In the past, what I hated the most during training was being in an isolated state.
Especially being stuck in one place for a long time without supplies made every minute and second feel longer, driving someone crazy.
Since it’s a one-day training, long-term isolation was impossible. Even creating a somewhat limited state didn’t take long for my fellow trainees to find a way out and move to retake the high ground, that much was clear.
To shake up the frontlines of my fellow trainees who had excellent combat capabilities and force them to respond immediately to the situation, the method I chose was to create situations that I had found annoying continuously.
From the control tower monitor, I could observe the movements of my fellow trainees.
Team 3, with their supply lines cut off, encountered members of Team 2, and I’m sure a skirmish broke out.
At the beginning, I briefed each team on their objectives, and then left them to respond as best as they could to the battlefield’s conditions. Just how far would my friends be able to adapt?
“Front! Don’t just stand there blankly!”
Avoiding the incoming laser cannon fire, Klugger shouted to the comrades who were dealing with another team.
The locations of each team were randomly designated, and they had no idea where the other teams were stationed. If they had communications with headquarters, they could have figured out the number, location, and general strategy of the enemy, but with communication cut off, there was no way to get any information.
“Damn it.”
Cursing, Klugger hid behind an old iron plate in the corner.
“Enemy team identification impossible. They are in formation, making us at a disadvantage.”
Upon Theo’s report, Klugger peeked out from behind the iron plate to check beyond the forest.
Although the sun was high in the sky, identifying thoroughly concealed enemies was no easy task.
At this moment, Team 3 had no easy opponent among the teams.
Even without any personnel changes, they were not to be taken lightly. The skill of the comrades at the Seoul Branch, who had been training and competing together for a long time, was not to be underestimated.
“We need to find a way to figure out the direction of the laser cannon fire. If we can’t break through here, we won’t even get to see the recapture zone.”
They knew how to survey the terrain and confirm their current location without a map, so moving wasn’t an issue. The biggest problem was the immediate threat and potential dangers that could emerge at any moment.
For this reason, forming a formation and preparing for combat was crucial, but the continuous chaos even left the trained Spacystro Soldiers disoriented.
Originally, the training was supposed to be based on communication, using it to confirm threats, but from the start, the communication system collapsed, and the training began.
Since the training was designed by Klugger and Theo’s comrade, A, they were especially fuming inside.
“That bastard. Just wait till the training is over. What’s our team’s damage status?”
“Unable to confirm. We are scattered in the forest, so no one knows where everyone is.”
Making loud noises could expose their hiding place.
As soon as they spotted the enemy team, they tried to form a formation, but the enemy team also spotted Team 3 and took up a secure position first, making it impossible to face them head-on, so they had to hide.
As a result, they didn’t know where their own team members were hiding, and Klugger sighed with a mix of lamentations as he heard the incoming laser cannon fire.
“At this rate, I’ll never climb the ranks to become a commander.”
“Snap out of it. Lamenting your fate can wait till after the training is over.”
Theo, who was carefully surveying the forest, fired his laser cannon in a particular direction. He pulled the trigger vigorously, continuously firing the laser cannon, and soon, the fire ceased from the direction Theo had been shooting.
“If we keep standing around, we’re just giving them time to attack. Even if it’s risky, we need to find a way to break through this situation.”
“……Sounds like something A would say.”
From the past, Klugger had always been cautious in all operations. Whether he was leading a small squad or was in a position to fully receive orders, Klugger’s caution led to many successful missions, but sometimes, pondering over breakout methods delayed the squad’s advancement.
Since the training required reclaiming the high ground within a limited time, there was no time to overthink.
Hearing Theo speak like A, who had the opposite personality, Klugger sighed but got up to break through the situation.
“We’ll charge while staying concealed. The environment is unfamiliar for both sides, so we can’t give them time to react.”
Klugger took off his now-useless communicator from his ear and checked the positions of his nearby comrades.
He signaled the approximate path to move and, to break through, came out from behind the iron plate that was protecting him, running up the slope.
Though the forest made visibility difficult, spotting moving objects in nature was relatively easy.
The laser cannon fired towards Klugger, and before it could hit, Klugger hid behind a tree.
Theo, who was following Klugger, began firing back in the direction of the incoming laser cannon.
The comrades who received the signal also started firing, and as the attack commenced, the enemy team showered Theo’s position with fire.
“Argh!”
One of the comrades hit by the laser cannon rolled on the ground.
“Is breaking through possible?”
Klugger asked the comrades who were moving towards his position, but everyone shook their heads.
“Any close combat specialists?”
“We have two.”
“Then charge with me. Deal with the incoming bullets as you see fit.”
“What?!”
“Make it happen. It’s training, but it’s as good as real combat. Fail, and it’s the same as dying.”
Hearing Klugger’s words, the comrades sighed, and the two trained for close combat drew their swords. Charging while deflecting the incoming bullets was a reckless method they hadn’t tried before, but it was better than staying in one place and getting hit by the laser cannon, leading to a retreat.
While the hiding enemies fired their laser cannons at Theo and his comrades, Klugger didn’t stop and, along with his comrades, ran up the slope to flank the enemies.
“Provide good support.”
They tasked the remaining comrades with rear support and moved.
