As I continued to breeze past barrier to barrier with the exact same move, I noticed Xiang Tian's speed visibly slow down as he reached the later ones which were thicker and harder to break.

I looked ahead of me. There were only two barriers left I had to break, and currently, I was tied with Xiang Tian in terms of progress.

I held up my hand and broke the second-last barrier in an instant with my poison cloud, which was supposed to be the weakest damage-per-second attack in my arsenal. Walking up to the final barrier standing between me and defeat disguised as victory, I narrowed my eyes.

I have to do something… what can I do… oh, wait.

I raised up my hand, then purposely cast a different spell than what was intended.

Level One Psychic Magic — Mind Seize.

Casting this on myself, I let my mental defenses down and allowed my own mental attack to take control of me. In an instant, I blacked out and fainted, collapsing onto the ground.

Sometimes… a temporary loss is a victory in reality, no matter the sacrifices that need to be made.

*****

- Hours Later -

"Big Brother Xuan Kai!

" Qing Yue called out as I blinked my eyes open.

"You're awake… finally…

"

She had tears in her eyes as she hugged me tightly, having crawled into the infirmary bed I was given.

"What happened…?

" Feng Mian asked, confused.

"They said you fainted in the simulation and had to be brought here. All of us hurriedly came over to check, but you've been unconscious for the past three hours…

"

"Ah… that was longer than I expected,

" I said, scratching my head awkwardly.

"Sorry to waste your time.

"

"No no,

" Yu An Yan shook her head.

"You had us worried sick, but that's not the point. We just want to know what happened and how you fainted.

"

"About that… it's from MDS,

" I said, hoping to make them get the hint with my eyes.

"Mana Deficiency Syndrome?

" Lan Xiao Su tilted her head curiously.

"But… your mana signatures seem-

"

"I'll explain more when we get back to the dorm, okay?

" I quickly cut in before she could go any further.

Clearly, she had not gotten the hint.

*****

Once they got back to the dorms, I finally told them what really happened.

"… So in other words, you pretended to try and cast the poison cloud, but in reality hit yourself with a faint attack instead, thus making it seem like you were struck by MDS,

" Lin Luo concluded.

"Yeah, that's about right.

"

"… You're crazy, you know that?

" Feng Mian said with a sigh, smiling wryly.

"I'll do whatever it takes to win. Or rather, in this case, lose.

"

"I suppose…

" Yu An Yan looked away.

"Only you would be able to come up with such… stupid yet effective strategies.

"

"As long as it works, I don't care how dumb or underhanded it is,

" I replied with a chuckle.

"Now then… are the results of the exam out yet? Which class is in first?

"

"Not yet,

" Obsidia said, glancing down at her phone.

"I've been waiting since the exam ended. No sign.

"

I fell into thought.

"Hm… does it really take that long to tally up scores, as the best university in the world…?

"

As if on cue, all of our phones suddenly beeped simultaneously, signaling we all got sent a message.

"That should be it,

" Qing Yue murmured, quickly pulling out her phone to check.

"Nya! It is!

" Amane exclaimed, practically shoving her phone screen in my face.

"Nyook, Xuwan Kwai!

"

"U-Uh, I have my own phone…

" I muttered uncomfortably, but was kind of forced to look at hers instead.

"Huh… seems everything went… mostly within expectations?

" Feng Mian murmured hesitantly.

On Amane's (and everyone else's) phone displayed the following information via text message:

CLASS POINT RANKINGS

Class A: 25 points

Class C: 13 points

Class B: 12 points

Class D: 0 points

"We have 0, huh?

" I chuckled.

"You seem awfully unconcerned for such a number,

" Lin Luo scoffed, folding her arms.

"It's only 25 points,

" Mei Gui analyzed calmly.

"The exams from here on out are bound to award more. This is no big deal.

"

"Indeed. Us having 0 is in fact better this early in the year, since it'll make the other two classes think we're extremely weak and aren't even worth fighting against,

" I added.

"But speaking of the other two classes…

"

"They… decided to split the points… up?

" Yu An Xue tilted her head and frowned in confusion.

"Yeah… it seems they too are going for a long-term relationship by doing this,

" Yu An Yan sighed.

