Peter and Regina were lying in each other's arms, with him avoiding the conversation. She wanted him to Warp her to the village for a proper bath, sure that the lioness would be delighted to help a fellow damsel in need of hot water. He pretended he wanted to prolong the cuddling, which was true, hoping she'd forget her plan, fall asleep, and settle for the camp's cold showers the next morning.

  And all of a sudden, the trumpet sounded the alarm.

  "What the fuck," he mumbled.

  "Everybody, come outside," Alchemy shouted. "Now." It took about five minutes for all students to emerge from their tents, and then she went on: "We were given an ultimatum by Auszeal. We have an hour to surrender."

  "But it's a free day," a student shouted.

  "It expired at midnight," Alchemy answered. "I'm asking for a vote. Do we fight, or do we surrender?"

  "They want to fight at night?" Jack wailed, rubbing both his eyes with his fists and wobbling on his feet. "But how can we sleep if we fight?"

  "It's morning in their time zone," somebody else said.

  "I say we fight," Kostel shouted. "Who's with me?"

  "Let's fight," a boy yelled, and the camp was overwhelmed with enthusiasm and pumped fists.

  "This time, we take the fight to them," Melinda yelled. "Prepare for a sortie. We’ll attack them from the back when they make their move. I will give my orders to Yalevard to resist the first charge."

  "She should put on some less revealing underwear," Ariana commented as Alchemy rose in the air wearing her night robe that left little to the imagination. Yet many students sighed in awe.

  "I don't like the sortie plan," Daniel said. "It's hard to see in the dark."

  "Looks like we don't have a choice," Jack said.

  Peter pulled Regina apart, speaking in her ear. "When combat starts, we should move away."

  "I'm not afraid of fighting," she said, her eyes proud.

  "To spy from the rear and attack where it matters, without being noticed," he said. “The same thing, but we’ll attack another back from the back Melinda attacks.”

  "Like badasses!" her eyes glinted.

  When the hour came, a small shock team exited through the rear of the base to attack the enemy's flank while the rest took the assigned positions. The three moons lighted the land well, and there were no clouds. Peter transported himself and Regina to a taller hill, closer to the rivals.

  Spiders appeared from the Oceanians' camp. Hundreds, then thousands, a sea of monsters. It sent a shiver up Peter's spine.

  "They're so many!" Regina gasped. After the spiders came the muscular warriors, then the Chinese Tiger Mothers and their cubs. The enemy was throwing everything at them. At Melinda’s orders, Yalevard, their vassals for the week, advanced to meet the incoming army, flamethrowers every fifty feet, to deal with the spiders.

  Yet, the attackers stopped a couple hundred yards before making contact when trumpets sounded a short signal, then retreated.

  "I’ll go spy," Peter told Regina, entered Stealth, and Warped near a group of what looked like Auszeal leaders.

  "The Japanese are and are moving on us," a scout shouted. "Ten minutes away."

  "Plan B," a teacher ordered. "We need bows and heavy armor. Message Jim to forget the Bulgarians and go for Oxford’s flag. We'll order them to assist us against Japan."

  Peter returned to Regina and let her know what he had found. "Team Japan will attack Auszeal, and they sent someone to steal Oxford’s flag to counter it.”

  “We need to tell Alchemy," she said. “Let’s hurry.”

  Five minutes later, they found the headmistress organizing things in Yalevard’s camp. "We went out scouting on our own initiative and found out the Japanese are coming after the Auszeals," Regina said in one breath.

  "That's good," a military officer from Yalevard's security said. "We're better prepared against them."

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  "What do you mean, Sir?" Peter asked.

  "The Japanese have a mobile camp, all on wheels. Huge all-terrains. We have anti-tank trenches; the Aussies don't. They weaken each other, and we take care of the rest."

  So that's why they need Oxford…

  "Well done. I’ll tell everyone we cancel the sortie and play defense again," Melinda said.

  “And—” Peter was about to tell Alchemy about the Oxford flag, but Regina pulled him by the hand.

  “You were saying?” the teacher asked.

  “Nothing,” Regina said. “May we be excused?”

  “Good job,” Melinda waved her hand, dismissing them and returning her attention to the officers.

  A few seconds later, when they were a little farther, Regina whispered in Peter’s ear: “What if we let Auzland whatever steal the flag first, and then we steal it for ourselves afterward?”

  “You’re a wicked girl,” he kissed her. “Ready to move?” After she nodded her approval, he took Regina by the hand and Warped toward Oxford's castle, choosing a low hill as a stopping point. He had kept up his HUD to check on his Mana. It was a bit over sixty percent.

  

  "Yes, Mother," Peter sneered, enhancing his sight, scrutinizing the fortress for a minute, and then telling Regina. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary."

