A Tense Standoff. The air thickens with tension, and cold sweat runs down.
"A secret... if it’s worth my time, I’ll consider sparing you," Baekseol said coolly, exuding the aura of a cat cornering a mouse. Though Gordius’s group outnumbered her, the intensity in the air leaned heavily in her favor.
Gordius tried to counter the pressure. "That’s not a negotiation."
"No, because I have no reason to negotiate. Do you really think you’ve uncovered something I wouldn’t be able to find out on my own?"
"It’d be difficult. It’s a specific mechanism that you can’t understand without experiencing it firsthand. By the time you do, it’ll be too late."
"A race is relative, and even if the rabbit takes a nap, it’s still faster than the turtle. Once I drive everyone out of the mansion, I won’t need any secrets."
In other words, she was demanding that he lay all his cards on the table and leave his fate to her mercy. Was there any other choice?
The desperate one here was Gordius. For the negotiation table to hold, he needed to present a clear benefit, something more enticing than simply eliminating a competitor.
"The mansion has already been occupied by Baekryeom's faction. There’s a way to feed them to the 'Grand Maze.' What could be more satisfying than eliminating them all at once without a fight?"
"Certainly, the Baekryeom team can be annoying."
Given Baekseol’s fable ability, Turtle Loses to Rabbit , which weakens weaker opponents, she’d prefer taking down the thirty-some weaklings rather than battling the elite ten. Although she wasn’t worried about losing to Baekryeom’s team, if the weaker turtles would take care of the stronger ones for her...
"Your premise is wrong, Baekseol."
"Selvier?"
Selvier interrupted, sparking a flame at her fingertips, aiming it toward Gordius.
"The most dangerous one here is Gordius."
She knew about the Session , even if not in full detail. She understood that Gordius had survived an ordeal akin to saving an entire world. Statistically, those who experienced a Session often awakened a fable ability. If Gordius was proposing a negotiation, it was likely because he had an ability of his own.
In other words, this negotiation was pointless. Sparing a challenging opponent just to deal with an easier one was a mistake.
Baekseol tilted her head briefly, then nodded slightly. "Alright. Let’s deal with him."
The negotiation was over.
"Scatter! I’ll hold them off; you all continue the mission! Gordius’s Labyrinth! "
Rumble—!
Gordius instantly raised three-meter-high earthen walls all around, forming a maze. The walls obstructed Baekseol’s line of sight, freeing him from her slowing ability and restoring his speed.
The other students in his special unit ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) panicked, unsure of what to do, but Gordius remained unfazed.
"Gordius, even you’ll fall! Your opponent is Baekseol!"
"I’ve accepted that. I’ll be eliminated here, but my team won’t... isn’t that right? I saw Baekseol and Selvier breaking cabinets. I suspect it’s related to the 'number of protectable people.' Spread out and destroy them."
"...Damn it, fine. Don’t die!"
Trusting their unshakable leader, the members scattered in all directions, focused on breaking cabinets.
Left alone, Gordius calmly assessed the situation. His elimination was nearly certain. So, the question was: how could he lose in a way that benefited his team the most?
He recalled all the information, piecing it together. Then, he realized.
"...The tiara."
On Baekseol’s head sat a tiara he hadn’t seen before. It could easily be dismissed as a mere decoration, but the fact that she was wearing it today seemed suspicious.
That must be the Crown .
A soft incantation echoed from behind the walls.
" Winter’s Blizzard. "
Whoosh—!
The temperature plummeted, and Gordius could see his breath condense in the air. Snowflakes began to drift, sapping the warmth from his body.
Was she trying to freeze him out?
He decided to go on the offensive. If he only defended, it would give his opponent more room to maneuver.
" Earth Spike! "
Boom, crack—!
As Gordius stomped, a large, pointed stone spike shot up from the distant ground. However, it didn’t seem to hit its target.
With the walls obscuring their view, neither he nor Baekseol could easily strike each other directly... except through wild guessing or scattering attacks.
But he didn’t demolish the walls. Both of them were equally blinded by the barriers, which meant Baekseol wouldn’t have an easy time hitting him either...
