Conquering The Novel

Team Soreh Academy had gathered in their designated area, with the Vice Dean standing at the center. The atmosphere was tense, as they all knew that the semifinals were crucial for their academy\'s reputation.

"We need our best Students for this match. Underestimating Shadow Academy is not a wise strategy. They may have a different approach to combat, but that doesn\'t mean they can\'t outsmart us," the Vice Dean stated with a serious expression.

Erina raised her hand, "But sir, with all due respect, we should save our strongest students for the finals. Shadow Academy specializes in stealth and sneak attacks, so we can easily overpower them head-on."

The Vice Dean raised an eyebrow, "Underestimating our opponents is never a good idea , Erina. We need to be prepared for anything. They may have some tricks up their sleeves."

Ares, who had been listening to the conversation, spoke up, "I agree with Erina to some extent. We should save our strongest students for the finals. But we also need to be careful and not take our opponents lightly."

The Vice Dean nodded in agreement, "Alright, let\'s make a plan. For round one, a 5v5 combat match, we will send Livia, Kevin, Nate, Lio, and Evan. This lineup should be enough to get us that point," he said, looking at Livia. But Livia remained silent and didn\'t respond.

Ignoring Livia\'s lack of response, he continued, "For round two, where we must defend our crystal, we will send Diana, Lucas, Sofia, Mia, and Eric. And for round three, we will send Ayla, Marcus, Alex, Emma, and James."

The Vice Dean paused and gestured for the named students to step forward. "With this lineup, we are guaranteed to move to the finals. And in the finals, we will still have strong candidates like Ares, Ziona, Erina, and Claude, no matter the content." A satisfied grin spread across his face.

\'Haha, with this lineup we are sure to win this tournament and when Miss Ivica returns, she will surely praise me for leading the team to victory and waiting with the champion trophy for her arrival, right?\' The Vice Dean pondered, his grin growing larger as he imagined Ivica praising him.

Ares nodded in agreement, having no objection to the chosen lineup. However, he could easily discern what was going on in the vice dean\'s head when he saw his creepy smile.

\'The man was infatuated with Ivica, having been one of the lucky few to have witnessed her hidden beauty through the veil of fog and had been trying to court her ever since.\'

Ares also knew all too well what would become of the Vice Dean\'s unrequited love. He would turn into a desperate, third-rate villain who would join the demons to gain power in his quest to win Ivica\'s heart.

He would stalk her relentlessly, coming after her whenever he saw fit, and always running away whenever he was at a disadvantage and had managed to survive for quite a long time in the novel, but in the end, Evica would ultimately be the one to take him down.

Ares shook his head at the Vice Dean\'s foolishness. He knew that Evica was not one to be swayed by flattery or courtship. Even Lucas, who had a harem of women at his beck and call, couldn\'t win Evica\'s heart. She was simply too independent and strong-willed to fall for such tactics.

Ziona\'s excited voice brought Ares out of his thoughts. "It seems we will finally get to participate together on the big stage, Ares."

Ares nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I\'m looking forward to it."

But his attention was quickly drawn to Livia, who was standing apart from the others and seemed upset and withdrawn.

Diana, noticing Ares\' gaze on Livia, whispered, "Don\'t worry about her, my love. She was spying on our date yesterday, and it seems she didn\'t like seeing you spending time with me instead of her. I will try talking to her after this match and make the situation better for you." She grabbed Ares\' arm and smiled.

!?

Diana felt a warmth spread in her chest when Ares declared that she was important to him. She knew it wasn\'t a declaration of love, but it was enough for her, for now. She wanted to take things slow and make him fall for her gradually. But, she also knew that being with Ares meant being comfortable around his other women and building positive relationships with them for the future.

However, Ares suddenly interrupted her thoughts with a skeptical look, "And ...how did you know Livia was spying on us again?" he asked.

Diana\'s smile faltered for a moment before she quickly changed the subject. "Oh, look at the time. I think we should get ready for our match now!" she exclaimed, trying to distract him.

And the announcement of the first-round participants entering the stage provided a convenient escape from the discussion.

[The participating candidates of the first round, please enter the stage!]

Diana added, "Let\'s give it our all and show everyone what Soreh Academy is capable of."

The Vice Dean smiled, "That\'s the spirit. Now, let\'s go out there and make our academy proud! Miss Ivica is the most important person in this academy, and we should do everything we can to impress her!"

The team nodded with determination, ready to represent Soreh Academy. The vice dean encouraged them with a rousing speech before they headed towards the stage.

Livia paused to glance at Ares, sadness etched on her features. However, seeing him smile at her brought a small smile to her face. She nodded at him before moving onto the stage with the rest of the team.

As the team moved onto the stage, their determination was palpable in the air. Ares watched them go, his mind still preoccupied. "Did either of you notice anyone else keeping an eye on me or Livia during my date with Diana yesterday?" he asked Meira and Irethiel telepathically.

Meira replied promptly, "No, Master, I didn\'t see anyone else."

Ireithiel shook her head in agreement. "Neither did I."

Ares fell silent, his mind racing. "Then how did Diana know that Livia was spying on us yesterday? I wouldn\'t have known about it if it weren\'t for you two," he pondered aloud.

The mystery left him feeling uneasy. As the match began, he couldn\'t shake the feeling that something wasn\'t quite right.