Smolder in the Afterglow | Tales of Luminozenko

Chapter 13| You Trick Me Once, I Fool You Twice

Almost everyone got up to their feet, cheering and yelling in response.

He can start a game but can't answer my question. Hold up, what the hell did he say?

"Uh . . ." I shifted my gaze at Delaney and Their Highnesses, giving them a questioning look.

"Hold on." Prince Lazul quickly rose from the ground and raised his hand to get the teacher's attention as we followed suit. "Sir Sebastian, do you mind if we excuse ourselves for a minute? There's something urgent I must tell them," he said in a calm voice.

"I don't, Your Highness, but be quick as I will now start the groupings," Sir Sebastian declared and waved at the other students who had already gathered around him. "First of all—"

"Reixerdun Tiacrona or ReixTia in short is the most popular sport in Luminozenko," Prince Lazul started, gesturing a hand at a corner of the field, far from everyone else. With his lead, we started to walk where he motioned at. "It is easy enough to understand in a minute or two. Each team consists of eleven players. Five Shields, three Knights, two Hunters, and one King. It is a game where you can only use simple spells and martial arts to defend, attack or score. You can either throw, kick or shoot the ball."

"Okay, so, you can use magic and martial arts, and there are four positions in the game," I said in a small voice, raising four of my fingers. "What do they do?"

"The Shields, just like the name of the position, is to defend their team's side so the opposing team can't score," Prince Guren continued on his twin's behalf. "They can block the ball," he nodded towards the ball at our professor's feet, "or steal or pass it to their team members. They can also block the rivaling team's members or tackle them to the ground by using simple magic or physical force. However, they must only remain near the goalposts or Thrones—which are those three rings."

I followed his heterochromatic eyes and found three hoops lined vertically from the ground to high above the air. I frowned, confused about how they got there until Sir Sebastian raised his hand and made another one appear and positioned it to the other end of the field.

Damn, so he can control metals.

"And they can't shoot a score. They are only used for defense and assistance," Prince Guren resumed, motioning at me to turn my face back to our small group. "The Knights can pretty much do what Shields can do, however, they can't defend the Thrones. They are to disrupt the gameplay of the opposing team while scoring." Then, he raised a brow. "Keeping up, milady?"

"Yes, I think I'm getting it so far," I chirped with an enthusiastic nod.

"Excellent." Prince Lazul gave me a smile and pointed at a couple of crowns Sir Sebastian was holding. "You see those crowns—those crowns are the main target of the Hunters. While also being able to attack or defend, the thing they must focus on is the Crown of the opposing team's King. If a Hunter gets that and brings it to their King, the team instantly wins the set."

"Set?" I repeated and raised a brow. "You mean to say there are sets in this sport?"

"A whole game consists of three sets." Delaney raised three fingers. "For a team to win, they must get two out of three." He folded down two. "In championships, it's three out of five. But I think we will be doing only a set for today." He brought his arm down. "Anyways, as Prince Lazul had already stated, you get the crown to your King, you win, but if not, the first team to get twenty-one points wins the set. One goal means one point only, no matter how many times you pass the ball to your teammates to keep it."

"Oh, so that's the two ways to win the game and how to win?" I inquired and nodded to respond to my own question. "Okay. Sounds good to me. Wait—what about the King?"