“The Lances have chosen open plains as the setting!” the referee announced.

“There’s no where to run, hide, or take cover. The Lances are just going to get on their mounts and butcher us!” I groaned.

If Nuhem was worried about the Lances’ choice, it didn’t show on his face as he spoke with the referee.

“The Gale have chosen a dungeon rally!” the referee announced.

“A dungeon rally! Ladies and gentlemen, we finally have our first dungeon rally of the tournament!” the commentator yelled.

During the first round, everyone chose either a team deathmatch or a team relay battle.

“Why did no captain make that choice in the first round, and why did Nuhem make it here?” Asty asked.

“Because dungeon rally and monster hunt don’t require you to beat all of the enemies in a fight to win the match. Anyone who chose those on their first match would be announcing to the world their lack of confidence.” Nico explained.

Durreg nodded in understanding.

“I see. Now that Nuhem proved his team could fight, he made the unexpected choice to throw a wrench at the Lancers’ plan.”

“There’s more to it than that.” Aptera said.

“The Lancers, even more than the Knights, are a team that relies on cavalry charges. On open plains, they’re nearly unstoppable. By throwing in the layers of a dungeon in between, he grants himself and his team some breathing room.”

As we listened to Aptera’s analysis, the arena activated, sending both teams to their starting locations. However, unlike the previous matches, there was an entire array of condensed spaces rather than a single one, and all were separate from each other. Each team was placed in a separate space.

“To those of you who may be questioning how a dungeon rally works, allow me to enlighten you!” the commentator said.

“In a dungeon rally, a dungeon is automatically created by our arena system to match the specifications of the teams’ initial choices. Each created dungeon houses multiple layers, each seeded with pre-prepared monsters. And like any proper dungeon, a dungeon core is located somewhere within it! The team that successfully destroys the dungeon core is the one that will emerge victorious!”

***

Orlando

“Well, it looks like our opponents are just as cunning as they are resilient. What a drag.” I sighed, taking off my helmet to scratch my head.

“Come on, Orlando, you’re our captain. How many times do I have to tell you not to complain in front of your men?”

Oliver, my second-in-command and close friend, chided me.

“You know what Orlando is like, Oliver. The men, for some heaven forsaken reason, somehow still like him anyway. Just give it up.” Ruggiero said.

Once again, this conversation was repeating itself in yet another form.

“Hahaha! That’s Captain Orlando for you! Not that there’s any regular soldiers for him to worry with his attitude. Still, I’d follow you anywhere, Captain, even down the gates of hell themselves!” Astolfo giggled with a wink.

“Cease this buffoonery, you lot. The match has already begun.” Renault de Montaubon chided before turning to me.

“Captain Oliver, please give us your instructions.”

“Settle down Ren-Ren, you’re killing the mood.” Bradamante de Montaubon said.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“For the last time, sister, stop calling me that!” Renault objected, only for it to fall on deaf ears.

“Still, my brother is right. We await your command.”

Barely ten seconds into the match, and the team’s already falling into their usual banter.

“Good grief, you lot are hopeless. Now, listen up!” I said, clapping my hands, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Our opponent chose a dungeon rally to mitigate our advantage on open plains, but that was just the best move they could make in a terrible situation. We have much better mobility and offensive power than they do, so we’re going to press our advantage.” I said, making eye contact with the members of my team.

“We will spread out and look for the dungeon core individually. The enemy is banking on us sticking together and fighting them, but that would be a mistake. Getting bogged down would be the biggest mistake we can make. Ignore both the monsters and the enemy as best you can and focus on the objective. Of course, if you can quickly and easily take down an enemy on your way, I am not going to complain about that, but it isn’t our primary goal. Just do things like we always do, and we’ll come out on top.”

“Yes, sir!” the team saluted, summoned their mounts, and spread out as ordered.

“Hmm. I wonder what the enemy team is going to do.”

I sighed and put my helmet on.

“What a drag. Let’s get this over with so I can go back to sleep.” I sighed, summoning my own mount before moving on.

***

Both teams began moving, and it seemed that each team was taking a different strategy. The Frankish Lancers were spreading out individually in search of either the dungeon core or an entrance to another layer, the latter of which a multitude of were spread out across each layer.

The Gale, however, split into three different groups. Nuhem, Aui, and Netos went together in one direction while Nishem and Nekhtu went in another. Tor went invisible and probably headed off on his own.

“Neither team has chosen to stick together and have instead decided to split apart! The Frankish Lances have each gone their separate ways; an aggressive choice, as befits their team!” the announcer said.

Throughout the plains were both herds of monsters and lone wolves, from the rank C [Charger Bison] to the rank A [Heavy Impaler Rhino], though the armored horses of the Lances easily outran all of them. What few were unavoidable were quickly moved aside or dispatched with a lance thrust, a sword swing, or a magic attack.

The Gale, meanwhile, we’re each taking a different strategy.

“[Shield Ram]!”

Nuhem blasted through waves of monsters, tossing them aside as he cleared a path for Netos, who shot an arrow next to him. A bridge of air appeared between them, and Aui held onto Netos as he surged the winds to Nuhem.

Nuhem picked up the arrow and pocketed it, then activated his skill once more, extending the distance Netos was surfing indefinitely.

“[Shield Ram]!”

Nishem, meanwhile, shielded Nekhtu as they ran while Nekhtu burned any approaching monsters with a large blob of acid.

It didn’t take long for someone to find an entrance to another layer.

“The Captain of the Lances has found a layer gate! This is but one of many entrances on that layer alone, will it lead the captain to an early victory?!” the commentator yelled.

A black, warping hole in space stood before the opponents’ captain, who moved to touch it. The hole suddenly warped him like a rope in a whirlpool before sucking him inside, only for him to emerge in another separate block of the plains dungeon.

“That’s quite the curious mechanism. It’s an intriguing simulation of a dungeon.” Durreg said.

A few minutes later, each group had found warp point of their own, scattering them all throughout the dungeons’ many layers. It was only a matter of time before they ran into the dungeon core – or each other.

“This is bad. The Lances can scout can cover twice as much ground as we can, and much faster too. The odds look really bad for us. Asten, do you know what Nuhem’s plan is?” I asked.

“No. I am not familiar with all of his team’s abilities – he and his team are a potential rival of ours in the tournament, after all. Still, I am sure he has a plan prepared. He had time to see what kind of team the Lances were yesterday.”

Despite Asten’s vote of confidence, I still felt nervous.

Slowly but surely, both groups were covering more and more of the dungeon, with the Lances doing a significantly greater part of that load. I was sure that the dungeon core was going to be found sooner rather than later, and I ended up being proven right.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Astolfo of the Lances has found the dungeon core!” the commentator yelled.

The petite knight approached the glowing, dark green rock embedded in the ground. Unfortunately for her, it was in the middle of a large pack made of the rank A [Great Grey-Maned Lion].

“Ayaaaah; I need some back up for this!” She said, pulling out a magic tome and raising her hand.

“[Mass Clairvoyance]!”

Immediately afterwards, magic lines appeared before each of the Lances, guiding all of them to a layer entrance.

“Wait, wait, wait! Don’t tell me she’s doing what I think she is!” I yelled.

“A guiding spell; she’s definitely a transmutation mage.” Asty said grimly.

As Asty said, all of the Lances made their way to their gate, travelling between layers to reach Astolfo. The six of them were reunited before the monsters, with Nuhem’s group nowhere in sight.

“Okay, the match is over. Damn it. Let’s make sure to console them for the next one.” Durreg sighed, though Aptera interjected.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”