B3 - Chapter 85 - Festivals End

One thing that was being discussed quite frequently among the new students was the so-called "recall" procedure. The convenience alone was outstanding, and naturally, some students wondered why they couldn't use it to return home more frequently. Others lamented their unfortunate reactions to the experience, and more than a few had nearly lost the contents of their stomach as a result.

Despite having experienced teleportation before, Lily was the one who had taken it the worst among her group of friends. Maybe because she had expected it to be like Arakil's, or maybe she simply hadn't developed any resistance to it due to the unique out-of-body condition she had experienced under it.

However, as the evening went on, Lily found out that she was not the one who had suffered the most; that wretched crown belonged to Rose. Lily had wondered why her boisterous big sister hadn't come running up to her, and the answer became apparent when she saw her slumped in a chair, looking like she had been pulled through the wringer.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked while softly rubbing Rose's back.

"I thought this year would be better… But it's worse than before…" Rose replied in an almost slur.

It was an odd sight to see her so pitiful, and Lily quickly pulled out one of her old herbal remedies to help Rose recover. If it weren't for the crowd of people, she would have used one of the healing glyphs, but that was a huge taboo. Thankfully, even though it was non-magical, the recipes Camilla had taught her were legit, and Rose appeared to be recovering relatively quickly.

There seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to why certain students were more negatively affected by the teleportation, and it appeared that physical constitution had nothing to do with it. Thankfully, Arakil came to the rescue to offer the most reasonable explanation.

[Rose must have fought against the teleportation and suffered as a result. She said she had a poor experience the first time and must have unconsciously fought back after remembering how bad it had been.]

{I didn't fight back, though, and I still got hit…}

[In your case, it might be because of me. Even with the right permissions and my sealed state, I can't imagine it was easy to perform the teleportation. Even without my presence, this grimoire is practically an item of divinity, so it holds a lot of weight, so to speak.]

"Before we share the results, the headmaster has prepared some highlights for everyone to enjoy," Alice announced, having at some point taken the stage. "Having looked over most of them myself, I must say I'm very impressed. I think this year, Regarth has a definite chance at claiming the number one spot!"

The hall erupted in hoots and cheers, with even the first-year students getting involved. While they hadn't become engrossed in the faction stuff yet, they certainly wanted the school they were attending to be labeled the best in the kingdom!

From there, a recording began to be displayed, something they were quickly growing accustomed to, and made everyone wonder how the other schools functioned without someone like Headmaster Fabrelis running the show.

To Lily's shock, she was featured almost immediately, with her digging and wall-construction glyphs on full display while cloaked in stars. It caused quite a stir among the crowd, especially from those who hadn't seen it firsthand. Lily herself felt like shrinking into hiding, but found herself stopped by Rose clinging onto her while celebrating.

However, Lily's scenes soon faded and were replaced by others that were equally impressive, if not more so. From the first years, various scenes were captured: Hana "flying" through the air, Clarissa controlling practically the entire forest, and Lotte effortlessly executing monster after monster.

As for the boys, Arthur was seen gliding from tree to tree, stealing treasure after treasure and leaving the monsters in the dust. Scenes of Thomas' bolts of lightning arcing through monsters and annihilating them were just as frightening as the earlier scenes of acidic poison. There was also a scene of Wallace destroying wall after wall and filling in all the pits Lily had dug out, effectively flattening the land with the wave of his arm. Garet also had a moment in the spotlight, exploding onto the scene like a fireball and incinerating waves of weaker monsters.

All the first-year students were feeling quite proud of their displays, though that quickly faded when it came to the second-year students. Like a blazing sun, the first recalled scene was Rose, scorching across the field. Monsters weren't running towards her; they were fleeing! Not that the mighty dragoness gave them a chance as she hurled and spewed fire like a living calamity. The audience gasped, and even Lily found herself speechless at the sight. This was far above what she had shown in the dungeon duos or the tournament.

Other second-year students had moments, but it was hard to compare after such a startling sight, as if Rose had been burnt into their memories. Even the third-year students were hard-pressed by such an overwhelming display of raw power until some of the show's previous stars got a chance to shine. Bradley and his summons were among the first to finally revitalize the crowd, and others from the tournament final rounds also spiced things up.

Other students who hadn't shone in the tournament also had their moments, showing off magical abilities unsuited to arena duels, such as affecting terrain or large swathes of foes. This was further evident among the fourth-year students, as the spells on display became notably more complex.

The monsters had been different from year to year, but the creatures the fourth-year students were fighting looked like stuff out of nightmares, only to be taken out in a variety of ways. Monsters were frozen, exploded, severed, crushed, and even vaporized as magic from every element, and more was on full display. Of course, there were plenty of almost unexplainable phenomena occurring at the same time, like the monsters' own shadows attacking them, or ghostly specters appearing out of nowhere and forming an army, and much, much more.

The tournament had been a magical feast for the eyes, but now, compared to this, it seemed like only an appetizer. Against monsters, the students didn't need to hold back, and with the safety of their Wards and the events promised recall, they didn't need to worry about any unfortunate accidents. This was their moment to shine, to show their growth and how they personally fought to conquer the dungeon.

When it came to the fifth-year students, it was almost expected for another jump in power, but instead, what was displayed was like a honed blade. The fourth-year students had learned to harness their power, but their seniors had learned to refine it to near perfection. The displays were effectively just as grand, but more fit for purpose, with almost nothing going to waste.

[Now this is a proper display of power! What is the point of throwing it all into a massive explosion if you can't control even half of it? Having that same level of destruction, but being able to rein it in and force it to do your bidding, that is the true strength of a magus.]

