*
"I didn't expect them to launch an attack right away."
"The most important thing in rescuing hostages is information."
"Well, I guess they're going to use the victory conditions of the test."
The instructors monitored the situation on the field from outside and muttered.
The Red Team party, which rushed to stop Yang Ji-seok who had stormed the rooftop, was knocked out with a single magic spell.
Of course, while recklessly using wide-area magic, five dummy dolls nearby were destroyed, but Yang Ji-seok didn't seem to care much.
"It feels like they're deviating too much from the purpose of the test."
"I thought they would prioritize rescuing the hostages. I didn't expect them to focus on annihilation."
"Well, more than that, it seems like Yang Ji-seok himself can't handle his own power."
"This is the first time there have been so many people synchronized in a test like this, so that's probably why."
"Well, even so, it doesn't change the fact that it's a demerit."
"Is it really a problem with the appearance? Because they look like dolls, I don't think they see them as citizens to be rescued."
Yang Ji-seok is a student who can quickly use sophisticated magic based on his fast calculation ability and meticulousness, but he was a student who could not enter the high ranks due to his inherently low Mana.
He did awaken a unique ability that could compensate for his shortcomings, but there were restrictions on synchronizing with the Mana of the magic stone, so that also had its limits.
No matter how much he synchronized, he still needed a process to extract the Mana from the magic stone. His concentration was distracted during that process, but things changed if it was a person.
'Because the person behind him just has to release Mana.'
The way he posed and walked, as if he were a hero from a sentai show, looked ridiculous, but simply putting his arm over the shoulders of the students behind him connected Yang Ji-seok and the students behind him.
In simple terms, Yang Ji-seok's Mana has now doubled. Cooperative magic has many restrictions in the process of users coordinating their calculations, but Yang Ji-seok didn't need such a process.
He was fully utilizing the increased Mana through his Mana synchronization. So, in simple terms, he was using the Mana of seven people at once.
Unless you were a skilled person, there was no way you could stop Yang Ji-seok's magic.
"I think the limit was four people last time. It's increased to six people this time?"
In the last evaluation, the number of people who could synchronize was limited to four, but this time it seems to have increased to six.
"I don't think I can stop it either? With that kind of power."
"Well, the big problem is that they have to stick together like that, but if you exclude that, it's a terrifying ability."
Fortunately, because their movement speed was slow, the Red Team gave up the battle and ran downstairs, and in the meantime, the remaining members began searching for dummy dolls.
Except for the five dummy dolls that were destroyed in the first attack, the Blue Team was in an overwhelmingly advantageous situation.
The Blue Team rescued the hostages without delay and immediately escaped.
Kim Tae-pung and his party, who were fighting Kim Si-woo downstairs, also stalled for time and ran away.
"By the way, I didn't expect Kim Tae-pung to be pushed back this much by Kim Si-woo?"
"It's true that Kim Tae-pung's ability is excellent, but in the end, he has no choice but to rely on his basic skills."
"I thought that if there weren't students helping Kim Tae-pung from behind, he would have been defeated by Kim Si-woo."
"Well. Being a Hunter isn't just about having individual martial power."
"That's the basics of party hunting."
If it were a place to evaluate individual martial power, there would be no need to group 30 people into one team.
If you want to move in guild units, you have to practice cooperating like this in advance, right?
It's commendable to praise him for holding out against 10 students alone, but the Blue Team benefited, so it's a shame.
Support came late from the Red Team, but Kim Tae-pung had already run away.
"If the Red Team had come down faster, the result might have been different."
"Well, that's right. Maybe the Blue Team would have been pushed back if they had the same number of people."
"Or it would have been better if they had focused on Yang Ji-seok."
"Well, isn't that just an assumption?"
*
'I moved too cautiously.'
It was a shame that Kim Tae-pung moved so passively because he was too wary when he first blocked my Blue Moon Slash.
I thought his ability was Mana Severance, so it was an ability that maximized attack by increasing cutting power, but that wasn't the case.
It's half right, but he can't cut anything.
When using magic circles or creating specific techniques, the results vary depending on the structure of the Mana.
To give an example of magic, depending on the structure of the magic circle, it can create fire or water.
Kim Tae-pung's ability was to destroy such structures, or more precisely, to sever connections.
The ability to sever the connection of the part his Mana touches.
In the case of magic circles where there should be no wrong parts, if there is a problem with the connection in even one part, you obviously won't be able to use magic.
Anyway, he can cut off specific structures or connections, but he can't cut off Mana itself.
So, if you try to win with Sword Aura, it means that it will eventually be judged by swordsmanship skills.
But he was a tricky opponent to catch because he was determined to only defend and received support from the guys in the back.
