The forest was no longer a forest.
What had once been green and calm was now a broken maze of scorched trees, cratered soil, and the scent of smoke and mana.
System Notice — Remaining Time: 45 Minutes
Current Golden Sticks: 9 / 10
Sho Ardenthal crouched behind a fallen trunk, catching his breath. His sword hummed faintly, its edge lined with a thin shimmer of blue mana. Liyana stood beside him, one hand tracing a small magic circle in the air that glowed a dim crimson. Her silver hair was tangled and dusted with ash, yet her eyes still burned sharp and calm.
> Sho: "Nine sticks. We were at ten a moment ago."
Liyana: "Those two spearmen from Team Brokke took one while you were blocking the saint's blessing wave."
Sho (grimacing): "They're good. But I'll get it back."
They moved again—quick, silent steps through shattered ground.
All around them the last hour of the Battle Royale played out like a war: fireballs streaking between trees, flashes of lightning and steel, shouts and explosions. Students who had been allies earlier now turned on each other to scrape together enough sticks to pass.
Every team's system kept tally:
Team Ardenthal – 9
Team Varellis – 8
Team Yurica – 7
Team Brokke – 6
…and falling fast.
---
Tactical Chaos
At 35 minutes left, Sho and Liyana ambushed two exhausted teams trading spells near a riverbank. Sho blinked through one mage's guard, struck his staff aside, and caught the glimmer of a golden stick as it tumbled from his opponent's pocket. Liyana's flame burst across the water, boiling it into mist.
> System Notice: Golden Stick Acquired +1
Total: 10 / 10
Sho exhaled.
> Sho: "Ten again."
Liyana (smirking): "For how long?"
She was right.
A shadow cut through the fog—a heavy armored student charging. The blow slammed into Sho's barrier, cracking it; the stick flew from his grasp. Liyana kicked the attacker back, reclaiming it, but another thief darted from the smoke and snatched it mid-air.
> System Notice: Golden Stick Stolen –1
Total: 9 / 10
Sho laughed under his breath despite the sting.
> Sho: "This test is insane."
Liyana: "It's called Battle Royale for a reason."
They pressed on.
---
The Royals Regroup
At 20 minutes remaining, a faint trumpet echoed through the forest. That was the signal—the royal and saint teams had regrouped. Arisa's radiant banners gleamed among the ruins; Alisa's holy aura pulsed like a lighthouse through the smoke.
Sho could see them across the clearing, their knights reorganizing into formation.
> Liyana (whispering): "They're pulling everyone's attention. If they sweep this sector, no one else will reach ten."
Sho: "Then we move opposite—grab what we can and vanish."
They sprinted deeper, stealing one stick from a fallen team and another from an unguarded chest of loot left behind.
System Notice: Golden Stick +2
Total: 11 / 10
> Sho (grinning): "We're over the limit now."
Liyana: "Don't relax yet."
Her words proved true—three coordinated fire spells detonated around them. Arisa's knights had tracked their mana signatures. The shockwave threw Sho against a boulder; his sword skittered away. He blinked to his weapon, counter-slash meeting a knight's spear mid-thrust.
> Sho: "You just won't quit!"
Knight: "Orders from the princess!"
Liyana's magic circle flared, knocking two of them flat, but a third ripped a stick from her belt before being blasted away by her follow-up flame.
System Notice: Golden Stick Stolen –1
Total: 10 / 10
She hissed softly, a flicker of anger flashing through her crimson eyes. Sho touched her shoulder.
> Sho: "Hey, hey—ten's fine. We just have to hold them."
Liyana (half-smile): "Fine… but if they steal even one more, they burn."
---
The Clock Ticks Down
System Notice — Remaining Time: 10 Minutes
The battlefield shrank. Mana storms whipped through the center forest where fallen spells collided. Teams scrambled, hiding or fighting, desperate to keep what few sticks they had.
Sho and Liyana held position atop a hill—strategic high ground. Arisa and Alisa's combined forces were pushing from the west, the strongest group left.
> Sho: "If they reach us, it'll be a full-scale fight again."
Liyana: "Then we make them climb."
She spread her hands; walls of flame curled around the slope, forming a ring.
Sho adjusted his stance, sword lowered, eyes glowing faint blue from the system's mana-tracking assist.
Every breath hurt now—mana exhaustion biting deep—but the rush of the fight drowned it out.
---
System Notice — Remaining Time: 5 Minutes
Wind swept the ash.
The noise below grew louder—Arisa's light spears cutting through Liyana's wall, Alisa's holy chants amplifying her allies.
Sho tightened his grip on the hilt.
Liyana's eyes narrowed, silver hair flowing behind her like firelit silk.
> Sho: "Five minutes left."
Liyana (grinning): "Plenty of time to remind them why we're on top."
Together, they stepped forward as the first of the royal knights crested the hill, weapons blazing.
The forest would bear witness to one last clash before the bell.
To be continued in Chapter 53 — Battle Royale (4): The Last Five Minutes.