Cadmus, Gelida, Morgana, and Gwen were immediately lead back to the location where they all had initially stepped off their carriages from. There, they were given the option of going back inside the carriages to sit, or hanging out outside with the other people who had already passed the round. In both cases, they were still not allowed to go back to the Academy yet.

Cadmus and his group had been told that they were among the first ten people to pass the round, and, from the looks of it, there were five people here who had arrived before them, all of them having chosen to stay outside. Ardea was conversing with Ito, Arthur was with Lancelot, and Gale Holland was standing by himself, keeping an eye on all who approached.

As their small group of four entered the field, Cadmus’ gaze lingered on Arthur. He had donned a full set of what looked like steel armour interspersed with regal blue cloth, and on his waist was a heavy-looking broadsward held in a rich blue scabbard adorned with fanciful gold filigree. Was that the sword Morgana had been talking about? Was that the sword given to him by Merlin which had allowed him to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?

His thoughts were interrupted when Gelida suddenly pulled them all into a huddle.

“It was fun working together!” She said, grinning, “Hopefully we’ll all be able to hang out when this tournament ends as well!”

Gwen smiled sweetly, “I would like that.”

Morgana sent Cadmus a look that gave him the sense that she expected him to sympathize with how laughable she thought Gelida’s words were, however…

“I don’t mind,” Cadmus said, causing Morgana to blink in surprise, “I would welcome the chance to study all of your spells in further detail.” He turned to Gwen, “Especially yours. I believe it would greatly benefit my own research.”

Gwen smiled as though she was amused, “Why thank you.”

“You just want to hang out with us to study our magic!?” Gelida exclaimed, “Come on! That’s so mean!”

“How heartwarming,” Morgana said sarcastically, pulling away, “Come on, Gwen, let’s go.”

She walked away, and, after a polite nod and smile of farewell, Gwen followed after her. This left only Cadmus and Gelida together.

Cadmus was unsure as to what to do next, however, the choice was taken out of his hands when Ardea and Ito approached. Ardea was still in her Academy robes and usual clothes, but Ito, like Arthur had also donned a full set of armour. Although, his armour looked far different from Arthur’s.

While Arthur had chosen to wear plate armour that one usually envisioned knights to wear (with the added caveat of looking far more expensive and extravagant than the standard fare), Ito had chosen to wear armour composed of lamellar plates. It looked like the armour that warriors from the Isle of Dawn wore—the samurai, if Cadmus remembered correctly. And even though he carried a sword like Arthur, Ito’s sword was probably far thinner and curved, judging by the wooden scabbard.

“Guiles, it seems you managed the first round well enough,” Ardea said, “Though I would have been immensely disappointed if you hadn’t. This round is far too easy for anyone who has delved beyond the basics of magic.”

“I humbly disagree,” Ito said, his voice as measured as ever, “Though the barriers and traps were simple enough to dismantle, there were also situations where we had to fight against our fellow competitors. If two skilled mages were to meet, this round would become far more difficult for them than it is for others. It is luck that determines whether this round will be easy for you or not.”

“I suppose I cannot deny that,” Ardea said, frowning in thought. Then, she seemed to realize something, “Guiles, this is Ito Shin. He is from the Isle of Dawn, so his surname is ‘Ito’ and his given name is ‘Shin’.”

“The Isle of Dawn… that’s where the legendary mage Abe no Seimei was born, isn’t it?” Cadmus remembered, “I’ve read some of his works. His theories are unique and hard to prove, but I can’t deny that they make a lot of sense.”

Shin smiled, “I am honoured to hear that the mage our country is so proud of has been praised by you. I have heard of you, Cadmus Guiles. You are the one who proved centuries of magical knowledge wrong.” His gaze shifted down to his breast pocket, “I imagine that is your famed homunculus?”

Cadmus paused in surprise. Alice had remained hidden inside Cadmus’ breast pocket because of Morgana, and Cadmus was sure that no part of Alice could be seen from the outside. And yet, Shin had somehow noticed her.

“Yes, she is,” Cadmus finally said.

Alice took that as her cue to pop her head out, “Hello, my name is Alice. Pleased to meet you.”

Shin nodded slightly, “The pleasure is all mine. After all, the chance doesn’t often come by to talk to such a remarkably beautiful and well-mannered lady.”

