Chapter 308

308

At the mention of a mock battle, the second-year students began to buzz with excitement.

“An enormous dormitory-against dormitory mock battle?”

“So, the entire dormitory will participate in the mock battle, right?”

It was, literally, a colossal-scale fight in which the entirety of the second-year class would take part.

“Quiet.”

At that single curt word, the second-years all shut their mouths and focused on Halind.

“This practical exam is to evaluate your capabilities in large-scale human battles.”

Halind’s chilling gaze turned toward the students.

“During your first year, you’ve been studying and training for one-on-one combat. Or battles against hordes of monsters, beasts, and demons.”

The students nodded in agreement at his words.

“From the second year onward, you’ll need to learn about combat against multiple humans, or other races.”

Most students looked perplexed at Halind’s statement.

Chelsea immediately raised her hand.

“What is it, Chelsea LeWalyn?”

“Why should there be any distinction if it’s all combat?”

At Chelsea’s question, Halind gave the students a blank look as he surveyed them. Most students seemed to agree with Chelsea’s point.

“Is there anyone who can answer Chelsea’s question?”

A few students raised their hands in response.

“Emio Luchan, answer.”

Halind gave the first-raised hand, Emio, the right to speak.

“Large-scale human battles differ greatly in strategy and tactics. While monsters and beasts tend to move in extremely simple patterns, and demons are inherently dangerous merely by their existence, human battles—especially ones at a larger scale—are conducted at a highly trained and organized level. Thinking of them like monsters or beasts might lead you into traps or strategic errors.”

Emio’s explanation made Halind nod in approval.

“Excellent. Five points for your presentation.”

“Thank you.”

Emio bowed his head and then exhaled as he glanced over at Chelsea.

Looking at Emio, Chelsea stuck out her tongue irritably. The LeWalyn house, from which Chelsea hails, has deep ties to military training, so Emio knows how fundamentally different fighting humans versus monsters or demons can be from a young age.

“Is there anyone else who wants to share a difference?”

The students exchanged glances at Halind’s inquiry.

In the midst of the unease, Chen Sia raised her hand.

“Chen Sia, answer.”

“Regardless of the reason, in actual combat, many lives have to be taken, and that is the main difference.”

For once, Chen Sia’s face was entirely expressionless.

This caused the students surrounding her to flinch. These were still children, barely in their mid-teens, aspiring to become heroes. They were far too young to fully grasp the gravity of taking a life.

Everyone swallowed hard.

“Five points for your presentation.”

Chen Sia silently withdrew her hand.

“The greatest adversary of heroes is Tartarus. That is an absolute truth that never changes.”

Halind looked at the students.

“But far into the future, there may come a day when, due to individual circumstances, you point weapons at each other and meet on the battlefield.”

Though gathered under the name Hero Academy Lumeran, most Hero Candidates have affiliations with their respective countries, carrying along with them complex alliances and rivalries. Students representing talent from all nations around the world attend. As such, there are many students among those gathered here whose home countries are hostile to each other.

The mood among the students became heavy.

“But, remember this: this large-scale human combat exam is not based on such wars.”

Halind took a deep breath.

“It is to prepare you for the battles you will face with Hero Hunters someday. Never forget this fact.”

“Yes!”

With a loud reply from his students, Halind nodded and continued.

“Now, I’ll explain the rules for this exam.”

Halind snapped his fingers, and a magical hologram appeared in the air.

“The battlefield for this exam is Lumeria Lake.”

Seeing the serene landscape of Lumeria Lake, students lit up with excitement in their eyes.

“Each dormitory will be given a base.”

Snap! Three islands appeared as a result of his snapping.

“Oh! This is intense!”

“What they called a mock battle has actual bases?”

The students were amazed, their excitement evident.

“Sounds fun!”

Kal exclaimed.

Halind’s stern gaze turned to Kal.

“Kal Thomas.”

“Yes, y-yes?”

“Chelsea LeWalyn.”

“Yes?”

