Within the training building, there were different types of training rooms. There was a type that the students used for their physical assessment; this was also the training room that Ivan and his group had been using to train for the past weeks.
Then there was the training room that looked more like an arena. It had a wide platform and was surrounded by the spectators’ stand.
The seniors had picked this type of training room for their spar against Ivan’s squad.
Within just a few seconds after both squads entered the platform, a large section of the spectators’ stand had been occupied by students in their first year.
The place was buzzing as students waited for the fight to start.
On the platform, the two squads stood opposite each other, with a distance of about twenty meters separating them.
Ivan was standing in front, Lena and Lucas were by his sides, while Juliet and Aaron stood next to the two.
They almost looked like they were standing in a straight line.
"Are there any rules that we should know before we start?" Ivan asked, locking eyes with one of the male seniors.
The arena fell silent as everyone watched the fight that was about to unfold.
"The fight ends when all members of either squad are unable to keep fighting or surrender." A senior student replied.
Hearing this, a small grin formed on Ivan’s face. What the senior basically meant was that there were no rules and they could do anything to win.
Even if it meant seriously hurting someone.
"Ivan, what are we going to do?" Lucas asked in a whispering tone. Even though they had agreed to fight, some of them were still hesitant since their opponents were seniors.
Ivan turned to face his teammates and said.
"Don’t panic, this is going to be an easy fight. Once we start, Aaron, I need you to collapse the ground on this side and shake them off balance.
Before they can recover, use your vines to take out the two girls at the back. Don’t hurt them, you only need to stop them from joining the fight.
Since they are staying at the back, they must be capable of range attacks to support their teammates.
This should surprise them, giving us a few more seconds. During that period, I need you to use just enough mana to fire three shots and knock out the last three." Ivan quickly explained the plan he had in mind.
In his plan, only Aaron, Juliet, and Lena would be taking action. There wasn’t any need for him and Lucas to do anything.
Unlike the others, Lucas couldn’t control the amount of damage his handguns dealt so it was best for him not to use them against fellow students.
As for why Ivan didn’t plan on joining the fight, he believed that the three of them were enough.
While they were planning their attack, the senior students were also doing the same.
"Lena and Juliet should be the strongest on their squad. I heard that Aaron can’t control spells from the ground so we should be safe as long as we don’t get close to them.
Once the fight starts, Karina will keep Juliet busy with a rain of arrows, and don’t give her any windows to use her musket.
Jane, target Lena and Aaron with your crossbows and force them to defend themselves so they can’t help their teammates.
Lucas has a little bird as a summon, we can ignore him since he can’t do anything in direct combat.
The two of you will join me and attack Ivan. His Paladin-class is still weak. We should be able to easily destroy his shield.
Remember, hurt him badly once you get the chance but make it look like an accident, those were young master Nolan’s instructions." The senior student said the last part in a low whisper.
His four teammates nodded before turning to face their opponents. Some of them had guilty expressions on their faces while others had looks of resignation, they really didn’t want to do this but they didn’t have any choice.
After turning around, they realised that Ivan and the others were already waiting for them.
"Not going to make any plans?" The male senior student who seemed to be the leader of the squad asked.
"There isn’t much to prepare for, we’re ready when you are." Ivan voiced out casually.
"I see you aren’t taking us seriously, that will make my conscience feel a bit better." The senior mumbled under his breath before saying out loud.
"Good, I like your confidence. In that case, let’s begin!"
Immediately his voice sounded, the arena exploded into cheers. A part was cheering for Ivan’s squad as fellow first-year students while another part wanted the seniors to teach these cheaters a lesson.
Somehow in the crowd of students, Aiden and Kelvin sat side by side, staring at Ivan on the platform with cold faces.
They wanted to see if he was really as capable as they were to have surpassed them in the ranking.
On the platform.
Immediately after the seniors’ voice sounded. Everyone exploded with mana. Mana rushed out from their bodies and condensed into weapons in their hands.
On the backline, one of the girls had created a large bow with her mana. Her fingers locked on the bowstring and three arrows made of mana appeared instantly.
Meanwhile, the other girl created two pink crossbows which she held in both hands. Her hands moved and she aimed at Lena and Aaron with each of the crossbows.
In front of the two girls, one of the boys had created a long spear with his mana. Another had two short daggers in both hands, while the last senior had a war hammer with an extended pointy tip.
They were set!
But before they could even move.
Rumble!!!
A strange rumbling sound was heard and the next moment, the floor of the arena under their feet collapsed.
The seniors "!!!!"
The students watching "!!!"
The ground had suddenly caved in and the five of them found themselves falling after losing their footing.
On the other end of the arena, Aaron had both hands placed on the ground with mana constantly rushing through them and into the floor.
Since the distance between the two teams was only twenty meters, this much was no problem for him at all!
Next was Lena. The girl had a wicked smile on her face as her vines shot out. She was still angry that these seniors insulted her squad and couldn’t wait to get back at them.
Juliet also moved at this moment.
On the other side of the arena. The seniors had yet to find their balance after the ground collapsed without warning when two vines suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around Karina and Jane before dragging them away.
"Ahhh!"
Both girls screamed in panic, not expecting to be taken away like that. The vine constantly moved around, making their vision spin and preventing them from doing anything.
The remaining three seniors were stunned by this once more. Their feet had just landed on the ground but two of their teammates had been taken away.
For a moment, they were conflicted on whether they should continue with their original plan or save their teammates first.
But their opponents were not planning to let them think.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three rapid shots were fired almost at the same time as when the students landed on the ground.
All three shots landed perfectly on the side of their heads. Within such close range, Juliet wouldn’t miss even if she were to aim for their eyebrows. And following Ivan’s orders, she had used very little mana in those shots to avoid doing too much damage.
"Ugh!"
"Ah!"
Painful groans were heard after the three shots hit the seniors. The force of the hits knocked them off their feet and threw them to the side, two of them directly passed out while the senior with the war hammer remained conscious.
After landing her shot, Juliet stood up while holding her musket in one hand and placing her other hand on her left hip, a proud smile on her face.
Everyone "..."
The entire arena fell into silence, except for the two girls who were still screaming because Lena hadn’t dropped them.
"T-the seniors lost?!" Someone from the spectators’ stand voiced out in disbelief, his voice finally woke up the other spectators.
"So quickly at that, the fight had just started!"
"Incredible, I’ve never seen such fighting methods before."
"You still don’t understand, Aaron, Lena, and Juliet carried the team. Ivan and Lucas were just standing there doing nothing."
"That’s true, this must have been what happened during the assessment. The three of them must have destroyed the orc village!"
"But it still doesn’t make sense for the seniors to lose to just three people."
"What can I say? Even amongst seniors, there is still trash."
"I don’t blame them, Aaron taking away their footing must have caught them off guard."
The spectators chatted loudly, not caring if the seniors could hear them or not.
In a corner, Aiden and Kelvin looked at each other. They could see the disappointment in each other’s eyes.
They had come to see Ivan’s performance but what they got instead was a bunch of seniors getting washed by three junior students.
It was just too embarrassing.