And then finally, as if a reminder of what the event was truly about, there was a rapid-fire montage of various scenes between students. Some held a gem while casting an unknown spell on it, others had their eyes closed as Mana flowed around them like a whispering, and all sorts of other bizarre occurrences. While not as flashy, the point of these was obvious: various spells designed to locate treasure.

Effectively, these were the supporting roles, and while not mowing down the monsters, they had their role to play, and judging by the amount of gold and gems these flashes between students were collecting, their effect was obvious. Lily herself appeared briefly in one of the scenes, showing her digging down into the lair of the moles. While it was true she found a platinum gem down there, she felt a little awkward considering, unlike the others, she hadn't been using a locator spell or technique and effectively stumbled upon it thanks to Arakil's sudden comment.

With that, things were drawing to a close, and all that was left was to announce the results. To everyone's surprise, they started with the overall results, rather than the individuals, and the unfortunate last place went to Zephyrix. There was notable disappointment from the crowd, but after seeing everyone try so hard, it didn't last long, as they continued to announce second place and, by process of elimination, first.

"Before we make the announcement, we just want to say that this was extremely close, almost down to the wire," Alice said, building up suspense. "But, at the end of the day, there can only be one. In second place, Maranix, and in first place, Terravix!"

Opposing cheers and cries erupted from the two remaining groups on the floor. From the looks of things, the Maranix students appeared to be taking second place, worse than Zephyrix in third. It almost went without saying, but Terravix were ecstatic and practically everyone on their side was overflowing with newfound confidence and bravado.

"Better luck next time," Rose said, patting Lily on the head.

While Lily would have liked to have won, she knew there was only so much they could do. Even if the first-year Maranix students swept their entire event, they still relied on four other groups. So she just shrugged a little awkwardly, appearing to take her sister's challenge in stride.

From there, they announced the winners of each year, starting with the first-year students: Maranix, Terravix, Zephyrix, Terravix, Terravix. The result was shocking, seeming to fly in the face of Alice's previous statement that first and second place were extremely close.

So that's why they didn't announce the individual years until after the final results…

The remaining results helped explain the situation a little better, and Maranix took second place in nearly every other year. As for Lily's own year, it looked like control over the forest had played a bigger role than they thought, as Terravix ended up taking second place. Hana and Arthur didn't seem too upset about Zephyrix coming in third; instead, their fighting spirit had been rekindled once more.

Then it came to the prizes, and while people were thinking they'd get magical items or supplies, it turned out to be way different. Firstly, everyone who gathered at least one treasure received a single recall to use as they wished. This reward left Arakil flabbergasted as he couldn't understand what the dungeon was gaining in this transaction.

While the students were still reeling from this gift, there was more shock and surprise to come. For Terravix, they had access to shortcuts on every floor; for Maranix, every three floors; and for Zephyrix, every five floors. What was a shortcut exactly? They were designated areas where you could exit or enter the dungeon directly, and were quickly something all the senior students were drooling over.

For the first years, this didn't mean much, although they quickly realized that this benefit would carry over into their second year until the next festival scrambled the rankings again. Of course, a shortcut to the second floor wasn't exactly a huge time saver, but to the third floor and beyond, Lily could see the benefit.

If I unlock the third floor, I can actually benefit from this reward. I feel bad for Hana and Arthur; they won't be able to use it until they reach the fifth floor.

This reward, once again, left Arakil puzzled, as he said such occurrences were an indication of the dungeon "evolving" in a sense. With the world's current Mana situation, he couldn't understand how it had the resources to trigger such a growth, unless it had been saving for years, and it just happened to coincide this year.

Lily was worried it meant something bad, but Arakil said the dungeon's growth was beneficial and apologized if his ramblings had caused her any concern. The surprises didn't end there; there was one final batch of rewards, though compared to the previous two, this one paled in comparison.

From first to third, the students would get three to one hints on how to progress in the dungeon. You could talk to any professor to cash in on this reward, and it was especially helpful if you were struggling to figure out how to progress. This meant Lily had three hints, although considering she already had an idea of how to pass the second floor, she didn't feel the need to spend one anytime soon.

The reward was appreciated, but it faced stronger scrutiny than the earlier ones; it felt very much like an afterthought. As if to counter this sentiment, it was abruptly announced that everyone's floor access would increase by one floor per year, meaning Lily could, in theory, head to the fourth floor if she completed the second and third.

"Two extra floors aren't much," Rose grumbled.

"One more than we got," Lily replied, poking Rose in the side.

"Well, don't worry about that. Once you reach the end-of-year holiday, you should unlock a bunch of floors. Of course, you need to pass, but I don't expect you to have any issues there."

Lily gave a confident nod; failing was the absolute last thing on her mind.

After that, things seemed to quiet down, and students were free to leave or stay. With some of them having their parents waiting outside, it was a given that they left to spend some time with them. That, unfortunately, reminded Lily that she now had two pending invites, and she lamented her woes to Rose.

It earned her no sympathy, as Rose told her, as expected, to milk it and enjoy the free meal. If Hana were still around, she would've given Lily some sympathy, but she had left earlier. Lily even suspected she would report what had happened to her mother.

Still, Lily didn't let it get her down. After giving herself one sigh to vent, she looked on the bright side, as there was still plenty left for her to be thankful for and look forward to.

The festival had been more fun than she thought it would be, and she had sown plenty of seeds for her belief-gathering. Her next lesson with Arakil was also soon, not to mention her promised trip into the dungeon with Rose.

Then it's just the interschool tournament and exams, and then it's the holiday, and I'll officially be a second-year student!

*****

Book 3 end!