The Practicum
The classroom was in an uproar. The students still hadn't come down from the high of the training camp. I lay slumped over my desk, blankly letting the chatter wash over me as I waited for Sara to appear.
With a scrape, the door slid open and she stepped inside.
“Everyone, quiet! I know you're all excited, but focus. Some of you might know this already, others might not, but we have a practicum in two weeks. You'll be split into random teams and dropped into the forest. If you don't keep your wits about you, you could die, so pay attention. Understood? I'll go over the details again at the end of class, so steel yourselves. That's all for today. I'll just take attendance and then you can go.”
After firmly reestablishing order, Sara did exactly as she said—finished the roll call and left the classroom.
The buzzing students had already moved on from the training camp to the upcoming practicum.
Practicum, huh…
It was an episode I remembered as quite interesting. This was the part where Abel, who had only been grinding away at growth inside and outside the academy, finally began competing head-on with the top-ranking students. The highlight was the scene where he butted heads with Scadia over the boss monster.
As I recalled the thrilling memories from when I played the game, my thoughts suddenly shifted elsewhere.
That aside, what should I do about the transmigrators?
The bald swordsman wasn't an issue since I'd clearly seen his face, but figuring out how to find the flame mage felt a bit overwhelming. Finding him would be easy, but gathering information without arousing suspicion was the hard part. Should I use the information guild?
It'd cost a lot, but it'd be reliable.
But I already had a mountain of items I'd need to purchase for my future involvement in the main story. I wasn't sure if I should be spending money on something like that. It seemed better to reconsider commissioning the information guild.
Can't be helped. I'll just have to do it myself.
From what I'd seen in our last fight, none of the transmigrators were that far above my level. There was little chance they'd cause any serious problems right away, so if I took my time and investigated them step by step, an answer would come. Or I could always commission the guild later when I had more money to spare.
Alright. That's settled.
Now that I'd decided on my future plans, I could rest easy and get some sleep. Lately I'd been using the Room of Infinity for training as well, and the muscle pain was so bad I felt like I was going to die. I gently closed my eyes.
“......”
It was late afternoon. I was currently sitting with Deborah and three others, our desks pushed together. All because of the practicum. Due to the random team assignment for the practicum in two weeks, I'd ended up on the same team as Deborah.
Well, I didn't have any particular complaints. Even if it hadn't been her, it would have been an uncomfortable spot anyway.
“Alright. Let's set our positions like this. Gail at the front, Shane right behind him, Luan and I in the center, and Ria taking the rear. How about it? I think this is the best setup.”
“Agreed! Leave the front line to me!”
“If you just hold them in place, I'll take care of the rest.”
“I'll do my best too!”
At Deborah's words, the team members each expressed their enthusiasm. I was the only one who remained silently quiet.
Perhaps bothered by that, Deborah's gaze turned toward me.
“Luan. What do you think?”
Her tone was utterly haughty. It seemed she wanted to play the cool class president in front of her friends, showing a completely opposite attitude from when we were alone.
When I slightly furrowed my brow, her purple eyes trembled faintly.
“...Doesn't matter.”
“Good. Then we'll go with these positions. Next are our roles. Actually, I don't think there will be much disagreement here. Everyone seemed to accept it when we decided the positions earlier.”
Deborah used illusion magic to project a virtual battle formation on the desk. While Gail drew the monsters' attention from the front, Shane would provide support from behind, and Ria would cover from the rear at the same time. My role was to block the monsters that tried to rush in while Deborah was casting.
The team members marveled at the intricate magic.
“Amazing. As expected of Deborah.”
“I can understand it right away.”
“Wow, Deborah! You're incredible!”
“It's nothing special. Not that difficult.”
Amid the pouring praise, Deborah flipped her hair and lifted her chin proudly. Despite her timid personality, her desire for recognition seemed just as strong. Perhaps that heavy smoky makeup acted as a switch that flipped between her dual personalities.
Guess it's going to be annoying for a while.
Now that the team was set, it wasn't going to end with just deciding positions and roles. As if to prove that, Deborah made a suggestion.
“Since we've got the basic formation down, let's call it for today. How about we meet up on the weekend instead? We need to do some mock practice, right?”
“Of course!”
“Obviously. I'm definitely getting in the top 30 this practicum.”
“I'm in too!”
In the blink of an eye, all the team members except me were in unanimous agreement. Their gazes naturally shifted to me.
Under that silent pressure of what are you going to do, I declared confidently.
“Saturday doesn't work.”
The moment those words left my mouth, the team's atmosphere turned gloomy.
Ria, in charge of the rear, fidgeted and asked.
“L-Luan. But if we want good results in this practicum, it would be good to coordinate our movements.”
“If I say no, then no. I have something to do on Saturday.”
“Hiiing…”
Seeing her plea fall on deaf ears, Ria's lips pouted out. With her small stature and somewhat chick-like image, it was quite cute. Her round, fluffy hair made me want to pat it, but I held back.
