The Academy's Barbarian

Chapter 107.1 - Friendly Mock Battle (3)

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"Hello, everyone!" echoed a cheerful voice throughout the arena. Seated atop the announcer's booth, a late-teenage girl waved enthusiastically toward the audience.

"I'm Edeline Rodefeld, a third-year student at Arsene Academy's Magic Department, and I'll be commentating on today's friendly mock battle! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Riv Merheil, a second-year student at Eloden Academy's Knights Department, and I'll be co-commentating with her.”

It was a Monday morning, the day of the friendly mock battle between Arsene Academy and Eldon Academy. Each school had selected a representative to commentate on the matches held at their respective grounds.

Those two were Edeline and Riv, seated here.

Behind the announcer's booth was the audience seating for students and professors, and in front was a huge screen installed.

A device to broadcast the visuals of the mock battle.

As all eyes turned toward the screen, Edeline spoke again, "I heard this mock battle has a somewhat different format from Arsene's. Could you perhaps explain it to Arsene's students?"

"Yes, of course."

With a polite reply, Riv soon began her explanation, "Eloden's mock battles proceed by trying to capture the opponent's flag. Or you can defeat all their forces to claim victory."

"That means there are two victory conditions!"

"That's right," Riv nodded her head.

Edelin asked again, "Then are there any conditions or rules that must be followed in this mock battle?"

"Yes, first all participants must wear protective gear to prevent serious injury, and can only use wooden weapons."

Stating the obvious conditions first, she then continued to explain the rules, "Next, I'll explain the special rules that are unique to Eloden's mock battles."

"Special rules?"

"Yes, the rules about bases."

Riv gestured to each faction's base — small huts built at the north and south ends of the map — the heart of each side where the flags were kept.

"First of all, there must be exactly two defenders at each base, no more and no less."

"What if there's a change in personnel?"

"If there's only one person left, or more than three, you'll have a 10 minute grace period."

If it's not corrected after that, the side is disqualified. Edeline gave an awkward laugh at the rather strict rule.

"And if both leave the base..."

"Immediate disqualification."

The reply was firm, with no compromise; it was indeed a strict rule.

"Secondly, the flag of the base cannot be arbitrarily moved or taken elsewhere. You can do whatever you want inside the base, but if you move it outside the base, you will be disqualified."

This was an understandable rule; if flags could be moved freely, the mock battle would devolve into hide-and-seek.

"Lastly, third, the base defenders can be swapped out every 10 minutes after the battle starts. Of course, you don't have to swap them."

After finishing her explanation, Riv closed her mouth.

After a brief pause to catch her breath, Edeline changed the topic with a smile, "Yes, thank you for your kind explanation. Now I'd like to ask about how victory and defeat are determined." With a bright smile, Edeline continued her question, "In Arsene, players are given mana beads, and breaking one is treated as a kill. How does Elroden handle it?"

"Eloden is similar. But the difference is there's a way to win without breaking the beads."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Let me show you."

Riv pulled out a small bead and held it up to the video recorder so that those in the audience could see it, "This is the bead we're going to use in this mock battle."

She placed the bead in her palm, and a bluish glow enveloped Riv's body. It meant she had successfully possessed the bead.

"When you hold this and are attacked, the bead's mana will automatically decrease.”

“Oh, by any chance, can I try it?”

"Yes? If you mean a test, what kind of…….”

"Hah!"

Before Riv could finish her words, Edelin suddenly hit her on the shoulder; quite hard, too.

Caught off guard, Riv's face displayed a bewildered expression at the unexpected attack. Edelin, on the other hand, widened her eyes in amazement, as if finding the situation intriguing.

"Wow, it's true! The mana has decreased.”

"……Yes, so if it is difficult to find the bead, you can also win by repeatedly attacking the bead and depleting its mana,” Riv replied with a trembling face.

Edelin asked again, "Then how many times do you have to attack to completely deplete the opponent's bead's mana without breaking it?”

"It depends on the strength of the attack."

"What if it was my attack just now?”

"You'd have to hit them over twenty times."

“I see. Then if it's powerful…….”

Edelin balled her fists tightly and in response, Riv raised her guard.

At the sudden defensive stance, Edelin tilted her head belatedly, “Huh? What are you doing all of a sudden?”

"Just in case."

"Ah, I won't hit you. Do I really look like someone who would hit you twenty times?”

"......."

There was no answer.

Edelin coughed awkwardly as if to clear the awkward atmosphere and at that moment, a group of figures appeared on the battlefield.

"Oh, while we were talking, something appeared on the battlefield! What is that?”

“They are magic soldiers.”

"Huh? What are they?"

"You can think of them as private soldiers given to each student, five per student. You can use them freely, such as to surprise the enemy or defend the base.”

The stage of the mock battle was truly huge – five kilometers from end to end.

With only twenty-four students on such a battlefield, it could be considered a bit of a waste. So, Eloden Academy tried to create an environment more similar to an actual battlefield by introducing magic soldiers.

