Chapter 248: That’s Not How You Do It...
Chapter 248: That’s Not How You Do It...
I had successfully combined elements for intermediate magic. The resulting spell was quite impressive, too.
The day after I stopped by the workshop to shower Fay with praise, telling her it was all thanks to the new staff, the second-semester classes began—just as Iona had mentioned, with a slightly different focus.
“Alright, everyone heard the explanation from your homeroom professors, right? From today onwards, we will be conducting classes with more practical content. If the first semester was about learning monster classifications and how to defeat them, the second semester is about devising combat scenarios using that knowledge. Let’s see… it’s best to hear from someone with experience. Student Yandel?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s assume you’ve encountered a combat squad consisting of two Orc Warriors and one Orc Shaman. The setting is a forest on flat ground with sparse trees, and the time is midday. Both sides have spotted each other simultaneously, but there is a distance of about 30 meters between you. Your companion is a single vanguard at the Aura Runner level. What should you do to annihilate the enemy?”
“I’d fire off three consecutive no-chant Lightning Bolts.”
The power might be a bit lower, but I could just compensate by using more mana. With an Orc’s reaction speed, they wouldn’t be able to dodge a Lightning Bolt anyway, so it’s perfect.
“…Let’s add the assumption that Student Yandel’s level is that of an ordinary lower mage.”
“Aha. So you’re asking for a universal strategy, not what I personally can do?”
“Correct.”
“First… at a distance where weapons can’t reach, Orc Warriors show two patterns: throwing something or a leaping overhead strike. Unless it’s a desperate situation, they’ll charge, in which case you can easily dodge by throwing yourself to the side rather than backward. At this moment, if the Orc’s left foot is forward, it will swing its weapon in a wide horizontal arc, but if its right foot is forward…”
As I began to pour out detailed explanations of Orc patterns and strategy based on them, the professor’s face went blank.
However, it wasn’t long before he shook his head vigorously, cutting me off.
“S-Stop! That’s enough. Please sit back down.”
“Pardon?”
I hadn’t even explained how to exploit the Orc Shaman’s totem yet.
Feeling a bit disappointed, I licked my lips and sat down. Only then did the professor let out a sigh and continue the lesson.
“Student Yandel’s method is theoretically excellent. The problem is that real combat rarely goes as planned. Therefore, one must always leave room for flexibility in a plan.”
“It’s not really that difficult, though. For a small-scale skirmish at a party level, students in Class A should be more than capable of it. Of course, it would require practice.”
“Have you actually tried it?”
“Yes. In the Nersia Kingdom.”
“Gah…!”
The incident where Iona and I wiped out the Archbishops of the Evil God sects—including Ayla, the Cardinal of Narrow-minded Usurpation—was quite famous.
It was well-known enough that people even knew I had fought through thousands of undead and Fishermen to feed Iona my blood.
Finding himself speechless since he was talking to the person who had actually done it, the professor glanced my way and continued.
“Ahem. Student Yandel’s opinion is also a good method. However, for now, there is a separate model answer.”
“Ooh.”
In Monster Studies, where we used to just memorize characteristics and weaknesses, we were finally getting into actual strategies.
In H&A, the classes simply showed the weaknesses or lore related to each monster; they never directly taught strategies like this.
It made sense, as doing so would have turned the game into a cyber lecture.
I was curious to see what the "standard" strategy of this world felt like.
As I focused with a fluttering heart, the professor drew a simple diagram on the blackboard with a solemn expression and spoke.
“To give you the basic framework: while the Orc Warriors are charging, you cast protection magic on the vanguard. While the vanguard holds off the Orc Warriors, you use fast-acting magic to deal with the Shaman first.”
“Hmm?”
When my eyebrows twitched in doubt, the professor flinched. Where did the enthusiastic man from the start of the first class of the second semester go?
“S-Shield magic is highly efficient. At the very least, it won’t break easily against enemies of a similar level. You should be able to withstand five or six attacks from an ordinary Orc Warrior that isn’t a named individual. If you cast it on an Aura Runner-level vanguard, they can easily handle two of them.”
That was true. Under the premise that they were of equal rank, breaking through a Shield infused with sufficient mana was no easy task.
When I nodded silently, the professor let out a sigh of relief and continued his explanation.
“Orc shamanism is bizarre but primitive. It always requires a sacrifice. And a burnt offering ritual is slower than a chant. In a battle of speed, a mage holds the elemental advantage, so if you utilize this well, you can defeat them easily.”
