The day of the practical exam finally came.

  The students headed over to Training Hall Four.

  Following a quick ten-minute trip on the Academy's shuttle, a massive dome-shaped arena appeared before us.

  The arena was huge, with countless lights covering the ceiling.

  The stands spread across two floors and seemed big enough to hold thousands of people. Since it was built to be both a gym and a training center, it was packed with all sorts of modern equipment.

  "Wow, this place is massive."

  "The equipment looks amazing."

  "That's Vanguard for you."

  The students looked around the training hall in amazement. Even I was pretty impressed. I had only ever seen this place in the game before, so seeing it in real life was fascinating.

  "Okay, let's quiet down," Diana Reed called out, grabbing everyone's attention.

  "We will start the first exam in 25 minutes."

  Some students gulped, clearly nervous.

  However, Serena Sterling and Nina were exceptions. Nina let out a big yawn, and Serena looked completely bored as she barely paid attention.

  '...Am I the only nervous one on our team?'

  I gave a forced smile. Seeing how relaxed they were actually helped calm me down a bit.

  If anything went wrong during the first match, their skills would easily make up for it. Because of that, I didn't need to worry too much.

  "Every team will wait at opposite sides of the hall. When the match begins, your goal is to grab the flag and plant it in your base to win," Diana Reed explained while pointing at the flag in the middle of the room.

  "You will wear the training gear provided by the Academy, and you are free to use your supernatural abilities."

  The Academy's equipment was safe and designed to prevent fatal injuries.

  "However, you are not allowed to deal deadly blows to your opponents. If that happens, we will stop the match right away, and the supervisor might disqualify you."

  As long as everyone used the training gear right, it would be hard to seriously hurt anyone unless it was on purpose.

  "Even if someone does get badly hurt, our health instructor and healing mage, Clara Whitlock, will be on standby. So, don't worry."

  "Try not to get hurt, kids, alright? I want to relax," the health instructor said. She was a woman in her late twenties with a relaxed vibe and an attractive beauty mark under her eye. She truly cared about the students, but she was also famous for being quite lazy.

  "Clara Whitlock is one of the best healing mages in the nation."

  "Yeah, I saw her heal someone during practice. Her skills are amazing."

  "Wow, she's so pretty."

  Healers were very rare in the game, especially ones who could treat major injuries.

  "Okay, go get your combat gear from the equipment room and change into it. You have exactly ten minutes."

  The students followed her orders and headed to the locker rooms in pairs.

  I quickly put on my assigned gear.

  While I was changing, I spotted Julian Vance nearby. He was also getting dressed, and his abs were seriously impressive.

  It made sense why he was the main character. Those six-pack abs would definitely win over the girls.

  "Julian Vance."

  I walked up to him naturally.

  "Your first match is against Damian Steele. Are you feeling confident?"

  "Yeah."

  Julian nodded calmly, acting like it was obvious.

  "Confidence is important. Since you're going up against him, make sure to show off for Lily."

  "..."

  I patted Julian on the shoulder and walked away. I actually hoped we would face his team in the finals.

  I didn't want this because they were easy to beat, but because Lily Pierce was on his team. She needed to personally go through the event that happens in the finals. With all the hard trials coming up in the future, this would be great practice for her.

  "You too," he said.

  "Huh?"

  "Good luck."

  Julian's words made me smile. Out of all the main male characters, he was the most sensible. I mean, his personality was actually decent. He wasn't wild and careless like Damian Steele.

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  "Thanks."

  I walked out of the locker room and entered the crowd of students who were busy talking about their plans for the matches.

  "Hmm. It seems everyone is ready. Great. It's time to begin. Team 1 and Team 2, please come forward."

  "Understood."

  Following Diana Reed's orders, the members of both teams proudly walked up to the training stage.

  I looked at Lily Pierce, who was nervously playing with her hair while she walked. It was her first real match, so it made sense that she was anxious.

  "Go Julian!"

  "Ahhh! Julian Vance!"

  "Show them your skills, top student Julian!"

  Wow. The girls in the crowd screamed loudly for him. They sounded just like crazy sports fans.

  Hey girls, those guys are actually your rivals, you know.

  I watched them for a second before looking away.

  Cheering, huh... Maybe I should try it too, just to help Lily Pierce calm down.

  It would be bad if she got too nervous and messed up, which could cause her to lose early. The best outcome was for Lily's team to reach the finals.

  "You've got this, Lily Pierce!"

  Lily jumped a bit, clearly hearing my voice. She slowly turned to look at the crowd, and we made eye contact.

  She paused for a second before raising her hand to wave at me slightly.

  "Don't be nervous! Just do what you always do!"

  "I'm not nervous at all!"

  Lily laughed, finally looking relaxed and back to normal.

  "..."

  Julian glanced over at me. Our eyes locked for a second, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

  ...Hold on.

  I was just cheering for a friend.

  Please don't misunderstand.

  "What's his deal?"

  "Isn't he Lily Pierce's ex-boyfriend?"

  "People say they're childhood friends, but they still act really close even after breaking up."

  The whispers from the girls were quiet, but I could hear them.

  "I heard Lily dumped him so she could get closer to Julian, though."

  "Really? They don't look like they hate each other at all."

  The girls kept guessing things about my relationship with Lily.

  "Quiet down, everyone," Diana Reed ordered, stopping the chatter.

  "Are both teams ready to start?"

  Diana Reed looked back and forth between the two teams. Then, she pressed a remote to cover the training stage with a safety shield.

