Chapter 490: Sleeping one

'Rest easy,' absurd as it was, the battle neared a conclusion. Few healers who survived joined with the rest of the marksman unit. They were pretty beat, a hobgoblin was disabled momentarily. 'My stamina is running low,' thought he walking at a fast pace. 

"Who are you guys?" wondered one holding a rifle.

"Healers," sighed they tumbling onto the remains of pebble-field haven. Another came in striking range, the arms lifted, time froze for those at the receiving end, '-their weakness is the legs,' slid Igna cutting the tendons once more. *BANG.* a blast had it topple backward. 

"Finish it," screamed another.

'Finish?' stood at the beast's head, it turned with a look of defeat, the monster eyes glimmered as a trapped being. 'Why do I feel so?' sword in hand, a downward thrust pierced the skin and severed the throat, '-may you be freed.' It bled to then implode leaving behind few coins and a tooth.

"We've got another coming," screamed the same, "-get your head down."

The warning went unnoticed, *Lean back*. A gust swayed his hair, the monster growled in annoyance. 'Too close for comfort,' moved the club.

"Come on boys," a barrage of projectile peppered the hanging belly into various spots of dark-brown. "I've got this," said another firing an explosive round. *Splat,* the sludge sprayed across his face, '-I'm beat,' fell onto his knee, '-I want to sleep.' Head to the ground, the slow heavy echo of impending doom came with chains scraping across the floor. 

"He was right," said Lampard pulling himself with the spear.

"What are the orders?" wondered Rena.

"Same as Igna said," affirmed Frost, "-Lampard, you, and me. We'll deal as much damage as we can."

"Alright," they firmed their stance. Leonard used enchantments to level the playing field. No idea on the tier, the giant came to light with protruding canines reaching for the summit. A black chain ending by a reddish-brown ball plowed as he ambled. No attire, a modest piece of cloth wrapped around the waist, and few battle scars running across the bear chest. The skin-shade was lighter red.

"He's killed before," said Anna, "-the redder a monster is, the more people it's killed."

"He has the experience," voiced Lampard, "-but so do we." The foot crossed onto the field, those tasked in extermination stood at the ready. Lampard fell into a straight stance, the spear remained upright, '-Mountain Breaker,' thought he, '-never expected to use this here.

Rena had a sword wrapped in her hands. 'My fingers are numb, can't feel the grip. Still, it's going to be more than enough,' resolved, she skipped as if doing jump-rope. The more it occurred, the tighter grew the jumps until, well, none could see the motion.

Frost simply dropped his weapons and conjured an elemental armor. The ice-covered him from chest to feet, '-Ivory Armor.' 

… '-faint echoes of steel. The group moves,' the eyes opened to a sorry sight, '-Rena, Jen?' adjusting to the light, the battlefield turned to ruin. Creators, fires, scorched seats in the distance, the Ogre ran amok ravaging the surroundings. 'What are the instructors doing?' peering up sought naught but the ugly truth. Most of them were impervious to the destruction, they wanted results, and thus, the freedom granted to the beasts, an unfair way of testing, overstepped boundaries. 

"Where are you going?" the injured gathered at the extreme of the arena.

"To help?" he paused.

"Don't…" many sat with heads between their legs, some hid away behind mere handkerchief desperately wanting to forget. "The fight's been going on for more than ten minutes. They tried; I'm telling you, they tried. I saw Anna, Frost, Rena, and Lampard use their best attacks. It reflected most into what you see now." *thewp,* a body flew to end against the wall.

"RENA!" screamed Lampard, "-YOU PIECE OF," another swing of the chain knocked him opposite the girl. "We can't fight this," added Jen drawing her bow, "-let's retreat!" it fired to burst into faint powders that soon exploded. Pulling Ila by the collar they went further back. Leonard reached mana exhaustion; "-I can't keep the barrier for much longer."

"I'll take over," voiced Anna, "-got plenty in the tank. We need to regroup, where's Frost?" Amidst the smoke shimmered a gem, the flying silhouette of courage. "THE IDIOT!" a punch landed him beside Anna.

"Anna," barely conscious, "-this beast is higher than Tier-8. We've been had," said he, "-I don't believe it. It's a summoned monster from the Pegasus Guild, I saw the tag around the neck. This test is rigged, we're going to fail miserably. They know our weaknesses." It closed in on the injured.

"Beth, I think it's enough," voiced Haru,"-the students have shown their best."

"No," refuted Fletcher, "-they need to know the hardship of overwhelming power. What if they come across such a monster, the dungeons are far more unforgiving than this. Frost and those bunch are strong, but not enough. Goblins are only the starting point, from here, the fight gets worse, and worse until either you die, or you bring down death."

"I apologize, Lady Haru," she nodded, "-I have yet to see actions worthy of future warriors." 

'Run,' thought Igna, '-if I don't make it they'll die.' 

"Igna, heed my words. This beast is far beyond your capabilities. The only option, run, retreat, save who you can, and run."

"I GOT IT," nothing else mattered. 

"JEN,"

"Igna?"

"Help me hold Frost. Anna, restrict his movement, we need to run, like NOW." 

"As you wish," she gracefully turned to blow a kiss, *Sleeping Forest." Legions of roots sprouted into hardened binds.

"Why are you here?" wondered Ila.

"You can't fight him," holding Frost's heavy shoulders, "-can't allow future heroes to die. Rena and Lampard should be fine, they eased the impact." Paced to a snail, the binds unraveled per the monster's raw power.

