“Got it.”

The students nodded with grim faces.

Leo tapped the Mimesis control panel, pulling up a screen showing the possible fields and displaying it before the students.

“We don’t know which field we’ll get. Neither our team nor Team 3 can plan field strategies until the exam starts, so for the first five minutes—while Askanian is analyzing the field and forming a strategy—we need to strike fast and seize the advantage.”

A student raised their hand and asked,

“But what about Yulia and Elias? They can strategize too. Narce’s ability is hit-or-miss, right? You said it only works on Lucas from a distance.”

Since they couldn’t outright reveal the peculiar fact that Narce’s ability worked on Lucas without even seeing his face, Narce had conveyed this to the students with a bit more ambiguity.

Leo shook his head.

“Yulia and Elias are formidable, no doubt, but in a normal game, maybe. If the team’s control tower collapses, it’s a different story. Playing on flat ground versus playing on crumbling earth—obviously, it’s night and day. In chaos, any attempt to act will already tilt the situation in our favor.”

Take down Lucas, and everything crumbles.

The others are skilled, but since their strategies revolve around Lucas, once he’s down, it’ll take time to recover, and they won’t be able to respond immediately.

That was the gist.

A student tilted their head, not quite getting it.

“Is Askanian really that critical? Team 3 isn’t entirely dependent on him. Why do we keep focusing on him…?”

Narce, lost in thought, stared into the air and muttered,

“They don’t get it. This is exactly why we have to do this.”

“…Really…?”

“Out of all the strategies the 24 students in the third round could come up with, Lucas’s are the most polished and the most devastating. The success rate isn’t trivial either. You agree, right, Leo?”

Not wanting to reveal how close he was to Lucas, Leo gave a curt nod.

“And even if Lucas doesn’t strategize, it doesn’t matter to us, you know~”

Narce raised his eyebrows and smiled, as if everyone should know this. Except for the student who asked, the three others seated around Narce nodded with serious eyes.

Even if Yulia, Elias, or someone else from Team 3 makes a strategy, it’ll reach Lucas’s ears. To avoid that, they’d have to exclude Lucas from team activities entirely, which they can’t do.

And then what?

Any strategy Lucas perceives goes straight to Narce.

In other words, no matter who makes the strategy, Team 3 can’t escape Team 1’s grasp.

“Guys, like the First Academy seniors said, some of Team 3 will come after us, while the rest search for the victim. Let’s make one thing clear.”

The students’ eyes turned to Leo.

Leaning on the table, Leo continued slowly,

“We won’t encounter *anyone* from Team 3 in this field.”

“…….”

Thrown into the same field but not meeting?

The students swallowed hard.

Only Ulrike, Class 1’s top student, let out a chuckle.

“Oh, this is fun. If Team 3 comes looking for us, we read it and move elsewhere first, right?”

“Exactly. The more we engage, the longer it takes to deal with them, and it causes unnecessary damage to our forces. Plus, since the exam’s theme is victim rescue, we need to finish even a second faster. So, we…”

Leo stared at the muted First Academy training footage, speaking in an emotionless voice.

“…won’t let Team 3 hold us back for even a minute. We let them flail, and our team focuses on finding the victim.”

Silence fell.

The guy always vying for first in the department is different, the students thought, looking at Leo with satisfied eyes. Of course, since everyone here was already a top performer, their thoughts aligned with Leo’s.

Then, Ulrike said with a laugh,

“Wow, you’re brutal, considering you were on the same team as Yulia until this morning. Come to think of it, you don’t like Lucas much either, do you? Is that why?”

“…….”

“After the potion competition, I thought you two got a bit closer, but guess I was wrong.”

Leo swallowed hard, as if holding something back, and shook his head.

“…No time for chit-chat. Any questions?”

“Lucas is probably factoring in Narce’s ability and strategizing right now. They know about it, right?”

At Ulrike’s words, Leo shook his head, expressionless.

