The Stargazer

by Nikostar A

  Naturally, this method was very noticeable. Whenever someone was being watched by the array, he would feel an uncomfortable feeling of being stared by someone. It was a violation of privacy to use this spell on Loha but here on Earth, there were no regulations.

  Alexander repeatedly used the Observer while walking around. Thanks to the constellation, Alexander found three badges hidden in the foliage. Two were bronze badges while the third one was a silver badge.

  After scanning the silver badge, Alexander took the opportunity to check the time. There was still forty-five minutes left; a lot of time to spare. He now had a total of fifteen points. According to Alexander's memories, the average points obtained by a student was thirty points but the vast majority of students would return with less than ten points.

  Most of the students would end up losing to the few powerful ones. In the end, they would give up half of their points to the few strong students, resulting in this huge disparity. Alexander did not mind not having a lot of points. The most important task was to make sure no one would notice his stargazer's power.

  As a result, Alexander did his best to avoid the students. None of them bothered to waste their mana on spells like [Light Steps], [Hide Senses] or [Noise Cancellation]. They were very noticeable from afar and Alexander would just have to hide for a while when students would get near him.

  Was it a cowardly act? Maybe but this method allowed Alexander to avoid all unnecessary encounters which saved him a considerable amount of time. After all, this competition was centered around fights between students for the badges. But if he was able to avoid the students and directly aim for the badges, he would considerably lower the risks and obtain greater rewards.

  Soon, Alexander managed to collect five more bronze badges. There were no silver or gold badges in sight.

  'It is time to go back. I did not use a single spell this round. I suppose I should use at least one to avoid getting a zero. With this amount of point, I should be matched against average people, I should not be too penalized.'

  With a total of twenty points, Alexander finally decided that it was time to go back. He had an easy time in the jungle compared to the other students whose mana reservoirs were nearly depleted. They had already fought among themselves to collect their points but they did not expect that they had yet to fight their strongest opponents yet.

  There were still ten minutes left on the clock but it was the period where the campers near the safe zone were the most active. They would not hesitate to attack any approaching student but it was something Alexander did not have to worry about.

  When he was still at a reasonable distance from the safe zone, Alexander activated his spirit circuits, [Invisibility]. Once cast, Alexander was now almost undetectable by his opponents but the duration of the spell was relatively short. He needed to hurry or he would need to use more mana to supplement it.

  He ran across the jungle without being noticed. Sometimes, he would walk onto fallen leaves but even if he would make some sound, the nearby students would generally only associate it with the wind.

  With the Observer still active, Alexander quickly noticed a few students waiting in ambush at the front. The idea of sneak attacking them came to his mind but in the end, he gave up on this idea. If he fought for more points, it meant that he would end up facing stronger opponents later on. He might be penalized for avoiding fights and hiding his strength but it would not severely impact on his grades.

  The campers were lying in wait fifty meters from the safe zone. They would attack any weak students or if they met strong ones, they would simply run to the safe zone.

  Without anyone noticing, Alexander calmly arrived at the safe zone. There, he deactivated [Invisibility], surprising all the nearby students.

  "This... Is it [Invisibility]?"

  "He walked through the entire jungle while being invisible?"

  "Who is he? How can he use advanced spells?"

  Many students turned their surprised gaze toward Alexander. Not many remembered the events of the fresher's party. However, his use of the invisibility spell triggered their memories. Only a few students could use [Invisibility] this early and most of them came from The Watchers.

  "D*mn, I wonder how many points he has? It must be convenient to just sneak around without being seen."

  The students discussed among themselves but Alexander did not care. Instead, his attention was focused on the jungle. The atmosphere was calm but just a few moments later, several magical explosions occurred at the entrance of the field.

  A group of students rushed to enter the safe zone. Their body was surrounded by a dim light, a clear sign of a strengthening spell. The fastest ones easily made it to the safe zone but among the group, the unlucky fellow in the last place was violently struck by a white projectile. His talisman of protection activated at the last moment, saving his life but at the same time, cutting in half the points he worked so hard to get.

  The students who escaped let out a sigh of relief; they were safe, for now. A few moments later, a lonely silhouette walked out of the jungle on the small trail. Like a demon king, the handsome man walked down the trail. His handsome face was twisted in anger; glacial stare was fixed on the group of students.

  "Pesky campers!" said the man while walking in front of the group of students. Even if he wanted to take revenge, he could only drop the matter. Once inside the safe zone, no attacks were allowed.

  "It's Mathew Shaw! Rumors say he is from Arthemis! What did these guys do to anger him?"

