Chapter 70: Team's First Test (Patreon)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x9BbyBOCWF0KQ-SKmyHZPGPfjNwgSC6Ysovt7mr1yYM/edit?usp=sharing

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“Perhaps we should go over what each of us is capable of while we have the chance?” Velic asked.

It had barely been a minute since Instructor Blyre’s proclamation, and the first team had already been led out of the auditorium. Apparently, when the instructor had stated the test was ‘about to begin’, she meant that literally – for one team. They’d be getting to all of the teams today, but they would first have to wait their turn.

Cayden wondered how the order was chosen. The teams with less time to discuss and plan would surely be at a major disadvantage. Although…

He frowned. “Should we be trying to do our best? If this is just to grade improvement over the year, aren’t we better off doing worse on this initial test?” It pained him to give anything but his all, but with a potential skill-stone on the line, he couldn’t afford to discount less palatable methods of getting a good grade.

Luckily, Velic was already shaking his head. “No, that’s just a trap for the less discerning students. The instructors are skilled enough to know whether or not we’re holding back, and those who do will get in trouble. That’s part of the lesson they’re attempting to impart – never hold back when fighting a monster, especially if the monster is unknown.”

“So we’ll be fighting a monster? That’s the test?”

Velic nodded with a smile. “Or monsters, yes, but unfortunately I don’t know which one or ones. Don’t worry, though, they’ll have Cassius pull us out if things get out of hand.”

That was the least of Cayden’s worries, although now that Velic mentioned it, perhaps it should have been. He’d fought many, many different monsters, yet rarely were they ever at a level to truly threaten him. And he’d learned over the last few weeks not to underestimate his fellow academy students. He doubted the administration would consider their team pitted against any monsters he was used to fighting as a true ‘test’.

“I’ll go first,” Velic said, pulling back Cayden’s focus. “I’m a mage damage dealer. I don’t have as much up-front damage – I’m more focused on sustained damage over time. Give me long enough, and I’ll eventually take any monster down.” He paused. “And I’ll be quicker if you’re able to immobilize it.”

As Cayden had learned through his delves with adventurers from Avernon’s guild, Velic’s was a fairly standard explanation of one’s skills when preparing for a delve with strangers: specific enough that their teammates would know how to fight around them, yet general enough to keep their build and individual skills hidden.

“Do I need to worry about friendly fire?” Cayden asked. Learning to ask that had been a lesson in and of itself, learned after delving with a particular Avernon adventurer who fought with exploding arrows.

“No, my attacks are clean. No collateral damage involved,” Velic responded. He waited a moment to see if anyone else had any questions, and when no one did, he turned to Marvenal on his right.

“I’m a rogue. Focused on delay and debuff tactics, including traps. Could be considered a secondary frontliner, utilizing dodge-tank tactics,” Marvenal said with a raspy voice. He looked at Cayden and continued before Cayden could do more than open his mouth. “No danger of friendly fire.”

Cayden nodded. It seemed like a reasonable build that synergized really well with Velic’s self-described build, which made sense. If Cayden had to choose an attendant of his own to join him at the academy, he would make sure it would be someone who synergized with his fighting style.

Velic looked to Delphia next, whose shoulders hunched in as the shadows deepened around her cloak. “...healer, also specializing in stealth.”

“...is that it?” Cayden asked, and her shoulders hunched further. “What happened when you stumbled after you healed me the other day? Will that be an issue in combat? And do you have to be touching someone to heal them?”

“...I also am weakened after I heal. It’s worse the greater the healing. Touching, yes.”

Cayden withheld a sigh, reminding himself once again not to underestimate his fellow students. He wanted to ask more questions – more than anyone else, the healer was the one who he, as a tank frontliner, needed the most synergy and understanding with. He hadn’t had the opportunity to delve with a true healer before, but he could only imagine how much further he’d be able to push his limits if he knew he could trust one of his teammates to patch him up the moment he took more than he could handle. Yet trying to get Delphia to voluntarily explain further seemed like a lesson in futility.

He supposed he’d have to learn what she was capable of on the battlefield.

“Cayden? How about you?” Velic asked after a beat of silence passed.

“I’m a very durable frontliner, and I mostly rely on passive defenses. I typically fight with my claws, but I’m guessing that won’t be as important with you all here.” He paused, thinking. “Oh, and I have the [Taunt] skill, so I should be able to keep the monster or monsters on me. Though some monsters have been able to resist it before, so be prepared for anything.” The terravias, thus far, had been the only monsters to resist [Taunt], and Elise had theorized that that had only been because of a scent-lure, but Cayden would be remiss if he didn’t at least mention the possibility. He didn’t know how familiar his teammates might have been with the [Taunt] skill, but better for them to give it less trust than it was due than to believe it was infallible only for it to fail at a crucial moment.

