Chapter 156: Chapter 156 - Reflection on Victory!

The atmosphere across the training grounds gradually settled after the conclusion of the final match.

The earlier excitement that had erupted following Mira’s unexpected victory slowly faded into a quieter and more thoughtful mood as students dispersed into smaller groups scattered throughout the enormous field. Conversations continued in low voices while countless first-years enthusiastically discussed the matches they had witnessed, the strategies they had observed, and the mistakes they had no intention of repeating when their own turns arrived.

Some groups debated tactics.

Others argued over whether Khaira’s approach should even be considered a legitimate strategy.

Several students were still laughing about Eric somehow becoming the centerpiece of an entire match despite spending most of it trying not to become involved.

Meanwhile—

Barrack allowed the students a brief period to recover and reflect upon the exercise.

And within one such cluster—

Damon stood alongside the members of his own party.

The atmosphere surrounding them was noticeably calmer than before.

Mira still appeared slightly overwhelmed by the attention she had received.

Eric looked relieved to have survived.

Vaelith looked insufferably pleased with himself.

And Zarhka remained as composed as ever.

For several moments, nobody spoke.

Eventually—

Damon broke the silence.

His expression remained as cold and unreadable as always while his golden eyes moved across each member of the party.

"The result was acceptable."

The words immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Meanwhile, Eric looked genuinely touched.

"Acceptable?"

He placed a hand over his heart.

"Damon, that’s practically praise coming from you."

Damon ignored him.

Instead, his gaze shifted toward Zarhka.

"You performed well."

The goat beastwoman blinked once.

A compliment from Damon was rare enough that even she looked slightly surprised.

"You maintained awareness of the entire field instead of focusing solely on the ball."

Damon continued calmly.

"Most importantly, you never allowed your attention to be dictated by the opposing team’s actions."

Zarhka nodded slowly.

Meanwhile, Damon continued.

"However."

The goat beastwoman immediately straightened.

"You still trust your instincts more than information."

A slight frown appeared on her face.

Damon noticed it.

"There were three occasions where you changed direction because you felt an opening existed."

His gaze remained steady.

"Twice you were correct."

"Once you weren’t."

Zarhka’s expression gradually became thoughtful.

Damon continued.

"A battlefield rewards correct decisions."

His gaze narrowed slightly.

"It also punishes assumptions."

The beastwoman eventually nodded.

"I understand."

Meanwhile, Damon’s attention shifted toward Mira.

The healer immediately became nervous.

Her shoulders stiffened.

Her hands instinctively clasped together.

"I-I know I made mistakes."

Damon looked at her.

Then nodded.

"You did."

Mira visibly wilted.

Then Damon continued.

"But fewer than expected."

The healer blinked.

"...What?"

Damon remained perfectly serious.

"You listened."

Mira looked surprised.

"When you became uncertain, you asked questions."

His gaze remained calm.

"When you received instructions, you followed them."

The young healer looked increasingly confused.

Meanwhile, Damon continued.

"You also remained calm despite being placed under pressure."

Mira immediately shook her head.

"I wasn’t calm at all."

"You didn’t drop the ball."

The simple statement immediately silenced her.

Because unfortunately—

He was correct.

Meanwhile, Damon continued.

"The flaw."

Mira immediately tensed again.

"Is confidence."

His voice remained matter-of-fact.

"You assume everyone knows more than you."

The healer lowered her head slightly.

Damon continued.

"Sometimes they do."

"Sometimes they don’t."

Mira remained silent.

Then slowly nodded.

Meanwhile—

Eric had somehow started looking nervous.

Because Damon’s attention had finally landed upon him.

The orange-haired boy immediately pointed toward himself.

"Before we begin, I’d just like to state for the record that I was under tremendous emotional pressure."

Nobody responded.

Eric sighed.

"Fine."

Damon looked at him.

For several moments, he said nothing.

Which somehow made Eric even more uncomfortable.

