“North? This place is already north for Elias, and you want him to go even further up?”

Yulia turned to Lucas beside her.

“Yeah. North from Team 1’s clock tower. This plaza is essentially east from our tower.”

“…….”

She wanted to ask why, but now wasn’t the time.

Better to trust Lucas.

“Elias. Don’t come up to Alexanderplatz; head northeast toward the capital.”

[…Okay~]

Yulia cut the connection with Elias and looked at Lucas.

“So it’s a trap. Then we should go down to Heike.”

“No, Heike won’t answer even if you ask.”

“…Won’t answer?”

“I’ll tell you instead. Just wait a bit.”

“…….”

She couldn’t figure out how he planned to find out. But Yulia nodded.

“Alright. While you’re locating it…”

He rubbed his chin and said,

“We need to rework our strategy a bit. My unique ability is lightning, Oswald’s got a sharp nose. Florian can use his plant-related ability like before… Auguste can create illusions, right, Lucas?”

“Yup.”

“Great, shall we move and get started? We need to regroup with Elias. And, no matter how I think about it…”

Heike Ainsidel is coming with us.

Yulia stood, smiling.

* * *

East is south.

If Heike finds traces of a berserk incident in the east, she warps to the south to make a false report.

That was my first order.

The distance between the two clock towers is about 10km. Plus, there’s that much length on either side. For a single exam field, it’s pretty damn vast.

But with free warping and the city dead silent, this width wasn’t too tough for us.

A bit of a hassle, sure.

So, this strategy was a critical blow to Team 3, who’d be tailing Heike Ainsidel from somewhere.

But…

“…….”

Leo bit his lip hard and ran. The wind whistled past his ears.

Figured out already.

It’s definitely because of the core.

As expected, Lucas has been screwing around, causing irregular pain in the core since earlier.

It wasn’t excruciating, thanks to the healing magic on the core, but…

‘…It’s fucking distracting. A sabotage tactic?’

Not only distracting, but now our location’s been exposed.

It’s been about a week since Lucas got that artifact, so Leo knew. With that artifact, mimicking the subordination spell, he could roughly sense where my magic power was. That’s why Leo could promise to follow right after if anything went wrong when Lucas met Her Highness Elisabeth.

Naturally, the original subordination spell should allow tracking too.

The problem is, personal artifacts aren’t allowed during the exam, so I can’t access Lucas’s core right now.

‘Unfair.’

I know it’s childish to think this, but it’s unfair.

The right to control Lucas’s core was mine, fairly earned. Even if I let slide Lucas messing with my core, the fact that I’ve lost control feels like the school stripped me of free will, and it’s pissing me off, twisting my guts.

Doesn’t that make me the only one at a disadvantage in this exam? If I had all the abilities Lucas is using, our team would be way ahead.

Narce cackled.

[Why’d you let him, then!]

“I didn’t let him.”

He can’t even read my thoughts properly but nails it anyway. I never told Narce about this, but he’s clearly figured it out with his Insight. Not even surprising anymore.

[Sure you did~]

“What’s that supposed to mean?! I was freaking out back then…”

[Then break it, Leo.]

I had a lot to say but couldn’t spit it out.

Why the hell are we talking about this? With two signals already cut off, there’s no time for chit-chat in this mess.

Just as I took a deep breath to snap back, Narce said, laughing,

[Alright, alright~ I’m searching buildings, but it’s not as easy as I thought. A berserker definitely rampaged through this street, but nothing shows up on the first floor when I shoot Divine Power. That means the victim’s in the basement or above the second floor. I’m checking from the entry direction to the third building on either side.]

“Good. More importantly, you said Lucas figured it out.”

[Yup.]

Act like Lucas doesn’t exist.

If our team finds one victim first, the signal goes to everyone’s Mimesis vision.

Going after Lucas in the rear would be too costly, so we planned to find a victim first, pressure Team 3, and draw Lucas out.

The strategy hasn’t changed.

Leo ran like a maniac, then stopped in front of a sign.

‘Hm, found it.’

[Oranienburger Street – 128:333:456]

A sign with warp coordinates.

Before sending me the decoy message, Heike reported a berserk incident at the intersection of Oranienburger and Friedrich Streets.

The text was mirrored. This was the duplicated area, so it made sense.

Leo hesitated briefly, snapped his fingers, and warped to the coordinates.

A new scene unfolded before his eyes.

‘South side of the street.’

Everyone warping to Oranienburger starts here.

Now, time to head up.

As he scanned his surroundings with that thought, Leo spotted someone familiar pinned to the ground.

“…!”

Heike Ainsidel, either having just fought someone or caught in a trap, was crushed under magic power.

A swing of his wand shattered the magic holding her down. Heike, blood trickling from her cheek, grimaced and looked up at Leo.

“…Le, Leo.”

‘An illusion?’

According to our Team 4 friends, Auguste Rosenheim, formerly of Team 4, can create illusions.

Illusions so realistic even teammates question if they’re real, and doubting their authenticity doesn’t break them. That’s what I heard.

