The fight against the giant bats was easier than Wraith expected. Though it was a nest, there were only about twenty bats in total. Since the nest was inside a cave, they fought the bats near the opening. With the passage narrowed, they could fight against two bats at a time, instead of all of them at once.
They split up into pairs and took on the bats. Vangar and Andvare battled one bat, while Sarin and Wraith took the other. Vangar and Sarin restrained them and prevented them from flying about while Wraith and Andvare attacked and slew them.
After an hour of combat, they had collected meat, fur and guano. The other members of his pack didn't understand why he collected the feces, but Wraith knew that it had the potential to create explosives. Before the industrial revolution, it was a good source of naturally occurring nitrates. For his alchemy skill to progress, it was a necessary ingredient.
Following the battle, they went back to the city to get some rest. It's been six days since he had come to the dungeon, and the first test was going to start tomorrow. Although it wasn't a terribly exciting battle,they were able to integrate Andvare into their pack and get used to fighting with him.
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Wraith woke up and checked for any system messages. He gently got up from between Sarin and Vangar's bodies. They had curled up with him when they went to sleep. He saw that he only received one message.
The first test will start at 10:00. You will automatically be transported to the testing area. All necessary equipment and food will be provided for you.
At the moment, it was only eight o’clock in-game time. Two hours left, might as well focus on Mana manipulation for now. He sat cross-legged on the floor and started to practise. Since there was no danger of releasing the Mana in his body or putting it to use, he could do it anywhere.
Though there were millions of small nodes in the body, they only served to provide his body with Mana. It could only be manipulated through numerous Mana Wells spread out throughout the body. There was one on each major body part, with one on each palm, forearm, and bicep, with a similar layout for his legs and lower body. There was also one on his throat, sternum, navel and on each hip. In total there were seventeen such wells.
He felt those parts of his body warm up ever so slightly as Mana moved through them. Still, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't elicit an effect. It was as if there was a dam blocking his Mana from rushing forward at the last moment. This isn't just because I can't learn any new skills. It's more like there's something physiological in my body preventing me from doing anything.
Having given up on his practise, he stood up just a few minutes before the test began. “You two will probably have to stay here while I'm gone. I don't know how long I'll be away so just stick with Andvare and don't get into too much trouble.” After his final words to Sarin and Vangar, he was teleported away.
When he looked around, he saw that he was inside a large cave. It had a high ceiling and was several hundred metres in diameter. Although he thought it would be an individual test, he noticed that there were about fifty other people there. As he looked at the leather and steel armour and the unmasked faces, he realized that they weren't players, but rather NPCs.
Before he could do anything, a message popped up before him.
For the first test, your task will be to train the soldiers before you and command them in battle. You will have six days before your first battle. Following that battle, you will have an additional six days to train before the final battle. Inside your backpacks you will see that you have been given a number of items, as well as enough food to last you the entirety of the trial. The items you came in with will be returned to you upon finishing the trial. An armoury can also be found inside the cave. No skills can be used during this period, including crafting skills.
This was a task he was unused to doing. Although he did lead his pack in battle, this was completely different. Well, I won't get anything done by just standing around here. He walked over to them, determined to change them into a fearless fighting force. A few of them saluted smartly, but most either did it halfheartedly or not at all.
Wraith looked upon the lazy, smirking faces and was filled with anger. These were supposed to be soldiers under his command, but their insubordination and lack of respect was unacceptable. “Is that how you act to a commanding officer?”
He didn't yell at them, but spoke firm and even tone of voice. Though they couldn't see his face, many could tell from the air he had around him that he wasn't to be messed around with. Unfortunately there were a few that didn't show any intention of obeying his commands.
He walked over to them and singled out the leader. He was a tall man with light brown hair. His mouth was curled up into a sneer as he glared at Wraith. Wraith stepped before him, his back straight with an air of confidence. “So you're not going to bother to show me the respect I'm due?”
“Hah, we don't even know you but you expect us to get in line and just follow you?”
“As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I expect of you. Your job isn't to question my authority, but to follow unflinchingly. If I say jump, then you sure as hell better jump.”
“Seriously?” He sneered at Wraith. “I bet even I would be a better leader than you. You don't look that strong to me, I can take you in a fight.”
“It takes more than combat ability to be a leader, but I doubt you even have that much. For all your boasting and posturing, in my eyes you're nothing more than a snivelling brat.”
“You bastard!” He made to draw his sword.
