No! I don't want to be a Super Necromancer!

"I think we've hammered them enough." Professor Bai Lian finally said. "Even though Damien technically won the confrontation for the first years, they all took a full beating. We did what we set out to do."

The instructors for the first year students were in a small meeting room discussing the results of the recent training, as well as the plan for the next few days.

"It is time for them to taste a bit of victory and what that actually feels like." She continued. "We need to take care of their mental health as well!"

"They are not that weak." Professor Wu waved his hand at her dismissively. "When I was their age, I went through months of physical training and horrifying mental training. I turned out fine. We shouldn't coddle the kids too much. In war, losing streak can last very long. They need to learn how to overcome their despair, and their leaders will need to learn how to rally the troops!"

"Yes. In time. But they are still first years. This new system is too brutal, we'll end up with broken soldiers instead of super soldiers!" Professor Bai Lian said stubbornly.

Professor Huang remained silent.

And so did Professor Orange.

All four then turned to face Professor Kong Hu, who would be making the final decision.

"They were not bereft of victory." He said thoughtfully. "They won the ambush against the mechas in the air. That was incredible. I say we continue to hammer them for a few more days, or at least in today's afternoon session."

"Agreed." Professor Wu nodded his head vigorously.

"Sigh. You boys are too ruthless. Fine. Let's do it. But let me decide on today's afternoon session." Professor Bai Lian assented with a deep sigh.

"Sure. What do you have in mind?" Professor Kong Hu asked.

"Instead of letting them get hammered by other people, let's just get them to hammer at each other." Professor Bai Lian said with a small smile. "Let's do Operation Flagstorm this afternoon."

The other Chinese professors immediately smiled, as their own happy memories of the activity gets triggered.

"Operation Flagstorm? What is it?" Professor Orange asked them curiously.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The instructors arrived at the observation deck overlooking the main cafeteria expecting silence, gloom, maybe some brooding over bowls of cold soup.

They completely did not expect the first years to be celebrating.

The first-year dining hall was loud.

Plates clattered, drinks were spilled, and laughter filled the air like a festival. Students were reenacting maneuvers with utensils and animated sound effects, jumping up on chairs and reliving explosions mid-bite.

One table was chanting "Fatty for President!" while another tried to balance pudding cups like grenades.

Even Zhao Rui, still limping slightly, was holding court in the middle of a crowd, dramatically describing how he leapt from a spinning mecha and headbutted a third-year's drone into a cliffside.

"You should've seen it! It flew off in slow motion! I even heard theme music!"

"No you didn't!" Fatty yelled from across the hall. "You cried the whole way down!"

"I was laughing with emotion, you pig!"

Jiang Xiao Yu was sipping soup calmly, her posture elegant and unbothered, while five students hovered nearby, practically pleading for her to join their squads for the next team match. She didn't say yes. She didn't say no. She just stared at them with that quiet, unreadable gaze—and somehow, that made them try harder.

Athena sat beside her with one foot on the table, surrounded by admirers and an ever-growing pile of desserts, nonchalantly peeling an orange with a dagger. She was clearly enjoying herself. The occasional wink or smirk she tossed out sent half the cafeteria into quiet cardiac arrest.

And sitting across from them with chopsticks in hand, quietly eating rice like the center of the world didn't just watch him beat down a third-year legend, was Damien Bloodbane.

He didn't speak much. He didn't need to.

The air around their table was already charged enough. No one dared get too close.

Professor Bai Lian blinked in surprise. "...They're happy."

"Of course they're happy," muttered Professor Huang, arms crossed. "They're first years. Idiots. They think they've already survived the worst."

Professor Orange smiled faintly. "Perhaps they did."

"Are we still doing Operation Flagstorm? It seems too… fun. We should really hammer them harder." Professor Wu blinked at the chaos in the cafeteria. He was unused to seeing happy students.

"Might as well. Operation Flagstorm has a lot of lessons contained within too." Professor Bai Lian shrugged her shoulders.

"Let's do it." Professor Kong Hu simply said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun hung high overhead as the first-year students gathered on the forest training grounds, bellies full and spirits high. Most had expected a mild afternoon or perhaps some low-intensity magical drills to digest their lunch. What they got instead was a massive floating projection overhead that read:

OPERATION FLAGSTORM INITIATED

"Ten-player squads. Reinforcements every ten minutes. Victory goes to the first team that captures the enemy flag."

Cheers erupted. Groans followed. Someone tried to fake a stomachache and was immediately healed on the spot by an unsympathetic medic.

At the front of the crowd, Professor Bai Lian stood with her arms folded, her hair done up in combat pins rather than her usual flowing style.

"Two bases have been established at the northern and southern ends of the forest," she said crisply. "Each side starts with ten players. Reinforcements will arrive in waves. Capture the flag and return it to your base. No killing, no maiming, and no burning the entire forest down. You know who you are."

Several heads turned in Zhao Rui's direction. He blinked. "What? I only did that once."

Professor Wu muttered, "Once was too many times."

A shuffle began as team lists were projected mid-air. Students leaned in, murmuring with excitement or dread.

Damien's name appeared under Team A – South Base.

Athena and Jiang Xiao Yu were both listed under Team B – North Base.

Damien smiled. He was going against both girls and a bunch of the strongest first years like Ji Chen and Zhao Rui.

At least the game won't be boring.