So, I need to keep all possibilities open and assume this Heike might be our actual teammate.

Finding her right after arriving at the Oranienburger warp coordinates could mean this is an illusion targeting me…

But it could also mean Heike, hearing she’d been exposed, gave up the deception and came here for support.

“Leo, set up a barrier quick. Don’t worry about me, head up to Friedrich Street. Hurry.”

Leo checked the surroundings but saw no signs of anyone. He snapped his fingers, set a barrier, and said,

“Tell me what happened first.”

“…Yulia was tailing me. Yulia and Lucas were watching us from the Grand Hotel by Alexanderplatz. Narce told you?”

“Is that true?”

The question wasn’t for Heike.

Narce, distracted elsewhere, answered in a belated tone.

[Huh? What?]

“Did Lucas and Yulia see Heike from the Grand Hotel by Alexanderplatz?”

[Uh, yeah~]

In her characteristic slow, dry, and slightly deflated voice, Heike muttered,

“…My artifact’s broken too. Got a spare?”

“Yeah. I’ll give you one later.”

“Now?”

“No way.”

No chance I’m tossing an artifact to someone when I don’t even know if they’re real or fake.

“Get up.”

Leo extended a hand.

As Heike reached for it, she screamed with a terrified expression,

“Behind you!”

“…!”

*Boom—!*

Leo spun, shielding his eyes with his arm.

Golden magic power scattered before him. He knew exactly whose it was.

Yulia stood on the top floor of the building across the street.

I didn’t sense anyone earlier. Then again, with her skill, it’s not impossible.

‘So, they’re trying to block us from entering the street entirely.’

“Yulia.”

“Hm.”

“Where’d you leave Lucas?”

“Handed him off to Elias. Why?”

“Nothing.”

Leo smirked, shook his head, and swung his hand.

Something shot up at a speed invisible to the eye, rushing toward Yulia.

Boom—!

Yulia raised a barrier, but too late. Thick, tough plant vines sprouted from the building wall, grabbing her wrist to yank her down.

Yulia swiftly cut them with magic power and leaped to the ground.

“Still the same, Leo.”

“Gotta be.”

“Actually, I wanted to spar one-on-one with you.”

“Here’s your chance. Let it all out.”

“You know we don’t have time for that.”

Despite her words, a white blade flashed in Leo’s eyes.

*Clang! Screech—*

Yulia’s signature heavy attack landed squarely on Leo’s sword.

It felt exactly as Leo remembered.

‘Not an illusion?’

Still couldn’t tell.

Yulia laughed in her familiar voice.

“Guess all that training at our place during breaks paid off.”

I did train in Baden during breaks until the middle of Third Academy.

Adjusting the force in his wrist, Leo muttered quietly,

“What, ancient history? And I didn’t train *with* you.”

“Ancient history, huh…”

*Boom—!*

Yulia stomped the ground hard.

As magic power surged from the earth, Leo kept his balance, focusing on Yulia’s sword sliding under his and her movements.

Then, laughter spilled from Yulia.

“Been wondering why you’re not checking behind you like this. Wanna come back to Baden for training?”

Yulia was in front, but a whooshing sound came from behind out of nowhere.

Dodging both attacks by twisting sideways, Yulia vanished from sight in an instant.

A speed almost inhuman.

Disappearing mid-fight.

That means I’m not the target.

Sure enough, Heike was gone from where she should’ve been. But now wasn’t the time to focus on Heike.

That whooshing sound earlier…

Clang—!

Leo twisted his wrist, deflecting a blade flying at him.

Since it lingered, Heike could wait.

“Focus, why don’t you.”

“…….”

I am focused.

Not the best situation for that kind of jab.

It was Lucas.

Still wearing the blindfold.

‘…Ah.’

A decoy.

Instead of chasing Heike, they’re baiting me to remove Lucas’s blindfold.

As I thought earlier, the moment his eyes are free to scan the field, victory is ours.

Nice offer. Of course, there are two possibilities here.

“Narce. Find Heike now. She vanished with Yulia.”

[Later! Ugh, Team 3 is too good at stealing~ Anyway, come help quick! We gotta finish before Team 3 gets here!]

Leo kept his eyes locked on Lucas’s face, listening to Narce.

When I was just imagining it, I didn’t feel it, but seeing the blindfold in person sent an instinctive shiver of fear down my spine. I brushed off Narce muttering about mummies and coffins, but now, it really looks like something crawled out of a sarcophagus.

“You went and made yourself bait, and you’re gonna get pissed when I treat you like this, Class Rep?”

“Class Rep?”

*Whoosh—Boom!*

Leo dodged Lucas’s sword, stepping aside.

How long’s it been since I heard Lucas call me Class Rep? Is this an act? Two possibilities here too.

Leo sheathed his sword, switched to a wand, kept blocking Lucas’s attacks, and said,

“Then take it off.”

“…….”

