8. Jayden's Value (2)
Just as these professors thought, Jayden was certainly quite a useful talent for the Northeast even at this point in time.
The problems were his status as a student and his young age.
No matter how much mana he possessed or superhuman strength he had, a child was still a child.
Having a child fight the same real battles as regular troops was a concerning matter for the professors, as well as for the knights and rangers.
But from the perspective of those above, the judgment seemed to be different.
They seemed to want to verify this idea through Jayden, who had directly proposed it.
There was also an implication for him to prove it himself, particularly since the boy soldier had also said he was fully capable of doing it.
At first glance, it might seem excessive, but it was also an opportunity.
It was only natural that the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
If they made it through this affair safely, all fourth-year students would receive commendations, and Jayden himself would be able to receive a medal.
Thus, the students undertook the task while nervous, yet without complaint.
“Starting today, we will go out on a large monster hunting drill. One thing that is different is that this drill training is identical to real combat.”
Looking at the students who said nothing, the professor of practical combat education continued speaking with a troubled expression.
“Since you will be fighting real large monsters, make sure to steel your hearts.”
As the professor stepped back after the warning, knights and rangers entered together shortly after.
“Sigh…… Normally, it’s customary to practice after leaving the prey half-dead, but because of orders from above this time, we’re going directly to the troll habitat to hunt. Since comrades may lose their lives in this drill, you must be all the more careful, so stay on your guard.”
At the knight’s words, even the rangers who normally wouldn’t acknowledge such matters added with grave expressions.
“What you must prioritize above all else in this operation is survival, not mission execution. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes!”
At the ranger’s words, all the students answered with tense expressions.
“Number One.”
“Huh?”
“Will this really work?”
Perhaps anxious on the way to the troll habitat together with the knights and rangers, several students asked Jayden.
“It’s possible. And besides, they won’t make us do anything dangerous anyway.”
Jayden headed toward the troll habitat while reassuring his anxious fellow students.
In fact, for monsters classified as mid-to-large sized monsters at the troll level, the minimum requirement to participate in combat was being at Rank 3 or higher.
Of course, since even knight-class individuals always had to stake their lives, the general scholarly assessment was that one had to be at Rank 5 to guarantee safety against trolls.
When people commonly thought of trolls, they only thought of their powerful regenerative abilities, but they were unexpectedly thick-skinned and surprisingly proficient in shamanism as well.
That was because, sandwiched between ogres—large monsters that used fighting spirit—and cyclopes, whose physical abilities were top-class, the trolls had chosen shamanism to survive.
“Don’t be scared. Trolls are no big deal.”
They were creatures he had seen countless times in his previous life.
They were creatures he could catch easily enough, and ones there was no need to fear.
They were said to be cunning, but at the end of the day, they were only at the monster level.
If you dug traps and lured them properly, they were creatures that could be caught without much trouble.
‘Besides, I now have a reason I absolutely must catch them.’
Thinking so inwardly, Jayden clenched his fist tightly.
It had been not long ago when he had written down everything he knew on an exam given by the tactics professor.
[Disseminate the knowledge of the future.]
One of the Northeast’s threatening monsters is the troll. Pass on your experience so that they can effectively deal with trolls. The bleak future of the Northeast lies in your hands.
—Upon success, you may acquire a new title as a reward.
Blinded by the prospect of acquiring a new title, Jayden dragged out every bit of knowledge he had, whether he was sure of it or not, and filled the exam paper to the brim.
And the result of that was this current situation.
He couldn’t know what kind of title would come out, but if things had progressed to the point where a mission was handed down from the Northeast Command, he had to see it as flowing in a considerably positive direction.
Because the effects of titles stacked, he could grow stronger the more he accumulated them.
As if to prove that, despite possessing merely two titles, he was managing to keep up in this place where only monsters gathered, even with his lacking talent.
He didn’t know what kind of title would come out, but no matter what it was, it would be an unconditional gain.
“Everyone stay alert. From here on is a danger zone.”
At the ranger’s words, the students following behind all began to tense up at once.
That was because they were now leaving the academy’s safety zone.
As if to prove it, killing intent began emanating from throughout the forest. Reacting to it, the knights likewise began forming a large defensive formation around the students as if to protect them.
And the rangers too put on tense expressions.
Since they were veterans, the trolls themselves weren’t frightening, but because the students were with them, they couldn’t know what might happen, which was why they were tense.
“Halt.”
When the ranger gave the order along with a hand signal, all the students stopped walking and immediately began taking their positions.
Having gone through several drills and hundreds of repetitive training sessions, they naturally assumed defensive stances.
Some students climbed trees and aimed their guns, while others held shields and formed defensive formations.
“From now on, we dig traps here. Everyone begin the work.”
“Yes!”
“We’ll drive as few trolls as possible here, but you must prepare for any eventuality, so never let your guard down.”
Having given such warnings, the rangers all disappeared at once. Simultaneously, under the knights’ command, all the students formed teams here and there and began digging traps.
Just as Jayden had written, about ten students attached themselves to each knight and carried out the work of digging traps here and there.
“Number One.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think this will go well?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know about ordinary trolls, but aren’t the trolls here notorious for being cunning? From the moment we set foot here, they were probably already thinking of ambushing us, so if a large number swarms us…… I think there’s a chance of failure as well.”
As Jayden spoke honestly, the knight let out a sigh.
Because the knight thought the same.
Honestly, the knight had also seen the exam paper Jayden had written, and it was a plausible opinion.
However, there was no knowing whether it would work in the Northeast as well. Unlike other regions, the monsters here were more ferocious, and having fought humans countless times, they were creatures that knew how to utilize tactics.