“I wouldn't do that if I was you. Attacking your commanding officer is a serious crime.”
“Like I give a damn.” He drew his sword and charged at him. Some of the other soldiers cheered him on, wanting to see Wraith brought down. It was at this moment that Wraith realized that they weren't official soldiers. Even the lowest of soldiers had a certain level of respect for a commanding officer. These men and women were more like a group of warriors that were thrown into a ragtag unit.
This meant that Wraith would need to change his method of training. Initially he planned to develop their intimacy and gain their trust and respect. Unfortunately he was starting from zero, and with the level of hostility exhibited by the warriors there simply wasn't enough time to go about it in a nice way.
He dodged the soldier's wild attacks as he analyzed the situation and came up with a plan. “Unlike other officers, I'm quite benevolent. I'll be willing to overlook your crimes for the sake of the greater cause.”
“So you're a coward after all. You think I'll let you back out of the fight just like that?” He kept slashing wildly at him, bolstered by the increasing shouts of encouragement from the other warriors. Never mind a group of undisciplined warriors, they were more like a group of brigands. There was only one way to bring the group to heel.
“So that's your final answer? You really won't stand down or back off?”
“Does it look like I'm going to stand down? Die you bastard!”
“Very well then, you've brought this upon yourself.” When the sword came down towards him, he reached up and grabbed the warrior's wrists and pulled him to the ground.
There were two ways to deal with soldiers under his command. One was to get them to love him, the other was to get them to fear him. He didn't have enough time to get their love, so he would have to command them with an iron-fist. To do that, he had to show indomitable strength and quickly clear out any opposing factors.
If the unit as a whole was a living organism, the rebel soldier was the rot that was eating away at it. If left alone he would infect the other soldiers and inspire mutiny. The only cure was to excise the rot and eradicate it completely and utterly.
Though it would weigh heavily on his heart, he had no other choice in the matter. While the warrior was struggling to get up, he kneed him in the face and slammed his head to the ground. When he was weakened, he stepped on the sword and kicked away at the soldier's body. Wraith picked up the dropped sword and slowly walked over to the downed soldier.
“In times of war and on the battlefield, there's little leeway for attempted murder. There's no time or resources for a fair trial. There are only two options before me. I could either forgive the soldier or get rid of him. Fortunately you've made that decision for me when you cast aside my forgiveness and goodwill.”
“So what? You're going to lock me up? Go ahead, but I doubt the others would stand for it.”
“You're right, they would likely come to your defence. That leaves me with only one option.” Wraith grabbed the soldier by the hair and lifted his head to face the other soldiers. With one foot on the small of his back, he lifted the sword high up in the air. “Know this, I'm only doing this because you've forced my hand. I gave you several opportunities but you turned them all down. You may not be useful as a soldier, but you'd do quite nicely as a warning to the others.”
It wasn't something he relished doing, but it was something he had to do. He brought the sword down with all his force and cut through the skin and muscle as he sliced between the vertebrae. Decapitated, the body fell to the ground and lay in a pool of blood. Wraith stood still for a moment, as he let the other soldiers take in the sight of the rebels head swaying from his hand.
The blood dripping from the severed neck and the rictus of pain and terror still on the face inspired fear in the others. They stared at the wide horrified eyes and open mouths, as they trembled from the nightmarish scene.
Satisfied with their reaction, Wraith dropped the head to the ground and walked over to the remaining soldiers. “Now lets start again. My name is Wraith, but I expect you to address me as commander. Understood?”
“Yes, commander!” This time around they all saluted smartly, fearful at what he might do otherwise. Satisfied with the response, Wraith issued orders so they could start practising immediately.
He quickly discovered that there were no mages at all in the group. About half of them were archers, while the others were reasonably skilled with a sword and shield. Although they had their own weapons, Wraith went to the armoury. He found that there were numerous arrows, both for battle and practise, as well as swords and shields. He also found that there was a giant forge with a stock of ore and wood. Unlike other forges, this was large enough to melt down completed weapons in order to extract metal. “Are there any blacksmiths here?” There were three warriors with a decent blacksmith skill.
He immediately set them to raising their skill by crafting weapons and melting them down again. He sent the others to practice and raise their combat skills and stats. Using some wood, he set up a target range for the archers to practice against, while he gathered the warriors and got them saddled up with immense weights as they practised different formations.
After they witnessed him putting down the rebellious soldier, they followed his orders to the letter and never complained. For three days they went about doing these drills to increase their stats and unity. For the third day, the warriors with the blacksmith skill made basic weapons and shields for the soldiers.
