Group Activity

I had my head on my desk, pretending to be daydreaming but secretly, I was trying to see if Maya was in the classroom.

It was a difficult task, not being able to sense her mana, her presence, not even a singular heartbeat of hers.

She was also notorious for abandoning her classes but because of the grades she received for both the physical and the mental exams, the teachers weren't too strict about cracking down on her attendance.

The only clue I was hoping to receive was a strange sound or something moving by itself.

Just because she was invisible doesn't mean that she was able to phase through other students. She still had to carefully navigate her surroundings so she didn't bump into others.

I felt like I was a paranoid schizophrenic even though I knew the truth.

Although the eyes still lingered, they weren't as intense nor were they attached to me 24/7, presumably because they were getting a little used to the return of the sexual predator, aka Bell Agnus, aka — me.

As the teacher walked in, I noticed the leaf of the plant by the window flutter slightly even though no one was around.

'Ah... she is here.'

I didn't show it on my face but I was disappointed because with her in my surroundings, it meant that my acting face had to be on at all times.

Perhaps because they had called me too often on my first day back, the teachers did the complete opposite and basically excluded me.

I interpreted that as them realizing their mistake from yesterday, putting too much attention on the student who'd committed a heinous crime and was compensating for it.

The way the academy is organized, the first half of the day is spent on regular education such as math, science, social studies, etc.

Then after lunchtime was when the real purpose of the academy was implemented as the students would attend the courses that actually mattered such as Survival Against the Wild, Intro to Blade Arts, Mastering Magic, Potion Brewing, Advanced Code Analysis, etc.

Each student was assigned a certain class, the highest being First Class. As a First Class, you had access to the classes exclusive to your rank as well as any classes below it.

For example, as a Second Class, Bell is registered to classes for his rank while also being in a few Third Class and Fourth Class courses.

It's surprising to see the son of Agnus, an extremely powerful and talented student such as Bell be only Second Class but what else can you expect from a writer whose entire identity as a storyteller is being inconsistent.

My mission was to be promoted to First Class because those exclusive courses were where most of the early volumes in the novel took place.

I wondered if Maya was still trailing me and neglecting her courses that other students would sell a limb to attend but I believed she was hungry enough for this exclusive story so she probably was still attached to me like a shadow.

What is she looking for?

I believed it was two things. One, to see if I would remove my mask and begin acting without remorse for my actions. Two, to see how I would react when Diana is mentioned or if she happens to catch my line of sight.

For the first part, aware of her stalking me, and because I actually felt bad for what Bell was forced to do by the shitty god, it wasn't difficult to maintain the mask.

The second however was up to chance and I had to be aware of the opportunities and play my role to perfection.

That opportunity came during my Third Class course, Beginner Leadership which often took place in this small indoor arena that could fit around two hundred or so spectators.

As we were assigned to groups, naturally the students who were my partners all looked nervous, acted awkwardly, and were terrified.

It made sense that they weren't afraid to glare at me in anger as I walked around the hallways or when we were in a classroom listening to a lecture.

But once that protection of being a part of a mass disappears, being in the presence of a criminal and someone whose family could destroy theirs with a single command, that fear they have in the back of their mind is amplified and placed in the forefront.

"So... do you want to lead us for this exercise?" asked one of my partners whose gulp I heard in high-definition.

"You should lead us Bell," agreed the girl whose voice seemed normal but once you looked down and saw how badly her hands were shaking, it was easy to recognize the truth.

My third partner didn't even say a word as he simply nodded. I could see him trying to suppress the clattering of his teeth but occasionally, he failed and you could hear the pounding sound.

"Sure," I accepted with a gentle smile.

That smile backfired as the group must've perceived it as ingenious and all the hairs on their body stood up.

Luckily, the awkwardness of the situation was settled for the moment as the teacher began to explain what exercise we were going to be doing.

She opened the box beside her to reveal to everyone a bunch of blindfolds.

"We're going to take these, and other than the designated leader, I want everyone to put these on. Their properties make it so none of you will be able to see, sense the mana of others around you, nor visualize your surroundings," she informed the class.

