Chapter 63: Tactical Trial – Part I
The training hall shimmered with layered illusion spells, transforming into a dense, overgrown forest riddled with half-buried ruins and magical fog that shifted with every breath.
Volundr stood at the edge of the simulation, arms crossed, watching his three chosen students prepare for a challenge unlike any before.
"Today," Volundr announced, voice calm but stern,
"you are a tactical response unit. Your mission: defend the supply cache at the center of this forest, discover the enemy commander's position—me—and neutralize it. You have thirty minutes."
Caelum stepped forward, serious and composed. "Understood."
Kuroka cracked her knuckles with a lazy grin. "Sounds fun."
Seraphina simply nodded, her wind spirits already fluttering around her shoulders in anticipation.
The forest flickered again as Volundr vanished into the simulation, becoming the hidden enemy commander. The timer began.
Phase One: Initial Coordination
Caelum took command quickly.
"Fan out in a triangle. Seraphina, keep your spirits moving to detect energy surges. Kuroka, take left flank and scout."
Kuroka vanished into the underbrush, blending with the shadows as if born to them.
Her aura was low and feral, barely noticeable as she slipped from branch to branch, eyes narrowed, senses sharpened.
Seraphina whispered to the wind, sending it spiraling through the foliage, alerting her to any shifts or concealed magic.
Caelum remained in the open, baiting potential ambushes. He formed light spears in his hands, ready for engagement.
Phase Two: Kuroka's Insight
Perched high in a twisted tree near a ruined shrine, Kuroka felt it—a sliver of manipulated aura.
Volundr was good, almost invisible, but she had been hunting since she was a child.
She watched him shift behind the shrine, blending into the ruins, laying traps infused with minor gravity fields and silence zones.
She slipped back to the others.
"He's at the shrine. But it's rigged like a death maze. I have a plan."
Caelum frowned. "You're sure?"
"Sure as my tail's real. We need to flush him out."
She outlined a three-prong assault:
Seraphina would unleash a wind burst to clear the outer traps.
Caelum would rush straight in, baiting Volundr's reaction.
Kuroka would circle wide, striking from above with binding Senjutsu.
Phase Three: The Plan in Motion
Seraphina stepped forward, whispering to the breeze. A swirling vortex of compressed air spun outward, tearing leaves and revealing magical tripwires and sigils buried in the ground.
Lightning crackled where the wind struck enchantments, disabling several traps.
"Go!" Kuroka hissed.
Caelum charged through the cleared path, light spears blazing in both hands, his movements bold and loud. Just as he neared the shrine, a bolt of dark energy streaked from the ruins—Volundr had taken the bait.
Caelum twisted mid-air, narrowly dodging the blast, his right spear grazing a barrier rune on the ground that exploded in smoke. He rolled into the impact, planting his feet.
Kuroka descended from above like a shadow.
Her claws glowed with binding Senjutsu, and she raked them through the air just as Volundr spun to counter Caelum.
Chains of spirit energy wrapped around his arm.
Volundr reacted fast, breaking one restraint with a burst of aura, but it slowed him just enough.
Caelum lunged again, striking his spear toward Volundr's back—only to have Volundr twist, catch it, and redirect it toward the ground.
But the moment of distraction gave Seraphina the opening. She called forth a binding gale—a prison of air pressure that surrounded Volundr in a dome.
Volundr raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "Clever."
The simulation froze.
"End scenario," he said.
As the forest faded back into the training hall, Volundr clapped once.
"You coordinated effectively. Kuroka, your recon and leadership carried the round. Caelum, strong execution. Seraphina, your timing was flawless."
He turned to Kuroka.
"You adapted. You led."
She folded her arms, tail flicking.
"Told ya. I'm not just claws and spells."
Caelum and Seraphina nodded, newly aware of Kuroka's growth.
Volundr made a note later that night:
"She's no longer just a stray. She's learning to lead."