The archers already had bows, but the warriors received massive shields and pikes. The shields were shaped like giant rectangles to completely protect the soldier and his allies. The pikes were essentially a type of spear which was several metres long. Unlike swords, they had a tremendous range and were more useful in group battles.
They practised the use of shields and pikes after being split up into two groups. In these groups they went through several drills and had mock battles. With so little time for practice, there were only a few patterns they could use. The core of their battle strategy was to have a shield wall in the first row, with pike-armed warriors in the rows behind them.
Wraith made sure that all the warriors were proficient in shields and pikes so they could alternate if need be. For his archers, he organized them in two rows so they could maintain a steady rain of arrows. He adopted the phalanx formation of the ancient Greeks. By doing so, he had a nearly impenetrable defence and a powerful attack.
For the remaining days, they committed to the drills. By the end of the sixth day, the blacksmiths had increased their proficiency to craft better weapons and shields for the unit, as well as heavy armor for the primary shield-bearers.
Wraith made sure that during the course of the training, the soldiers saw his kind and caring side as well. He helped them during practise, and brought water to the severely exhausted ones. By doing so, he forged a cohesive unit that obeyed his commands unconditionally.
With the prospect of battle at dawn, Wraith ended training slightly earlier and sent them to bed. As he lay on the ground, he wondered if they were truly ready for the coming battle. Well, there's nothing more I can do. We'll have to wait and see if it was enough.
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At 12:00, the section of the wall that has been marked will disappear. Upon falling, the battle will begin immediately. To end the battle, the other side must be completely eliminated.
As the message indicated, a fifteen meters wide by ten meters high rectangle was marked on the wall. Wraith arranged the soldiers based on the size of the opening, placing the warriors into three rows with nine warriors each, followed by two rows of eleven archers. While they took up a sizable section of the wall, they didn't cover it completely.
Since there were a few metres that were unattended on either side, Wraith and the blacksmiths made a make-shift wall to cover these areas. Since they didn't get much combat training, the blacksmiths stayed back to support the warriors and order the archers.
Soon the hours passed, and the battle was only a few minutes away. To ease the nerves of the soldiers, Wraith spoke up in a powerful, commanding voice. “This will be our first engagement as a unit. While you may be afraid for your lives, by fighting together we will be unstoppable. You hold the lives of your brothers and sisters-in-arms within your hands. We shall fight, and we shall destroy the enemy completely and utterly!”
The soldiers roared and cheered in approval as they drummed the butt of the pikes on the ground. They chanted his name over and over again, excited for the upcoming battle.
Soon it was noon, and the wall glowed brightly before disappearing. On the other side was a group of warriors led by a player like Wraith. They were all armed with two-handed swords without any sort of formation. After quickly looking over the enemy, Wraith shouted out his orders before the other player could.
“Archers, fire!” Upon his exclamation, the archers let loose their volleys of arrows. The blacksmiths gave more detailed orders to alternate the rows of archers, as well as to direct them. The warriors maintained their position and held their shields up in an interlocking line. The pikes were held ready behind the shields, ready for the warriors charge.
As expected, the enemy charged recklessly without a hint of order and unity. Half of them were brought low by the volleys of archers, arrows sticking out from their corpses. “Hold, archers! Ready pike formation!”
As the remaining enemies drew closer, the archers couldn't do enough damage without hitting their allies as well. As a result, Wraith ordered the archers to stop firing and join the other warriors with pikes. The enemy didn't see the pikes behind the shields, and so kept on charging towards Wraith's warriors.
The warriors wanted to bring their pikes up as the enemy drew closer, but Wraith wouldn't let them. “Hold, hold....Up pikes! Charge!” At the last moment, the pikes extended out when the enemy was only a few metres from them. By this time, they were going too fast and too far in to pull back. Carried by the momentum of the charge and pushed by the men behind them, they ran straight into the pikes.
The enemies were stabbed and skewered at once. With the large steel shields, their swords bounced off harmlessly, while their flesh was torn and pitted by the heads of the pikes. Within minutes the battle was over without any casualties on Wraith's side. There were only minimal scrapes and slices by swords that found their way through the weak points in the shield-wall.
After seeing the one-sided massacre, the player sank to his knees. Unlike Wraith, he had no control over his soldiers which led their demise. Seeing the devastation was too much for him, so he gave up, unable to resist as Wraith called for his archers to pick their bows up again. “Fire.”
