Chapter 617 (2/2)
At the man’s words, Silo exchanged a nod with the woman on the central figure’s right, while ignoring the way the figure on the left seemed to ooze hatred upon Silo’s arrival.
Like father like son, it seemed. Both were clearly rotten to the core.
“All 64 of the contestants have arrived. First, I must say welcome. Each of you has accomplished incredibly impressive feats, and being able to stand on this stage is the reward you have received. You will fight the best of the best from around the world. Find glory, friends. For only in struggle can our true strength be revealed.”
The central figure was an extremely large man with a bald head. And now, his face seemed to crumple. “...however, it regrets me to say that the realities of life make it so we cannot continue to administer the tournament in the usual way; the Wights have changed everything.
“But we will rise to the challenge. To that end, we have decided to shift the first half of the tournament from a purely individual competition to a team one. Each team will be given one of our Soulstones, refined by the Engraving Guild. These will act as a measure of your accomplishments. When Wights die, they release a certain kind of energy. This Soulstone will gather that energy.
“The task is simple; you and your team will be assigned to a Sergeant in the Spearman School military. With their assistance, you will perform military sorties into the Southern Domain, which has been completely overrun with the Wights. With your help, we hope to annihilate this foothold they have gained in the area and push the Wights out. This portion of the tournament will last for a full month. At the end of that time, the top 5 teams will proceed to the final portion of the tournament. For now, the details for that will remain confidential. Does anyone have any questions?”
A young man that Silo didn’t recognize raised his hand. But based on the warm golden color of the Tassle hanging above him, he was from the Heart School. “Do we get to choose the teams?”
The three people on stage exchanged a brief glance.
“...no, the teams have already been randomly selected,” Althumber’s father answered. “Effort was made to mix up the different Schools so that each team was balanced. There are known strengths to each School. Do your best to take advantage of these strengths.”
“Part of the point,” the woman amongst the trio said, “Is that you learn to work with those from different Schools. There is only one true enemy: the Wights. Only by working together do we have a chance. Although we have taken losses, the counterattack is about to begin.”
‘That’s wrong,’ Silo thought to himself as he looked at the woman. ‘There is a bigger enemy out there, and that is the Calamity. Until it is defeated, we will continue to struggle like this. And to defeat that thing is my destiny.’
“Any other questions? Ah yes, you, miss.”
Silo blinked as he recognized this woman: it was the rather prickly woman that had walked past him earlier when he was struggling with a petty trap by Althumber to keep him out of the tournament. Normally Silo wouldn’t have minded, but the point of contention was that his sister would be exposed to danger because of him. And at the time, he believed he had almost reached Garritt when the woman interfered.
Silo would not soon forget her cold and callous heart.
“We get points for killing Wights, basically, yes? Is there any adjustment for the tactical value of the targets we kill? For example, is it worth the same amount to retake a small fort and kill 20 Wights as to struggle and fail against a large army, but to also kill 20 Wights.”
“Excellent question,” the central figure said with a smile. “Your Sergeant will be able to recommend your team for additional points, should they believe it is necessary. All of those requests will be reviewed by us, so don’t think to try and slip something right. Nothing else?”
He looked around, and when no one responded, he smiled. “I feel the tension in the air… you all are ready to go to war, yes? Then let us begin. Each team will consist of four individuals. Team One is Althumber Veir, Ritrike Gauss, Harriet Lawl, and Sink Thrash. Team Two…
“Team Eleven is Helen…
“Finally, Team Sixteen is Silo Rune, Skarch Top, Azriel Blanche, and Randidly Ghosthound. You will depart tomorrow, so spend tonight familiarizing yourself with your teammates. You will not be able to survive without them.”
Quickly, Silo checked the backgrounds of his teammates and then grimaced. Truly, he was given the lowest of the low. Two were from the primitive lands of the Northern Domain in the Spearman Style, and their one foreign spear user, Skarch Top, was from a minor Style that didn’t even have a named spear.
Shaking his head, Silo wondered where he would find time to train these three up to his Level. Because his view of the war was so much broader than anyone else’s. Would it be possible, while carrying all this dead weight?