93 – That Kind of Thinking Is Just Too Pathetic

“Miss Teresa, I don’t think we need to rush up the mountain. We could wait until the other teams run into each other and start fighting, let them weaken themselves, and then go up. That way, we can conserve our strength.”

“Mmm, Miss Wenfu, that’s an excellent suggestion,” Teresa replied, her voice tinged with a leisurely smile. “What makes it especially good... is that everyone else is thinking the exact same thing.”

Wenfu’s expression froze, her cat ears perking up. “Miss Teresa, are you making fun of me for being too naive?”

“Not at all. As I said, this is the prevailing line of thought. It’s completely normal for you to think this way—avoiding unnecessary battles, letting the others wear each other down. It’s a logical and valid tactic, which is precisely why everyone thinks that way.”

“But thinking about it and actually pulling it off are two very different things. Because everyone is hoping the others will fight first... no one ends up fighting.”

“Of course, it’s not quite that simple.” Teresa glanced up toward the summit of the desolate mountain. “Miss Wenfu, did you happen to catch the earlier broadcasts?”

“The earlier broadcasts? You mean the one that said four teams were eliminated, and only six remain?”

“No, I mean the ones from before the top ten were decided.” A gentle breeze played with Teresa’s willowy hair. Her voice, light and ethereal, could still the mind like a sudden hush.

“Before the top ten?” Wenfu tilted her head, her tail swaying in sync.

If she recalled correctly, she’d either been watching her teammates argue or running for her life after being abandoned. She hadn’t exactly been paying attention to the broadcasts.

“Last night, Team 45 had already settled at the top of the mountain. The broadcasts were frequent—nearly half of them announced eliminations by Team 45.”

“Team 45...?” The number stirred a vague memory in Wenfu’s mind.

“Team 45 is Astrid’s team.”

“I see.” Teresa’s reminder jogged her memory—Astrid Oleniman, the eldest daughter of the Elf King and the favorite to win the Crown Tournament.

“She and her teammates have been entrenched at the mountaintop, adopting a high posture toward all challengers below. Their message is clear: ‘We’re not hiding. We’re waiting right here. If you want the Crownstone, come and take it—if you think you’re worthy.’” Teresa narrated, her tone vividly expressive.

“...What arrogance,” Wenfu couldn’t help but remark.

“So what? No one can beat them. Every challenger has lost. They remain unshaken at the summit.”

“Right now, the most dangerous areas aren’t even the summit—it’s the mid-mountain and the base.” Teresa continued.

“Because everyone knows there’s a savage beast guarding the top, and it probably won’t come down. Without absolute confidence, the most prudent move is to eliminate other teams first and boost your own ranking.”

“That’s true,” Wenfu agreed.

“But don’t you think... that kind of thinking is just too pathetic?” Teresa said softly, each word measured and deliberate, without turning her head.

“Huh? Why?” Wenfu asked, puzzled.

“Because people who think that way have already etched the idea into their bones that ‘Astrid is unbeatable,’ that ‘it’s enough if we just get second or third.’ They’ve imposed limits on themselves. Even they don’t believe they can win. They’re just chasing rankings. Isn’t that sad?” Teresa’s voice was calm, her tone as serene as ripples on a still lake. Yet it smoothed out the unrest in one’s chest with quiet conviction.

“...”

Wenfu’s expression flickered, as if something stirred within.

From her perspective, there wasn’t anything wrong with that kind of thinking. After all, she too had entertained such thoughts. But Teresa wasn’t wrong either.

There was something inherently persuasive about the golden-haired girl’s words. Her tone was soft and composed, like a spring breeze brushing the heart. Without anyone noticing, her words planted themselves in the listener’s thoughts, altering their perspective.

At the same time, Wenfu sensed—though perhaps it was only her imagination—a quiet kind of pride in Teresa’s words. Not the pride that came from arrogance or insecurity, nor something deliberately performed. This was natural, effortless pride. Perhaps even Teresa herself hadn’t noticed it, but there was something in her words that carried the weight of unshakable confidence.

Boom-boom! At that moment, a loud explosion rumbled through the mountain, and countless bits of rubble came crashing down from the mid-slope.

Wenfu’s expression shifted. Teresa remained calm, standing below as she looked up at the falling debris.

Just as Teresa had expected—battle had broken out. And not at the summit, but halfway up the mountain.

The cold, mechanical voice of the system announced the results, marking the end of the skirmish.

‘Team 81 has been eliminated. Final rank: Top Six. Only five teams remain.’

‘Team 90 has been eliminated. Final rank: Top Five. Only four teams remain.’

Strangely, this time the system didn’t announce who had eliminated whom.

Wenfu immediately understood why—according to the rules, once only a few teams remained in the finals, the announcements would no longer disclose the victor. It was a matter of fairness.

“Two teams eliminated at once?” Wenfu was both pleasantly surprised and slightly alarmed.

Surprised that they’d made it to the top five. But also curious—what exactly had happened?

“How strange. Two teams eliminated at the same time?” she repeated.

“They were probably fighting at the mid-mountain for quite a while. It only just concluded,” Teresa analyzed.

“They destroyed each other?”

“No. If that had happened, the announcements would’ve overlapped—just like last night.” Teresa had made a point of studying the system. Simultaneous eliminations resulted in overlapping voice messages.

“So if it wasn’t mutual destruction, then...?”

“It’s possible that while those two teams were fighting, a third party intervened. Mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”

“But that seems unlikely.” Teresa added, “In the top ten finals, everyone’s hoping the other teams will clash so they can pick up the scraps. It would be... foolish—I mean, impulsive—to strike so early.”

“So it wasn’t someone reaping the rewards, but rather that three teams collided mid-mountain, and one team eliminated the other two?”

“One surviving team...” Since the system hadn’t named names, they had no way of knowing which team that was.

Teresa didn’t know either, but judging by the sheer strength it would take to eliminate two teams single-handedly, she strongly suspected it was Felicia’s team.

“Could it be... Her Highness Felicia’s team?”

“Who knows? She might be waiting for us halfway up already.” Teresa advanced with measured grace, climbing the mountain path in elegant strides.

At this point, Teresa had more or less guessed what Felicia’s plan was.

That Whiteglass Princess likely intended to eliminate every obstacle—so that she and Astrid could have a quiet, one-on-one duel.

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