya would be useful when Alistair needed to step down from Mana use as a secondary tank and devastating physical attacker. Emyr would be useful, especially with Liliana’s [Telepathy] as they could coordinate attacks for him behind their defenses without him ever seeing the battlefield.

Basil was another choice who was both obvious and easy to cajole to joining their plan. His Nature affinity made him downright deadly in a mass-scale battle. He could use his affinity to bolster their defenses and entangle multiple enemies at once, leaving them as sitting ducks for Emyr.

Liliana had debated adding Koth’talan for several reasons. He was less useful in large battles as he excelled in one-on-one combat, but his Lava affinity made him both a good attacker and defender. His general detestation of working with others also made him a risk. But after a few meetings in their grove and a rather, in his words, annoying tenacity on Liliana’s part, they had added him to their group.

Diana would’ve been a good addition as well, with her many affinities she was able to fit in anywhere to be a valuable asset, but her and Liliana’s rocky relationship made such a thing untenable.

In a volatile environment, trust was essential, and Liliana simply didn’t feel there was enough between the two of them anymore for the partnership to be anything but a liability for all of them.

Liliana had grabbed Rathwater at the last minute. His Lightning and Storm affinities meant he was a useful AOE attacker and in a battle royale fight, that was precisely what they needed. She’d already seen what they could do together when they combined abilities, and they’d made use of their combination attack several times in the dungeon.

The reserved boy had been surprised but amiable to cooperating with her group, seeming relieved that this would increase his odds of making it to the single battle rounds.

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Mages were powerful after all, but utterly worthless on their own without someone to block the blows that would quickly zero out their pitiful Vitality. Rathwater’s chances of progressing on his own were frankly atrocious.

It was a large team by their class’ standards with eight of them in it, but small compared to what other classes could put together. If one of the classes decided to team-up entirely, it would be downright dangerous and they could end up facing what amounted to a miniature army of students.

However, Liliana trusted in the innate ability all teenagers held to make enemies with those they spent the most time with and placed that possibility low on her list. She had plans for if it did happen, but the overall odds of her entire team making it to the next round lowered drastically if that eventuality came around.

Marianne, Emyr and Alistair knew the plan if such a thing did happen, as they would all be essential in seeing it come to completion, but she hadn’t shared it with the rest. It would only serve to further agitate their nerves and would risk harming their confidence, something they needed if they were to win this.

Liliana grabbed a pastry to eat as she tried to shake off the trembling in her fingers. Her role in this fight would be deceptively easy. She just had to sit in the middle of their group while the rest did all the hard work. Despite appearances, though, her role was vital, and mentally exhausting.

She’d be their control center, more or less. Using her telepathic connection to her bonds and her [Astral Projection], she’d be their eyes while everyone was closed behind layers and layers of protection. She’d need to communicate mentally to locate targets for their mages to focus on and attack while simultaneously keeping an eye on anyone attacking their defenses and find ways to neutralize them before they became a problem.

“Is everyone ready? Remember the plans? All weapons and armor prepared, repaired and primed? Anyone need a snack or water? Or to go to the bathroom?” Alistair pressed, looking over them all like a general surveying his troops. Or a mother panicking about her kids’ first dungeon adventure.

“Ali, we’re fine.” Emyr soothed his friend…? They’d had some kind of talk after the party, and both emerged from Alistair’s room with their hands intertwined, and they were even more inseparable than ever.

Liliana wasn’t entirely certain of what was going on for sure between them, but she had an entire speech prepared for both of them. And a shovel to threaten them with. It was hard to give a proper shovel talk to your own brother and best friend, but she would make it work. It was her first ever one!

Still, she was happy for them, and, more importantly, for the fact that she wouldn’t have to deal with two emotionally compromised variables in her plans for today. Even if their affection could be downright nauseating at times.

She’d lost the betting pool though, Anya had won the gold from that, as she’d predicted that they’d confess right before the Tournament. Marianne had been sure they’d confess over their winter break, as it was ‘so romantic’. Liliana had originally bet they wouldn’t confess until their fourth year and hadn’t changed her bet after her talk with Emyr on the roof.

Liliana was a sneak, but she wasn’t a cheat. She had some morals, after all.

“We have the best of class S here. It’ll be a breeze.” Basil added in with a grin.

Liliana rolled her eyes but returned the smile. Basil was the calmest of them all, seemingly confident in their chances of victory. Rathwater was sitting with his head between his knees and a distinctly green hue to his fair skin. He raised a hand and gave a thumbs up at least, so Liliana thought he was just dealing with the pressure of performing in front of so many watchers.

Performance anxiety was a real monster. Liliana didn’t much care about how many people watched her fight. It was the fight itself she cared about.

“We’ll pound everyone else into the ground!” Anya bounced around with her tail wagging furiously behind her.

Koth’talan just shrugged as he continued sharpening his sword, seeming to not care one way or another. Liliana was fairly certain that as long as he got further than his brother, the dæmon would be satisfied. They all had their goals for the tournament, and not all of them were victory.

