How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 593: Continental Festival 16.5

”Your Highness, you really went all out this time!”

A cheerful voice called from behind. Snow turned slightly, her pale hair shimmering faintly under the light, and smiled softly at Janica, who was approaching with her staff resting over her shoulder.

”Fufu~ I wanted to leave some for the others,” Snow said lightly. ”But that man I spared for a moment—he was a prominent prospect. He could’ve caused us trouble later if left alone.”

”I see...” Janica nodded, wiping frost off her gloves. ”I was wondering why your spell’s strength dipped for a moment when it reached him. But was it really necessary to try recruiting him right in the middle of battle?”

Snow’s eyes curved in amusement. ”Not exactly. But it was a rare opportunity. I don’t get much time these days to interact with other students directly—especially foreign ones. Everyone’s schedules clash, and, well... mine’s rather complicated.”

Janica chuckled. ”That’s true. But honestly, Princess, with how powerful the Germonia Empire already is—and you being you—I doubt you need any more royal mages. You even have Riley at your side, so...”

”So, what’s the point of more, hmm?” Snow finished her sentence for her, smiling knowingly. ”Even if that’s true, I’d rather Riley’s attention stay focused on me, not the country.”

Her tone softened, though her words carried a strange mix of playfulness and possessiveness.

”Besides,” she added with a faint sigh, ”his presence alone might be useful in ways the empire could never imagine.”

Janica blinked, watching the dreamy look flicker across the princess’s face.

”Isn’t my lover just... irresistible?” Snow said, almost to herself, her expression brightening for the first time since the battle ended.

Janica forced a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. ”Haha... you’re a bit too honest when it comes to him, Princess.”

”Maybe,” Snow replied with a mischievous grin.

Their remaining team members soon emerged from the shadows, stepping out from behind the trees and brush with cautious but confident strides.

Each of them carried the faintly glowing shards of their defeated opponents’ team crystals, proof of their successive victories.

They weren’t exactly filled with powerhouse members—at least, not compared to other elite groups—but the presence of Janica and Snow alone more than made up for that.

Both stood among the top ten of their respective years and departments, their abilities already recognized across the entire academy.

Together, they formed one of the only few teams in the entire tournament to house not just one, but two S-rank students.

As they gathered before Snow, the air itself seemed to settle around her — cold, silent, reverent. Even the wind that passed through the forest was tinged with a faint chill, responding instinctively to her mana.

Her teammates looked at her with open admiration and trust.

They didn’t need to speak to show it — their steady gazes and relaxed stances said enough.

In contrast to the chaotic frenzy of other groups scrambling for points, Team Crystal stood composed, efficient, and perfectly synchronized.

It was clear that their unity and raw strength far surpassed that of most foreign teams... and even many of their fellow academy students.

Snow took a deep breath, the faint mist leaving her lips almost like falling snowflakes. ”Alright,” she began, her voice calm yet carrying weight, ”although it’s a bit of a shame, we’ll stop our hunt here.”

A few eyebrows rose, but no one spoke.

”I know some of you still want to climb higher in the rankings,” she continued, smiling faintly, ”but as we all agreed from the start—we won’t harm our fellow academy students. This competition may be fierce, but it’s not worth crossing that line.”

Her tone was gentle, but the finality in it left no room for debate.

”So,” she finished, looking over her team one by one, ”we’ll settle with our current rank. Any objections?”

There was a moment of silence. Then, one by one, her teammates shook their heads with small smiles.

”No complaints here, Your Highness.”

”I’m just glad we made it this far together.”

”Third place with this lineup isn’t bad at all.”

Snow’s smile deepened slightly, her crimson eyes softening with satisfaction. ”Good. Then let’s rest for a bit before we return. You’ve all done well.”

As her team relaxed, a quiet sense of pride filled the clearing.

”We’ll set up camp here and wait for the competition timer to end—”

FOOOOOOSHHHH!!!

CLANNNGGG!!!

The air cracked.

Before Snow could finish her sentence, Janica’s blade flashed, cutting through a streak of black lightning that tore through the forest like a viper aiming straight for Snow’s head.

The impact rang out—metal against corrupted mana—sending a shockwave that rippled through the clearing.

A faint hiss of burnt ozone filled the air. The smell was sharp, bitter.

Snow blinked, her pupils narrowing as she caught sight of the fading black bolt, its energy still writhing like a living shadow before dispersing into thin mist.

For a brief moment, confusion crossed her face.

But when she noticed the dense emerald aura radiating from Janica’s arm—used purely to block that single strike—her expression hardened.

Her instincts screamed.

