Chapter 187
At the beginning of class, Jin-woo walks up to me like it’s a given.
“How are we supposed to take down a villain who has a contract with 33 demons? Do you have any ideas, boss?”
Of course there was a way.
In fact, the heroes had already captured the villain.
“Why are you asking me like it’s a given?”
“Hmm?”
Now he’s just asking without thinking.
“I think the instructor said to debate, not ‘share the right answer’, so…… you should think about it.”
“Well…… first of all, the hero side has a lot of people, so if we kill him, we win, right?”
“The instructor wouldn’t have made it that easy.”
“Is it?”
At any rate, it was clear that Jin-woo was not an intellectual.
“Ah, Eugene.”
Young-jae, the class leader, came over with someone.
Se-ah is over there, wrapping her head in her hands, but who is it?
With that thought, I checked the face─
“Oh, hello……!”
She saw a familiar face.
“Marie?”
“Ah, haha, haha…….”
She lets out an odd giggle, face down, whether embarrassed or cool.
“We’re all huddled together for a discussion, but she was alone. I figured it wouldn’t matter since we were in a group together last time.”
……Is this the role of a class president?
A needlessly attentive bastard.
It wasn’t a bad thing, so it was welcome. Surely she must be quite knowledgeable about tactics if she’s dealing with puppets.
“Oh. She’s the one in the corner with her head down every day.”
At least she’s better than this guy.
“I know I can trust Marie. Take care of me, Marie.”
“Oh, yeah…….”
True to her introverted nature, she replied, fidgeting and not making eye contact, and naturally joined us.
“Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
And, of course, Se-ah, who was wrapping her head in her hands.
I mean, she’s a mage, but she’s not exactly an intellectual…….
“Hey, it’s been so long since I’ve been in a place with so many people, I’m really nervous.”
Marie talks while fiddling with her hands.
Me, Jin-woo, Se-ah and Young-jae.
Somehow, we ended up with similar numbers to the other teams.
Choi Kang-hyun…… is on the other team.
“Let’s start by making a basic strategy board. Se-ah, can you map out the surrounding terrain and create a field?”
“I don’t know if it’s within my magic, but I’ll give it a try.”
Saying that, Se-ah puts her hands on the ground and closes her eyes.
A moment later, a model of the Forbidden City began to form in the center of us, made of purple magic.
“Luckily, the instructor seems to have designed it this far, so it shouldn’t be a problem to create a field.”
A topographical map, clearly labeled to show where everything is at a glance.
What a neat printout…….
The results of her training with instructor Ji-hyun are showing.
“Next up, Marie.”
“What?”
“Can you make me a model of the heroes, normal citizens, and Kurus?”
“Uh…… in here?”
“Yes. Please.”
Hearing my words, Marie moved her fingers and instantly created a doll from the floor.
A total of 31 dolls of the heroes were made, and opposite them stood a black doll representing the villain, Kurus.
“Well, that covers the basics. So, who wants to go first?”
Young-jae was the first to raise his hand in response to my question.
“I’m not sure, but I have a plan.”
With that, Young-jae began to move the puppets with his magic.
From facing each other, the puppets gradually change into a formation that surrounds Kurus.
“I think it’s best to surround him, because if it’s an all-out attack, 33 demons or whatever will have an attack that works, and he won’t be able to deal with them one by one.”
The children nodded, indicating that they found Young-jae’s explanation plausible.
“Well, it’s not a bad idea.”
After all, that’s how they swarmed and caught him.
There’s one problem though…….
“There will be a lot of victims, though.”
“A lot of victims?”
You can memorize most things after a few Academy routes, like what the outcome of this case was.
“It’s good to set up a circle around a target like this, so they can’t get away easily, but it’s only a ‘circle’. It’s not a good formation to arrest or take down someone.”
With that many people rushing at one person, they could block each other’s paths and attack teammates.
Plus, given his abilities…… it’s even more self-evident.
“……Certainly. If we allowed the enemy to attack in such a situation, the formation would quickly collapse. I think this is it.”
Se-ah raises her hand a second time.
“I’m not so sure about this one! Isn’t there a list of participants around here somewhere?”
“A participant list?”
Jin-woo is puzzled by the sudden mention of a roster.
“Yes! Think about it, this is a reconstruction of the past, after all, and there have been hints in all of Mr. Park’s classes so far, so it should be here!”
The corners of Se-ah’s mouth turn up as she confidently explains her reasoning.
