The Second Field Examination, Part 2
2297 Words
The female cadet, who is identified by her name tag that reads “MORDIO RM”, pulls an exotic-looking blade from her glowing (and quite generous) chest.
Essentially, she's dual-wielding. The standard-issue saber on her right hand, the exotic-looking blade on her left.
Joey Ramon says as his jaw drops in amazement...
“Aren't my eyes kidding me? I'm seeing a real, actual, honest-to-goodness 'booba sword' that is the stuff of legends in the Far Eastern Kingdom of Tsukuba!”
Yulissa replies, “Don't just water your mouth! This girl must mean serious business!”
We all brace ourselves for what this dual-wielding cadet will throw at us, as we maintain a single linear formation protecting our territory.
She first crosses her blades, and then unleashes a wind shear attack with a wide area of effect.
Of course, we go with a defensive paradigm, as we form our bucklers to act as a barrier.
The wind shear barely reaches our territory, and whatever remains of it barely touches our bucklers.
In response, the dual-wielding cadet non-verbally commands her teammates to charge all at once.
“Guys! Cannae formation, right now!”
As per my instruction, Hershey and Bienvenide occupy the center part of the line that is directly parallel to the spot where our flag resides.
Laika, Yulissa, and I are on the left-hand part, while Ivanka and Joey Ramon are on the right-hand one.
We anticipate them trying to capture our flag, and what happens next turns out as we expect.
While the rest of us are engaging with the charging opponents, Hershey and Bienvenide sneak out of the formation, both trying to take on the dual-wielding cadet themselves and to capture the enemy flag.
Alright, I'm leaving the rest to you two.
As the straggling and locking of blades continue in our territory, the feralkin cadet and the half-elf cadet are engaging with the dual-wielder.
Once again, Hershey leverages her feline bloodline to deliver agile strikes and perform acrobatic dodges.
As for Bienvenide, his part-elf heritage enables him to sense even minute changes in the field's natural magical energy, and is thus able to unleash spells that are amplified by the field's geographic effects.
Since the battlefield is partially wet, water- and thunder-elemental attacks are best used.
And thus, he tosses out Mizubig and Kidlatning scrolls – which contain the standard water and thunder spells, respectively – to finally do the dual-wielder in.
Hershey then takes advantage of her innate speed to grab the enemy flag and plant it in our territory without being detected, and...
“Team Stray Dogs Gone Wild's flag captured and planted in team Glittering Eternal Trigger's territory! Team Glittering Eternal Trigger wins the bout!”
Woohoo! Score one for us!
As the tournament's designated clean-up crew (who are volunteer freshmen cadets, by the way) prepares the battlefield for the next bout, I do the natural act of sportsmanship and congratulate our opponents for an exhilarating fight.
“Nice work, Miss Mordio.”
“Yes. My full name is Rita Magdalena Mordio. And you?”
“Keenan Floribunda.”
“Your leadership qualities truly shined when we've fought. Seems I have a lot to learn from you.”
“And we have a lot to learn from you, too!”
The girls in our team butt in.
“Ha ha ha. You'd very much want to know how I pulled off that stunt... you know, what some call 'the booba sword'... but I'm afraid it's a trade secret.”
“Aw, boo. How boring.”
The next day. 10:30 ante meridiem.
“Playoff Round: Team Glittering Eternal Trigger versus team Savings Plankton. Ready yourselves... commence the bout!”
Just as the commanding officer's ceremonial sword is lowered, the cadets forming team Savings Plankton intonate the following...
“Too stupid to study, too stupid to cry
“Cower before us wizards, don't dare to try! Hyah!”
A strange magic circle envelops the entire battlefield and quickly converts it into a strange-looking place.
The entire place has a dry floor, and what used to be the opponents' territory is now occupied by a dried-out tree as well as a strange-looking life-sized statue of a young girl that stands in front of the tree.
The opponents, meanwhile, are decked out in pink overalls and wear strange masks; and they stand on both the left-hand and right-hand sides of the statue.
The leader of the rival team then declares...