But being discovered happened in an instant. As much as they prepared and moved, the enemy team also responded moment by moment.
“Fire!”
Despite the shout from within the enemy team, Klugger didn’t stop. Laser cannon fire poured out, and with the sword in his hand, he deflected the incoming cannon rounds aimed at him.
“That’s insane.”
Comrades, who hadn’t thought he would actually deflect the bullets, gasped in admiration and followed Klugger.
Klugger, confident in close combat, stunned everyone with his incredible capabilities.
But deflecting the numerous incoming bullets countless times was an impossible task. Moreover, the number of bullets increased rapidly.
“Good.”
Wearing a cynical smile, Klugger softly spoke to himself as if he had anticipated the concentrated attack on him.
Judging that further advancement was impossible, he hid behind a tree but managed to close the distance more than he had thought.
The hidden enemy team realized Klugger was closing in and began reforming their ranks. Even as they continued firing, there was a slight slackening in their attack, and Theo seized the moment, charging towards the enemy team.
As one corner of the forest became chaotic, other scattered comrades gradually joined in.
“It’s Team 2!”
Hearing Theo’s shout as he first discovered the enemy, Klugger quickly thought things over. Due to the absurd tactic of suddenly charging, the fact that they were Team 3 was already exposed.
Team 3 must have fully grasped their strategy, and conversely, Team 3 also understood the strategies of the other teams as much as possible. Given that Team 3 was relatively weaker right now, they checked everything thoroughly.
“Penetrate deeper! Don’t leave any gaps!”
They probably augmented the known strategy with additional measures. There must have been changes, but Klugger knew all of Team 2’s combat methods, so he could respond accordingly.
On the other hand, for Team 3, it was their first training since personnel changes, so other teams couldn’t figure out their strategy. Even the members of Team 3 didn’t know their team’s strategy in detail, so how would other teams know?
Although Team 3 had an existing strategy, due to the personnel changes, significant modifications needed to be made. Klugger, along with Luche, had worked hard every day to devise strategies that Team 3 could implement for this training.
Klugger is cautious. Even though he had formulated strategies, he couldn’t fully trust a strategy being used in actual combat for the first time.
Despite knowing that they needed to act somewhat recklessly, it wasn’t easy.
Klugger had never acted that way before.
But as the training began and the situation unfolded, Klugger decided to stop overthinking, triggered by Theo’s words. It was partly because he wasn’t confident in the strategy, but he concluded that it was impossible to think deeply since A had designed the training.
“Let’s give it a try.”
As Klugger said, while the comrades formed ranks, Theo, who was providing covering fire, ran into Team 2 members.
“Hi!”
As Theo loudly greeted them, someone tried to pull the trigger towards him, but the shots from the Team 3 comrades who charged alongside him were faster. Multiple laser cannon shots rained down on one person, instantly depleting their suit’s battery and disabling its functions.
“Get closer!”
On Klugger’s command, Team 3 didn’t stop. Team 2, who was in the process of forming ranks, was suddenly pushed back by Team 3’s onslaught, and as their attack slackened, Klugger, along with two comrades, leaped into the trees.
He deflected the laser cannon aimed at him with his sword, and with the other hand, rapidly fired his own laser cannon to deplete the suit’s battery.
“Go up!”
Theo, who was following Klugger, immediately changed direction towards higher ground. Taking up position from high ground to attack incoming enemies was one of the basic tactics, and Theo recalled the strategy Klugger had briefed beforehand while positioning himself with his comrades.
As soon as Theo took up position high up, Klugger, along with his comrades, retreated from the enemy camp.
They reached a state where they could finally form ranks, and winning the skirmish with Team 2 would allow them to move towards the recapture point.
And then the ground shook.
“What’s this?”
Before they could understand the situation, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and the ground beneath the comrades in one position collapsed.
“Ahh!”
Upon hearing the screams, they quickly checked the situation, but the comrades had already fallen into the deep sinkhole and were out of the game due to bullets that depleted their suit batteries.
“They’ve ruined the damn training.”
From the initial situation, the movement path, and subsequent tactics were different, but A, having predicted the movement locations based on tactics, prepared traps in various places, and the moment Team 3 members arrived, the ground collapsed.
From the skirmish to the trap, in an instant, a third of the recapture team members were out.
Team 2 was understandably thrown into chaos.
As the situation reversed, they moved to find any location where they could form ranks, but A had prepared traps there.
Disabling functional suit bombs, Psycho Nets, had trapped a number of Team 2 members, rendering them out.
“Still good at using their head to screw people over.”
Theo, who didn’t think they would push the situation this far, spoke with a hollow laugh. That it was so absurd, he couldn’t even bring himself to swear.
“Let’s move.”
“We’re going like this?”
“They won’t chase us immediately anyway. Our objective isn’t the skirmish, but to recapture. It’s better to increase the distance now.”
As Team 2’s movements entirely ceased, Klugger reckoned something had happened to Team 2 and decided to move to a more favorable position.
“Got it.”
When they were about to relocate to reorganized themselves, Klugger raised his head towards a strange sound coming from somewhere.
“What’s that?”
Five drones were floating in the sky, equipped with laser cannons underneath.
As soon as the drones identified Team 3’s location, they fired their laser cannons towards the ground.
