Translator : PolterGlast

"Hey, Nozomu! Where on earth are we heading!?"

"For the time being, we are going to the west side of the training area! It will be easy to hide since the vegetation is dense and overgrown there!"

Under Nozom's instructions, Mars and the others rushed out with all their might to avoid engaging in battle with the other party as soon as the training started. According to Nozomu, there were several small hills around the training area, but most of them were surrounded by forest, therefore, monitoring a large area from a high place seemed ineffective.

On the east side of the training area, there is a highway connected to Arcazam, but there is no other characteristic terrain worth mentioning.

At first, they were planning to build a base on a small hill. Certainly, there were no trees growing from the edge of the forest to the top of the hill, and it was easy to observe the approaching enemies, but at the same time there were no trees to hide them, so they would fight against the attacking opponents more often.

Although there is Mars who has the strength equivalent to the upper class, there is Nozomu and the others who only have relatively low strength. So, they would lose if they were attacked in quick succession.

Therefore, Nozomu rejected the plan and chose to hide in the forest instead.

Currently, they are running towards the west side which has a lot of trees...

"Haa, haa... No, Nozomu-kun! Behind, behind!!"

"They're after us!!"

Hamria and Cami who were running behind raised their voices. When they took a closer look, they could see the figure of the other party running from the other side of the trees. The other party has found and chased the fleeing Nozomu's party.

"I know! Just run for now!"

Nozomu encouraged them to keep running no matter what. Hamria, who was next to Cami, was probably the least physically fit, and her breathing shown that she was already in pain.

"Hey, Nozomu! Isn't it better to ambush them instead !?"

"Don't! The other teams aren't scattered yet! If we fight here and meet with other parties, we will be the first to be defeated !!"

Nozomu is most afraid of being attacked by two or more parties at the same time. For other parties, the low-strength Nozomu's party would look like an easy point to earn. Nozomu's party with such low strength is a good way to surely earn points in the early stage, and It's one of the parties that will definitely be targeted.

It is a foolish idea to stop in this state, which may be targeted by multiple parties, which is why Nozomu's first objective is to gain distance and prepare for interception.

"Uo! They are attacking us!"

"It's okay because there is still some distance! Instead, just focus on running for now !!"

Various types of magic bullets such as fire bullets, wind bullets, and pure magic bullets were pouring down from behind. Tommy screamed because of the magic bullets that passed beside him, but Nozomu calmly measured the opponent's distance and continued to urge his party to run. Even though the magic cast from behind was considered strong, it was still far away and was disturbed by the overgrown trees, so it didn't hit Nozomu's party.

The Solminati Academy's students had many mock battles on the training ground, so they didn't have much experience when fighting in places with many obstacles such as forests.

Of course, it wasn't that they didn't learn to fight in narrow spaces or in the forest, and many students have fought in the forest at the request of the guild. However, they had forgotten to make use of that experience, because they only focused on chasing right after the start of the special training.

"Damn! Wait!"

The party chasing from behind yelled and chased while releasing magic again and again. However, the released magic was still blocked by the overgrown tree and didn't reach Nozomu's party. What's more, their own magic hindered them from pursuing further, and the distance between them and Nozomu's group grew wider.

The pursuers chased Nozomu's party in a hurry, but it was too late, and Nozomu's party had disappeared and was hiding behind the overgrown trees.

***

"...Fuu. Looks like we managed to shake them off."

"Haa, haa, haa ... I see. I'm glad."

Nozomu finally stopped after confirming that there was no sign of any pursuers from behind. The other members exhaled, perhaps because they were relieved that they had shaken their pursuers off. Hamria collapsed on the spot.

After gulping down the water from the water bottle and taking a breath, Nozomu took out a wooden rod wrapped in strings from his pouch.

"... Nozomu. What are you doing?"

"I will make a warning network for now. I wonder if we could confirm each other abilities in the meantime? Mars, I'll leave it to you."

Nozomu started to work while answering Mars' questions. After one end of the string was tied to a tree, he immediately entered the forest and stretched the string around his party in a circular motion. Finally, after several laps, Nozomu returned to the original position, and then the other end of the string was tied to the wooden rod, the wooden rod was fixed by attaching it to a tree.

