It was the final match of the top 16.

  "Team 15 and Team 16, please step up to your starting areas."

  Hearing Diana Reed's announcement, Oliver Brooks quickly turned his head. A large crowd of students watched from outside the battle ring. A few casually sipped sports drinks to cool off, while many others kept a close eye on Serena Sterling.

  As the heir to the Spear Phantom and the seventh-ranked student in the freshman class, Serena drew a lot of special attention. Even Julian Vance and Damian Steele, who barely cared about the other fights, watched her in silence.

  Oliver casually looked across the bleachers. While taking a drink of water, he accidentally locked eyes with Lily Pierce. Just as he was thinking about how pretty she looked even while drinking, she blinked her big eyes, moved the bottle away, and gave him a massive smile. She then yelled out loudly to cheer for him.

  "You aren't going to make a fool of yourself in your very first match, right? Show them what you promised! Go get them, Oliver Brooks!"

  "Oh, right."

  Did I ever receive such energetic support from a beautiful girl during my past school days?

  It honestly felt pretty good as a guy, but Oliver could only give her a slightly awkward smile in return. If they kept acting this close in public, people would definitely start spreading rumors.

  ...Though, to be fair, Oliver had cheered for her earlier too.

  "Was Oliver Brooks just acting like that too? Are they actually broken up?"

  "They say they are just childhood friends now. I guess it wasn't a messy breakup."

  "But still, they act so close... Aren't they basically dating?"

  "Oh my gosh! Do you think Lily Pierce is playing both Julian Vance and Oliver Brooks?"

  "Is she really pretty enough to get away with that?"

  Ah, just as I thought.

  The girls in the crowd were gossiping, filled with curiosity, jealousy, and annoyance. They clearly hated seeing the newly single Lily getting so close to the rich heir, Julian. Lily, of course, probably didn't care about their whispers at all.

  "Hey, Oliver Brooks."

  As Teams 15 and 16 walked toward the fighting stage, Caleb Thorne, the captain of Team 15, poked fun at Oliver with a mocking voice.

  "Didn't you rank almost dead last in the qualifiers?"

  "Why would Serena Sterling and Nina ever pick you for their team?"

  "Who knows?" Oliver replied.

  "I'm so jealous, Oliver. You get to just sit back and get carried to an easy victory."

  "It would be great if it was actually that easy."

  Caleb laughed and then flashed a highly arrogant smile.

  "Well, thanks anyway. We are definitely going to win because of you."

  He patted Oliver on the shoulder.

  "If they didn't have a useless weak link like you holding them back, fighting the strong Serena and Nina would have been really tough."

  This cheap insult didn't match Oliver's personality, so he just let out a dry, sarcastic chuckle.

  "I'm thankful too," Oliver replied.

  "Huh?"

  "Because your Team 15 is once again a complete team."

  I genuinely meant it. It was incredibly lucky. Caleb Thorne, Marcus Flint, and Elena Ward—the three of them ended up on the exact same team. It was just like the original game.

  "Hey, Caleb Thorne. Shut your mouth."

  Out of nowhere, Nina stepped up. Her pigtails bounced as she glared angrily at Caleb.

  "It is super annoying to hear you brag so much when you barely even placed in the 90s."

  "Excuse me?"

  Startled by Nina's harsh words, Caleb flinched.

  "You two are exactly the same. Acting tough when you are weak is just sad."

  "So you got a good score on the entrance test and now you think you own the place?"

  "If you are jealous, you should have studied harder, Mr. Rank 90."

  "Now that is just facts."

  As the argument heated up, Diana Reed, who was lazily yawning, waved her hand to stop them.

  "That is enough pointless arguing. Go to your starting spots right now."

  Silenced by Diana Reed, Caleb and Nina shot one last dirty look at each other. They then spun around and walked toward the arena. Soon, Teams 15 and 16 were standing at completely opposite ends of the stage.

  "Do not let his insults get to you."

  "Huh?"

  Caught by surprise from Nina's sudden kindness, Oliver awkwardly scratched his chin.

  "I think I would be more worried about you."

  "What did you say?"

  Nina shot him a childish, irritated glare, but Oliver just gave her a relaxed reply.

  "Anyway, thanks for looking out for me. Usually, you just complain."

  "Tsk. I am not worried about you at all! The tests are starting right now. I just do not want you to lose focus and ruin everything for us!"

  Nina was not actually a bad person on the inside, even if her non-stop complaining could be a bit much.

  "Anyway, Caleb Thorne calling you the weak link on Team 16 was done on purpose, so don't worry about it."

  "Huh?"

  "His words actually helped me figure out their game plan. Because of him, this fight is going to be much easier for us."

  Both groups finally reached their starting points.

  "Is everyone ready?"

  Diana Reed looked at both teams. Then, she used her remote to instantly put up a round safety shield around the fighting zone.

  "Let's follow the plan exactly as we talked about."

