Sure enough, when they arrived at the cafeteria, there were very few people in line. The group quickly ordered their food, brought it to the table, and ate as they talked. But calling it a discussion was generous—they were really just chatting casually, each tossing in a remark or two.
Slightly differently from what Emma had expected, Dark set a goal for them at this moment—one that was not to win the championship.
—That was to acquire as many "Divine Factors" as possible. In truth, that had been the Academy Championship's original purpose.
It was only that, as the tournament progressed, acquiring "Divine Factors" had gradually been ranked below "victory" in priority.
Though the two goals did not appear to conflict for now, that was only true up until the third round.
Once they reached the third-round points matches, the two goals would clash to a certain extent.
In the third-round points matches, acquiring as many "Divine Factors" as possible carried another implication: do not fear losing, and do not hide in the safe zone the entire time. Only by making sensible use of the rules and striking out boldly could they find more
"soft targets."
Since it was a duel, winning and losing were perfectly normal. Only by dueling more often could they win more often.
As for the goal of "winning the championship," leave that to the upper-year group! In any case, trust first, then trust again.
At present, the upper-year students were absolutely worthy of trust. Dark suddenly realized that they were only the lower-year group; it was not yet time for them to worry about such things.
The key was to use this opportunity to obtain more "Divine Factors" so that they could trigger the hidden trial.
Thus, after lunch, Dark returned directly to the dormitory