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“What do we know about the opposing team?” The team captain asked their strategist. Their opponents were randomized, and they didn’t find out who they were fighting until a few minutes before the actual battle.
"Mahora Academy." The strategist, a support member of their team, adjusted his glasses. The whole thing was for effect, as no one with decent Vitality truly required glasses. Elves even less so. People could be so weird at times. “Some of you might already know this from previous years, but they’re a mixed academy like ours with tracks for mages, supporters, and what they call knights. They’re mostly famed for their mages and teamwork. Their mages tend to skew towards martial magic thanks to a Champion hailing from their academy. I expect fairly standard formation and tactics, although a potential wrinkle comes from their Pactio system. Sometimes students form partnerships with the academy’s unique magic which grants them special abilities. That should only apply to older students though.”
“So far fairly standard.” The captain nodded while loosening the large claymore on her back. “Do we know anything about their current members?” It was only the second round of the competition and the first competition of the season, so scouting information was limited.
“Yes, well, the majority of their previous team went up to the next bracket for advanced students, so most of their current members are new.” That wasn’t too odd, as teams usually were made up of the strongest available students, which usually meant the oldest allowed in the bracket. “The information from their first fight was scant and impossible to acquire aside from the fact that the fight did not last very long. Their opponents were not eager to share, as can be expected from an apparent rout. I only managed to get their basic roles, and even that only because they were required to report them. They have two Knights, one guardian type and one striker. Three mages, as can be expected from a magic academy, and a single combat support. No details on outside combat supporters, as those are not public information. Though, I expect they have the standard contingent of the maximum allowed out-of-combat support team of three." The strategist explained.
All teams were allowed six members who took part in the actual fights, while three out-of-combat supporters were also allowed. One of those was likely someone who could maintain equipment and having a strategist/scout just like their team was rather common. Once the season carried on during the year, the necessity of scouting diminished as most top teams became aware of each other, but that only heightened the necessity of a good strategist.
“Any recommendations?” The captain asked, and the entire team was all ears.
“I recommend staying fluid. As theirs is an academy focused on magic and less so on Knights, I expect that their front line should be fairly standard in their make-up. Expect standard Knight Skills and of course limited access to protective abilities from the guardian. The supporter is likely to be a healer." Those guesses were grounded in years and years of accumulated data. Teams without healers tended to not do well, and Knights were a hybrid starting Class that could specialize in many things. Generally, they were high in Vitality and armor Skills, while maintaining decent offence. Knight was a fairly standard but good Class that was popular, but they rarely came with huge surprises. “The real issue comes from their mages.”
“Yes, you mentioned that their academy has a larger proportion of martial mages.” The captain remembered.
“Exactly. Depending on what type of mages they brought along, their frontline might be stronger than the presence of three mages might imply, which could mean they can match our frontline in numbers. On the other hand, it could be that the three are all artillery mages that will try to overwhelm you with magic.” The strategist explained. “I recommend Elvandar to snipe one of their mages as soon as the battle starts. Use your strongest attack to pierce any defences the guardian Knight might be able to muster on short notice.”
Elvandar was their Elven Ranger who focused on arcane archery, and sniping targets was her specialty. She nodded in agreement. This was a tactic they'd used dozens of times before. It usually worked.
“Latimere should focus on countering the opponent mages as usual.” Latimere was their mage, who was a little different in that he focused on Arcane magic and shutting down other mages. "You know the rest. Captain and the rest overwhelm their frontline. Stay on your toes and be ready to react to any oddities." Their tactic was relatively simple, but against unknown opponents, simple and flexible was usually the best idea. The Strategist Class also gave buffs when it came to executing plans they’d laid out, so as long as everyone followed the simple plan, their actions would be empowered. If the Strategist had been a combat member, they could have done more, but as a support member, their Skills were limited.
“Alright. You heard the Strategist. Let’s mess them up.” The Captain declared. They only had a couple of minutes to wait before they were teleported to the arena.
Elvandar’s shot flew off immediately, but the Captain knew the attack had failed as soon as she saw the enemies. The entire Mahora team was surrounded by a golden glow obviously laid down by the Draenei Paladin standing at the front while holding a shield in one hand, and a strange, curved sword in the other. Just as she’d expected, the Paladin who’d obviously invested heavily in Charisma managed to deflect the shot with an almost disdainful flick of her shield. Heavy investment in Charisma meant stronger buffs.
Dammit. Paladins were trouble, as a superior Class to standard Knights. They were more effective than Knights at defence, while also able to do offence with their Holy abilities. And they also buffed their allies, as was obvious by the Draenei’s glowing aura. No matter, the Paladin would have other things to deal with once she and her three other frontline compatriots reached them.
Their four warriors quickly used their mobility Skills to cross the distance between the two groups, or at least tried to. Suddenly she felt as if she was running through water, and one of the ‘mages’ of the Mahora team stepped forward while glowing with what was obviously biotics. A wave of force slammed into them, attempting to throw them back. At the same time, the other warrior of the Mahora team leaped high into the air. Unnaturally high. 'A Dragoon, maybe?'
