Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Tail Chase
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The cadets all boarded their Gigants under Kaul and the instructors' command.
In the first class, plenty of them couldn't even get their machines running properly, but now everyone handled activation with ease.
Thud—!
"Good! That's everyone!"
With the last cadet finishing activation and standing on both feet, Kaul spoke up.
"Abel! Turn around!"
At his words, Abel smoothly maneuvered his machine to face backward.
Kaul pointed at Abel's Gigant as he continued.
"That blue panel on the back is the tail!"
Attached to the back of Abel's machine, Lupus, was something like a blue metal plate.
It wasn't just a simple metal plate—it was a type of artifact, specially developed for training.
"Touch that, and it'll automatically transfer to your own machine! Whoever holds it when time's up wins!"
Just as Kaul said, mere contact would transfer it to the holder's own Gigant.
It wasn't used only for tail tag; it saw use in all sorts of similar training drills.
"Those with tails are Abel, Daniel, and May! Three in total! You three, move to your pre-marked positions!"
-Yes!
Abel spotted the marked spot on the floor not far away and headed there.
Meanwhile, the remaining seven fell back to the rear.
Kaul then explained a few rules before issuing final warnings.
"Oh, and touching the barrier means you're out! Stay away from the outer edges as much as possible!"
-Understood!
Hearing their unified response, Kaul moved to the safe zone with the other instructors.
Moments later, he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Begin—!"
Boom—!
A massive roar echoed at the starting signal.
Three of the seven charged forward simultaneously.
The most standout among them was the machine emblazoned with a red sun emblem, piloted by a boy named Kallian.
-Spread to the sides and hit at once!
As if they'd planned it in advance, Kallian barked sharp orders at the other two.
They split left and right from Kallian's flanks.
Even without prior coordination, they formed a precise formation.
'Not bad.'
Abel thought as he watched. Kallian had some real skill.
In terms of overall ability, he was on par with Daniel, and Abel knew he'd just barely missed the special class by a hair.
'And the two on the sides are solid mid-tier.'
Not bad at all for a hastily thrown-together group.
But threatening? Not really.
If they were, Abel wouldn't have the leisure to ponder them like this.
Thud!
Abel waited until they closed in, then lunged forward to the right in a surprise move.
-Ugh?
The opponent hadn't expected a head-on charge and flinched before swinging a fist a beat late.
Whoosh!
But the punch whistled harmlessly through empty air.
A predictable outcome.
The skill gap was too wide.
Normally, three suddenly coordinating like that would feel threatening.
Kallian had banked on exactly that.
But Abel nonchalantly targeted the weakest link, shattering their encirclement in an instant.
Thud!
Thump!
May seized the opening created by the attention on Abel and slipped free effortlessly.
That left only Daniel.
Abel glanced at Daniel stubbornly holding his ground, then turned away.
'Everyone's starting to move now.'
Besides the initial three guarding tails, four more were gunning for them.
One cadet had seized the moment when all eyes were forward and made his move.
The problem was that his target was Abel.
Thud!
Abel deliberately made a loud noise as he hurled his body sideways.
The opponent reached out late, slicing only empty air.
-Tch!
A click of the tongue rang out.
Abel smirked at the sound.
That reaction meant he still thought he had a shot.
Abel intended to shatter that illusion completely.
What he wanted wasn't just a slight edge—it was unchallenged dominance.
-Gang up on him at once!
Someone shouted, charging at Abel.
Two more joined in response, barreling toward him.
Learning from before, they started with arms spread wide.
'They think they can take me first.'
Thanks to that, Daniel and May guarded their tails with relative ease.
Abel knew it but felt no grievance—quite the opposite, in fact.
They were handing him a perfect stage to show his superiority.
Leap!
Abel vaulted high first.
His pursuers, as if scripted, shot their hands up in unison to snag him.
They probably thought this was their chance.
Dodging mid-air was far harder, after all.
But that was only generally true.
Bang—!
With a burst of air, Abel's Gigant shot backward through the sky.
Using Wind's Blessing, he could evade even in mid-air with ease.
Of course, that wasn't the end of it.
The cadets doggedly pursued, and Abel dodged each time with different tricks.
