Chương 21: Ten Days

Ray left Burgen's office with more questions than answers. That had become a common occurrence. He pulled up the mission as he walked. [Mission assigned:] [Joint Recruit Deployment] [Departure: 10 days] [Additional information will be provided during mission briefing] [Reward: Contribution points will be determined by performance]'Performance,' Ray thought. That could mean almost anything. Burgen had said the higher-ups wanted to see whether the teams could function like actual Soldiers.

This was apparently less about completing a mission and more about evaluating them. Ray closed the message and opened his team's communication link. [Communication link established] He quickly notified them that he would be meeting them all in the common area. The private room they usually reserved had become an impromptu base of operations. The others were already waiting when Ray arrived. Frangle immediately moved toward Ray.

"Captain," he said. Ray raised an eyebrow. Frangle straightened before continuing.

"I thought it was appropriate for an official meeting."

"Oh," Ray responded. Frangle's shoulders dropped slightly. Ray walked past him and sat at the table.

"So?" Jerome asked.

"What did Burgen want?" The entire group became more attentive. Ray then told them about the mission in ten days' time.

"What kind of mission?" Jerome asked.

"I don't know," Ray answered. Phora stared at him.

"You don't know?"

"He said we'll get the full briefing later," Ray said, his tone not hiding his annoyance.

"All I know is we're being paired with another Recruit team." Phora's expression changed.

"Which one?" Kiara raised and eyebrow.

"Why are we being paired with another team?"

"Higher-ups want to see if we can work with people we didn't choose," Ray responded.

"So it's like an evaluation." Phora remained quiet for a moment before speaking.

"Did he say who would be in command? I f not..."

"That could be a problem," Jerome added. Ray nodded. He had already imagined another Captain trying to order him around. The thought was not appealing.

"If they're pairing us with another high-performing team, their Captain probably feels the same way," Jerome said.

"Then they can follow Ray," Frangle replied. Everyone looked at him.

"What?" Frangle asked.

"He's obviously the better choice."

"We don't know who the other Captain is," Phora said. Phora shot a look at Frangle and turned toward Ray.

"What do you plan on doing for the next ten days?" Ray had thought about that on the way over.

"We train." Phora's eye twitched.

"That's obvious."" We increase our Attributes and practice our Abilities. I want everyone to be as strong as possible before we leave."

"He wants to know if we can function like Soldiers," Phora continued.

"That means working as a unit."

"We already do that," Ray said.

"No, we don't," Kiara interjected. Frangle looked offended on Ray's behalf.

"We defeated a Stage 3 Beast together," the large teen said.

"We survived a Stage 3 Beast," Phora corrected.

"Ray defeated it." The room became quiet. Ray couldn't argue with that. Their fight against the Stonemite Queen had gone according to plan. At least until the Killworm appeared. After that, everything fell apart. Frangle was nearly crushed. Jerome was knocked unconscious. Phora and Kiara could barely stand. Ray had won because he did something no one thought was possible. That wasn't a reliable strategy.

"Our first plan worked," Ray said.

"It worked because nothing unexpected happened," Phora replied.

"The moment something changed, we stopped fighting as a group." Ray felt himself growing annoyed. It wasn't because she was wrong. That made it worse. Kiara leaned forward and rested her chin on her hand before speaking.

"She has a point, Captain." Ray looked at her.

"You too?"

"I spent most of that fight trying not to die," she said.

"That was everyone except you." Jerome walked over to the table.

"We're powerful," he said.

"Probably one of the strongest Recruit teams."

"The strongest," Frangle corrected. Jerome glanced at him.

"Fine. The strongest." Frangle nodded.

"But we haven't trained together much. Not compared to how much we train alone." Ray thought about the past few days. After returning from Barkbeak Island, each of them had focused on their own advancement. Ray had barely spoken to them until entering the Nexus. Even there, they had fought separately.

"What do you suggest?" Ray asked. Phora's posture changed slightly. She had clearly been waiting for him to ask.

"We establish formations," she said.