  "They must have tried to steal his points. Those fools. Not only does Mathew have an impressive background, but in the whole cohort, he is also ranked in the top 10!"

  Alexander quietly listened to the murmurs but did not comment. He was not impressed by the man. Sure, he did have an impressive attack power but that was it. "He must have practiced a lot to reach that level. Too bad his life span must have taken a decent hit. Besides, I don't remember hearing much of him in my past life. He must be a minor character."

  With the campers having been pushed out of their hiding place, the other students did not face any threats on their way back.

  A few moments later, the timer countdown reached zero.

  "Everyone, the examination is over. Please return whatever badge you have in your possession. If you left them in the jungle, it is fine; the other instructors will gather them. Now please look at the screen behind me! This is the results of this round. You will be matched against an opponent from a different group having approximately the same amount of points as you. You will be given more information about it after all the students would have gone through the group stage. Thank you, the shuttles are already waiting for you to go back. They will depart in 10 minutes."

  The exam was over. It went more smoothly than Alexander expected. He looked at the giant screen in front of him to look for his name and soon, he found it. Out of the five hundred students, he was ranked 73rd with twenty points.

  73rd while avoiding all battles? Alexander was very satisfied with the outcome. Earning points was not easy. There would always be fights and if they lost, the students would have their points halved. Naturally, the top students who survived all the fights would end up with a lot more points.

  Without any surprise for the examiners, Mathew Shaw came up in first place with 128 points! He was so far ahead of everyone else! The student that came in second place was Ingrid Feist with a total of 89 points.

  Alexander did not bother to look at the rest of the names. The exams were not very important. Even if he scored full marks everywhere, he would not be allocated more resources. There were absolutely no benefits except for the bragging rights. As long as he did not fail his exams, then there was nothing to worry about.

  He went to the shuttle and waited for the other excited students to finally enter the shuttle.

  ***

  On the stage, the head of the discipline department bit his lips as he looked at the departing figure of Alexander. He did no
t manage to get any evidence of Alexander being able to use magic while hiding it. Furthermore, the little plan of the Organization also backfired, resulting in two of their recruits losing a lot of marks.

  He kept a close eye on Alexander during the entire competition and even managed to get the professors to direct the array at him when he used the invisibility spell. However, despite all his efforts, he did not find anything wrong with Alexander.

  'No... Maybe he knows we are observing him. That's why he avoided fighting as much as possible!'

  The head of the discipline department went to look for the staff member who was in charge of marking Alexander.

  "How many marks did you allocate to the student?"

  The young man lowered his head respectfully, "Sir, I gave him a six. He did not use any spells except for the final [Invisible]. But being able to use an advanced spell shows his potential. Since he is hiding his strength, I decided to lower his marks. If he takes advantage of that for the future fights, he will be further penalized."

  "You only took out four points? Can't you see that he is pretending to be weak to be matched with weaker students? He clearly did not put in a lot of efforts in looking for the badges. People like that should be penalized!" answered the head of the discipline department.

  "Sir. With all due respect, it is too late to change the results. I have already submitted the grading as well as my own report. If you want to request some changes, you will need to contact the headmistress or the director of studies."

  The head of the discipline department frowned but did not answer. He knew that tampering with the students' result was hard. There was no way he could speak to these two people about it.

  Chapter 26: First battle

  "Are you stressed about the exam? You don't need to be anxious. I am sure everything will be alright."

  Alexander smiled when he heard Aila's sweet voice. He came here to collect his weekly delivery of water. Today, she was wearing a plain white dress. She did not wear any makeup or accessories. As usual, she accompanied Alexander for a while, chatting about random things but today, her persona was different.

  She was very invested in trying to get to Alexander's heart. Every time they would meet, she would act differently, trying to get a better understanding of Alexander's taste. Every week, she would appear like a completely different person; one week she would be carefree and open, on the next week, she would be reserved and shy. Sometimes she would be haughty and throw random tantrums while sometimes she would be adventurous and daring.

  Aila was the ideal partner of all the amateur of role-playing. Today she adopted the role of the virtuous young wife trying to share his burden. In just a few hours, he would have to fight his first battle for the end of term exams.

  The outcome of the battle did not matter. It was the spells used that would count toward his grades. Alexander was not worried about the battle. Even if he was being watched, he was confident in beating any students using only spells. He had a much better understanding of the use of magic and also knew a few combinations of spells that could guarantee his victory.

