Chapter 112

(3)

5.

“Hello, everyone!”

A cheerful voice echoed through the venue.

A girl in her late teens sitting at the commentary desk waved eagerly at the spectator seats.

“I’m Edeline Lio-defield, a third-year from Arsen Academy’s Magic Department, and I’ll be your commentator for today’s friendly mock battle. Nice to meet you all!”

“And I’m Reeve Merhail, a second-year from Eloden Academy’s Knight Department, co-commentating with Edeline.”

It was a Monday morning.

Today was the day of the friendly mock battle between Arsen Academy and Eloden Academy. Each school had selected a commentator for the match.

Right here were the two — Edeline and Reeve.

Behind the commentary booth, there were spectator seats arranged for students and professors, and in front, a massive screen was set up.

A device for broadcasting the mock battle footage.

As everyone turned their gazes toward the screen, Edeline spoke again.

“I heard that this mock battle is a bit different from Arsen’s. Could you please explain for the benefit of Arsen students?”

“Of course,” came the polite reply.

And soon Reeve began to explain.

“The Eloden mock battle is conducted by capturing the opponent’s flag or neutralizing all of their forces to claim victory.”

“So that means there are two victory conditions!”

“That’s right.” Reeve nodded.

Edeline asked again, “Are there any conditions or rules we must strictly follow for this mock battle?”

“Yes, first, to prevent serious injuries, all players must wear protective gear, and only wooden weapons are permitted.”

After mentioning the obvious conditions first, Reeve added more rules. “Next, I’ll explain the special rules unique to the Eloden mock battle.”

“Special rules?”

“Yes, it’s about the strongholds.” Reeve pointed to each side’s stronghold.

Little cabins built at the northern and southern ends. These are the heart of each team’s defensive line and the places where flags are kept.

“First, the defense team at the stronghold must consist of exactly two members. It can’t be more or less.”

“What if there’s a change in personnel?”

“If one person is left or three or more remain, a grace period of 10 minutes is granted.”

If the numbers aren’t restored after that, it’s considered a forfeiture, leading to disqualification. After listening to the somewhat strict rules, Edeline awkwardly smiled.

“So if both leave the stronghold…”

“Immediate disqualification.” The answer was firm and uncompromising.

Indeed, that was a strict rule.

“Secondly, the flag cannot be moved or relocated outside the stronghold arbitrarily. It can be moved around inside, but moving it outside also counts as disqualification.”

This was a reasonable rule.

If the flag could be moved freely, the mock battle would resemble a game of hide and seek.

“Lastly, the defenders can swap places every 10 minutes after the battle starts. Of course, it’s fine if they choose not to.”

With that, Reeve finished his explanation.

After a brief moment to regroup, Edeline smiled and shifted the topic.

“Thank you for your kind explanation. Now, I’d like to ask how victories and losses are determined in battle.”

With a bright smile, Edeline’s follow-up question came.

“In Arsen, we provide mana orbs to the players, and if they break, it’s considered a death. How about in Eloden?”

“Eloden is similar. But the difference is you don’t necessarily have to break the orbs to win.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“Allow me to demonstrate.” Reeve pulled out a small orb.

He approached the video recording device to ensure the spectators could see it clearly.

“This is the orb to be used in the mock battle.” As he placed the orb on his palm, a bluish light enveloped Reeve’s body. This meant he successfully possessed the orb.

“If you get attacked while holding it, the orb’s mana will automatically decrease.”

“Can I give it a try?”

“Uh? A try for what…?”

Whack! Before Reeve could finish his sentence, Edeline suddenly smacked his shoulder.

It was quite a hit.

At the unexpected ambush, Reeve’s face turned into a picture of confusion, while Edeline’s eyes widened in amazement.

“Wow, it really decreased! The mana went down!”

“…Yes, so if finding the orb is difficult, you can also win by wearing down the orb’s mana through repeated attacks.”

Reeve answered with a slightly sulky face.

Edeline asked again, “Then how many hits would it take to completely deplete an opponent’s orb’s mana without breaking it?”

“It depends on the strength of the attacks.”

“What about my previous attack?”

“You’d need to hit at least twenty times.”

“Got it. So if the power is strong….” Edeline clenched her fists tightly.

In response, Reeve raised his guard.

Sudden defense mode. Noticing this late, Edeline tilted her head in confusion.

“Huh? What are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Just in case.”

