The dean must have told them what I told him since my team didn't ask any questions about where I'd been. He puts his hand on my shoulder and addresses my team.

"Alright. We've had our ups and downs, and we had difficulties holding points, but now that your team captain is back, things should turn for the better."

A thin stream of air tickles one of my ears. I hear the dean's voice, and no one else reacts to his words.

[Hold your end of our initial bargain, Ellis. The air around you is different, so I expect great things. You won't disappoint me.]

I look back at the dean and walk towards my team, shrugging his hand off my shoulder. I looked my team up and down once, so I did it again. I use [Scientific Insight+] to scan them, and all their levels are in the same ballpark. Level 75 - 80. I turn to the dean and ask him a question.

"Is there a level cap for the competition?"

"No, but there is an age restriction."

Oh, so the people who managed to awaken their systems early due to their parents and connections have more advantages than they already do.

"Where is my Khan?"

"The collective of temperamental sharks? They are outside the stadium, being watched by a caretaker. Should I call the caretaker and have them bring your sharks in."

"No."

I whistle, and every piece of Khan apparates around me like a freak weather event. Khan is the hardest of my tamed beasts to read the emotions of, and his competition is a rock and an undead. At least Flash Gordon is more vocal than Khan is. My team is startled by the sudden appearance, but I ignore them.

"A little warning next time, Ellis!"

From my initial understanding of how the tournament/competition works from the messages from the dean's assistant and what Duchess told me, we are not fucked yet. We can take points from the other teams by overshadowing their previous performances.

Although they are individual categories, they are not restricted to one per team. Theoretically, you can have all six members of one team hold the top six positions for an event. I have questions that need to be answered.

How many events are there? Wait, that's irrelevant. As long as I can top score in the individual categories I am confident in, the total amount of events is irrelevant. So what events are there? I'm sure someone will fill me in eventually.

Why is my team so shit anyways? From what I've seen, they seem competent. At least two of them are. Something is wrong. I wonder what the levels and classes of the three highest teams are. The top two on the list are both institutes from the capital, and the one in the lead is the hosting institute, the Auroran Institute.

Since I'm being pessimistic, there is most likely the equivalent of insider trading going on here. I have more thoughts, but my train gets interrupted by Val.

"Are you okay?"

I blink before turning to her.

"I should be."

Dean Palmer is no longer with us. I turn to get answers, but Val beats me to the punch.

"The dean is only allowed to be with us after group competitions. He's only supposed to be an observer. If not, then we wouldn't need a captain. You have questions, don't you? You have that weird look."

"Where do we sleep."

"Oh, it's in a large facility building. A part of it is sectioned off, and only we are allowed to get in, excluding the staff. You can have one of your tamed beasts lead you there later."

Rai says, "We should head there now and fill you in on some information."

I respond, "Speaking of, why is our point total so low."

They look at each other and look back at me.

Val speak up, "We'll explain,"

~

We went inside the facility and the dorms the institute facilitated for us. There's a communal living space connected to multiple separate rooms. It's surprisingly roomy since there's enough space for my tamed beasts. The living space has a kitchen, and I'm making a sandwich as my team stands there and watches.

"So why are we doing so shit," I say as I slather a piece of bread with a healthy amount of peanut butter. I look for other things to put on my sandwich, and there's a bundle of bananas. I reach over for them, but someone else grabs them. Arlug, still a brick of a guy, is keeping me from my snack.

"What do you mean 'we'? All I see is a captain that abandoned his team. The dean told us not to pressure you since you've just come back from some tribulation, but who hasn't?"

The bananas fly out of Arlug's hands. They gently float down in front of me and start peeling themselves. I thank Duchess in my head before finishing up my sandwich.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Anabel speaks up. "For one thing, during team events, our dedicated healer doesn't heal his teammates if he believes he has a chance to run in with his mace."

Arlug retorts, "Well, we don't have a mage on our team either. Only a necromancer who dies before she can summon enough skeletons to be worthwhile. There's also the archer with poor mana management and the tamer that won't utilize their tames for the team."

Jerry speaks up after randomly getting dragged into the conversation. "I refuse to send my beasts into suicidal situations just because you value their worth less than everyone else."

