“Lady Venomridge has the highest combat rating in class B1!”

  Eldric snapped and gestured sharply at Aranea, who stood at ease and looked almost bored, as if the decision meant nothing to her.

  “It only makes sense that she leads.”

  “Is that all you have?”

  Astrella laughed as if Eldric’s argument held no weight.

  “That is only because she has never faced Gwen. If she had, she would have lost just as you did. You have only seen a fraction of Gwen’s power!”

  Astrella finished proudly and planted her hands on her hips. Airy copied the gesture while balancing on her head.

  “That is nonsense, and you know it!”

  Eldric’s face turned red with anger. His snake hissed beside him, yet Astrella showed no fear at all. Rusty’s presence at her side seemed to give her confidence. Rusty himself was confused by the entire argument and wondered if this was why Class B2 felt so sure of their victory. B1, the class he fought for, had no real leader, and the one who was supposed to be the strongest did not seem to care.

  While the others argued, Aranea lifted her sleeve to hide a yawn. Perhaps she had not slept well, or perhaps she simply cared even less about the competition. Even if they lost, she would not be removed from this class, as she was still considered the top student there. The only thing that seemed to hold her interest was glancing at Rusty. When he tilted his metallic head toward her, she straightened for a moment, then quickly looked away as if embarrassed.

  ‘This might be a problem.’

  Rusty knew that any large group needed a clear command structure. Even a poor tactic could work if everyone followed it together. Without a leader, people would act independently and weaken their chances of success. The other class had a leader, and even if he seemed like a complete midwit, he had managed to unite his group.

  “What nonsense?”

  The argument worsened quickly as Astrella kept pushing her point.

  “Gwen is clearly the one who should lead.”

  “You two just got here and know nothing. Step aside, know your place!”

  Eldric kept arguing, and it was clear this would lead nowhere. It was time for him to step in. He might have been only a summon to these people, but every action he took reflected on his summoner, and he intended to use that to his advantage.

  “Gwen, I am sorry, but you will have to act as the temporary leader if we want to win.”

  Rusty spoke through their connection, and Gwen looked completely taken aback.

  “I will have to do what?”

  Her tone revealed her surprise. She was not used to being assertive, but something had to change. Someone needed to create even a simple plan that all of these students could follow. Without that, the arguing would only escalate, and they would end up fighting among themselves or forced into a hopeless defensive stance.

  He stepped forward just as Astrella was about to shout a string of insults at her fellow student.

  “You are just a… Rusty?”

  The moment he appeared, Eldric stepped back. He knew Rusty’s strength and understood that his own snake could be crushed with little effort.

  “You will have to take control, Gwen. Tell them that you’ll be the temporary leader.”

  “I do not know. Shouldn’t Aranea lead? She has been in the class longer, and she knows the other students...”

  As he expected, she was not willing to step forward. Her shoulders slumped, and she seemed to shrink into herself. Yet without her help, he could not make this work. He could not communicate with the others, and asking someone for a severed head so he could speak was out of the question. They would not listen to a summoned creature anyway. It had to be Gwen who spoke for him.

  “Then repeat the words I am about to tell you. I am sure the others will understand. And if they do not…”

  Rusty drove the shaft of his halberd into the ground. The impact cracked the hard stone beneath them. Thin fractures spread outward like a spiderweb, startling nearly every student with the sheer force behind the blow.

  “If… if Ara… I mean, Lady Venomridge doesn’t feel like leading, th-then…”

  Gwen swallowed, her voice barely above a whisper at first. Every pair of eyes slowly turned toward her.

  “Th-then I–I will… um… I will be the leader… for now… since… since no one else seems to w-want to…”

  Silence fell over the small stronghold, and even the wind seemed to pause.

  “You forgot the most important part, Gwen. Tell them that if someone refuses, I will beat them up!”

  Rusty tried to push his summoner into showing more resolve, but she clearly did not want to threaten anyone.

  “I… I can’t say that.”