Alice blushed a deep scarlet, “Th-thanks…”

She slowly retreated back down into his pocket until only the top of her blonde hair and wide blue eyes could be seen.

It was obvious to Cadmus that Shin was only talking to her like she was a child, like Ember used to call him her ‘handsome young man’ when he was young, but Alice seemed to take Shin’s words quite seriously. She seemed happy though, so Cadmus decided to keep quiet about it.

“Oh no, no, no! You made it out before me!?” A familiar voice suddenly complained from behind him.

Cadmus turned to look, and sure enough, it was Mark Tempor, with his face twisted in horror, as though his world had just fallen apart. He looked like he was about to go on a rant, so Cadmus said,

“I teamed up with three other people if that’s any consolation.”

Mark blinked, his expression easing up slightly, “Oh… I should have known you wouldn’t have been able to beat me without cheating in one way or another.”

Cadmus wondered if teaming up could truly be considered cheating, but confronted by the risk of being annoyed further by Mark, he let the whole matter go. Besides, this reminded him, he had indeed had Alice to find the way for him, and three other skilled mages to help him through any obstacle, and yet, Ardea, Shin, Arthur, Lancelot, and Gale had all managed to make it out before him.

Ardea was one thing, but perhaps the others were even more skilled than Cadmus had imagined… even Mark had arrived only a few minutes after Cadmus!

And, as if to warn Cadmus of more rivals, another person arrived on the field right then. Cadmus recognized his brown hair and equally brown eyes: it was Gale Holland’s brother, but it took him a moment to place his name.

Gale trotted up to him, and proudly patted him on the shoulder,

“Hey, Connor. You just missed a spot on the top ten, but don’t worry, four people came working together, so I’m not sure how much that counts,” Cadmus heard him say.

He supposed Gale was right, but it didn’t really matter to Cadmus. As long as he got his full set of points, he would be satisfied.

Almost immediately after Connor Holland, Gawain Le Fay arrived as well, and he headed straight for his friends, Arthur and Lancelot. It seemed that they had only stuck around on the field to wait for Gawain, because after a bit of congratulating, they headed inside to the carriages.

The next hour or so passed just like that, with people steadily streaming in, and the sun slowly setting. Twenty minutes in, Ardea’s friend, Elise Auxil arrived, and they headed into the carriages together too. A few minutes after her, the final Holland brother, Elis Holland arrived, and all three of them entered the carriages as well, with Mark joining them. After a while, Gelida and Shin followed their example.

As time went on, more people started arriving with greater frequency, and once the sky began turning madder, Candice and Oliver came stumbling into the field together.

They both looked worse for wear, with their ripped clothes and battered bodies, but there were wide grins etched upon their faces (though Candice’s expression still looked as shaky as usual).

“We did it!” Oliver announced as they both walked up to Cadmus.

Cadmus nodded, “Congratulations.”

“Congratulations!” Alice echoed, throwing her hands up in the air and injecting far more jubilation in her voice than Cadmus.

Oliver beamed at both him and Alice, while Candice’s shaky grin widened, her eyes watering slightly.

“Did you both work together?” Cadmus asked.

“Only at the end,” Oliver said, “We teamed up, but I wish we’d met each other earlier. By the time we came across each other, we only had one barrier left to clear before finding the exit.”

“You seem like you had a tough time,” Cadmus said, noting their less than stellar appearance.

Oliver laughed, “Yeah, you have no idea how many times I thought I was going to be defeated. But hey, in the end, I managed to make it, so that’s that.”

“I-it was the same for me,” Candice said, “I thought I would be defeated by the first person I came across, but… it seems that our experience in Lorem forest has helped me become a better combatant.”

There was a melancholic expression on her face as she said that, and Cadmus found that he could only respond with a mere, “…I see.”

“What about you?” Oliver asked, looking pointedly at Cadmus’ clothes, “You barely seem ruffled.”

“I was lucky,” Cadmus said, “I found a group to team up with right at the beginning, and so we had no problem making it to the exit in no time.”

Oliver groaned, “Oh come on, why do only the people who don’t need luck always get so lucky? Who’d you team up with?”

“Gelida Olvo, Morgana Le Fay, and Gwen Eviere.”