"It seems that, if no other incidents happen, this whole year will just be Class B and Class C against Class A and us.

"

"Hopefully, with this, our classmates realize just how weak they are and actually start cooperating with one another,

" Feng Mian said with a shrug, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Working together is just not my cup of tea.

"

"Me neither,

" I said.

"But it's an important skill to have. Either way… things are going just as planned so far. All we have to do is wait until the next special exam rolls around, then aim for third or so then, slowly minimizing the gap between the classes.

"

"But to do that, we'll need to make sure no same class places first for many exams in a row,

" Lan Xiao Su added helpfully.

I nodded.

"Naturally. With the help of Class A, doing that is simple.

"

"You are saying that as if they are really your allies,

" Lin Luo snorted from a short distance away.

"They are nothing but your tools. Once the final exam rolls around, you will just stab them in the back and take first place.

"

"Why are you even complaining, mortal?

" Mei Gui challenged, walking up to her.

"Master is carrying your useless self to take first place, yet you are not only ungrateful, but also reprimanding his actions? How pitiful.

"

"I hate him. It's that simple.

"

"…

" Mei Gui held a killing gleam in her eyes, but I intervened before any blood could be shed.

"Mei Gui, no.

"

"… But Master…

"

I firmly shook my head.

"Just leave her be. When the time really comes, she still has no choice but to follow my orders. That's all I care about.

"

"Tch…

" Lin Luo sent me a disgusted glare, then stormed off deeper into the dorm room.

"Well… what do you say we get some dinner?

" Qing Yue raised her hand hesitantly, disrupting the tense atmosphere.

"I'm kinda hungry, ehehe…

"

I smiled and patted her head.

"Sure... oh, and nobody call Lin Luo.

"

As we prepared to set off, however, I received another message on my phone. This time, it was for me only.

"Who could it be...?

" I wondered aloud, opening my messages app. I had been expecting Ming Hao, but to my surprise, it was someone else, requesting a meet-up in person.

"... Sorry, you guys. It seems someone wants to have a little talk with me, and I don't exactly have the option to refuse.

"

"W-What? Who is it, to be able to force even you to do something?

" Feng Mian asked curiously.

"Oh no, she's not forcing me to do anything. I'm just going because this seems interesting.

"

"... So you do have the option to refuse, you just don't want to spend time with us,

" Qing Yue pouted, folding her arms.

"Meanie!

"

"Uh... I'll make it up to you all sometime. But for now... gotta go.

"

I dashed out of the room before they could react.

"Hey!

"

*****

"Okay... now then, where's the meet-up location...

" I murmured, glancing both ways and scanning for a restaurant by the name of 'Dragon Cutlery'.

Before long, I found it, deep within the Recreation Campus. It was near the very border of the university grounds, where not many people ventured to since the main attractions were all closer to the middle of the school.

Inside, only one customer was sitting — the person who wanted to speak with me.

I entered the restaurant and casually strolled up to her, before pulling out the chair across from her and sitting down.

"Wow~ no manners, just sitting down in a seat without even asking, when it's clearly already occupied by another person.

"

"Well, should I leave then?

" I taunted, raising an eyebrow.

"No, no... I was just teasing you,

" the girl laughed softly.

I shrugged.

"So was I.

"

She stopped laughing and stared into my eyes, a calculating smile on her face.

"... I was watching you today, you know.

"

"Really? I'm flattered.

"

"You seemed to have fainted in the simulation due to... Mana Deficiency Syndrome, yes?

" She said, taking a bite out of her steak.

"Yet here you are, talking to me, completely fine.

"

"What can I say? If there's one thing that stands out about me, it's my fast recovery skills from any kind of injury or sickness.

"

"Fufu... you have many things that stand out about you, as much as you try to hide them, Xuan Kai. I can feel them... I just haven't witnessed them with my own two eyes yet. But alas, the school year is long. I have plenty of time to watch you, heheh.

"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I'll be a letdown,

" I replied nonchalantly, shrugging.

"Though I will make it into your student council. You don't need to worry about that.

"

"Oh? And just how are you planning to get into my council without showing any of your true abilities?

"

I chuckled.

"You said you'll keep watching me, right? Have fun with that... Qian Hua.

"