Chapter 192 : Chapter 192
Chapter 192
“Yes, I was wrong. Yes. So please stop.”
It was embarrassing. He was a master who would be embarrassing no matter where I presented him.
“Ahem, right. And it can’t be helped. The one who receives revelations isn’t the Star Child to begin with. It doesn’t work well even if I try to imitate it.”
“It’s the Star Maiden.”
“Right.”
The Star Child was in charge of combat, and the Star Maiden was in charge of healing. If one had to categorize revelations, it would be closer to healing than combat. It was a process of seeing the future and ‘healing’ it in a better direction.
“More importantly, are you free this weekend?”
“Pardon?”
What was happening this weekend? The Princess requested my company, Luri had her succession ceremony, and now even the Star Child.
“My schedule is busy, but what is it?”
“Busy? I was thinking of going to the Great Temple regarding the Star Maiden, and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me.”
The Great Temple. One of the chess pieces to fight against the end, but I had never once made contact with them. I could take this opportunity to make a connection, but…
“Well, I can go here alone. Didn’t Luri ask you to come to the succession ceremony?”
“I did hear about it.”
“Right, please attend. It’s not because she’s like my granddaughter, but she’s a really good kid. For her to work that hard just to hear a compliment from you, that’s not something an ordinary person would do.”
My goodness…
“I have Lilac, you know.”
“No, well, it’s like a flower in each hand, or having a wife and a concubine… Never mind. Right, it’s your decision. In fact, it’s best to have only one wife. …Still, I hope it doesn’t hurt Luri too much… No. Ugh, I’m getting meddlesome in my old age, really. A guy who’s never even dated in his life is lecturing the youth on their love lives. Forget what I said.”
“…Yes.”
The Star Child knew it too. That for me, there was only Lilac. No one else could exist.
“Anyway, I can go to the Great Temple alone, so don’t worry too much about it. If they’re priests, they won’t turn me away at the door.”
“Then I wish you good results.”
***
“Guided Sparring A+…”
The report card in my hand was flawless. It was the grade I received in Hectia’s guided sparring class before.
Hailey smiled brightly.
“The guided sparring is also recorded in your cadet record, so please be mindful, everyone. Ah, but everyone in our Class A got a B+ or higher! For your information, the biggest factor for reflection was ‘cooperation’!”
I could feel that Hectia had gone easy on Class A. Unlike the sharp-tongued man he was.
“Huhu, did you see? This is my leadership.”
Prince Kazaks was the only one who received an S in the guided sparring. I acknowledged it. The self-introduction event Prince Kazaks showed was quite interesting.
‘If Kazaks is an S, and I’m an A+…’
To be honest, I felt like it wasn’t given in the sense of ‘Martin, you did well,’ but more like ‘Martin, you tried your best considering what you did’…
“Now, everyone knows what today’s class is about, right?”
Hailey immediately resumed the class.
“Does everything go smoothly just because there’s cooperation? Unless you’ve worked together for 10 or 20 years, in extreme situations, you’re bound to split up and have conflicting thoughts. That’s why we choose a ‘leader.’ Also called a ‘head.’ We often called them ‘group leaders,’ right?”
The groups formed to conquer Time Chaos Dungeons also had a leader. The one with the highest command authority.
It might not matter for a small group of three or four, but if the group exceeds five and goes over ten, a leader is essential. The group members must absolutely obey the leader’s words.
‘It’s complicated.’
That’s why group members assessed the leader before deciding on one. Whether he was worth entrusting their lives to. Whether his abilities were trustworthy.
As Hailey tapped the lectern, a storage magic circle manifested, and a small board game board rose up.
“Today, we’re going to test your abilities as a group leader. With this, a simulator.”
‘Ah, is it that?’
It was familiar. It resembled the virtual war simulator used during the practical assessment of War Studies instructor Gunter.
The crest at the bottom of the simulator also looked familiar.
“It’s a game made into a simulator by the creator of the recently popular board game, Nine Kingdoms! It’s not a commercial product, but an item modified for tactical education! So it has game-like aspects. There are favorability ratings, and multiple endings.”
Then wasn’t it really a game? Well… the line between game and education was a fine one.
“This time, you’ll become the leader of a medium-sized group of 20 people conquering a Time Chaos Dungeon!”
If that time was a large-scale war, this time would be closer to a small-scale operation.
“Number 1?”
“Yes.”
It was Gilbert. As he walked out and stood in front of the simulator, a large image of the simulator appeared on the blackboard so we could watch.
“Now, begin!”
The board was set. A huge forest. In the middle of an area filled with trees and rocks, 20 people were summoned.
“Oh!”
“Wow!”
“This looks fun!”
The 20 people who appeared looked exactly like the cadets of Class A. As if waiting, Hailey continued her explanation.
“The characters here were created based on the visible stats of you cadets! Their behavioral characteristics are also reflected, so they move just like you! For example, shall we look at Cadet Martin’s character?”
‘Ugh, why me…?’
A status window-like hologram popped up, showing my information.
[Martin von Targon Ulvhadin]
[Melee Combat Power: B]
[Ranged Combat Power: A+]
[Magic: D-]
[Traits: The Sniper Who Never Fails - Attacks are guaranteed to hit.]
[Perfect Movement - Receives an upward correction for all physical activities such as movement and evasion.]
[Personality: Does what needs to be done properly, but fundamentally dislikes group activities. If he feels he doesn't like the leader's decision, he immediately starts acting independently.]
“Wow.”
“That’s fascinating.”
“It’s exactly the same.”
The Class A cadets nodded their heads in admiration.
“…”
…There was nothing to refute.
