The time for the game had come. The announcer, holding a sound crystal, cleared his throat and began to speak, "Welcome, everyone, to the capture-the-flag game for under 16 years old, on the sixth day of our 108th Summer Festival! The rules are simple: take your opponent's flag and bring it back to your own base! Everything is allowed except for lethal spells!"
After the crowd applauded and cheered for a while, the announcer spoke again, "Now, let's meet our teams! On the western side of the forest, we have the Red Team!" The cheers and applause interrupted him once more, and he waited for the crowd to quiet down before continuing, "First, let's introduce their leader! A 15-year-old young man, one of the most talented individuals in the village and the best student of the Elred School of Magic—GORDUIN WYSAWARIN!"
The crowd erupted into loud applause. "By his side is another 15-year-old, a highly rare Buffer—ILPHAS DAECAN!" The announcer continued introducing the rest of the team amidst the crowd's cheers, then moved on to the other team. "On the eastern side, we have the Blue Team! Their leader is one of the most well-known figures in the village, the youngest champion in the under-16 dueling tournaments, having won four consecutive titles! The chief's daughter and heiress, a Level 1 Skill owner—KAVRALAAA UMETHANAA!" he shouted, and the crowd's cheers for her were incomparably louder than before.
Vulren wasn't used to such loud and crowded environments, so he was incredibly tense. The announcer continued excitedly, "Next up is the daughter and heiress of the guard captain, Vulmon Ravanan, and another Level 1 Skill owner—LEENA RAVANAN!" Amidst the applause and whistles, he introduced the remaining nine members of the team. Then it was Vulren's turn. The announcer paused for a moment before saying, "And the final member of the Blue Team... who is that?"
The crowd fell silent. Vulren felt a bit embarrassed, but he had expected this. A man came over and whispered something in the announcer's ear, and his eyes widened in shock. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. THIS... THIS IS VULMON RAVANAN'S SON, VULREN RAVANAN!" he shouted. The crowd, unable to believe what they were hearing, turned their eyes to Vulren. He managed to remain calm under the gaze of hundreds of people. But after a brief silence, the crowd burst into laughter, louder than any cheer before. Even the announcer was laughing, while Vulren felt like he was going to be sick.
Too ashamed to look for his father in the crowd, he kept his eyes fixed on the tree in front of him and waited. The announcer, still laughing, continued, "Kavrala is practically mocking Gorduin by including Vulren on her team! Let me, ahahaha, let me continue the introductions! Vulren Ravanan! A Level 8 Skill owner! It's said among the people that his lack of magical ability surpasses even Kavrala's talent!" He burst into laughter again along with the crowd.
When Vulren looked at Kavrala, who was at the front of their line, he noticed her face was bright red. She looked like she was about to cry, and seeing her even more embarrassed than himself made him feel a little better. The more they mocked him now, the harder they would regret it at the end of the game. The announcer caught his breath and continued, "Then let's not wait any longer and start the game! You may begin when you hear the signal! Good luck to all the competitors, especially one who will need it a lot!"
After a few seconds of silence, the explosion sounded, and Vulren sprinted toward his designated area at full speed. The remaining nine members split into three teams and scattered into the forest. The crystals hanging from the trees here and there made it difficult for most to sense the magic of others, at least for normal people. For Vulren, however, it wasn't much of a problem. With enough concentration, he could pinpoint everyone's location.
As he moved silently through the trees, he sensed an obstacle in his path—Ilphas Daecan. Buffers of the village always came from the Daecan family. These mages didn't cast spells; instead, they used magic to physically strengthen their bodies. In the village, Ilphas was practically Vulren's only physical rival. Buffers didn't emit much magical energy, so Ilphas, like Vulren, was alone. Vulren climbed onto a tree branch and continued his route from above. He had to make a decision: either sneak past him or fight. Ilphas was a significant threat; if left alone, he could steal the flag, which would ruin Vulren's plan. After all, to win, he needed to retrieve the flag. In a one-on-one fight, he stood no chance against Ilphas, so he had to rely on stealth. As he pondered this, he continued jumping from tree to tree.
