CHAPTER 145
THE JUNIOR TEAM
After Vanir departed, he depleted his mana gems and exhausted the stones, diligently following the method taught by Samson and applying the knowledge he had acquired from the golem formula found on the parchment.
The results from his investment of a thousand credits finally began to show some progress, although it wasn't something he could boast about just yet. Nevertheless, it was still an improvement over his previous trials. “This is a lot harder, controlling the motor circuits is a constant headache, like trying to control hundreds of vines all at once. I wish they could move on their own," he grumbled to himself, massaging his temples as he felt a throbbing pain in his head.
"Senior, I've got the list. The selection process has just concluded," Vanir exclaimed as he rushed back, waving the results excitedly in Hans's face.
Hans said, snatching the list from Vanir and scanning it quickly. "Ah, so they've also decided on the positions," he remarked, reading the list aloud.
[H] Hans Richardson, mage from Prophets. Captain. (M)
[E] Delimira Winters, mage/knight from Sentinels. Attacker (V)
[H] Chris Holdger, Knight from Talons. Attacker(V)
[D] Garen Ironborn, Knight from Prophets. Defender (V)
[H] Casady Clive, Mage from Prophets. Attacker (M)
[E] Thedas Adly, Knight from Seekers. Attacker (M)
[H] Lux, mage from Sentinels. Attacker (M)
[E] Nicolas, knight from Keepers. Defender (R)
[H] Cherrina Goodwin, Mage from Sentinels. Healer (R)
[H] Ricter Nomad, knight from Talons. Defender (R)
“Three from Prophets, professor sure is showing his love for us…” Hans commented. He had many thoughts to share, but Vanir interrupted him, appearing curious. "I understand that the brackets before their names indicate their race, but what about the latter ones?”
"That indicates their position in the team," Hans explained. "M is for mid, V is for vanguard, and R is for rear. Got it?”
"Yep, crystal clear," Vanir nodded, as if he had grasped everything, and added, "It's actually a pretty solid team. You even have a healer."
“Yeah,” Hans agreed, "Before coming here, I thought divine mana was the only type capable of healing—“
"It's just that divine mana does a better job," Vanir explained, "unlike divine mages, regular healers need a medium to heal, like making direct contact with the patient or the injured person." He paused, then added, "And they also can't turn spells into potions."
He was contemplating Sierra, the divine mage, who had provided him with a potion that could cause a lot of trouble if it became known. He glanced at the boy who had given him that troublesome potion, noticing him staring back with a sour expression. "What?" Vanir asked, seeking confirmation about what he had done wrong.
"I was saying something, you discourteous subordinate," Hans taunted Vanir for his interruption, continuing, "Healers are the ones with a special mana transfer effect for healing. They are mages at the core but are trained in mana transference and regeneration. They will often be the first target for anyone.”
"Then you'll have to protect her, you're the captain," Vanir suggested.
"Or she might be a perfect bait— no, she might get hurt," Hans replied.
"Whoa, you're losing it again, senior. You're a bad boy, stop feeling sorry for others. I'm just reminding you of what you told me," Vanir imitated Hans's tone and continued, "Hans's decisions were and will always be right. You said that right?”
“Yeah,” Hans collected himself, “she would be a perfect bait. Period.” He said aloud, “Yes. I’m right.”
Vanir puffed his chest like he was proud of Hans, belatedly realising, “Damn it, that’s not what I wanted to tell him.” Coughing, he stated, “But still senior, you have to prevent her from injuring. Or it might become an extra thing for you to take care of.”
Hans nodded and Vanir giggled, but his face sank all of a sudden, he shouted, anxiously, “Ah crap, I forgot, In the training grounds, Walter was asking you urgently —”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“You should’ve told me sooner,” Hans cried, running toward the grounds and when he reached the ground, everyone seemed to be waiting for him. “So you are here, after all, your majesty. Did you need an escort?” Walter taunted him, almost giving him a heart attack at the beginning of his words.
“You should have sent someone reliable then, professor,” Hans responded, glancing at his team members, he knew everyone but was not close to any except Chris and Sierra and the boy who defeated him in the first year, Lux.