As the captain, she was strong enough to resist the wave of force, though it did stop her in her tracks for a moment. However, she was right in worrying that her teammates weren't as lucky. The wave of force didn't really hurt them, but it messed up their timing, as their initial plan relied on simultaneous strikes from multiple directions with overwhelming power. If they attacked staggered and piecemeal, they were a lot easier to fend off.
Without even looking, she knew where the enemy Dragoon was aiming for, Elvandar and Latimere, and the two mages were already starting to cast their spells. The Mahora team moved in unison, as if they’d been training together for a long time. Not something that should be possible for a new team. She needed to disrupt their pace as they’d done to her team, and fast.
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She gathered all the power she could muster into her large sword and unleashed it in a single slash. Only soon it wasn’t just one slash, it quickly multiplied into six, then a dozen, then two dozen smaller slashes of power that flew toward the opposing team.
The Paladin slammed her shield against the ground and the golden glow around her team grew thicker. She didn't expect that to do much good as her attack was designed to pierce such defences, but to her surprise, the effect of her attack was much smaller than she'd expected. Yes, the slashes that went around the Paladin seemed to strike their target, and while one of the two mages had her spellcasting disrupted, they didn't seem overtly hurt. It looked like some of the power had been drained out from those attacks and into those that hit the Paladin, only to be pretty much ignored by the Draenei girl.
Suddenly the Paladin seemed to vanish! The Draenei moved with speed that she certainly shouldn’t have been able to, crossing the distance between the two teams in a pair of quick steps. Weren’t Paladin’s supposed to be slow? That was one of their main weaknesses! That strange, curved sword slashed and separated Tomas’ head from his shoulders with disconcerting ease. Tomas just disappeared, and while she knew he hadn’t really died, the brief moment of seeing his head spinning through the air was enough to stun her for a brief moment. A moment that the enemy team capitalized on.
She could only watch in dismay as the Dragoon slammed his spear into Latimere, using the mage as a shield against Elvandar, who in turn suddenly found herself at the receiving end of a fireball from the Mahora mage that had managed to continue casting. The magical fire managed to consume the Elf even with her magical defences. She’d always been more effective at arenas with terrain to use as cover…
The other mage managed to finish off Edda, who’d tried to rush to face the Dragoon. A bad choice in retrospect as it left her wide open for attack, but their teamwork had broken down. In the meantime, the last and newest member of their team was toyed around by the Biotic. Biotics were a hard counter to most warriors with lacking ranged Skills, and Gritnik was one of those, stubbornly sticking to her Barbarian Class. Apparently, a Goblin Barbarian was a rarity.
That just left her, and the Paladin was walking towards her with slow, unhurried steps. Since there was little point in fighting more, she stabbed her claymore into the ground. “Aren’t you a new team?”
“We are.” The Paladin smiled a charming smile that managed to daze her a bit. Damn Charisma Classes. “Aside from my brother, I met the rest of them yesterday.” The Paladin admitted.
“What the heck? How’s your teamwork so seamless then?” She asked in confusion.
The Paladin pointed at the sixth member of their team, whose presence she'd forgotten. The healer. The mousy-looking Human girl really seemed to almost vanish when you weren't looking at her. "Helps when you have a telepathic Strategist in the team."
Wait, what? “Strategists get telepathy?” She asked, surprised.
The Paladin seemed open to talking shop since the fight was essentially over. “Not as standard, no.” She just smiled, not explaining further.
Her eyes narrowed a bit. The mousy Human wasn't just a Strategist. She had to have some mind-influencing Class or an Assassin Class to be so discreet. "No healer?" She asked, curiously. She had thought they were the only team without a dedicated healer since Elvandar could do basic healing with her second Class.
The Paladin just lifted an eyebrow. “Right. Paladin. Makes sense.” She nodded. “Alright. Let’s get this over with.” She grabbed her claymore again, ready to fight.
“A-ha, sorry about this." The Paladin seemed a little apologetic, and she suddenly felt a blade slip between her ribs, right through a small opening in her armor. Not that it really mattered. The downside of the best armours was that they didn't exactly cover a lot, which normally didn't matter. Unless you were attacked by an Assassin, a Class that got bonuses from these kinds of things. She barely noticed the mousy Human pulling the blade out. How'd she get there?
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"That could've gone worse," Raziel commented as they were transported back into their preparation room.
Seraphiel smiled a bit in response. “Indeed, although it could’ve gone better as well.”
“To be fair, their team folded so quickly that it wasn’t a fair test.” Beatrice, their Strategist/Assassin dampened the mood a bit. She also slipped straight away into her role as the team captain. “Right, takeaways? Things that went well, things that went poorly, and things we need to just change?”