"You can’t escape. Ice Axe. "
Chack—whump—!
A razor-sharp ice axe, condensed mid-air, came hurtling toward him in a precise arc. He barely managed to throw himself out of the way.
Crash! Shhk shhk shhk!
The ice axe shattered upon hitting the ground, scattering sharp fragments that tore through his clothes.
"How... how did you know where I was?"
"I know where you are. I have sharp eyes."
Such precise attacks... Was it luck, or something else...?
A realization dawned on Gordius. Baekseol’s Winter’s Blizzard continued to release snowflakes. But it wasn’t even snowing; the weather was clear.
These weren’t ordinary snowflakes. They were magically conjured, likely alerting her to his location the moment they made contact with him.
"Then how about this? Miniature Golem Summoning. "
He conjured a golem similar in height to himself and set it loose. Though it cost him magic, it was better than being struck by her spells.
It worked. Baekseol’s ice axes flew out several more times, but they all targeted and destroyed the golems. With this strategy, he could drag out the fight for hours...
But just as he began to feel optimistic, Baekseol spoke.
"It’s alright to surrender now."
"...I still have plenty of magic left."
"The traditional role of a mage is saturation. That’s why I didn’t bother tearing down the walls. I’ll blow you away in one fell swoop."
"...?"
Crack. Crack crack.
A chilling sound made Gordius turn. It wasn’t coming from where Baekseol stood, but from his side and rear—the spots where her ice axes had landed.
The shattered ice axes had sprouted clusters of ice flowers on the ground like plants. The sharply defined petals hinted that they were about to explode like claymore mines.
If she was so confident, then she must be certain these would break through even his strongest defenses.
Was this the end?
As the thought of his imminent defeat weighed on him, Baekseol’s words echoed in his mind.
"The traditional role of a mage is satur—"
A role? The role of the moving Grand Maze was to (1) summon contestants to the mansion, a safe zone, and (2) encourage fights among them.
So, to fulfill this purpose, when would the Grand Maze need to move and cause eliminations? Was it triggered at regular intervals?
No. If the Grand Maze moved too frequently, it would cause issues; too infrequently, and it would disrupt the event. There had to be a specific condition.
For instance... if ownership of the Crown changed hands.
A revelation struck him.
"...!!"
Instinctively, Gordius charged forward, breaking down the earthen wall to approach Baekseol.
" Ice Flowers Blooming a Thousandfold. "
Boom—!
Whoosh. Crackle crackle—!
An explosion of icy blossoms erupted with lethal force, instantly painting Gordius’s safety shield red.
As he was on the verge of being eliminated and transported outside, his gaze caught Baekseol. Reaching out, he grasped at the air, and Baekseol murmured.
"Did you forget about my ability?"
Bzz—
His movements slowed, his entire body becoming sluggish as his sprint dropped to a mere walking pace. But Gordius smirked.
"I’m not the one moving..."
"...?"
Thump.
A small golem, designed only to jump, had circled behind Baekseol, undetected. With a small leap, the golem nudged her Crown , knocking it off.
The crown rolled, stopping right in front of Gordius.
He picked up the Crown and placed it on his head, then sprawled out. Checkmate. He looked up at the sky with a relieved expression.
Beeep—
A buzzer sounded, signaling his defeat and elimination.
Baekseol knelt beside him, retrieving the Crown and placing it back on her head. She looked down at him, bewildered.
"Did you want to try it on before you were eliminated?"
"Yes. It’s quite lovely."
"It doesn’t suit a man."
"Perhaps, but in this moment... it fit perfectly on my head."
And with that, Gordius disintegrated into particles, disappearing from sight. Though the effect looked like he’d faded away, it was a safe transport.
Selvier folded her arms, staring at where Gordius had been.
"...This feels strange."
"Don’t worry about it. Turtles often do odd things like this. And my mana hasn’t recovered yet."
"That’s because you keep using it! And you rejected my offer to help again!"
"Well, every time I do, it’s to maintain my dignity."
"Hey!!"
Did Gordius's actions have any meaning? Leaving behind a sense of unease, the two wizards made their way back to the 'Mansion of Glory.'
