Loren tapped several crystals, frowning.

"I... can't?" He rubbed his ears, looking genuinely confused. "There's a blind spot? Audio's completely dead in that section. I can't believe it—that shouldn't be possible with our array."

Professor Marcus nodded slowly.

"I hope," he said carefully, "this isn't something that shouldn't have been done."

Professor Gareth whistled, drawing their attention back to the scoreboard.

"Hero isn't lacking either, it seems!"

Vincent read off the current standings:

"Student Draekon: 201 points"

"Student Lyralei: 140 points"

"Student Cassius: 102 points"

Professor Sylvia clapped her hands softly, smiling.

"It seems all the top students are enjoying this competition!"

Professor Helena sighed.

"A few are enjoying it too much," she muttered.

Then she gestured to a different crystal—Zone 3.

Zone 3: Frostwind Tundra

Agni was lying on his back in the snow.

His arms were spread out. His clothes were covered in frost. His lips were blue.

He was visibly frozen solid.

Serina Frostwind approached cautiously, looking concerned.

Helena sighed, reading the scores.

"Student Agni: 0 points"

"Student Serina: 54 points"

She shook her head.

"Student Agni appears to have no intention of participating in the competition."

A junior monitoring assistant spoke up nervously.

"Should we... retrieve him?"

The professors exchanged glances.

Mixed reactions.

Some concerned. Some amused. Some exasperated.

Marcus finally shook his head.

"Not yet. He's not in danger. Just... extremely unmotivated."

"Let's see if he surprises us," Gareth said with a grin.

Helena snorted. "I wouldn't hold your breath."