The day of the match had arrived.

The match that would decide the leader of the Capture The Flag team if Virlyd defeated Cæ in their final match.

At the very epicenter of a large forest range within the massive campus of the Elendir Institute of Magic, nineteen mages gathered.

The air was fresh.

Cool winds brushed past the gathered mages while the bright light of the morning Sun beamed down on them and the entire forest. The sound was filled with the gentle noise of rustling leaves and swaying trees, making for a soothing environment.

And yet, the air was anything but soothing.

On one end stood Team Miranda, donning purple vests atop their athletic and trainer uniforms to signify which team they belonged to. Before them stood none other than Miranda Walyn herself, donning a rather practical uniform unlike what one would expect from an affluent young lady and her usual regal bearing and attire.

She, too, donned a rough vest and a purple cap, signifying her leader status.

On the opposite side was Cæ's team, having donned a green vest atop their sporting uniforms while Cæ, too, donned a green cap as the leader of his team. Cæ had chosen the color green simply because it would blend in more with the forest environment.

To their sides were their respective flags with the same color as their vests: purple and green, respectively. Between them was the head instructor, Mr. Sorwel, standing firm and stiff with his arms locked behind his back.

He gazed at the two leaders who stared at each other intensely, before clearing his throat. "I will now begin to explain the rules of the game. To start with, the two teams, at my command, will take their flags and place them anywhere in their half of the forest, as demarcated by the line at which I'm standing."

He tapped his foot, gesturing with his arms at an imaginary line. "As all of you surely know. Magic during this stage is strictly prohibited. We have proctors who are keeping watch on all of you to make sure that you don't violate this rule. Any discovery of a violation of this rule will lead to immediate disqualification. Remember that carefully. And the preliminary phase begins… now!"

CLACK

Both Cæ and Miranda extracted their flags, directing a deep look at each other before heading off in opposite directions with them, followed by their teams.

"Don't bother," Cæ noticed Hyoken trying to catch a glimpse of which direction Miranda and her team went. "You're not going to spot them through the thick forest environment, and she is not foolish enough to leave a hint in which direction they're going from the very get-go. Let's just focus on our plan to the very best of our abilities."

Hyoken nodded with a serious expression. "We're a stronger team, anyway."

Cæ nodded curtly. "I'm sure some of you sensed the friction and distance between Miranda and her team. Dranst and Seol don't look very pleased with her, nor does Kyrell. I suspect that she hasn't navigated dealing with them in a good manner. This will work to our advantage when the time comes."

Silian turned, directing a complicated gaze at Cæ, before turning away.

His expression had softened a little, but his eyes remained as hardened towards Cæ as they had been before.

Yet, that only increased the respect Silian had for him, even if grudgingly and reluctantly.

The fact that he had managed to smooth out team relations and cooperation with someone who disliked him as much as Silian did was simply proof to show that his experience as a leader with Trinity Housings and as the director of the Talent Acquisition Program was not for show.

Silian felt more confident of winning this match than he did before, especially after seeing how uncomfortable the atmosphere on the other side was.

Cæ turned to Serulia, who wore a serious, motivated expression. "Ready? You are central to my plan. To our plan."

She nodded seriously, brushing her golden hair behind her ears. "I will not fail."

"Good, because I have found the ideal spot for our flag." Cæ gestured with an upward nod.

The others turned to spot what he gestured to.

A remarkably tiny hill with nothing other than grass covering the surface.

It was tall enough that it would stand out from the very moment that anybody came close, but it was short enough that Miranda's team would not be able to see it before the match began.

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"Man…" Hyoken muttered with a nervous grin. "I can't imagine that we're going to go ahead with this crazy plan."

"I-I can't wait to see their reaction after they realize just how large a bluff they fell for," Lorden muttered with an excited tone. "What do you think, Cæ?"

"It will be satisfying," Cæ affirmed. "But let's not count our chickens before they hatch. We have work to do if we want to see that outcome. Remain focused on your tasks."

They heeded his words, exhaling deeply as they watched Cæ plant the prominent green fall at the very top of the hill.

THUD

Cæ landed on his feet heavily after he finished his task, directing a serious nod to all of them. "Coach will soon give the call to start the match."

Cæ pointed to the sky where a distant figure rose in the air.

Mr. Sorwel drew his wand out as a magic circle appeared before him.

BANG!

He released a magical explosion that was yellow in color.

It was a signal.

They had one more minute until the match began.

"Alright, get ready, everybody." Cæ drew his wand from his holster. "Serulia, you will need to cast the invisibility spell the moment the match begins."

She nodded with a serious expression, her light blue eyes brimming with determination. I am ready."

