--- [Alex’s perspective]
After showing us where our base was, Leanne ran back to get the other team.
On the way there, she explained that she’ll clearly signal when the match begins.
She didn’t say how though…
I hope we don’t miss it…
“Alright, what’s the plan?” – Illian
He turns and looks at Shin.
Just like him, me and Lett do the same.
We all know Shin’s the smartest one here; I’m sure he can come up with a good plan.
He sarcastically turns around and pretends to not know we’re looking at him.
When he turns back around, he covers his mouth with his and pretends to be shocked.
“Oh… Me?!” – Shin
Lett shifts her gaze over to Isabella.
“See what I mean?” – Lett
“…” – Isabella
“No but for real though… He might look dumb, act dumb… Actually you know what, maybe he is a little dumb too…” – Lett
“Hey… Don’t you think you’re taking it a little too far…?” – Shin
She completely ignores him and keeps going.
“But believe it or not, deep down he’s actually a pretty smart guy. I’m sure he’ll come up with a plan for us to win.” – Lett
“O-okay…” – Isabella
She looks back at Shin.
“So then genius, how do we win?” – Lett
He puts his hands in his pockets, drops his dumb act, and starts explaining.
“First of all, we need to know what your specialty is, Isabella.” – Shin
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“Oh, uhm… I use this…” – Isabella
She holds her sheathed sword out.
“Is it a real sword you channel your specialty through somehow, or is the sword itself your specialty?” – Shin
“The latter…” – Isabella
He picks the sword up and starts inspecting it.
“I see… I’m actually a sword user myself. I can summon elemental swords.” – Shin
While explaining his ability, he tries pulling the sword out of its scabbard.
It doesn’t budge…
He tries pulling harder, but no matter how hard he pulls, it won’t come out.
She quickly takes it back from him.
“It won’t come out… Why is that?” – Shin
“I…” – Isabella
“Can you pull it out?” – Shin
“…” – Isabella
Even more than usual, she’s lost for words.
It’s like she doesn’t know exactly how to describe what she’s thinking or feeling.
“Is that a yes, or a no?” – Shin
“I just don’t want her to come out right now… okay…?” – Isabella
“Her?” – Shin
“…” – Isabella
She doesn’t respond…
“Okay… Anyways, you should probably know what our abilities are. As I already explained, I can summon elemental swords. Alex over there, he can absorb anything made by an SDM, Lett can teleport short distances, and Illian can transfer all damage he takes over to his shadow.” – Shin
“I see…” – Isabella
“Now then, onto the actual plan. I think our best bet would be for Lett to teleport in and grab their flag without them noticing. We shouldn’t underestimate our enemies though, so we can’t count on it going that smoothly.” – Shin
Lett nods in agreement.
“Instead, I think someone should go with her. Lett teleports in, grabs it, then teleports out as quickly as she can. The enemies will start pursuing her and try to get the flag back by any means necessary. In doing so, they’ll obviously use their abilities. That’s why the one who should accompany her is Alex. While she runs away with the flag, Alex will stay behind and stall them. His absorption will prove itself to be useful against a wide range of abilities.” – Shin
“Alright, sounds good.” – Alex
“Oh, and Alex… Don’t hesitate to run away yourself. You just need to stall them for a moment; just enough for Lett to get away. Don’t put yourself in unnecessary danger.” – Shin
“Got it!” – Alex
“What about the rest of us then?” – Illian
“We’ll stay behind to protect our own flag. I’ll scout the area and look out for enemies. If any approach, I will hold them off. We don’t want them to get anywhere near our base. Isabella, you should do that too.” – Shin
“Okay…” – Isabella
“As for you Illian, you’ll stay here. If the enemies somehow manage to get past us, you’ll be our last line of defense. Your specialty allows you to take hits like none other, all while never putting yourself in any real danger. I’m sure you’ll be able to hold them off until either Lett returns with the enemies’ flag, or until me or Isabella comes back to help you.” – Shin
“Sounds like a plan!” – Illian
“And everyone… Just… Please be careful. These people are all D-rank candidates, we can’t afford to take them lightly.” – Shin
“We won’t! Let’s all do our best. Good luck everyone!” – Lett
An insanely tall stone pillar rises high into the sky.
It’s so huge you could probably see it from anywhere in the whole forest.
That must be Leanne’s doing…
Just a few seconds later, the pillar tips over.
I was wondering what the signal would be, but this has to be it.
The pillar slams into the ground, and with a deafeningly loud bang, the first round of the D-rank exam has begun.