"Wow, this is new. So, each faction is given 60 magic soldiers?"

"No, it's 50 per faction."

"Huh? But then the math…….”

"According to the rules, the two people stationed at the base are not given magic soldiers.”

So there was such a rule.

Edelin nodded.

And then.

The players from both sides appeared.

The two commentators, upon seeing this, began to introduce the players with enthusiastic voices.

"The representative of Eloden, Theron Schlagen. A third-year student in the Knight's Department, he is a strong man who has reached the level of an advanced-level knight, and he is also the president of the Eloden Student Council.”

"The representative of Arsene, Iris Seniore. Like the Eloden side, she is a skilled person who has reached the level of an advanced-level knight!”

After each representative was introduced, Riv asked curiously.

"Arsene doesn't have the student council president as the representative?”

"Yes! In Arsene, we select the representative through a preliminary competition. As a result, I heard that Iris Seniore was chosen.”

Indeed, there was no rule that the student council president must be the representative. Riv nodded as if she understood.

Even after that, while introducing the players, cheers suddenly erupted from the audience. It was because of the girl who had just appeared.

"That's......."

A beauty with short turquoise hair.

The appearance of the girl, who exuded an air of neatness just by walking, drew the attention of the crowd and even Edelin for a moment.

Faced with such a sight, Riv wore a proud expression.

"She is Laurea Lo Charpel, a second-year student at the Eloden’s General Studies Department. And she is the one who has been chosen as the next Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, a very noble person.”

"Really? Wow, that's a big deal!"

A Saintess' position in the Holy Kingdom was exalted, comparable to that of imperial or royalty in other countries. That's why Edelin was honest in her admiration.

But that didn't last long.

She continued with a cheerful smile; after all, there was someone among Arsene's players who was just as noble and famous as Laurea., "However, Arsene also has a formidable figure. The genius mage of the Kingdom of Arpen, the first-year student, Dilia Arpen!"

Beloved by Mana.

A talented person with a rare trait as rare as the Saintess, and with a great talent for magic.

She was definitely comparable to Laurea, and Riv nodded in recognition.

After a while, when the introductions of almost all the players were over, the last player from Eloden appeared.

A young man with ultramarine blue hair.

Riv's brow furrowed at the sight of him; as if she didn't like him. But only for a moment, and then Riv fulfilled her commentator's duties, "Ian Marcus, first-year Knight student at Eloden. He's known for being a powerhouse in the realm of Expert."

"Ah! The Expert everyone's been talking about from Eldon! He's someone Arsene needs to watch out for in this mock battle," Edelin pretended to know.

While doing so, she subtly smiled, "But isn't reaching the realm of Expert at eighteen years old a bit too much of an advantage. Don’t you think so?"

"That may be true. But I heard that Arsene has a similar player?"

"Fufu, that's right," Edelin chuckled.

As if she had been waiting for him to be mentioned.

Then she pointed to the last player from Arsene to appear, a young man with a muscular upper body, and exclaimed, "Arsene's top freshman this year, the terrorist from the entrance ceremony, the talk of the town, the unprecedented freshman! Ulan Bator!"

As the thunderous introduction came to an end, Riv looked momentarily dumbfounded, "T......terrorist?"

"Yes! I was hospitalized for three days because of him."

"Hospitalized? What on earth..."

"Haha, something like that," Edelin laughed, scratching her cheek.

She seemed to be avoiding a detailed answer, and Riv didn't ask any more questions.

After all the introductions were made, the players on the field headed straight to their respective camps.

A while later, when the formations were set, Edelin murmured with a surprised expression, "Huh? This is a bit unexpected."

"What do you mean?" asked Riv.

"The defense of the bases. Both Ulan and Ian, the two sides' strongest forces, have been deployed to the bases."

Arsene and Eloden's bases.

These places, where the flags were installed, were crucial spots, akin to the heart of each camp; however, that didn't necessarily mean they had to allocate their maximum firepower there. In fact, it would be more efficient to deploy them upfront to quickly dismantle the enemy formation.

As far as Edelin was concerned, this was no more or less than a waste of power. Riv, on the other hand, had a different opinion. "Though it's somewhat unexpected, it's not so surprising," Riv explained.

"Huh? Why’s that?"

"As I mentioned earlier, the base defense force can be replaced every 10 minutes."

In other words, it meant that Ulan and Ian would not stay in the base forever. Edelin only then made an understanding expression.

"Then we can interpret this as both sides trying to conserve their power until the battle progresses to a certain extent!"

"Well, you could say that."

Riv smiled slyly; a smile that somehow meant something. It seemed like there was a hidden meaning behind it, but Edelin didn't notice; there was only one reason.

Bang! Boom!

Red fireworks that decorated the sky.

It was a signal to mark the beginning of the mock battle.

End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . .

Translator's Notes:-

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