Chapter 124: A Step

Alice opened a bag of chips and looked at the group of students.

“Won’t you help us?” Dalia asked with a hard expression.

Turning from looking at that young woman, Alice this time gave them a look at today’s opponents.

They were in a group battle and the team that the academy had assigned them to face was an A-rank group whose name Alice did not know.

One A-Rank and four B-Ranks.

They were third-year students, so it was normal for Dalia to feel nervous and even more so when Alice had commented that she wouldn’t be taking part.

“No. You guys can handle this job,” Alice replied without changing her mind.

Dalia opened and closed her mouth at her refusal and it was Clémentine who put a hand on her shoulder to encourage her.

“Have a little more confidence in our team. Even if we don’t win, we just have to push ourselves to overcome our limits.” Clémentine said with a serious tone and an encouraging smile.

“We can only get better by taking a beating,” Nicole pointed out as she stretched.

“That sounds bad,” Leslie muttered, adjusting her sniper rifle.

The nonchalant tone they used gave the impression that it was arrogance, however, they were actually sincere with the desire to improve in practice and not win.

“Tch... Are they belittling us?” hesitated one student on the other side.

They were in the middle of the battlefield and while the fight had not started, both teams could hear each other.

And to third parties listening to the way the group conversed, it felt like belittling.

Combat of five against four skill users, it was they who had the numerical advantage.

“Keep quiet. Everyone does as they wish,” replied the A-Rank leader, understanding the situation.

The leader was an A-Rank archer and Alice could see that he was breathing a sigh of relief as he realized she was not taking part.

It was true that group confrontations had no limits and there were different ranks making up the team, but her group had two A-Rank and were fighting against an A-Rank.

It was a disadvantage that normally two years’ experience would balance out... That was the general idea, and Alice supposed that if she entered, it would make it too easy for the group to fight.

If they wanted to learn, she didn’t need to be involved and for that reason; she withdrew, leaving her team at a numerical disadvantage.

She was partly confident that the students in her group were strong, so she preferred to watch.

“This battle will be interesting!” The host exclaimed and looking at the students, announced. “You can get ready.”

The two groups went to their corners in the arena.

The arena for the group fights was an area of about a hundred meters and, thanks to the fact that they were using a high-tech training arena, the stage chosen for today was a plain with trees.

Thanks to holographic effects, they could see the sun and clouds even though they were underground.

Such effects gave realism to the scenery and excitement to the combat.

“I’ll be a sniper,” Leslie said, pulling out her sniper rifle.

It was the same rifle she had used during practice, as unfortunately, in this first combat, she did not have a new weapon.

However, she was equipping her armor, and all the equipment was of top quality.

That was another advantage for which Alice withdrew.

The barrier of this arena would reduce the effectiveness of weapons and armor to a general level, but having good equipment was a significant advantage.

Dalia was the only one with slightly inferior equipment.

The opponents also had decent equipment, though it was just that, decent.

Limiting the tournament with basic weapons and armament would only be a joke and an obvious disadvantage for the mechanics.

For such a reason that group battles there were no rules regarding equipment, at least not as much as in individual combat.

The academy expected everyone to show their abilities and do their best to win.

The world outside was a place where it was common to encounter opponents with superior equipment or whose strength depended on their money, restricting them from the stage for the sake of equality would lead to a terrible outcome when they came out into the real world.

No person wishing to win would act fairly.

Both teams looked at each other from afar, and the other team prepared.

The earth mage drew his wand, the swordsman drew his sword and the two fighters got into position, while the A-ranked archer readied his bow.

“Nicole resists with the two fighters. Leslie tries to cut down the enemies while Dalia will focus on the mage. The archer and the swordsman will be mine,” Clémentine ordered in a serious tone.

The lines of her tight combat suit glowed, making it obvious that she was controlling her body with her skill.

No one complained about these orders, and the only one who was nervous was Dalia.

For the other students who faced a near-death situation, this confrontation was a minor matter.

“Let the battle begin!”

With the host’s order, the first to move was not Leslie, it was the A-Rank archer.

The archer fired a powerful arrow at the group and the one who received it was Clémentine who, levitating in the air, caught the arrow with her telekinesis.

Sending it back to her opponents.

*Bang*

At the same moment, Leslie fired her sniper rifle in the direction of the enemy group, and in response, the earth mage raised a wall from the ground.

*BOOM*

The bullet was not penetrating, but an explosive bullet that destroyed the wall and sent a cloud of dust into the enemy group.

The fighters and the swordsman ran, trying to close the distance.

Their group, instead of staying in the same place, also moved forward, with Clémentine and Nicole in front.

Dalia was next to cast a spell and conjured a barrier of air around to try to disrupt the enemy archer trying to surround them.

*Bang*

Leslie shot at the enemy mage again and the enemy mage had to defend himself, preventing him from moving.

The mage who was pressured concentrated on protecting himself, believing that his team would gain the advantage when they closed the distance.

Unfortunately, that hope didn’t last long.

“Coming!” Nicole exclaimed and lashed out toward the fighters.

Arrows flew to get in her way and Clémentine took it upon herself to catch them and throw it at the swordsman to stop him.

She was a powerful psionic when she was a mere B-rank and now, being an A-rank, she was a stronger one.

Nicole took advantage of the advantage her partner gave her and slammed her fists into the fighter, then took the other fighter’s blow to her shoulder.

She recoiled backward.

“That wasn’t so painful,” Nicole muttered as she realized it was less painful than she expected.

She always trained with Aurora, trying to get better each day and enduring painful beatings.

Nicole that day during the Assault mission couldn’t do anything to support her teammates and it was a tough day for her.