As I watched the monitor, popping a piece of popcorn into my mouth, I let out a quiet sigh of admiration.
"That kid..."
The Gordius vs. Baekseol battle had just concluded. As I edited the footage in real-time with my right hand, my left hand jotted down notes on areas to improve.
Gordius did quite well.
It seemed like he figured out the conditions that triggered the Grand Maze.
His guess was correct. The Grand Maze is triggered when the Crown changes ownership. If no one possesses it initially, the timer doesn’t count down.
That’s why it didn’t activate when Bennet first obtained it, but triggered when Baekseol took it from him.
The logic was designed to prevent teams from passing the Crown around to accumulate points.
Imagine you’re about to earn your turn for the hour, only for the Grand Maze to storm in and ruin everything. The alliance would shatter, and knives would be drawn.
When Bennet unexpectedly grabbed the Crown , the Grand Maze activated faster than I’d anticipated. But honestly, I can’t complain—it’s beneficial for both the students and me.
After all, the Academy Team Tournament is essentially a career-prep project.
The TRPG GM’s role is to spotlight the players' characters.
"Are you really not just pouting because they didn’t want to play along?"
"What do you think I am?"
I ignored Aisha’s teasing.
For students who step into my territory, I can provide content tailored to their strengths. And indeed, those snatched by the Grand Maze are now showing off their talents.
Though some of them seem to be struggling, it’s all good—everyone loves an epic scene. And the audience loved it.
So... personally, I hope Selvier gets eliminated soon.
It’s only natural to have a bias. I have a heart-pounding stage ready for her in the Grand Maze. If she enters, I’ll make her a star.
The editing of the Gordius vs. Baekseol footage is done. With multiple angles and some subtle effects to enhance the drama, I send it to Aisha for broadcast.
Then, I tweak the Grand Maze .
The protectable number of people in the mansion is dwindling.
How does the exact formula work? It starts at 100, and every time the Crown changes hands, 20 are deducted.
However, any exchanges during the Grand Maze ’s movement are exempt from counting, to prevent a rapid countdown with just four exchanges.
Additionally, each Temporary Safe Zone that is used or destroyed deducts one. The count won’t drop below one.
Bennet to Baekseol, deduct 20.
With nineteen safe zones used during the first mansion assault, the protectable count dropped to 61.
Then, Baekseol to Gordius to Baekseol, deduct another 20.
With the further destruction of safe zones by Selvier and Baekseol...
[Protectable Count: 35].
Currently, there are 39 members of Gordius’s party, nine in Baekryeom’s faction, three captives, plus Selvier and Baekseol. Total: 53 people.
If Gordius’s third-floor strategy isn’t discovered, they might even end the game with a victory.
Move, Mad Wizard’s Grand Maze !
"Let’s show these academy students my challenges, attractions... as a way of showing my love for those determined not to taste even a morsel of it!"
"...So you really are pouting. Hey, by the way, we haven’t received footage from Envers yet. Is the editing taking long?"
"Huh? Oh... he doesn’t have any footage. He left the test area, I mean, he went out of camera range. Maybe he went to the bathroom?"
"Hm."
Deep within a secluded forest, hooded figures gathered, discussing their sinister plan.
"The time has come. We’ll ruin the academy festival completely, broadcasting the massacre of students to shake the Empire’s authority and spread chaos across the continent. Is everyone prepared?"
"Heheh... Of course. Ever since I was expelled from the academy, I can’t live without seeing it destroyed."
"How could a society built for the gifted be just? Damn it, all those geniuses deserve to die so people like us can survive!"
They were bound by deep-seated resentment toward the academy, their twisted emotions glinting beneath their hoods.
One figure, however, seemed particularly awkward, nervously shifting. The leader, wanting to put the newcomer at ease, asked his name.
"...By the way, newbie, I don’t recognize you. What’s your name?"
"I... am, uh, Nam, er, Heeyeonghyun. I, uh, also, like, seriously despise the academy. Yes."
"An unusual name... and an unusual way of speaking."
It was, of course, Namgoong Cheonghui.