“Hey, I’m not going to hit you. Do I look like the type to hit someone twenty times?”

Silence followed—Reeve didn’t reply.

In an effort to lighten the awkward atmosphere, Edeline cleared her throat, and just then, a commotion broke out on the battlefield.

“Oh, just as we were talking, there’s a new object appearing on the battlefield! What is that?”

“Mana soldiers.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Think of it as soldiers provided—five for each student. They can be used freely for ambushing the enemy or defending the stronghold.”

The stage for the mock battle was vast.

It stretched a whole 5km from end to end.

With only twenty-four students on such a large battlefield, it felt a bit wasteful.

So, Eloden Academy aimed to create an environment more similar to a real battlefield by deploying these mana soldiers.

“Wow, that’s a bit new. So, do they get 60 for each side?”

“No. Each side has 50.”

“Huh? But then the math doesn’t….”

“By rules, the two stationed at the stronghold do not receive mana soldiers.”

Ah, so that’s the rule.

Edeline nodded.

Just then, the contestants appeared on both sides.

The two commentators excitedly began introducing the players.

“From Eloden, we have Teron Shulagen. A third-year who has reached the level of a High-ranking Knight and is also the Eloden Student Council President.”

“And representing Arsen, it’s Irist Senior. Similarly, she’s a powerful figure who’s reached the level of a High-ranking Knight!”

After finishing the introductions of each representative, Reeve suspiciously asked,

“So the Student Council President in Arsen isn’t the representative?”

“No! They selected a representative separately via a selection match. As a result, Senior was chosen.”

Well, it’s not a rule that only the Student Council President should be a representative. Understanding this, Reeve nodded.

Continuing to introduce the players, the audience suddenly gasped. It was due to a girl who had just appeared.

“That person is….”

A beautiful girl with teal short hair.

Even just moving gave off an ethereal vibe that captivated the audience, including Edeline for a moment.

Faced with such a sight, Reeve wore a proud expression.

“This is Laurea Ro Sharvel, a second-year from Eloden Comprehensive Department. She’s been selected as the next Saintess in the Holy Nation, making her a truly noble figure.”

“Is that for real? Wow, what a big deal!”

The Saintess position in the Holy Nation is as noble as that of royalty in other countries, so Edeline spoke with genuine admiration.

But that moment didn’t last long.

With a sly smile, she continued,

“However, there’s another figure in Arsen who’s just as notable. A first-year genius mage, known as Delia Arpen!”

Gifted with the Blessing of Mana.

Possessing rare traits and immense talent in magic, she certainly could be compared to Laurea, which made Reeve nod in acknowledgment.

Not long after, as most of the contestants were introduced, the last Eloden player appeared.

A young man with navy blue hair.

Upon seeing him, Reeve frowned.

Looking somewhat displeased. But after a moment, he resumed his role as commentator.

“This is Ian Marcus, a first-year from Eloden’s Knight Department, famous as an Expert.”

“Ah! That’s the cadet I’ve heard about, the Expert from Eloden! He’s the one Arsen should be most wary of in this mock battle.”

Edeline chimed in.

Pouting her lips.

“But being an Expert at just eighteen, isn’t there a huge gap in strength?”

“That could be the case. But I’ve heard Arsen has a similar powerhouse,” Reeve replied.

“Hehe, you’re right.” Edeline smirked.

As if waiting for him to be mentioned.

Then she pointed at the last figure appearing from Arsen, a muscular young man, and shouted.

“The top student of Arsen this year, the terrorist of the entrance ceremony! The unprecedented rookie who’s the center of attention, Ulan Bator!”

As soon as the booming introduction ended, Reeve wore a dumbfounded expression.

“…Terrorist?”

“Yes! I was hospitalized for three days because of it.”

“Hospitalized? What on earth happened…?”

“Hahaha, there’s a story behind that.” Edeline scratched her cheek as she laughed.

Her demeanor suggested she didn’t want to delve into the details, and Reeve didn’t press further.

After all introductions were complete, the contestants headed straight to their respective camps.

Moments later, as the formation was set, Edeline muttered in surprise.

“Huh? This is a bit unexpected.”

“What part are you talking about?”

“About the defense forces at the stronghold. Both Ulan and Ian, the maximum powers of their respective sides, were stationed at the stronghold.”

The strongholds of Arsen and Eloden

were crucial spots where their flags were set up.

But it wasn’t necessarily needed to place their strongest power there.

