novelraw Chapter 101 : Chapter 101
Chapter 101 : Chapter 101
Chapter 101 : Battlefield Simulator
"It seems you have become a celebrity in an instant by snatching the victory in the Cohort Tournament. Mr. Argento, could you return to reality and take off your sunglasses?"
As Rust’s voice rang out as if piercing through the crowd, bursts of laughter erupted among the Silver Class students.
Sal felt all gazes focusing on him.
On any other day, he would have wished for the ground to swallow him up out of embarrassment.
However, due to the grueling training that had lasted all through last night after opening a Gate, Sal did not even have the leeway to feel such emotions.
Sal pointed to his sunglasses and raised his voice.
"I must keep wearing these to prevent my power from rampaging. If I take these off, my Core might be destroyed. Do you still want me to take them off?"
Rust's face turned pale.
It must have been due to the thought that the Mythos Crafter ability had become jeopardized.
Instead of provoking Sal further, Rust waved his hand and said.
"No, just make sure it doesn't hinder the class today. If it becomes too difficult, you may leave at any time. This is a place you came to learn, not a place to get hurt. Do you all understand?"
"Yes!"
The students answered in unison, and Rust turned around to introduce a figure.
"For those not participating in the field class, let me introduce a colleague of mine. It is Lars Machmuller. He was formerly called Tempo, and was one of the core members of the Bastard Guild. He will explain how the combat class and field class will be combined from now on. Everyone, listen closely. Lars, if you please."
Rust stepped aside to the left of the slightly shorter instructor.
Sal turned his gaze, wondering when the giant partition blocking more than half of the training ground would open.
Due to the cramped space, the Silver Cohort students stood closely packed together, eagerly awaiting the unveiling.
When Sal looked forward again, he found the familiar face of Lars grinning broadly.
To Sal, who only remembered Lars stained with the blood of monsters from the recent dungeon raid, his neat appearance felt somewhat awkward.
"Ah, thank you for the wonderful introduction!"
Lars smiled at Rust and slowly looked around at the students with his arms spread wide.
"Everyone looks extremely tense... You’re wondering why Rust brought me here, right? Maybe some of you already know what’s going to happen."
Lars grinned and looked at Divinity, and surprisingly, Divinity responded with a smile.
"I don't like putting on a flashy show like Jez or Sinclair... So let’s get straight to the point. You learned basic formations and how to fight each other from Rust. That might not be very helpful outside the Red Zone. But it is a good foundation. Overcoming the fear of combat will be one of the biggest tests you face at the Academy. It’s already been proven that sticking together and sparring is effective in eliminating early anxiety!"
Lars smiled as he scanned each person's face.
His smile was a mixture of intimidation and sincerity.
"Today, you will learn the essence of movement. Not just movement, but movement toward a goal amidst total chaos. You’re going to run the gauntlet with your adrenaline pumped to the max! Movement is key in combat. You can’t just wait for the enemy to come to you, nor can you expect them to fall into the perfect spot for you to attack. It is important to read the battlefield and place yourself in the most advantageous position. And with Rust’s help..."
Lars turned dramatically and pointed to the giant partition.
"We will test your combat formations!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the partition folded into multiple layers and slid open from one end to the other, revealing what had been hidden behind it.
Gasps of shock and sighs of disappointment erupted among the students.
The only person who seemed genuinely delighted was Lars.
He walked without hesitation into the newly revealed arena.
"This is the Battlefield Simulator. You’re going to see this sight until you’re sick of it for the next few months, so get used to it now. We’ll show this to the other Cohorts in a few days, and this training will be one of the core aspects of the inter-Cohort competitions. The top-ranking teams from each Cohort will face off in this simulation battlefield! You have to jump over craters, crawl under debris, hide behind structures, and subdue your opponents!"
Lars gestured to each section of the simulation structure, speaking in a heightened tone.
Sal could not easily believe the sight unfolding before his eyes.
It created the illusion that a city block had been transported whole into the training ground.
Flames were burning fiercely, dyeing the wreckage of what must have once been a peaceful street in red.
One section next to a building had suffered deep ground subsidence, and massive cracks were clearly visible on the walls.
Shards of shattered glass and traces of a past intense battle were scattered messily across the ground.
As breaths leaked out from the crowd here and there, Sal looked around the rest of the course.
Then, the figure of a Hulker, seemingly dead and crushed by a crumpled vehicle embedded in a building, caught his eye.
"We borrowed a Hulker corpse for demonstration to give it a real sense of presence this time. We thought about Prowlers, but they rot quickly and smell terrible, so we can't use them. Hulkers are like rocks, so they’ll last a few months easily."
Lars continued speaking calmly as if it were an obvious fact.
He seemed to either not notice the spreading fear among the students or simply did not care.
Sal just stared in a daze while Lars pointed out each obstacle.
