CH 27

Cass 5 and Class 1, which were divided into two factions, sat in a circular formation around their respective professors.

“Are there any students who wish to compete?”

“I recommend Leo and Chelsi!”

As Karl raised his hand and said, the students nodded.

Leo was not only a freshmen representative, but he also impressed the students during the temporary class period and firmly established himself as a talented individual in their minds.

As for Chelsi, she was a member of a prestigious hero family, and her entrance exam score was the best in class 5.

“Leo Flove, Chelsi Llewellyn. Any complaints?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Neither do I.”

“Okay, The one who recommended Karl Thomas. You go out too.”

"Huh? Well, it's better for other friends to go out than me...... .”

"You have no right to refuse."

"Yep!" Karl was reluctantly pushed out.

"Who's next?"

"I'll go!"

"I'll do it too!"

Illyana and Tade raised their hands eagerly.

“Illyana Laden, Tade Marcoa. There are four more left."

“I’ll do it too.”

“Nella Caven.”

When Nella announced her intention to participate in a languid voice, the male students scrambled to raise their hands.

Nella, one of the most beautiful girls in the class, ignited their enthusiasm for participating.

Eight contestants stepped forward.

"It seems like Class 5 has chosen its members. Let's begin then!"

Sedzen spread both of his hands.

Wooooo!

Light shone on the field, and a rectangular line appeared. Along with that, a goalpost made of mana lines appeared at the corners of the rectangle.

Players from both teams gathered in the center.

“The match is 20 minutes. Winning is important, but the spirit of fair play is more important. I'll give you a little time for the strategy meeting."

Professor Sedzen, who gave time for the strategy meeting, went to the referee's seat.

“Did you come out without fear?”

"We'll crush you."

Celia and Chloe glared at Karl and smiled wickedly.

Karl, who was frightened, hid behind Chelsi.

After greeting each other, both team players gathered in the center of each camp.

Leo was named captain on Chelsi's recommendation.

“Look at the class 1 guys, they act like they are seniors.”

“After all, they are all descendants of prestigious families.”

"They're acting like they already won the game."

“The class with the highest average score in the entrance exam is class 1, right?”

The students had tense expressions as they discussed strategy. 

Meanwhile, wearing a blue vest that glowed, Leo asked a question.

“But isn’t moving the body an unconditional advantage to the Knights Department?”

“What are you talking about, Leo? Bastella is not a game necessarily advantageous just because one is from the knight department. The activities of the Magic Department and Summoning Department are also very important!”

Tade answered.

"why?"

"Why? Well..."

Tade, who trailed off, asked as if something struck him.

"Leo, have you ever played Bastella?"

"No, I haven't."

“You’re from the Delard Kingdom, right?”

"Yes."

“I see. The Delard Kingdom is on the outskirts, so you didn't know...."

Tade covered his face with his hands.

"In Bastella, you win by putting the ball in the opponent's goal as many times as possible within a limited time. However…"

"However?"

"The strategy meeting time is over. Let the captains of each team come forward! We will decide the team that will attack first.”

Leo went out as a representative.

The representative of Class 1 was Duran.

Sedzen, who held the coin, asked Leo.

“Which are you going to choose, heads or tails?"

"Heads."

When Sedzen glanced at Duran, he nodded as if he didn't care.

Ting-!

The coin bounced up and landed on the back of Sedzen's hand.

"Tail. Class 1 attacks first."

A bloodshot smile spread across Duran's face as he received the transparent ball.

"This time, I'll definitely crush you."

Leo shrugged off Duran's provocation.

Watching this, Duran, who was gnashing his teeth, went back to his team and handed the ball to Celia.

“Give me the rest of the explanation.”

At Leo's words, Tade shouted with a tense face.

“No time to explain! Experience it yourself! Here they come!"

"huh?"

Swish-!

The transparent ball turned red and burst into flames.

"Here it goes!"

Celia threw the ball hard.

SWOOSH-!

The ball flew towards Leo at great speed, drawing a straight trajectory.

Leo hurriedly dodged.

Boom-!

“Queuck?”

The male student behind Leo screamed and bounced away after being hit in the side.

- THUD! 

ROLL ROLL!

Celia swept back her disheveled hair and high-fived her teammates.

Watching the classmate who fell to the ground, Leo asked with a serious face.

".... He's not going to die, is he?"

“He’s protected by protective clothing, but… … it hurts like crazy if you get hit."

Karl answered in a tired voice.

“This is Bastella! If you hit the opponent with the ball, the attack is over! Instead, if you get hit by a ball and can't move, you're out! It's a dangerous sport that could cost you your life if thrown by a really strong person!” said Tade, swallowing dry saliva.

Now Leo could understand why the students were so nervous.

Scoring many points is one way to win, but before that, if you make all the opponents unable to fight, it's still a victory.

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ 

"Awesome! Powerful! Elegant! As expected from a direct descendant of Gerdinger!"

Sedzen clapped in joy.

“Hallind! Your class will never beat our class!”

"But the game has just started, hasn't it?"

“Oh my my! yes! But just having Student Celia on our side gives us an absolute advantage! You know best that the Gerdinger family is highly specialized in Bastella!"

“… … .”

At Sedzen's words, a class 1 student raised his hand and asked.

“Why is the Gerdinger family advantageous in Bastella?"

“Good question! The most efficient thing in Ballista is the fire attribute with high destructive power! And the fire of the Gerdinger family is evaluated as the most powerful among humans!”