“Well, it seems like we have a very balanced team, and I’m feeling extremely optimistic about this coming year,” Velic said with a smile. Marvenal had absolutely no expression on his face, while Delphia was, of course, inscrutable in the shadows of her cloak. Cayden looked back at the noble boy with skepticism. “I feel as if our strategy should simply be the obvious one: Cayden will act as the primary engager, attempting to hold it in place while I’ll kill it. Delphia will heal Cayden or anyone else who might need it, using her stealth skills to avoid drawing our adversary’s ire. Marvenal will be the secondary engager, supporting Cayden as needed. Cayden, not to dismiss your durability, but give a signal if a monster’s attacks are beyond your ability to withstand. Dodge-tanking works best for heavy-hitting monsters like those, and you and Marvenal can switch in your roles of primary and secondary engagers in that case. And I, of course, will stay in the back lines, working to take our opponents down as quickly as possible.”

No one else said anything, so Cayden nodded at the strategy. It was simple and straightforward, which Cayden felt was best for a situation like this. It was a bit different from what Cayden was used to in his delves with Avernon adventurers, as without mages, many damage dealers also acted as frontline fighters. But Cayden’s role would be the same: keep the monsters off his teammates.

That, at least, he knew he could do.

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It took almost thirty minutes before their team was called, much longer than what they needed to finalize their plans, and Cayden breathed a sigh of relief when it was finally their turn. Velic never seemed to feel the awkwardness, somehow able to continuously maintain a pleasant conversation with a casual smile regardless of whether or not his teammates responded, but Cayden cringed inside as the tension built.

But finally, it was their turn. Velic was first in line behind the attendant while Cayden trailed last out of the auditorium and into the tunnel entrance of a nearby arena.

There, with the attendant next to them, they waited. In the shadows of the tunnel, Cayden stretched out his arms, unbuckled the sheaths to his claws, and carefully stowed them in his backpack. He was used to delving with his backpack on, though normally it would be filled with potions rather than his notes from class, and he resolved to carry potions with him from then on, annoyed with himself at being caught unprepared.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t need them. Between Cassius’ skill and Delphia’s healing, he figured he’d at least be okay in the healing department. But he’d feel a lot better about their odds if he had a couple of Elise’s poisons stashed away. Neither Marvenal nor Delphia implied that they had much damage in their builds, which meant that if the monster had enough durability to withstand Cayden’s claws, Velic would be their team’s only source of damage. And Cayden wasn’t comfortable with their team having such a critical point of failure.

Luckily, Cayden didn’t have much time to stew in his worries, as Cassius appeared from a connecting dark tunnel to their right, causing all of them save Marvenal to startle. Without fanfare, the satyr touched each of their shoulders, then gave a nod to the attendant, who banged twice on the doors at the end of the tunnel.

Slowly, the doors opened, and Cayden squinted at the light streaming in from the widening crack.

The arena was almost identical to the one in which his frontline combat class took place: around the size of a football field, or perhaps a bit smaller, and filled with sand. There were a few seats looking down into the arena, though nowhere near the number that surrounded the arena which hosted the trials. Currently, all of the seats were empty – at least all of those which Cayden could see. He presumed the instructors would be watching the match from somewhere.

The arena itself was empty, devoid of any major obstacles that they might use as cover or to maneuver. The sand was littered with the footprints of the previous students, and Cayden could see a few places that were tinged a darker brown from blood. But as Cayden followed his teammates out of the doors of the tunnel, he finally noticed the part of the arena that wasn’t empty: the doors on the opposite side of the arena were open, and from the tunnel emerged their opponent.

It seemed the instructors wouldn’t give them any more time to prepare themselves, and Cayden rushed to the front of his team as he observed the monster. Mentally, he compared it with what he had learned in what he had previously believed to be his most useless class: Monster Traits.

It stood over six feet tall and four feet wide, and though Cayden couldn’t see it from his vantage, he presumed it was much longer than it was wide. A monster that big would most likely have vitality and strength as its greatest stats. That wasn’t always true for giant-sized monsters, but for one that was supposed to be at their level, it was likely. With a thought, Cayden began increasing his [Inertia]. He’d been keeping it at his base amount in case they’d be pitted against a swarm of faster-moving monsters, but against a single strong opponent, Cayden needed to be able to withstand a hit without getting flung back.

It had six segmented legs which gave it the majority of its height, and its two massive compound eyes sparkled in the light of the sun as it emerged from the tunnel. Insectoid traits likely meant it would have a hard carapace rather than hide or scales: resistant to slashing and elemental attacks, but weak to bludgeoning and piercing attacks. Cayden’s claws were unlikely to be of much use, and he lamented not bringing his spear with him to the assembly.

It had two massive mandibles protruding from around its mouth, each about as long as Cayden’s arm. That was likely to be the monster’s main method of attack, and what, as the frontliner, he’d have to watch out for.

He examined the monster further, but couldn’t find any other clues that might help him in the coming combat as he ran to the center of the arena. But by that point, it had finally completely exited its tunnel, and its eyes locked onto the obvious target that Cayden was attempting to make himself.

A strange clicking noise, unbelievably loud, echoed across the arena, and Cayden stumbled. It didn’t come from any specific direction, seemingly echoing from all around them, but there could be only one source.

It seemed the monster had more ways to attack than just its mandibles.

They’d barely had a chance to clear the exit of their tunnel, and the battle had already begun.

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Sorry for the delay -- was planning on getting this out a few days ago, but the holidays were busy and I my writing was slow. 

In other news -- happy belated Christmas! And thanks so much for your support!