  She answered through their connection. The other students were not looking at her anyway. Their eyes were fixed on Aranea, who had become the closest thing to a leader among them. At the same time, they were unsure how strong this new arrival might be. Some of them began to inch away as if a fight was about to break out, but when Aranea finally spoke, everyone froze.

  “Thou desirest to be the leader? I suppose thou have some manner of plan?

  Aranea blinked once and watched Gwen, waiting for her answer. The students around them looked surprised. Many of them had expected a battle for leadership, yet the two were simply talking.

  “A plan? Y-yes, I have a plan.”

  Gwen forced a smile and then quietly asked Rusty through their bond,

  “Do we have a plan, Rusty?”

  Rusty nodded. He had already considered what needed to be done. He could not expect much from these children. They were uncoordinated and more concerned with increasing their mana or summoning creatures than practicing teamwork. They needed something simple that they could follow without confusion.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Yes, I have a plan. It is very easy. We will divide everyone into two groups. One will defend and the other will attack, and I already know who should go where.”

  Although he had not been at the academy long, he had plenty of time to observe the students of Class B1. Throughout the week, each of them had summoned their creatures at some point, giving him a clear view of their skills. He was not sure if it was Aburdon’s influence, but his memory was excellent. With this knowledge, he could choose who fit each role best.

  “What is thy plan then?”

  “Ah, yes, well…”

  Gwen paused for a moment while Rusty gave her the gist of the situation. The other students looked confused as she kept glancing at him, yet the plan soon took shape before them.

  "The plan is simple. We will divide into two teams, one for attacking and one for defense. Lady Venomridge will lead the attack while I remain here to defend our flag."

  Some of the students nodded, seeing nothing wrong with this, but one of Aranea’s lackeys immediately complained.

  "You just want Lady Venomridge to do all of your dirty work while you stay behind and let our flag get stolen!"

  It was Eldric again, and Astrella struck back without hesitation.

  "Losers should be quiet while the leader is talking."

  "What did you call me?"

  "Thou shalt be quiet."

  Before another fight could break out, Aranea raised her hand to silence her follower. Eldric stopped talking at once. Aranea then spoke again.

  "Continue. Who will be joining my group?"

  Gwen was somewhat surprised. She had expected more resistance from the strongest student of Class B1, yet Aranea seemed unusually willing to cooperate.

  "Eldric will go with you, since his snakes can easily ambush anyone from B2 inside the forest. Syber as well."

  The students listened with growing surprise as she continued listing names and explaining each person’s strengths. Summons that were fast, mobile, or capable of slipping through the forest were assigned to the attacking team. Those that were more stationary or suited to guarding positions were placed on defense to protect the flag.

  “Haha, I get to be on team Gwen. Tough luck, Syber.”

  Astrella sounded pleased as she mocked Syber for ending up with the attackers.

  “I do not care.”

  “Sure you don’t~”

  Syber genuinely seemed indifferent. Even though he still disliked showing his bestial form in front of others, he appeared willing to use it if it meant winning the competition. He also knew that if he didn’t, Astrella would never shut up about it.

  “Please stop calling it that, Astrella.”

  Gwen protested about the name, but her friend just stuck out her tongue at her while giggling. Soon, the groups finished forming, and Aranea’s team prepared to head out. The small spider she kept with her dropped to the ground and revealed its true form. Just like Rusty under the reduction spell, it could not show its full strength, but once unleashed, it was far more terrifying than any spider monster Rusty had encountered before.

  The creature expanded until it stood larger than a horse. Its body was a blend of purple and black, shaped like an armored arachnid. Its eight blade-like legs sank into the stone with effortlessness, and a faint shimmer moved across the plates of its carapace. Veins of violet mana pulsed beneath the armor in steady intervals, similar to a beating heart.

  Several students instinctively stepped back, even those who moments before had stood close to Aranea. This type of monster provoked a deep instinctive fear in humanoids, and Rusty was not entirely sure he could defeat it without taking a lot of damage. To him, it seemed powerful enough to belong to someone from A-class.

  The spider lowered its massive body so Aranea could climb onto its back. She settled between two ridges of hardened armor, perfectly at ease as if the creature were no more threatening than a gentle riding mount.

