"This is going to be tough..."
Kain stood atop the tree, his gaze sweeping the surroundings to assess the situation and pinpoint locations.
Now he understood why this place would ensure that teams wouldn't easily find each other. These massive trees offered excellent hiding spots, and they themselves were unusually sturdy; even a mid-class magic skill couldn't fell them in one blow.
Fortunately, the terrain here was undulating, allowing Kain to roughly visualize the scope and position of his team.
"Perhaps the teams with positional advantages will have their locations appear on a map once they're teleported in here. Well, that's convenient."
Kain sighed. This ant that even though he knew the physical locations of those hidden weapons, he currently had no reference point to know where he himself was, rendering those locations temporarily useless.
After a thorough observation and morization, Kain moved to another treetop, continuing his careful observation, spending several minutes on each new vantage point.
This was how Kain determined his team's current orientation and position: by comparing the relative distances to the four boundaries of the arena.
The arena, confird to be a square from the map he received earlier from Selena, ant that by simply determining the relative distances between himself and the four sides of the battleground, Kain could narrow down the four possible zones where he could be located. Following that, Kain could further compare the relative terrain within those zones to deduce his exact current area.
Theoretically, this thod of pinpointing location isn't overly difficult. However, the challenge lies in the sheer volu of details that need to be rembered and connected. This demands a powerful mory and excellent spatial and geographical visualization skills to accomplish.
Fortunately, Kain possessed both.
…
anwhile, at the other teams' locations.
Tolimus looked at his map, observing that over ten minutes had passed and the other teams were still lingering in their initial areas, remaining inactive. He frowned. Although he had a plan, deep down, he always felt sothing was off.
"Captain, shouldn't we move to attack the closest team now?" a team mber beside him suggested, only to receive a knock on the head from Tolimus.
"Foolish, I already have a plan."
As he spoke, his confidence returned. No matter what, if this plan succeeded, he could eliminate two teams at once and gain two different advantages. By then, victory would practically be in his hands.
For now, he just needed to wait for a signal, a signal to begin this chain of events.
And it wasn't just Tolimus; both Faith and Pegasus were also waiting for it.
"As expected, it's very far from our position..."
Pegasus looked at her map, seeing that the victory flag's hidden location was placed furthest from her team's starting point. She surmised that everyone was currently holding their ground, and if she moved first, all attention would fall on her team.
Therefore, she was waiting for a signal. A signal for her plan to begin.
The five mbers of Faith's team were gathered in one spot. So ti had passed, and Faith remained casually seated, while the other four surrounded him.
Evidently, on the surface, Faith was still waiting for the plan to ambush Kain's team to be initiated.
At this very mont, everyone seed to freeze. They all looked up at the sky, where a giant water balloon was launched at high speed, and then... the water balloon exploded!
The signal had been sent!
…
One minute earlier.
Elna looked around and saw no one else, letting out a soft sigh.
Although she didn't like doing this, a mission was a mission.
"I'm sorry, I don't dislike any of you..." Elna murmured, beginning to activate her magic.
Just then, ra's voice softly echoed from behind her.
"Elna, you seem to have wandered a bit far."
Elna paused her magic. She didn't reveal any weakness, turning around with a chuckle. But in that instant, she couldn't pinpoint ra's exact location due to the surrounding trees.
"Oh, I must have taken a wrong turn."
"It's fine. You should co back too. Kain is calling us together. It seems he knows where we are now."
"Is that so? I'll be right there."
Feeling ra's voice fade further away, Elna felt a sense of relief. If ra had discovered her and ambushed her just now, it would have been dangerous.
Luckily, ra only approached when she was about to gather her magic skill, which paradoxically helped her avert a mont of crisis.
"There's no more opportunity. If Kain gathers everyone again, I won't need to send a signal anymore."
"I have to act quickly right now!"
Just as she was about to reactivate her magic, a sudden sense of impending danger arose in her subconscious.
Without hesitation, Elna waved her hand, and the power within her transford into a [Water Bubble] that enveloped her body, blocking an [Air Slash] attack.
Behind Elna, ra suddenly appeared, her expression stern.
"ra? Didn't she leave?"
Elna was astonished. For a mont, she forgot that ra was a Magus who possessed [Air Magic]. Manipulating the direction of sound to make it seem as though ra was moving away was a basic trick.
But now, Elna had no ti to think. She simultaneously prepared a magic skill to create a powerful enough signal while desperately trying to defend against ra's relentless attacks.
At the sa ti, ra recalled Kain's instructions.
"ra, when I order the team to split up, pretend to follow, but in reality, stick to Elna."
"You must wait until she prepares a magic skill to send the signal. That's when you'll act."
"To stop Elna?"
"No, to leave Elna no other choice. Because I want her to send the signal."
"...What then? Should I eliminate her right away?"
"That'll be very difficult, ra. Elna has been hiding her true strength all along. Just make sure she sends out the signal."
"Kain, no matter what you do, I'll still trust you."
"We... will definitely win."
In the end, despite ra's fierce assault, Elna successfully sent the signal. The final round had truly begun.
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