“If you guys are tough enough as you say, you all must win our specially-prepared 'red light, green light' mini-game to capture our flag.”
What is this? A game for squids?
“The rules are simple. Red means stop, green means go. If the statue sees you moving after we say 'red light', boom! You're outta our game. But if even your saber touches the statue, we'll throw the towel. Let's start, then!”
We'd best enhance our sense of hearing for this, since following the instructions well in a timely way is the only way to get through this.
“Green light!”
Alright, we know what to do: Use Heisbilis scrolls on ourselves to get through this mini-game efficiently.
“Red light!”
We do our best to halt any movement. Even moving a single muscle counts as “beating the red light” and thus merits a guaranteed elimination.
“Green light!”
Alright, we all have to huff it towards the statue!
Wait for it, wait for it...
“Red light!”
We all stop our movements, but Joey Ramon and Bienvenide trip and tumble to the ground face-down while doing so.
“You two are the weakest links. Goodbye!”
Two cadets then come up and drag the two guys out of the battlefield.
We'll still push through, even with just five of us left!
“Green light!”
We're now three-fourths on the way towards the statue.
We know that even a saber's tip touching the statue will net us victory.
Alright, deep down inside, we'll be able to still make it!
“Red light!”
We all halt every possible movement, but...
“Ow! Why does this have to strike just now?!”
And by 'this', Hershey and Ivanka mean menstrual cramps.
This is freaking ridiculous, but it's one of the many possibilities in a real battlefield: Getting all sorts of cramps at inopportune times.
“You two are the weakest links. Goodbye!”
Two other cadets then come up and drag the two girls out of the battlefield.
“What did I do to deserve this, nya?!”
“Grr! This is so unfair!”
“Green light!”
It's now just the three of us left, and we're 90% on the way towards the statue.
Alright, it's now all in the cards!
Come on, saber, touch the freaking statue right now!
“Re...”
Just before the leader can utter the color of stopping, we three finally manage to touch the statue with our sabers.
“Alright... you guys win. Get the flag; we don't care.”
The strange place then reverts to the regular battlefield as the magic is voluntarily deactivated.
We three nonchalantly get the enemy flag and plant in our own territory as the leader of team Savings Plankton declares the following...
“All of this was just a prank, bro. And we snowflakes are gonna cry in a corner, alright?”
Man, what's with those wacko cadets?
Oh well, every cadet has their own quirk; as long as the oath to protect the kingdom is still there.
“Team Savings Plankton's flag captured and planted in team Glittering Eternal Trigger's territory! Team Glittering Eternal Trigger wins the bout!”
The next day. 9 ante meridiem.
“Semifinal Round: Team Glittering Eternal Trigger versus team Mr. Anybody No. 6645. Ready yourselves... commence the bout!”
Good thing this team with the tacked-on random number doesn't resort to some cheap gimmicks unlike what we've experienced yesterday.
And yes, both Hershey and Ivanka are free of their menstrual cramps they've suffered from.
Early on, the opponents are showering us with lots of Apairo spells.
This can mean they've bought lots of Apairo scrolls to fire-bomb their opponents if they've managed to get this far in the tournament.
Even in this chaotic battlefield condition, I still manage to push through.
But then, I let my guard down for a second, as the smoke being generated from all those fire spells being lobbed at us creates a literal interpretation of the so-called “fog of war” that hampers visibility.
And thus, I'm hit by a stray Apairo spell.
So, this is how it feels to be a flame-broiled cadet, huh?
“Keenan!”
“Brother!”
Laika and Yulissa cry these as I fall unconscious.
Once I wake up my eyes, it's all over.
Who won? Who managed to capture the flag?
“Team Mr. Anybody No. 6645's flag captured and planted in team Glittering Eternal Trigger's territory! Team Glittering Eternal Trigger wins the bout!”
Thank goodness, we still managed to win.
Right after the bout, I ask my teammates how they managed to act without me.
Bienvenide answers, “I knew there would come a time when the leader would be incapacitated during battle, and that would put a huge dent on the members' morale. Thank goodness I've learned of a term called 'Fingerspitzengefühl' when I was browsing some books on military strategies in the Grand Library.”