"Everyone needs a clear position and responsibility."

"That sounds restrictive," Ray replied.

"It's supposed to." Ray frowned.

"What happens when the formation stops working?"

"Then you change it," Jerome said. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"That doesn't sound very restrictive," Ray argued. Phora took a slow breath, annoyance visible on her face.

"You need structure before you can adapt." Ray considered her words. His fighting style was almost entirely built around adapting. Bolt could be used for movement or offense. Mud Wall could change the battlefield. Fungal Cloak weakened Mana usage and allowed him to glide. Mana Circuit let him switch between them without the normal delay. He had always considered that freedom an advantage. It was harder to apply that freedom to five people.

"What kind of formations?" Ray asked. Phora smiled.

"I created several before our first mission." Ray stared at her. She never failed to surprise him.

"Alright," he said.

"You handle the formations." Phora blinked.

"What?"

"You know more about them than I do," Ray continued.

"But you're the Captain," Phora complained.

"And?" Phora seemed unable to answer. Ray continued.

"You design the drills. I'll decide what works for the team." A small smile appeared on her face.

"Fine." Ray looked at the others.

"Tomorrow morning, we start training together." Jerome nodded. Kiara gave him a lazy salute. Frangle raised his fist to his chest, the universal salute of the Empire. Ray looked back toward Phora, who returned his smile with her own. He had a feeling she would make a good right hand going forward, seeing as how she was already developing formations. Being Captain didn't mean he had to be the best at everything. Phora understood formations. Jerome could see openings.

Kiara knew when someone needed protection, and Frangle had no problem putting himself in the way. If Ray tried to do every job himself, he was wasting the best things each of them brought to the team. He also wanted another Essence. It was the perfect time. The whole team would need to reach Phase 3 during the mission, so getting his 4th Ability now made sense. Ray stood.

"Get some rest." His voice showed obvious signs of fatigue. Phora raised an eyebrow.

"It's the middle of the day."

"Then do whatever you normally do," he said. Jerome laughed as Ray started walking away. A System message flashed in his vision. [Mission updated:] [Joint Recruit Deployment] [Time until departure: 9 days, 22 hours] - The team had reserved a room for training in the Nexus. This was where they were now going over their first training drill. The first drill was simple. Kiara stood at one end of the room while everyone else protected her from Ray. Ray was told to reach her by any means necessary.

It took him less than a minute. They repeated the drill four more times, and Ray won each one. Frangle abandoned his position whenever Ray attacked Jerome. Jerome chased Ray whenever he used Bolt to escape. Phora shouted several instructions every time the formation changed. Kiara didn't move at all. She placed her hands on her knees, showing obvious signs of exhaustion.

"I think you're enjoying this too much," she said.

"I am," Ray responded. Phora folded her arms.

"The point is to find our weaknesses."

"I found them," Ray countered. He pointed at Jerome.

"You don't stop attacking." Jerome frowned.

"Why would I stop attacking?"

"Because you chased me across the room and left everyone else behind."

"I almost caught you," Jerome complained.

"You didn't." Jerome opened his mouth to respond before deciding against it. Ray pointed at Frangle next.

"You keep watching me."

"You're the enemy," Frangle argued.

"You were supposed to protect Kiara. You turned around every time I moved." Frangle's expression fell. Ray felt slightly bad but continued.

"You don't trust yourself to know where you should be." The large teen looked at the ground.

"You're strong enough to stop me," Ray said.

"But you keep waiting for me to decide where the fight happens." Frangle nodded. Ray turned toward Kiara.

"You didn't move." Kiara hesitated before answering.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you?" Ray asked.

"It's hard," Kiara responded, her voice barely a whisper. Ray stared at her. Kiara sighed.

"Fine." Ray looked at Phora last. She raised an eyebrow.

"You think too much," Ray continued.

"That isn't a weakness, b ut when I change direction and you spend five seconds trying to understand why, I had already reached Kiara." Phora glared at him while Ray smiled.