Meanwhile, Kavrala was making her way toward the enemy's flag through the center of the forest. Her three-person team included Leena and some guy named Goras. As they moved silently, Leena whispered, "What's the plan, Lady Kavrala?" Kavrala replied, "It's not too complicated. We'll take down Gorduin's team first. Then we'll assist the other teams and use our numerical advantage." Leena wondered, "But what about the remaining one person?" However, she didn't want to ask more questions as they entered dangerous territory.
Clearly, Kavrala had a strong card up her sleeve, and her brother was nowhere to be seen. He must be hiding behind a rock or something, she thought. After walking silently for a while, they reached the open area at the center of the forest. On the other side stood Gorduin, with his long black hair, pale skin, and dead-fish-like eyes. When he saw Kavrala, a disgusting smile spread across his face. Seeing his expression made Kavrala's stomach churn.
Their hatred to each other dated back two years when Gorduin's family had visited. Kavrala was only 11 at the time when Gorduin and his family proposed marriage after she finished school. Although Kavrala's father didn't particularly like the Wysawarin family, he left the decision to her. Among the Myrills, such marriage arrangements were common, especially among noble families. Gorduin was incredibly arrogant, taking pleasure in belittling the weak. Kavrala, who already disliked him, instantly rejected the proposal. He always thought "I can get whoever I want," and because of this Gorduin's pride got deeply wounded. He had already lost to her in nearly every competition, and now she had rejected him. From that day on, Gorduin hated Kavrala, and she hated him in return. So, every time she saw his face, she was reminded of that day, and her mood soured.
After slowly approaching each other, Gorduin began raining stone spells on Kavrala. Though the stones he hurled were fast, they were small and fragile, easily disintegrating against Kavrala's fires. Kavrala protected her team with fire spells as she slowly walked toward Gorduin. Spell after spell was rendered ineffective by her flames. However, the weakness of these spells made Leena suspicious. Why was Gorduin still smiling despite all his spells being nullified? Kavrala's team had entered the open area from the east, while Gorduin's team had come from the west. Suddenly, three synchronized spell attacks came from the north, and Leena realized it was a trap. Kavrala countered the water spell with fire, creating a cloud of steam. Taking advantage of the limited visibility, Leena used her Magic Absorption Skill to absorb the remaining air and fire spells with both hands. When the steam cleared, Gorduin's team had disappeared, and the ambush team from the north was preparing new spells.
Kavrala said, "Goras, create a stone wall," and immediately, a massive wall rose from the ground, blocking the northern side. Kavrala planned to use the new spell Vulren had taught her—a spell that compressed fire magic into a tiny, concentrated point, creating a small but intensely bright flame. As the spells collided with the stone wall, creating thunderous echoes, Kavrala completed her spell. She launched the bright white fireball, no larger than a walnut, into the sky above the wall. As soon as the fireball passed the wall, a blinding white light filled the area. When the light faded a few seconds later, Leena suddenly emerged from behind the wall and unleashed a barrage of wind spells toward the ambush team. Once the dust cloud from the spells dissipated, they saw that the ambush team had also fled. However, stopping that spell must have cost them a significant amount of mana, and thanks to the spells she had absorbed, Leena's own mana reserves were still in good shape.
Kavrala began moving westward, following Gorduin, while explosion sounds started coming from the south. Gorduin's last team had tried to attack from the south, but one of their own teams was also positioned there, likely clashing with them. They re-entered the forest, heading west, carefully observing their surroundings as they advanced. Soon, loud explosion sounds came from the north of the clearing. They ran toward the source of the noise, but when they arrived, two of the three members of their northern team had already been eliminated. The ambush team and Gorduin's team had set a trap for them. Thanks to Gorduin's superior strategic mind, he never lost in this game, but Kavrala had complete faith in Vulren's intelligence. The compass-shaped tracking crystals they had been given at the start of the game allowed them to monitor the area where their flag was located, and they checked the flag from time to time to ensure the it was still in place.