In fact, it would be more efficient to deploy them in the front to quickly break the enemy formation.

To Edeline, the current setup seemed like a waste of strength. Reeve thought a bit differently.

“Well, it might be unexpected, but I don’t find it that surprising.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

“As mentioned before, the defense personnel at the stronghold can be swapped every 10 minutes.”

In other words, it indicated that Ulan and Ian wouldn’t linger at the stronghold the whole time. Edeline nodded, finally understanding.

“So it could mean both sides want to conserve their strength until the battle progresses to a certain point!”

“Well, that’s one way to look at it.” Reeve smiled.

There was something about his smile that felt significant.

It seemed like he had some sort of scheme, but Edeline didn’t catch on.

The reason was just one.

Bang! Pboom!

Fireworks lit up the sky, marking the start of battle.

6.

As the full-fledged battle began,

in stark contrast to the fierce fighting on the front lines, there was an unusually tranquil place.

“This is boring.”

The stronghold of Arsen.

The defender, Ulan, let out a big yawn, clearly showing his boredom.

It was understandable. Unlike the battlefield, this place was incredibly dull.

‘At least one silver lining is…’

That he could see the scenery of the battle.

To be precise, it was the footage showing only the representatives, Irist Senior and Vice Representative Kamila Tanesia, but still, it was something.

Without this, he might have dozed off from sheer boredom.

As he quietly observed the battlefield scene, Ulan’s gaze suddenly shifted to the opposite side.

“But can you just not look?”

“……”

Sitting there was a well-built young man.

The man with dark brown hair tied back didn’t even respond to Ulan’s words.

The man’s name was Cliff Anton.

He was the Student Council President of Arsen and an intermediate mage who wielded the elements of wind, earth, and darkness.

He was also a master of defensive magic.

This was the reason Cliff was stationed at the stronghold.

‘But the problem is…’

Since being assigned to the stronghold, Ulan hadn’t exchanged even a single word with Cliff.

He hadn’t even locked eyes with him.

It was a clear cut of disregard.

Thus, Ulan also decided to leave Cliff alone.

Similarly uninterested, he redirected his gaze to the battlefield footage.

‘Looks like the assault unit has split into two.’

Arsen’s assault unit consisted of six members.

One team was made up of the representative, Irist, Ivela, and one hunter. The second team consisted of a mix of warriors, mages, and hunters.

Shortly after, the battle commenced.

As Irist charged with her spear toward the mana soldiers of Eloden, Ulan quickly gauged her strength.

‘High-ranking Knight level.’

She seemed similar to Himel Deorg, the opponent he faced before. While quietly observing Irist’s spear skills, a ferocious slash broke through, created a gap in the enemy’s line.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Blade aimed for the vital points.

This was Ivela’s attack.

As an intermediate knight, she exhibited no inferiority compared to Irist.

And the results followed.

—Cough!

A brief scream echoed through the video.

An Eloden attacker fell after receiving a strong blow.

Ivela didn’t let this opportunity slip, smashing the mana orb she held.

Crack! Snap!

The vivid sound of the orb breaking rang out.

The opponent quickly knelt down. A short alert lit up at the top of the video.

[Rondina Crepito: Death]

[Remaining Eloden Forces: 11]

The first casualty had occurred.

Meanwhile, Irist wiped out all the mana soldiers led by Rondina. Without hesitation, the Eloden assault unit chose to retreat.

—Don’t let them escape!

The first to move was Ivela.

Unsatisfied with her initial performance, she dashed in pursuit of the fleeing enemy, aiming precisely for their openings.

—I’ll hold this spot! Go ahead!

A boy seemed to have resigned himself to stay behind on the battlefield.

He began a fierce exchange with Ivela, leading with his shield, but when Irist joined in, he could no longer hold his ground and collapsed.

[Vurvo Betiman: Death]

[Remaining Eloden Forces: 10]

In the blink of an eye, two were taken down.

A clear momentum shift.

Ivela, with a light smile, turned to Irist. Soon, a command followed.

—Venturing further is dangerous. Let’s keep an eye on the situation for now.

Rushing in randomly could lead to an ambush from the retreating assault unit and the defending force.

Irist remained calm, observing Eloden’s formation while considering rejoining Team 2 if needed.

But at that moment, a casualty occurred on Arsen’s side.

[Mond Parcheka: Death]

[Remaining Arsen Forces: 11]

A middle-level mage who could manipulate fire and water fell.