"Igna," sighed Jen, "-even if we run, where are we going to hide?"

"She raises a good point," added Anna, "-we can't escape. If only this was a dungeon, the retreating might have been an option. I don't see how we can back from an assessment."

"Surely the beast has a weakness?" 

"Frost said it's controlled by someone from Pegasus."

"Pegasus?" no word need be said, Éclair scoured the arena for traces of mana. Any threads a puppeteer utilized for command. 

"Location found." It pointed to a figure sat atop a wall under a concealment spell. 

"I have an idea. Anna, how much mana do you have?"

"A mid-spell at most."

"Good, conjure the worst one possible, make dust, I want smoke to cover the whole arena."

"Sure, no problem. Why, didn't I just say we can't escape?"

"No, it's tactics. They never specified what we can do," said he teetering on the verge of collapse, "-you girls have to do the heavy work. Jen, the one commanding him is there, right in front of the red-seat. Fire an arrow at him, I'm sure he's experienced."

"We need to apprehend him," voiced Leonard.

"Yes, that's where you come in play. Use the smoke to get close. Words have more impact than actions at times. Play the part and we're sure to finish this fight."

"IGNA!" came screams across the field, "-we're going to fight too," bullets flew anew, halting the advancement. 

"What about me?" coughed Frost, "-I'm still here."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry for the earlier tactics. I didn't foresee such a turn of events."

"It's fine, as long as we can end it."

'Yes,' words meant more than actions. 'Why do I feel so at ease whilst manipulating them? Éclair and I deduced this to be the probable outcome. Why I had to sacrifice two to reach a winnable conclusion. Lower the enemy's guard, strike when they don't expect. Taking a heavy beating, using comrades as bait, it's the moment of truth.'

*Mountain Fog,* the arena veiled in somber mist. They fell midway until the firing squad. 

"It's far enough," said Frost, "-do it, Jen." The stage was set. Igna's hidden personality, the true him, the forgotten one or so the sleeping one, subconsciously interfered. From the moment Éclair revealed the ability to calculate plausible future, he ran the various script in a flowchart. Events were laid in order and multiple variables were added until the most probable was found. The only time they stood a chance was by going for the overseers. Those at the top judging their abilities. 'Maybe this is a part of me?' 

The ending pawn moved; Jen fired an arrow bolting threw the mist towards the summoner. Off-guard, the concealment spell broke since as he switched to a barrier spell. The change gave time for Leonard to ambush. 

"Dispel the Ogre," said he, "-else I'll burn you to death."

"How can you say so… can't you see I'm more experienced than you?"

"I apologize," he laughed, "-I have one of the fastest casting time in the whole of Hidros. I doubt you pulling out a knife or changing spell will matter. My rapidity has been the downfall of multiple strong foes."

"The fight is over," said Haru, "-the students have found a way around your test." 

"No," smiled, "-they've performed adequately. Using wit as opposed to brute force, a few people had to be lost. If this was real, I suppose the result is optimal."

"Good," smiled Haru, '-if not, I'd have given Igna the orders to use his vampiric abilities. A single command and Éclair will trigger the impulse.'

"The test is over," yelled Fletcher, "-congratulations on passing the combat exams." The mist vanished to a mini-army of sleeping fighters. 

"Good job on trapping me," the ogre dispelled, "-I commend the efforts."

11:00 showed on the clock, doctors were called to handle the aftermath. A grueling fight ending in a welcomed silence. 

'I can't shake the feeling of bliss. Why am I so happy, why did leading them so sneakily feel good? Éclair, do you know?'

"Leading others to victory using what means you have is part of it. You overcame a tedious task. Gathering the other students – and leading them to a worthwhile battle. The future I calculated was correct, Lampard and Rena would have most definitely died. From there on, you speculated how to use them, and arrived at a plausible conclusion. I'm impressed, it was very good."

Denver's notebook highlighted students suitable for the expedition. Beth was only allowed to pick from what he had chosen. "You chose the stronger ones in the end. How boring," voiced she in a meeting room.

"No, no," he laughed, "-you have it wrong. The strong were nothing more than a pawn. Have you spoken with the students at all?" time showed noon.

"I don't think I have," added Beth. Fletcher and Melisa leaned on the walls for more answers. 

"I have," said he proudly, "-the names you see on the wall were used by a mastermind. A strategist unlike I've ever seen before. You remember the boy who noticed the blind spot at the start?"

"Yeah, he didn't do much except run around."

"Wrong," he shook his head.

"What did he do?" asked Misna yearningly. Denver had the room on a leash, they wanted to know so badly it pained to ask. 

"From what I was told, a certain boy ran from place to place, gathering, motivating, and rekindling the fighting spirit of those who gave to despair. He made optimal choices, didn't stand out, and supported. The most interesting thing is, as Anna said, '-I think he foretold how the battle would end. We would have no chance, the only way was to lure and attack those controlling the beast,' when I asked him how he figured so, the response was, '-No way would the guild allow for a murdering beast to enter the field. Killing young adventurers for the sakes of leveling up is foolish,' and I quote."

"You're telling me he led us to think they gave up?" 

"Correct," said he, "-we witness what fearsome of a person he is."

"I mean, it's impressive, but using comrades as bait…" questioned Misna, "-can't help the uneasiness."

"Let me interject," voiced Haru strongly, "-the boy you so casually speak of is my student. Direct the questions at me, I will tolerate no smearing of his personage."