If someone came and touched the string, the fixed wooden rod would fall and notify them that an intruder had arrived. This is the simplest alarm device.

Mars asked about Jin's abilities while Nozomu created the warning network. By the time Mars finished, Nozomu had also finished creating the warning network.

"Then let's make the base now, that said, it's just setting traps around us."

"Hey, Nozomu. Is it okay to just setting traps? I know it's good for strengthening our defenses, but I wonder aren't we too passive..."

Mars complained about Nozomu's idea. Of course, seclusion would not improve their situation while the other party took on one task after another and earned points in battle. On the contrary, it is better to take action as early as possible, considering that the other party will take on the tasks that can be done one after another.

"I know. I've thought about it. So please listen to me first."

With that said, everyone then devoted themselves to listening to Nozomu's words. Nozomu's idea is like this.

First, divide their party into two. One of them is the team that handles the task. The other is the team defending the base.

The team that handles the task consists of Mars, Tommy, and Cami. The team defending the base consists of Nozomu, Jin, Deck, and Hamria.

The team that handles the task requires considerable attack power and mobility against the opponent. Therefore, Nozomu chooses Mars, the most powerful force in their party, Cami, a dagger wielder with high agility, and Tommy, a swordsman.

Also, because it is necessary to defend the base, Nozomu who was the leader of the party, Jin who had commanding abilities, and Hamria who used a wide-range specialized weapon such as spear were chosen.

Nozomu's strategy is that the team performing the tasks will prioritize exploration tasks and earn points, while the defense team will defend their base.

"Hey, wouldn't it be better for everyone to act together? I guess it would be safer that way..."

It was the mage, Hamria, who told Nozomu of her opinion in a reluctant voice.

In her opinion, it was safer to act together, but Nozomu shook his head and denied it.

"No. Rather, it's worse to act together. We don't have much effective defense against wide-area magic attacks. If we were hit by a preemptive strike while moving through the forest, we might be wiped out all at once."

In Nozomu's party, only Mars, who has a lot of Qi, and Hamria, the mage, who have effective defenses against magical attacks. It wasn't that the other members couldn't use magic, but considering that their enemies were more likely to be higher-ranked students than just the same 10th class as them, even if they could defend, there was a high possibility that they would be overwhelmed. by their magic.

"That's why our party's task will be focused on exploration because they are less likely to meet the other party than escort tasks."

In the escort-related tasks, the teacher plays the role of the escort target, but as long as the teacher becomes the escort target, they can't expect them will defend themselves. Rather, the escort target may slow their movement speed down, or pretend to have an accidental problem and act as a shackle.

In order to protect such an escort target, it is necessary to devote all of the party's strength to the task, and as a result, the efficiency of earning points will decrease, and in the worst case, there is a high probability that the party will be annihilated due to the former reason.

However, if it is an exploration-related task, all they have to do is bring the instructed item to the headquarters. The chances of being ambushed are not zero. However, if they reduce the number of people and choose only the fast-paced members, the chances of encountering an ambush will be much lower, and the faster they move, the more likely they are to escape.

In addition, Mars, which has great penetrating power, should be able to adequately cope with the situation even if it occurs.

"But is it really alright? Mars is good for the task team, but isn't the defense team lacking in strength? "

Jin leaked a worried voice. He seemed to be worried that the base will be defeated as the task team completed the task.

"We don't have to protect this base all the time. In this task, we must prioritize survival first, and in case of an emergency, we will abandon the base. When the time comes, I will let you know."

Nozomu took out two stones. It was stones that were transparent like quartz, and its shape was symmetrical.

"This is the [Twin Stone of Tragic Fate]. It glows red when a strong impact is applied, and when one of the stones glows, the other will also glow. When it is time to abandon the base, we'll use this stone as the signal. Originally I bought it to use as a means of contacting with Mars when we got separated."

Nozomu handed over one of his [Twin Stone of Tragic Fate] to Mars.

"...I see, with that, we'll know each other's condition, right?"

"Yes. After we abandon the base, we will meet at the place we have determined. North of here, there is a large tree in the northeast on the map, and there is a huge rock next to it. Also, if I got defeated and our party still survives, Jin will take command until Mars returns. "

Nozomu gave instructions for consideration when he was defeated. It was to avoid confusion and annihilation of the party members if the leader was defeated first.