“Doesn’t matter. The moment we enter the field, his mind will be racing, and you can’t stop thoughts.”

“Right~”

Narce chimed in.

There’s no way around it.

The harder you try not to think, the more humans get trapped in those thoughts—especially in a situation where you *can’t* stop thinking.

So, consider this.

‘What if Lucas, accounting for my ability, voluntarily steps back from being the strategist?’

Wouldn’t Lucas think that far?

But we didn’t build our strategy solely on marking Lucas. We have contingencies for countless variables.

Even if Lucas steps back, our response doesn’t change much, and here’s why.

Even when following someone else’s strategy, Lucas always finds a more successful approach in the same situation. As always, even while following his teammates’ plans, he’ll keep analyzing and thinking, factoring in the environment.

‘Like in the second exam.’

I can’t forget the moment he instantly took over as team leader from Yulia’s command.

In Team 3’s most desperate, critical moments—like being cornered or stuck in a prolonged standoff—his strategy will emerge.

Whether he’s involved in strategizing from the start, jumps in at a critical moment, or deliberately avoids voicing his brilliant ideas to keep them from me, we’ll catch the fleeting moment those thoughts cross his mind and make Lucas’s ideas ours.

That’s our answer to Lucas’s ability.

‘Sorry, but… a match is a match.’

With that thought, Narce activated his power.

[…Then a giant wave swept over the boy. And then, nothing. What? Did it wash him away? …The boy was gone, and the beach was calm. For real….]

A random thought.

It wasn’t clear, but Narce vaguely picked up what Lucas was thinking.

‘As expected, he’s already dodging thoughts, knowing I’ll read them.’

Still, there’s a limit.

It seems like he’s deliberately thinking about a novel now, but once the exam starts, he won’t have a choice.

Of course, whether Lucas will let us take him down so easily or…

‘Come up with something completely unexpected.’

That’s what I’m really curious about.

Even using Foresight, all I see now is our team winning.

Leo tapped the clipboard, drawing attention.

“Alright, let’s go over it one last time. We counter Askanian’s strategies directly, minimizing contact with Team 3. Since we can read their plans from a distance, we break through and wrap everything up quickly. That’s all you need to remember.”

“Feels a bit cheap, though. Basically, we’re stealing their strategy and finishing in 15 minutes.”

Ulrike said with a laugh.

Back when she was Elias’s team leader in the second exam, she got dragged around, but since then, it’s like she awakened or something—her playfulness has grown, like during the potion competition.

Leo shook his head, giving Ulrike’s light, cheeky tone a pointed look.

“It’s a legitimate strategy. Reading the enemy’s moves and still letting them act is not conscience—it’s arrogance and a mistake.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The students nodded at Leo’s words.

Ulrike, already grinning like this was too much fun, propped her arm on the chair.

“Man, game over. Lucas and I got along during the potion competition.”

“Don’t let emotions sway you.”

“Obviously. Why would I let emotions ruin this fun chance to read the enemy’s mind and use it myself?”

As someone who’s consistently topped Class 1, Ulrike knew damn well what not to do during an exam.

Just then, the situation room’s lights went out one by one. Only the sunlight streaming through the wall-sized window kept the room from complete darkness.

Beep—

[Five minutes until the exam begins. All students, please proceed to the waiting room immediately.]

The students’ eyes met. Tension hung thick, but their confidence and certainty in their skills shone in their gazes.

Faint smiles crept onto their faces.

Narce stood up, grinning.

“It’s time. Let’s go.”

* * *

“It seems Narce’s ability works especially well on Lucas.”

In the exam setters’ waiting room, a First Academy professor watching the situation room footage smiled and glanced at the colleague beside him.

“Professor, what do you think? No way out, right?”

“None. Man, this…”

“Even you, who set the exam, feel stumped?”

“Yup.”

At that, hollow laughs erupted from the First and Second Academy professors watching the situation room cameras.

