The losses

The screens showed both team's initial position. The E class had 3 men and 2 women, same as C class. However it was only in team constitution, Ed had inspected each and every one of them during the tests and he could tell there was a big difference. Unless his classmates were hiding their true power like him, they would stand no chance.

Both teams rushed out to search for the other team's flag. C class, however, had 1 of the boys hide nearby to scout in case their flag was found which was the logical choice. However, E class rushed out in a team and didn't even split out to cover more grounds.

Soon enough they met with 2 of C class's team. One of c class' boys used earth wall to block the others view of him while his friend was charging his magic as a fireball. E class rushed towards the earth wall to destroy it and didn't even consider it being a trap.

As soon as the wall fell down, the other man released his fireball and the other team's members couldn't dodge, one of the men took a direct hit and fell on the spot while another man and a woman got some burn injuries.

Since they weren't paying attention properly their opponents took the chance and hit them with some more magic. Three members of E class had to resign in less than 5 minutes into the battle. Although the other two members that were left seemed smarter than their teammates and chose to flee, they soon met up with other members and lost. The battle didn't last even ten minutes and a victor was already decided.

The injured ones were carried to the infirmary inside the academy and were given some pills to help with their injuries. Other than the man who was hit directly, the others' injuries weren't too serious and would only require a night in the infirmary to heal up. It wasn't a battle to the death so injuries such as these were within the academy's calculations.

After the battlefield was set up once more, two more teams headed out. This time it was decided by drawing straws instead of the teacher's look of doom. Ed's team was going to be the last one; the next team going out had 3 women and 2 men while C class had 4 men and a woman. The battle went the same way except this time E class was able to take down one of the men from C class and lost by having their flag stolen.

The next two matches had better performance overall with E class using the weaknesses they saw from the previous matches and one of the teams almost managed to steal the flag, only to be stopped in the nick of time. E class's morale was at its lowest right now, their only hope was Ed's team but they didn't have many expectations. The remaining team had almost the highest ranking students from C class.

"Let's decide on a plan before starting." Ed proposed to make a plan, a serious one instead of playing around.

"Can anyone here use earth magic?" Ed scanned his teammates and waited for them to answer.

"I-I can!" Stephanie answered him with seemingly all her courage.

"Good, we'll have you stay near the flag and create earth walls around it. Although others might discover it faster they'll take time to break them all down. Also, try to make some pitfalls and have them hidden around the area." Ed had given her some points that would help her defend the flag better.

"Why don't I protect the flag, I can beat down anyone who comes!" Ellie seemed eager to protect the flag and forgot one of her weaknesses.

"Although you are the strongest one here physically, you can't use magic so you need to be near your opponent. Everyone knows this from the physical exam and would use it against you. If they were to meet you they would only need to use ranged attacks to draw you out and have one of their teammates get the flag." Ed gave her a convincing answer and she couldn't rebuke him so she accepted his orders.

"Me, Emilia and Ellie will have to spread out and search for the enemy flag. Hayato I would like of you to stay and help Stephanie in case she has to stall multiple opponents or can't handle it anymore. I'm sure you can do it" Ed gave out orders for the rest of his teammates and they all accepted. He didn't notice but he was acting as a seasoned leader which was thanks to his many battles with Raikou and Suika.

"Try not to fight multiple opponents and in case you're cornered it's okay to resign without getting hurt. This is only a mock battle and we still have a full year to improve in case we lost this one!" Ed's team and he had gotten to their designated area and were only waiting for the starting signal.

Soon enough, the signal sounded and they rushed out. Stephanie followed Ed's orders and made a couple of pitfalls while disguising them with magic and erected a couple of earth walls around the flag. Hayato hid among the trees where he could have a clear view of the situation at the flag.

Ed, Ellie, and Emilia all rushed out while Ellie had something to ask of Ed.

"How do I get past my weakness?…" Although she didn't seem willing, she still asked Ed. She had her pride but losing was worse than asking or advice from someone.

"Since this is a mock battle you can act as if you are out of QI or pretend to be injured. That will cause your opponent to drop their guard and approach you. Otherwise, you can use your QI as an armor and withstand the attacks. I don't recommend this way, however" Ed also didn't make fun of her or anything, which she was used to since she couldn't use magic, and answered her with the best he could think of right now.

"But since you are so strong you can just use your power to break the ground and rush at your opponent when they are staggered. It won't work if your opponent is smart and can read your actions"

"I see" After getting her answer Ellie went in another direction and followed the plan. Ed also accelerated and started looking for the flag; however what met him was not the flag but one of the other team's members. It was the same for Ellie and Stephanie.