FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 4: The Special Competition (7)**

"Don't you think this year's competition has been especially easy? Like exchanging gold coins for goods," Carl said.Phil nodded. "Yeah, in previous years we often got ganged up on by several squads."Liv said smugly, "Obviously it's because I'm more capable than your Mendes."This time she didn't take a jab at Chen Yi, which meant she somewhat acknowledged his ability.Phil shook his head. "No. Aside from good luck, here's what I think.""Back then, Chen Yi was the most talented, so everyone ganged up on us. After Lisa became a professor, Mendes was the most talented in our year, so they kept targeting us.""But this year, Mendes isn't here, and the grudges Chen Yi built up over the years have mostly faded. Everyone thinks we're not worth paying attention to, so we've had a relatively easy run."Carl agreed. "Makes sense. Chen Yi, you've been pretty quiet today. Everything okay?""Ah," Chen Yi snapped to attention. "Sorry, I was thinking about something."He *had* been thinking. With the same Divine Communion, he'd learned far more powerful magic and was completely fine the next day. But that unlucky classmate this morning could only lie in his tent, dragging his teammates down.Why did everyone else become so weak after Divine Communion, while he didn't? He could think of no explanation other than the goddess's special favor.---On the morning of the third day of the Special Competition, Chen Yi spread out the map and analyzed the situation for his teammates."We're now near the center of the White Sand Rainforest. The only vantage point nearby is the cliff ahead, and there seems to be only one path up. In my judgment, any squad aiming for first place will try to seize that position early.""I don't think so," Liv said."Then what's your take?" Chen Yi asked back.Liv felt awkward. She didn't have a take—she just habitually argued.After two days of competition, she had actually grown to trust Chen Yi's judgment and command ability to some extent. But she couldn't kick the habit of running her mouth.Seeing she couldn't answer, Chen Yi didn't press. He continued explaining:"The more squads remain, the worse the prizes we'll have to split. Suppose five squads are still standing when time runs out. That means twenty people sharing that not-so-exciting spellbook. Even if we only get fifth place, four of us still split the money from selling it. So choosing to fight is always the right move—that's the beauty of the Special Competition.""By holding that cliff, defending from above, and managing spells properly, we could almost guarantee a win without casualties."Carl said, "So you mean we should take the cliff quickly?"Chen Yi shook his head. "I mean the cliff is already taken. If we go up now, we'll be slaughtered.""Then what do we do?""Wait.""Didn't you just say choosing to fight is always the right move in the Special Competition?" Liv finally found a hole in his argument."The squad that heads up and sees the cliff already occupied will choose to pull back temporarily. With only one day left, retreating squads will almost certainly run into other squads. What happens if two squads meet halfway down?""They fight?""No. They'll join forces." Chen Yi shook his head."First, the squad coming up from below will think the squad coming down has the high ground advantage, making a head-on clash unwise. And the squad coming down knows what's on top, so they won't want to bleed themselves dry fighting another squad either. Once they join forces, they should have confidence to attack the cliff together.""When that happens, whichever side wins, both will be battered. The remaining squad will hold the cliff, and the cycle repeats. We just wait until the end, go up, and lose to whoever's on top.""What do you mean?" Liv grew anxious. "Are you saying we can only get second place at best?""Given our squad's current strength, that's a realistic goal."Phil and Carl both agreed with Chen Yi's proposal. Only Liv was reluctant."Let's set aside whether we can get first or not. Why do you assume everyone else will follow your script so we can swoop in at the end?"Chen Yi said, "I believe that among our year, I'm the only one who sees this cliff for what it is—not an advantage, but a deathtrap. Everyone else thinks that if they hold the cliff and opponents come one by one, they've already secured victory.""Even the squad that eventually takes the cliff with numbers and wins the internal battle will think that running into other squads and teaming up was just coincidence. They'll still expect their next opponents to come up one squad at a time.""But they don't realize that for the squad holding the cliff, getting attacked by two or more squads at once is inevitable. And—I believe the ascendant's rings are tempting enough to ensure it."Liv scoffed. "We've all been studying magic together for years, and you're just an intermediate trainee. What makes you think you're the only one who sees this?"Chen Yi didn't bother explaining. He knew facts spoke louder than words. Phil and Carl would back his decision. With three against one, Liv's opinion didn't matter.Still, her question stung. He said quietly, "Because the only other person who could see it... is dead."---They waited quietly until nightfall. From the distant cliff, intermittent sounds of magical bombardment echoed—just as Chen Yi had predicted, the fight there was fierce.As dawn approached, the time left in the Special Competition grew short."Let's move. Even if we lose, we lose nothing." Chen Yi stood up.The four of them headed from their hiding spot toward the cliff. Along the way, they saw many classmates with red robes trudging down from the summit, their faces gray with defeat.Liv was about to ask someone about the situation on top, then stopped herself. She suddenly remembered that asking eliminated contestants anything related to the competition was a serious violation—she would end up with nothing.Watching this scene, Chen Yi's face grew darker."What's wrong?" Phil noticed.Chen Yi sighed. "I was hoping that with some luck and if the squad on top was worn down, we might have a shot at first place. But now it looks unlikely. The ones holding the cliff are probably Bill and his crew.""What? Those two couples again?" Carl smacked his forehead in frustration.In past Special Competitions, Chen Yi's squad had been eliminated by Bill's team three times.