“You know what I mean. You said you’re bait. Heike’s been taken, so at least you…”

Boom!

Leo stomped hard, sidestepping, and swung his hand again.

Something scattered around writhed like a living creature. Lucas, sensing the magic, spun around, but it was too late.

“Gotta buy time.”

A plant vine precisely grabbed the strap behind his head and yanked.

Leo finished speaking and stood still, watching him.

Lucas, regaining balance and crouching low, clicked his tongue and looked this way. The sudden sunlight must’ve stung, as he squinted, pressing near his brow.

The usual deadpan Lucas.

As always, those pink irises, radiating annoyance with everything, met his gaze.

“…….”

Leo smirked, looking at that face.

All along, two possibilities split this situation 50-50, but now I know for sure.

Leo tapped the artifact by his ear.

“Narce. Auguste’s around here.”

With that, Lucas vanished in an instant, just like Yulia did earlier.

As expected, that Yulia was an illusion too.

[…Four buildings left! Hurry and search! Wait, what? Auguste? You’re not saying you’re not coming…]

“That’s not the point, Narce. Any Team 3 kids there?”

[No.]

“There are. No way Team 3 would abandon a point they worked to find. Check again. And you said Heike’s not there, right?”

[Yup.]

When Heike first reported real info to us, she gave every minor detail.

That’s a clue to how the berserk incident unfolded.

When berserk incidents happen in clusters, there’s always a contaminated source somewhere, triggering in multiple people around the same time.

Meaning, even with multiple incidents, there’s one root cause.

And while Lucas might think of it, anything I can think of, Elias and Yulia can too.

“Now, I just thought of something. There was a slight time gap. Between you saying ‘Lucas figured it out’ and me arriving at this street to meet Auguste. I recall about a five-minute difference.”

The corner of Leo’s mouth slowly curled up.

Narce’s soft chuckle came through, catching on.

[…Ah~ Nice. Got it.]

* * *

‘Ah, damn it.’

Auguste clicked his tongue, peeling his head off the wall and glancing out the window.

‘How’d they figure it out? They fell for it up to Heike and Yulia.’

I knew Heike from before, so I understood what kind of person she was, and creating her illusion was no issue.

Yulia gave me the info I needed, so I pulled that off successfully too.

But to get stuck at this stage.

Everyone in the school knows what Lucas and Leo’s relationship is like, and I thought I did too.

So I was sure it’d work.

When crafting a human illusion, you need to layer emotions finely. Otherwise, it becomes flat, like a doll. With over a decade of data since my unique ability manifested, I was certain and rarely failed.

‘But… was mixing in disgust at the Lucas stage a mistake?’

If I dislike someone, I’m usually prepared for them to dislike me back, right? If I hate someone, over time, they catch that vibe too. It’s natural for Lucas, looking at Leo, to have a disdainful glare.

Or did I secretly hope Lucas would like me despite my dislike?

‘…No. It didn’t feel like he was lashing out.’

It genuinely felt like he saw through the illusion.

Anyway, no time for this.

I need to alert Yulia and Elias about the situation.

As he dashed down the building to signal Elias’s artifact, a deafening announcement blared.

*Beep—*

Auguste’s eyes widened.

Red text flashed before him.

[Team 1: +1]

[Team 3: 0]

* * *

Lost a point.

[…Elias. Sorry. I held them off almost until the promised time… but Leo figured it out at the end.]

“Ugh~ It’s fine. Don’t beat yourself up.”

Elias laughed, whispering to the friend under his arm.

“Man~ Our Narce is something else. Or is it Leo who’s the beast?”

“…….”

“Caught in an illusion for four minutes and figures it out in the last minute? Makes sense? Leo—or someone—smashed Oswald and Florian’s artifacts in one minute. What do we do with this? Those guys aren’t slouches either, how’s this happening~”

Heike, pale as a ghost with a drained expression, stumbled, held up by Elias.

“…You broke my artifact too. Ulrike’s and Josefine’s as well.”

“What can I do if you mistook me for Leo, Heike? Auguste’s unique ability is awesome, right?”

Heike squeezed her eyes shut at the unnecessarily gentle tone.

She usually doesn’t feel emotions strongly, but for some reason, she was pissed.

Here’s what happened…

Shortly after sending the fake report, Leo came running from the south. I explained everything from scratch for five minutes because he said his artifact was broken, only to find out it was Elias.

I was about to warn that Auguste was using her ability, but Auguste went to the real Leo, and Elias broke my artifact.

While Heike was lost in thought, Elias casually checked a clock inside the building and muttered,

“Leo’s probably coming here now.”

“…What? How?”

Elias didn’t answer Heike’s question, muttering playfully to himself.

“Ah~ Our prince is working his brain so hard, this one’s freaking out. Since when was west north? Huh? Directional bluffing?”

“Bluffing?”

“…!”

Elias spun around.

Seeing the face of the person behind him, he grinned.

Leo, for once, approached with a sly smile.

“I’ve never held a bad hand, so how about you phrase it right?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep