*Kevin's POV

The rules of the game were simple. We just had to defeat the randomly chosen King of the opposing team. Regularly, the Earth Weavers on each team would construct several layers of walls as protective fortresses at their chosen locations. The goal was to protect the King during the game. Another rule for the Kings was that they couldn't enter the enemy's fortress territory. If they did, the King who entered the enemy's fortress would be considered to have surrendered, and the game would end.

I thought the red team’s fortress was rather pathetic. After walking for ten minutes into the forest with diminishing light and increasingly heavy, muddy shoes, we stopped in a spacious area with trees spaced far apart, large roots jutting out, and of course, muddy ground with a few puddles. Given the 30 minutes allowed for preparation, of which we had already used 10 minutes walking, the Earth Weavers immediately erected a 3-meter-high wall surrounding the area. I also suggested digging a moat behind the wall and setting traps on the path leading to the fortress. We built small watchtowers and a bunker to protect the King.

"Who’s the King?" Asked a Weaver whose name I didn’t know.

He was right; another ten minutes were wasted just building the fortress. We hadn’t even discussed strategy. I noticed they were all looking at me.

“Not this time, seriously,” I remembered the last time I was King; it was pretty bad. I got so bored that I wandered far from the fortress into the enemy area, causing the cloth on my arm to disappear and ending the game.

Some of the Weavers looking at me sighed in relief.

"Well, it could be any of us," said a guy with uneven hair and round brown eyes. "It would be better if they told us, but if no one admits it, maybe we could choose a decoy King."

I knew that guy. His name was Barton, an Earth Weaver. I remembered him because he was always with his younger brother, Carter, the youngest Weaver in Calmora. They arrived a year ago and blended in quite well.

“The risk is too great, Barton,” said a girl with dark red eyes and brownish spots on her face. “Whoever the King is, they could wander off and make us lose.”

She said the last sentence while looking at me. I remembered this girl. Her name was Wanda, a Fire Weaver. The last time I was King, she was on my team. I still remember her confused face. She didn’t say a word, but I could hear her asking, "What am I doing here?"

"Who do you think the King is on the other team?" asked Julian—I remembered him because his face was ugly and dumb.

“Must be Alex,” I replied, causing them all to look at me again. “I mean, whoever the King is, Alex will be leading them.”

“We're not discussing personal issues, Kevin,” Wanda scolded. 

I raised my right hand to her. “My bad, sorry.” Anything to avoid arguing with a Fire Weaver.

“Well, let’s divide into groups first,” Barton decided. “Who wants to be on the attack team?”

Before I could raise my hand, almost all the Weavers wanted to be on the attack team—even Carter eagerly raised his hand. I covered my mouth with my hand to hide a smile. Of course, everyone wanted to be on the attack team. Who's the stupid person who wants to wait in a boring, isolated place to be attacked?

Barton frowned, not just because his brother seemed odd. “Maybe it’s better if the attack team is just a few people.”

“You're right,” I said. “I know Alex’s plan. He’ll send a lot of people into the forest to end the game quickly. So, the battle will be focused in the forest. We can sneak through and bypass them to reach the lightly guarded fortress.”

“I like that plan,” said Julian, which strangely annoyed me.

“Kevin, you should stay at the fortress,” Wanda said quietly.

I was tempted to refuse and insult her combat skills, perhaps bluntly saying they looked more like a group of teenagers planning to steal fruit from the market than soldiers about to fight. “Yeah, that’s a good idea, I guess. I can’t use Lightning, and my close combat skills are bad. It’d be good if I stayed at the fortress. Throwing rocks at them while you guys get surrounded out there and do heroic acts.”

No one seemed pleased with my comment, even though I was sure I said it sincerely.

The siren sounded in the distance as the last rays of the sun disappeared, signaling that time was up and the game had begun just after sunset. Barton quickly appointed fifty people as the attack team after ensuring they weren’t the King. Unfortunately, that idiot Julian was also chosen. I started to understand their friendship choices. Quite unfortunate.

Five brief minutes passed without notice after Barton and Wanda, along with the attacking team, discussed briefly and rushed out to head to the main field. They left dozens of Weavers inside the fortress, clueless about what to protect.

I sat leaning against the empty bunker wall, watching other Weavers guarding the fortress edges. The bored Fire Weavers played with the flames from torches, occasionally teasing the Air Weavers who stared blankly upwards. On the bright side, this fortress was too pathetic to be called a fortress and would be very easy to breach. If it were breached, I was sure the first attacker I’d see would be Layla. I wasn’t sure I could defeat Layla, but I knew she could end the game quickly.

My daydreaming was interrupted when Carter suddenly sat next to me. He sighed deeply like a troubled adult. After a moment, our eyes met. “My brother says you’re very strong, but you have a bad attitude.”

“Thanks, and tell your brother he has poor taste.”

“But I think you’re cool.” He pointed at my wooden stick. “The Director even banned you from using Lightning and your real weapon, so you must be strong.”

“Yeah, maybe. That also means the Director has poor taste.”

“I think my brother’s not cool. He’s too stiff.”

I nodded, though honestly, I didn’t care.

“I’m sure I could help the attack team. Why does the King have to stay with the defenders?”

“Well, ask the Director why the rules are like that. Besides, if the King joined the attack, the team would lose immediately.” Wait… I looked at Carter, who still seemed disappointed. “Are you the King?”

Carter nodded.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“If I told you, I couldn’t join the attack.”

I almost forgot he was only six years old. Maybe I would’ve said the same thing at his age. Well, at least he was inside the fortress now.

No. Doesn’t this mean I’m the only one who knows who the King is?

“Carter,” I called. A plan formed in my mind. “Don’t tell anyone.”

I jumped up and shouted, calling all the Weavers in the fortress. I walked to the center so they could all see me. There were about a hundred Weavers in the fortress. I began to explain my plan. “Listen, since we don’t know who the King is, this fortress is like a castle under renovation and you are the workers. So why don’t we just destroy the fortress?”

Some Weavers frowned while listening. Others smiled and stifled laughter.

I continued, “Destroy the fortress and make a dozen other ruined fortresses in different locations. Each location will still be guarded by a few people.”

A Fire Weaver raised his hand. But I also raised mine. “If we stay here, they’ll defeat us in one attack. By spreading out, we can confuse them. If we’re unlucky, we still lose if the King is in the first location attacked. So, whoever the King is, if your location is attacked, go to another location. Keep doing that until their numbers dwindle and we can turn the tide.”

They started nodding. This was a perfect plan that no one had thought of since the game began. “Alright, let’s destroy the fortress!”

They all cheered and went wild, enthusiastically demolishing the fortress. They quickly formed small groups to find other fortress locations, leaving twenty people in the original spot.

I took a torch and handed it to Carter. “Come on, I have another plan for us,” I whispered, grabbing Carter’s hand and rushing off.

Carter looked excited. “I knew you were cool, what are we doing now?”

I pulled him into the dark forest, my lips forming a smile without realizing it. “We’re attacking, Carter. We’re going to kick their butts.”[]