“So the treasure is an item than can potentially fuck up a well made plan huh? Seems really fun.” Artian sneered as he mused over the ridiculous reveal.

“There’s a lot of random factors that you can’t really account for. Even the time limit for using whatever item it gives you is random!” Estelle then started to complain.

“So, it’s a matter of who can improvise the best huh?” Sylvester said with a devious smile forming on his face.

As the crowd once again started drowning in murmurs and speculations, the headmaster’s projection clapped his hands and immediately grabbed the collective attention of the campus.

“Now that the main challenge has been highlighted, let me tell you about the victory conditions.” The headmaster said, and with those words the tension in the air seemed to have risen quite a bit.

“Oh great more shit to worry about!”

“Shh! Artian be quiet!”

“The rules for victory are simple. There will be a time limit for the whole event, and the one who has the box in their possession when the time ends will be considered the winner. Pretty simple right?” Leonardo said with an obvious devious grin.

Sylvester immediately realized the significance of this rule, and so did the entire population of neophytes. It means holding on to the black box is gonna be even more difficult, especially during the later stages of the game.

After all, something that is found can easily be stolen, and between having to think about the item they are holding while also fending off the inevitable horde of people coming after them, the likelihood of losing the box during a confrontation is far too great.

The whole event feels like a jumbled mess of random variables more than a well thought out activity but maybe that is the whole point.

“Speaking of which, let us discuss confrontations! We have implemented a rather quirky way of handling what happens to the winners and losers of a fight.”

After saying these words, Leonardo snapped his fingers and soon a crystal like barrier manifested around him for a few seconds and quickly disappeared.

“This is what I would like to call, the traitor barrier.” The headmaster began to explain.

“You see this funny little spell, like the name suggests, is a barrier. But what happens after it breaks is what gives it the name traitor. Let me demonstrate it for you.”

All of a sudden the headmaster’s figure was suddenly struck by a random lightning bolt, causing the barrier to flicker and shatter. Then out of nowhere ethereal chains formed from the broken shards of the barrier and immediately wrapped itself around the headmaster’s body. A large lock with a keyhole was then placed near the headmaster’s bound hands.

“You see, this is what happens.” Leonardo continued his instructions despite the awkward and uncomfortable position he was currently in.

“Once you take enough damage to break the barrier, you get immobilized for 30 minutes. Don’t worry, the barrier itself doesn’t “break” but will only trigger the manifestation of these bounds. The barrier is still active and can defend against at least a 4 chant spell.” He said while smiling.

“However, a significantly strong attack can and will knock you out so do be careful in choosing your fights.” Leonardo added.

“Of course you could surely try and break out of the chains but at your level, you won’t be able to. I am extremely confident that none of you have a spell strong enough to break through these chains, but if you’re lucky, there is a way to escape.” He said while smiling.

“But at the very least, all of you get at least 2 to 3 tries during the entire duration of the event. Once you lose a fight or get blindsided, you have a lot of time to think about your mistakes! Isn’t this great?”

And with the looks of it, the students do agree. As long as they are not completely out of the fight they have a few chances to try again. But, the problem is that the amount of times they are able to try again is limited by how much time there is left for the hunt, and during the last 30 minutes or so, one mistake could cost everything.

“Now about the teams, each organization is allowed only to send out 1 to 4 representatives. More details will be given to you during the next few days as I think about more ways to make this whole endeavor more exciting!” Leonardo then added

“And with that I bid you all a wonderful farewell. You have approximately one week to prepare for the festival, that includes both students and the organizations that want the prizes and rewards. Applications for it will be handled by twins one day prior to the event proper.” The headmaster explained.

“A makeshift booth will be made at the main Plaza and you can give your names over there, or the organization representatives can simply send a list of neophytes that will be joining the competition.”

Leonardo then placed his index finger on his forehead and opted for a pose making him look like he is in deep thought.

“Now is there anything else I am forgetting? Oh yes. If you haven’t joined an organization you can only take part in the festival as a solo player.”

Sylvester, Rossa, Artian, and Estelle all reacted with a slight twitch in their faces. This piece of information is pretty troublesome for them since they don’t really have a plan to join any organizations at the moment.

“I think that’s everything I hope? Eh, if I forgot something I can add it in later anyway. Leonardo Da Vinci, your great and caring headmaster, signing out!” Leonardo’s figure then waved goodbye as his projection started to disassemble back into particles of light. These particles then came back to the IDs one by one until there was no more light left.

Our merry quartet was now left in silence as they tried to think about what they should be doing next, sadly the peace and quiet they needed wasn't given to them at the moment.

“Well, would you look at that. Fate has handed you a bad hand!” Clarence, who still hasn’t left their table, started to gloat.

“Looks like you have no choice but to join an organization now doesn’t it?” He then set his sights towards Sylvester, giving the young magician a malicious glare.

