69 – Total Elimination

To be fair, Pick really was an unlucky bastard.

As the Divine Child—the leader of his team—not a single member had listened to his commands. They even left him behind to act on their own. After running himself ragged just to catch up, all he found was the news of their complete annihilation.

And just when he didn’t know whether to advance or retreat—he ran into Teresa, fresh off a one-vs-three massacre.

Ah, life…

Pick internally cursed his fate. He couldn't believe he, the Divine Child, had come to this. He’d entered the Freshman Crown Tournament dreaming of glory—only to get eliminated before he could even activate Divine Appraisal.

Three deadweights! he raged. They got soloed like pigs in a pen! Even butchering swine takes longer than this!

Too late now. All he could do was silently curse those three morons who didn’t wait for him and went charging off alone.

If I’d been there…

But this? Just walking off the stage doing nothing? No way. He couldn’t accept that.

So, Pick did the one thing he could still do:

Activate Divine Appraisal.

If nothing else, he wanted to at least analyze the Divine Authority of the girl who had wiped out his entire team.

He forced open his eyes, glowing faintly with appraisal light. In his field of vision, information began to emerge: name, domain, Divine Authority…

And then—

Pain.

“AAAHHH!! MY TITANIUM EYES!!!”

Pick clutched his face and howled like a banshee.

What the hell?! Why do the words burn?!

His retinas felt like they were on fire—an invisible blaze scorched his vision as if the mere act of reading her data was a direct attack.

While Pick flailed and wailed in agony, Teresa just looked confused.

I didn’t even attack yet, dude. What are you screaming for?

“Quick—just shoot me already!!”

“??”

Teresa slowly raised her bow, unsure how to process this bizarre request.

With a single clean shot to the neck, the light arrow pierced Pick’s token, shattering it.

And with that—Team 57 was fully eliminated.

She glanced at her token. Four kills, and the Team Wipe bonus. The team’s overall score surged.

In total, four kills, a team-wipe bonus, and survival time points—she no longer had to worry about finishing at the bottom and getting expelled.

But that wasn’t what she was focused on.

After her Divine Awakening, Teresa’s goal had shifted from mere survival to winning first place.

Even she didn’t fully understand where this competitive drive came from. She’d never been the type to chase dominance or clash for power.

But maybe… it wasn’t competitiveness. Maybe she just felt that, for a match of this level—She shouldn’t lose. And she wouldn’t.

All the teams that had marked her for elimination were gone. None of the contestants had a full map of the secret realm, and Teresa didn’t know how vast it was either.

Crossing her legs, the white silk hugging her thighs shimmered in the sunlight. Her delicate feet rested lightly against the base of her thigh, golden hair cascading down her shoulders and curling into the arch of her foot.

She sat quietly, eyes fluttering shut, sensing the feedback of the forest.

Surrounded by vibrant green life, her perception extended outward. A clear blue lake… lush vegetation… all pulsing with vitality.

And amid it all—some discordant presences.

Teresa opened her eyes and slowly stood, her gaze turning toward a distant part of the forest.

As a forest-dwelling Elf, she was one with nature. Every blade of grass and leaf was an extension of her senses. She could easily detect invaders who did not belong—those not of nature, nor of kin.

These abilities—though she had never studied them—came naturally, as though etched into her instincts. She could wield them without practice, without hesitation.

It was strange. But not surprising.

She should have been surprised, but… when she summoned those uniquely Elf abilities, it simply felt right. Just like when she first used her Domain and Divine Authority.

None of it felt foreign.

Not knowing what else to think, Teresa attributed it to physical memory, or perhaps the inherent instincts of her Elf bloodline.

Using this sensitivity, she could sense that someone had entered the forest—no, multiple people.

She gently caressed the trunk of an old tree, reducing her presence as much as possible, melding with the forest itself.

Soon, a four-man team marched into the woods, completely unaware of the ambush they were walking into. They seemed to rely entirely on the feedback of Divine Appraisal—naively assuming there was no one else nearby.

Teresa appraised them.

Three had no Divine Power response. Which meant only one of them was a Divine Princess.

That Divine Princess hadn’t activated her Domain, but from the changes in her power levels, Teresa guessed she was a heavy-artillery-class.

This class had immense destructive power, but weak resistances. They required protection from teammates, and usually had higher-than-average Divine Power pools.

Teresa crouched in the brush, nocking an arrow.

The boy leading the group was probably their Divine Child. But unlike most Divine Children—nerdy types with glasses—this one was big and broad-shouldered, wielding a sword and shield.

A combat Divine Child.

Teresa evaluated him.

Divine Children who joined the front lines weren’t unheard of—but trying to balance battlefield performance with the heavy cognitive load of analysis and command was almost impossible. They usually ended up mediocre at both.

To be both strong and strategic required extraordinary talent and boundless energy. Most failed.

“…Huh?” The muscular Divine Child furrowed his brow. He felt a prickling sensation—as though someone was watching him.

Another Divine Child nearby? No… he’d already cast Wide-Area Perception just a few minutes ago. There shouldn’t be any enemies in the vicinity.

Still uneasy, he glanced at his teammates and gripped his sword tighter.

Probably just my imagination.

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