“That’s a good idea. Let’s take a look around, shall we?”
“Yes!”
The children spontaneously look around the Forbidden City and the heroes.
At that moment, Marie, who was watching the heroes, heard an excited shout.
“Cha, I found it! I think I found it!”
The children rush to Marie’s side.
With a sense of accomplishment that she had done something, Marie pointed to one of the heroes’ chest pads with a trembling hand.
“He has a name, a name!”
I looked to where she pointed, and sure enough, there were letters embedded there that looked like names.
“Se-ah and Jin-woo, why don’t you go around and check the others’ names, and Marie, why don’t you go ahead and give the puppets names.”
Young-jae knew exactly what needed to be done and jumped into action.
In no time at all, each doll was labeled with a name.
“Wow, there are quite a few heroes I recognize here.”
“These must be the seniors who participated in the war. It’s definitely more comfortable to see them this way.”
Some of the names on the dolls show heroes who are still active today.
We’re pretty close to the answer.
Just as I was waiting to see who would come up with the correct answer.
“Isn’t this just for strong people?”
He blurted out. After saying that, Jin-woo slowly stood in front of the field and pushed the surrounding puppets back.
There were only four heroes left.
[Kwak Chun-sik, Young Hoham, Park Yoon-ho, and Lottie.]
“Shouldn’t this be enough?”
Se-ah and Young-jae, who were watching, shook their heads.
“Wow, with so many other heroes, you’re only using four?”
“That’s a bit too much. I think it’s better to play it safe.”
“Correct.”
I say, and the children’s gazes immediately focus on me.
“What? This is the correct answer?”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s the best way.”
Combinations and sums that add up to something, this was the most efficient way to deal with Kurus.
“See, that’s the way to go. What’s the point of swarming him? The others will just get in the way. We just need to send the right level of elites!”
This is one of Jin-woo’s occasional instinctive snap judgments.
Whether it was Antonio Bevalt genes or his upbringing in the Bevalt family, I didn’t know, but one thing was for sure: guys like that lasted a long time in the field.
“You can find out more by looking at the records of the four of them at the time. Actually, the two elders, Young Hoham and Kwak Chun-sik, would have been enough, but we added the other two members for stability…….”
Of course, the best thing would be to have someone 1:1 with Kurus and the rest as support.
And this is one of the methods I used.
One of Kurus’ powers is immortality. He was a nuisance because even if you could kill him he would come back.
“At this rate, we’ll get full marks. How about you report Jin-woo?”
“Huh? Me?”
“After all, you had the last word.”
The other kids nod their heads in unspoken agreement.
The one who is most impressed with this one puts his hand over his mouth as if he’s about to make a whistling sound.
“Guys……!”
“Get the hell out of here.”
“Okay.”
Se-ah’s scolding made him leave right away.
A moment later, Jin-woo walks toward us with an expressionless face.
“Jin-woo, what did the instructor say?”
“He asked me whose idea it was and how I came up with it, so I told him it was a decision made by creating the field and figuring out the heroes’ names.”
After answering Young-jae’s question, he returned to his seat and flopped down.
I wonder if he’s still nervous.
He looks at me, and I nod at him.
Based on countless experiences and the big data I’ve gathered from living in the community, there is no better answer than that.
And as if to prove it.
“The closest to the correct answer is Jin-woo Bevalt.”
The kids cheered at the declaration.
In the back of my mind, I hear mutterings like, “Jin-woo? Am I dreaming?”
“I had a pretty good idea what the other teams were going to say and they said exactly what I expected. Attack from behind, pound the enemy from the rear while the front holds the line, etc……. Well, that’s how they actually caught him but a lot of people got killed or maimed because of it.”
He said with a hint of bitterness.
Park Yun-ho then lifted his foot slightly and with a loud bang, the frozen Forbidden City began to move.
“The front ranks will charge in first, and the back ranks will support from behind!
“Forwards, charge!
Wait, wait, wait! Why are you firing magic here!
Better aim!
Don’t get in the way! My sword will get stuck!
“Hmph──!
The Forbidden City turned into a hellhole in an instant.
I knew this in theory, but seeing it in person made me realize how terrible the situation was.
“This is what multiple attacks against one person usually feel like. Everyone gets in each other’s way, making it difficult to defend, let alone attack properly. With our power, we should have been able to overwhelm them, but somehow we took quite a bit of damage.”
Time in the Forbidden City stops again.
“Now, then, let’s apply the method that Jin-woo Bevalt advocated.”