Then—

"You performed better than expected."

Eric froze.

Then looked genuinely shocked.

Then looked around.

Then pointed toward himself.

"Me?"

"Unfortunately."

Vaelith immediately laughed.

Meanwhile, Eric looked offended.

Damon ignored both reactions.

"You panic too quickly."

Eric nodded.

"That’s fair."

"You complain too much."

Eric nodded again.

"Also fair."

"You lack confidence."

Eric sighed.

"Very fair."

Then Damon paused.

"And yet."

Eric blinked.

Damon’s gaze remained steady.

"You never ignored danger."

The orange-haired boy became silent.

"You noticed movement before anyone else."

Damon continued calmly.

"You adjusted your positioning repeatedly."

"You followed instructions immediately."

"And despite panicking throughout the entire match..."

A brief pause followed.

"...you never froze."

For the first time, Eric didn’t immediately respond.

Meanwhile, Damon added one final statement.

"Cowards survive longer than heroes."

The orange-haired boy stared at him.

Then suddenly burst out laughing.

"I don’t know whether that’s encouragement or an insult."

"It was an observation."

Meanwhile, the final member of the party finally received Damon’s attention.

Vaelith.

The elf immediately folded his arms.

"I assume my performance was exceptional."

Eric groaned.

Mira looked embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Zarhka simply looked away.

Damon stared at him.

Then replied.

"It wasn’t."

The elf’s expression immediately cracked.

"What?"

"You possess excellent positioning."

Damon continued.

"You understand spacing."

"You understand angles."

"You understand timing."

Vaelith’s confidence slowly returned.

Then Damon added—

"You also spend too much time trying to look impressive."

The confidence immediately disappeared again.

Several members of the party laughed.

Even Zarhka’s lips twitched slightly.

Meanwhile, Damon remained completely serious.

"You had possession three times."

His gaze narrowed.

"All three times you delayed your decision making because you wanted to create a better play."

The elf immediately opened his mouth.

Then paused.

Then closed it again.

Because unfortunately—

Damon was correct.

The silence that followed felt strangely comfortable.

Meanwhile, Damon looked at the four people standing before him.

A healer.

A coward.

An arrogant elf.

And a disciplined beastwoman.

Not exactly the party he would have chosen.

Yet somehow—

They had worked.

Eventually, Damon placed both hands into his pockets.

"The victory was satisfactory."

His voice remained calm.

"But if this had been a real battle..."

His gaze swept across them.

"...half of you would already be dead."

The group immediately became silent.

Then Eric sighed heavily.

"There he is."

"What?"

"The Damon I know."

Even Mira couldn’t stop herself from laughing this time.

The atmosphere across the training grounds had become considerably more relaxed after the conclusion of the matches.

Students remained gathered in dozens of small groups scattered throughout the enormous field while discussions continued in every direction. Some debated strategies they had witnessed. Others argued over individual performances. A few students were already trying to convince themselves that they would have performed significantly better if given another opportunity.

Meanwhile—

Damon’s party had gradually begun dispersing after their discussion.

Mira looked deep in thought as she reflected upon his advice.

Vaelith appeared deeply offended that his flaws had been identified so accurately.

Zarhka remained calm as always.

And Eric had somehow begun boasting about his contribution to the victory despite spending most of the match screaming.

Unfortunately—

Their moment of peace didn’t last long.

Because a familiar voice suddenly exploded across the training grounds.

"DAMON!"

Several nearby students immediately turned.

Meanwhile, Damon simply closed his eyes.

A brief sigh escaped him.

Then—

Khaira arrived.

The beastwoman practically marched across the training grounds like an invading army while several members of her party followed behind her with visibly exhausted expressions.

The poor students looked less like teammates and more like survivors.

One appeared emotionally drained.

Another looked physically drained.

The third looked both.

Meanwhile, Khaira herself looked perfectly energetic.

