378 Big Four
"Lucas, Nero and Anastasia are calling for you down in Kent's room."
Amelia entered the gym, which was relatively empty aside from a few others and me.
Pow, Pow, Pow—!!
Taking a deep breath, I stopped punching the sandbag and stepped back.
Grabbing a towel from a nearby bench, I summoned a water bottle from my smart bracelet and took a few swigs.
Afterward, I dabbed my face with the soft fabric and faced Amelia, throwing away the drenched towel.
I nodded at the black-haired archeress while unwrapping my hand wraps before throwing them away too.
"Let's go."
Since I was only wearing a gym vest and it was freezing here, I summoned a hoodie from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet and draped it over my shoulder.
Using the Gate, all the first-years were teleported onto an armada of warships.
But instead of traditional warships, these ships resembled luxurious cruises, with all kinds of weapons of mass destruction installed on them, of course.
And when I say luxury, I truly mean it.
The ship we were on had various gyms, hotel-like rooms, lounges, bars, room services, clubs, and a wide variety of seafood.
The armada was moving toward a chain of desolate islands, navigating the great oceans in a crane formation.
It had been two days since we started our journey. According to the ship captain, we would arrive at our destination today.
Naturally, now was the time to strategize and plan.
"Lucas, you're here."
Nero was the first to greet me as we entered the room. Anastasia was sitting beside him, while Kent was slouching on an L-shaped couch in front of them.
He was massaging his throbbing head. The hangover was clearly a result of the excessive drinking he did last night.
I waved to Nero before hopping onto the couch next to Kent, hollering in his ear, "How was the party last night?!"
"Geez, bro!" Kent flinched, instinctively jumping to the side. "My head is killing me. Don't shout."
"Then maybe it's time to stop drinking so much every night," I shrugged, grinning in satisfaction.
"Leave him be, Lucas. Poor guy is dealing with a genuine heartbreak," Anastasia remarked with a teasing grin.
"It's not a heartbreak," Kent retorted, opening his bloodshot eyes and raising an index finger. "I wasn't rejected."
"Yeah, I don't think being rejected is the only definition of heartbreak," Amelia commented, patting the blue-haired elf's shoulder before taking a seat on the other end of the couch.
Kent quickly retorted again, "I don't care about the definition of heartbreak because I'm not heartbroken!"
Summoning a water bottle from his smart bracelet, he continued after taking a few gulps.
"Heartbreaks are for lame people, and I'm cool. I drink away my feelings and be the life of the parties when I'm feeling low. Yes, that's what I do. Whenever I feel sad, I stop feeling sad and just be cool instead. If a girl rejects me, I move on to her friends! That's how cool I am!"
"Oh, my. It's worse than I thought," I exclaimed, shaking my head in sympathy. "Kent, just to cheer you up, I'll accompany you to a bar and we'll party the whole night after we ace this test."
Kent gazed at me, dumbfounded. "No, I don't want pity! Although... I'll hold you to that promise."
He shook his head in the next moment and shouted, "And besides, last night I wasn't just partying and sleeping around. I was on a mission!"
"Oh, god," Amelia groaned. "If this is about another one of your one-night conquests, then spare us the details."
"No!" Kent smacked his face. "I met with some cadets from Class 1-G-17. The girls there are hot, by the way. Anyway, back to the point, I got them drunk and made them spill their strategy."
"How hot?"
"What is their strategy?"
"Can we rely on this intel?"
"Go on, share."
Amelia, Anastasia, Nero, and I all chimed in instantly at his statement.
However, in the next moment, everyone turned to me, giving me a blank stare.
"Wh-What... Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
Nero sighed, Anastasia shook her head, while Amelia gave me a questioning look.
"What do you mean, how hot?! We have other priorities here!" she remarked.
Frowning, I quickly raised my palms to take a defensive stance. "What do you mean?! He brought it up!"
"Well, he's struggling with heartbreak, so we can't blame him!" Amelia shrugged.
My face contorted in bewilderment. "What kind of reasoning is that?"
"I'm not heartbroken!" Kent protested once again. "Also, let's just focus on the matter at hand!"
Tapping his smart bracelet, he projected a holographic map of the chain of islands we were heading toward into the air before us.
The blue-haired elf massaged the bridge of his nose before pointing a finger at the northernmost islands in the chain.
"They'll make landfall around here and send two reconnaissance teams, one to the west and another to the east."
Shaking my head, I interjected, "We still don't know the objective of the exam. It could be anything, prompting them to change their strategy."
Nero and Anastasia nodded in agreement with my point. But in the very next second, my brow furrowed into a deep frown.
"Wait," I scratched the back of my head. "You said they'll send two teams. How many reconnaissance experts does their unit have?"
Kent smiled after hearing my question. "Thirty-one."
"....." Nero blinked a couple of times. "I think you're still drunk, Kent. Or high, I don't know. A unit only consists of five cadets!"
"Unless…" I grinned. "Their entire class is collaborating."
"Yes," Kent quickly nodded. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. And it's not just them! Several other classes have also formed alliances to join forces."
Anastasia opened and closed her mouth in confusion a few times. "But... Why? What is their endgame?"
"To take down the big four," Amelia answered with a sigh.
"Big four?" I frowned questioningly.
"It's a nickname the first years have given to the four most powerful first-
year cadets before the practical exam started," Kent clarified.
"Let me guess," I raised my eyebrows. "The big four are Nero, Kai, Quinn, and me?"
"Quite self-assured to mention yourself," Kent chuckled, "But yes. You and Kai, the strategic geniuses. Nero and Quinn, the offensive powerhouses. That's how they refer to all of you."
"And the first-years have banded together to eliminate these four cadets first?" Amelia asked.
Instead of answering verbally, Kent simply nodded.
"This is going to be a drag," Nero sighed.
"Actually... No," I disagreed, shaking my head. "This will make everything much easier."
Amelia looked at me as if I was a madman. "All the first-years will be coming at us from every direction the moment we land."
"Good," I grinned. "I would have done the same if I was up against myself."