Some just wanted to fight, some had something to prove, and others simply had enemies they wished to see fail.

“It’s time. Line up.” Vereign’s harsh voice cut through the chatter.

The room descended into anxious silence as the students rose and moved towards the door, settling into a long line grouped by friends and presumably team-ups. None of them were dressed in their uniforms.

Today was one of the few days where the dress code didn’t matter. They all bristled with weapons and armor bought from the school store or brought from home as part of their three permitted items.

Liliana was at the back of the line, her bonds trailing behind her or, in Nemesis’ case, wrapped around her neck. As armor and weapons were permitted to be donned before the start of the first round, bonds were allowed to be out, as not all students had soul stones to keep them in and the use of bonds was permitted in the tournament.

Liliana took a deep breath as they walked through the dim tunnels under the coliseum, her hand going instinctively to Nemesis’ scales, rubbing against them to calm both her and the vibrating serpent. The flowered serpent was doing well around so many humans, but Liliana was worried for her state once they were surrounded by the other first years.

At least she didn’t have to rein in her bond’s murderous impulses today. The shields placed on all of them soon would mean she couldn’t truly do any harm, but her viciousness could be helpful in culling the herd.

Liliana could hear the low roar of voices before she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. As they stepped out onto the hard-packed sand floor of the coliseum grounds, Liliana squinted and raised a hand to block out the harsh morning light.

The tournament started early, in expectation of how long it could go. There were no time limits on the fights, but none of the students fighting would be permitted to rest until the fights were over, except the small time they got between fights in later rounds. Towards the end they’d be fighting physical, Mana, and Stamina exhaustion on top of each other.

The winner of the tournament was as much decided through martial skill as they were in their ability to manage and ration their Mana and Stamina. It wasn’t an unusual sight for a tank to win a tournament.

Liliana blinked as her eyes adjusted and looked around the large arena, spotting other classes coming out of the tunnels behind their homeroom teachers. Liliana looked behind her and noted that the tunnel they’d emerged under was beneath the same seats they’d sat in during their tour and orientation. The Academy was very particular in separating the different classes.

Liliana looked forward in enough time to prevent from running into Marianne’s back as the princess stopped. They waited in silence as the rest of the classes found their own spots. They were arranged in a circle; the lines turning into rows of students as the teens moved without instruction to line up like ranks of soldiers.

It helped that they had practiced this before with their homeroom teachers.

The center of the circle was left empty until a flash of fire, once more in the shape of a large, winged creature, announced the dramatic arrival of their headmistress. Liliana had to avert her eyes to prevent compromising her eyesight as the flames burned bright white towards the bottom, where she was closest to.

She could feel Polaris tensing behind her, his hackles raising at the arrival of such a strong beast. Now that she was aware of it, she could almost feel a faint trace of an aura similar to what she’d experienced with Minori. Barely there and easily ignorable as a trait of a Rank 1 human if one didn’t know any better. Yet subtly different, other in a way only beasts were.

“Welcome! Today we begin the first of four tournaments. Here fortunes will be made or lost as the best and brightest of the newest generation strive to show what makes them extraordinary!” Wraithe began her speech as the flames died down and revealed her form.

“We will begin our tournament with our first years, the youngest and newest of our students. This is their initial chance to show if they truly belong among our hallowed halls, or if they’ll burn brightly only to fade quickly. Young they might be but perhaps among their number we’ll see some true diamonds in the rough!” Wraithe continued, her voice booming across the coliseum, so loud it set Liliana’s bones shaking and she had to put true effort into disguising her discomfort.

“Show us all what you’re made of, young fledglings. Let us see if the time spent on you so far was worth the investment, or if you’ll fall short of the expectations placed on you.” Wraithe turned towards the first years, her sharp gaze somehow piercing every student standing on the sands.

“The first round is a battle royale. It will continue until only fifty remain standing. Any who fall will be immediately removed from the field. Only the strongest and most cunning of you will proceed on to the next round. So do not hold back, push yourselves to the limit and prove to all watching that you belong here!” Wraithe commanded them, voice somehow running deeper than mere words and Liliana detected a magical suggestion woven in the headmistress’ words, easily pushed off by her necklace and mental protections, weak as the suggestion was.

She didn’t need any further incentive to win this tournament.

“Shields!” Wraithe commanded, and across the coliseum shields formed on the students and beasts waiting eagerly to prove themselves. A larger shield wrapped around the coliseum, protecting the audience from stray shots.

“Fall or rise by your own mettle and strength! Begin!” Wraithe commanded, vanishing in another gout of flames. The professors vanished with far less fanfare, leaving the students standing there alone.

Liliana wasted no time. Neither did her team as they immediately broke away from the ranks of students, sprinting for the wall closest to them as the other students caught on to the fact that the fight had begun.

In seconds, the coliseum devolved into utter chaos.