Even though his swordsmanship skills are lacking, should I say that he has some skills because he didn't get 10th place for free? Anyway, he was an annoying guy.
"Im Yu-jin... How can you be eliminated like that after putting on all that airs?"
Apparently, Im Yu-jin, who was relatively high in the rankings, tried to respond to Yang Ji-seok but was immediately eliminated.
'I'm trusting Im Yu-jin after Min-ji and Soo-ah. I can't believe he's already been eliminated.'
What could be called a strength was that there were many magic-type students, but they were largely eliminated while working upstairs.
He said he could beat Yang Ji-seok alone, but it seems that there is no match for numbers in the end.
"How many hostages are left now?"
"23 people... It seems that all the hostages on the upper floor have been rescued."
"Ha... Who knew they would come in all at once from the rooftop..."
Fortunately, Jeong Soo-ah and Min-ji stopped Yang Ji-seok from continuing to push down, but the damage was not ordinary.
He was thought to be an unremarkable guy in the friendly match, but it seems that he becomes exponentially stronger as the number of people who can synchronize increases.
'I know how he's going to move for now.'
The problem was that they were coming in from both the top and the bottom at the same time. I only have one body, so it's impossible to block both sides at the same time.
"Soo-ah-ya. Min-ji-ya."
"... What."
"Haa... Why are you calling us."
Both of them didn't seem to be in a good mood, perhaps because they had suffered a lot of damage since the start of the test. Still, these two are the only ones I can trust.
"Yang Ji-seok? Was it manageable to deal with that guy?"
"That unlucky guy? Are you talking about the guy who's carrying around about six people on his back like he's playing a train game?"
"Maybe?"
I heard that you have to be connected to other people to synchronize, so is that how they connect?
At my question, Min-ji began to massage Jeong Soo-ah's shoulders.
"We would have been pushed back if it weren't for Jeong Soo-ah? He was arrogant, but he couldn't break through Soo-ah's shield."
"It's.. it's not that much. I don't know if I could have held out if he kept going..."
Is that how she acts in front of Min-ji, even though she's always bickering in front of me?
Anyway, the shield performance is definitely good.
"Anyway, you can hold out, right?"
"To some extent... Well, are you saying I was wrong for not going faster?"
"Why are you saying that again? I just needed to confirm."
"Well. Does it change anything if you know?"
Soo-ah is being negative because she got hit once.
Did she ask if it changes anything if I know?
"Of course it changes."
"?"
*
"Okay, let's check one more time. I'm going to go into the first floor first to draw attention. Then, in the meantime, Ji-seok, you..."
"You're telling me to go to the rooftop, right? I already know, so stop it."
"Then I'll check the personnel again. You remember who needs to supply Mana to Ji-seok, right?"
I prioritized people who had a lot of Mana but couldn't use it properly. There were some people who were dissatisfied because Yang Ji-seok's personality wasn't good.
If you want to win the evaluation, you'll have to put up with grabbing his shoulder.
"Tae-pung-ah... Do I really have to do it?"
"Yeah... That guy's eyes are kind of creepy..."
The female students came to complain, but Kim Tae-pung somehow persuaded them and sent them away.
It seemed that many people had lost faith in Yang Ji-seok after losing in the last friendly match. But from the perspective of someone who has faced Yang Ji-seok directly, he was definitely not a student with poor skills.
If Yang Ji-seok had more Mana than he does now, he would have been a difficult opponent to guarantee victory against.
Because he is a skilled person who is well-equipped with improvisation, situational response, and magic casting speed.
'The problem is that he lacks Mana, but it'll be okay if the other guys help him.'
The fact that Yang Ji-seok has a bad reputation was actually a good thing for the Blue Team.
If Yang Ji-seok starts to show his true skills while they are focused on me, he will be able to inflict fatal damage on the Red Team.
Kim Si-woo's wariness of Yang Ji-seok will also be lowered, and if I go to the first floor and cause a ruckus, attention will naturally be drawn to me.
I was going to draw their forces with that. It would be even better if Kim Si-woo was among those people.
"Okay, how many minutes are left now?"
"I think there are 30 minutes left."
"Then please review the operation details one more time."
"Okay. Tae-pung-ah!"
In general, you have no choice but to prioritize defense from the most vulnerable places first. Therefore, the first floor and the rooftop, which can be said to be the outermost parts of the building, will inevitably be pushed back to a lower priority.
Also, if you go around installing magic circles during the preparation time, you will inevitably get tired. So, the moment immediately after the preparation time ends is the weakest moment.
Kim Tae-pung raised the corners of his mouth at his perfect plan.
'Kim Si-woo, how are you going to come out?'
Without knowing that the opponent already knows everything.