Chapter 97: Royal Rumble (1)
While Sivar was starting fires (so to speak) here and there, Grace and Yeonhwa rummaged through the rooms of numerous houses.
Although there were many places to search, as long as Sivar could keep buying time, they had a chance to find the artifact.
"I, I, I found it!!"
While searching the third house from top to bottom, they stumbled upon the artifact hidden in a drawer.
The artifact was the size of a tangerine, its appearance reminiscent of a pebble with a single gem embedded in it.
Easy to overlook, yet the stage of the test made it clear to them that it was indeed the artifact.
‘We've won the test.'
Their probability of winning had already surged the moment Sivar regained his right to attack, but finding the artifact was a complete relief.
What remained was to discern the abilities of this artifact. Most are activated by infusing mana into them.
Grace waited patiently as she channeled her mana into the artifact, anticipating its activation.
Boom! Bang!
However, there was no time to relax. The sounds of explosions that resembled a bomb detonating outside caused Grace to flinch.
Although Sivar was faithfully playing his protective role, she had no clue what was unfolding outside.
Could such a hastily made firebomb produce that kind of sound? Curiosity mingled with fear.
‘We have to go outside, right…?'
Now that they had found the artifact, the next step was to regroup. Grace moved, believing everything would be fine as long as Sivar handled the obstacles.
Her only concern was Yeonhwa. Communicating the news to her would expedite their reunion.
‘Just in case…'
With the artifact firmly grasped in one hand, Grace prepared to unleash magic with the other.
There was a chance they would encounter another team as soon as they stepped outside. Plus, she couldn't let go of the artifact due to the ongoing mana infusion.
As Grace nearly reached the door, she cautiously extended her hand towards the doorknob.
That's when it happened.
Thud!
Without any warning or sign, the door abruptly swung open. The situation took her by surprise.
The door opener was, of course, Sivar, but Grace was unaware. Startled, she reacted on reflex.
"Argh!!"
Grace's hand that reached out to cast a spell was the one holding the artifact, flung out mistakenly in fright.
With a twist of her wrist, the artifact was flung straight towards Sivar's mouth, spinning precisely.
"Grace, I'm back… huh?!"
Gulp!
And just like that, unwitting as could be, Sivar gulped down the tangerine-sized artifact.
A series of coincidences led to an irrevocable mishap.
[The artifact has been damaged!]
[The artifact has been damaged!]
And so, the current state emerged, with Sivar and Grace stunned by the cries of the artifact begging for mercy.
Both Sivar, who had inadvertently swallowed it, and Grace, who had accidentally thrown it instead of casting a spell, were caught in this bizarre harmony.
It was less a harmonic symphony and was more aptly described as chaotic cacophony—Yeonhwa's timidity seemed normal by comparison.
"…"
"…"
Sivar, bewildered by the resonating artifact within him, glanced at Grace.
In sync, Grace looked back at him with an expression of disbelief. Both of their faces resembled someone whose thought process had come to a grinding halt.
"Miss Grace!"
"Ah, ah?"
"Mana field is diminishing rapidly! Other teams will be converging here!"
Thankfully, Yeonhwa's swift arrival snapped them back to reality. Grace quickly grasped the situation upon hearing Yeonhwa's cry.
The artifact was ingested by Sivar, and retrieval seemed difficult. Regurgitating it, you ask?
Swallowing something as big as a tangerine was already an ordeal, but trying to bring it back up could be dangerous.
It might get stuck in the esophagus, leading to an even more complicated situation. They might as well treat it like a time attack.
[The artifact has been damaged!]
The artifact's cries continued. Yeonhwa, upon hearing this, widened her eyes in shock.
Realizing the strange noises were coming from Sivar's belly, she mumbled in horrified confusion.
"…Where is that sound coming from?"
"Let me explain quickly. I accidentally threw the artifact at Sivar, and then he swallowed it. It's being digested now."
"…Excuse me?"
"That's not a summary. That's exactly what happened."
"…"
Anyone else might have dismissed it as nonsense. But knowing it was Sivar, the head nods almost came involuntarily.
In essence, they needed to act before the artifact within Sivar completely dissolved.
The problem was they had no idea when it would finish dissolving. Normally, digestion wouldn't progress this fast.
But constant snacking to stave off hunger was the issue—there were edible items among their collected gear.
"How fast is the mana field shrinking?"
"Nearly twice as fast."
"Twice as fast…"
Grace's mind raced with thoughts. Running away seemed like the best option under the circumstances.
If they kept running, other teams would be expelled outside the shrinking mana field, leading to their automatic disqualification.
The crux of the dilemma remained: When would the artifact finish dissolving? Or rather, if its function ceased before dissolution, it was game over.
‘Do we actively eliminate the other teams, or just keep running…'
Nobody knew when the artifact would be fully damaged. Life would be so much easier if they could just know the degree of damage.
Grace sighed and then noticed the bracelet in her line of sight. Could it display the artifact’s damage degree…?
[Artifact: 80%]
"Gasp!!"
It indeed showed the degree, but the damage rate was alarming.
In less than three minutes after the artifact entered Sivar's stomach, 20% had already eroded.
A rough estimate suggested at least 15 minutes remained. Given various considerations, they had barely 10 minutes.
What kind of digestive power could be so alarmingly fast? Or was the artifact vulnerable to acid?
