〈 Episode 89 〉 Team Play (1)
*
‘Team Play.’
It was something I didn’t really care about before.
The situation didn’t really call for it, and I never particularly liked it.
But things changed after I effectively brought Yusera on board as a companion.
‘I guess I have to think about it to some extent.’
There was no way I could just dismiss it now.
And whether Yusera would just back off if I dismissed her was also in question.
So, I had no choice but to make the most of Yusera, who I had taken in.
The reason I had shifted to Freira’s side was partly because of this.
From now on, I would be able to employ tactics to my taste.
That was the plan, but…
‘Nothing’s easy.’
I looked around at the team members gathered for the strategy meeting.
Everyone was frozen like mice in a predator’s den.
The only exceptions were the two who were the predators themselves.
“Won’t this work?”
The knight positioned right in the enemy’s midst and the queen protecting the king in the rear.
And the other chess pieces around them.
It was the formation that Elsie had created on the strategy board.
“So, who’s the knight?”
In response to Yusera’s question, Elsie smiled.
“Of course, that’s you. Our ace from Swordsmanship Class 2?”
The situation was clearly unfavorable.
The reason I tried to send Elsie off to another professor was precisely this.
However, that plan failed, and sending her to another team within 4-B also failed due to Elsie’s stubbornness.
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you lose to me? That means you should step up.”
“No, the queen protecting the king should naturally be stronger than the knight, right?”
Elsie was definitely strong.
I could vividly picture Gwen’s struggles in teaching her for over a year.
‘I need to apologize to her when we meet again.’
But Yusera simply wouldn’t yield to Elsie.
Of course, that didn’t mean it was a good thing.
“But that was a story from two weeks ago. If we fight again, I could win.”
“Someone who couldn’t even properly attack me couldn’t have become that much stronger in two weeks.”
“If you don’t believe me, we can fight right now.”
No, that’s definitely a bad idea.
I had been a bit scared until now, but I couldn’t let this slide anymore.
“Yusera, stop it. Are you trying to destroy a relic?”
And though it wasn’t voiced, the area surrounding the relic would also be destroyed alongside it.
Of course, I believed Yusera wasn’t being serious about that, but just in case, I had to intervene.
“Mr. Sung Yoo-rang? Are you siding with her right now?”
No, I’m just honestly a little scared.
That thought climbed up my throat, but I barely swallowed it down.
“That’s not it…”
“Then how about we let Mr. Sung Yoo-rang decide? I heard there are many parties that give archers a certain level of command in Tactics Class?”
“That sounds like a pretty good idea.”
For some reason, the two opinions coincided.
Although, there was a problem with that consensus.
…No, thinking it over, there wasn’t really a problem.
‘At any rate, it means two people have acknowledged my command.’
I had at least earned some level of authority from Freira.
However, whether the other team members would adhere to that command was a different matter.
In a way, Yusera and Elsie, these two strong individuals, had just solved that issue.
‘Well, in any case, this is beneficial, right?’
I glanced at the strategy board that Elsie had roughly set up.
The strongest queen protecting the king.
And the other scattered chess pieces around her, with the knight darting through enemy territory.
‘It’s quite a conventional strategy.’
Now that I think about it, the strategy of the previous Team 4-B that Elsie belonged to was similarly conventional.
She must have taken on strategies since then.
But deploying such conventional strategies was impossible with the unbalanced composition of Team 4-B back then.
‘It’s the same now.’
So, this conventional strategy couldn’t be used.
This means who among Yusera and Elsie is stronger doesn’t matter at all.
Though they both wield swords, their temperaments differ entirely.
‘Yusera has a powerful single strike, but that’s it. Elsie may lack power, but she has great endurance in battle.’
Based on that, the best conclusion I could draw was one.
I extended my hand towards the strategy board and began moving the chess pieces.
‘It’s a bit unsettling, but…’
In theory, this is the right move.
*
A while later, the first mock battle of Team 4-B after the trade.
The opponent was Team 3-A led by Professor Huff.
And the support mage of Team 4-B, Rian, didn’t look too good.
‘Is this really alright?’
Thoughts of the lazy-faced Sung Yoo-rang, who had pushed tactics onto the two girls, flitted through his mind.
And that strategy was one he had never seen in class or anywhere else.
‘Normally, support mages should always be paired with attack mages, right…’
For some reason, Sung Yoo-rang had instructed him to follow two knights.
Okay, up to that point, I could somewhat understand.
But the problem lay with those two knights.
‘Is it really a good idea to have them together?’
Walking in front of him were two girls.
Yusera and Elsie.
Even after they entered the mock battle, they were bickering over trivial matters.
‘With them behaving like that, there’s no way they can sync up.’
As he buried his head in his hands, the two turned back to him and said.
“Oh? Are you falling behind again?”
“If you keep lagging like that, you’ll end up dead?”
No, the issue isn’t synchronization.
‘Damn Sung Yoo-rang.’
