*Kevin's POV

Wheatbread is the worst. Not because I’m arrogant enough to say so, but because that’s just the reality. Usually, we would sneak into the Republic every month to buy groceries. However, since the Republic strengthened its protective magic, our access has been completely cut off. Since then, the Director has instructed us to make our food with what we have. Unfortunately, all we have is wheat and a few leftover eggs. Even though the Director has taught us how to make use of these ingredients, most of the Weavers here lack any talent in cooking. With the available ingredients, we can only make whole wheat bread with carbohydrates as our only source of nutrition. We aren't starving, but it won’t be long before we all suffer from malnutrition.

I know things have been complicated lately. Orion has conquered Minerva, and it's only a matter of time before that kingdom is completely wiped out. Strangely, the four remaining great kingdoms aren’t taking any action. They chose to remain silent, just like the Republic. They strengthened their protective magic and closed all access to transportation portals. Although it sounds selfish, I somewhat understand why they chose to do that. Honestly, compared to risking everything to help Minerva, it makes more sense to prepare for the upcoming war.

But I think they all forgot why Minerva became so important in the first place. If Minerva falls, what they’re trying to protect won’t mean anything.

The sky was starting to darken as I stepped outside. The rain had also stopped. All the Weavers had gathered in the main field, ready for the war simulation. As I expected, I had no choice but to participate in this simulation. I could’ve just ignored them and gone straight to the tent, but Layla would surely get mad tomorrow.

I saw Layla standing among the crowd of Weavers. Alone amidst the noisy conversations and laughter. Her gaze was empty and tired. Layla had always been a daydreamer, which only meant one thing. Something was about to happen, and Layla was figuring out how to minimize its impact.

Like the other Weavers on the field, Layla carried her sword in a magic pouch hanging from her right thigh. Unlike earlier this afternoon, she was now wearing her usual blue clothes to tie her hair. She noticed my arrival and quickly changed her expression to a smile.

"You're not with him?" I asked.

Layla shook her head, "The Director forbade him from joining the war simulation. He said it would be unfair."

On that point, I agreed. With his teleportation ability, he could end the game quickly. But maybe that could also be beneficial. The sooner the game ends, the sooner I can sleep.

"I think the Director is too strict about the rules," I said. Since I arrived in Calmora three years ago, the Director also forbade me from using lightning during this simulation. He also banned me from using my iron staff and gave me a wooden stick instead—though that was enough to hit their heads with wood.

"Your case is different, Kevin."

A whistle blew loudly. A signal for us to gather. That guy, Alex, the oldest among the other kids, with an annoying grin on his face, walked to the center of the field. The other kids started to gather around Alex. Once everyone had gathered, Alex observed us all. He yawned and stretched, a ritual he always did before saying something.

"Well, it’s a clear night. A perfect night for a war simulation," Alex muttered half-heartedly, with no enthusiasm in his words. "To strengthen our bond and prepare for the worst-case scenario, this game was created." Alex’s face looked disgusted as he said that.

The other Weavers laughed upon hearing Alex continue to speak. Repeating the Director’s words as a boring introduction. For now, I also felt sorry for Alex. I was sure the Director begged him to say all those words. But part of me was quite pleased to see it. As a Wind Weaver, Alex was quite strong, but just because he was the oldest didn’t mean he deserved to act as a leader.

"We support you, Alex!" A Weaver shouted from the back of the crowd, causing everyone to laugh.

Alex's face turned red. "Forget it." Then he clapped his hands, creating a gentle breeze around, making the previously noisy crowd fall silent again. "Well, you know the rules! Layla, can you help me?"

Upon Alex's call, Layla walked toward Alex and stood beside him. Since Layla told Alex six months ago that she could help him divide the teams for the game, Alex had always taken advantage of Layla's magic abilities. Something too trivial, in my opinion. Using blood as a price to randomly divide teams.

Although Layla insisted her magic was not just for that. Layla said she marked each Weaver and implanted another form of magic for them. Besides dividing the teams, the magic also served to transfer all attack wounds into the cloth tied to our arms. Each attack would cause the cloth to dissolve, and anyone whose cloth was completely gone in the game would be considered defeated and immediately transferred to the training area in the main field.

"Please divide them into two random teams. Mark them with different colors on their arm cloths," said Alex, crossing his arms.

Layla nodded and took a pocket knife from her pants pocket. She cut her left palm with the blade, then extended her hand forward. Slowly, the blood from Layla's hand turned into blue light particles that spread in all directions. Layla then closed her eyes. After a few moments, she suddenly opened her eyes. The cloth on everyone’s arms—which had previously been a similar yellow-green—instantly changed to two different colors: blue and red.

Layla evenly divided all the Weavers here into two teams with different colors. My armcloth was red, while Layla and Alex coincidentally got blue. The crowd became noisy again, asking each other what color they got. Alex also kept shouting amidst the noise, explaining that the red team would start the game from the western forest.

The short meeting in the field was over. Weavers with red arm cloths began walking toward the western forest, complaining. I didn’t leave right away. I was sure Alex deliberately chose the location for the red team in the western forest because he was too lazy to go far. They would start the game from the main field.

Amidst the busy preparations, Layla approached me. Her hands were clenched, and she looked down.

"Well, the Director should have still allowed him to join. He could just forbid him from using that power. It would’ve been fun," I said, even though I knew what her behavior meant.

As far as I knew, Layla was quite mature for her age. However, there were only certain times when Layla showed that expression.

I was tempted to ask what she had seen. In the distance, Alex glared at me, signaling that I should hurry to the western forest to start the game so we could rest soon.

"Kevin..." Layla handed me a magic pouch. "You’re going to need this."

My magic pouch. I had deliberately left it in the bunker since this afternoon because of the Director's ban. But why was Layla giving it to me now?

Layla immediately turned and went back to her group. Leaving me with various bad premonitions in my head.

Something... is going to happen.[]