As the eyes and whispers turned his way, Arthur tottered his way toward the teacher. He got a closer look at their teacher and he could see why Drunk Arthur called him a gorilla man, even though he didn't appreciate it.
This was an outcome outside of Arthur's expectations as he rarely drank alcohol. At this point, he hoped that the teacher would let him off with a simple lecture.
"Why so quiet? You were chatty yesterday." The teacher flared his nostrils.
'Or not...' Arthur sighed as his expectations were shot down. Instead of making this problem bigger than it needs to be, Arthur bowed his head down.
"I'm sorry for my actions yesterday, I'm not that used to alcohol and I got carried away." Arthur apologized sincerely and the teacher nodded in approval.
"My name is Mr. Raymond, make sure to address me properly from now on." Mr. Raymond said with a wide smile. "I'll still have you as the first line of defense, hehe."
"What do you mean, Sir?" Arthur furrowed his eyes in confusion.
"As I was saying earlier, your first class is about teamwork. You see this maze and central building? Your job is to defend the flag from being stolen by the enemy."
"Who's the enemy. Sir?" Emma raised her hand and asked. The teacher grinned at her and pointed toward the end of the field.
From behind the corner of a building, students walked over wearing their dark blue uniforms. With the teacher that dealt the cards for Arthur the night earlier, the Nightfall dorm gathered a distance away beyond the maze.
"The dormitory that wins gets Ten Merits Points and each student of it gets ten Battle Points and ten College Points. Defend for an hour and it shall be your victory!"
"Does that mean our ranking will change after this?" A girl asked from the crowd.
"Exactly! Your ranking determines the resources you get and the training facilities you could enter so it means strength!" Mr. Raymond pointed at them. "Strive for strength!" He then added the last bit that felt like a punch to Arthur. "And stay away from alcohol!"
The class laughed and Arthur felt tired all of a sudden. Oliver and Jonah walked over and patted both of his shoulders with a consoling gaze.
"Don't open the community for a few days," Oliver said with a serious face that he had never pulled before. "For your sake."
"Whatever," Arthur shrugged their hands off. "What did the teacher mean by the first line of defense?"
"The patrolmen," Jonah explained as he pointed at the maze. "Their job is to patrol the area, defend the exists, and alert their team of which entrance the enemy has used."
"What if they use one entrance?" Arthur asked with bewilderment. "Are we supposed to fight to the death?"
"No, there is a monitor in our bracelets. If a person is stuck in a vital area with a certain amount of damage, it disqualifies them."
"Attention!" Mr. Raymond called out for them. "Anyone who heavily injures other students would have a 50-points penalty."
"Sir," A giant guy raised his hand. It was Doli and Arthur was surprised to see him on the Daybreak dorm. "What if we misjudge our strength?"
"Then you're unfit to be an explorer." Mr. Raymond said with a stern face, scanning the crowd. It's as important to control your strength as it is to unleash it. I'll choose the leaders now." Mr. Raymond looked through his bracelet and called out a name. "Alice Rogvo,"
"Yessir." A neat-looking girl with a ponytail and glasses took a step forward. She reminded Arthur a lot of Roy, who he hasn't seen since the apprentice's cup.
"You're the second-ranking student, making you the highest-ranking one in the Daybreak dorm. You're the leader of your year, and you would answer directly to the dorm's leader, Yurirl. Do you agree to take the position? You'll be awarded ten extra points per month."
"I humbly agree, sir."
"It's good that you have manner, unlike a few others." Mr. Raymond nodded in approval with a side-glance at Arthur.
Arthur sighed inwardly and acted oblivious. He hoped the teacher would it go, but it seemed he have taken it personally.
They had fifteen minutes to prepare before the invasion began. That's why Alice made no delay in diving the 100 students into four teams each ordered to protect an area. Arthur was assigned to team south along with Jonah.
To his amazement, Alice made an excellent demonstration of leadership. In one swift execution, she organized the teams to balance out the power them. That's why Arthur, who had a low ranking, ended up with Jonah, who ranked ninth.
"I'm so lucky to have you around, boss!" Jonah said when they were going to the southern wall of the fortress. In the middle of it, there was a silver flag.
"You're the ninth ranker, so act like it." Arthur punched him lightly with a smile. "Let's work together to get avoid being beaten."
"Well, I don't know about that." Jonah scratched his head when he saw Alice coming their way. She greeted them before she started explaining what they had to do.
"Alexie, you have been assigned to be a patrolman by the teacher. With nine others, you'll be working in pairs of two to patrol the southern maze. If you see the enemy, one of you needs to delay them as the other relays the information." Alice explained and turned to Jonah.
"As for you, Jonah, you'll be assigned to the fortress. You have fourteen men under your command, make sure to use them well to defend the southern wall. If you need reinforcements, call me."
She began walking away without waiting for them to answer as she commanded the other teams, explaining their roles.
"Damn, she's really capable." Jonah whistled. "I don't think I can do it."
"Have you played games before?" Arthur asked. When he saw Jonah's nod, he continued. "Treat this as a strategy game. Tankers to the front, mages to the back. The attackers should be on both sides. These kinds of strategies."
"Boss, I won't keep asking for your help. I'll make sure to do well." Jonah said with a confident smile.
"I see you as a friend, not a lackey." Arthur frowned. "If you feel the same about me, then stop calling me boss. Call me Alexie."
"Alright, Alexie. Hehe." Jonah pinched his nose with a shy smile.
"… Why are you blushing?" Arthur was speechless.
The rest of their team came over to the southern wall of the fortress and gathered around Jonah, waiting for instructions. Jonah took a deep breath and put his bravest front as he strode toward the middle of the crowd.
"We might be a temporary team, but we still need to work together. Listen to my commands and I will try my best to do well."
"Try your best?" A guy with red hair sneered. "I'm not taking orders from a peasant. I'll win this on my own if I need to." He then ignored Jonah and left.
The rest of the students seemed anxious as they looked to Jonah and to the noble who just left. A few students whispered something and followed the guy from earlier, leaving Jonah. Most of those who did were nobles too.
'This will be difficult.' Arthur sighed when he saw Jonah grit his teeth and clench his fists. He looked at the remaining students, who were fourteen only, and started to formulate a plan.
He walked toward Jonah and whispered in his ear. Jonah was confused and his expression turned to one of shock. He looked at Arthur as if he was looking at a madman.
"Alexie, that's insane," Jonah said with shock. "Do you know that we might lose with one small mishap?"
"What do you expect us to do with a fallen apart team? Report what the nobles did to Alice and let's go through with this plan." Arthur simply shrugged. "If you're willing to, of course. You're the leader here and I'll listen to what you command."
Jonah went silent as he brooded the plan that Arthur offered. With a resolute face, he nodded his head and opened his bracelet to report.
"Let's do the diabolic plan of yours, hehe." Jonah grinned. Arthur shook his head and retreated backward as Jonah talked to Alice.
Arthur felt someone walk over from behind him. He turned around and saw Doli standing there with a smile. The two nodded in greeting and no other formalities were needed.
"What are we going to do about fire head?" Doli looked at the group of nobles who refused to follow orders with worry.
"Pft, fire head?" Arthur smiled. "Jonah has a plan, but the rest of us need to follow it carefully."
"Alright, as long as you trust him." Doli nodded his head. Arthur looked at him with an intrigued expression.
"You trust my judgment?"
"I trust your character from the second test. You were willing to protect us even though we weren't on the same side." Doli said without a pause. "If we're in a team together, I can rest assured."