“Come to the front.”

Kal thought he was going to be scolded for saying the exam sounded “fun,” but upon being called with Chelsea, Kal internally relaxed.

Halind handed Kal a bracelet.

“This is a magical artifact that will protect your body. Put it on.”

Without hesitation, Kal obeyed Halind’s command. As soon as he put it on, the bracelet glowed green.

“Oh?”

While Kal was marveling at that,

“Chelsea LeWalyn.”

“Yes.”

“Attack Kal Thomas with magic.”

“Wind Storm!”

Khwagakakakak!

“Ughhhhh?!?!”

Without hesitation, Chelsea’s high-speed incantation skill launched Kal, who then crashed onto the ground with a thud and wriggled his body.

Everyone looked at Kal with sympathetic eyes.

A while later,

“Wait! Regardless of that, you didn’t have to suddenly blow me away like that!”

“That was Professor Halind’s order.”

“We could have tried a mild spell like Magic Arrow, right?”

“Since it’s an experiment, I thought we’d need something strong. Judging by your reaction, it didn’t hurt, though?”

“It did! It really, really hurt! It’s just I didn’t take any damage!”

As Kal complained, Chelsea gave him a bright and cute smile.

Halind pointed to Kal’s wrist.

“Everyone, look at Kal Thomas’s wrist. It’s glowing red, right?”

Not only that, but when the bracelet was green, it lit up as a whole. Now, only the top part remained lit.

“The red light indicates a near-d*ath state. This bracelet both protects you and serves as your life meter. When the light disappears, you’re considered ‘dead.’ Of course, you won’t actually be injured, but it won’t completely block the pain.”

Everyone nodded in understanding.

“So, is it over when the life runs out?”

At Chloe’s raised hand, Halind shook his head.

“No. Once your life runs out, you’ll revive in five minutes and can re-enter the battle from your base.”

“Oh…”

“On the other hand, the opposing team will gain 5 points as a suppression point.”

“Ohoh.”

“In addition, to allow quick entry into the battlefield, you can set up a forward base and a warp gate connected to your main base. If the forward base is destroyed, the team that destroyed it will receive 20 points.”

“Can we also capture an opponent’s base?”

At Celia’s question, Halind nodded.

“Yes. If you capture and take control of an opponent’s base, you’ll gain 300 points. If your base is captured, you can no longer revive. Annihilation means the end. Of course, you can retake a captured base.”

At this, everyone wore tense expressions.

“Ultimately, the team with the most points wins, correct?”

“Yes, Abad LeWalyn.”

With Halind’s answer, a murmur rose among the students.

“Amazing! Incredible!”

“This exam sounds fun!”

“We can devise various strategies!”

Watching the excited students, Halind said,

“Besides accumulating points, there’s another way to win.”

The students quickly focused on Halind as he spoke.

“If a dorm’s king is captured, that dorm is disqualified.”

Everyone’s eyes rounded wide.

“Of course, the king can’t revive.”

*

Glory Dormitory Lounge.

“Everyone, gather here quickly!”

“Is anyone missing?”

All dormitory students gathered in the lounge.

As the entire Glory Dormitory student body assembled, Chloe sat off to the side, reading a thick book.

“What are you reading?”

Glory’s male summoning student, Letdam, asked curiously. Chloe smiled faintly in response.

“Books on tactical theory.”

Meanwhile, Leo began to speak.

“Let’s start the strategy meeting now.”

At Leo’s words, Chloe closed her book.

“Before we start, I’d like to select a strategist.”

At these words, Iliana raised her hand enthusiastically.

“Me! Me! Class Leader! I want to do it!”

At Iliana’s outburst, voices of dissent erupted from various directions.

“Hey! If you’re in charge of planning, all we’ll get are frontal attack plans, right?”

“You’re the guy who charges in every 1:1 battle. What do you know about being a strategist?”

Unperturbed by her fellow dorm mates, Iliana crossed her arms and held her chin high.