  "You don't? But the castle is so big!... Joking… Aha! Look there! It’s only one guy, hidden in a thicket below us. He's guiding two spiders to steal the flag." Regina pointed her hands at a pair of cat-sized spiders climbing very fast.

  The flag was atop the main tower, but the critters reached it in minutes. Chewing the rope, the monsters detached the flag and carried it away without raising any alarm. One slipped and crashed on the ground, but the second survived and took over the fabric.

  To the beastmaster’s surprise, the creature didn’t return to him but began running obliquely toward the hill. Distressed, the Auszealander tried to use a whistle to order the spider, but for naughts.

  “The pet is going rogue,” Peter said.

  Regina giggled, touching his hand and showing Peter a straw doll representing a spider adorned with disgusting black hair tuffs. “Redroar taught me how to make straw dolls in under a minute. The hair is from the dissected spider captured yesterday.”

  “Wow! You can tame monsters now?” Peter exclaimed in awe.

  “No, I can crush their mind and control them using voodoo dolls if they’re low in tier and Intelligence,” Regina said. “We must hurry to return; that thing would die within a minute.”

  “So what?” Peter asked. Meanwhile, the spider had reached them, trembling and waiting for orders. “We just take the flag.”

  

  “Oh, I get it!” Peter exclaimed.

  “Who’s there?” the beastmaster yelled. The student was now less than a hundred feet away, but the trees blocked his vision.

  Peter touched the monster with his boot, grabbed Regina’s hand, and Warped back to the back of their camp in two jumps. The spider tried to walk inside but jerked and died, curving into a ball. Cursing under his breath, Peter picked the body and the flag and threw them over the wooden palisade like a ball.

  "Qi-message. Team Dartmouth has captured Oxford's flag. Team Oxford will follow Team Dartmouth's orders for the game's duration."

  “Congrats," Peter kissed Regina.

   the System said.

  The couple discreetly went through the camp, which was easy as everybody looked at the dead spider. Many offered explanations, but the evidence was clear.

  "A beastmaster made it steal the flag, but it became disoriented," Melinda said, appearing near the central tent. “Our luck.”

  Meanwhile, Peter and Regina were peeking over the northern wall and the battle between team Tokyo and Auszeal. The Japanese vehicles were twenty feet tall, with wheels reaching half that. They had the upper hand, slowly going onward, shooting flames and rubber bullets. They had already breached the outer perimeter.

  The next message was not a surprise. "Qi-message. Team Japan has captured Team Australia-New Zealand's flag and camp. Team Australia-New Zealand will obey Team Japan's orders for the rest of the game."

   the System explained, albeit Peter had already figured it out himself.

  "Get back in position," Alchemy yelled, and people started to run around, preparing for the next round. "We can do it. We're fresher. Someone goes to Oxford and tells them to attack them from the rear."

  A pair of scouts ran away, and ten more minutes passed in preparation. The enemy seemed to hesitate. The reinforcements they counted on by conquering the Oceania and China flags were few; many students were counted out due to the previous battle. If Peter had been in charge of the Tokyo faction, he would have mounted a defense, waiting for the next opportunity and the counter to reset.

  However, horns honked, and the all-terrain vehicles started turning around and preparing for the next attack. Then, the horns turned into sinister gurgles, like somebody shoved the trumpet on the trumpeter’s throat.

  "Oh my God!" a girl shouted, pointing. "Look!"

  Peter and Regina ran to the ramparts, elbowing their way through the crowd. From behind the former Auszeal base, the haze had begun to rise and advance, accelerating like a hungry wolf, covering the entire area in seconds. Screams started to be heard, one, two, dozens, hundreds. Giant tentacles emerged from the fog, wrapping themselves around the all-terrain trucks. Sick crunching and chewing sounds reached everybody's ears, even at that distance.

  "Prepare to abandon camp!" Melinda screamed. "Leave the luggage behind. Don't let the fog touch you!"

  "What's that?" Jack yelled.

  "Your worst nightmare!" Alchemy yelled again. "Move or die!"

  "Look," Peter yelled, pointing. “The fog has stopped.”

  Indeed, the sea of haze was now receding. In its wake, it revealed countless dead spiders and Japanese vehicles turned upside down. The students inside were alive and screaming their lungs out to prove it.

  "Qi-Message. Team Kalimantan has captured Team Japan's flag. The first edition of interschool games has concluded. First place: Team Kalimantan, with three directly captured flags and two indirectly, scoring four points. Second Place: Team Dartmouth, with three flags and points. Third place: Team Bulgaria, with their flag still standing. The winners will receive one golden qi-pill for each competitor, the second and third place silver and bronze qi-pill. They will be allowed to remain in place and farm the local resources for the rest of the week, keeping the profits. The High Council thanks you for participating."