Spear Over Shield

Because of formality, the examiner will be telling the rules of the game.

"We will take turns controlling each side of the spectrum, as for now. You will be controlling the Operators. Each class represents their abilities and all of them are driven by artificial intelligence , in which you can command them to the specific place individually or in a group. They will react like how a real person would, feel free to command them your way but some of the key-word examples would be: Attack, Hold-Position, Guard, Move, Search, and Retreat. You need to command them verbally and point to the destination with your finger or exclaim the mapping values of the grid system that you can see. There will also be wild encounters with numerous random percentages, so be careful. Anything else you want to ask?"

"They will react like a real person?"

"The digital operators will behave more skillfully if it was within their class's purpose. Just like on the battlefield, there is a squad's morale reducing with every mistake you make, and it will be up to you to act accordingly depending on every situation."

Which means that there is a chance of the operators not confirming your command. This will be tricky, there are too many aspects needing to be considered. The random encounters will make it harder, and surely, the amount of main Calamities objectives existing on the board will make this an arduous mind-bending hellscape.

The examiner's objective is simple, to assess your critical thinking ability. The main score will be the objective of hunting the main 14 Calamities and reducing casualties from the team.

This is not a board game, this is a test of innate instinct, to take information and interpret it. The inner intuition and initiative to implement inventive ideas, to be inquisitive. It is indicative of ingrained imagination to take inspiration and innovate. Which is why the first phase of the test is all about terrain and logical thinking. This leadership test will insure the unneeded injury in the real field by willy-nilly decision-making to be reconsidered, and looking at the pattern—the examiner will give the participant an important lesson and punish them for inattentiveness.

Because ignorance induces incapacitation.

The machine begins to speak, "The 'Hunt' will commence. Scanning Players." A holographic ray scans your retinas and face. "Operator Lazey, Blood Princess. The clocks will turn in 3-2-1—"

The holograms become realistic as colors taint the 3d grid schematic, illustrating the mountainous domains with trees and wind blowing the rotors of a tarnished windmill. The majority of your side is on an abandoned farmland stretching into a mountain with numerous trees, while the opposite of the spectrum contradicts the green nature with a corrupted dark place with purple miasma traversing the quarter of the whole map. In comparison with the 5 meter long holographic table, one Operator is the size of your fingernail within the digital world—showing how big the hunting ground is.

Having enough time to spare, you increase your blood flow and dopamine for focus while stimulating your brain for critical thinking.

"The Assailants have 10 minutes to finish the Mission."

With the grid positioning system from X and Y, the value is 1 cm² per grid, spanning from the very top left corner on Lazey's side as the middle coordinate of zero to 300 horizontally to the right, and zero to 500 vertically to your side. Because the middle of the coordinate is on the top left from your view, the value will be mirrored with the X becomes vertical and Y become horizontal and no minus values. The coordinates pinpointing will need to be verbally mentioned or pointed with your finger as the sensor will determine the landing of your pointing. The verbal coordinate command works by mentioning the X and Y values in consecutive action. So '489,100' means 489 cm to below from the top, 100 cm to the right

'A normal person will never understand this on the first try from the start, thank god that I'm cheating with a focus enhancing drug—I mean, circuits here.'

The examiner is taking the initiative. Lazey spread the Calamities all over the map, while making 2 of the Yelper to constantly scout and the rest is making two groups of four to seize many conventional high ground you can use for your Snipers, definitely a sting to your pride. The rest of the Titans, meanwhile, are roaming randomly throughout the map with the Dragon conquering the sky.

Five classes to choose from and two from each section, you could either spread out with multiple squads or do the hunt and kill with all the operators deployed in one area. The thing is, the map is too big. Looking at each Operator's stats, you might want to try giving each of them an objective while also making them have a side and main priority for each command.

"Deploy Fighter-1, Vanguard-1, Vanguard-2, and Sniper-1 into '223,134'!"

Near the middle of the battlefield and on the dark side—on top of the broad and rocky high ground with 4 Yelpers occupying it, you drop most of the melee units right into the danger with most benefits as soon as the game begins. A tactical position with an unobstructed 360° view, a perfect place to build a fortification and snipe all of the high rank enemies.

That is what you want the examiner to think, a bait for another plan. Anxiously, you still have 6 more Operators. You didn't deploy all of them because you don't know how the Operator's AI works.

A helicopter flies into the designated area and begins to drop the four Operators from the sky.

"All Operators! Annihilate the four Yelpers and secure the Area!"

Fighter-1 wore fair protection with a giant lance pointing to the ground, brutally piercing one of the Yelper, the intentionally airborne Sniper-1 manages to snipe one of them with a large anti-materiel rifle, and both of the Vanguards dive into position to secure the place and protect the leading Fighter until the Sniper lands another hit on the third Yelper.

'So this is how strong the average Vagants are.'

They can land unscathed from the height of the drop and the incoming sudden deceleration of 50 meters off the ground; your plan was actually to secure the place so that Sniper-1 can support the melee unit when meeting the ground. To your surprise, the Sniper ends up making it all easier as you claim the first checkpoint to victory.

This test purpose might also be to determine whether the test subject is reluctantly conservative, or a critical tactician. If you're meant to take the lesson of this game into the real battlefield:

"Don't hesitate, strike your objective while it is hot, just like a hammer to the molten iron. Isn't that right?" you say, donning your smile of confidence.

The examiner can scramble the Calamities' positions anytime and if he moves the heavy unit near the sniping point, you will be screwed by not seizing the chance.

Lazey chuckles in response, "Indeed, the Assailant is doctrined to act fast and maximize the given information. There is no such thing as a waiting game when you have all the coordination you need, if you choose to be reluctant and post your Operators in a safe space, then you will be punished with 10 Yelpers and 4 Titans marching to your position, forcing the whole squadron to be on the defensive within the unfavorable terrain."

'It will result in a heavy blow, because the Assailant's job is not to defend, let alone to keeping an ugly spot. They are meant to be used as a spear to pierce the core of the problem.'

Moreover, the battlefield situation is naked to the Calamities' side. This is not a hunt, this is the battle of initiatives!

He grabs each end of the holographic table as his laid back demeanor is chipping from his inner cold steel, then continuing his speech. "Then again, you need to plan for everything. A first successful strike isn't enough to win the game—"

All Titans are beginning to march into your Operators' position. He is taking the bait.

"Because this time, the Calamities also have all the coordination they need to hunt you down."