The main exam setter, a First Academy professor, nodded and rubbed his chin.

“It’s exactly as Team 1 analyzed. No matter what Team 3 says or where they silently lead, it all gets transmitted to Lucas’s brain as thoughts. It’s like exposing every secret to the enemy—a completely disadvantageous situation for Team 3.”

“Why’d you set it up like this…?”

“I didn’t know Narce’s ability worked that well on Lucas.”

The professor chuckled, looking at the other professors.

“But it worked out. Even if it’s not a perfect counter, this is a chance to see how well Team 3’s kids can come up with a second-best solution in a crisis.”

Second-best solution.

The professors, listening with arms crossed, nodded.

Finding a second-best solution would be a miracle.

Team 3 is bound to lose this game.

No, with such a lopsided starting point, losing is inevitable.

What matters is how hard they try to overcome the situation, even in defeat.

‘Hope Team 3’s kids don’t get too discouraged already.’

With that thought, the professors watched the students move.

At the same time, in Team 3’s waiting room.

[Three minutes until the exam begins.]

“Arghhh!”

“What do we doooo…?”

As soon as we reached the waiting room, our team started freaking out.

Still, we didn’t waste the strategy planning time given.

We shared our unique abilities, attack, and defense methods, and extracted info about Team 1’s members from the students who—until yesterday—were on different teams, compiling it all.

Of course, I just listened and read a book. Still am.

Those bastards are doing everything right and still freaking out.

“Lucas! Why the hell are you so calm?!”

Oswald grabbed my shoulder while I was reading and wailed.

“Should I cry too?”

“No… Narce can read all our thoughts, right?! Especially yours, in real-time! You gonna read a book in there too?!”

“You’re gonna burst my eardrums, Oswald.”

“Shit, sorry. But whether you use the strategies in your head or not, anything you think is viable, and they get to steal it all! All those game-changing ideas you showed in the second exam—dozens of them, gone! We’re screwed before we even start, aren’t we?!”

“Yulia and Elias are there.”

At my half-assed reply, Oswald shook his head with a despairing look.

“But, Lucas, listen. Any strategy Yulia or Elias comes up with—you’d have thought of already, right?”

“What?”

Elias let out a hollow laugh and turned away.

Oswald, ignoring Elias and everyone else, kept rapid-firing at me.

“Even if that’s not the case, any strategy we share with you goes straight to Narce’s brain, right? So not only do we lose everything, they’ll sabotage us every step of the way! You’d have figured this out already!”

“Thanks for the high praise.”

“No! That’s not it!”

“Fine. You’re right. We’re totally fucked. We’re done for. That’s what you wanted to hear, yeah?”

“Arghhh…”

Oswald let go of me, went to the wall, started banging his head, and muttered something.

“What do we do? What do we do? Is this the end?”

Auguste and Florian looked slightly worried but were holding it together better than Oswald.

Elias slung an arm around my shoulder and laughed.

“Haha, Luca’s so chill~”

“Gotta be chill. Until 30 seconds before it starts.”

“Hm, planning to strategize against Narce 30 seconds before? Not prepping now, but actually starting to think 30 seconds out?”

“Yup. Right now, I’m keeping my head empty.”

“Man, this is gonna be good~”

“Tell me about it.”

Tsheringen, listening to our exchange, smiled softly.

You’d think my laziness and distraction would piss her off, but she just watched, amused, like Elias, fully trusting me.

[One minute until the exam begins.]

“Argh!”

[59, 58….]

Zzing—

The door separating us from the exam field opened.

Blinding light flooded the dark waiting room, where only a red signal light had been blinking.

[55, 54, 53….]

We stepped into the endless white expanse of the exam field.

Then, a sudden thought made me raise an eyebrow slightly.

“Hm.”

“Huh…?”

Oswald, his face ashen, reacted.

I turned to the team and said,

“Came up with something a bit early.”

[45, 44, 43….]

