SSS Awakening: Conquering Worlds with My Cupid System

Argent Heights...

Several kilometers away, the Argent Heights team was moving through the Blackridge Expanse.

Unlike Valecrest, they had entered the competition prepared.

Their armor was black and gold, sleek enough to preserve mobility while still providing substantial protection. Their academy crest was displayed prominently on their chests, glowing in the light like a beacon announcing their presence.

They moved in formation with no unnecessary talking, no wandering, and no reckless behavior. At the center of the formation walked their leader, a tall young man with short silver hair and sharp grey eyes.

His name was Leonard Voss. He was the highest-ranked student participating from Argent Heights, and he was already annoyed.

"Stop."

The entire team immediately halted. Leonard raised one hand, and everyone became silent. It wasn’t like they were talking in the first place, but man’s gotta do something to aura farm... to the trees.

A girl beside him crouched and touched the ground.

"What is it?"

"Tracks."

She studied the soil.

"Monster?"

Leonard shook his head, his nose widening and closing slightly as he sniffed the air.

"No." He pointed toward a broken branch. "Human."

Another student stepped forward.

"How recent?"

"Very."

Leonard looked around.

The Blackridge Expanse was supposed to be a competition zone. That meant every academy was potentially an enemy, not because they were required to fight, but because their objectives overlapped.

Argent Heights had been assigned an objective that sounded simple on paper. They were to secure the highest concentration of monster cores within the eastern sector and deliver them to the designated extraction point.

But there was a problem. The problem? The eastern sector contained one of the largest monster territories in Blackridge, and several other academies would inevitably pass through it. Leonard pulled out a small map.

"We’re approximately four kilometers from the eastern territory."

A girl with short red hair looked at the map.

"Then why did we stop?"

Leonard looked toward the trees.

"Because we’re being watched."

Everyone immediately became alert.

"What?"

Leonard didn’t answer. He could feel it and smell it. Something was wrong. The forest was too quiet. There were no birds or even insects, and even the occasional monster noises had disappeared. A student slowly reached for his weapon.

"Could it be another academy?"

"Possibly."

"Which one?"

Leonard’s expression tightened.

"We don’t know."

A young woman with long blonde hair stepped forward.

"Should we engage?"

"No." Leonard shook his head. "Not yet."

He raised his hand, and everyone lowered their weapons.

"We weren’t given an elimination objective."

"Then why are we being cautious?"

"Because the people we’re facing may not care about the rules."

Leonard’s eyes narrowed.

The tournament had been designed to encourage competition, but everyone knew how these things worked. Only a fool would do things recklessly, or someone worse than a fool would act foolishly.

Academies had reputations, students had rivalries, even in the same academy, families had grudges, and some people would do almost anything to win.

"Keep moving."

The formation resumed.

They moved deeper into the forest, but none of them noticed the thin strand of pink light stretched across a tree branch several hundred meters away. It wasn’t as if they could even see it if they tried. They were dealing with a monster.

***

Silas opened his eyes. They glowed faintly for a few seconds before they returned to normal. The others who were watching, even Damien, couldn’t help but be awed by their beauty, but he ignored everyone. There were other matters to focus on.

The image produced by his threads became clearer. There were eleven people in armor with weapons, and a very solid formation. Everything appeared in his mind. He could even distinguish the person leading them.

"Eleven."

Neil looked at him.

"Argent Heights?"

"Yep."

"How far?"

"About three kilometers."

Damien frowned.

"That’s close."

"Very."

Alpha adjusted the strap of his greatsword.

"What are they doing?"

"Moving toward the same objective."

"The Observatory?"

Silas nodded. "Their route will intersect ours."

Chloe looked at him.

"Do we avoid them?"

Silas considered it. For a moment, he said nothing, but then he smiled. Everyone immediately knew his answer.

"No."

Damien immediately frowned.

"Why?"

"Because we’re going the same way."

"So?"

"So..." Silas shrugged. "We’re going the same way."

Damien stared at him.

"That’s your entire reason?"

"Yes."

"You’re insane."

"Probably."

"What do you intend to do?" Neil stepped forward and asked. He could tell that Silas had a plan.

Silas looked toward the distant forest.

"Nothing."

Everyone stared at him.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." He turned around. "We aren’t here to fight Argent Heights."

Damien’s expression relaxed slightly.

"Good."

"But..." Silas smiled. "If they attack us, we’ll respond."

The group nodded. That was reasonable. Silas continued walking. However, after only a few steps, he stopped again, and his expression changed. The playful smile disappeared.

"Wait."

Chloe immediately noticed.

"What?"

Silas raised one hand. His threads had detected something else, something much closer. He focused on it, and his perception traveled through the trees. His expression immediately became strange.

"That’s interesting."

Neil looked at him.

"What?"

Silas pointed ahead.

"There are monsters between Argent Heights and us."

"How many?"

Silas smiled.

"Enough."

Damien sighed.

"How many?"

"Thirty-six."

Everyone became serious.

"What rank?" Chloe asked.

Silas’s eyes glowed.

"F to C-Ranks with a B-Rank leader."

Alpha groaned. "Thirty-six?"

Silas nodded.

"And..." He paused. "There are three A-Ranks among them."

Everyone became silent. Damien tightened his grip around his war hammer, while Alicia’s eyes brightened.

"Now that’s interesting."

Alpha stared at Silas as though he had grown sixteen heads.

"HOW THE HELL IS A B-RANK A LEADER IF THERE ARE A-RANKS?!"

Silas looked toward Alicia, completely ignoring Alpha’s outburst, which had probably gained the monsters’ attention.

"You really are a battle maniac."

Alicia smiled.

"You say that like it’s a bad thing."

"It isn’t."

Silas turned toward the forest, still ignoring the fuming Alpha. His threads had already mapped the entire area. The monsters were moving toward Argent Heights.

If Argent Heights encountered them first, they would be forced into a battle. If Valecrest reached the area first...

Silas smiled.

"Change of plans."

Neil frowned.

"What are we doing?"

Silas pointed forward.

"We’re going to get there first."

Damien raised an eyebrow.

"To help them?"

Silas shook his head.

"No."

"Then?"

Silas’s grin widened.

"We’re going to steal their monster cores."

Everyone stared at him in shock, but then they realized that there was nothing to be shocked about. Silas was still Silas. Pinky was still Pinky. S-Rank or not, he was still the pink-haired menace of Valecrest.

Alpha slowly covered his face.

"Here we go."

Chloe sighed.

"Silas."

"What?"

"That’s technically interfering with their objective."

"I know."

"That’s allowed?"

Silas shrugged.

"The organizers said the objectives overlap." He started walking. "They knew this would happen."

Damien’s lips curled into a disdainful smile.

"So you’re finally taking this tournament seriously."

Silas glanced over his shoulder.

"No." He smiled. "I’m having fun."

Somewhere ahead, thirty-six monsters were moving through the forest, and between them and their next objective stood two academies that were about to discover just how chaotic the Inter-Academy Selection Tournament could become.

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