“I told you that you would come back crawling to me.”

Clarence let out a loud laughter of victory while Sylvester simply sat there silently. Then for some reason he too started laughing, catching Clarence and the three other people sitting with him at the table off guard.

“Pfft- Ha-HAHAHAHHAHAHA!” Sylvester’s voice then rang out, reverberating throughout the room.

It wasn’t a laugh filled with proud indignation like Clarence, but an innocent hearty chuckle, as if Sylvester heard an amusing joke.

This reaction however didn’t sit well with Clarence, who was once again starting fume with anger. His cheeky smile slowly disappeared, replaced by an annoyed frown.

“What’s so funny? Do you have a screw loose?” He asked Sylvester.

“Sorry man, because of all the metaphors you could have used, you picked my favorite one. You chose to talk about freakin cards!” Sylvester explained.

“You just made my job easier for me. Thank you very much. Great job!” He continued as he slowly calmed down.

“Huh? Are you mocking me again!?” Clarence yelled.

“Heh, not really. But you do realize you can always cheat on a card game right? And for someone like me? That’s a very simple task to do. Yes yes, I am bragging, but what I say is the truth. I doubt any of you can beat me in a game of old maid.” Sylvester declared.

“Y-you, sniveling, arrogant, neophyte! You think this festival is just a simple game?” Clarence retorded, his voice getting even louder now.

“I mean, technically it is right? The way the headmaster explained it pretty much just made it sound like a game, a fun little romp just for us newbies. But that’s besides my point.”

Sylvester then adjusted his sitting position and faced Clarence while slouching on his left arm that was holding the weight of his head.

“There are multiple ways to win a card game my friend, and if need be, I will play a trick on fate itself.” He proudly declared.

“Oh yieaaas, great one liner Sylvester, you’re getting better and better!” Sylvester congratulated himself deep within, if only everyone can hear his inner thoughts.

“Y-you!” Clarence was reaching his breaking point when suddenly he heard another loud laugh, this time it was from another man who sat with Sylvester on the table.

“You’re really so determined to keep that magician motiff of yours aren’t ya?!” Artian laughed, completely amused by Sylvester’s words.

“Ohhhh, you liked that? Well do you have anything you would like to add, Mr Destiny?” Sylvester replied, clearly alluding to a very awkward conversation from a while back.

“Shut up!” To which Artian immediately retorted.

“At any rate, I would appreciate if you would kindly piss the fuck off mr inquisitor guy? Your mere presence is ruining the atmosphere. Didn’t you see we had a great thing going on here and then you rudely barged in? Don’t you have any manners?” Artian declared, obviously trying to get a reaction from Clarence, and as if in sync, Sylvester immediately followed up Artian’s words

“Oh yeah you’re right! We were in the middle of a great cultural exchange with miss Argentum over here.” He then raised his hand and pointed at Rossa, who simply sat there looking uninterested and annoyed.

“We were exchanging some great stories with her, hearing tales from her homeworld, OH! All those beautiful details about a forgein world! Such a rare opportunity. We were so engrossed in her stories, that Estelle over there almost burst into tears!” Sylvester added, smiling and then winking at Estelle.

Something that she was all too eager to ride with much to Rossa’s chagrin.

“Yes, sniff I was so moved by the story about the queen from a faraway land. Such a.. riveting tale.. so much suspense sniff O! WOE IS ME!” Estelle then started wiping her skii mask, acting like she was crying. Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Sylvester then shifted his position again, straightening his back and crossing his arms.

“You see? And then you came along and ruined everything! Our dear guest miss Argentum is probably really angry at what you have done! Not only that but you made a very bad impression in front of her, and by extension, a bad impression to the kingdom of Vanil-Vanika-”

“Vanicares.”

“Vanicares! Tsk Tsk Tsk, aren’t you ashamed?” Sylvester egged on.

“Y-Y-YOU!” Clarence started stuttering, it seems getting flustered affects his speech. All of a sudden one of his posse tapped his shoulder.

“WHAT!?” He growled angrily.

“I think we should retreat now sir Clarence, everyone’s eyes are on us now!” He declared, prompting Clarence to look around and saw all the judgmental looks drilling into him. With a deep breath he then tried to reign in his frustration.

“Fine then, let’s leave.” He said in a much calmer but still arrogant sounding voice. He walked a short distance away then stopped to face Sylvester once more.

“Don’t think this is over Sylvester Clearsight. I’ll make sure that the Clarentum Inquisitors will crush you should you choose to participate in the Festival of the beginning.” He said in a threatening voice.

Sylvester simply smiled, took off his cap and gave it a light flick, transforming it into a tophat. He then placed it back on his head before looking into Clarence’s eyes.

“I look forward to it.” Sylvester cheekily said as he tipped his hat, an action that drew even more ire from Clarence.

“Damn you…” Was all Clarence could say as he begrudgingly left the restaurant.