"We have to hurry! We have little time…!"
Thud!
As Grace spoke urgently, the door swung wide open again. Sivar's team had all gathered in this house.
That meant the person who entered was from another team. Sivar's team turned to look towards the door.
"There you are. No time, you say?"
It was Kara. She looked at Sivar's team with her characteristic refreshing smile, albeit with signs of scorching from the recent mini ‘meteor' shower Sivar had launched.
[The artifact has been damaged!]
As if on cue, the artifact within Sivar cried out again.
Kara raised an eyebrow at the noise, then hesitantly queried.
"What was that? Did I just hear something from his stomach?"
"Not at all."
In response to Kara's question, Grace flatly denied. Yet the denial was so stiff it sounded more like an affirmation to the contrary.
Kara took it as such and glanced at her bracelet, likely noticing the damage indicator on the brace of another team member.
Then she nodded to herself, processing the information before making a move.
Creak—Thud—
After quietly closing the door.
[Sivar has swallowed the artifact!! Just run, and he will disqualify himself!]
She shouted loudly enough for all teams to hear. Normally, such an outlandish claim would be dismissed as a lie.
However, the artifact’s damage readings on the bracelets would make them realize she was telling the truth.
Even if it were a lie, enduring to the end would suffice. Grace's expression turned dark as she realized this.
‘Really, why has this test turned out like this…!'
Sivar was the one who had ruined the overall midterm ordeal. Now it was their turn to face the consequences.
Aware of the commotion outside, Grace called out to her team.
"Let's head to an open area, not the bustling street! We're at a disadvantage here!"
"Yes, yes!"
"Sivar!"
"Yeah."
Speed was of the essence. Grace was ready to sacrifice herself if necessary for the sake of the test.
She opened her arms wide and called out boldly.
"Please pick me up!"
"?"
What was this now? Sivar blinked in confusion.
Grace, however, was serious. She waved her arms, implying that he should quickly pick her up.
"Just pick me up! I'm not confident in my speed, so you need to carry me and run!"
"Okay, sure."
If that was what she needed, Sivar obliged and picked her up.
Under normal circumstances, he might have opted for a simple piggyback ride, but the urgency dictated an intimate embrace.
"W, wait a minute! This, this isn't…!"
Famously known as the ‘princess carry,' Grace realized the implication too late—Sivar had already dashed off towards the spacious area she had mentioned, with Yeonhwa trailing behind.
"Where did you even see this?!"
"I don’t know."
"Even if we're in a hurry, this is just…!"
It was like a scene from a fairy tale. Grace's cheeks turned a bright red.
Born into a ducal family, she had attended banquets and balls, danced with gentlemen.
But never had she been this close to a man. It was embarrassing and confusing.
"That's right! It's just a test! Because it's a test, I'll give you a pass!"
"…"
"Did you hear me?! Please say you heard me! This isn't normal…!"
"Be quiet."
"…"
Grace's complaint was shushed by Sivar. After all, the fact that she depended on him remained unchanged.
It was just a shout to cover her embarrassment. She felt a pang of guilt.
"Run fast! Don't get expelled by the mana field!"
"There, another team…!"
"Now is not the time to fight, is it?! Anyone due for disqualification will be!"
As the mana field moved, other teams followed in Sivar’s wake.
Waiting for the artifact to vanish would be fine, but it was useless if the mana field moved.
Thus, those fated to be disqualified would be, and just as Sivar arrived at the open area with Grace in arms, there was Kara already waiting.
"Phew… Lucky I foresaw this."
Kara, as if predicting the scenario, had kept up with them till the very end.
"Heck… Heck… Oh, man…"
Luna, who had lagged in her grasp of the situation, arrived panting heavily.
"Is this really a test?"
"I'm not so sure."
There was Antonio and Elvin, along with a group of other students. Quite a number had gathered.
In the meantime, Grace stepped down from Sivar's embrace and glanced at her bracelet—her blushing face was visible even from a distance.
[Artifact: 50%]
Already 50% of it was gone. Now the only option was to disqualify the other teams.
With that thought, Grace wasted no time and turned to Sivar.
"Sivar."
"Yeah."
"We need to disqualify the other teams now. Is that possible?"
"Possible."
And so, Sivar nodded and looked towards the other teams.
Grace smiled with pride, having Sivar as a knight by her side.
Not only Sivar, the other teams were in a tricky situation as well, as previously stated, alliances were out of the question.
In other words, if they had a chance to disqualify a team while dealing with Sivar, they would take immediate action.
"Ugh, should I keep resisting?"
"If you try, I'll disqualify you first."
"What about him?"
"He's on borrowed time, right?"
Yes. All these events spun out because Sivar had swallowed the artifact.
If the artifact had remained intact, they would have surrendered and stayed out by now.
"A hit from behind would mean your end."
"Would you do it?"
No friends, no enemies, everyone was potentially both.
Sivar's team wasn't completely at ease either. Apart from their own members, the rest were considered enemies.
"…What's the final exam going to be like if the midterm is this messed up?"
Someone muttered, while the theme of the test kept changing in real-time.
"Isn't that artifact expensive?"
"It's fine. We'll use the calamity fund. It'll even cut down the budget a bit."
"Won't The Principal be swinging his sword in laughter?"
The professors seemed amused, simply watching and chuckling away.
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