Conquering The Novel

Beep— Beep— Beep

The audience held their breath as the three beeps sounded, indicating that three teams had completed Match 2: The Brain Brawl Challenge with only a matter of seconds difference.

They eagerly speculated which team had finished first, some arguing for Soreh Academy, others for Shadow Academy. But before they could reach a consensus, a voice cut through the chatter.

"You're all wrong," a bespectacled man interjected, raising his glasses for emphasis. "There is no doubt that the winner of Match 2 is none other than Team Cherry Blossom."

The crowd erupted into surprised murmurs as they processed the unexpected news. The Cherry Blossom team had flown under the radar throughout the challenge, with many dismissing them as unlikely contenders.

As the anticipation mounted, the judges took the stage to officially announce the results. The audience held their breath once again, waiting for the verdict.

"And the Winner of the Round 2: The Brain Brawl Challenge is..."

***

After completing the final round, Ayla and her team were instantly teleported back to the real world. With a flicker, the VR simulation ended, and they began to remove their gear.

"...It was us who had completed the final round first, right?" Marcus asked, unsure.

While everyone else had an unsure expression as well because they had no idea which team was the one who had completed round 5 first.

"We'll find out soon enough," Ayla shrugged and said as she exited their VR room while Emma shook her head and quickly followed behind her.

As they exited their VR room, they were greeted by the students from Shadow and Cherry Blossom Academy. They all wore anxious expressions, clearly waiting for the results of the match.

However, Ayla's gaze turned to the leader of the team Cherry Blossom Academy who had led this Match 2.

"Did she say her name was Alia? I wonder how she pulled that off," Ayla muttered.

She couldn't help but wonder how Alia managed to pull off the final round in just five minutes.

Their team arrived at Round 5 when there were only 5 minutes left, and figuring out what artifact it was, its purpose, and activating it in less than 5 minutes was impossible...at least for them.

Swish!

Suddenly, the door of the remaining VR rooms opened, and the other teams stepped out with looks of disappointment. They saw the three teams already standing in the hall before them, and the envy in their gazes was discernible.

Clap—Clap—

The sound of clapping drew everyone's attention, and they turned to see the white-haired, crazy professor with a huge grin on her face, clearly excited to announce the results of the match.

"Welcome, welcome, my dear students! I must say that I am absolutely thrilled with how well you all performed in Match 2!" the professor exclaimed.

"But who won?!" a student from Shadow Academy asked impatiently.

"Oh, yes, that is the question, isn't it? The team that won Match 2 is..." the professor paused for dramatic effect.

"Ahhh! What an exciting match that was. Not one, but three teams were able to complete the Brain Brawl Challenge!" Professor exclaimed suddenly, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"...."

The students in the hall eagerly awaited the results, but this crazy professor seemed to be more focused on her own enjoyment.

"Maya enjoyed it a lot!" she declared, pointing to herself.

The students exchanged glances and remained silent, waiting for her to announce the winner of the match.

"Come on, guys! Don't be so boring," Professor Maya huffed, clicking her tongue and puffing her cheeks in annoyance.

Suddenly, she turned to Emma, who had been a standout performer in the match, and appeared in front of her in an instant.

"I knew I could count on you, Emma! You were great out there," Maya said, clasping her hands together.

Emma blushed, feeling flattered by the compliment. "T-Thank you, Professor Maya. B-But I couldn't have done it without my teammates," she replied humbly.

Maya's smile slowly faded, and she released Emma's hands. She was clearly displeased by the response and the timid behavior that followed.

"I ...see," Maya said coolly, regaining her composure. "Let's get back to the task at hand. As you all know, three teams have completed all five rounds of Match 2.

However, to my disappointment, the match was not a tie, and there is a minimal time difference between all three teams," Maya announced, her voice carrying a tinge of disappointment.

[MATCH 2: THE BRAIN BRAWL CHALLENGE HAS NOW OFFICIALLY ENDED!]

[YOU CAN NOW CHECK THE POINTS TABLE!]

As the announcement of the end of the match was made, the points table for the match appeared on the screen in the VR room. The students looked at the points table, and there was a brief moment of silence as they examined the results.

[MATCH 2: POINTS TABLE!]