Hershey asks, “Finger... what? The only thing that comes to my mind when talking about fingers is 'Finger-licking good', nya.”
“'Fingerspitzengefühl' literally means 'that feeling in the fingertips'. You know, like when we operate machines like the sphaeramnis? Whenever we're in a battlefield, we must be aware of everything happening within it. We need to be tactful and come up with all possible solutions to winning the battle, especially when we're faced with the factors of uncertainty... like the leader being KOed in battle. It's like the hunch or the instinct, but on a higher rung. And before I forget, I was the one who got the flag, and we tossed it among one another, until I got the chance to plant it in our territory.”
I reply, “Good thing you still managed to strategize on the fly, even when I'm out of the battle. Looks like my leadership has quite rubbed off on you all. Thanks.”
They all pat my shoulders in response.
Mental note: Don't get all too bothered by that fog of war. Trust those fingertips that clutch the saber well.
The next day. 9 ante meridiem.
“Final Round: Team Glittering Eternal Trigger versus team Clingy Inutile Clown Trolls. Ready yourselves... commence the bout!”
This is it! All gloves are off for the shot at extra credits and other juicy rewards!
Alright, we all expect an all-out battle of attrition, especially with the fact that the team with the unusually self-deprecating name has an equal amount of fighters as us – the fabled lucky seven!
We immediately employ the strong right flank formation, expecting such attrition.
No sooner do we get entangled in battle, with heavy charges, brutal swings, interlocked sabers, and loud grunts and sometimes out-of-nowhere insults.
“KEEP ON DREAMING! DREAMING IS FREE! YOU PUNY PUPPIES WILL DO EVERYTHING TO GET THAT PRIZE!”
“SO INUTILE! SO CORRUPT! CREDIT GRABBERS! WE'D VERY MUCH PREFER YOU TO VOTE A PIG INTO OFFICE!”
“WE WANT YOU TO RUN NOT AS A REPRESENTATIVE, BUT AN ADVISER FOR BOXING AFFAIRS INSTEAD! YOUR SWORDSMANSHIP IS TRASH!”
OK, so the insults are exclusive to them only.
“Well, if it isn't that cute. BUT IT'S WROOOOOOOOOONG!”
I shout that in response to the inane insults being thrown at us while unleashing a huge s***h that takes out four opponents.
It's now 7 vs. 3, but we're not resting on our laurels yet.
As we still keep up with the formation, thus forming the mythical serpent eating its own tail, two cadets use Heisbilis scrolls on themselves in order to slip past through us, and they successfully capture the flag.
“Get 'em, girls! We boys will hold the fort!”
As per my instruction, the girls all charge towards the two guys possessing our flag, despite the speed disadvantage.
Relying on her feline instincts, Hershey manages to trip the two guys face-down in the muddy dirt, and Laika snatches the flag from them, with Yulissa protecting her.
Ivanka then snatches the enemy flag and joins Laika and Yulissa in getting the two flags planted in our territory.
And...
Yes! We did it!
“Team Clingy Inutile Clown Trolls's flag captured and planted in team Glittering Eternal Trigger's territory! Team Glittering Eternal Trigger wins the bout! And thus, team Glittering Eternal Trigger is the overall champion of this mock battle tournament! Congratulations!”
5 post meridiem.
Lt. Gen. Caralde gives us seven awards in the form of certificates.
We all snappily salute him before we receive these special pieces of paper.
“Cadets Sir Floribunda, Miss Floribunda, Santiaguel, Wallis, Aedoll, Fermoze, and Lumbère. You all deserve rewards for your fearless might, quick thinking, and determination, even when the odds are stacked against you. And as for the rest of the cadets gathered here... none of you have been found out to be cheating; so you, as well as the champions, all pass the field examination! Congratulations! You are all winners in spirit! I have nothing more flattering to say, so... have a great winter break, everyone! Dismissed!”
And thus, the year 1017 CE ends on a euphoric note.
Whatever the next year will throw at us... we must be always ready.
- Writer
