The Phantom's Gambit-Chapter 57: Requiem FOR the Fallen

The next group was summoned, consisting of Erick from the Architect faction, who had achieved a B ranking in the previous Tournament. He was joined by the boy from the leviathan faction, whose joints Void had manipulated, as well as two others - one from the Healer faction and the other from the Conjurer faction.

Although their points weren’t sufficient to earn them a rank, they had accumulated enough to surpass their peers from the previous tournament within their respective factions.

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Erick’s face lit up with a self-satisfied smile as he recalled Nadia’s loss in the second tournament. He was confident that if he emerged victorious against the demons, he would be appointed as the class leader of the Architect faction.

He believed his friends from other factions would look up to him with newfound respect, and he would wield unparalleled influence over his own faction.

The thought sent a thrill through him - he would be the undisputed leader, with his every command obeyed without question.

But despite his ambition, Erick couldn’t deny that being part of the Architect faction had its perks. Sure, they were currently ranked the lowest among the factions, but Erick was determined to change that.

Erick and his Classmates had an advantage that set them apart from the other factions: their adaptability. Unlike the others, they weren’t limited to a single tactic.

Erick’s own talent had allowed him to eavesdrop on conversations between professors and seniors, providing him with valuable insight about the Vermints.

As Erick’s team positioned themselves on the central stage, anticipating the ground to lower as it had for the last group that had taken part, he glanced over at the leviathan boy, an old friend of his. He tried to greet him with a cheerful remark, but the boy merely rolled his eyes in response.

Erick swallowed hard as he thought to himself.

’If I can’t regain the trust of my old friends from the other factions, I’ll focus on dominating the Architect Faction instead. I’ll bend them to my will, making them do my bidding.

But first, I need to focus on winning and obtaining the Junior Mage Crest and emerge victorious in this tournament. That would give me the leverage I need to assert my control.’

Just then, the ground yawned open, swallowing them whole, just as it had the first group. But unlike the others, who had been consumed by fear, this group showed no signs of trepidation.

Instead, they stood tall, in a relaxed pose that exuded confidence as they awaited their descent into the unknown.

Octavius watched on with caution, quite intrigued to see how Erick and the others would perform and take down the Vermints, and if he knew what he knew on how to defeat them, or if he was going to employ a tactic.

Octavius’s late father had made it a point for Octavius to memorize every demon and their weaknesses and strengths when he was younger.

At first, Octavius wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t object to the knowledge, thinking it was because he (Octavius) was going to be the chief mage and headmaster one day, and that was why he was passing on so much information.

And also, he believed his father was passing on knowledge about what he had encountered from his quests before he became the headmaster and chief mage.

This was because demons weren’t typically part of the Academy’s curriculum; instead, the focus was on guiding students down a predetermined path, one that the Academy deemed correct, and how to use their powers effectively.

Octavius couldn’t help but feel grateful for his late father. Octavius cleared his thoughts as he noticed Nadia come to stand next to him. They stood there in silence for a while before Octavius cleared his voice to say. "You did good," he told her but she didn’t respond. She simply stared on to those about to participate in the quest.

Erick stood still while the others fought, burned, slashed, and clashed with the Vermints. Somehow he wanted everyone else to get tired before he employed the tactic he had overheard the professors discussing.

And the time came when his former friend from the Leviathan faction stopped to catch his breath, saying, "Are you just going to stand there and do nothing while we save your ass from being devoured?"

Erick bit back a smile, he had been waiting for this moment.

With a swift motion, he bent down to grab a handful of sand from the soil. He threw it at one of the Vermints that was headed their way.

The Vermint stopped in its tracks, scratching and fighting itself as though it was an enemy. The others stared in confusion, momentarily forgetting the battle.

Edwin turned to the boy from the Leviathan faction and exclaimed, "Do the same! Grab sand and throw it at them!" The boy hesitated for a moment before following Erick’s lead. Soon, the others joined in, grabbing handfuls of sand and hurling it at the Vermints.

The Vermints scratched themselves violently, as though they were battling a foe. The group watched in awe. The Leviathan boy turned to Edwin.

"Should we strike now that they’re distracted?"

"No, we wait."

"And then what?" he asked impatiently.

The first Vermint Edwin had targeted burst, its body exploding from the inside out as it used its own fiery abilities to try and incinerate the sand, but ultimately ended up searing its own internal tissues instead.

"And then that happens," Edwin said with a grin.

Octavius looked on, confused. Although this was a different method, it was the same tactic his father had briefed him on. He couldn’t help but feel something was wrong.

The Vermint burst on its own, without necessarily severing what needed to be severed to ensure they stayed dead and didn’t reform.

Which wasn’t any different from when their heads were cut off from their body.

[Tell Amy, and your petty friends to get out of here, ] Void warned, making Octavius confused.

"Why?" he asked.

But before Void could answer, an eruption came from the stage. Erick’s grin faltered when he noticed that the one Vermint that had scattered, with pieces of itself flying all around, the pieces of it had started to reform.

Growing 50 more of the first Vermints that had burst. The other Vermints, noticing that had gotten rid of the internal foes (sands) they were battling with from their companion, also started to burst too, creating more of them.

Just then, the Spokesperson announced the end of their round, dropping the illusion and pulling them out of the simulated environment.

"If they couldn’t do it, then there’s no hope for us," Marilyn said to Otto, standing close by. "I don’t want to take a double L," she added worriedly, due to her performance in the last tournament.

Otto was even more worried because it was his turn next, but he had fate in himself believing if he could move fast enough he could strike a vital part of the Vermints and earn some points.

He turned to Marilyn, ready to give her words of encouragement but the ground suddenly started to shake.

Everyone looked around nervously, wondering what was happening, including the professors. But they didn’t have to wonder for long. The place where the previous group had stood before they descended started to crack open.

Everyone looked on with rapt attention. A hand struck out, one that belonged to one of the Vermints, from the crack. It was a lone hand, and in no time, it regrew a full body. The Vermint looked around and bared its teeth.

A sword shot out, striking the Vermint straight on the head. Octavius looked to see who had done that, and his eyes settled on Thorne. He turned back to stare at the Vermint to see if it had an effect. It made the Vermint stumble on its steps, but not enough to fall down.

Just then, another senior, a female conjurer, struck the Vermint, and a spell sign displayed on top of the Vermint’s head, releasing static dust that made the Vermint go rigid. She proceeded to use her ability to undo a thread, channeling her power to make the Vermint open its mouth, and in turn, she plucked out a thread.

The Vermint immediately fell down and dried out. Everyone sighed in relief and began to clap. But before they could bask in the save, the ground cracked further, and several Vermints struck out like fleas.