Oliver palmed his face, “…Great, and you even got the best of the best. Just great.” A short laugh escaped his lips as he sighed, “Ah well, I guess I shouldn’t complain. I mean, despite everything, we made it as well, didn’t we?”

Alice nodded, “Indeed.”

They spent the next half hour sharing their respective experiences in the labyrinth before the sun sank almost completely into the ground, dousing the world into the dark blue of starry night, and Professor Mackenzie walked onto the field. She prepared her voice-enhancing magic circle and spoke,

“Okay everyone, we’ve reached the time limit for this round, so I want everyone inside the carriages to step out for a moment.”

A moment passed, and then came a flurry of activity where the doors of various carriages opened and people poured out, some looking curious, some looking tired, and some looking just plain annoyed. Once things settled down a bit, Professor Mackenzie spoke again,

“Everyone who’s here, congratulations! You’ve all passed to the next round!” She paused for a moment with a goofy grin on her face, as though expecting everyone to cheer after her declaration. However, all she got were a few measly whoops before the noise died down again. Cadmus supposed that most people simply didn’t feel very cheerful after being forced to wait here for so long.

Professor Mackenzie cleared her throat, “W-well, moving on, the next round will take place in Ipsum forest. A hundred or so of you passed the first round, but it’s the second round where we’ll really cull your numbers, so prepare yourselves with a good night’s sleep, okay? And don’t be late! Any questions?”

Someone from the crowd raised their hand, and Professor Mackenzie pointed at them.

“Are we supposed to bring anything with us?”

Professor Mackenzie shook her head, “No, you’re still only allowed to bring the items we’ve already approved. If that’s all…?”

The person put their hand down, and no one else raised their hands in turn. After a moment, Professor Mackenzie clapped her hands together,

“Alright then! Please form a neat and orderly line so that we can make sure we aren’t missing anyone. And if you find some people who are still in your carriage, please make sure to tell us!”

The rest of the night passed quickly after that. They were all escorted back to the Academy and sent back to their dorm rooms without any fanfare. There were, however, small crowds of students waiting outside of the dorm buildings, and they tried to swarm Cadmus and his fellow tournament participants as soon as they stepped into sight.

Cadmus wasn’t really in the mood to deal with these people, and he made sure to clearly let them know of this. However, he doubted anyone heard him over the noise of all their clamouring. Thankfully, Arthur Pendragon rescued them all by drawing a voice-enhancing magic circle and announcing firmly yet politely,

“I apologize, but we are quite tired from today’s events, so if you all would just please let those who want to get back to their dorms pass through, that would be much appreciated.”

If Cadmus didn’t know any better he would have said that there was a spell woven into Arthur’s voice, because right after Arthur’s announcement, every single student from the crowd parted to create a corridor for them all to pass through.

Cadmus took immediate advantage of it and entered his dorm room.

As he was changing into his nightwear, Alice, who was relaxing on the bed after having already changed, spoke,

“So… Ipsum forest, huh? This Academy really likes forests. First that event in Lorem forest, and now this qualifier round…”

“I doubt that’s truly the case,” Cadmus said absently.

Alice raised an eyebrow, and once Cadmus was done changing, he explained,

“According to Oliver, this tournament is held to decide the best magic school in the world.”

“Which means that both schools really want to win?” Alice guessed.

“Correct,” Cadmus said, climbing into the bed and tucking himself and Alice in, “And since the Academy is responsible for organizing the tournament this year, I bet that they first decided that the second round would take place in Ipsum forest, and then sent us first years to Lorem forest so that they could teach us how to survive in forests in advance. Very cunning of them…”

“But… isn’t that cheating?” Alice asked.

“I suppose in a sense it is,” Cadmus said, “However, the event wasn’t even held in the same forest that they’re sending us to tomorrow, so I’m sure the Academy will be able to deflect any claims of it being so. I would give you a more detailed answer, however, I’m not as knowledgeable about these affairs as Oliver is.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Alice said reluctantly, “But doesn’t all this mean the situation is really bad for us? I mean, we never actually got to learn how to survive in a forest.”

Cadmus closed his eyes and let his head rest on the pillow underneath, “You’re not wrong, however, don’t worry too much about it. We have a trump card that works especially well in forests.”

“A trump card? What trump card?”

“You.”