Underdog (Part 2)
'The battlefield is...'
The scenery shifted before my eyes, revealing an urban cityscape.
'Thank goodness.' In the worst-case scenario, I had anticipated terrains with almost no cover, like a desert or a tundra. If we had ended up in a place like that, we wouldn't have stood a chance. At the very least, we had cleared the first hurdle.
"Alright, move out according to plan."
We only had one strategy. Our team's resources were severely limited to begin with, but that single strategy had served us well so far.
'It won't be any different even if our opponents are Class 1-A.' We decided to rely on the tactic we excelled at most. With that, everyone except Belle and me set off to fulfill their respective roles. The barrier dividing the center of the battlefield dissolved, and the match began.
The tide of battle wasn't turning in our favor.
Mages served as strategic weapons in mock battles for two main reasons. First was their sheer destructive power and area-of-effect annihilation capabilities. Second was their role in forcing the enemy to divert resources to keep them in check, thereby thinning the opponent's overall forces.
Because of this, standard tactics usually involved deploying a portion of one's forces to confront the enemy mage, creating a standoff. However, Sigrid had bypassed this standoff entirely by hiding his mage. This meant he hadn't allocated much of his strength to protecting them either. I could be absolutely certain of this because I was witnessing the consequences with my own eyes.
'Did he dump all his forces here?' From all directions, the enemy was closing in, tightening their encirclement. Naturally, their targets were Belle and me.
'So this is his play.' It was a strategy I had anticipated to some extent. In our team's setup, I was the easiest target to exploit. Even without Sigrid's intervention, our previous opponents from Class 2-B had attempted the exact same tactic.
'The only problem is that the caliber of these opponents is on a completely different level.' Our adversaries were Class 1-A. Compared to the cadets of Class 2-B, the difference in quality was night and day. One look at their formation made that abundantly clear.
'They're incredibly systematic.' Unlike Class 2-B, who had closed in erratically one by one, these cadets were executing a highly disciplined, coordinated encirclement. Escaping this dragnet with Belle would be impossible. Even so, I had no intention of changing our tactics.
"Keep searching for their mage on your end." Leaving a mage unchecked carried far too much risk. One way or another, they had to be eliminated. However, I couldn't send the three fools—who possessed absolutely zero magic resistance—to deal with a mage. Besides, those guys had a different role to play.
"Where are you right now, Trio?" Since I couldn't very well call them the "three fools" to their faces, I had dubbed them the "Trio." They actually liked the name, thinking it sounded sophisticated.
Unlike the "Tank" duo who had successfully slipped past the encirclement, the Trio seemed to still be trapped inside. But that wasn't an issue. I had trained them specifically for situations like this.
"Don't be afraid. Break through. No matter how strong the opponent is, they won't be able to stand against the three of you if you coordinate your attacks."
In truth, claiming the enemy "won't be able to stand against you" was a massive exaggeration meant to boost their confidence. Class 1-A was teeming with monsters who could easily handle a one-versus-three situation. Yet, if we had one saving grace...
'The enemy is bound to underestimate them.' Those three had shown absolutely nothing in the mock battles so far. In a way, they were our secret weapons. And just as I had calculated, a transmission soon came through.
They were celebrating after barely scraping a three-on-one victory. Still, I didn't have the luxury to nitpick. Their mission didn't end with simply breaking through the encirclement.
"Now, keep the enemy archer in check as planned." This was the end of their direct combat duties. If even two enemies grouped up, the Trio's chances of winning would plummet. From here on, their sole task was to harass the enemy archer.
'It's fine even if they can't take the archer down.' Simply keeping him occupied was enough. That alone would free me from having to waste my Wind Authority on defense. The rest was up to Belle and me.
'At most, there are four of them.' Granted, they were far stronger than any opponents we had faced so far. But that was only when measuring pure swordsmanship. The fundamental matchup between sword and bow remained unchanged.
"Belle, nothing has changed. We just need to shoot them all down before they can close the distance." I notched an arrow to my bowstring.
'Using the exact same tactics...' Sigrid swept his gaze across the battlefield through the eyes of the archery class cadet. Of course, there was a slight anomaly—the useless trio, who had been utterly powerless in previous mock battles, had somehow managed to defeat a Class 1-A swordsman and break through the encirclement. However, that wouldn't significantly sway the tide of the match.