  It blocked both physical and magic attacks, and it was strong enough to handle any hits from the students.

  Honestly, it wasn't just safe from students.

  Even Diana Reed would need a long time to break the shield without the right tools.

  This shield was meant to protect the building and the crowd just in case someone's powers got out of control.

  ...And that exact problem was what this episode was all about.

  "Let's begin."

  With Diana Reed's signal, the first practical exam and the main plot finally started.

  Well, there was no turning back now.

  I just had to do my best.

  For a brief second, the whole training hall was completely quiet.

  Neither team blindly ran to grab the flag. Instead, they all peeked at their team leaders, Julian Vance and Damian Steele.

  "Just grabbing flags is boring..."

  All of a sudden, Julian swung his sword sideways in a flash.

  Whoosh!

  "Whoa?"

  "What in the world...?"

  "Is he using... that skill?"

  He only attacked once. From far away, his sword shot out a blue, magic-filled wave of energy. It flew as fast as light and went straight for Damian. Damian used his wild instincts and spun his spear to block the magic attack.

  "...Amazing."

  It was the Blade Aura Blast technique. In the game, this was an incredibly hard skill that let a swordsman attack with pure sword energy. It was famous for being tough to learn. Even out of all the active heroes, only the top ten percent could use it. But right now, a brand new Academy student was showing it off. Even so, the attack did look a bit weaker than usual.

  "Wow, that's crazy. Julian, you're awesome!"

  "The top student really is on another level, right?"

  The crowd was shocked, and it made sense. This was a skill that many people never learned, even after becoming real heroes.

  This is what true talent looks like.

  I felt a little jealous watching him.

  "The Blade Aura Blast... This is the first time I've seen a new student use it this year, aside from Valerie Cross," Diana Reed whispered, looking surprised.

  "...He knows that won't beat me. Is he trying to make me mad? How fun. And he acts so innocent too."

  Damian wasn't scared at all. Instead, he smiled widely, getting excited by the fight.

  He knew that Julian wasn't a master at the skill yet, and it used up way too much magic to spam it.

  "Alright, let's do this!"

  Damian charged ahead, and his teammates ran right behind him.

  Julian stood firmly in place with his sword raised, since he was the only one who could fight Damian head-on.

  Clang! Ting!

  Sparks shot everywhere as their weapons hit each other.

  While those two fought, the rest of the match depended on their teams.

  Julian's group included Lily Pierce and Julia Troy. On the other side, Damian had Toby King and Scarlett Price.

  Except for Lily, everyone else was a high-ranking student in the top 100.

  "Scarlett Price, I'll take care of Julia. You focus on Lily Pierce."

  "Got it. I'll beat her fast."

  Scarlett looked full of confidence as she walked toward Lily, snapping her whip loudly.

  She strongly believed she would easily win the one-on-one fight.

  "You really think you can win against Julian's team? Keep dreaming."

  "...I won't disagree with you there."

  Lily blocked the whip and answered peacefully. Every time the whip hit, a loud smack filled the air.

  However, she couldn't stop every single hit. The whip struck her shoulder, leg, and arm.

  Small drops of blood showed up from the cuts. Even so, Lily kept all her attention on defending herself.

  "Hey, Scarlett! What is taking you so long? Beat her already and come help me!"

  "Shut up! She refuses to go down!"

  Scarlett started to panic after hearing Toby King yell at her. She was definitely having a hard time. Because she felt rushed to end the fight, she pulled her whip back to strike with all her strength. She wanted to completely smash through Lily's guard.

  Right at that second, though...

  "What?!"

  Lily had been waiting for this exact chance. She quickly spun around on her foot. Scarlett swung the whip, but Lily saw it coming and ducked under it. Then, she shoved the bottom of her sword directly into Scarlett's stomach.

  "Cough! Ugh..."

  It was a perfect hit.

  Scarlett stumbled back, groaning in pain from the stomach blow. Lily used the opening to land a strong hit on Scarlett's jaw.

  Scarlett passed out immediately, probably from a concussion.

  "Damn it! Scarlett!"

  "Oh wow. Great job, Lily."

  "Damn you, let me go!"

  "Lily, I will keep him busy. Go grab the flag."

  "Understood!"

  Lily ran straight for the flag in the middle and easily pulled it out of the floor.

  Toby tried to stop her, but Julia kept attacking him without stopping, leaving him completely trapped.

  Since nobody was in her way anymore, Lily stuck the flag into her team's base, ending the game.

  Even though Julian and Damian's fight was a tie, true teamwork was what decided the real winner.

  "Is it finished already? Team 1 is the winner."

  When the teacher called the match, Damian's teammates looked sad and ashamed that they lost the very first game. Damian, however, just walked off the stage and mumbled, "Tch, how boring. We'll finish this later."

  Lily really followed my plan. She focused entirely on defense and waited for the perfect chance to counterattack.

  I had told her to wait patiently against Scarlett and strike back only when she attacked too hard. I didn't think she would pull it off so perfectly, though. I guess main characters are just built differently.

  "Whew..."

  Lily wiped the sweat off her face, turned to look at me, and smiled warmly.

  "I secured the first victory. You better make it to the finals. I really want to see your skills, Oliver."

  "Of course. I'll be there waiting. I'll definitely show you what I've got."

  I smiled back at her confident challenge.

  "Team 3 and Team 4..."

  "Teams 9 and 10..."

  "Teams 12 and 14..."

  How long had it been?

  "Finally, Teams 15 and 16, please come up to the stage."

  It was finally my time to fight.