“I’ve tried it a few times, and this Martin character is important. In this game, just like the success rate of a large-scale operation, there’s also an attack success rate. Melee characters usually have over 80% in normal situations, but ranged characters usually only succeed about 60% of the time.”
Countless monsters appeared around the 20 people. From the start, it was an Orc patrol.
“The Orc patrol has high movement speed and powerful attacks! But their defense is relatively weak, so it’s best if you can focus your firepower to block them before they get close!”
[Orc Patrol, 1 Turn]
Hexagonal tiles appeared on the battlefield, and the Orc patrol units moved in, each advancing 8 tiles.
‘Wow, this was a strategy simulation game.’
“You may begin, Cadet Gilbert.”
Next came the ally’s turn. Gilbert manipulated the pieces.
It was by the book. He positioned the melee units on the outside and had the archers and mages attack the Orc patrol.
There was also a fun gimmick hidden here; when he moved the Bord character and placed him at the front, the character spoke a line.
[Yo! Leave the front line defense to me! This Bord of Tauforos will block them all!]
“Waaah!”
“Yo! Yo!”
The cadets, with sparkling eyes, were hoping for their turn to come soon. However, the first round ended much faster than expected with Gilbert’s overwhelming victory. The Orc patrol was annihilated before they even arrived.
“Now, the choices begin from here.”
Four of the Class A characters came out and spoke.
[Anette: The battle ended successfully. The future looks hopeful. Shall we advance a little further?]
[Kazaks: Hmm, the time has come to show off my cooking skills. It would be good to regroup before setting off.]
[Mary: S-Since the Orc patrol c-came out…, there should be a v-village nearby. How about we scout it out…?]
“You can choose an option. Depending on the option, the mood of the group changes, and bonds or hostilities can form between characters.”
It was a pretty well-made game.
‘The options are diverse too. Is Gilbert’s for forward scouting, Prince Kazaks' for resting, and Mary’s for proceeding with a sub-quest?’
I had seen up to the third option, but the last, fourth one…
[Martin: They’re all pathetic. We advance in a straight line. Resting is a luxury to be had only after the dungeon is conquered.]
Laughter leaked out from here and there. I put my hand to my forehead.
‘Who, who made it, my character…?’
Gilbert hesitated, then chose Mary. He probably thought it was best to listen to the smartest character.
[The intimacy of Gilbert’s party has increased.]
[Gilbert: Yes, if it’s Mary’s opinion.]
[The hostility of Prince Kazaks' faction towards Gilbert’s party has deepened.]
[Kazaks: Hmph, they’ll be in for a big surprise if they proceed with a reckless exploration.]
Just seeing this far, I was thinking ‘Wow, this is really well-made’ and wanted to get one for my house.
But that thought was shattered right after.
[Martin’s favorability towards the conquest team has plummeted.]
[Martin: Tsk, they’re all thoughtless. Heads full of flowers. Do they think they’re here to play?]
[Character ‘Martin’ leaves the group! He advances alone towards the dungeon’s objective! He will advance alone and conquer the dungeon separately. You may encounter him later, but it is unknown whether he will be an ally or an enemy.]
“Uh…?”
Gilbert’s face turned pale.
“Ha…!”
A dry laugh escaped me. My character in the simulator, with a blunt face, walked away and disappeared from the stage.
I was so dumbfounded that one corner of my mouth went up. It was a smirk.
“Pfft…!”
“Keke!”
“Kik!”
Unsuppressed laughter burst from the mouths of the Class A cadets. Among them, Mary looked at me with a face that was about to cry. Our eyes met.
“I-I’m sorry…?”
Soon, the dam of laughter burst.
“Kehahahak! Did you see that?! Did you see?! Am I the only one seeing this?!”
“Ah! Cadet Martin deserted! Kekekekeke!”
“Oh, owaaak, ah, my stomach hurts, kekekekekeke!”
“The realism is insane, really! The historical accuracy is spot on!”
Looking to my side, Adela was trembling with her head down on her desk, and Luri was convulsing with her hands covering her face.
“Keub, huhu, ah, no. I’m not laughing, huhuhu…!”
“N-No, kekekeke! I-I’m not laugh-hahahahak!”
I wished they would all just go and die.
“Eung, I’ve tried it too, and I couldn’t stop Cadet Martin from deserting…”
Hailey’s words became the secondary trigger, and Class A was submerged in a sea of laughter.
In any case, the challenge of attendance number 1, Gilbert, ended anticlimactically.
He had planned to listen to Mary’s opinion and find the Orc village to preemptively block their attack, but that was actually the place to avoid the most.
The orcs were just a joke; a monster army of ogres and trolls was waiting there.
He tried to flee in a hurry, but.
“Ah.”
[Character Bord has died.]
[Character Muller has died.]
The two who had been buying time died first.
[Character Anette has died.]
[Character Luri has died.]
[Character Kazaks has died.]
The endless and persistent pursuit eliminated them one by one.
[Character Gilbert has died.]
[Character Lina has died.]
In the end, they were wiped out.
[All characters have died or left the group. You have failed the conquest.]
There was surely only one person who had left the group…
‘Still, I get the gist of it.’
The combat power of the characters. None of them were particularly outstanding; they were balanced in their own way. Like if a stat was low, the trait was good.
Gilbert was a broken character with both good stats and traits, and I… my traits… I didn’t know why they were like that, but my stats were good.
“Alright, next, number 2?”
This time too, the Orc patrol charged in from the start.
Gilbert had already shown how to handle the combat. After the battle ended in the same way as before, options appeared for cadet number 2, but something was different.