SHAMAN PROTOCOL
Chapter 93: How to Win and Still Lose

Chapter 93: How to Win and Still Lose

"Yata! Yipee! We did it!"

The twins jumped around, hands in the air, their voices echoing with joy. Meanwhile, the old man Eli, Ran, and Mikel sat on the ground, simply watching the toddlers celebrate. Ran and the old man still wore expressions of disbelief.

But Mikel? He just grinned.

He might’ve looked satisfied for taking down the Ruminant King, but what truly pleased him was managing to feed the Blood Chain just in time. Thanks to his teammates’ efforts, it had sipped discreetly without anyone noticing. That allowed everyone else’s attacks to land and concealed his.

That thing’s really a king, huh? Carnage didn’t even need to drain it fully to feel full.

[Master, the Blood Chain has been well fed. It knew that taking more spiritual energy would risk damaging it.]

Mikel tilted his head from side to side before shrugging. It didn’t matter now. What mattered was that he’d just bought himself more time. In the seven days he’d been at this school, he had only left once—to feed the Blood Chain.

He could delay it again for a few more days, but...

Anima, huh? Since when could I use it?

[According to the system’s log, it’s been available for a while now, Master. Ever since you successfully summoned and fought with Carnage.]

He arched a brow and reread that message.

That time, huh...?

Now that Doom mentioned it, Mikel had done a lot with the free time he got after the renovation and before ever setting foot in the academy. He’d grinded the system like a game, refusing to die the next time he faced another monster like a Type X.

It was a brutal period in his life, but it gave him confidence. Besides, fulfilling the crystal helped.

"I can’t believe we managed..." Ran’s voice finally broke the silence, drawing Mikel and Eli’s attention. He wore a wry smile, his eyes fixed on the massive cow body, where the twins were still dancing and jumping around. "I can’t believe it."

Old man Eli chuckled, nodding as he looked at the fallen Ruminant King. A subtle smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Fifty years..." he whispered. "Ten of them facing it..."

And for the first time, his team had taken down such a powerful force. Was it luck? Or sheer resilience? Either way, Eli couldn’t help but feel a rush of mixed emotions. Normally, his teams only bought time until the trial’s limit ran out.

Ran and Mikel both kept their eyes on the old man. Ran smiled. Mikel, while he couldn’t relate, could still feel the satisfaction and relief in Eli’s voice.

[System Alert: Tears.]

Shut up, Doom.

"Ah!" Suddenly, Blitz stopped jumping and turned toward the older boys. "Does this mean we finished first?!"

Boom also froze, tilting his head. "Yata! We passed~!"

"We passed!" Blitz echoed, laughing.

The twins ran to each other and high-fived, dancing around in excitement. Meanwhile, Mikel and Ran raised their brows.

"Right..." Ran nodded, checking his watch. "I think we finished really fast. I don’t think we’re the last group... huh?"

Mikel frowned. "What?"

"My watch..." Ran trailed off, glancing from Mikel to Eli. "I think it’s broken. I set a timer earlier, but it’s not moving. It’s like time just... stopped."

"It’s not broken," Eli said calmly. "Spiritual Zones affect the natural flow of time."

The twins blinked. Mikel and Ran just stared at him.

After a few seconds, Mikel asked, "But it hasn’t been that long since we entered the forest, right? That wasn’t even an hour. So I don’t think we’re the last..."

His words trailed off as they noticed something shimmering overhead. All of them looked up, watching a faint, transparent barrier slowly vanish.

"Ah! The beef is disappearing!" Boom yelled, running toward the fallen Ruminant King. "What’s going on?!"

"Don’t go! Don’t go!" Blitz shouted after it. "We still have to roast you for the headmaster!"

Mikel furrowed his brows as the Ruminant King dispersed along with the barrier.

"What’s going on?" Ran asked, and all eyes turned to the old man.

Eli just sighed and offered them a wry smile.

---

With the barrier down and the Ruminant King gone, Mikel’s disaster squad left the forest and returned to their starting point. And just like Eli had warned...

"What the hell?" Mikel blurted, staring at all their classmates already outside.

Everyone turned to look at the group of five—groggy, dirty, and looking like they’d crawled out of a warzone. In contrast, the rest of the class looked like they hadn’t even broken a sweat.

"What happened to them?" one student whispered. "It wasn’t even that hard."

"They’ve been stuck inside forever—yikes."

A vein twitched on Mikel’s forehead. His face spasmed as he looked at their classmates, most of whom looked like they’d just returned from a picnic.

How did they finish the task so easily?!

"Did we really do that badly?" Ran muttered. "But it hasn’t even been an hour..."

Eli just sighed again.

"Ah! Did you all fail?!" Blitz asked, rushing to Mr. Nocty with Boom. "Teacher! Teacher! We caught this huge cow!"

Boom spread his arms. "It’s so big and powerful! But it disappeared! If you look for it, you’ll find it! Everyone will have a banquet! I’ll give the belly to Butler Basil!"

Mr. Nocty smiled and ruffled the twins’ hair. Then he turned to the other three, his face solemn.

"As the last group to finish the task, the three of you will be cleaning the classroom after class. And this weekend, you’ll attend the Spirit Cosmetic Class as volunteers," he announced. "Understood?"

"But we didn’t fail—" Ran began to argue, but stopped when Eli interrupted.

"Ran." Eli shook his head. "We were the last group to finish the task."

Ran frowned and looked around at the others. "But we’re being punished for winning. How is that fair?" he whispered.

"Mister Nocty." Mikel raised his hand, already numb to punishment. "I’m attending detention after class."

Mr. Nocty stared at him. "Then you’ll be cleaning the detention classroom."

Mikel’s face stiffened.

[You shouldn’t have asked, Master.]

"What about those two then?" he blurted out, pointing at the twins. "As far as I remember, there are five people in this group."

"Gosh, what a jerk." Suddenly, one of his female classmates snorted. "Is he asking the class’s mascots to get punished as well?"

"I heard he’s weird, but did he really just go after kids?"

Mikel’s brow twitched as he gazed at the group of girls looking at him in disgust.

They’re lucky I don’t kick girls.

[Adding that to your reputation log, Master.]

"The twins are too young for punishments, and I do not think they’d help in cleaning. Anyway, class!" Mr. Nocty clapped once. "First of all, congratulations on completing the task. Only one group failed—not bad."

He paused while Ran frowned and Mikel scrunched his nose.

Was that really necessary?

"Today’s activity was only a simple simulation," Mr. Nocty continued. "However, I hope the way you’ve worked together today will carry on into future activities. Your group will remain the same for all group tasks this school year. Let this partnership blossom into something beautiful."

Mikel froze.

Slowly, he turned to Ran, then Eli, and finally the twins, who were busy reenacting their fight with the cow.

Stuck with them. For every group task. Until the end of the year.

[Congratulations on getting stuck with them, Master.]

Mikel groaned inwardly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

The twins were now trying to stack pebbles like cow horns. Ran had accidentally stepped on one and yelped. Eli was already halfway into a nap in the middle of Mr. Nocty’s last speech.

"Look! Horns of beef justice!"

Blitz whispered, "Don’t moo. You’ll scare it."

This isn’t a team. It’s a curse.

[Note to self: make better choices next year.]

And thus, the Refined Arts Academy’s most dysfunctional squad was born.