“Look at this!“ Artie's voice pulled the attention of all the professors and teachers who were lazing around. With seven hours having passed, the interest was slowly dwindling for the professors during what could be called the mid-game. But at last, something interesting popped up.

Artie tapped a button on the keyboard and the monitors changed to show an enlarged feed of one single drone. On the screen, Blaine Sothsfield had just fallen off a pit and intervened in the battle between the Sandy Mantis and Seraphina Exise. Claudio and Don Brocious raised their eyebrows and sat behind on a checkered polyester blanket of red and white with a straw basket and some sandwiches. A few of the other professors were indulging in tea or sausages around them as well, the sized-up monitor was a big help.

The screen flashed yellow and white and Luke Reese, the year's second-ranked student, dived into the battlefield. The Sandy Mantis was pushed back, and then it covered its blades in wind skills.

“Oh! The boss battle's starting!“ Don Brocious exclaimed.

“Hey, is the feed going smoothly?“ Claudio asked the operator and got a nod back. Then, they pulled out their watches.

“Hm… Isabella Ahlgrim has put up a big amount on Ralph Rubinstein's contribution…”

Even if the test did not judge the students by their contribution, it was still a safe place to bet on for people, the odds were lowered but the return was still good enough.

The other professor's moderating the exam who weren't familiar with the first years talked amongst themselves.

“Isn't Lady Isabella one of the strongest in the school right now?“

“I heard that she took in a pupil, is that him? It should be safe to bet on him, right?“

“Wait, wait, so we're all betting after all? Is that really alright?“

The trio of Claudio, Artie, and Don Brocious smiled in satisfaction at the fact that they had successfully corrupted another set of the school's faculty.

When they turned their gaze back to the monitors, Ralph finished stretching on top of the pit. He took in a deep breath and dived from the top, right in the line of the Sandy Mantis' charge. Suddenly, Ralph scrunched up in a defensive position and was knocked away by the mantis.

“Oooh!“

“Ouch!“

Even the teachers winced as Ralph slammed into the walls of the pit, he was lucky that he didn't get chopped up by the monster's blades.

“Hey, look at this,” Claudio muttered. “Isabella Ahlgrim retracted her bet.“

***

I coughed up a mixture of phlegm and blood as I held my body up with my hand against the walls of the pit.

{Wow, you ok, Host?}

I somehow managed to twist my body and avoid the brunt of the charge, but the impact was still insane. At least the mantis stopped in its tracks in confusion.

{Quite the hit you took. You slacking off?}

“Shut the fuck up!“ I screamed. Thankfully, the other three were busy holding the mantis back. “You bastard, I got hit because of you! Why do you block my sight all the damn time!“

{Uh… Sorry… I knew it, even after an update, I am still useless. I should just offer myself up to a mantis, right? Right?}

“Damn straight.“ I pushed myself off the ground and got on my feet. The mantis was already wounded on the legs with Seraphina and Luke's tag team attack while there was a scratch near its eyes, likely from Blaine's arrows. Unlike before, an entire storm of wind was surrounding its lower body as it swerved through the pit as if it were gliding. The injuries piled up on both sides weren't anything to scoff at. The boss just went an entire damn stage up without any involvement from my end!

I missed a good deal of the action.

“I'll go in again, don't bring up any bullshit.“

{Gotcha. We'll talk about the updates later}

Honestly, I'd rather not.

I ran my hand over my hair and pushed them back. After spitting on the ground again, I took a step ahead and shot to the front.

“Ralph, you alright?“ Luke asked from the side as he jumped back and switched with Seraphina as the vanguard.

“Yeah, just a small hiccup.“ I said. “I'll try to take its senses away, let me get close.“

“Alright,” Luke said, taking his stance. “Having a dark-type awakener around is a big help.“

{It is?}

It isn't.

Only a few are good enough.

I ignored Mr. Nice Guy's words and dashed ahead.

Seraphina zapped around as she tried to pile up damage on the mantis, while the monster itself glided away each time she approached and attacked her, alternating between ranged wind skills and its blades.

A ball of fire emerged from Seraphina's hands.

The mantis answered with a ball of wind. The two elemental spells clashed into each other head-on, forming a short-lived tornado of fire before dispersing under another attack.

Good, it was using ranged spells.

While the monster's attention was stuck on Seraphina, I prepared to sneak in.

“[Dark Disguise (E-)]”

I preferred to use Dark Dissolve in such a situation, but there wasn't exactly a lack of light around. Using the skill, my presence mutated until it was all but gone. With Dark Disguise, I was nothing more than a fluttering shadow for people unless something happened that would attract their attention. Even the drone's camera must be having a hard time tracking my movements, though I wasn't completely invisible.

The mantis charged at Seraphina.

A clang rang out as the blade struck against the spear.

I narrowed my eyes and waited for my chance. If I wanted to get close to that damn three-meter-tall bug I had to take down the wind surrounding its legs and torso. Mana coalesced into my eyes in an attempt to read the structure of the mantis' skill, but there wasn't much luck.

Right then, a beam of light shot toward the mantis, grazing its jaw. The mantis turned toward Luke who was surrounded by tiny orbs of light ready to turn into a beam.

“[Swordmaster's Magic: Light Laser]”

This was my chance.

I kicked off the ground and shot ahead. The mantis was just a few meters away, engaged by Luke's magic and Seraphina's relentless attacks. I hopped up. “[Wind Magic: Gust]”

A burst of air emerged from the tip of my palms and rammed into the tempest formed around the mantis. The mantis was pushed back as a slight encaving appeared in its coat of wind.

Mana for two more spells.

“[Fire Magic: Blaze (E+)]”

A tiny spark flew in the encaving.

An explosion of flames blazed through the monster. The mantis' wind cover was completely gone in a small radius on its body. I dived into the spot and activated the last skill, my hand stretching toward the mantis—

{Blaze Successful!}

{+74 Damage}

{Wind Cover Removed}

—My sight was blocked again.

My hand touched the body of the monster.

{Skill Dark Dismiss Successful!}

The monster lost all of its senses and thrashed its body in a rampage.

`{The monster has lost its senses—}

“

“Ahk!“

I was punched off by the mantis again, the wind covering its blades and slamming into my stomach before sending me reeling toward the walls of the pit. My back hit against the ragged stone, crushing into it as I was planted inside the walls from sheer force.

Blood and phlegm dripped out of my mouth yet again.

Light left my eyes.

.

.

.

{H-host… You alright?}

“Fuck…” I groaned. Heaving in deep breaths, I pushed myself off the walls and sat upright again. It seemed I had blacked out, but not badly enough for me to be disqualified.

The system's window was still in front of my eyes.

“Alright…?“

This fuck fucking fucker.

“You fucker… I'll fucking turn into an ethereal metaphysical entity just to kick your ass!!“

{Sorry! Sorry!}

“Show yourself you ass! I'll punch you!“

{I'm sorry!}

I shook my head and took in a deep breath. “How long was I out?“

{Three… minutes?}

Three minutes.

Three fucking minutes?

I shifted my gaze to the side. There, Luke, Seraphina, and Blaine were standing against the wounded mantis on its last legs. As a last resort, the mantis was charging up a final wind skill, creating a ginormous orb of wind above its hands that shot out murderous crescents of wind like confetti.

Seriously?

Did I, the one true to-be owner of this world, get pushed out of this entire battle like canon fodder?

“AH!“ I screamed and jumped off the ground.

Luke and the other two were unable to approach the rampaging mantis thanks to their injuries, there was still a chance for me!

The pain in my body was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

“[Skill Hacking]!“