"Haa... come here, farm boy. We're going on a practice run," Walter explained, gesturing for Hans to approach. "I've already briefed your teammates about the history and rules in detail, so I'll keep it short for you." Walter continued, "This is the 75th Glory War, and you'll have two rounds to compete in. The first one is a Team Round, where you'll be hunting and surviving in a three-star region. So, get your act together.”
His tone suddenly turned serious, and he looked directly at Hans. "It's hardly happened before, but people have died in the team round since it's challenging to keep an eye on everyone." Walter paused, glancing at Hans again to emphasize his point. He went on, "This year, the Alliance is in charge of organizing the event, so you need to be extra careful. After a team clears the team round each of you will be eligible to fight in battle rounds. That will be solo, and as you know, the first and second rank will have the opportunity to enter the Alliance's treasury and choose whatever they want.”
"But sir, is it still not clear what the objective of the first round will be?" Hans asked, raising his hand and drawing the attention of everyone in the room, including Walter, who seemed equally surprised.
"Have you been living under a rock until now?" Walter responded.
"What? So everyone already knows?" Hans inquired, genuinely surprised.
Walter sighed and clarified, "Well, you were suspended, right? The objective is to collect mana hearts.”
Hans considered this for a moment and then replied, "That doesn't sound too difficult, I suppose.”
Walter raised an eyebrow. "It's a hundred mana hearts. You need to collect a total of a hundred kills. Do you still think it's not hard?"
Hans, however, was thinking one step ahead. "Who says we have to kill a hundred? We just need to have a hundred at the end, right? It doesn't matter where they come from.”
“Sabotaging, robbing... Not exactly the values we want to instil in children, but that's the reality of the world," Walter acknowledged, nodding his head. He then turned his attention to his junior team, a group he believed to be the most capable and powerful among the second-years
“We can do this.” Hehe assured himself and declared to his team, "Do whatever it takes. I don't care. Just bring me a victory. To assist you, we'll be focusing on team coordination for the next two months. You'll be excused from classes and won’t be losing any grades. Entering in the glory wars is merit itself.”
“So” Hans tried to beat around the bush, “you don’t happen to know the location, right Director of Information”
“Walter chuckled. "Nice try, but you can't rile me up with that taunt, farm boy.”
Hans pressed further, asking directly, "So, do you know or not?"
Walter nodded affirmatively. "I do know. It's Heat Riddance. The Tower and the Association already know, so you guys should too."
“Alliance is playing cute. Heat riddance is a triple zonal territory.” Hans responded recalling his knowledge, explaining, “The outer ring is three stars, the mid is four stars and the inner one is five. One wrong turn, and we'll be the hot potato. We could step into four-star or, worse, five-star territory.”
“Someone's been studying, at least. Your teammates knew nothing about the beast zones—”
"Well, I had all the time I needed," Hans commented, briefly glancing at Delimira, who was staring intently at him. "Haa... feisty," he continued, "But there's another headache. Out of ten, four of our members are water-based or use water mana. That place is like a frickin' active volcano, sucking up all the moisture." He shot another side glance at Delimira and added, “So mages…Delimira who uses Water mana will grow weaker by the moment —”
“DO YOU THINK, I’VE BEEN PEELING NUTS FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS?” Delmira retorted, her response curt and sharp.
“Jeez, I just wanted to point it out so we could come up with a strategy. Well, I kinda ask for it.” Hans admitted with a sigh, releasing a long breath. Not countering, he turned to Walter and asked, "So, I assume we're in the outer ring, right?”
“Yes.”
However, Hans, almost whining, asked, “Do they have to choose that area?”
Walter smiled at the annoying brat and stated, "Glory wars also serve another purpose. We always choose an overpopulated beast zone. To cull their numbers so they don't break out of that place. Do you get it now? No complaints. Just follow me for the next two months. Being strong doesn't automatically make you a good captain.”
“Just the last,” Hans chimed in, asking, “Since its alliance. Norwin Grimgar would be there right?”
“Of course.”
Hans rubbed the coordinate stone that Xandor had given him for their deal. "Oh, man, I almost forgot. He's currently the strongest knight. That man abandoned my father and even snatched his accomplishments for fame. He can't be the good guy. I hope I can execute my rebellion plan safely." But just like every other time, there was nothing simple in Hans's future.
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