He pointed to Hallind with a triumphant expression.

“There is a senior who was known as a legend at Lumeln Academy! The Empress of Bastella, one of my friend's first disciples, was also a Gerdinger!"

Sena, who was listening to the explanation, laughed.

“We also have a student who possesses a fire aura on our side.”

Hallind saw Leo catch the ball.

Flames erupted from Leo's ball.

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ 

'Does it contain non-attribute mana?'

Leo, who grasped the nature of the ball, rolled the ball lightly wrapped in the fire on his palm.

Class 1 students looked at Leo with nervous faces.

"Karl."

"huh?"

“Is it possible to attack or capture people with our skills?”

"No. You are allowed to intercept to prevent the pass, but the attack can only be made with the ball.”

‘So the ball is the only means of attack. Whoever has the ball has an absolute advantage.’

“Really?”

While Leo was grasping the rules, Nella approached the male student in her class who had fallen and used her aura.

At the same time as the light of the white aura burst out, the boy's face became more at ease.

'Hoo? Healing Aura? That's a rare attribute.'

Auras have various properties.

In general, there were many attributes that enhance attack power, but there were also attributes that heal wounds like Nella’s.

“Brother Leo. you can't hold the ball for too long, it will be considered as a foul and the ball possession will be turned over to the other side."

"I got it. But I have one more question. Is it okay to kick the ball with your feet instead of your hands?"

"It’s okay. But wouldn’t that be less accurate?”

"It’s okay."

Leo threw the ball into the air and kicked it with his foot.

BOOM-!

The aura on Leo's feet exploded, and the repulsive force was added to the ball.

The momentary firepower generated by the aura combined with Leo's immense physical abilities, caused the ball to fly towards Class 1's goal faster than when Celia threw the ball.

“Stop it!”

Celia exclaimed urgently.

Zzzzzz-!

Mana radiated from Chloe's body, and a thick wall of ice was created in front of the goalpost.

Quang-! Jjok-!

The ball was deeply embedded in the thick ice wall.

"As long as I'm here, you can't score a goa..."

"Is that so?"

Leo, who rushed into Class 1's side, smiled wickedly at Chloe and charged towards the goalpost.

The Class 1 students were surprised by his action.

"W-What...!"

In the meantime, Leo leaped toward the ice wall.

“Here goes!”

Crack-!

He kicked the ball embedded in the ice wall.

Zzzzz-! Pach-!

The ice wall broke and the ball went into Class 1’s goalpost.

WHISTLE-!

"Class 5... scored the first point."

Professor Sendzen blew the whistle with an angry voice.

“As expected of the freshmen representative!”

"His agility is amazing!"

Cheers poured out from class 5.

'As expected, it's not easy.'

'Ugh! I was careless.'

'That son of a bitch!'

Celia, Chloe, and Duran looked at Leo with a frown.

"Nice! Scoring the first point is crucial!"

Karl gave a thumbs up.

"Alright, everyone! Let's defend against Class 1's attack and take back the ball!"

Illyana, the mood maker, raised her hand and shouted.

"Owww!"

The atmosphere in class 5 became lively.

“It seemed like a reckless attack, but still he used his wits to score!”

As Sena exclaimed, Hallind shook his head.

"No, that's a strategy."

“What do you mean, Professor?”

‘According to Ain, on the day of the entrance ceremony, Student Leo took on the role of a leader on the ship. So, he must have grasped Chloe Müller's abilities in advance.'

Chloe was good at ice magic, and her high-speed chanting ability was one of the best among first-year students.

In other words, she was the most suitable player to protect the goalpost among the Class 1 students.

Leo had figured out that in advance and was aiming for an opening.

'He's an excellent strategist for his age.'

Hallind stroked his chin as his eyes shone.

Meanwhile, class 1 began their counterattack.

Duran ran toward class 5 with the ball.

PACHIK-!

Golden sparks of aura burst from his body.

DASH-!

As he sprinted, Chelsi caught up with him in an instant.

Lightning and Wind. Both are properties specialized for speed.

“Where are you going!”

"Cheh!"

As Chelsi tenaciously kept up with him, Duran passed the ball towards Celia, who was following from behind.

"Ah!"

Chelsi was taken aback.

'He may be an arrogant punk, but his passes are accurate.'

Celia, who received Duran's pass, relentlessly charged toward class 5's goalpost.

Despite the students blocking her path, she easily passed them.

Leo appeared before Celia.

"Hello, Milady."

“I knew you would come.”

Celia smiled brightly.

"Even if he's the worst in character..."

PAJIK-!

"He’s the best, at least when it comes to speed."

"I don't think someone who's just brute force and destruction has the right to say that, Celia Gerdinger."

Duran, who had overtaken Chelsi before she knew it, jumped over Celia's head.

No matter how specialized Chelsi was in speed, she could not beat Duran in a running match.

Celia and Duran looked at each other and frowned.

Naturally, the two had an extremely bad relationship.

But they didn't compromise their victory for personal feelings.

Whoosh!

Celia passed the ball to Duran.

Leo didn't even try to intercept.

‘What, did he give up?’

When there was no pass stopper, Celia looked at Leo, puzzled.

Then she checked Leo's face and felt something was wrong.

“Duran wait… … .”

However, by the time Celia's words reached Duran, he had already thrown the ball.

SWOOSH!

“With this, it’s a tie!”