Vermont proclaimed that the teams, once they had been formed, were given twenty minutes in order to formulate squad tactics to use in mock combat. They would make their preparations in the tents that they were assigned to by Vermont. The instructor then hurriedly urged the divided troop to go to their stations. Hokuto's team was no exception, as they were posted to a tent that was all the way in the distance, a good way away from the other team's stations.
Of the twenty minutes they were allotted for preparations, three of those minutes were spent walking to the station. Along the way, Jane explained to Hokuto their various specialties on the field. Jonas had already told Hokuto that he was a front line combatant, while Jane and Crystal were true blue magicians, though he didn't say what kind of magic precisely they used.
Jane clarified this matter, stating that she was good in fire magic while Crystal used earth magic. Hokuto nodded, the Nature energy she could use was dependent on her surroundings, something she did not explain to anyone at the present. Instead, she said she was, in her words, a "dual practitioner," capable of using both close combat techniques and some magical abilities.
This was a bit of a misnomer, however, as Hokuto was not a magician by the known definition. She did not have any magic circuits, something she worked around by using her own fleshly body as a conduit. This was the basis for internal martial arts, something that, in the entire academy, only the Mage Empress, Grenseal and Vermont knew.
Hokuto said she would serve as Jonas' wing-man on the front line. As she did not learn any special weapon techniques, she said she would use her fists instead. Unfortunately, today was her first day and she did not know how the other kids could materialize weapons out of thin air, so Jonas explained that the tents would probably have some weapons too.
He would turn out to be correct, as shortly after they arrived, Hokuto donned a pair of huge metal gauntlets that made her look ridiculous. Jonas gasped as Hokuto casually punched the air with minimal effort in an attempt to acclimate herself to the gauntlets' weight. "You can use those things?"
Hokuto nodded and looked at the cross monument in the distance. The team spent the remainder of the time discussing rudimentary battle tactics. Jonas and Hokuto would serve as the vanguard, with Jonas being the one to pick up magic markers. Jane would use her fire magic to deter people from approaching, while Crystal would create obstacles with her earth magic.
The twenty minutes quickly passed and the start of the mock battle was indicated by the cross monument blaring out harshly three times in succession. The teams rushed out of their tents and scattered. Magic markers were indicated on the ground by subtle green lights that blended with the grass, thus requiring magical energy to be channeled into the atmosphere to detect them more easily.
Jonas led Hokuto and the others directly to the center of the grassland, claiming that he had seen a magic marker in that area. However, Hokuto shook her head. "No, Jonas, we can't go that way. It's too dangerous. Can you see the others?" she had enhanced eyesight, so she could see that the other teams had the same idea. Going there would be a bloodbath.
"You can see that far?" Jonas was surprised as he could only see dots. Clearly, their tent was incredibly far from the others.
"We need to go another way. Let me scout, it appears I have better eyesight than you." Hokuto offered to go ahead.
"Will you be alright?" Crystal interjected worriedly.
"I'll be fine." Hokuto dashed ahead at breakneck speed, but suddenly veered to the right. Channeling her Nature energy, she had lucked into a single magic marker.
By the time Jonas and the others caught up, they were shocked to find Hokuto had already found a magic marker. They attributed it to luck, but Hokuto's Dust of Gaea allowed her to detect magical surges that were distinctly different from that of the natural worldly energy found in Heralldia. Hokuto didn't know this phenomenon herself as she was still incredibly unfamiliar with the powers of her own physique.
Hokuto herself thought she just had insanely accurate intuition.
Eventually, Hokuto had led the team in such a way that she deliberately avoided conflict with the others, amassing magic markers but eventually this would end. At the fifteen minute mark, the number of remaining magic markers numbered close to zero, and to amass more of them would require actual combat. The battle royale was about to begin at this point.
The team led by Mercedes and her gang numbered six, while the other two teams numbered five. This left Hokuto's team at a disadvantage as they only had four people. Mercedes was using her numbers in order to bully magic markers out of the other teams. Mercedes herself was a formidable fighter, proving she could back her trashtalk with actual skill.
Unlike Hokuto who had a monstrous body, the other students were significantly less scary to her, and she was able to disarm her opponents and evade their spells easily. Her best friend Nami, fellow bully, was one of the rare magic talents who could use supportive magic, using her energy to infuse power into Mercedes, making her even more of a deadly fighting force.
Hokuto was able to see the ability of Mercedes out on the field from a distance and realized that she had underestimated her simply because she was able to parry Mercedes' strike with her bare arms. Nobody in the entire troop could boast that after all. At this point in time, Mercedes stole three magic markers from both of the other teams, bringing her own total to nine.
In comparison, Hokuto's team only had seven magic markers. This brought the total magic markers owned by teams to sixteen, while four more magic markers remained on the ground. The other teams who were bullied out of the competition soon attempted to salvage their own situation by taking the remaining four markers while preying on Hokuto's group, since they only numbered four people.
Mercedes decided to ignore this conflict, believing Hokuto's team wouldn't be able to handle ten hungry students. She urged her teammates to stand back and pretended they were watching a show. The other two teams suddenly began to converge on Hokuto's group.
"Damn, those two must have gotten robbed blind by Mercedes' group," Crystal cursed silently as she slammed her palms on the ground and caused stone walls to erupt from in front of them. This blocked the charge of the two teams, and by the time the stone walls were broken down, Jane had waved her hands and launched a rain of fireballs on everyone moving towards them.
Hokuto already leapt forward and began to punch forth without any style or flair, as Jonas quickly materialized a spear with his magic energy. Jonas had a chance to take a glimpse at Hokuto's barbaric fighting style, noting that she didn't need technique at all as everyone she punched would be knocked out while being sent flying away.
Jonas quickly chased after the poor recruits who were knocked back by Hokuto's Earth-charged punches. The gauntlets she found in the tent were supposed to be very heavy, yet she wielded them with reasonable ease. They were designed with magic conduction in mind, enhancing the Nature energy she was charging into her fists. This made her blows incredibly overwhelming, though not necessarily lethal.
Jonas was able to find magic markers on some of the unconscious people. Mercedes was horrified at the sight of Hokuto bulldozing through the competition. Clearly, she did not anticipate the youngest kid having such brutal physical strength. She looked at Nami, who in turn frowned and flicked her long, aqua hair.
"Nami, if you gave me your strongest enhancement spell, how confident would you be in me winning against Astrid in a fight?" Mercedes asked casually.
Nami frowned and shook her head. "Those gauntlets are designed for magic conduction. It would absorb your lightning attacks and Astrid could already parry your blows with her own body. What do you think the outcome would be if she used those monsters?"
"We need to restrain her first. She's the strongest one, so she's likely to be the one holding the magic markers. We must isolate her," Mercedes declared as she saw the other two teams getting routed by the combined efforts of Jane with her rain of fire and Hokuto with her fearsome blows. "Get rid of her allies first. They're only four people, we outnumber them by a lot."
Nami nodded in agreement. "We're moving in once Hokuto knocks out the last fellow. We have about five minutes left on the clock."
Mercedes nodded. "We don't have to win by a large margin. We just have to win. They'll have two magic markers over us, so we only need to steal three. Come on, let's go!"
The battle royale was about to reach its climax.