I eat my sandwich and watch the powder keg I just lit go off in front of my face. Even Rai got roped into it. I didn't think he'd be the type. Val brings me off to the side and starts telling me the real problems.

"Look, Ellis. Your arrival is causing more problems than you not being here."

I try to say something, but she continues talking over me.

"At first, we were all pissed that you bailed on us, but we quickly realized something was wrong when you wouldn't respond to any messages, and your tamed beasts managed to find their way to the capital. That was strange, but it's not like they could explain themselves."

I don't correct her.

"Then we got mad at ourselves for getting pissed when you could be in trouble. That, with the building frustration of being cock blocked at every opportunity, made us-"

"What do you mean by 'cock block'? What's going on."

She pauses before explaining. "First, I'll explain that the captain position isn't just a title but crucial to the tournament. It's one of the reasons why we were so mad. Due to some weird rulings the tournament holders made, the captain is the only one that can get information about events and their locations. We had to travel blind to find the event's that we might be able to score in, but even then, we had to go in blind."

"Shouldn't somebody have made the second in command the temporary captain in my absence?" I glance over at Rai.

"Unfortunately, that's just a title. What was supposed to happen was the staff was supposed to give the captains and no one else a bundle of information about everything regarding the events."

"Seem's dumb and unfair."

"Yeah, they don't think we have a chance to win, so why bother changing or breaking the tournament rules for a group of losers."

"What else is there."

"Competition is fierce. Other teams will try and sabotage and 'lock down' certain events, so other people have difficulties taking their spots. I managed to get some information, and apparently, almost every institute is giving their students rewards based on how well they are placed. It doesn't matter if you win, but if you're better than your neighbor.

"So the school's administrators are using this as a pissing match to show what school is better than another? I don't know why this is a revelation for me."

"Yeah..."

"So you managed to get information about the pissing match but not on events.'

"Shut up."

I finish my snack before turning to the still-bickering members of the team. If my sister is right and tensions are high, then this is just a way for them to outlet their frustrations. It doesn't make it any less annoying."

"HEY, shut up for a second and listen to me, your captain."

As expected, their heads all turn to me.

"I'm good at managing animals, but you guys have worse tempered compared to them."

I gesture over at Rob. He's sitting by the counter, counting bones. He looks over and waves before getting back to his collection.

"I heard some things about 'not acting like a healer,' 'or we don't have a proper mage,' but I have some news for you guys. We aren't in a video game. Yes, our positions in the team were influenced by our classes, but unlike video games, we all can surpass our 'roles' capabilities. But stop caring about that.

Now that I'm here, I will tell you guys what to do. The dean has us here for selfish reasons and wants us to win for those selfish reasons. So let's give him what he wants, then we can hold it over him and get compensation."

"Isn't the word rewarded and not compensated?" Asked Jerry.

I shrug and say one last thing before leaving the room. "I'll get the event information and come back, don't move."

~

It wasn't hard. I went to the nearest staff member and asked for the administrative wing for the tournament and asked the desk there for the staff the captains are supposed to get. After giving my id, I got a stack of papers in a manila envelope, a tacky headband that says "Bluefield's Captain," and a not-so-tacky pin that I put next to my student identification.

I arrived back at the dorm. My team was still waiting there, on some couches in front of a television. I tune out the screen and head to my room to mull over the papers.

My room has two doors and a wall-to-ceiling window that can open. One of the doors is a large garage door. It's nice that the architecture is tamer friendly. Duchess is now curled up on a shag carpet with a book. I wonder where she got that.

[There aren't any cameras in here.]

Thanks, Duchess. I absorb the stack of papers into my [Lexicon] and absorb all the information at once. I leave the room moments later.

~

The first thing I needed to do was learn the strengths and weaknesses of my team and what events they should tackle to try and beat the deficit. Soon the next team event will happen, and at that point, we should be able to get some points. We aren't second to last place anymore. That team fight allowed us to go up ten places.

I give my members pieces of paper with event information tailored to their skills. Unfortunately, I will have to carry my team with my efforts. I wonder if I can win this event all on my own...

I'll see how much my team drags me down or how skilled they are compared to the other students. Maybe if I excel enough, I can still get some benefits even if I don't win. There should be many eyes on this tournament.

I head off first after commanding my team.