Without hesitation, Snow raised her wand.

A pale-blue dome of mana burst outward, freezing the air around them, shards of ice forming a protective barrier that shimmered in the dim forest light.

”Everyone—prepare yourselves!” she commanded, her voice cutting through the chaos like the crack of a whip. ”We’re under attack!”

Her team didn’t hesitate.

Years of discipline and training took over as they moved into formation.

Weapons drawn, mana flaring—each member spread out, scanning the tree lines where the darkness seemed to move unnaturally.

Snow’s eyes darted ahead.

In the distance, through the haze and frost, she could sense movement—something swift, dark, and deliberate.

Her normally calm, icy-blue eyes flickered, growing colder than ever. Whoever dared to ambush her... she would make them regret it.

She raised her wand once more, gathering mana as frigid mist began to spiral around her feet.

”Let’s see how long you can hide,” she muttered, her tone sharp with restrained fury.

But before she could finish her incantation—

FOOOOOSHHHH!!!

Another black streak tore through the barrier.

She didn’t even see it fully before it struck.

A searing, unnatural pain ripped through her right arm.

Her wand flew from her grasp.

Snow’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked down—her hand was gone, torn apart by a black, arrow-shaped bolt.

”Ah—!” A strangled gasp escaped her lips as blood—dark and tainted with mana backlash—splattered the frozen ground.

She stumbled back, clutching her wrist, her breath sharp and uneven.

”Damn... it...” she hissed, pain and fury twisting her expression.

”PRINCESS!!!”

Janica’s voice broke through the noise as she rushed forward, eyes wide with panic.

The others followed, weapons drawn, mana pulsing wildly as they encircled Snow.

”Stay back!” Snow growled, forcing herself to stand straight even as pain shot up her arm. Her gaze was locked on the shadowed treeline.

There—she could sense it.

A presence. A killing intent colder than even her frost.

Whoever attacked her wasn’t just powerful...

They were hunting her specifically.

Snow sank to one knee, dark blood foaming at her lips.

Each breath came sharp and thin—pain like ice and fire braided together tore through her arm and shoulder.

She gripped the stump where her hand had been, nails digging into her own skin as if the touch could hold her together.

”Q-Quickly—potions!” someone shouted, voice cracking.

”R-Right here!” another answered, fumbling a vial forward.

”Cast a barrier now!” a third demanded.

”It won’t hold — that black arrow shot through the princess’ own barrier!” came the terrified reply.

Hands moved in frantic, practiced motions but none of it felt fast enough. Someone whispered, voice shaking, ”L-let’s hide for now...” and another voice, small and cold, muttered, ”Wouldn’t it be better to let the princess be disqualified?” The thought hung like a rotten stone in the air.

Janica’s face had gone pale as ice.

She dropped to her knees beside Snow and grabbed her shoulders, forcing the princess upright. ”Princess, we need to—activate your emergency bracelet!” she cried.

Her fingers searched the wreckage of Snow’s arm and froze.

The bracelet lay in pieces among the blood and frost—its faint runes dark.

It should have flashed and pulled her away the instant the wound opened, or when the damage crossed the academy’s threshold. It hadn’t.

”No—no, what’s going on? why isn’t it—” Janica whispered, panic growing like a fire behind her eyes.

Around them the team’s calm cracked into noise: someone chanting shaky stabilizing spells, others pressing potions to Snow’s lips, all of them trying to buy time for something that wasn’t coming.

Snow’s color drained from her face until she was almost the same as her hair—pale as a winter moon.

She forced a breath and tried to speak, but only a weak, wet sound came out.

They all understood what that silence meant—this was no ordinary hit.

......

A kilometer away, in the shadowed line of trees, a tall elven man watched with a grin that didn’t touch his eyes.

His red irises darkened as he drank in the scene: weapons dropped, healers frantic, Janica’s hands trembling around Snow’s ruined arm.

He liked that look—the raw scramble of people who believed themselves safe until the ground opened under them.

”Haah—how I’ve missed the physical world,” he breathed, savoring the scent of panic like a spice.

Behind him, other elves readied themselves.

Their faces were hard, eager; their dark bows carved silhouettes against the bright snow of the field.

A dozen hands drew back black-fletched arrows, each one humming with a cold, hungry spell.

”It’s time for the hunt, boys,” the elven man said softly, voice smooth as ice. ”Remember: make it hurt. Make them taste fear.”

The elves nodded, lips thin, eyes bright. With that, they melted into the trees and vanished—silent shadows moving toward the wounded camp, hunting like wolves circling a fallen deer.