“Hmph! I guess you’ve forgotten that I’m from the Laden family! Our family has a history of war heroes. We even have a family motto related to war!”

“What’s the motto?”

At Lettam’s question, Iliana smirked.

“Crush your enemies with overwhelming force.”

“So basically, you’re saying you’ll destroy our own troops first?”

The mood among the dorm mates was chilly.

“I think Chloe would be better as a strategist.”

“Agreed! Chloe is good at coming up with strategies and tactics!”

“She’s even a chess master!”

Chloe nodded in agreement.

“Alright, then I’ll do it.”

“In that case, I’ll be the vice-strategist!”

“Rejected.”

“Class Leader! These kids are ignoring me!”

With a pained expression, Iliana complained to Leo.

Thus, with Chloe appointed as the strategist, she began,

“First, before we come up with a strategy, I think we need to decide our King.”

At this, all students in the dorm wore serious expressions.

“Who do you think should be the King? Any volunteers?”

At Chloe’s question, everyone began sizing each other up.

Even Iliana, usually eager to jump into the fray, was deep in thought this time around.

King.

This was the biggest variable in this battle. Even if you manage to capture an opponent’s base or stack suppression points through overwhelming combat, if your King is eliminated, you lose.

As such, it’s preferable to have the strongest person as King.

On the other hand, appointing your dorm’s strongest person as King also presented problems.

Large-scale battles have many variables. No matter how strong someone may be, a moment of carelessness might lead to losing all their life points and disqualification.

Thus, it’s best if the King remains in the safe zone and doesn’t stray far from it.

“This is giving me a headache more than expected.”

The Glory dormitory students shook their heads.

“In light of how crucial this position is—one where you absolutely cannot fail—we think it’s better if a strong person takes the role, but that would reduce our overall strength.”

“And if we give the job to someone capable of defending the base, it’s still unstable.”

“Plus, even defensive base battles are risky. At the first sign of trouble, we’d need to retreat.”

As everyone was in deep thought,

“If there are no volunteers, is there anyone you’d like to recommend?”

All eyes turned to Chloe.

Looking around at their fellow dorm mates, Chloe spoke.

“I believe Leo is best suited to be our King.”

At this, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Isn’t making Leo our King a waste? He’s our strongest.”

Letdam’s statement resonated with the other students.

Looking at their reactions, Chloe explained.

“Anyway, the students from other dorms won’t know that Leo is our King.”

That was true.

The identity of the King is kept ‘secret’ from the other dormitory students.

Chloe’s lips curved into a smirk.

“We’ll use that to our advantage.”

“What?”

“Leo is our strongest. So, other dormitory students will think it’s unlikely he’s our King.”

“Indeed.”

Leo stroked his chin.

“So, you’re saying I’ll be the King and intercept enemies.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Chloe nodded.

“Actually, most people will avoid fighting Leo. They won’t want to give him suppression points.”

“By sending Lord Leo as the King to the front lines, you’re saying the enemy will conserve themselves, making it safer.”

Chen Sia was visibly impressed.

“Of course, there are still variables. Warden, Duran, and Eliza will likely target Leo.”

Chloe’s eyes sparkled.

“But with Leo’s abilities, he can definitely handle those three. They won’t team up, after all.”

Warden, Duran, and Eliza will target Leo because he is their goal.

Thus, their pride will prevent them from teaming up.

“Celia, Abad, and Chelsea will likely calculate the costs and benefits and will avoid fighting against Leo.”

Ultimately, this strategy was about hiding the most important person in the most dangerous place.

“Still, isn’t it too risky?”

Iliana voiced her concern, to which Chloe nodded.

“Indeed, it’s risky. But…”

Looking at Leo, Chloe smiled faintly.

“The moment the opponent thinks we wouldn’t play our strongest card like this, this mock battle will become significantly advantageous for us.”

Glory students looked at Chloe.

Her giggling resemblance to a dangerous witch from a tale of folklore.

“So? What’ll it be?”