The Author's Playground
Chapter 42: Discord (1)

Chapter 42: Discord (1)

The faint sound of water droplets echoed through the cave, blending with the soft squelching of footsteps against the muddy ground.

This was merely a simulation, an artificial environment created by the Academy itself.

Yet, everything felt real—the damp air, the earthy scent, the chill that clung to their skin. One could touch, hear, smell, and even taste the surroundings as if they were truly there.

To prevent any casualties, each student wore a special bracelet. If their life force were depleted here, they would simply be teleported back to the entrance.

And not to mention, this bracelet also serves to spy on the students and watch what they are doing inside.

Of course, that also meant failure. Any student who "died" during the succession ceremony would be immediately expelled from the Academy.

The instructors called it a long-standing tradition, one upheld for over a hundred years.

But Elijah knew better.

After all, he wrote this rule into the novel—it is nothing more than a convenient way to filter out students. The victims of this system are usually D-class students and lower, much worse, F-class students like him.

Well, not that he cares about whatever happened to his classmates. All that matters for Elijah is to simply get the artifact and maintain his status as a F-class student.

Now that he had thoroughly explained the mechanics to himself, only one thing remained on his mind.

And that was...

"Uwaaaaahhh, I’m so bored!!"

For a split second, Elijah thought he had accidentally spoken his thoughts out loud in a weird tone. But no—the voice belonged to none other than the brunette F-class student, Quaso, who, apparently, shared his exact sentiments.

"I’m sure we’ll find something if we keep going," Lucian reassured.

As expected of the new male lead, he already had the makings of a typical hero protagonist.

Seriously, Elijah had the urge to nurture him into the kind of character he preferred as soon as possible.

"Fufufu, don’t worry, I will protect you all, since you guys agreed to make me the leader!"

The chubby student, Astra, struck a dramatic pose.

Elijah barely spared him a glance. Although everyone agreed to make him a temporary leader, Elijah felt like he was that kind of classmate who would probably be a teacher’s pet.

First impression? Textbook case of sixth-grade syndrome. He is probably the type who was showered with attention and compliments.

"Eh? You will? Yay! Thank you!" Quaso beamed, clapping her hands excitedly, seemingly feeding into Astra’s delusions.

An autistic and a chuunibyo.¹ Hm. Nice match.

Well, at least thanks to those two, they weren’t suffering in total silence.

Still, the contrast between the two groups was... concerning.

Up front? Flowery, happy energy.

In the back? Gloomy and silent.

Elijah shifted his gaze to Victoria, who had remained eerily quiet the entire time.

With a smirk, he leaned closer. "Oh my princess, are you feeling under the weather? Want me to carry you?"

Victoria didn’t even blink. "No need." Cold. Detached. Uninterested.

’She’s acting strange...’ Elijah mused. ’Could it be... she heard about ’that’?’

’Well... that would be troublesome...’

"Quiet!" Lucian spoke. "There they come!"

The cave trembled as small stone golems emerged from the rocky walls, their bodies assembled with a chorus of grinding stone and shifting gravel.

"Uwahh! How cute!" Quaso smiled while gripping her hammer tightly. "Here I come!"

Without waiting for orders, she launched herself forward, swinging her hammer down with a resounding crash.

The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, instantly shattering one of the golems’ legs. The creature crumbled onto one knee, but before it could react, she twisted her grip and smashed its head to pieces.

Lucian dashed in right behind her, his sword flashed as he slashed through another golem’s rocky torso. Frost spread from his blade, creeping over the stone creature’s body, weakening its movements.

With a swift second strike, he shattered its frozen form into chunks of rubble.

And Astra who saw the scene couldn’t help but proclaim.

"Let me show you, my great mahika!" He grinned, sparks crackling around his fingers. Lightning surged through his arm as he prepared to strike. "HA HA HA, I will shatter you!"

Yet it seems Lucian and the rest weren’t impressed. "Dont use lightning!"

Alas, Astra seems to be lost in his own world, didn’t bother to listen to their warning.

Then—

A foot stomped down on his boot.

Causing Astra to miss his attack and stumble on the ground.

Bump!

Astra yelped. "The hell?!"

Elijah, still stepping on his foot, looked completely annoyed. "Are you stupid?"

Aster blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Do you even know how golems work?" Elijah sighed, exasperated. "They’re made of metal and rock. What does lightning do when it hits these golems?"

"Uh..."

"It strengthens them, dumbass."

"..."

The battle had ended, leaving behind nothing but shattered rock and dust. Quaso wiped the sweat from her brow and let out an impressed whistle.

"That’s impressive, Lucy-chi!" She grinned, resting her hammer on her shoulder. "That swordplay was clean!"

"Lucy...chi?" Lucian, who was sheathing his blade, raised an eyebrow. "It was nothing special."

"Nothing special?!" Quaso gasped, nudging Elijah. "Did you see that? He froze a golem mid-attack and then sliced right through it like it was butter! So cool!"

Meanwhile, off to the side, Astra stood stiffly, his eye twitching, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.

It was then that Elijah, noticed his expression. A slow smirk crept onto his face.

"I know, right? It’s awesome," Elijah said, fully agreeing with Quaso’s praise. Then, with a dramatic clap of his hands, he added, "I think we should make Lucian our leader instead."

Astra flinched. "What?"

"Eh? Is it fine though?" Quaso tilted her head. "Didn’t we agree our leader would be Astra?"

"Of course it’s fine! Lucian’s an S-rank student, after all. Not only that, but he’s been carrying us this whole time."

Lucian awkwardly ruffled his hair, looking visibly uncomfortable. "It was nothing, really... and I don’t think I’d be a good leader."

"You should be a leader!" Quaso insisted. She turned with sparkles in her eyes. "Right, Victor-chi?"

Victoria simply nodded without saying a word.

"Then it’s decided! Lucian will be our leader now!"

Astra’s hands trembled at his sides, his teeth grinding together as he stared daggers at Lucian. His entire face twisted in jealousy and frustration.

"That should be my position..." he muttered under his breath, voice laced with pure resentment.

Elijah glanced at Astra and had to physically hold back a laugh.

’I thought this team will be boring but...’

’I guess not.’

’Was it you?’

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