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Heh, I can't wait to see this strategy of yours work."

  "If your plan fails, Oliver, you are totally dead."

  Serena smiled and grabbed her spear tightly. Nina kept complaining, but she still got into her fighting stance. Across the way, Team 15 was also ready for battle and stared at us with hostile eyes.

  "Both teams, get ready."

  Following Diana Reed's signal,

  "Three, two, one... Start!"

  Our very first match officially began.

  Caleb Thorne was ranked 91st among the Vanguard Academy freshmen. He was a talented kid who had been well-known since his middle school days.

  His special power was acceleration and deceleration. This meant he could freely control how fast or slow objects moved.

  In an instant, he could boost an object's speed from 1 to 100, or drop it from 100 down to 1. This unique trait made his power perfect for combining with other people's skills, creating surprising and dangerous team attacks.

  For instance...

  "Are you ready? I am shooting now."

  "Do it, shoot!"

  Elena Ward pulled her bowstring back as hard as she could. When she let go, the arrow shot forward as fast as a laser.

  Whoosh!

  The arrow crossed the distance in a split second. Right when she fired, Serena ran toward the middle of the arena. However, the glowing blue arrow completely ignored Serena and flew directly toward Oliver Brooks.

  Going after the weakest person is the most basic rule for mercenaries.

  Oliver seemed to know this was coming. He already had his shield out and crouched low to the ground. But his defense was pointless.

  That is because the arrow was never actually aimed at him.

  ...Or at least, that is what they wanted to trick Oliver into thinking by aiming so close to him. Their real target was always Serena.

  The arrow that had almost hit Oliver suddenly made a sharp U-turn in mid-air. It flew straight toward Serena's back.

  This was all thanks to Elena Ward's special ability. Her power allowed her to freely change the flight path of any projectile.

  "Serena!"

  "...!"

  Hearing Oliver yell, Serena quickly glanced over her shoulder. But even if she saw it coming, what could she possibly do?

  "Do it now, Marcus Flint."

  "Got it."

  Marcus used his power, and the single arrow instantly multiplied into many.

  His ability, Illusion Multiplication, let him cast visual tricks on objects to make multiple fake copies. These fakes could not actually hurt anyone, but it was almost impossible for enemies to tell which one was real. This forced them into a tough spot.

  A bunch of arrows swarmed toward Serena. She rapidly moved her spear into a blocking stance, but there was no way to figure out which arrow was the real threat.

  Serena had to make a quick choice. Which of these flying arrows should she try to block?

  Where is Serena going to focus her guard?

  The arrows were flying at her head, neck, chest, stomach, and legs. When suddenly attacked, highly trained fighters will always protect their vital organs out of pure instinct.

  Because of this, the arrows aimed at her upper body were just fakeouts. Team 15 was targeting Serena's legs right from the beginning. Her movement speed was their true target.

  Since the main point of this exam was to steal a flag, crippling their strongest close-combat fighter would make things incredibly easy. If Serena hurt her leg, she wouldn't be a threat anymore.

  Even if you get lucky and try to block low, it won't save you, Serena.

  Caleb had already placed his own power onto the real arrow. Acceleration and deceleration.

  If I use my skill to instantly slow down the flying arrow... it doesn't matter how good her reflexes are. The sudden change will throw off her timing, and she will miss her block completely. The hit won't hurt as much, but...

  It was just like a common trick used in baseball. If a pitcher throws several fastballs in a row and then throws a slow curveball, the batter will swing too early. Changing the speed suddenly makes the attack extremely hard to block.

  Speed control, fake copies, and changing the flight path. The opening strike, combining these three powers into one single attack, could easily surprise even real, professional heroes.

  Actually, Caleb had tested this exact move against a pro hero before, and the hero got hit before they could even react. Serena, even though she was a genius, was still just a student like the rest of them. Since she didn't know the trick, she was definitely going to get hit... right?

  "Oh. That surprised me a bit."

  Acting mildly startled, Serena smoothly swung her spear downward. She perfectly smacked the real arrow right as it aimed for her leg. The arrow spun helplessly in the air before hitting the floor. All the fake arrows instantly vanished.

  "How... how in the world did she stop that?!"

  They had never shown this combo to anyone, so how did she block it? It was a trick that worked on actual pros! Was she really just a normal human?

  "...It actually happened exactly like Oliver said it would."

  Serena, who had just stopped the attack, looked completely shocked. She hadn't totally believed him when he warned her. Who could have guessed he was completely right?

  "Damn it, guys! I will distract Serena! Marcus, you hold off Nina. Elena, go beat Oliver as fast as you can!"

  "Understood!"

  "Ah, she deflected it."

  Serena looked back at Oliver and Nina for a second before running straight at Caleb. Meanwhile, Nina slowly lifted her fists and sprinted right at Marcus Flint.

  Marcus was nowhere near as strong as Nina in a real fight, but his fake copies could stall her for a little bit. That left Elena Ward running directly toward Oliver.