'And even if they broke through, there is nothing more they can do.' After all, the bulk of his forces had already established a tight perimeter.
'The outcome is already decided.' He observed the three swordsmen and one spearman closing the distance. Since blocking a Fireball was impossible anyway, he hadn't equipped them with heavy armor. Unless caught completely off guard, a Fireball—which didn't travel exceptionally fast—could simply be dodged with swift footwork.
'Once she is dealt with, only Sung Yu-rang will remain.' Admittedly, the boy's archery was formidable. Even if four vanguard fighters rushed him at once, he might just possess the skill to overcome the disadvantage of his class. However, Sigrid had decided to eliminate that possibility entirely. He added one final trump card to the encirclement.
'It is a bit of a shame to end it like this, but...' He had harbored some expectations. Even with his long tenure as an instructor at the Hero Academy, he had never encountered a cadet quite like this. In fact, even the instructors in charge of tactical education were eager to recruit the mastermind behind these strategies.
'But in the end, is a cadet merely a cadet?'
Whoosh. An arrow slipped from my fingers, slicing through the air. It flew toward a target who had yet to spot me. Just like in our previous battles, I intended to eliminate one of them before they could pinpoint my location. Infused with Wind Authority and pushed to Overload, the arrow was aimed precisely at his throat.
But in that split second, the cadet swung his sword with an absurdly fast reaction time. My arrow was deflected harmlessly off his blade. At the same instant, he snapped his head toward the direction the projectile had come from, locking eyes with me.
"...Prepare for battle!" I called out to Belle, who was in the middle of casting a Fireball, alerting her that our position had been compromised. We would have far less breathing room than in our previous fights. As if to prove my point, the moment they located me, they began closing the distance in a swift, straight line. I hurriedly notched another arrow.
'The spearman first.' I had been too greedy just now. I had tried to take down the most skilled-looking opponent with a surprise attack, but I had clearly underestimated them. I couldn't afford to repeat the same mistake. I needed to curb my ambition and prioritize the spearman, who would be the most troublesome for me to handle.
Twang! The arrow leaped from the bow. Imbued with Wind Authority, it streaked toward the spearman. And then...
'What?' The arrow struck an invisible barrier shimmering in front of him and clattered to the ground. A Magic Shield. The implications of this were clear.
'Are you kidding me?' It seemed Sigrid had decided to invest everything into shutting Belle and me down. He had covertly slipped a support mage into the vanguard squad. This was completely unexpected.
"Belle, is there any way you can speed up the Fireball's travel time?" But she shook her head. Her Fireballs were failing to land entirely due to the enemies' agile movements. Of course, it wasn't her fault. Her role was originally to deal with heavy armor; handling agile opponents like these had always been my job.
'What do I do?' The sheer amount of resources poured into neutralizing Belle and me was overwhelming. It wasn't a scenario I had anticipated, but the time for panic had already passed. What I needed to do right now was clear.
There was still no news of the enemy mage being eliminated. However, now that I knew there was absolutely no one guarding them, we didn't need powerhouses like Yoo Seora or Elsie over there. The three fools would be more than enough.
With that, I quickly adjusted our tactics. From this point on, there was only one thing left for me to do. Understanding this, Belle spoke up.
"Go, hurry!" Since the enemies weren't wearing any armor, her role was practically over. Yet, she didn't stop casting Fireballs until the very last moment, determined to provide cover fire for my escape.
"I'm counting on you, Belle." If the enemy's goal was to capture me, then all I had to do was not get caught. If I could run toward Yoo Seora and Elsie and regroup with them, we might still have a chance. But just as I was about to make my break—
'What is this?' An unexpected obstacle caught me off guard. 'A barrier?' A magical barrier had formed, sealing me inside. The support mage they brought along was exceptionally skilled. But I didn't have the luxury of admiring their talent. I couldn't escape. This meant only one thing: I had to hold out here by any means necessary until Yoo Seora's group arrived. Could I do it? Honestly, it would be incredibly difficult—especially since I couldn't use a sword. But if I had to give an answer...
"Sung Yu-rang?"
"It's a barrier. We can't escape."
"Then..."
"Please, don't stop casting. It's not over yet." Since when had I ever calculated the odds of success before making a move? If anything, this was a much better situation because there was no penalty for dying here. You never know if something is possible until you try.
"We won't know unless we try."