With one word, he sent twenty-two arrows flying across the air before embedding themselves in the player's body. After jerking from the many hits, his lifeless body fell backwards before turning grey and disappearing.
Congratulations on winning the battle, you now have six days to prepare for the final battle. The following battle will be a three-way free-for-all.
“Alright everyone, lets gather up the loot.”
His warriors raided the enemy armoury and took the dropped armor and weapons. They would need all the possible resources for the next battle. Since the battle only took one hour, there was plenty of time to practise.
As before, he set the blacksmiths to raise their skills as much as possible. Although the pikes and shields worked well for this battle, the next would require a slightly different approach. He would keep the shields and pikes for battle, but the shields would be slightly smaller and lighter so that they could be hung from the shoulder and upper arm.
He realized that his soldiers needed greater manoeuvrability and control over their pikes. He needed to free their arms so they could hold the pikes with both arms. The only way they could do this was to have the shield be attached directly to one of the arms, so that it could also be used to stabilize the pike.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
To compensate for this, they would all have to wear heavy plate armor. For the archers, not much could be done in the way of bows, so they focused on raising their skills. The reason for this was that crafting bows required a high blacksmith skill and a high dexterity stat. Even the most capable blacksmith there only had a level of beginner level nine.
Besides raising their skills, they focused on shooting as a group. They practised loosing the arrows uniformly, sending them all to one specific area. Through this, Wraith found the maximum optimal range to shoot towards.
Instead of two rows, Wraith ordered them into two groups with three rows each. With so few archers he couldn't use them to great effect, but they would be useful to hinder the enemy and keep them down. The melee warriors were split into three groups of nine. Unlike the recent battle, the next one would be fought on two fronts, requiring a greater flexibility for attacks and defense.
They had three main attack patterns. The first was a circular formation for absolute defense. If all went well, they wouldn't need to use it at all. The second was the line defense for charging and head-on battle. The final formation was a column to have shields to the side and above to protect from arrow attacks.
In order to maximize combat potential, Wraith made sure to train the archers in the use of pikes. Since they couldn't equip overly-heavy armor or shields, he made sure that their pikes were considerably longer, so that they could attack from behind the other warriors.
To differentiate between the different groups, he divided the warriors into red, blue and green team, and the archers into first and second division. Wraith worked them day and night until they could perform the drills flawlessly.
After the six days of preparatory time, the soldiers were geared up in heavy armor over a set of leather armor for a strong defence. They were equipped with reinforced pikes that were longer than the first battle and large shields hung from their neck and upper right arm. The archers on the other hand had a lighter metal armor in anticipation of direct combat.
At 12:00, the section of the wall that has been marked will disappear and open up into a tunnel leading to the battle ground. Once open, the battle will begin immediately. To end the battle, all other enemies must be completely eliminated.
Unlike before, the outlined wall was a square with five-metre long sides. As a result, Wraith organized the troops into two rows of six and three rows of five warriors, with archers lined up in similar rows behind them. Bolstered by their first victory, the soldiers were in high spirits. Although Wraith was more concerned about the upcoming battle, he didn't say anything negative so that he could keep morale up.
“Alright troops, as long as you follow my orders and keep your cool, we'll crush the enemy and come out as champions!” Soon the wall dissolved away and the battle began. “Forward march!”
They marched as one unit down the short stretch of tunnel. The tunnel was only about ten metres long, so the other groups had charged out and reached the battleground faster than they did. The battleground was circular and about fifty meters in diameter.
Wraith quickly scanned the area and saw that the enemies were fewer than his own troops. The group coming from the the left side were only about forty, while the right barely had thirty soldiers. Unlike Wraith, they had taken casualties in the previous battle. The two groups were similar in organization, with about a quarter of them being archers, while the rest were swordsmen with crude metal armor.
“Column formation!” He bellowed to his troops so that they would put up their shields. As expected, the other groups shot arrows at them. It wasn't very efficient since they split focus between two different targets, so Wraith could defend against them easily. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for Wraith, the lack of shields and proper armor didn't protect them as effectively as they did Wraith. Even with the disordered shooting, both sides lost about five soldiers, with a few others sporting various levels of injuries.
While the arrows were raining over the battlefield, the swordsmen huddled behind their small shields. Unlike Wraith's troops, their shields were considerably smaller and less durable. Once the archers had run out of arrows, they charged at each other. Each side broke into two so that they could engage both sets of enemies at once.
