Gideon cleared his throat lightly, drawing the group’s attention as his gaze moved between the four of them, already thinking a step ahead. "Before we get carried away," he said, folding his arms with a thoughtful look, "shouldn’t we decide who’s taking which role first? If we delay that, we’ll just end up wasting time figuring it out mid-round."

All four of them turned toward him, and for a brief second the weight of what he said settled over the group.

Then Nova stepped forward like he’d been waiting for exactly this moment his entire life, both fists clenched near his chest, eyes practically burning with renewed determination. "YES. That is exactly what we should do!" he declared, his voice carrying the full force of someone who had spent the last ten minutes being quietly devastated and was now overcompensating at maximum capacity. "This time we’re doing it properly — no mistakes, no hesitation, we are clearing this round without question—"

Sylvia looked at him for a moment.

Then she pressed two fingers lightly to her temple and glanced sideways at Lucas. "I hate how quickly his expressions change," she said, her voice flat and unhurried. "Faster than weather."

The words landed with the precision of something thrown from a very short distance.

Nova froze mid-pose.

His confident stance developed a crack in it as he turned toward her slowly, wearing the expression of someone who has been personally betrayed by the universe and needs a moment to process the full extent of it.

Gideon didn’t even attempt to hide the smirk that came to his face. "I’m starting to think we should test a different outcome this time," he added, with the calm of someone making a reasonable suggestion. "Let Nova fail this round too. Just to see."

The second arrow landed.

Nova actually staggered back a step, one hand coming up to press against his chest, his face cycling through disbelief and outrage with an efficiency that suggested he’d been practicing. "You—" he pointed between the two of them, voice fracturing with exaggerated injury. "You are both incredibly cruel people. What did I even do to deserve any of this? I genuinely dislike you both right now."

Lucas watched all of this happen from the side, the smile arriving on his face before he’d decided to let it. Why am I enjoying this so much, he thought, watching Nova struggle with the combined emotional weight of Sylvia and Gideon’s comments. I should feel something more sympathetic than this. I don’t.

"Alright," Sylvia said, clapping her hands twice, her posture straightening as the playful energy around the group settled. "Jokes aside."

The mood shifted back toward focus, everyone returning to the reality of what was actually in front of them.

Gideon picked it up smoothly. "According to the headmaster, the team needs five roles filled. Leader, Strategist, Observer, Coordinator, and Assistant."

Celia brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, her expression practical. "We still don’t know what kind of challenge this round actually is though," she pointed out. "We’re assigning roles without knowing what we’re assigning them for."

"True," Sylvia said. "But sitting around waiting won’t help us either. Whatever this round turns out to be, we should choose based on what each of us is actually good at." She looked between them evenly. "Better to prepare realistically now than figure it out in a panic later."

Gideon nodded once in agreement, then looked directly at Sylvia. "Which is why for the Leader role — I think you fit it best."

Sylvia blinked. The suggestion clearly caught her a fraction off guard, which was its own interesting thing to witness because very little caught Sylvia off guard. "Me?"

Nova nodded immediately. "Obviously."

Celia followed without hesitation. "You’re already the class representative. During every high-pressure situation we’ve been in, you’re the one who stays calm, thinks ahead, and doesn’t lose control when things get complicated." She paused briefly. "That’s not a coincidence — that’s just who you are. It’s what a leader should be."

Sylvia looked between the four of them quietly, something moving through her expression that she didn’t put words to. The agreement had arrived so quickly and naturally that there was nothing to push back against, which was its own kind of thing to sit with.

"Alright then," she said, after a moment. "If everyone’s trusting me with it, I’ll do it properly."

"Good." Gideon moved on without delay. "Leader’s settled. Next — Strategist."

A brief pause settled over the group.

Then Sylvia spoke.

"That should be Lucas."

Lucas, who had been listening with the relaxed posture of someone expecting to be assigned somewhere in the middle of the list, looked at her. "Wait — what?"

Sylvia turned toward the others rather than him, which was very deliberate and he noticed it immediately. "If Lucas hadn’t figured out the trick behind the first round," she said, "we probably wouldn’t be standing here with a completed sphere." She paused for just a fraction of a second, something faint touching her expression before she continued. "He reads pressure situations quickly and adapts faster than anyone here. His ideas are reckless sometimes." Another pause. "But they work."

Something in her voice when she said the last part was quieter than the rest of it.

Nova pointed at Lucas with the enthusiasm of someone whose point has just been proven by someone else. "That’s actually completely accurate. And that’s exactly what I’d expect from my rival."

"Agreed," Gideon said. "Your plans have a specific quality where they sound genuinely questionable at first and then make complete sense about five minutes later."

Lucas frowned at him. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you’re weirdly useful," Celia said, with the small laugh of someone stating a fact they find amusing.

Lucas looked between all of them for a second, then let out a breath through a smile that arrived despite itself. "Alright then. I’ll take it."

"Good," Gideon continued, moving through it naturally. "That leaves Observer, Coordinator, and Assistant." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Nova raised his hand with the speed of someone who has already decided. "Coordinator. I’m good at moving people around during fights — it fits."

Celia nodded right after him. "I’ll take Assistant. Supporting the team properly feels more suited to what I do anyway."

"Which leaves Observer for me," Gideon finished, with the calm of someone who had already worked out that this was where he’d end up. "That’s fine."

For a moment they all looked at each other, and without anyone announcing it or making a thing of it, the team felt strangely right. Like the pieces had found their shape without being forced into it.

Nova threw his fist into the air with the full energy of someone who had fully recovered from his earlier grief and left it somewhere back near the forest boundary. "ALRIGHT. Now that everything’s official — we crush this round too!"

"Team Sylvia, let’s do our best." Gideon said, with quiet certainty.

Celia smiled, small and real.

Sylvia gave a single steady nod, her expression carrying the particular quality it had when she had already committed to something and wasn’t going to let it go badly.

Lucas looked at all of them and felt something that was warm and solid and difficult to name properly — the five of them together, roles assigned, moving forward, the kind of thing that had been built slowly enough that he hadn’t noticed it being built until it was already standing.

Then a translucent screen appeared in front of his eyes, quiet and familiar.

__________________

[SYSTEM INFORMATION]

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[Stats Increased]

[Level: 24]

[Health: 100]

[Mana: 85]

[Strength: 49]

[Agility: 47]

[Defense: 48]

[Stamina: 52]

[Unallocated Stat: 9]

[Magic: Not awakened yet]

[Skills: Mana Perception]

[Weapon: Shadowfang]

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