"Alright, grab those on the ground!"
The spears I had dropped earlier were fine, not burned, because I was fortunate to have been chased by fire bolts instead of fire bombs.
Having to face this person whose only magic spell might be those fire bolts instead of some terrifying explosion magic, I felt glad, since the alternative was having to fight with opponents that destroy their surroundings and most likely me along with it. Just a slight wave of their arm, and I could be destroyed. It was that scary, or rather, in this world I was just that weak.
'I really need to grow stronger.' I vowed to myself as I realized just how strong and scary my future opponents might be.
'For now, a pack should do. We should be able to make it. In fact, if my followers can work very well with me, well synchronized, and so on, I think it might be better to continue with this setup, even after I grow stronger. I swear… Sigh. Once I've mastered magic, I'll protect them, just like they are protecting me now, indirectly. I'll owe them that much if we make it through. But thinking about it… With enemies so powerful, can I even get out of this place safely? It would need a miracle!'
I no longer wanted to think too much about the future unless it was crucial, as doing so after an unexpected encounter had caused me to get hit by bolts of fire earlier. I figured I had to move like a machine if I wanted to win.
'Objective-oriented thoughts, minimum emotions, and to move with decisiveness...' Was the goal and the characteristics that I wanted to embrace while I fought the enemy with fire magic.
'An enemy with threat level A.' I decided to put a ranking to the opponent before me, as I aimed to have my thoughts and calculations working in a similar setup to that of a machine.
The way I based this ranking depended on how threatened I felt after careful consideration and based on what I knew about my opponent. The guy who used wind magic to boost his speed for example, before when I still had an unexercised body, he was an A threat level opponent, as he was fast and capable of easily hurting me.
Right now, however, I consider him somewhere between C and A. I considered him an A level if I do not have any advantages because he's still capable since he has good strength and magic, but he quickly downgrades to a C if I have a slight advantage in territory for example, because he's emotional, easy to outsmart, and he lacks creativity when using his powers.
As for my other current opponents... The giant is a S-level threat since he is super dangerous as he was able to break my spine with a punch alone. I would have initially considered him the worst, which is an extreme level threat, but with the knowledge and memory of when he was bitten, I believed I could fight him with my sword therefore considering him less of a threat.
That magician, however, I considered him an extreme level threat, no discussion since I was sure of it with the current knowledge I had of him. If there was any new information that told me otherwise though, like some weakness of his, the limits to his magic usage, and so on, I might see him as less of a threat.
At the moment, however, I was terrified of him, as I imagined that I and my followers would get obliterated immediately once spotted by him. We could not approach him and tried to escape from his radar.
A perfect terrain and strategy would be necessary if I wanted to get close to him to deal with this only weakness that he, as a magician with only exploding fireball magic, would have. It would be difficult, which is why I considered this topic a thought for later after defeating the fire bolt-summoning magician.
Indeed, I was confident in defeating this magician, as I calculated it to be possible with my four followers who were equipped with spears.
"Guys… Get ready." I looked at the four who were holding their spear tight and told them. Everyone seemed to be nervous.
"Point your spear forwards. Gather in front of me. Create an arrow formation. Remember to call out your movements."
I had taught my followers about battle formations before, in the few weeks that I had been training them. That's why they immediately knew what to do after hearing me tell them to get into formation.
Similar to soldiers that had been trained for years, perhaps it was because of our innate language that conveys our intention and emotion, but these four soldiers of mine, they moved, unlike soldiers that had been trained for only a month. There was not a single sign of disorder. The five of us, altogether, moved like one weapon.
In our arrow formation, when we neared the robed figure, the same thing happened like back then when I was dealing with this robed figure on my own.
Bolts of fire appeared around the guy, which then flew in our direction.
"Use the spear as your shield. Hit those bolts when they come near you, and don't forget to notify each other when you move your spear beyond your two and ten O'clock." I told them, like a guiding angel that would whisper answers to the ears from behind.
In the midst of speaking, the bolts of fire had already entered within the range of the spears. Yet I continued to speak, acting like the guiding voice that is crucial in a fight, as I knew that it is a clear advantage to be able to communicate and command at all times in a battle.
"Right-wing two speaking, covering your three O' clock!"
"Roger!"