As the groups began to grab their blindfolds, getting ready to put them on, the teacher continued, "Those who are blind, your task is to remove the blindfold off of others while protecting your own. The leaders must provide instructions to help the blind navigate their way around the stage. The more blindfolds the blind are able to remove, the more points you'll receive as a team. But once your blindfold is removed, you're out of the game. So... as the leader, you are to protect your blind as well as attack others with your commands."

Although this was a new exercise, it was similar enough to previous ones that no one began to worry and around the same time, all the blinds placed the cloth over their eyes.

As if worried I was going to lead them astray, my three blinds began to send positive words my way.

"I trust you," said the boy who gulped.

"Me too," said the girl whose hands shook.

"Me three," spoke the boy who was previously mute as his teeth clattered.

As an activity that involved commands that needed to be told quickly, I began informing them about command words and what they meant.

"Oh! And I almost forgot," the teacher said with a finger up in the air as if pointing at the lightbulb above his head. "The team with the most points will win a prize and the team that survives at the end will also receive a prize. Good luck class. You may begin."

With a sudden incentive added last second, I was motivated to actually try.

Initially, I was planning on getting my group to snatch a few blindfolds before purposely leading them to defeat in order to place myself in the middle, not wanting to bring too much attention to myself as an early loser or a finalist.

But, the teacher, Vivian, was popular amongst students for the prizes that she gave out.

They were prizes that I couldn't purchase with money because they had no price tags attached.

For example, one of the prizes she gave earlier this semester was a ticket that a student could redeem with one of the teachers who taught First Class courses and specialized in swordsmanship, granting them a one-on-one session.

Another prize she gave later on in the novel was this strange egg the size of a football and after a year of taking care of the egg, it hatched to reveal a baby phoenix.

I couldn't help but wonder what motivated her to add these prizes. Aware of the butterfly effect, I knew my actions led to this change but regardless, I couldn't quite pick out what it was specifically that I did which made her stray away from the original story where in the two sentences it was mentioned, all she did was simply host this exercise.

But I quickly tossed my curiosity aside as the other students were beginning to move.

"What should we do Bell?" asked the shaky hands girl.

"Quiet," I responded. "Don't move. We're going to react, not initiate."

It wasn't going to be a simple task.

Just because I was an earthling that took over Bell's body and acquired multiple cheats throughout the previous month, that didn't mean I was overpowered by any means.

The other leaders were all talented in their own rights and despite Bell's muscle memories and skills completely being a part of me, that didn't mean I'd walk into victory so easily.

Bell was more talented than any other student on the stage, I had no doubt about that. But they were present in class for two months longer than me as I was suspended.

I also didn't take into consideration that the other students hated me for what I did to Diana.

So rather than focusing on those around them, the leaders began directing their blinds towards me, occasionally attacking the students they happened to cross paths with on their way over.

"You guys need to trust me and do exactly as I say," I informed my partners. "No need to respond, don't provide the other blinds with anything you don't have to."

I took a deep breath and as soon as a blind got in the proximity of one of my partners I commanded her, "Jess, half back."

She took half a max step back from where she was.

"Left swipe full."

With her left fully extended she swiped it, trying to grab the blindfold but with the other leader's command, the blind trying to eliminate my group was able to dodge the swipe.

Observing all three of my partners simultaneously, the gulping boy was in danger.

"Francis, dodge, quarter right, left swipe half. Jess, half left, quarter turn right, left swipe full."

These commands sounded like nonsense but they were simply movement instructions that were simplified.

Jess was able to eliminate the blind in front of her but not before two more arrived into her range of battle.

When the blinds finally reached my final partner's proximity, I was seriously in trouble.

I had to navigate three battlefields at the same time.

"Cormier, full forward. Jess, dodge, dodge, dodge. Francis, left swipe full."

My brain was beginning to work in overdrive, activating a gear that I didn't even know existed and I was starting to anticipate the movements of the blinds based on the attack patterns of the leaders rather than giving commands that simply reacted to the current time, I was providing commands that was reacting to the future, anticipating enemy commands before they were even made.

My nose began to bleed but I ignored it, keeping my eyes open and giving commands so quickly that my blinds were struggling to keep up with which of my commands was targeted towards them.

I guess — I really wanted those prizes.