  “Let us be off.”

  Aranea said, her calm voice cutting cleanly through the tension that lingered over the class.

  “Don’t return without the flag.”

  Astrella called out as she waved at Syber.

  “Just make sure it isn’t stolen before then.”

  He answered before passing through the entrance gate. His figure faded from sight. While the other summoners followed the large spider, Syber broke away from the group and headed toward the side of the forest, disappearing into the brush.

  “Are you sure this is going to work? Do we have enough people to defend ourselves?”

  “It should be fine. We only need to hold out until they return.”

  There was a second part of the plan concerning the attackers, but everything depended on the defenders keeping the flag inside their stronghold until their allies came back. Most of their forces had been sent out to attack, leaving only a handful behind. Aldric, the second follower of Aranea, had been ordered to stay, and he did not look pleased about it.

  “This better work.”

  He muttered while looking at Gwen with open hostility. She almost flinched, but Rusty stepped between them and forced Aldric to retreat a step.

  “It will. Please take your position as we discussed.”

  With Rusty next to her, there was no hesitation in her tone.

  “Tsk.”

  The young man turned away and began summoning his monsters. While his friend Eldric specialized in snakes, Aldric focused on other creatures, particularly rock golems. A magic circle appeared at his feet, and a humanoid shape slowly emerged from the swirling light.

  The golem rose from the summoning circle like a statue torn free from the earth. Its granite shoulders were rounded and heavy, and its arms nearly dragged along the ground. The creature’s legs were thick, and instead of hands, it bore large boulders that had spikes.

  It moved with a slow and ponderous stride, built almost entirely for defense. This made it unsuitable for traveling through the forest, where it would only slow down the others. It was an E plus monster, and like Eldric, Aldric could summon several of them along with smaller variants. Before long, the flag was guarded by two large golems and three smaller ones.

  Rusty opened his inventory and took out the bow he had brought with him. He had been unable to use it inside the Void Gate, but for defending a fort, ranged attacks were essential. He and Gwen made their way to the battlements and climbed into one of the watchtowers to watch for approaching enemies.

  “Do you think they will get the flag?”

  Gwen asked Astrella as the girl joined them.

  “I am not a fan of that Aranea, but she is strong. If everything goes according to the plan, that idiot should be able to pull it off.”

  “You should really stop calling him that.”

  “But he is, his only redeeming feature is that face… but don’t tell him that, don’t give him any ideas.”

  “I won’t…”

  The two continued talking, but Rusty paid them no attention. His visor was fixed on the distant B2 stronghold. He expected that a skirmish would break out in the forest first, and that eventually their opponents would reach the walls. When that happened, the task of defeating the B2-class leader would likely fall to him.

  He eventually glanced at the other participants of the defense as their creatures were summoned. First came the archers, the cornerstone of their formation. Some were kobolds, others were hobgoblins or orcs. They carried mostly ranged weapons, although each could switch to close-quarter arms when the time came.

  Inside their stronghold, there was very little. The flag stood in the center and there was nothing around it. The stronghold was round, a little over one hundred meters in diameter, and large enough to hold several large monsters. If the walls were breached, this would be the place of their last stand.

  Some summoners controlled plant-based creatures that could not move, yet had many other uses. They could bind attackers with their many limbs, release poisonous gas, and even fire projectiles from afar. These creatures were placed along the edges of the main yard, waiting to be activated.

  ‘There is a lot of variety among these summons, and some of these people can call on different creatures depending on the situation, but the same is true for our opponents.’

  Rusty kept scanning the distant tree line, waiting for the first sign of movement. The boredom he had felt while stuck in the dorm with Gwen the night before had vanished. Now he felt only the anticipation of facing many different opponents. Moments passed, and the air grew still. Then, suddenly, came shouting.

  “What was that?”

  A student asked the question as strange howls and cries rose from within the forest. The battle had clearly begun, and the attackers from B1 and B2 were already clashing with each other. The battle had started, and it was time to complete this mission.