“Shields down and front! Red, blue and green team in major line formation. 1st division to the incoming left, 2nd division to the incoming right! Nock arrows, aim, fire!” With the shields taken down from above, the archers organized into two groups of three rows, while the warriors made a large line in front of them.
He let the two groups attack each other, and ordered his archers to attack only the enemies that came towards them. There were about ten to fifteen enemies charging from each group. With the archers, about half the enemies fell before they could reach the line of warriors, and the rest didn't escape unscathed either.
After a few thrusts with pikes, they died without being able to even scratch Wraith's troops. The enemy commanders were terrified to see their fighting force being cut in half so suddenly, but they couldn't do anything since their remaining soldiers were already engaged in battle. They were more ordered than the group he faced a week earlier, but they were still quite disorganized.
A few had fallen from each side, but most were locked in combat. “Hold troops!” Instead of charging into battle, Wraith decided to let the other sides weaken each other before going for the kill. Unfortunately, the enemy commanders quickly realized this as well.
“If we work together, we can defeat him and then battle each other!” One of the commanders yelled out to the other across the battlefield.
“Fine, we'll attack together then!” The other replied back. Having realized that their current course of action was going to bring them defeat, they stopped their attack and worked out a truce. The soldiers stopped their attack, but they were still injured and low on stamina.
“All archers, attack!” There were several arrows left in each quiver so they used them to pick off a few more enemies. Being so weakened, several fell immediately. Once the arrows ran out, the blacksmiths came and supplied them with pikes to join the line of warriors. “Shield-wall up, pikes ready!”
“All troops, pikes up, charge!” With that order, Wraith's troops charged forwards and slammed into the enemies. Those that weren't impaled by pikes were slammed back by the shields before being stabbed by the other lines of pikes. Like before, it was a one-sided slaughter. The enemy soldiers dropped like flies before their merciless assault. The commanders that stayed behind the troops tried to run away, but the soldiers quickly caught up to them and skewered them on their pikes.
Congratulations, you have won the battle. The soldiers you have trained will be sent to the Serabourg in the Rosenheim kingdom as it was your starting city. Going to the city barracks will provide contribution points. The next trial will be a group challenge taking place a week from now. It will take place at 12:00 with your party.
Immediately after the window popped up, Wraith was teleported back to the city. It was a shock for it to happen so suddenly, so he was taken aback by the sudden change in scenery. He saw that he was in the same place from where he had initially teleported from. Since about two weeks had passed, his pack was nowhere in sight. Presumably they had gone hunting or took some time to relax.
Since he had no idea where they were, he went to Andvare's house. Hopefully he would find them there. He walked down the street, nodding to and greeting the Dvergar he passed by. Soon he had arrived at Andvare's house, yet when he entered, he saw that it was empty.
Where are they? Wraith sighed. Since he didn't have a proper way to find his pack members, all he could do was wait patiently. If only there was a way to know where they were.
Gained skill: Heart's Compass. Skill automatically taught to pack-members.
“Information: Heart's Compass.”
Heart's Compass
The bonds between pack-mates allow pack members to be tracked from across great distances, so long as they are in the same realm. Skill rises faster when used over longer distances. Higher skill levels give more information and reduces Mana cost.
Mana consumption: 50 Mp/sec
Well, lets see what this can do. “Heart's Compass.” Almost immediately, three small arrows made of light appeared before him. Each of them had one of his pack-member's name on it. When he looked closely at them, he saw that they were slowly becoming more solid in appearance. It seemed that they were all together and coming closer towards him.
Since it would take a while until they returned, Wraith cancelled the skill and decided to wait instead of pursuing them. Instead, he took a moment to look back at what had happened so far. In the real world, only about three weeks had passed. However in Royal Road, that translated into almost three months. Within that amount of time, he had gained and lost several things. Some were trivial, like being able to play Royal Road like other people his age, and others were life-altering. The biggest loss was that of Fenella.
That was an event that broke his heart, and shattered the last of his child-like innocence. It left a wound on his soul that had yet to heal completely. The pain did dull to a certain extent, with him now able to think of the memories he shared with her without feeling the gut-wrenching pain of loss.
He was now able to open the book she left for him and see what her final gift was. The book was small, only slightly bigger than his hand. It was bound by unmarked brown leather and wasn't very thick. In fact it was only a few pages in total,
Since I didn't know how long it would take for you to return from your adventure, I decided to write down some of the things you need to know and do in the near future. Should you come back in less than three months, then you don't need to bother reading the rest of this book. If it takes longer and you can't get back to me, you need to do this by yourself. What I've written down is the ritual for the coming-of-age ceremony that every member of our race must undergo. For those born into our race, it occurs on the eve of their eighteenth birthday. For those who were inducted into our race, like you, it must occur on the night of the fourth full moon since becoming one of us.
