Chapter 73 - 72 - Team Battle(Part 1)

Author's Note: Starting from this chapter onwards, I will start using other characters' perspectives when necessary

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"So, what's the plan, captain?" Inquired Mitchell expectantly. 

"First off, don't call me that. And second...well, I've got some rough drafts of ideas in my mind, but I think I can visualize them better if we all discuss how to go about this...X heads are better than one, or whatever," I replied, before letting out a slow exhale and looking around, "Alright, for starters, what do we know about the other team?" 

"Um...they don't have any long-range fighters?" Answered Seila, raising her hand. 

"You don't need to raise your hand to speak, you know...but yup, that's exactly right. Andre, Makoto and Asshole are all close-range fighters, and Bytra is mid-range...meanwhile, we've got a lot more flexibility and options on our side." 

So, yeah, we'd been teleported to the underground maze that Instructor Satou had mentioned, and were currently fifteen minutes from the start of the first team duel. The place was pretty dimly lit, but it was bright enough once my eyes adjusted. 

"We shouldn't underestimate them," Chimed in Katie. 

Hm, she's got a point, I'm pretty confident that we can win this, but it certainly won't hurt to err on the side of caution. I made my holoscreen visible to them and opened up the layout map of the maze we were in...it wasn't very big, but still fairly spacious, certainly big enough that navigating it without a map would be a fair challenge. 

"It's too bad we can't, like, hack into the security cams so that we can see how the other team moves...but I guess the blind aspect in that regard is kinda the point, huh?" Sighed Mitchell wistfully. 

"Actually, we can watch them, I was going to bring it up...I've got a couple of drones we can use," I replied, as I scanned the layout of the maze. 

"Wait, what?" Responded Mitchell incredulously. 

"Where?" Asked Katie, looking at me up and down. 

"Um, was that a joke?" Added Seila uncertainly. 

"One at a time! The first question...is not worth answering. The second question...right here, on the frame of my glasses, I've got six detachable drones, three on either side of the frame. And finally, no, it wasn't a joke...see," I answered, as I tapped my holoscreen a couple of times and activated four of the drones. 

I'd requested a few of those bug-sized drones from Director Silva, and she gave me a whole bunch. I then took them to Ruby and she modded them to my customized specifications. 

"Woah, those are really well hidden...and even after you activate them, they're barely noticeable, they look like little bugs," Remarked Mitchell with wide eyes. 

"Mhm, we'll use these to keep track of the other team...once I find them, it'll just be a matter of execution...with that said, here's how we can go about doing this..."

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"...got it?" 

The others nodded in reply, after I finished explaining my plan. Oh, it's not some genius mind-blowingly amazing plan, it's just a typical, simple yet efficient plan. Basically, I uploaded the layout map of the maze into the app that I use to control the drones, allowing me to see exactly where in the maze they were, and when they find the other team, I'd know their exact position. 

The moment we're allowed to start, we'll stay put right here while I send out the drones to find the other team...after that, depending on their positions, I'd layed out responses to several possibilities, so that we'd be able to move out immediately as soon as we confirmed their positions. 

"One minute left," Remarked Katie, checking the time. 

"Um, so I was wondering...we were told that we're not allowed to leave the starting point till fifteen minutes after we're teleported in...but even if we send the drones out now, it should be fine since we're not actually leaving the starting point ourselves, right?" Inquired Seila curiously. 

...holy crap, she's right. How the hell did I overlook that!? 

"Damn it, I messed up," I said with a grimace, before swiftly activating four drones and sending them out, "What a waste, we could have gotten much more of a head start if I'd figured that out sooner!" 

"You're being way too hard on yourself, we didn't think of it either," Pointed out Mitchell. 

"Well, yeah, but strategizing is supposed to be one of my main roles, so I can't afford to overlook any details," I replied with a frown. 

"I agree with Mitchell, you're being too hard on yourself," Chimed in Seila. 

"I agree too," Added Katie with a nod.

"Right...anyway, we might as well get ready now, no point dwelling on what can't be changed," I sighed...yeah, I guess that I could go back in time, but it's fine, I'll handle this situation as-is, "Just ten seconds left." 

The drones were all about a quarter to a third of a way through the maze, which means that they'll reach the other end within three to four minutes...or more likely, encounter one of more of the other team before then. These drones have a thermal sensory feature installed, and I'd adjusted the program to make sure that no two of them would track the same thermal signature. 

"The fifteen minutes are up...shouldn't be long before we find them now," Observed Mitchell, as the three of them looked over my shoulders to watch the camera feeds of the four drones on my holoscreen.

It didn't take long at all...in less than two minutes, we had found all four of them. And it looks like they had all split up fairly evenly throughout the maze...perfect. 

"Alright, let's move as planned...remember, we know where they are while they have no clue where we are, let's use that to our advantage and take them out before they can even see us coming...after that, you know what to do." 

In the event where the other team fully split themselves up, which turned out to be the case, we'd also split up and go after them, and after that...

"Yeah, yeah, we got it," Replied Mitchell with a grin, a look of anticipation on his face as we all stood up. 

"Let me emphasize again that you need to take out your target as soon as you get within striking distance, don't forget that like us, they'll also be linked up to each other with their earpiece communicators, don't give them any time to alert the others, take them out before they can tap on the earpiece and talk into it...now, then, let's move out, shall we?" I suggested with a slight smirk. 

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Point-of-View: Mitchell Jones

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Okay, let's do this...gotta say, having Kilzachs on your side is pretty reassuring. The guy's kind of a cynic, but he knows what he's doing and takes it seriously...he was clearly ticked off at himself earlier when he overlooked the fact that the fifteen minutes pre-starting time didn't specify using equipment during that time, even though it really wasn't a big deal. 

We'd split up into three, Kilzachs and Seila by themselves, while Katie and I were partnered up. Why hadn't we fully split up into four? Because that was a part of Kilzachs' sadistic strategy...and so long as the rest of us keep track of where each of the other team's members are, there's no way his plan will fail. 

This app is really cool...once his drones had located the other team, they latched onto each of them without them noticing, and my holoscreen was currently displaying each of their locations on the layout map, indicated by red blips. 

Additionally, if you had someone's contact info and they had yours, you could use this app to see where they are...in other words, it wasn't just the enemy's positions that we could see, we could also see where each other were, indicated by blue blips. 

Gotta say, this app could easily be used for stalking, but it's also extremely useful in this situation...after all, this maze is covered in a Duel Field barrier, which means that when someone is about to receive a fatal hit, they get teleported out, and when that happens, the blip indicating their position will inevitably disappear from this map, allowing us to keep track of which team has the upper hand. 

"We're close," Stated Katie quietly, as we neared our target. 

The two of us were assigned to target Andre, who Kilzachs seemed to consider the strongest of the other team...I mean, I'm of the same opinion, but I can't help but wonder if his opinion is a bit biased, considering the fact that he absolutely despises the other three members of the opposing team. 

According to the map, Andre was just around the next left turn, and it looks like we're the first of our team to encounter one of the other team members. 

"Ready to do this?" I inquired in a whisper, as we neared the corner. 

"Yeah," She replied briefly and affirmatively. 

"Alright, then...let's give our team a strong start." 

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