He slipped four-man encirclements using Sage's Ring, or scattered them outright with Shadow Step.
One might expect the odds to shift over time with multiple foes piling on, but they didn't.
-Hah, huff.
-Ugh......
The other cadets panted so hard their gasps echoed outside their Gigants, utterly spent.
-Their skills are seriously lacking.
"Well, that's not terrible by their standards."
Abel conversed leisurely with Lupus.
As the situation dragged, the cadets began doubting the point of targeting Abel.
Ten minutes in, without even grazing him—it was understandable.
Soon, as if by silent agreement, they turned their backs on Abel and headed for Daniel and May.
"Finally giving up, huh."
"Seems like it."
Abel crossed his arms, watching the action unfold with Lupus.
Daniel and May, who'd been holding steady, started yielding ground as the others piled on.
Daniel looked the more troubled of the two.
May was nimble by nature, with killer combat instincts that kept her from getting pinned down easily.
Daniel, stamina aside, wasn't standout in other areas yet.
So when the group tightened their net, he went full brawl mode.
Boom—!
Crash!
Roars erupted in succession.
"Hmm."
Watching on, one cadet caught the eye.
Kallian, the first to charge Abel.
'Red hair, knight family background.'
Abel recalled Kallian's profile.
He stuck in memory because the guy had some presence in the game—not main cast, but notable among extras.
'His spearmanship is solid, but impatience holds him back from his full potential. Still green on Gigant handling.'
Seemed more flaws than strengths, but compared to the others, he was leagues ahead.
In Abel's view, polish the Gigant piloting, and he'd match special class cadets.
-Strategy failed.
Lupus chimed in.
Abel asked.
"Strategy?"
-Yeah. That Daniel guy's nothing special without stamina, but right now? That's when it shines most.
"True enough."
The game had run over ten minutes already.
Most cadets had wasted nearly that long chasing Abel.
Meaning they were running on fumes.
"With his stamina, he's no different now from the start."
-Looks that way to me.
Daniel had moved plenty too, but his motions showed no drop-off.
Monstrous stamina made it inevitable.
Gigant runtime hinged on physical and mental endurance.
Daniel was near-peerless among first-years in both.
Not so much in body techniques or piloting, though—if they'd focused him early, it'd be different.
Lupus was right: failed strategy.
-They didn't clock the skill gap with you from the start. Pathetic bunch.
Abel chuckled.
To Lupus, Abel barely scraped by, so his scorn for the rest was par for the course.
Things seemed headed for the tail-holders' easy win.
Then, as time expired.
"Enough!"
Kaul's sharp shout cut through.
Those squeezing out last efforts against Daniel froze.
Using a voice-amplifying artifact, Kaul continued.
"Good work, everyone. As promised, the three who held their tails to the end get rewards."
Abel nodded in satisfaction, but felt a twinge of puzzlement.
No quest completion window, unlike usual.
Meanwhile, Kaul pressed on.
"You seven, fall back to the outskirts!"
Abel realized Kaul had something else in mind.
Sure enough, Kaul grinned and boomed.
"And you three! You've got two choices!"
-What are they?
Ever-dutiful Daniel replied with a question.
Kaul raised one finger.
"First: Take the promised reward and rest. Simple enough."
He extended a second.
"Second: One more round of tail tag for a better reward! Pick whichever you like!"
-Same rules?
Abel jumped in this time.
It reeked of a setup.
Kaul answered plainly.
"Of course not! This time, you're not the tails—you're the ones stealing them!"
-From who?
Abel fired off without pause, and Kaul muttered under his breath.
"That's why I hate sharp cadets......"
Abel, not catching it, asked.
-Pardon?
"Nothing. Your opponents this time? Your seniors. They helped last time too."
Abel instantly thought of Claire. And right on cue, she approached at Kaul's gesture.
'Stingy with rewards?'
Abel mused inwardly.
Claire wasn't some average senior—she was a top genius in third year.
Last time, she'd been off-guard, and it was just one quick snatch, but tail tag was another beast.
As Abel's romp over seven showed, skill gaps shone starkly here.
Abel's answer was decided from the start, though.
-I'll do it.
The tougher the challenge...
The sweeter the success reward.