176 CH45 (175), Mystery Event

After returning from the combat tournaments, Mr. Koetsuji praised us for winning first place in all competitions. Our reward was that we did not have to run around the field. Heh, how generous of him.

Additionally, we got the rest of the evening off after dinner. Still, he did call me over for a little private talk. It was mostly about the strength I revealed during the mixed combat competition.

Everyone had seen how I coated my body parts in aura, which was something that was only possible after reaching the second-class of Tier 2. He didn't admonish me for hiding my strength or anything like that.

No, the talk was just him praising me for my performance during both the hunting and combat competition, as well as congratulating me for the strength I and my Pokemon had shown during both competitions.

According to him, he and the other teachers would report what they had witnessed and I would receive some internal academy merit for my achievements, which would be really useful for getting access to that Togepi and Riolu.

Mr. Koetsuji told me that I could definitely get the chance to choose one of them during my second year if I kept it up. Apparently, there were a few more chances for me to earn some academy points during my three years.

He even implied I could earn enough merit points to get the chance to get both Pokemon and more if I participated in all events and performed well enough.

He was blatantly trying to tempt me to win as many events as I could so that I could boost the reputation of the Academy, and honestly, I was definitely tempted. So, I told him I would consider it when the time came.

After that congratulatory talk/bait I went back to talk a bit with Ace and Weiss before going to bed since tomorrow was going to be the mystery event announced on our first day regarding Kyoday.

The next morning after breakfast we had to gather on the field since Mr. Koetsuji was going to announce what the mystery event was going to be. So, we were currently waiting to hear the announcement. He came over with the other teachers and motioned for everyone to quiet down.

"Alright, I know all of you are curious so I'll get straight to the point. Today's event is a treasure hunt." He said bluntly and an excited murmur came from the crowd at the word treasure.

The teachers all smiled at our excitement and Mr. Koetsuji went on.

"Now, before you start fantasizing about all kinds of gold and stuff, let me tell you that there won't be any of those." He said in a playful tone, and I heard a lot of hearts breaking at that moment.

"Yep, what you're going to search for are metal coins like these," he said after which he and the other teachers held up four fist-sized coins, each with a different pattern.

"We, together with the instructors from the knight academy, scattered a lot of these coins in a 15-km radius of our meeting point. There are four coin types each worth a certain number of points.

Their worth is equal to the number stamped onto the coin, with the four numbers being 1, 3, 5, and 10. The more the coin is worth, the harder it will be to find or get.

The event will begin at 10 a.m, so in an hour, and end either when all coins have been found or at 6 p.m. As for lunch, you'll have to cover that yourself." He paused a moment and looked through the crowd.

Honestly, no one seemed to be that enthusiastic about the treasure hunt after hearing the no useful/precious stuff part, and I was sure Mr. Koetsuji had noticed that as well. Still, I saw him smile, so he probably had something that would fire up everyone.

"Now, a few important points you have to follow. First, if a coin is hidden in a den or protected by a Pokemon, you have to get it without killing or maiming the Pokemon.

Second, you have to pair up for the treasure hunt and your partner has to be someone from the knight academy. Since there are more knight academy students they'll form pairs with you first, before the rest of them pair up among themselves.

Third, and I'm sure you'll like this one. The 5 pairs with the highest number of points will be exempted from the "Combat Preparation" and "Internal Aura Manipulation" exams of the second term. They shall directly receive an A instead.

The knight students will receive the same reward for two of their courses." As soon as he said that everyone got excited since no one liked exams, so directly receiving an A without having to take part in the term exams was awesome.

That his and Ms. Yu's class were chosen made some sense since we were most likely going to have to boost bodies as well as senses to find the coins and some fights were probably unavoidable.

"Alright, you've got 20 minutes to get ready. We'll leave for the meeting point after that. I recommend you think about whom you want to partner up with and how to persuade them to partner up with you.

Still, try to be realistic with your plan, or you'll be forced to partner up with someone you don't want to if you waste too much time being turned down." He said and I felt the burn.

Mr. Koetsuji was apparently trying to start a forest fire. I saw Ms. Yu and the others chuckled when he said that. Great "Role-model teachers" that bunch really.

Ace, Weiss, and I quickly went toward a few berry trees that we had found during our food searches, to gather some berries for lunch since we had to take care of lunch on our own. When the others saw us coming back with a few berries each they quickly followed suit.

"So, any ideas with whom you want to partner up?" I asked my two friends and they just shrugged.