As usual.

Her burning horns flickered brightly while her tail swayed excitedly behind her.

The moment she arrived before Damon, she pointed dramatically toward him.

"ANOTHER GAME!"

The declaration immediately drew attention from nearby students.

Several of them instantly became interested.

Meanwhile, Khaira continued.

"Yer party against mine!"

Her grin widened.

"This time I’ll crush ya!"

The members of her party collectively lowered their heads.

Because none of them wanted another game.

Not even slightly.

Meanwhile, Damon stared at her for several moments.

His expression remained completely blank.

Then—

He turned around.

And started walking away.

Just like that.

No response.

No argument.

No explanation.

Nothing.

The training grounds became strangely silent.

Khaira blinked.

Then blinked again.

The beastwoman looked genuinely confused.

Meanwhile, Damon continued walking.

Not faster.

Not slower.

Simply walking away.

As though nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, the remaining members of his party looked between Khaira and Damon.

Then at each other.

Then back at Khaira.

An awkward silence followed.

Eventually—

Zarhka gave a small nod.

Then turned around and followed Damon.

Mira hesitated.

Opened her mouth.

Closed it again.

Then awkwardly followed after Zarhka.

Meanwhile, Vaelith looked at Khaira.

Then looked toward Damon.

Then released a long sigh.

"The man has spoken."

With that cryptic statement, he too walked away.

Leaving only Eric behind.

Khaira stared at the retreating figures.

For several moments she simply stood there.

Then her eyes slowly widened.

"W-Wait."

Her tail froze.

"WAIT!"

The realization finally arrived.

"HE’S IGNORIN’ ME?!"

The outrage in her voice immediately attracted even more attention.

Meanwhile, Damon continued walking without even looking back.

Khaira pointed toward his back in complete disbelief.

"OI!"

Still no reaction.

The beastwoman looked utterly betrayed.

"OI!"

Nothing.

Meanwhile, several students nearby were desperately trying not to laugh.

Because watching someone ignore Khaira required a level of courage rarely seen within Crownspire Academy.

The beastwoman eventually turned toward Eric.

Surely—

Surely somebody would explain this.

Meanwhile, Eric looked at the members of Khaira’s party.

Then looked at Khaira.

Then looked back at her party.

A profound expression of sympathy slowly appeared upon his face.

The kind normally reserved for tragedy.

The orange-haired boy placed a hand upon one student’s shoulder.

"It must be tough."

The student immediately looked emotional.

Another nodded unconsciously.

A third appeared moments away from crying.

Meanwhile—

Khaira’s eye twitched.

"What does that mean?"

Eric sighed deeply.

"The burden you carry."

The students behind Khaira immediately lowered their heads.

The sympathy somehow felt genuine.

Khaira’s second eye twitched.

"What burden?"

Eric looked at her.

Then looked at her teammates.

Then looked back at her.

"The burden of being her teammates."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The training grounds froze.

Even the wind seemed to stop.

Meanwhile, Khaira stared at him.

Eric stared back.

Then realization slowly appeared on his face.

"Oh."

A pause followed.

Then another.

Then—

"RUN."

The single word escaped his mouth.

Immediately afterward, Eric turned around and sprinted with every ounce of speed his body could produce.

Meanwhile—

Khaira exploded.

"ERIC!"

The roar echoed throughout the training grounds.

Students immediately scattered.

Several first-years wisely moved out of the way.

Meanwhile, the beastwoman charged after him like an enraged natural disaster.

"GET BACK HERE!"

"I DIDN’T MEAN IT!"

"THAT MAKES IT WORSE!"

"HAAAAALP!"

Eric’s terrified screams echoed throughout the academy while Khaira pursued him relentlessly across the training grounds.

Meanwhile—

Far ahead—

Damon glanced over his shoulder exactly once.

Observed the spectacle.

Then calmly continued walking.

As though this outcome had been inevitable from the very beginning.