“I lost my cast when their captain attacked.” Mu-tah, their Khenra mage admitted with a grimace. “The worst part is that I didn’t need to. Seraphia’s defences were enough. I’m just not used to just standing there and taking it.” Mu-tah was a Spellspear, a Mage Class that was a hybrid between a standard mage and a Warrior. He’d put on some mage’s robes, but quickly shed them, his kind disliking anything covering their top half.
“That was a mistake, yes, but we did push you into an uncomfortable role.” Beatrice nodded. They wanted to save some surprises for later rounds. “It would be too much to expect you to adjust straight away. Luckily their team got thrown off by Sa’violi.” Sa’violi was their Asari Biotic.
“I got their mage quickly once I reached them, but it took a bit too long to acquire the best target," Raziel stated.
Beatrice shook her head. “That was more on me. I assigned the target to you, and while you could’ve anticipated, such anticipation can be dangerous if you judge things differently from me. We moved decently together for our second fight. Efficiency and guessing my orders before I make them come with practice. In fact, for now, it's better if you don't go out solo against most teams. When we can send Seraphia, and maybe even Mu-tah, off with you to charge in straight away, it will be safer to make such plays, but for now, your timing was good. The opposing team was also a good target for a backline dive.”
“My cast was a bit slow.” Nodoka, the other mage admitted. She was the daughter of the teacher of the same name, something she got quite a bit of teasing for. Especially since the two didn’t look or act anything alike. Where the teacher was subdued and shy, the daughter was outgoing and flashy. “Or I should say, I chose a spell that was needlessly powerful for my target. Something faster and weaker would’ve likely worked.”
Beatrice nodded at that. "That's something you're likely going to have to practice, choosing the correct spell for the job. On the other hand, even I was a bit surprised by how easily their archer fell. Her attack was quite strong, so maybe she's a glass cannon of sorts. Or maybe Seraphia's blessing was stronger than expected?”
"I've been training," Seraphia added cheekily.
“Speaking of, why were you hiding your non-Paladin Skills?” Raziel asked. “There’s little point considering the splash you made in the newbie division. Everyone will connect the dots sooner rather than later.”
“She wasn’t really hiding.” Beatrice pointed out. “Although she wasn’t advertising either. I just gave her the opportunity to train her Paladin Skills, on the condition that she’d bust out her other Skills when necessary. She did slow the enemy down and use her mobility Skill though. Anything else you could’ve done?”
“I could’ve stopped the attack that disrupted Mu-tah completely with my barrier Skill, as it would've likely worked better than [Bulwark], but I wanted to test how well [Bulwark] held up," Seraphia admitted. She wanted to mainly focus on the Paladin Skills to speed-level them and the Class up. Combat experience was funny in that it went mostly towards the Classes that you used the most, even if part of the experience was always split evenly.
“Right. So, skirting on the line a bit, but still on the safe side for now.” Beatrice nodded. “Just be careful in the future.”
"Well, I did my job," Sa’violi stated. She was the second oldest of the team.
"True. You did what you were supposed to. I'm not sure how fond I am of the time you took to play with that warrior, but that's all on you." Beatrice shrugged. It was clear there was no real love lost between the two of them. "We still have some kinks to work through, but I think we can go far as a team. Especially once our cooperation improves." She fingered the small bracelet they were all wearing. "These telepathy bracers were a good idea. Makes things a lot easier."
“Just remember that some Classes might be able to disrupt them if they notice." Seraphiel reminded her. Their Quarian out-of-combat support crafter had made them, as well as most of the equipment they were using. "Saen’Cunis vas Rannoch did good work with them, but they’re still made by a student.”
“You’re still calling him by his full name?” Nodoka teased a bit.
“And I’m going to keep doing so until he stops hitting on me.” She responded emphatically.
“Alright, keep any personal drama to yourselves. The rest of the team doesn’t need to know. Saen does good work, and that’s all I care about.” Beatrice shot that down.
Seraphiel noted that Sa’violi wasn’t looking all that pleased, though she wasn’t sure if that was because the Asari had some sort of attachment to the Quarian crafter, or because he had been hitting on Sa’violi before she came along. ‘Teen drama!’ She scoffed mentally. Raziel was also frowning for brotherly reasons.
The team Evangeline had stuck her with was a bit of a mixed bag, but they had promise. They weren’t the only, or even the primary, team in the bracket for intermediate students, and she knew Evangeline had placed her and Raziel into the team mostly to gain experience. Still, if the team worked well, she might be with them for longer as they were all rather advanced students despite limited experience with a team aside from Beatrice and Sa’violi. And Saen’Cunis of course. Just like she was here to gain System experience, she knew Evangeline wanted her to turn these people into better competitors with her real experience from previous universes.
There was also the fact that Evangeline didn't want to throw her into solo fights yet, because whether she won or lost, both came with some problems. It was better to have her in a team where both wins and losses could be partially attributed to the team’s performance.