The news of a third-year member’s death from the student council caused Irist to sigh.

But the anomalies didn’t end there.

[Yuria Petalon: Death]

[Miffy Amarinno: Death]

[Remaining Arsen Forces: 9]

The casualty count rose by two more.

Irist’s and Ivela’s eyes widened.

It was understandable.

Because the three who just died were all part of the Team 2 assault unit. This meant the current alert confirmed that Team 2 had been wiped out.

—What on earth….

Eyes full of turmoil.

Team 2 wasn’t made up of pushovers.

Each one was a powerhouse, having reached the level of intermediate knights or intermediate mages. Being all members of the student council, they surely worked well together.

So, how were they wiped out so quickly?

Who could possibly be their opponent?

As the look of confusion lingered, Ulan’s brows twitched, spotting something on the video.

“That’s….”

His crimson eyes shimmered.

As if he had found something unusual.

And at that moment—

—…!

Ivela’s expression changed as well, just like Ulan’s.

It seemed she also discovered something. She turned around in a hurry and shouted.

—Senior!

Like an arrow, Ivela dashed straight for Irist.

In the face of this sudden attack, Irist was taken aback but held back from blocking. She realized there was no malice in Ivela’s sword.

And it was the best choice.

A flash came flying through the underbrush.

Whipping toward Irist’s neck, the blade was deflected by Ivela’s sword.

Clang! Clang!

Just barely avoiding the ambush, Irist quickly retreated and soon identified the attacker and widened her eyes in shock.

—Y-You’re…!

—Wow, what a surprise to see you here!

A familiar voice rang out, accompanied by a look of astonishment. The young man, clad in protective gear and holding a wooden shield and sword, smiled at Ivela.

—I never thought you’d catch on to the ambush.

The strongest force from the Eloden side.

None other than Knight Ian Marcus.

Still stunned by the unexpected appearance, Irist couldn’t pull her gaze away.

—How did you get here?!

—I switched out. It was hard to just stay at the stronghold.

Ian answered nonchalantly.

However, that wasn’t the answer Irist wanted.

—I’m not asking that…!

—Haha, I know. You wonder how I got here so quickly.

It was about 3 km from Eloden’s stronghold to this place.

Even running fast, it should take at least 10 minutes.

Yet, Ian had appeared here in mere seconds after the scheduled personnel swap.

It didn’t make any physical sense.

Then Ian provided the explanation.

—It’s simple. Thanks to you, Senior.

—Huh? You mean….

—That would be me.

—L-Laurie?!

Ivela exclaimed in surprise.

The future Saintess, Laurea.

Seeing her on screen, Ulan narrowed his eyes. Because if Laurea was there, it explained why Ian had arrived at the battlefield so quickly.

‘Bridge of Light.’

One of Saintess Laurea’s unique prayers.

An holy spell that allows travel anywhere touched by sunlight, starlight, or moonlight.

It was like teleportation.

‘I see. That’s why they chose the plain for this.’

Canyons had far more shadows than sunlit areas.

So if the terrain made it harder to use the Bridge of Light, the plain was the opposite. Besides the central forest, the rest was fully sunlit.

‘So that means the original placement at the stronghold….’

Was likely a tactic to catch them off guard.

If Ian had initially been assigned to the offensive or defensive units, Irist wouldn’t have attacked as aggressively as she did now.

Irist and Ivela wore shocked expressions. They realized that everything was all part of Ian’s plan.

But neither of them was at fault.

Unless you knew of the existence of the Bridge of Light, being caught off guard was entirely reasonable.

As the conversation died down, a silence fell over the group.

Irist and Ivela began to whisper among themselves.

I wanted to listen to their conversation, but perhaps their voices were too quiet; I couldn’t hear anything.

After a while, Irist stepped back, and Ivela along with another member of the assault unit confronted Ian.

—Are you all set?

With a mischievous smile, Ian angled his body slightly while holding his shield in front of him. Then, playfully swinging his wooden sword, he smiled brightly.

—Then let’s have a little fun.

His eyes sparkled with fighting spirit.

Ivela gripped her sword tightly, not backing down.

Alongside companions from past lives.

Seeing the duel between the swordsman and the knight stirred something inside Ulan. In that moment, a competitive smile surfaced on his face.

Swish!

Ivela’s wooden sword sliced through the air.

The signal for the start of battle!

Chapter 27. Friendly Mock Battle