"We’ll change this course every few weeks. That way, we can prevent you from getting too used to the environment and just memorizing tricks. The important thing isn't memorizing the optimal route, but learning how to adapt to the environment in any situation. This is a basic ground course, and later we will cover scenarios focused on aerial maneuvers. Jumping, leaping, climbing, crawling... you have to do it all. And when we judge that you are sufficiently prepared, that’s when the combat starts. Anyone have questions?"
Lars turned and asked the students with an excited expression.
Then, Victoria immediately raised her hand high, and Lars gestured to allow her to speak.
"This training is clearly field training, but many of us did not sign up for such a course. Is participating in this training mandatory? Many people here didn't make it to the mounted combat selection."
Victoria looked around at the surrounding students to see if she was the only one thinking this.
Through their expressions and nods, she confirmed that it was not just her opinion.
Lars smiled and shook his head.
"Does anyone have a real question?"
He looked around the room, but Victoria did not stop talking.
"I apologize, but this is a perfectly valid question. We came here to learn combat, not how to run around."
Displeasure was evident on her face.
Lars turned his gaze back to her, his smile slowly fading as he stared at her with calm eyes.
"If you had learned how to run around, you wouldn't have landed on your butt in the tournament finals."
As soon as Lars dropped that bombshell, everyone gasped.
Victoria stared at him, stricken with horror.
"That's right. I watched every one of your fights, and with a few exceptions, most of you were on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion."
Lars looked around at the students and pointed to the course behind him.
"To think you live in a world where you believe you can clear Dungeons, Towers, and Portals without moving your body... What kind of world is that? This is the most basic training, created to build the foundation for you to survive outside. If you think this doesn't match your level, or that you are an exception because your abilities are superior, you are greatly mistaken. Teleporting without looking at the terrain is just suicide. A Speedster will crash into debris and break all their limbs, and if you use giant transformation abilities without properly checking the strength of surrounding structures, dozens of people could die in an instant."
Continuing his story, Lars gestured to point out Evan, Volt, and Nova.
As he looked around at the other students, it was evident that the majority were avoiding his gaze, realizing their own weaknesses.
"Explosions?"
Lars pointed to Jenny Stravos, who was at the back of the crowd.
"What if you don't even know if there are exposed fuel sources nearby? Most of these reclaimed areas use fuel as a power source instead of Cores. That means a single unexpected explosion can blow away an entire block in an instant. With your Essence-based attack abilities or energy manipulation, you could bring down a team building in the blink of an eye. It might sound a bit gruesome right now... but this is common knowledge that a hero must know."
Lars raised his hand again to point at the obstacle course.
"It was possible because they did not neglect the process of building the basics. Now, I will ask again. Does anyone have a real question?"
Sal raised his hand high.
Lars looked at Sal, smiled, and gestured for him to continue.
"Will you also be instructing on physical conditioning training?"
The tense tone Lars had used while barking out his words quickly subsided along with the students' laughter.
However, Lars did not take the question lightly and nodded with a serious expression.
"Of course. However, if you are faint of heart, it will be hard to endure. If you want to test your limits, I will provide a training program. Anyone with a serious will to improve their physical strength can participate."
Lars said, shifting his gaze around the room.
"In this Academy, you are constantly given training to grow your Essence abilities, but you rarely learn how to directly temper your body. I will teach that myself in the field training. An obstacle course of this level is nothing to the kids who finish the field course. This integrated class is for building the basics, and it is training optimized specifically for actual combat situations."
Lars waited a moment longer, but when no one else raised their hand, he lightly clapped his hands.
"Now, I'm not that cruel of a person. Do you think I'd throw you into this course without any preparation? That would just be a disaster. We will divide into small groups and proceed through the course sections one by one. As we proceed, I will explain each part, so you must listen clearly. We will take every precaution to ensure not a single person gets hurt."
Lars looked at Rust again and gestured for him to come forward.
"Rust, how should we divide the groups?"
Rust cleared his throat and pointed to one side of the room behind him.
"For convenience, how about dividing the groups based on the Tournament Team Leaders? The top 10 will go with Lars, and the remaining 10 will move with me."
It sounded like a question, but it was effectively an order, and everyone followed it.
Lars checked the number of people lined up in front of him and nodded with satisfaction.
Then he spoke to Rust.
"It would be better to divide them into five groups of 10 people each. I will assign two Team Leaders to each group."
As Lars scanned the students once more, a warm smile hovered on his face.
"Hey, what a coincidence?"
He placed his hands on the shoulders of Divinity and Sal, calling out to the students flocking from behind.
"Keep the tournament order as is. 1st and 2nd place here. 3rd and 4th, 5th and 6th, and so on. Line up!"
Barry murmured an apology and lightly patted Sal's back.
Soon, Jack and Blanid followed, and Anthony struggled to squeeze through the crowd.
Divinity's team members gathered around her in an instant, likely due to the encouragement she had given before class started.
When Sal looked at her, Divinity gave him a light glance.
Sal found it difficult to gauge if that was a positive signal.