"Now me," he said. Phora answered immediately.

"You don't explain anything. You told Jerome to move left. You created a wall on his left."

"I didn't say how far left," Ray interjected.

"That is exactly the problem!" Phora yelled, catching herself a moment after. Ray's smile faded. Phora stepped closer before continuing, sounding defeated.

"You know what you're trying to do. The rest of us don't." Ray thought about the Killworm. His plan had mostly consisted of telling everyone to stay alive. It worked, but only because they listened without knowing what he planned to do. Ray hadn't known what he was going to do either.

"Fine," he said.

"We all suck."

"That was already established," Kiara replied. Ray ignored her and walked toward the center of the room.

"We fix one problem at a time." He pointed at Frangle.

"You stay with Kiara." Frangle moved beside her.

"No matter what happens, you don't leave unless she tells you," Phora said.

"What if you need help?" Frangle asked.

"I won't." Frangle fell silent. Ray pointed at Jerome.

"You get one attack, then you return to Frangle." Jerome looked offended.

"That's barely enough time to do anything," he complained.

"Then make it count," Ray said before he turned to Kiara.

"You move the entire time."

"While maintaining my ward?" Kiara asked.

"That will use more Mana."

"Then get better at it," Ray said, not hiding his stern tone. Kiara rolled her eyes but nodded. Ray faced Phora last.

"You get three words." Phora stared blankly at him.

"What?"

"Every order can only have three words," Ray reiterated. She just nodded. Ray walked to the opposite side of the room.

"Again." Kiara activated her ward. A translucent layer of Light Mana formed in front of her as she began to walk. Her steps were stiff and slow, but she was moving. Ray activated Bolt. Golden lightning erupted beneath his feet and sent him flying toward the group.

"Jerome... Attack... Right!" Phora shouted, seemingly struggling with the word cap. Fire Mana erupted around his sword as Jerome crossed the distance between them. Ray changed direction at the last moment. Jerome swung once before immediately retreating. A smile appeared on Ray's face. Mana-infused mud erupted from the floor, separating Jerome from the others. Frangle looked toward Ray, ready to lunge. His body shifted as if he wanted to move, but the large teen managed to remain beside Kiara.

"Break the wall!" Phora called. Frangle charged. Wind Mana wrapped around his hammer before it smashed into the mud. The wall exploded. Jerome slipped through the opening and returned to the formation. Kiara continued moving behind them, her ward flickering but intact. She turned, and the ward moved with her. Ray's fist struck the layer of Light Mana. The ward shattered. Kiara stumbled backward, stunned, but remained standing. Frangle turned and placed himself between her and Ray. Ray stopped.

Nobody had abandoned their position. Jerome had returned after a single attack. Kiara had moved while using her Ability. Phora had changed the formation without freezing. It wasn't perfect, but it was considerably better. Frangle looked at Ray expectantly.

"Did we just win?"

"No," Ray said. Frangle frowned. Ray pointed toward Kiara.

"I didn't reach her, though..." A smile slowly spread across Frangle's face, his next shout interrupting Ray.

"We won!" Jerome raised his sword in the air.

"We won!" Kiara cheered while Phora tried and failed to hide her smile. Ray shook his head. They repeated the drill several more times. Each time, someone fixed one mistake. Ray changed the drill slightly each time, targeting whatever weakness became the most obvious. By the time they finished, the five of them could barely stand. - Ray had submitted a request for his 4th Essence the night before. He was walking back toward his room when his System flashed.

[Priority Message] [Report to the western complex] [Essence requisition has been approved] Ray stopped. His exhaustion disappeared. It took him only a few minutes to reach the western complex. The same Essence directory he had used before filled the monitor he currently stood in front of. Hundreds of options covered the screen. Ray immediately filtered out the three Elements he already possessed.

His current Abilities gave him offense, defense, and utility, but the day's training had shown him that individual versatility wasn't enough. He needed something that would help him protect the entire team. He studied the remaining choices. One stood out. Ray pressed the selection. [Essence selected]