*
“No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem right…”
Meanwhile, on the side with two knights and a spearman, the same words were being voiced.
Of course, forming a party with two knights and one spearman was theoretically a balanced combination.
But that meant there would be no guards left for the mages at all.
“That guy’s archery skills were just average; does he really think he can win without an attack mage?”
In the end, the only one left for the attack mage would be the archer, Sung Yoo-rang.
Without close-range control, revealing their positions would mean the game was over.
At that moment, one of them casually said.
“Who cares? Our team is just a mishmash anyway. Perfect combinations are impossible from the start.”
“That’s true. The one you picked as an ace, Yusera, is practically a leftover from Class B.”
“On top of that, Sung Yoo-rang is basically just an extra.”
Just as they were chatting and bursting into laughter.
Far away, a flock of birds suddenly took flight.
“Looks like they’ve already begun fighting over there.”
That was where Yusera, Elsie, and Rian’s party headed.
“Come to think of it, the one who’s the most pitiful is definitely Rian. Being shoved with those reckless girls…”
At that moment, his words were cut short.
His mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out.
“Wait a second…”
Their conversation was drowned out by a massive sound of explosion.
As the echoes gradually faded, when they could hear reality again,
They couldn’t speak.
Far off, on the opposite side of the battlefield.
The forest that had been intact was now half-shredded.
It happened in an instant.
“Was there such a being in Team 3-A?”
Professor Sigritt had never encountered someone with that kind of destructive power even among the elite.
Or was it someone newly brought into Team 3-A through the trade this time?
Just as they were speculating,
Sung Yoo-rang’s voice echoed in their ears.
(Good. The ‘Tank’ side has successfully annihilated the enemy mage party.)
‘Tank’ was a nickname Sung Yoo-rang had assigned to the combination of Yusera, Elsie, and Rian.
I didn’t know what it meant, but at the time, I thought it was ridiculous.
But now, that thought changed dramatically.
“The tank is crazy strong…?”
*
“This is insane…!”
Professor Huff, who witnessed the tragedy, sprang up in shock.
To him, Freira remarked.
“Weren’t you the one who criticized me for using words that lack dignity last time?”
“…I must have misspoken.”
Huff sat back down.
Though he had gotten rather excited, what he just witnessed was undeniable.
He asked Freira.
“I don’t want to admit it, but hasn’t it been a while since someone with that kind of power appeared since the one you taught?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Then did you try to pick him out during the entrance exam?”
Freira shook her head.
“No, back then I just thought it would be fun to choose him.”
“Then that means…”
“Well, who knows? Only he would.”
Huff ground his teeth at Freira’s indifferent answer.
However, it was no use showing it.
He began to coldly analyze the battlefield situation again.
‘Still, that attack seems like it can only happen once at most.’
With the 2-star relic he had already possessed broken, further attacks of the same strength wouldn’t be possible.
Also, it seemed that candidate Elsie had exhausted her stamina while fighting solo to reach this point.
‘That leaves two knights, a spearman, an archer, and an attack mage, huh?’
The support mage was already confirmed to be with Yusera.
That means the attack mage side surely has no support mage left.
The outcome might not yet be decided.
And just then, news reached him.
(Professor, we’ve discovered one more enemy party made up of two knights and one spearman.)
At that moment, Huff had a gut feeling.
It seemed the odds were actually leaning in his favor.
Even the knights on Freira’s side, aside from Yusera and Elsie, were mostly subpar.
Moreover, the fact that they were all clustered together meant there would only be one attack mage, an archer at best.
Thus, he commanded.
(Let them be and quickly look for the mages!)
*
“Good. The ‘Tank’ side has successfully annihilated the enemy mage party.”
He muttered while observing the explosion from a distance.
Team 4-B’s attack mage, Bell, looked at him with concern.
“Are we really okay?”
Even if Yusera managed to wipe out the mage party, it didn’t imply victory.
The two knights and one spearman were not reliable.
Moreover, right now she was isolated with Sung Yoo-rang, without a proper escort.
‘We’re doomed, we’re really done for…’
As she positioned herself alongside Sung Yoo-rang, she recalled the sympathetic glances that Yusera and Elsie were sending her way.
Those glances were unmistakably filled with pity.
And now she was painfully realizing the identity of that look.
“Yeah, we’re fine.”
Sung Yoo-rang replied nonchalantly.
Indeed, when I had said he could only use Fireball, I should have been clearer.
Fireball was not the kind of high-power magic he had in mind.
Should I tell him now, perhaps?
‘Yeah, maybe that would be better?’
Gathering her courage, she opened her mouth.
“Um, it seems you haven’t really seen my Fireball properly. So, the thing is…”
“No, I’ve grasped what kind of magic it is. I brought Bell along precisely with that in mind, so have no worries.”
“Huh?”
His gaze changed in an instant.
It was a look she had never seen in their previous mock battles in the same 2-A team.
He quietly said to her.
“Try to keep your worries at a minimum and focus on casting.”
*