They took the last remaining member of their northern team and continued westward. Kavrala's goal was to create a large-scale all out battle to distract everyone's attention for Vulren. The tracking devices also functioned as communication devices, so Kavrala pulled the crystal from her pocket and whispered, "Southern team, head west and meet up with us." Amidst the occasional clashes, she could hear the announcer's excited voice, though he hadn't mentioned Vulren yet. Another explosion sounded, this time much closer. When she heard the voice from the crystal saying, "We're under attack," they immediately moved toward the source.
The combined northern and southern enemy teams were ambushing Kavrala's southern team. Gorduin was still nowhere to be seen, but Kavrala began preparing a massive spell to stir things up. With a blank expression, the fireball hovering above her hand grew larger and larger. When it reached the size of a small hut, she launched it toward the enemy's position. The fire spell, which caused a massive explosion, caught the enemy off guard and eliminated two of them. Normally, it would be impossible for someone her age to cast such a powerful spell, but her Level 1 Passive Skill allowed her to have much larger magic channels and a core, enabling her to cast enormous spells in one go.
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From a distance, Gorduin, watching the battle from between the trees, smiled and thought to himself, "Monster." Meanwhile, Vulren, perched in a tree, heard the loud explosion from the north and realized Kavrala was in combat. However, his focus was entirely on Ilphas. He noticed some suspiciously placed mushrooms around and began collecting a few. One of these mushrooms, called the Lillia mushroom, was purple and could easily knock out a person if its spores were inhaled. Carefully avoiding the spores, Vulren crushed the mushrooms and rubbed them onto a piece of cloth, which he then folded and placed in his pocket.
As he did this, he sensed Ilphas suddenly changing direction, heading north. Vulren couldn't let Ilphas sneak up on Kavrala; even she wouldn't be able to defeat him at close range. He had to act quickly—his plan was ready, and all he needed to do was execute it. He would set an ambush from the top of a tree, distract Ilphas by throwing a stone into the bushes, and then attack. It was a classic hunting tactic, and frankly, it was the only one he knew.
Vulren hid inside a large tree along Ilphas's path and waited. A few minutes later, a bald, muscular man emerged from the trees a few meters away. Resembling a monk, the man was a few centimeters shorter than Vulren but far more muscular. If Vulren could ambush him from behind and lock him in a chokehold, he could cut off his breath and prevent him from using magic. But if he acted even a second too early or too late, Ilphas would notice him, and Vulren would be in serious trouble. Fortunately, timing was one of Vulren's specialties.
Ilphas was moving through the trees toward Kavrala, hoping to catch her off guard and eliminate the enemy team’s strongest member. As he carefully advanced toward the explosion sounds from the north, he heard a noise from the bushes behind him and immediately turned around. No one was there. “Must be a small ani-,” he thought, but suddenly, his breath was cut off. Panic set in as he felt thick, scar-covered arms wrapped around his neck. Unable to breathe, he couldn't use magic, but his physical strength alone should have been enough to break free. However, it wasn't. The arms around him felt like they were made of steel, not flesh.
As his consciousness began to fade, he thrashed with all his might. After a few seconds of struggling, he finally managed to create enough space to take a breath, but just as he inhaled, his attacker shoved a cloth into his mouth. "Oh no," he thought, but it was too late—he had already breathed in the spores. His vision blurred, and within seconds, the world went dark.
Vulren, his hands trembling, laid Ilphas's unconscious body at the base of a tree with a vision crystal. The bald man had been stronger than he anticipated. During the struggle, Ilphas had headbutted him, and now his nose was bleeding. After wiping the blood away, Vulren continued toward the flag. Meanwhile, Kavrala's team, having dealt with Gorduin's teammates, had finally managed to regroup. The seven of them were now advancing toward the red flag together. Kavrala's goal was to initiate a full-scale battle to draw everyone's attention. They repelled occasional attacks from the enemy as they moved forward, but they were growing increasingly tired—exactly what Gorduin had planned. However, there was one thing he hadn't accounted for: Vulren.