  It was a one vs one battle. Compared to the group stage, Alexander did not need to worry about mana consumption. He sat down at the restaurant for a brief meal with Aila. He learned that Aila easily went through the group stage. Her test took place at the beach.

  As Alexander expected, Aila did not go all out. She ended up at the 20th place with forty-eight points. Alexander was certain that this was far from her real strength but he did not point it out. When Aila narrated how she used a spell to breathe underwater and how she found a few gold badges there, Alexander simply listened and smiled.

  When it was time to leave for his battle, Alexander left wearing a joyful expression. Aila excused herself, saying that she could not come and watch his battle.

  After Alexander left, Aila's expression change. "D*mn. I've tried so many things but he does not seem to be particularly like anything. Do I just not fit his taste? Should I ask Lyana to try to seduce him? Oh, maybe he likes that sort of things. How is it called already? I saw it on the intranet. Femdom?"

  The young lady let her imagination run wild. In the end, she said to herself, "In any case, I already provided him with a lot of water. He should at least reveal a few things to me. I'll ask him the next time I see him. His exams will be over; he won't have any excuses!"

  ***

  The magic stadium was full when Alexander arrived. The atmosphere was very similar to the fresher's party event. For the next three weeks, the whole magic stadium was booked for the exams. All the matches would take place in the afternoon so as not to disturb the normal classes.

  The students were informed of the time of their match; they just needed to turn up at that particular time. In the meanwhile, the students were free to spectate the ongoing matches and try to study their future opponent. With twenty thousand students having to fight nine battles each, three weeks were barely enough to fit all the battles.

  One battle could only last for a maximum of five minutes but in general, a mage battle at this level would not last for more than two minutes unless they were being extremely cautious.

  Alexander sat in one of the free seats at the back and waited for his name to appear. As the length of the matches could vary, Alexander's name did not appear immediately. It was only ten minutes after his allocated time that Alexander finally saw his name being displayed on the screen.

  He walked down the corridor leading to the battle room and walked on stage. Alexander was very familiar with this process. He was stopped by an instructor and waited for his opponent to appear.

  A few moments later, a cute little blonde rushed on the stage and talked to Alexander's instructor. When Alexander saw her, he was certain he had seen her before but was not sure where.

  Noticing Alexander, the girl smiled and greeted him, "Hello."

  "Hey," answered Alexander. The girl clearly recognized him. Alexander was embarrassed to say that he did not remember her.

  Fortunately, the conversation was cut short as the instructor guided them to the battle room.

  "Please go easy on me. I am still a novice," said the blonde while lightly laughing.

  Alexander smiled back but did not answer. He had never planned on fighting seriously. As long as he showcased some strength, he would end up with a good grade.

  The fight started and immediately, the girl activated her spirit circuits.

  [Arcane Missiles]

  Alexander followed up with his own spell: [Protective Sphere]. He was certain he was being watched and as a result, he decided to only use spells.

  The arcane missiles exploded on Alexander's shield but failed to break it.

  [Frost Bolt], [Arcane Blast]

  Her attacks continued but Alexander's shield did not break under the pressure. He purposely sent more mana in a specific spirit circuit to reinforce the defense of [Protective Sphere] at the cost of being able to move.

  When he felt the [Protective Sphere] about to give up, Alexander let go of the spell and used [Rush] to increase his speed.

  He dashed to the girl's side and attacked.

  [Wind Claws]

  The attack was fast. Five semi-transparent claws flew toward the girl. The latter took a step back and managed to use her spirit circuits just in time.

  [Frost Barrier]

  The wind claws scratched the barrier. Although a few pieces of ice fell during the process, the barrier was able to maintain its integrity.

  "Not bad. She did not panic and can already chain her spells well. I should have already demonstrated the strength of an average student. I should end it soon."

  Alexander still had a decent amount of mana left but he did not want to use all of it. At the same time, he did not want to completely overpower his opponent to the point of breaking her confidence.

  [Vine Bind] and [Flying Sparks]

  The girl was instantly forced into a defensive position. Her [Frost Barrier] was still protecting
her but under the barrage of flying sparks, it did not take long before it started cracking. She wanted to move but a pair of vines emerged from the ground, locking her legs.

  She started to panic. It was the first time she was being attacked from different fronts.

  [Arcane Explosion]

  A powerful force emerged from her body, pushing away both the vines and the flying sparks. She got rid of both threats at the same time. Sadly, it was not the end. The use of Arcane Explosion created a perfect opening for Alexander to act.

  Alexander naturally saw it and took advantage of it. If he wanted to beat an opponent using only low-level spells, he needed every advantage he could get.