Reincarnated as the Only Male in an All-Girls Magic Academy!
Chapter 78: Worse Than Expected!

Chapter 78: Worse Than Expected!

The arena exploded with conversation. The noise was deafening—strategies discussed, alliances proposed, fears confessed.

Ren’s fingers traced invisible patterns on his knee. His mind raced through possibilities like a grandmaster studying a chess board.

The fragment dissolution mechanism was the key element he needed to understand.

Five minutes meant teams couldn’t stick to one tactic—the time limit forced constant movement, collection, and combat.

If fragments could be held indefinitely, teams would simply grab a few and create impenetrable defensive positions.

Lia turned to him, sweat beading on her forehead despite the cool morning. She seemed to have questions, but Ren was already deep in analysis.

The stealing rule changed everything. Why waste time searching for fragments when ambushing loaded runners was more efficient?

But that created an interesting dynamic with roles. Runners were fast but vulnerable, requiring guardian escorts.

Pull guardians from base defense though, and beacons became vulnerable to dimming attacks. Every choice carried consequences!

His fingers moved faster, tracing battle lines only he could see. The resource management complexity was beautiful.

No team could maintain strength everywhere simultaneously!

The Constellation Events every ten minutes presented another trap. Group spells required perfect coordination from all ten members.

While teams focused on that synchronization, opponents could raid fragments or dim beacons. Complete vulnerability disguised as opportunity.

Unless a team was already winning. Then they could afford to chase bonus points without risking their lead.

But the hidden Star-Touched role was what nobody was discussing. Imagine reaching the halfway point when suddenly one teammate could carry double capacity.

Did you restructure your entire strategy? Make them a super-runner? Or keep it secret for a final push?

The morning light caught his eyes, making them gleam like polished obsidian.

The psychological element was definitely impressive. Other teams wouldn’t know who to target.

Better yet, what if the Star-Touched was already a runner? Six fragments on one person represented massive risk but enormous reward potential.

Or an Oracle with double capacity plus future sight. Game-changing didn’t begin to describe it.

Ren studied the transformed arenas with the intensity of a general surveying battlefields. Each terrain offered different advantages and dangers.

The forest arena was a maze of ancient trees with shadows pooling between massive trunks like dark water. Perfect for ambushes, but sight lines were nearly nonexistent.

The mountain arena emphasized vertical warfare. Narrow paths wound between sharp peaks where elevation advantage would determine everything, but movement patterns became predictable.

The lake arena glittered deceptively. Most of the battlefield was water, with only narrow bridges and small islands providing solid ground. Movement was restricted, but that limitation affected all teams equally.

Terrain mattered more than most people realized. Those narrow bridges in the lake arena were perfect for guardian blockades—one defender could hold off three attackers. But they were equally perfect for disruptor ambushes with nowhere to dodge.

The gravity wells intrigued him most. They slowed movement but protected fragments, potentially serving as temporary storage.

Until someone with ranged magic picked off the slowed targets. Perfect bait though—plant a guardian in the well, make it look vulnerable, then spring the trap when enemies approached.

The aurora streams flowed like rivers of light through each arena. Invisibility without magic casting ability. Perfect for runners but useless for combat roles.

Oracles could use them for scouting enemy positions unseen, but beacon checking probably required magic. Even oracles faced trade-offs. Every advantage carried a price!

The crowd’s nervous energy intensified around them. Students debated loudly, forming premature alliances and strategies. Some practiced combat spells, lightning crackling between their fingers.

Everyone focused on offense, but defense would win this trial. The mathematics were clear: one hundred points to victory, average fragment value around two points, requiring fifty fragments maximum.

With dissolution timers and travel time, teams needed constant collection. But if enemies dimmed beacons every two minutes, actual scoring time dropped dramatically.

A coordinated assault could theoretically keep opponents at zero indefinitely.

Pure defense meant slow accumulation though. Other teams could simply out-pace defensive strategies.

Unless you weaponized the dimming mechanic itself.

One team pulls ahead to seventy or eighty points, and every other team gains incentive to dim them.

Theoretically, you could keep the leader suppressed while catching up. Temporary alliances against frontrunners that would collapse instantly once a new leader emerged. Chaos theory in action.

And that was just surface strategy. What about fragment spawning patterns? Oracles saw future spawns, but did they appear truly random?

There was always a pattern—maybe tied to constellation positions above, timed intervals, or team movements. Finding it first could provide massive advantages.

The polymorph spirits presented another consideration. Being turned into a rabbit mid-combat meant helplessness for a full minute.

Or mid-delivery, dropping fragments because paws couldn’t grip properly. But those transformations could be weaponized too.

Lure enemies into spirit paths and use their transformation against them.

Everything had patterns. Even chaos followed rules. It was just a matter of observation and deduction.

The witch reappeared on stage in another burst of purple smoke. Magical parchments materialized above each arena, golden letters spelling out team assignments.

"Oh, one more thing." Her voice carried wicked amusement. "I forgot to mention the Starfall."

The crowd fell silent. The sudden quiet was oppressive, heavy with dread.

"At random intervals, massive fragment clusters will rain from above. Twenty points total in each cluster." She cackled, the sound echoing off the dome. "Of course, everyone can see them coming. That glowing cloud is hard to miss. Everyone will converge. It tends to get... messy."

She vanished again, leaving only the echo of her laughter.

Twenty points represented one-fifth of total victory in a single location. A honeypot designed to create guaranteed bloodbaths as teams tore each other apart for the advantage.

But it also created opportunities. While everyone fought over Starfall locations, smart teams could raid undefended beacons.

Chase the big score or play it safe? Either choice could doom you.

It depended on current scores. Teams behind needed those points desperately. Teams ahead still couldn’t afford to let others claim twenty free points. The pressure made every choice potentially catastrophic.

That was the beauty of the design. This wasn’t about raw power—it was about judgment under pressure.

And then, with a flash of dazzling light, the list of teams began to appear on their respective stages.

The moment Ren saw his teammates, his gaze narrowed.

This was even worse than he had expected!