After repelling a few more attacks, one of their team members ran out of mana and had to withdraw. As they approached the flag, now only 100 meters away, the attacks intensified, and their numbers dwindled. Then, among the trees, Kavrala spotted a face—Gorduin. His disgusting smirk was still plastered across his face. With a signal from his hand, spells began raining down on them from all directions. Goras surrounded them with a stone shield, and Kavrala began preparing another massive spell. When the spell was complete, Goras dropped the shield, and Kavrala launched the enormous fireball toward Gorduin. Seeing the massive fireball again, Gorduin and his teammates were stunned but quickly rallied all their strength to counter the spell. A colossal explosion followed, and when the dust settled, applause echoed from the trees.
Gorduin, clapping, said, "Incredible! Truly incredible! I honestly didn't think you could pull off that spell again. You surprised me, princess!" Kavrala, feeling nauseated at receiving a compliment from Gorduin, replied, "I've got plenty more where that came from." Then, with a signal from Gorduin, a massive battle erupted. Spells flew everywhere, explosions rocked the area, and the announcer excitedly narrated the fight as everyone watched with bated breath.
After a few minutes, only Leena and Kavrala remained standing, but both were exhausted, and four enemy team members were still facing them. Kavrala signaled Leena to retreat, and they ran toward the open area. Leena still didn't understand Kavrala's plan, but she followed her lead. When they reached the open area and stopped, Gorduin, still laughing, said, "That was a fantastic show, but this game is over. It's just the two of you and that useless retard left."
Kavrala smirked and replied, "Careful, or that retard might just show up holding a red flag." She might have disrupted Vulren's plans a bit, but she needed to buy time. Gorduin's smile vanished instantly, and he quickly pulled out his crystal. When he connected it to the tracking crystal monitoring their flag, he saw the red cloth tied to a stick and relaxed. His smirk returned as he said, "Nice try, but that's not going to happen." and ordered another attack.
Kavrala began preparing another massive spell while Leena absorbed and redirected incoming spells to protect her, but this would completely drain her mana. Kavrala launched an even larger fireball at Gorduin, who, once again impressed by her power, sacrificed three of his teammates to save himself. After the massive explosion, Leena and Kavrala collapsed to the ground, exhausted. As the dust settled, Gorduin emerged, laughing, and they felt a wave of despair.
They were completely exhausted, and the only one left on their team was Vulren. Additionally, the two strongest members of the opposing team were still in the game. Kavrala, now eliminated, watched from the sidelines as Gorduin approached their flag. When the blue flag came into Gorduin's view, his smirk widened even further. As he approached the flag, someone emerged from the trees behind it—Vulren Ravanan. Vulren stood shirtless in front of the flag, his muscular body covered in scars. Seeing this, Gorduin burst into laughter and said, "You're going to protect the flag? And why are you naked?"
Feeling as if she were spying on Vulren, Kavrala she looked away from the vision crystal but soon gave in to curiosity and started watching the game again. As Vulren struggled to open his belt pouch, he said, "I don't need to protect the flag." This angered Gorduin, who snapped, "So you've realized you can't stand against me, huh? Now get out of my way." Vulren smiled and replied, "It's not that I give up We've already won the game."
He then pulled a red flag from his pouch. Gorduin froze in shock and immediately reached for his crystal to check the flag. But the flag was still in place—how was this possible? Then, focusing carefully on the crystal, he noticed the buttons on the flag. It wasn't a flag; it was a red shirt. When the referee signaled the end of the game, the crowd fell silent. Vulren walked toward the exit while Gorduin stood frozen, staring at the crystal. As Vulren emerged from the forest, he was met by his teammates and the crowd, all staring at him in shock.