“Instead, I'll participate on Sunday. So keep that in mind. That settles it, right? I'm leaving.”
Having made my announcement, I quickly left the classroom before anyone could stop me.
Just in case, I should stop by the magic tool shop on Saturday.
There was still quite some time until the practicum, but since I didn't know what urgent matters might come up, it was necessary to prepare in advance. I began reviewing my schedule.
“Ah, you're here!”
As soon as I entered the promised group training room, the little chick shouted excitedly. She was holding a bow as big as her own body. Despite her lively impression, Ria was the sniper type who focused on one careful shot after another from a fixed position. I'd never seen her fight, but with a bow that size, its power must be considerable.
I approached the team members.
“Good, everyone's here. Then let's start training right away. First, we'll practice maintaining formation while moving. Just a moment.”
After finishing her explanation, Deborah took out something like a remote from her pocket and operated it. Just like during the class placement test, the space began to melt and blur, turning completely white before being repainted. Before we knew it, we had been thrown into the middle of a dense forest.
I let out a small gasp of admiration.
As expected of the academy.
This was the power of the illusion combat system installed in the group training room. The academy had installed numerous cutting-edge magic tools so students could safely experience real combat. It must have cost a fortune.
Just as my thoughts were about to drift into adult territory, Deborah spoke up.
“Done. Now let's try moving while maintaining formation. Everyone, to your positions!”
Deborah really had unexpected leadership qualities. That must be why she was chosen as class president. Anyway, thanks to her clean briefing, everyone moved in perfect order to form up.
I quickly stuck close to Deborah. Unlike the others, my job was simply to stay in place and watch the surroundings, so it was easy. Of course, it would be different in real combat, but for now, there was no difficulty.
We spent a while moving around the forest in formation before taking a short break after thirty minutes.
“This seems like a solid formation. Once the break is over, we'll summon monsters and engage in proper combat.”
“Yeah. Deborah! What kind of monsters are you going to summon?”
“Hmm. Since it's the first time, we shouldn't overdo it. Starting with regular orcs seems appropriate. What do you all think?”
Orcs were low-level monsters with a level of around 60 based on the weakest specimens. Given our current average level approaching 80, it was basically super easy mode for a warm-up.
Gail flexed his arm to show off his biceps and said.
“I'm fine with warriors too! Bring as many as you want!”
“Gail! That's too much exaggeration! If a warrior appears, no one but Deborah would be able to handle it!”
“I agree with Ria's opinion. That's too dangerous.”
Warriors were on a completely different level from regular orcs. Their level exceeded 100, their physical abilities were at least twice as high, and above all, they could use sword energy, making them impossible to handle with ordinary iron weapons. Even Gail's sturdy shield would be sliced through like paper in front of them.
Well, we probably won't encounter one anyway.
No matter how much of a practicum it was, it was still just a test. There was no way the academy would be crazy enough to drop students in an area with orc warriors. Of course, boss monsters did appear, but that was an unexpected variable, so it was an exception.
A little later, after finishing our break, we found suitable terrain and formed up.
“Then I'll summon them. Everyone, stay alert!”
With the warning, Deborah summoned an orc. The space crackled and shook, then a blurry figure gradually became clearer, its body forming from the feet up as if loading. Once fully summoned, the orc opened its eyes, looked at us, and roared. At some point it had an axe in its hand, which it raised as it charged.
Gail stepped forward to block it.
“Over here, over here!”
Clang! Clang! He struck his shield with his long sword, producing a clear ringing sound. Stimulated by the noise, the orc swung its axe at the shield. But Gail surpassed it in both strength and durability, so there was no impact.
Shane seized the opening to strike.
“Hup!”
With agile movement, Shane's short sword slashed across the orc's ankle. It didn't sever it, but the deep cut made the orc's movements stiffen.
“Graaaaah!”
Even while screaming, the orc swung its axe repeatedly as if to vent the pain through its body.
While Gail and Shane worked together to accumulate damage, Ria, who had been calmly nocking an arrow from behind, released it. The force was so powerful that the arrow closed the distance in an instant and struck the orc right in the eye.
Thud!
The sound was incredibly heavy. With its brain destroyed through its eyeball in a split second, the orc staggered before collapsing, its breath completely cut off.
Orc defeated. Reverse summoning in progress.
“Wow, we won!”
“Uhahaha! That was nothing!”
“It was too easy.”
The team members were intoxicated with victory. Although it was the expected outcome, their coordination had been good for a first battle, and it had gone smoothly.
Deborah seemed to be thinking to herself as she lowered her head and muttered, then drew everyone's attention.
Clap!
“Everyone did well. But this is only the beginning. It was just one monster. From now on, we'll gradually increase the numbers.”
“Ah, okay!”
“Don't worry. I won't let my guard down.”
“It's what I was hoping for.”
In this atmosphere full of enthusiasm, the battles against the illusions continued.
And then, the day of the practicum arrived.