#1 CHERRY BLOSSOM ACADEMY — 21 POINTS

#2 SHADOW ACADEMY — 18 POINTS

#3 SOREH ACADEMY — 18 POINTS

#4 MARTIAL STAR ACADEMY — 10 POINTS

#5 GLACIER PEAK ACADEMY — 10 POINTS

#6 THE ROYAL KNIGHT ACADEMY — 10 POINTS

#7 THE BLITZEIRG ACADEMY — 10 POINTS

#8 THE IRON FORTRESS ACADEMY — 6 POINTS

---

The top three teams were the only ones who had completed all five rounds, with Cherry Blossom Academy securing the first place, followed by Shadow Academy and Soreh Academy sharing the second place.

The rest of the academies had only completed four rounds, giving them ten points, except for the Iron Fortress Academy, whose team seemed to have completed only three rounds, hence their six points.

"Can we see the time difference between the top three teams?" the student leading the Shadow Academy asked.

"Sure, why not?" Maya said, clicking a button to reveal the time taken by each team to complete the challenge.

[TIME TAKEN BY THE TEAMS THAT COMPLETED THE MATCH: 2!]

#1 CHERRY BLOSSOM ACADEMY - 59:00.0

#2 SHADOW ACADEMY - 59:00.3

#3 SOREH ACADEMY - 59:00.4

***

!?

The top three teams completed the match in exactly the same time of 59 minutes, with only a 0.4-second difference separating Soreh Academy from Cherry Blossom Academy.

It was a close call, but Cherry Blossom Academy emerged victorious due to their slightly faster time.

The students in the room let out a collective gasp as they saw the points table.

"Well, it seems like we have a clear winner for Match 2 - Cherry Blossom Academy with a huge 0.3 seconds difference from the 2nd team!" Maya announced, her voice filled with excitement.

The Cherry Blossom team erupted in cheers while the other teams watched with bitter expressions.

"Congratulations to all the team members of the Cherry Blossom Team, and a special shoutout to our top three teams for completing all the rounds. You all were not that bad as well!" Maya congratulated the winning team with a smile, but her tone was cold towards the others.

"...."

One of the students from Iron Fortress Academy raised his hand. "I thought the team who wins the match will get 20 points, but I can see they have 21 points. Can I ask why?" he inquired.

Maya's expression turned disdainful. "That single point won't affect your team's position, which is bottom of the table. So don't worry about it, Okay? Shoo!" She waved the students off dismissively, as if asking them to leave the VR room.

"...I am curious about that as well," Alia spoke up suddenly.

Maya turned her attention towards Alia, her expression softening. "Oh, the extra point was given to the top three teams because they completed the challenge in less than an hour," she explained with a smile.

"I see," Alia nodded understandingly.

While the rest of the students just stared at Maya, seeing her change in demeanor toward the winning team.

"...."

Meanwhile, Ayla just shook her head in disappointment and began to leave the VR Hall, followed by her teammates.

"...Ares won't be happy with this," Ayla muttered to herself, and when the team overheard her, they became anxious.

They knew that they had done everything they could to get the top spot, but they were still afraid that Ares would be angry and disappointed in them. The thought weighed heavily on their minds as they made their way back to the meeting room where the rest of their team is waiting for them.

***

[And the Winner of the Round 2: The Brain Brawl Challenge is...TEAM CHERRY BLOSSOM ACADEMY!]

The cheers of Cherry Blossom Academy's supporters echoed throughout the arena as the announcer declared them as the winners of Match 2. The other teams looked disappointed, but they still had a chance to catch up in the overall points table.

"Let's take a look at the combined points table after Match 2," the announcer said as he gestured toward the screen. The audience turned their attention to the giant scoreboard as the numbers updated.

[POINTS TABLE!]

#1 SOREH ACADEMY — 35 Points: Wins×1

#2 SHADOW ACADEMY — 25 Points

#3 CHERRY BLOSSOM ACADEMY — 24 Points: Wins×1

#4 MARTIAL STAR ACADEMY — 14 Points

#5 GLACIER PEAK ACADEMY — 14 Points

#6 THE ROYAL KNIGHT ACADEMY — 13 Points

#7 THE BLITZEIRG ACADEMY — 12 Points

#8 THE IRON FORTRESS ACADEMY — 7 Points

***

"Congratulations, Soreh Academy, for maintaining your lead with a total of 35 points," the announcer boomed as the audience cheered in approval. "But don't get too comfortable just yet, as there are still several matches left to come, and any team can turn the tables on the points table. It's important for all teams to stay focused and work hard in the upcoming matches."

"Moving on, we have one more match left for today after lunch. But before we break for food, let's find out what's in store for Match 3," he announced, pausing for a dramatic effect. "Let's spin the roulette!"

Tick, tick, tick, tick... the sound of the spinning roulette filled the air, as the crowd watched in anticipation, wondering what the next challenge would be.