He approached Kavrala, and as he walked toward her shirtless, her heart began to race. Vulren reached out, took his bag from beside Kavrala, and put on a spare shirt. Though she hadn't expected anything, Kavrala couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Just as they were about to leave, someone from the crowd shouted, "Play the game properly, you COWARD!" and threw an empty cup. Within seconds, the crowd began hurling insults and trash at Vulren. Vulren took it all as a compliment and smirked.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Goras. "Now I understand why Miss Kavrala brought you onto the team. You did well, Vulren," Goras said before walking away. After receiving a small bit of praise from everyone on the team except his sister, Vulren was about to head home when he heard Gorduin shout, "Where's Ilphas?" Vulren had left Ilphas next to one of the vision crystals so they could find him. As the referee searched through the tracking crystals, he spotted the bald man lying under a tree.
When Ilphas's unconscious body appeared on the massive crystal screen, Gorduin's shock turned to rage. He turned to Vulren and yelled, "You must have cheated! There's no other explanation! A piece of trash like you could never beat Ilphas!" The crowd joined in, and Vulren, placing a hand on Gorduin's shoulder, said, "Maybe he just got a little sleepy, my friend," before walking away with a smirk. Gorduin's face turned red with anger, and Kavrala, seeing him this furious for the first time, felt a surge of satisfaction.
Exhausted, Vulren decided to skip watching the adults' games and head home. It was still early afternoon, so after resting at home for a bit, he returned to his restaurant. Though he knew the festival would mean fewer customers, he didn't want to stay home. When he arrived at the restaurant, he saw Kavrala waiting outside. After unlocking the door, they went inside together. Normally she was a quiet girl, but right now Kavrala couldn't stop talking excitedly about the game. "You were amazing out there! You should have seen Gorduin's face—well, I guess you did. But still, when you pulled that flag out of your little pouch, I was shocked! How did no one notice? Was that your plan all along? How did you manage to knock out Ilphas?"
She bombarded him with questions as Vulren put on his apron and headed to the kitchen. He briefly explained what had happened: while everyone was fighting, he had secretly swapped the flags. When Kavrala's mind replayed the image of Vulren shirtless, holding the flag, her face turned a little bit red, and she quickly changed the subject, placing an order for the food. Since it was the first time in her life that she was this close to someone, she could sometimes act very shy. Vulren didn't dwell on her sudden shift and started preparing the food. After eating together, they said their goodbyes.
A few hours later, with no customers in sight, Vulren decided to close the restaurant and head home. But he changed his mind and went to visit Syl instead. Since Kavrala had helped her find a job, Syl's situation had improved significantly. She had moved into a new home and was living comfortably. Syl's house was close to the restaurant, so Vulren arrived at her door in about fifteen minutes. After ringing the doorbell, Syl cautiously opened the door. Seeing Vulren, she smiled and let him in. The children rushed to greet him, and after exchanging greetings, Vulren sat down on the couch.
A few minutes later, Syl brought out a plate of fruit from the kitchen. As they ate, Syl said, "I watched your game—you were incredible! I thought you'd lost, but then you showed up. Didn't you bring a spare change of clothes? Why did you go out there shirtless?" She laughed, and Vulren, realizing he hadn't thought of it in the heat of the moment, felt a brief wave of embarrassment. The children excitedly praised him, saying, "You were amazing, Vulren! You destroyed that ugly faced guy!" Still grateful that he hadn't had to fight Gorduin, Vulren thanked the children and pulled out a chocolate cake he had prepared at the restaurant. Syl said, "You didn't have to go through all this trouble!" before fetching plates and forks from the kitchen. Vulren loved this place—it felt like the family he never had. After chatting for a while, they said their goodbyes, and Vulren returned home.
The next morning, Vulren woke up early and went to watch the final event of the festival: the duel tournament. He wanted to see some nice fights, but it didn't go as he expected. Kavrala won all her matches quickly and easily, dominating the competition. Even Gorduin couldn't last long against her, and Leena, who might have beaten Gorduin, had the misfortune of being matched against Kavrala. Kavrala took first place, Gorduin second, and Leena third. After the award ceremony, everyone dispersed, marking the end of this year's festival. Vulren was already looking forward to next year's. After congratulating Kavrala at the restaurant and making fun of some customers who accused him of cheating, Vulren closed up and went home, settling back into his routine.
