Arena Thirty-Five: Foul Restrictions IX

...

After that discussion of ours, I and Felicia silently waited for the practice to begin. Unlike the other students who were either too excited or too nervous, we had experienced this countless times before, so both of us were relaxed.

I leisurely watched the teacher talk to the soldier in charge of guiding us. Soon, the teacher came back with our schedule for the day.

"Today, we'll first witness the Medusa squad fight in a mock setting, then we will interview them. Each student will get a chance to ask three questions, so think hard about it!"

Hearing the name Medusa squad, the student started whispering. Well, I could understand. The Medusa squad was our second strongest squad, and also the public image of the Empire-affiliated Elliots. Due to them being all women and having members from both the common and noble households, they represented equality and beauty.

Unlike my squad, which was full of high-ranking nobles and crazy battle maniacs, they were easier to relate to, so they had gradually become celebrities among the squads.

Well... While I was proud of them as an Imperial noble... I certainly didn't like their characters.

And the fact that these brain-dead students were getting more excited over the second strongest squad instead of the first one... It was honestly a bit infuriating.

Frowning, I joined the crowd of students following the teacher while dragging Felicia by hand. The princess, who was most of the time cheerful, had a frown on her face too.

None of the Phoenix squad members liked them, after all...

...

We entered the practice arena, where the five members of the Medusa were already waiting for us.

Seeing the students, they all smiled like blooming flowers. Their extremely beautiful faces and young age forced both guys and girls alike to stare at them, jaws open.

As the squad members saw us among the crowd, their smiles bloomed further, making me frown.

They couldn't be up to any good.

The teacher went ahead of the group and introduced the squad members to the students.

As always, I couldn't bother to listen to their name.  Sighing, I looked at the clock screen in the corner of my view.

'Tsk. Still an hour left...'

I could tell that Felicia was thinking the same from her displeased face.

The Medusa squad, despite their lovely appearances, had terrible personalities. They weren't like that always, but the fame had gotten to their heads. They went as far as to suspend Felicia once using false information just because she was gaining more popularity than them among the male soldiers and Elliots... Yet, I couldn't say that they were treating this whole thing lightly.

They were the 2nd strongest for a reason, after all. And unlike the Phoenix squad, which had been idle for the last two arena battles due to having fewer members than necessary, the Medusa squad was active in both the battlefields and the media...

Truly infuriating. To think I used to call these people friends...

As the squad members finished their introductions, the teacher requested them to proceed with the mock battle.

"No."

An instant denial from the squad leader, Catherine, shut him down. Then the raven-haired beauty turned towards my direction. Her purple eyes flashed as a smile appeared on her tanned face... I frowned and prepared myself.

I could guess what she was about to ask.

"With all respects, teacher, we have a better idea."

She spoke in a honeyed voice as she walked towards the group where I was. As she stepped closer, the male students gulped.

However, Catherine ignored them all and stopped just in front of me and Felicia.

"We have the leader of the strongest squad here, why not have a mock battle among ourselves?"

She smiled as her eyes stared at me, challenging me head-on.

"... Fine."

I accepted without hesitation. Maybe I would be outnumbered in a real battle, but in a duel, I wouldn't lose against someone like her.

The only one who could beat me in a duel was Phillips.

"... I'm in too."

Felicia commented from my side, crossing her arms while frowning.

"That's amazing to hear. I'd love to spar with you two after so long."

Catherine spoke in a friendly tone, but her eyes gave out her intentions. I didn't know why she thought she could win... But I didn't let my guard down.

"A-are you sure?"

The teacher, who was the most worried of all, called out to us hesitantly. All three of us nodded in unison, cementing the battle completely.

"Well then, I will give you five minutes to prepare."

Saying that, Catherine walked back to her group. I turned towards Felicia, who was already contacting the base to deliver our Regalia.

I waited for her to end the call, then spoke up.

"Are you sure you want to join?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I won't be able to calm down until I humiliate them in front of the students."

She gave a short but resolute reply. Seemed that she still remembered the shame from back then.

"Alright then..."

I sighed and decided to wait for the Regalia to arrive.

...

"So, how would you get out of the enemy encirclement? Ah, Arnold, answer me."