As a fighter, Nicole had a duty to protect her teammates, and the lack of strength made her feel helpless, so she struggled.

And just like that time, she jumped to protect her teammates; this time in this fight she did the same, not caring if she had to take a beating.

Her fists were covered in lightning as the charm on her gloves activated, and she charged at those two fighters.

The fighters worked well together and suppressed Nicole right away, and although the duo tried their best, they couldn’t defeat her.

Suppressing did not mean winning, and Nicole was not someone weak enough to give in to some blows.

Her barrier from time to time was broken and she, without being able to dodge the attacks, had to receive it with her body and although she grunted in pain, she got back up.

Fighting without giving up, taking the role of front-line fighter, knowing that her companions depended on her not to be disadvantaged.

Clémentine was fighting with the swordsman, dodging attacks while controlling her body with telekinesis, and protecting her companions from the archer’s arrows.

Sometimes she caught the arrows, and when the arrows were powerful attacks, she created powerful barriers.

Her mental capacity and control over her ability progressed at a frightening speed thanks to the pressure and responsibility of her tasks.

Clémentine was a talented genius and someone who pushed himself at every turn without feeling arrogant about her progress.

That kind of person was Clémentine, and that personality showed through her effort.

Leslie, for her part, would shoot at the mage to hold him back and when she had a breather, she would shoot at the swordsman, reducing Clémentine’s pressure, allowing her partner to counterattack.

However, the attack Clémentine unleashed was repelled by the archer firing from a distance.

Both teams were restricting each other, and the problem was that so far three members were withstanding the attack of five people.

Letting it be seen that their group still had an advantage against their opponents.

That was Dalia, who was casting quick spells with her wand.

Alice, who was watching the situation, understood what the plan was.

Those spells of Dalia were spells stored in the wand she was using.

She was trying to trick her opponent while preparing a stronger spell.

The battle continued as each group waited for their moment.

Maybe if someone got tired, or they made a mistake... They could win.

Those thoughts ran through everyone present, but both showed a high level of experience and patience.

The students had gone through a difficult internship, while the third-year group already had real-world experience.

While they in their practicum did not take on missions like the one the students did, in their various years of the academy, they gained experience from multiple sources.

Unfortunately, neither made any decisive mistakes, and Dalia, realizing that fatigue was building up, acted.

“I’m going for the swordsman...”

Extending a whisper with an air magic communication spell, Dalia observed the enemy mage who was trying to attack behind her stone dome.

“[Air Cannon]!” Dalia exclaimed, casting her spell.

From her wand, she launched directly a powerful spell at the dome.

Many arrows came from the archer, who was trying to generate pressure to keep the mage from falling.

*BOOM!

The air cannon destroyed the wall, pushing the mage who took advantage of the archer’s support to throw himself to the ground, wanting to dodge the subsequent attacks.

The arrows hit Clémentine’s psionic barrier, however, Leslie did not shoot at the mage lying on the ground.

She aimed directly at the swordsman who was targeting Clémentine.

*BANG*

With the modules on her sniper rifle and using a powerful bullet, Leslie pulled the trigger.

They weren’t that far away from each other and her aim was exceptional and her shot was powerful and fast.

“Ugh...”

The shot hit the swordsman’s shoulder and even though his body was reinforced with magical energy, the barrier of the training room had to intervene to reduce the damage of that deadly shot.

Even so, the swordsman spun like a spinning top through the air and fell to the ground, unconscious.

The expression of the opponents changed at that attack worthy of belonging to an A-Rank.

Leslie did not give a proud expression but held her shoulder with a pained expression.

That attack was a trump card, and the problem was that the recoil was strong enough that, if not healed, its combat effectiveness would be reduced.

It was difficult to lift and aim a weapon with an injured arm and while she could support, not like before.

“Shit...” the fighter cursed on behalf of the entire enemy group.

Clémentine, instead of pressing the enemy group, turned her attention to the archer in the distance.

The danger was coming from afar and it didn’t take long for it to reveal itself.

The archer had sent a powerful arrow that was breaking the speed of sound.

*BOOM*

The arrow hit Clémentine’s psionic barrier, and the impact was so strong that her barrier was broken and she was pushed backward, getting some blood coming out of her nose.

It was such a powerful attack that to defend herself she had to push her limits, leading to a bloody nose.

“Stand up to the earth mage, Dalia. Leslie, don’t push yourself too hard and just back Nicole up,” Clémentine ordered and floating back into the air, she added. “I’ll take care of the archer.”

As soon as her words were finished, she released all her mental strength, lifting some of the shattered ground into the air next to her.

Then with a wave of her hand, she sent all that debris and rocks at the archer whose expression trembled.

Eager to show her full psionic potential, Clémentine stepped forward with unique vigor and enthusiasm.

While Leslie and Dalia, who were left behind, complied with the order.

Leslie used a pistol and her electric disks to harass the fighters and Dalia began a magical duel with the earth mage, who could not help his fallen companion.

Alice nodded in satisfaction at the progress of the fight.

There were mistakes and if the opponents hadn’t underestimated Dalia, then they might have turned the fight around.

Unfortunately, the students were strong and knew how to push their limits, but above all, they were treating this fight as a serious affair.

Not getting carried away with being in a tournament.

The trio, instead of wanting victory to win the tournament and be recognized, they had a bigger goal than that.

They sought to become stronger for reasons greater than simply ‘recognition’ or ‘fame’.

Alice was sure that, for them, this tournament was a step towards their goals and such ideas made her smile.

After all, giving them a goal to become stronger was what the practices were all about.