Oswald, staring blankly at me, widened his eyes. Auguste and Florian had the same reaction.

“What?! You thought of something? What?!”

“There’s a bit of risk, though. Can you promise me?”

“What is it? I’m in.”

Elias piped up on his own.

Thankfully, the other teammates didn’t seem to disagree.

“Yeah! To counter that bullshit ability, there’s gotta be some risk! Just tell us what it is!”

Oswald shouted like he’d rip out his liver for me.

But it was too early to voice the risk and solidify the thought.

[23, 22, 21….]

I looked at the team and said simply,

“I’ll trust you guys. Trust me.”

* * *

[3, 2, 1. Begin.]

Whoosh—

Narce opened his eyes in a fierce gust of wind.

He saw Team 1 students shielding their eyes and scanning the surroundings, just like him.

Above, the sky stretched wide, with red brick structures blocking parts of it. Below, a city sprawled.

“A clock tower, Narce.”

At Leo’s prompt, Narce nodded.

This was the moment to unleash the power he’d been saving for the next 15 minutes.

Narce, holding his head and closing his eyes, suddenly snapped them open.

“…Hm?”

Leo and the other Team 1 students turned to him.

Leo, studying Narce’s face, asked,

“What? Something wrong?”

Narce didn’t answer. Instead, he gaped, unable to believe what he’d read.

“Wha-what?!”

“What’s wrong? What is it?”

“What the hell? Why…”

His bizarre reaction sparked confusion on Team 1’s faces.

“Why’s it so jumbled? It’s like standing blindfolded in the middle of a crossroad… that’s the vibe. And what’s with the coffin?”

“Huh? Stop with the metaphors and explain properly!”

Ulrike, completely lost, said in a voice full of questions.

No answer came. Narce froze, staring blankly into the air, then slowly turned to Leo.

“…‘The moment we enter the field, his mind will be racing, and you can’t stop thoughts.’ You said that earlier, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re right. You can’t stop thoughts. But… what if you enter the field, delay situational judgment, and disrupt perception?”

“That’s impossible! Like you said earlier, it’d be more effective to just walk in blindfolded—”

Ulrike stopped mid-sentence.

The amusement vanished from her and the team’s faces.

Leo, who’d been standing with a confused look, turned pale with shock.

* * *

‘Proper mummy experience.’

Now I just need to find a coffin and climb in.

Half-mocking my choice, I focused on the surrounding magic and sounds.

The same wind I heard when I met Strauch. And faint magic, untouched by human presence.

“A clock tower.”

“Yup, Luca. You figured it out~”

A voice from behind moved forward.

Elias seemed to be standing in front of me.

“I know, but I’m slow. Probably a beat behind you guys.”

“Exactly! We’ve been checking out the view below for like five seconds, and you just now got it~ By the way…”

Something, like a finger, lightly touched my nose and pulled back. The texture of gauze brushed my skin.

“Wonder how Team 1’s reacting~”

I answered with a smile.

At this point, maybe I’ll channel Leo’s way of thinking.

Pretend I’m Leo.

He’d focus on the exam’s intent and format.

Syncing with near-strangers and rescuing multiple victims—the most effective win condition here is time.

The less time spent, the more it proves the team’s unity and skill, staying true to the victim rescue theme.

So, Leo would use all the info and strategies I’m thinking, reverse-engineering them to bypass our team entirely, quickly find the victim, and wrap things up.

“So, what’s your strategy now, Luca?”

Not happening.

Think I’ll let you blow your nose without a fight?

If we’re throwing punches, we’re throwing punches—I’m not letting it go easy.

There’s one way.

Turn the info coming to me into muddy water.

Make it impossible to read anything useful.

The fact that my movements will be restricted and their hour of strategy planning is wasted—those balance out.

What matters is this.

Now, the starting line is even.

I slightly lifted the cloth covering my eyes, looked at Elias and the team, and smirked.

“What else? We take them down one by one, the classic way.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep