Chapter79: Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Mud Strategy XENOIS The mud course stretched out before us like a battlefield—a hundred-meter track of carefully maintained grass that had been deliberately soaked until it was slick and treacherous. Water stations lined both sides, and I could see several teachers with hoses ready to add more water if the course started drying out. "This is going to be messy," Miranda said cheerfully, bouncing on her toes with excitement. She'd changed into old athletic clothes that she clearly didn't mind destroying, and her hair was pulled back in a practical ponytail. "That's an understatement," Celeste replied, eyeing the mud with a mixture of apprehension and determination. "Last year, I was finding mud in places I didn't know mud could reach for days afterward." I looked down at my Whitmore athletic gear, already resigned to throwing it away after this event. The mud games were apparently legendary at the academy—a chaotic relay race where entire families were literally tied together