The teacher called out to me while pointing at the map screen behind him. It was a simulation of the real battlefield. I stood up and answered.

"If it was me, I would probably use the hill behind us. I would attack here..."

I pointed at a certain corner of the hill on my tablet, which automatically reappeared in the screen behind the teacher, then continued my answer.

"... Due to the soil type there, it will be easier to cause an avalanche and temporarily confuse or blind the enemies. While that happens, I would concentrate my attack here..."

I pointed at the middle of the enemy formation, which was in chaos after the avalanche. The map was reacting to my decisions by changing the formations and the terrain.

"... And break through."

I finished my answer and looked at the teacher, Samuel. He nodded at my answer.

"Correct. And how much damage do you anticipate ?"

"Around 50% to 60%".

"Yes. That is quite a logical conclusion. Good job, Arnold."

Samuel gestured me to sit down while continuing the class. This class, [Strategic Deployment], was about finding out the flaws of the enemy formation and trying to defeat them in a simulated map.

As I just explained, escaping is also a good idea if we wanted to end the match in a draw, for that to happen, all of the members of the squad needed to be active and the timer (an hour including overtime) needed to run out.

But in most of the cases, one or more members would fall from the both side, so it wasn't really a valid option. Which was why the classes mainly focused on defeating the enemy rather than escaping them.

I sat down while thinking about more possible ways to break out of the encirclement, when suddenly my vision blanked out.

Before I knew it, I found myself staring at a beautiful girl, who was grinning while looking at me.

Before I could say anything, something hard hit my face, making me grunt in pain. As I kneeled down on the ground while covering my face, a kick to my stomach forced the air out of me, while another kick to the back kept me from standing up.

The kicks and blows continued despite my cries of pain. Finally, not being able to accept it any longer, I decided to activate my skill.

[Alter Eg-]

But then I heard her voice.

"Are you ready?"

The familiar voice called out to someone, forcing me to look up despite the pain.

There, I saw Anastasia standing in front of someone while holding her sword in her hand.

She was wearing the academy uniform. I then noticed Felicia behind her, also wearing the uniform.

Before I could call out to her, someone behind me suddenly shoved a piece of cloth inside my mouth before again kicking me in the stomach. I couldn't use my skill anymore.

Some incoherent words came out of my mouth as the assailants bound my hands behind my back with a handcuff while kicking me.

I tried to call out to Anastasia again, in hopes that she'd hear my groaning. And for a second, she did turn towards me. Then, as if she had seen nothing, she turned away.

Hearing the laughter from around me, I realized. It was a goddamn skill.

'Damn it... !"

I couldn't help but curse as they completely bound me. The assailants, who were all girls, kept grinning at me while holding blunt weapons in their hands.

'It's no use talking to them...'

I thought as I glanced at my status. Just as I thought, the status was different than usual. Using my thoughts, I clicked on the status bar, only to be met with some horrifying data.

[Forced Login]

[Skill Slot: Limited to one]

[The Blessing of Eternal Bliss has been temporarily deactivated]

[HP, SP, DEF temporarily locked to 20%]

[Current Stats:

HP: 2800/3200

SP: 6400/6400

DEF: 0/3200

Synchronisation Rate: 0%

Damage Reduction: -20%]

Due to the forced login, my DEF had fallen... And due to the damage reduction, it couldn't even take some hits from some girls. Well, these girls were probably high-level Elliots or Technicians, so maybe that was the reason...

Whatever the reason, I was now stuck here. And I didn't even know the reason for that.

Glaring at the girl who seemed to be the leader, I tried to ask the question via my look.

As if understanding my question, she chuckled.

"Well, I guess you are confused. But don't worry, it'll be fine soon. Just be a good boy and watch quietly as they lose."

The girl said maliciously while looking at Anastasia and the unknown girl standing in front of her nearby.

The two girls soon separated and took their stances on the opposite side of what seemed to be an arena. Felicia joined Anastasia, while another girl joined her opponent.

I could guess it from Anastasia's stance and the determined look on her face. It was a duel... And a serious one at that.

Yet... I couldn't do anything but watch helplessly as she started the match.