70 – Excellent Matching System

“Hey, Divine Child, I’m telling you—the Crown Jewel’s spawn point should be up in that northern valley. You sure you don’t wanna try our luck?”

“Try our luck?” The burly Divine Child, sword and shield in hand, pulled back his scanning gaze.

“Luck won’t save us if we can’t survive the attempt. You think we’re the only ones who know the Crown Jewel’s in that northern valley? Everyone knows. By now, that place is probably a damn bloodbath. We charge in blind, we’ll be dead before we even figure out how.”

“Exactly. That so-called ‘Crown Jewel’ this year is supposed to be some purple obsidian found in a mountain cave. You think monsters like Felicia and Astrid aren’t already drooling over it? Walking in now is suicide,” the team’s mage chimed in.

“Better to play smart. Let the royals and hotshots have their games—we’re just trying to stay alive. We haven’t even hit the minimum point threshold yet. Let’s go find a weak team, get some kills, and avoid a stupid elimination.”

“Still... What if we actually do get it? I mean, just what if?”

They chatted casually as they walked—unaware that every word was being heard by Teresa, crouched silently in the bushes nearby.

***

The Crown Jewel.

Teresa had read about it in the tournament rules. Every Freshman Crown Tournament came with a special prize—hand-picked from Coleman Academy’s vault.

It was optional, of course. If you didn’t have the strength to keep it, you’d just hand it over when you died. Generally, it ended up in the hands of the winner.

But to claim the title of “Coleman Champion”, one needed both the Crown Jewel and first place.

And that title wasn’t just for show—it came with prestige, perks, and power:

A private residence on campus—the Champion’s Manor

A permanent pass to Coleman’s Grand Library

Your name engraved into the Academy’s history

Access to resources, recognition, romantic prospects—everything a young student could dream of.

So the Crown Jewel was never ignored. Everyone wanted it.

Fortunately, its location didn’t require manual searching—the contestant tokens would mark its position.

Teresa knelt to check hers.

In the far north of the map, a purple dot flickered.

That was it.

She reattached her token to her waist and quietly drew her bowstring, the golden light arrow forming at the center. She took aim at the clueless students chatting on the path ahead.

***

“Hey, isn’t it a little sketchy how we’re just waltzing into the woods like this?”

“I told you, the Divine Child already used Wide-Area Perception. If someone were here, we’d know,” the mage said, glancing at the anxious alchemist.

“You’re not doubting our Divine Child, are you?”

“No, it’s just... better to be careful, right? Maybe don’t stride in like we own the place.”

“Relax. If anything happens, it’s me and the Divine Princess doing the heavy lifting. You just stick to what we practiced. The Divine Child blocks, me and the Divine Princess fire, you hang back and wait.”

The alchemist, weighted with potion bottles, didn’t argue further. Everyone knew support roles had it rough—he was just along for the ride.

“As long as our Divine Princess is standing, we’re guaranteed to down a few enemies,” the mage smiled at the stoic heavy-artillery-class Divine Princess beside him.

“Unless, of course, she’s taken out first...”

“Will you stop jinxing us?! She’s fine. We’ve got the Divine Child and me—what could possibly happen without us noticing—”

“But—”

The alchemist’s words died on his tongue, eyes fixed behind the mage, pale and speechless.

“What now?” The mage turned—and a chill crawled down his spine.

Behind him, the heavy-artillery Divine Princess—who had just been walking normally—was no longer moving.

Her eyes were wide, stunned, as she finally noticed the glowing arrow embedded in her throat.

She hadn’t even activated her Domain.

‘Team 9 heavy-artillery-class Divine Princess Rick has been eliminated by Team 30 ranger-class Divine Princess Teresa.’

“Damn it!” the Divine Child cursed, whipping out his sword and scanning their surroundings.

“Enemy contact?!” The alchemist ducked for cover, panic rising. One silent arrow, and their most powerful unit was gone.

“The enemy ranger’s hiding in the woods! Behind me!” The Divine Child raised his shield, covering the mage and alchemist while desperately using Divine Appraisal to scan the forest.

But no matter how hard he tried—he found nothing.

How?! They had to be close—so why wasn’t the scan picking them up?

There was no time to puzzle it out. The Divine Child backed them up, trying to flee the forest.

What none of them realized was that Teresa had already moved, circling around through the brush.

Fighting a forest elf in the woods was like trying to outswim a shark in the ocean—pure suicide.

“She’s not pursuing—good. Fall back!” the Divine Child said, ready to stall and cover the retreat.

But when he turned to check—he froze.

His last two teammates were already down, slumped on the grass, each with a glowing arrow protruding from the neck.

As the emotionless system voice read out their eliminations, his hope crumbled.

So fast. So quiet. So clean.

An entire squad, gone in seconds.

***

What the hell kind of “matching algorithm” is this?! the Divine Child thought, cold sweat soaking his back.

This isn’t even remotely fair!

He wanted to yell.

The only ones who could pull something like this off were Felicia or Astrid.

But they’re supposed to be at the northern valley right now—fighting over the Crown Jewel!

What the hell is she doing here?!

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