Mars played with [Twin Stone of Tragic Fate] in his palm and stared at Nozomu.

"...Mars, is there something you don't understand?"

"...No, it's fine. I'll accept this for now."

Mars had a facial expression that seemed to be holding back something, he immediately put the [Twin Stones of Tragic Fate] that was in his hand back into his pocket as if nothing had happened.

Nozomu was curious about Mars' strange behavior, but since Mars didn't seem dissatisfied with the operation itself, Nozomu decided to put it aside for the time being.

"Then I'll go. Nozomu, I'll leave the things here to you."

"Yeah, be careful."

Mars nodded at Nozomu's words and disappeared into the depths of the forest with Tommy and Cami. Nozomu stood up after seeing Mars and the others leave and started to act.

***

"……Ugh"

"Gu~a ..."

"Kuh~ ..."

On the south side of the training area, the sunlight was gradually blocked by the overgrown trees, and the forest was dim even though it was daytime.

A number of groans echoed in the dim forest. It was like a battlefield. About 10 students were lying on the ground. The only salvation was that no one died. Each of them either fainted or they were in so much pain that they couldn't even move.

However, all of the lying student pendants glowed red, indicating that they were disqualified from today's training. If others took a closer look, they seemed to belong to 3rd and 4th class students.

"Haa, haa, haa"

Meanwhile, the only surviving male student wielded a sword and confronted someone. It was unclear what the person was like as it was hidden behind the trees, but the shadow looked like belonged to a woman. It was probably the one who beat them all. Anyone could tell that it was no ordinary opponent as it had beaten around 10 students in the 3rd and 4th classes.

"Kuh~, ha aa aa !!"

The previous sudden appearance of a formidable foe in front of the 4th class party alliance. Either all his friends had been defeated or he was abandoned. The male student holding the sword rushed towards the shadow. He probably had no other choice. Emitting Qi from his entire body, he rushed towards the enemy in front of him with all his might.

The shadow also moved as the male student rushed. The shadow swung its arms as if cutting through the wind. As the sound of air being slashed rang out, the male student felt intense pain in his arm.

"Uwa!"

The male student groaned. The pain that ran on his arm stopped his legs from moving any further, and his movement stopped before he even reached half the distance into the shadows.

"Kuh~ !!"

Still, the male student managed to regain his posture. However, the shadow swung its arm in quick succession, and each time, explosive sounds reverberated through the forest.

"Ga! Guu !! Uaaaa !!!"

Every time the explosive sounds resounded, the groans of the male student could be heard, and laceration after laceration was engraved on his body.

The boy's consciousness became hazy due to the intense pain that ran throughout his body non-stop, and finally, his legs became weak and he fell to the ground. Immediately after, the pendant glowed red. The damage he sustained exceeded the set amount.

"U, ugh ..."

"... I'm sorry ~. Are you alright~~?"

The male student who fell to the ground and groaned was called out by a voice that seemed to be worried. The shadow appeared from behind the trees. A cheerful voice, long wavy brown hair, and droopy eyes. The shadow's true identity is Anri Var, the homeroom teacher of the 10th class.

She gave treatment to the student she just defeated with an apologetic look. Perhaps because of her treatment, the facial expressions of the students groaning from their pain gradually subsided. However, the wounds on their bodies might still be painful, so the voice of their pain still escaped their mouths.

"...Everyone~. I'm sorry for causing you so much pain~~"

"N-no... this too... lesson..."

Anri-sensei apologized to the students in a sunken voice. The male student who had just been defeated managed to answer Anri-sensei's words, but the other students couldn't answer probably because they hadn't recovered yet.

"Actually~, I wanted to take everyone to the headquarters~. ...But, sorry, I can't~~."

"N-no. Don't worry about us...it's fine, so...please continue your duties..."

The male student answered Anri's apology in a squeezed voice. Anri's duty was to be a special target. In other words, she acted as a formidable foe by attacking the students and stirring the training area moderately to prevent the training from stagnation. Anri-sensei wept over the student's words. After she nodded firmly at his words, she stood up and disappeared into the forest. Still, she seemed to be looking back at the students with anxiety over and over because she was worried. Anri was heading northwest, and oddly enough, that was the direction where Nozomu's party was.