When he leafed through the rest of the pages, he saw that the ritual would be long and required moonlight. Since he wasn't likely to find it underground, he would have to wait until the test ended. He put the book back in his pack, since he couldn't use it yet.
While he was eating a loaf of rye bread, the door opened to reveal the rest of his pack. Or at least, what he thought was his pack. Although their shape were the same, they were covered in thick green slime. “What happened to you guys while I was away?” As they came closer, Wraith could smell a rank odour from their bodies.
Andvare grunted. “Slugs,” he replied tersely.
“Come on guys, I'll help wash you off. You can tell me what happened while I was away.” While Sarin and Vangar were happy that Wraith was going to groom them, they chose to express this by jumping on him. Now everyone was covered in smelly green slime.
With the structure of the city, there was only a minimal amount of running water in the house. Each house only had one small faucet for washing and cooking. Bathing occurred far below the city in a massive underground spring.
Wraith was underneath a miniature waterfall, scrubbing away at Sarin's fur. Vangar was jumping up and down in the pool, splashing water everywhere. “So you guys want to tell me how this happened?” He directed the question at Sarin, since she would give a more concise account of the events that passed in the three weeks he was gone.
“So that's when the town was invaded...by slugs.”
“So how did you beat them?”
“I didn't know that it was filled with slime! None of the other slugs exploded like that.” Andvare was a couple metres away, scrubbing away at his hair and beard.
“I'm sure they know it was an accident.” Wraith looked pointedly at Sarin. Catching a scent, he sniffed the air. “Hey Andvare, what's that sweet flowery smell?”
“Its black Isis shampoo.”
“How does it grow underground?”
“It can glow with barely any light. The glow from our magic crystals are enough to grow it. I'll show you where the flower patches are. There are other types of flowers there that you can't find anywhere else.”
When they finished washing up, they went back to Andvare's house. “So in about a week, Sarin and Vangar will join me for the next trial. Andvare, I'm afraid we'll have to leave you behind.”
“No matter, I can use the time to practise smithing and crafting. I've let my skills grow rusty over the past couple decades.”
Although Andvare took the matter in stride, oddly enough it was Sarin and Vangar who weren't all that happy to hear the news. “What's wrong? I'd have thought that you guys would be excited.”
“I see what you mean, but for the time being you are invaluable to me. Once we get out of here, then we'll see what we can do about that.”
“Simple, we'll go to the Bar Khu mountains. The werewolves will be of some help to us.”
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“So what do the numbers look like?” Jacob leaned back in his chair as he asked his assistant.
“Well, there's only one hundred eighty-four players left.”
“That's not bad, I though more of them would be killed by their own soldiers.” At the start of the test, there were fifteen hundred candidates. A few gave up right at the start, but the first test really thinned the numbers. Even before the first battle that cut them down by half, a fair amount of players were killed because of rebellious soldiers. Of course this was all planned by Jacob. The whole purpose of this particular test was to guage the leadership abilities of the candidates.
The ones killed by soldiers failed in the worst way possible, yet many others lost their position of authority. Instead of leading the group, the group led them. There were only a handful of players that brought the group under their command. They reasoned with them and drew them in with their natural charisma. However, of all the candidates, Wraith was the only one that had complete control over the soldiers.
You continue to surprise me boy. I didn't think you had it in you to make the hard decisions and get your hands dirty for the greater good. In Jacob's eyes, Wraith was the only one that truly passed the test.
The test Jacob had prepared next was to judge the teamwork between candidates. Even players that liked to play solo had to frequently work with other players and NPCs. “What's the progress of the next test?”
One of the workers replied to his question. “The final adjustments are being made, but we still need to rearrange the parties for the players. Almost all the parties lost one or more members.”
“That's what I was afraid of.”
“Then why didn't we do this test first?”
“It's all about prioritizing the different values. While it's still significant, leadership ability is more important than teamwork. Even if it screwed up the parties, it had to be done this way. We couldn't lose valuable candidates because they didn't excel at teamwork. It was an oversight on my part.”
The workers went back to their stations to see what they could do with the fragmented parties. Although the initial groups were ideal, they could still reform the parties.
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