“Do you know why the Northeast Command is making such an unreasonable move?”
“I think it means…… they are that desperate.”
“……Yes. The Northeast suffers many casualties every time. So they must be eager to grasp at straws. Even at the cost of endangering the future.”
As the knight spoke with a bitter expression, Jayden likewise gave a bitter smile.
The bitter face of one who had lost countless comrades was still painful to behold.
Because he himself had keenly felt that heart-choking sentiment when he had witnessed the deaths of those he had considered comrades in his previous life.
Even though he had tried endlessly telling himself that this place was not reality in order to escape the pain, in the end, the hollow feeling in his chest from the death of a comrade did not disappear.
While the other children were also watching the knight’s bitter demeanor and keeping their words to themselves, the sound they had been waiting for was finally heard.
Reeeeeek!
“They’re coming.”
Sensing the killing intent, the knight drew his sword and raised his aura.
This was a place where, if you didn’t prepare in advance, you could lose your life over a single move in battle against monsters.
Therefore, the knight instinctively raised his aura while preparing to discharge it at any moment.
The children who saw that moved to their prepared zones.
Jayden likewise took up his gun and assumed a stance to keep the trolls at bay.
Kwaaang!
—Grooooo!
Along with a massive explosive sound, the tearing screams of trolls began to ring out. Simultaneously, rangers passed by where Jayden was.
“Three trolls. Can you keep them tied down?”
“Three……. It should be possible.”
When Jayden nodded, the ranger patted his shoulder and instantly disappeared.
Then, soon, about three trolls from the horde reacted to the ranger’s gunfire and began madly chasing this way.
“Prepare yourselves.”
At Jaden’s shout, the students all took their stances at once. Unlike the other groups, the group Jaden belonged to had been arranged so that Jaden himself, rather than a knight, would issue the orders; this, too, was said to have been a direct order from the Northeastern Command.
They likely wanted to see whether Jaden could demonstrate his abilities in actual combat as well.
“Do not move out until I say so.”
At Jaden’s words, the knight nodded with a grave expression. At that moment, one of the rangers came brushing past backward, backpedaling and stepping on branches as he retreated, and the trolls, eyes rolled back in fury, came chasing after him with terrifying momentum.
“Now!”
The instant Jaden gave the order, a tremendous explosion rang out, and the ground began to collapse in part around the spot where the trap had been dug.
The trolls that had been charging hard were thrown into panic and were sucked straight underground.
They had been in such a rush that they could not dig it very deep, so it only reached up to the trolls’ chests, but that did not matter.
“Fire! Aim for the eyes, groin, and armpits.”
At Jaden’s command, they opened fire in unison.
Blue magic bullets drew streaks of azure light as they flew all at once toward the trolls’ weak points.
“Not yet.”
The moment the students began firing, Jaden shook his head at the knight, who had been about to charge out.
Cunning trolls would go defensive and hunch down the moment a knight appeared. If that happened, the situation could become complicated.
The moment when the creatures, having confirmed there were only children, overreached despite taking damage—that was when the knight had to step in.
-Gwo!
-Gwooo!
And at last, the moment came.
The cunning trolls, who had been protecting their eyes and armpits as best they could while looking around, bared their vicious teeth.
The instant they confirmed that the ranger they had been chasing was no longer there, they threw one of their comrades forward as bait and tried to climb out of the trap.
“Now.”
The moment Jaden spoke, the knight sprang out swiftly.
At the same time, Jaden also began to provide full support with precision fire.
True to trolls, which were classified as medium-to-large monsters, even magic bullets embedded in their forearms or backs did not inflict much damage.
Only by driving magic bullets into their armpits could they pierce the thin hide and dig into the blood vessels, slowing their recovery even slightly.
But that was enough.
With their recovery already lowered once from the wounds covering their entire bodies due to the bomb, if precision fire reduced it once more, they would become easy prey for the knight.
Because it would seal away their greatest weapon: their absurd regenerative ability.
At the same time, with them disoriented from their wounds, they could not use sorcery, which required a high degree of mental focus; they had become little more than mutated beasts with big bodies and thick hides.
-Krrk…….
Like the veteran knight he was, he split the thick neck cleanly with a sword imbued with sharp mana.
Destroying the heart was the most efficient method, but since there were occasionally mutant trolls that regenerated even after their hearts were destroyed, beheading was the safest option if one had the ability.
-Gwooo!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The moment the troll, enraged by its comrade’s death, raised its club, magic bullets lodged into its armpit.
As the troll thrashed about wildly from the stinging pain as if it had been stung by bees, the knight destroyed its heart and moved toward the final troll.
The mana manifested from the veteran knight’s sword spun fiercely, and he cut off the last remaining troll’s breath then and there.
-Grrk…….
“So that is Stage 4…….”
“So cool…….”
The children’s eyes went blank as they watched the all-out attack of a knight who had reached Stage 4.
“Get a hold of yourselves. It’s not over yet.”
At Jaden’s words, the children came back to their senses and approached the trolls with tense expressions.
Since they were monsters with such high regenerative ability, they could not relax until the very end; they needed to confirm the kills.
As they repeatedly stabbed and cut with their swords to make certain the three trolls’ lives had been ended, the knight, too, looked around with a weary expression.
Because this was a forest crawling with monsters, and there was no telling when or where another might leap out.
-Chirp!
“Huh?”
At the sudden familiar sound, Jaden turned his head and saw a blue parrotbill perched on a small branch.
“You…… How did you get here……?”
-Chirp! Chirp chirp chirp!
The moment the parrotbill explained something to Jaden with its small beak, one of the rangers hurriedly approached the knight.
“Emergency!”