  She was a highly skilled archer who used her power to make her arrows curve through the air. Oliver, who also used a bow, had a massive disadvantage against her. Trying to dodge arrows that could change direction from far away was nearly impossible. Therefore...

  "Wow, what is wrong with you?"

  "What? Have you never seen someone use a shield?"

  "No, you moron! Why on earth are you holding two huge shields? Do you think you are a turtle?"

  "Are you making fun of the double-shield strategy?"

  Just like in that extremely hard video game called Elder Ring, I held a massive shield in each hand to block all of Elena's attacks. Having two shields means double the protection, right? Okay, that was just a joke, but it still worked.

  "You are incredibly annoying!"

  Elena started shooting arrows as fast as she could. Even though the arrows flew in tricky curves, they were completely useless against my giant double shields. Elena frowned deeply as I slowly walked toward her behind my iron walls.

  "Keep hiding! Let's see how long you can hold out!"

  "Yeah, my arms are actually starting to hurt."

  Even with two shields, blocking every single hit forever was impossible. On top of that, the arrows were filled with magic. Every time one hit a shield, it felt like I was being smashed by a heavy hammer.

  "I clearly cannot beat you in a fair fight. I did not expect holding these up to be so tiring."

  "Hey, are you about to give up?"

  Small cracks started to show on my shields. Seeing this, Elena pumped a massive amount of magic into her bow.

  If she could just shatter those shields, beating him would take seconds. Once he was out, she could just run and grab the flag while her teammates kept Serena and Nina busy.

  "But remember, this is a team battle. A team battle," Oliver warned.

  "So what?"

  "You should check behind you."

  "Do you really think I am dumb enough to fall for that trick?"

  All of a sudden, Elena felt something moving behind her back.

  "Hey, Oliver. Why did you warn her?"

  "What?!"

  Elena spun around in pure shock. Right behind her was Nina, holding her fist high in the air.

  This couldn't be happening. Did she really finish off Marcus Flint already? Beating Marcus and his tricky illusions that fast should have been completely impossible! But when she looked over, Marcus was knocked out cold on the ground with foam coming out of his mouth.

  "Wait a minute!"

  "I'm ignoring you, goodbye."

  Nina completely ignored the panicked scream and swung her small fist forward. It looked like a young middle school kid throwing a weak punch at her older sibling.

  But Elena felt a terrifying sense of danger. She quickly raised her bow to block the hit. With a loud cracking noise, her bow smashed into tiny pieces.

  "You are totally crazy! You monster!"

  "Do you actually want to die right now?"

  Nina threw a second punch before she could control her own strength. The hit slammed into Elena's ribs, sending her rolling across the ground. Elena desperately grabbed her side and gasped for air.

  "Ugh, ahh...!"

  "Oops, my mistake. That is what you get for talking trash."

  It looked like a few of her ribs might have actually cracked. Luckily, the protective gear soaked up most of the damage. Without it, her bones would have broken like dry sticks.

  Seriously, her strength power is incredibly scary every time I watch her use it.

  Nina's physical boost power was simple but extremely effective. Her raw strength was huge and dangerous, making her perfect as both a heavy hitter and a damage sponge.

  "Argh!"

  Clang! A metal sword flew high into the air before crashing into the ground. Looking over, Serena was standing perfectly calm. Right in front of her was Caleb Thorne, out of breath and on his knees without his weapon.

  Caleb breathed heavily, whispering in pure shock.

  "Is the skill gap between us really this huge?"

  "Well..." Serena smiled gently and bit her lip with a charming expression.

  "Did you know you always twist your right foot or squeeze your left hand right before you attack or use a big skill?"

  "What?"

  "Knowing that made dodging your attacks incredibly easy."

  "How could you possibly know about that habit?"

  After a quick look over at Oliver, Serena happily answered his question.

  "We happen to have a very good supporter on our team."

  "Oliver Brooks? He figured it out? But how in the world could he know...?"

  "He must have spent a lot of time analyzing your old training videos, right?"

  "Even if he did... how could he notice something so tiny...?" Caleb whispered in despair.

  Serena stepped closer with her spear and smiled casually at him.

  "Do you want to keep fighting, or are you going to give up?"

  "..."

  Caleb bit his bottom lip. His entire team was already defeated. He had lost his weapon and was far too tired to keep going. There was absolutely zero chance for them to turn this around.

  "...I give up."

  "What was that? I can't hear you. What did you say?"

  "I said I give up!"

  Frustrated, Caleb yelled it out. Hearing his clear surrender, Diana Reed instantly blew her whistle.

  Tweeet!

  "Team 15 has officially given up... Team 16 is the winner!"

  The game ended in victory without anyone ever touching the flag. The very first match played out exactly as Oliver had planned.

  Wow... that actually worked out perfectly.

  Oliver stood silently, amazed at the clean result. Having memories from a past life was truly the best cheat code ever.