This was going to be a tough battle. It was a game of “Capture the flag.” except the risks were higher. There will be two teams, each consisting of fifty students. Both teams Red and Blue will have their own camp-site. In the center of the camps, will be the flag. All of this would be taking place out in the forest.
The students who don’t get to participate today, will do so tomorrow. This battle exam was estimated to take a day and a half. Thirty-six hours to be exact. A good chance it could stretch out till the next morning.
Alicia’s deadly gaze looked upon the crowd of students.
“Once you capture the enemy flag, you must bring it back to your camp-site. This is the condition for winning.”
It was a simple concept at face-value, but it got more complicated.
Alicia leaned closer into the mic, a grin on her face.
“You may protect your flag by any means necessary. BUT there is one rule. No killing.”
The atmosphere in the gymnasium changed. Nearly every student was shocked, all except the cocky ones. This rule had a deeper meaning to it.
It meant that killing was the one and only line that couldn't be crossed. Other than that, you could break the bones of your enemies or use spells to harm them. All without consequence.
“Do your best. The losing team will receive a hard blow to their overall exam scores. They will be reduced by thirty percent.” said Alica.
However, if your team wins, your score will rise by 30%.
“So. Are you all ready?” she asked.
There were no objections. From there, everyone set off to the forest.
The teams were assembled and escorted to their respective camp-sites.
I was a part of the Blue team. Fifty students in total, and I only knew one of them.
A blue-haired girl. Amy.
“Oh! I’m so glad! Looks like we’re on the same team.” she smiled wide, walking over to me.
“Seems so. I would’ve hated to have you as an enemy.” I replied.
“Awee. I’m not that great. Plusss, you haven't even seen what I could do yet.”
“I guess that’s true.”
But of course, I didn't have to see what her magic was capable of. I could just simply tell. After all, it was my purpose to know things like this.
I could say this next part with certainty: It was a good thing we were on the same team. For her sake, that is.
I observed the other students. All of them were just standing around, unsure of where to start. Out of all the first-years, I was placed with the most incapable ones. I could tell by the uncertainty on their faces.
This is fine. We’ll just have to give them a leader.
Amy seemed to notice the lost state of our team as well.
“Who’s going to be in charge? Where do we start?” she asked, her head tilted.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
A good question. A very good question.
Not to nominate myself, but I was probably the only one who could get the job done right.
“ I’ll try leading the team,” I said.
“No way. Are You good at that sort of thing?” Amy asked.
“I don’t know. We’ll see.”
I walked to the center of the camp, getting everyone’s attention.
“Umm, everyone, excuse me.” One I saw that everyone’s eyes were on me, I continued, “We’re sort of unorganized right now. If you haven't noticed yet, we need a leader. So, if it’s not an issue, I'd like to take that role.”
With me as leader we could grab the victory in a short amount of time. This 36-hour exam could be done within 6 hours instead.
The murmuring voices of the students showed how they felt about this.
“Him as leader?”
“Hey! What makes him the leader?!”
“Shouldn’t we all have a say in this.”
“No fair. I wanna lead.”
This was looking harder than I thought. How could I possibly convince them? They didn’t even give me a chance.
Welp. There goes that plan. Right down the drain.
Not quite. Perhaps, there was still something I could do. I had one idea in mind. I could just duel against whoever opposes the position as leader. But I’d rather not resort to it unless necessary. So, before it came to that, I’d try one more time to convince them.
“...Well, can you guys at least hear me out? I think I have a winning strategy.”
“Let’s hear it then.” A man with long white-hair stepped up, speaking on behalf of everyone else, “If you don’t impress us in four sentences or less, we’ll just go with the majority vote.” He looked back at the other students, “Does that work, everyone?”
They all nodded and mumbled phrases similar to, “I suppose.” “Fine.” “Why not.”
This guy's charisma seemed to be off the charts, he convinced them without much effort. Maybe he’d make a good leader. However, he didn’t oppose the role, It was almost like he didn’t care.
Everyone silenced themselves, allowing me to begin explaining.
I couldn’t mess this up. I had to get it right in four sentences or less.
Here it goes.
“It’s fairly simple. First, we make a decoy camp-site. From there, we lure the enemy and crush them while their camp is vulnerable. If you wanna know how exactly we’ll go about doing this, select me as leader. If you wanna win, that is.”
A grin formed on the face of the white-haired man. My words had caught his interest. Along with everyone else. They had the sheer expression of curiosity.
“A decoy camp, huh.” said the white-haired man. “Now, that’s an idea. But how will you make your plan work?”
I refused to go into detail just yet, giving a dry answer.
“Like I said before, select me as leader. Then you’ll find out.”
This way, they couldn’t risk denying the role to me. Not after I told them it was a ‘winning strategy.’
The white-haired man still wore the same grin. His gaze lowered and he sighed.
“You are an interesting fellow.”
Me and him shared a quick glance, before he turned around and spoke to the rest of the team, “I’m sold on the idea. What’s the harm in letting him lead?”
“What if his idea turns out to not be so good?” A student asked.
“Do you have a better concept?” the white-haired man asked.
“W-well…not really.”
“Then, you better stay quiet.”
The discussion was concluded. All eyes were on me, I was now the leader.
Victory was guaranteed. I just needed to act accordingly now.