Seconds passed as the entire team got ready.

The air tingled with tension.

The atmosphere grew electric with peril.

Soon enough, it was time.

BANG!

A green magical explosion blasted in the sky, signifying the commencement of the match.

From the moment the match began, Serulia cast an invisibility spell on her, Hyoken, and three other trainers who were nominally a part of the defensive team.

WHOOSH

Five out of the nine members went invisible while Cæ sharpened his eyes with ferocity.

"Charge!"

He led the assault as they surged straight towards Team Miranda's territory.

"Trainer Wilfred!" Cæ turned towards one of the two visible trainer members.

"On it," the older man gruffly replied with a magic circle having already emerged before him, before casting a spell.

A divination spell.

It swept across the forest far and wide.

He closed his eyes as several magic circles emerged before his eyes while the spell fed his vision with all the information it collected.

His eyes flew wide open.

"Found it! Their flag is in a cave at the very other end of the forest environment!"

"Lead the way," Cæ instructed with a serious tone. "Keep the divination spell active. I will protect you with a defensive spell."

WHOOSH!

The group of nine, five invisible, charged in the direction of their opponents' base as they whizzed just above the trees in the forest.

Cæ's eyes sharpened as he spotted five attacking members of their opponent's team in the distance. "Incoming attacks!"

Just like they had planned, the entire team adopted sturdy defensive shields while launching as powerful an attack as they could muster against their opponents as the two groups passed by.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!

The two groups exchanged a volley of magic firepower, swiftly zooming by each other. Miranda gritted her teeth as she surged through the forests, casting her spirit magic, as her elemental spirits manifested before her. "Damn! They have a head start on us. That must mean that their flag is not as deep in their territory as ours is. Lyarna!"

"Yes!" Lyarna nodded as the two students activated their respective magic spells.

Miranda summoned elemental spirits, even if very low-level ones, to scour the forest to look for their opponents' flag while Lyarna cast a spell of light, sending a wave of light radiating through the forest.

The two of them realized it instantly.

"There's a flag planted on top of a hill very prominently…!" Miranda gritted her teeth. "Damn bastards, do they think we're that fucking stupid that we'll fall for the most obvious decoys?!"

"Serulia must have used the method that the professor taught her to conjure the fake flag!" Lyarna realized.

WHOOSH

They arrived at the tiny hill atop which the green flag of their opponents flapped, drawing all the attention in the world. It so obviously stood out that one didn't even need a divination spell to spot it.

"They're mocking us with such obvious bait!" Miranda snarled with a displeased expression. "Lyarna, conduct a wide-scale divination scan with me. Serulia must be hiding somewhere with the real flag using her invisibility!"

The two of them immediately began searching the entire forest around them, desperately trying to find where their opponents' flag was planted and where Serulia could be hiding with it.

They couldn't have imagined that Serulia wasn't hiding with the real flag.

She was, in fact, the key to the offense.

Seconds of tense silence passed as Lyarna and Miranda began hastily searching the region for their opponents' base.

Meanwhile, the three offensive trainers on her team stared at the flag waving on top of the hill with a confused expression as their eyes zoomed in on it.

It felt so real.

Almost as if it were the real flag.

"…There's no way." The trainer shook his head, directing a serious expression around the forest. "Let's help them search with whatever we can do. We can't afford for this to take too long!"

The five of them began searching for a Serulia that they thought was hiding the flag along with the other defenders of Cæ's team.

Minutes passed as Lyarna and Miranda began growing more and more frustrated.

"I can't find her around the hill!" Lyarna shouted with a panicked tone.

"Damn! They must have gone even further!" Miranda gritted her teeth as she began searching frantically, summoning even more elemental spirits. "We will expand our search radius!"

And so they did, desperately searching for a Serulia that wasn't really there and a real hidden flag that also wasn't there, growing more desperate with each passing second as they slowly began to comb the entirety of their opponent's side.

WHOOSH!

Meanwhile, on the far end, Cæ opened his eyes as several magic circles before his eyes disappeared. Elementary divination magic that merely allowed him to take a good look at what his opponents were doing on their side of the territory.

A brief, rare smile cracked at the edge of his mouth for just a moment, even as he coursed through the air, wind fluttering at his athletic uniform beneath the green vest.

"They fell for it!" Cæ informed his team. "It's good news! But stay focused on the plan!"

The team felt euphoric at the thought that their insane plan was actually working like they had intended it to. It motivated them to go all out as crazed grins emerged on all their faces at the thought that they could win using this insane strategy.

"Let's go all out!"

WHOOSH!

They charged through the forest as they arrived at their opponent's base.

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