This was also true. Shamanism was said to be prevalent in the distant past, but there was a reason it had become niche now.
It was because it lagged behind magic and Aura in almost every field except for a few specific areas.
One could gain the strength of a bear, but it was inferior to Aura’s body strengthening; one could command nature and spirits, but it required a much more cumbersome process than magic.
Of course, Arch Shamans who had surpassed the wall were exceptions, but that was true for any field.
After hearing it all, I understood why the professor called it the model answer.
The vanguard fulfills the vanguard’s role, and the rearguard fulfills the rearguard’s role—a classic but stable method.
Considering the distribution of stamina and mana, it wasn’t wrong to say it was efficient. If this wasn’t the model answer, what would be? However...
“That’s not how you do it...”
“Is something the matter, Student Yandel?”
Even though I had muttered it quietly, the professor, who had been watching my every move, caught it immediately and swallowed hard.
“Instead of pouring that much mana into a Shield, wouldn’t it be better to just cast Mana Overcharge on a Fireball and throw it?”
Orcs are tough, but they can’t avoid serious injury if they’re hit by an overcharged Fireball.
“But the process of Mana Overcharge naturally warns the enemy that something big is coming. Orcs may have somewhat low intelligence, but they aren’t fools. Especially when it comes to matters of combat.”
“True. They aren’t stupid enough to just stand there and get hit by a blatant fireball. That’s why the vanguard needs to taunt them.”
“Taunt?”
“Yes. Not the kind of taunt where you use Aura to create a special wavelength to draw aggro, but a pure, rage-inducing provocation. Orcs are monsters that use both their native tongue and the common language, so they’ll understand you. If you just roughly tell them their mother is a goblin, they’ll absolutely lose it.”
Except for the Goblins who followed Ugly Prosperity, all Greenskins were kin of Reckless Roar.
Perhaps because of that, while they gained stronger physical abilities than before the War of the Gods, they also gained intermittent explosive disorder.
The atmosphere of despising Goblins as a cowardly race was a bonus.
Orcs are creatures with such a strong attachment to their bloodline—and by extension, their tribe—that they introduce themselves as the son of so-and-so.
To tell such Orcs that their mom is a goblin? They would never be able to endure it.
For reference, this setting was implemented in H&A by using a gesture to mimic a goblin in front of an Orc, which would make them charge like mad.
It was originally a one-time gesture used for a Goblin village infiltration quest, but I hadn't expected it to have a provocation function limited to Greenskins.
Thanks to that, there were quite a few people who accepted the infiltration quest but never actually cleared it.
“…If you’re not careful, they might enter a Berserk state. There’s no need to take such a risk, is there?”
“No, that’s even better. You can just spam Grease, and they’ll neutralize themselves in a few minutes. The vanguard can just circle around and deal with the Shaman in the meantime.”
Berserk is a common Authority that Reckless Roar bestows upon his followers. While it significantly increases overall physical abilities and defense, it clouds their reason, and once the duration ends, all stats are temporarily reduced.
If the user’s rank is high, they can maintain their reason even if their actions become violent… but that’s impossible for an ordinary Orc.
Furthermore, Grease is a spell that barely qualifies as low-grade magic, so its mana consumption and casting speed are incomparably lower than other lethal spells.
As a result, this method would save more stamina and mana.
After hearing everything I had to say, the professor muttered in a slightly dejected voice.
“But I can’t teach students such dangerous methods…”
“Don’t worry. It’s not dangerous at all if you kill them before you die.”
That’s how mages are supposed to fight.
Stability is important, but if you’re going to prioritize stability that much, you should have become a Holy Knight.
I nodded to myself for a moment. Noticing the classroom had been quiet for a while, I glanced around.
Every single one of them was looking at me with pale faces, as if they were staring at a hazardous object.
Why? Why are they looking at me like that?
Just as I was about to frown slightly, Elisha, who was sitting next to me, let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
“Sigh… and after all that, you argued to Professor Iona yesterday that you aren’t a battle maniac?”
“……”
As I pressed my lips together, Carla, who was sitting on the other side, stroked my thigh under the desk as if to comfort me.
“It’s okay, Master. You’re interested in women as much as fighting, aren’t you? That’s enough for me!”
You both are too much.
—Yandel Vigilge.