"Anyone in the top 10 in one of the competitions should be good enough, but I think I'll try my luck with either Ranmaru or Eric." Ace said and I agreed with him on the top 10 part.

Ranmaru came in second in the regular battle competition and Eric came in fourth in the mixed battle competition, so they were both strong and their fighting prowess and style had indicated that they were dedicated.

There was not much more we could use as a criterion since we didn't know much else about any of the knight students.

"Yep, the top 10 should be good enough, but I'd prefer to partner up with either Maria, Bianca, or Erza." Weiss chimed in and I could understand why she preferred to partner up with girls.

Maria came in third in the personal battle competition that Weiss participated in. Bianca was in the top 6 of the mixed one and Erza came in second, so all three were good options.

"I think I'd be alright with partnering up with any of the guys and girls you mentioned. Oh, and Yu would be a good alternative as well." I gave my opinion and it was 100% true as well.

They had after all pretty much named the strongest knight academy students, and I was not going to ask someone before at least trying to partner with one of them.

"I call dibs on asking the girls first," Weiss proclaimed.

"Dibs on Ranmaru and Eric," Ace directly followed her example, and I had to laugh a bit at their behavior.

"Sure, sure. I'll let you two go first. After all, they say "ladies first", and "age before beauty", so I have no complaints." I teased them a bit.

They tried hard not to laugh but couldn't suppress a chuckle. They mock protested and we all started laughing. Anyway, the time given by Mr. Koetsuji was up, and we began making our way to the meeting point.

We arrived there 30 minutes to 10 a.m, and coincidentally the knight group arrived at nearly the same time.

"Alright, you've got 20 minutes to find a partner, so better get to it." Mr. Koetsuji said and everyone began to move.

As I had promised I waited for Ace and Weiss to ask their targets first before approaching them. Before the two could walk towards the knight students, Erza walked out of her group in our direction.

Her move caused a commotion among our students, many of them looking over to us because Erza was heading in our direction.

Once she was close enough I saw her smile and nod in my direction, which made me smile in content since that probably meant she was coming for me.

Ace released a groan and mumbled something along the line of course she heads for him. Weiss showed no signs on her face at all, as if the situation had nothing to do with her at all.

Anyway, Erza arrived in front of us, showing that she did indeed intend to talk to one of us. I was about to tell her that I was willing to partner with her, but she began speaking before I could.

"Weiss, would you be willing to pair up with me?" Out of my expectations, Erza actually asked Weiss to pair up with her instead of me.

At that moment I was really happy that she spoke up before I could because it would have been really embarrassing to be turned down in that situation, and the way Ace was snickering he agreed with me.

"Sure, I'd be happy to pair up with you," Weiss answered before making a V sign at me.

"Yes, yes. Good for you." I said before turning to Ace.

"Alright, you can go try your luck with Eric and Ranmaru. I'll just head over to Yu." I told him before moving towards the knight group.

The others from our academy had already gone over there and were asking around to see if they could find someone to partner with.

Yu as the third place in the mixed competition was pretty popular, so there were a few students around him asking if he would pair up with them. He was however declining all their offers.

"Yo, Yu. I'd like to partner with you. What do you think?" I asked him after pushing through the crowd.

"Sure. I've been waiting to see if any of the high rankers from your academy were going to ask me." He said with a calm smile on his face.

Having found my partner, I made my way back to Weiss and Erza with him on tow. After a brief exchange of greetings, we waited for Ace, who returned with Ranmaru.

I saw that Eric had partnered up with Pierre and that was a pair that would probably get a place in the top 5. Pierre managed to reach the top 6 in the mixed competition after all, with Eric coming in fourth.

The other pair that I thought would be part of the top 5 was the one with Clarissa and Bianca. Bianca also made it to the top 6 in the mixed competition, while Clarissa came in third in the regular battle competition.

There were a few more promising pairs, but these two with our three were my favorites for this treasure hunt.

"Alright, times up. If you haven't partnered up with someone until now, then just partner up with the next partner-less person.

Anyway, a reminder for all of you. The area in which we distributed the coins, is within a 15 km radius of this place. Also, maiming or killing any Pokemon in places we dropped the coins is forbidden.

The event will end either when all coins have been found or at 6 p.m, and you have to handle lunch on your own. That's pretty much it." Ms. Striker announced before looking at Mr. Koetsuji.

"Anything to add?" She asked him and he shook his head. "Good. Then I declare that the treasure hunt has officially started. Get going everyone, and remember we're keeping an eye on the situation so no foul business."

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