Each tower needed to withstand the attack of the same monsters. Regardless of the number of people, the participants had to defeat 50 Ghouls, this rule remained unchanged.
Obviously, even in Maris's team, there were far more people than monsters, but that didn't mean that all the participants immediately turned into cold-blooded killers or insane berserkers.
Some were afraid to approach monsters, let alone fight them, and the correlation was very simple. The more people on the team, the more cowards there were.
Freda's team had the most people on it, each with a shield and a club as well as a defense enhancement. The Ghouls could hardly even scratch them, however, almost half of them were frightened.
'Damn... I expected this to happen, but are too many of them scared? What's the point of defense if they can't even use it?' Freda pondered with a complicated expression, 'Moreover, clubs are too primitive a weapon... One attack isn't enough to break their skull...'
Tap.
Someone appeared behind Freda, putting a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw a young man with disheveled hair and glowing hazel eyes.
"Jarin...? You're here too?" Freda was puzzled, looking at the young man that was so much taller than her that she had to raise her head.
"Yeah. Looks like we're having some morale issues. Well, it's not a problem. I'll deal with it." Jarin said confidently, stepping forward.
Freda didn't know what to say. Jarin, like her, was a C-Class student, and though it didn't matter anymore, the people were still the same, as well as the qualities that caused them to be in a certain Class.
Besides having some of the worst grades, Jarin also had a real record for critical situations where he could get kicked out of the academy because of the constant fights he was involved in.
There were so many fights that it was hard to tell if he was just doing it because he liked it or if there was a specific reason each time. However, one thing everyone was certain of...
"That guy has a real talent for attracting attention and boundless energy..." Freda sighed, looking hopefully at Jarin.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Jarin stood in the center of the battlefield and began bashing his club against his shield, drawing attention to himself. The Ghouls were slow, so he wasn't worried that they would get to him in time.
"Hey! Guys! Why do you have such scared faces?" Jarin exclaimed, with a wide grin on his face, "Damn! We've already gone through the Forth Trials! After all that, are you still afraid of something?"
No one said anything, but, Jarin definitely managed to get the attention of hundreds of people.
"I realize that fighting monsters isn't what you expected in your life, but, is there anything we can do to change that? Look around you! There are over 300 of us! And thanks to our Princess..." Jarin pointed at Freda, "We have a great defense!"
"Look out!" Suddenly someone exclaimed from the crowd as Ghoul appeared behind Jarin.
"Agh?" Jarin's eyes went wide. There was no way he had time to react and Ghoul's long claws came down on his back.
At the same moment, everyone's face darkened as they thought their hope would fade right here and now.
Crackle.
Without hesitation, Jarin swung his club, knocking out Ghoul's jaw and throwing the monster a few meters away, then he turned around.
Everyone saw his wounds and their eyes went wide. Instead of horrible cuts, there were three long scratches on Jarin's back. They were bleeding slightly, but such wounds would heal in just a few hours.
"You see?" Jarin asked in a serious voice, pointing to his back, "Obviously I don't possess the strongest body, but the effect has protected me. That's what I was telling you about."
Jarin smiled, "What's more, you're more considerate than I am, aren't you? It's unlikely that those stupid monsters will be able to attack you so easily. Let's go!"
For a brief period, there was silence, and it seemed as if no one was even breathing.
Then, all at once, they raised their clubs and shields, with a single battle cry, rushing forward. There was no fear left in any of them, and for the monsters, it was the end of the road.
Jarin himself smiled and approached Freda, whose jaw practically dropped to the floor at this scene.
"What do you think? Do I deserve a good grade?" Jarin smirked, taking a seat next to Freda.
"Wow... That was impressive... Now they're fighting like they've been dreaming about it all along." Freda muttered in disbelief, watching as her men destroyed the Ghouls.
Jarin shrugged, "Well, it won't be for long."
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Freda gave him a questioning look, then Jarin's eyes grew colder.
"You don't think the next monsters will be like these, do you? That's definitely not going to happen." Jarin exhaled, "We don't even know all the rules and our capabilities in this Trial yet. This wave of monsters is just a small break no more than that."
"Damn... Why did you get so depressed quickly?" Freda frowned.
Jarin shrugged, "Just be prepared that very soon this land will be covered in blood, and there will probably be a lot more human blood here."
Freda felt a strange chill run down her back, giving her goosebumps. She hadn't expected that Jarin could change so much in a moment.
...
Whooooooooooosh.
The long sword severed the Ghoul's head, which fell in front of Ethan's feet. He had never held a sword before, but the powers he had gained after absorbing Angel Core allowed him to not worry about lack of skill.
All he had to do was swing the sword in the direction and at the speed he wanted, and the blade passed through Ghoul's flesh effortlessly.
Others found it more difficult, but in fact, not everyone needed to fight. Magnus alone, had already killed over ten monsters and he wasn't going to stop moving towards the last one.
"Get it! Bastard!" Magnus swung his sword, cutting the ghoul diagonally.
All the monsters were killed and then the crystal on top of their tower shone brightly.
[You have successfully defeated the first wave of monsters!]
[Your tower got 50 points!]
[Your Princess can use points to upgrade the tower, thus improving or gaining new effects.]
[Spending points do not affect the final reward for completing the Trial! Only the total number of points collected over time is taken into evaluation, not the current number of points!]
[The next wave of monsters will begin in 5 minutes!]
Whooooooooooooosh.
Then, the altar in front of the tower shone brightly and many cards appeared above it, each with a portrait of one of the team members on it. Ethan, Magnus, and the others were also there.
[Princess, please choose who will be your Knights (3 Persons), Sentinels (5 Persons), Guards (7 Persons) and Soldiers (10 Persons). Everyone else will be Peasants. Each position has its own bonuses]
[Rules reveal: At the end of the Trial, each participant will receive a reward based on the total number of points in the tower. The team with the most points will receive an additional reward.
[Also, a special reward will be given to those who have been assigned a specific position by the Princesses. Peasants will not receive a special reward. The higher the position, the higher the reward.]
[Don't forget, at this moment, your Area is your Kingdom. Fifth Trial, Four Princesses, are held under medieval rules.]
There were quite a few rules revealed, and everyone immediately started thinking about how they could get a higher position. It was up to Alisa, and they needed to convince her to give them this bonus.
However, someone was staring intently at the last message with a slight but crazy smile on his face. His gaze traveled over those words time after time as if they were the most important part here.
Magnus wasn't paying attention to the messages, he was watching Ethan's reaction and where he was looking. It was the most effective way for him to make sense of the situation.
'There's that gaze again... I've seen it before in Third Trial, but I didn't give it much thought then....' Magnus internally muttered with a complicated expression, 'Damn... He certainly realized something, but what?'