Recruitment
Thump, thump, thump...
The sound of drums calling the children together continued to echo.
The children, who had finished their preparations, began gathering one by one.
Centered around the massive campfire, about sixty children stood assembled.
They had naturally split into groups of boys and girls, and amidst them, I easily spotted Tyrbaen.
"...Kals."
Kals flinched at being called.
He awkwardly replied,
"Uh, wh-what? Say it?"
"Hm?"
"No, I mean—what is it? Say it."
I smirked and gestured toward the bonfire.
"Go bring En over."
"R-right. Got it."
Kals gave a stiff reply and slipped away among the children.
I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
'Does he really hate talking casually to me that much?'
I had forbidden Kals from using honorifics earlier.
As a result, his speech center seemed to have short-circuited, leaving him floundering like that.
'Well, he's been serving as Gilroshan's guard knight for years. Suddenly being told to drop formalities would be awkward for someone that loyal.'
Still, an order's an order.
What can he do?
As I smiled faintly, a system message appeared.
[Major Event: "Ritual of the Crimson Wind" has begun.]
[Qualified characters are joining the event.]
The ritual had begun.
The first step of this event: Form a team of five.
The second: Receive your assigned prey.
And finally, the third step—
To perform the hunt.
That meant I still needed two more people before entering the hunting grounds.
One was undecided, but the other was already chosen.
"Attention, everyone!"
A deep, heavy voice thundered from atop the dark cliff.
The ground trembled faintly, and the leaves of the trees quivered at the resonance of that profound tone.
"..."
A mage stood upon the black rock, looking down at us.
Draped in a white cloak—it was, of course, a familiar face.
'The vice commander of the Revolutionary Army and its greatest mage.'
...Erek Kaid.
Though often compared as inferior to the Emperor of Bareshan, who had already reached the realm of 9-stars—
'That man too is a monster of the 9-star rank.'
Just as Marquis Reut was a step below the Three Swords but superior in pure swordsmanship,
Erek Kaid lacked the Emperor's combat power but excelled in blessing and protection magic.
'Still, he's far stronger than any other mage in the Revolutionary Army.'
And that very figure was the one presiding over this ceremony.
"Whoa, it's Vice Commander Kaid!"
"Doesn't the flow of mana feel different all of a sudden?"
"Just seeing him from afar feels like getting a buff!"
The kids were buzzing with excitement.
But I simply stood still, unmoved.
"...?"
For a moment, I felt Erek's gaze land on me.
He tilted his head slightly, as if something about me seemed strange.
But I wasn't worried.
Erek Kaid
[Character Entry] Also known as "White Flame."
The vice commander of the Revolutionary Army, a man born solely for magic.
He devoted his life to pursuing magic not of the Empire.
That guy knew nothing but magic—
He must've simply sensed the Blessing of the Guardians I carried.
"All children participating in the Ritual of the Crimson Wind, step forward!"
Erek Kaid turned his head away from me and shouted.
Following his command, the children began to move.
Except for a few who had come only to assist their siblings.
Step, step.
All those taking part in the coming-of-age ceremony passed the campfire and lined up.
Kals, who had returned with Tyrbaen, and I stood among them.
"..."
"..."
I could almost hear the rapid heartbeats of the nervous children around me.
And then, Erek's deep voice announced the beginning of the ritual.
"From this moment, the Ritual of the Crimson Wind shall commence. Through this trial, each of you shall be recognized as an adult, and as pillars and cornerstones of our great revolutionary cause..."
Erek Kaid's speech didn't drag on like a principal's morning lecture.
True to the Revolutionary Army's nature, it ended with a brief but powerful message.
"Achieve success. No matter what you must sacrifice—achieve it, and glory shall be yours."
"...!"
At those words, flames of desire ignited in the children's eyes.
And someone among them fanned that flame.
"Let's go!"
It was probably Hexter.
"Uwoooohhh!"
But for me, it had the opposite effect—my blood ran cold.
Erek's words lingered unpleasantly in my mind.
Sacrifice everything... to succeed?
"What nonsense."
If the goal demanded children to sacrifice everything,
then it was a rotten goal from the start.
No goal was worth trading away safety and survival.
At least, not in the world I came from.
So I planned to handle this my own way.
The gamer's way.
The way of a player traveling through this world.
"Form into groups of five!"
Erek Kaid's voice boomed from the dark cliff.
The children began moving busily.
"Form your teams with those you trust. Once the ritual begins, they will be the comrades responsible for your very survival."
Erek's words were accurate.
The moment they left the campgrounds, the children would be cast into the wild to face monsters—
and forced to complete their individual trials at the same time.
'That means we need trustworthy teammates.'
Five was the perfect number.
'One tank, two damage dealers, two healers.'
Or perhaps swap one of the healers for another attacker.
Either way, it was a solid composition—
large enough to hunt safely, but small enough to retreat if necessary.
The perfect size for exploring quietly and tracking a designated prey.
So the children bustled about, searching for teammates.
"Anyone know a good support? Someone reliable!"
"We just need one more frontliner!"
Of course, few managed to gather all five.
Most groups were still short one or two members, scrambling to fill the gap.
'Makes sense.'
After all, no Revolutionary Army child would come here without knowing how this ritual works...
'It was fully possible to make prior agreements outside and form teams in advance.'
So in truth, most of the children already had their own teams.
Of course, not everyone could do that—
there were always personal circumstances and unexpected situations.
"Hey! Get lost! Lemart's already on our team!"
...Like this one.
It was a situation where people could steal or lose teammates.
"Unbelievable. The ritual hasn't even started yet, and you're already doing this?"
"You thieves!"
"Hey, Lemart—if you join us, your hunt target can be top priority. What do you say?"
"Ooh, really?"
And that was the problem.
A team of five had one clear goal: to hunt down their assigned prey together.
However, there was inevitably an order to that hunt.
After all, the monsters' habitats were scattered throughout the forest.
Now imagine all five teammates had different targets.
'Naturally, everyone would want to deal with their prey first, right?'
In fact, the success rate dropped significantly from the first to the fifth in line.
The longer they stayed in the forest, the more exhausted the children would become,
and it was inevitable that their fighting strength would wane by the time they reached later targets.
'If someone got injured or dropped out early on, that decline would be even steeper.'
It was all thanks to how cunningly this Ritual of the Crimson Wind was designed.
'If only they formed the teams after receiving their prey assignments—it would've been easier.'
That way, children with similar targets could team up. It made perfect sense.
But since it was the other way around, confusion was unavoidable.
Still…
'That very confusion is the true purpose of this ritual.'
That was my thought.
To throw the children into deeper chaos, to create harsher conflicts—
and to reward those who could overcome them properly.
That was clearly the intent.
Thanks to that, even the children who hadn't completed their teams were using the situation as bait,
trying to lure others into joining them.
While most of the children were busy forming groups, Kals quietly spoke up.
"Your Highne—"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
I made a loud, deliberate cough to cut him off, and Kals awkwardly corrected himself.
"The moon and stars sure are bright and beautiful tonight, Shan."
What a ridiculous thing to say.
Tyrbaen, beside me, blinked her eyes wide for a moment before giggling.
"There are clouds all over—you can barely see the stars, Kals oppa."
"..."
The little witch had immediately grasped the situation and was teasing him.
But Kals was still stumbling, uncomfortable with the idea of speaking casually to me.
What a cute guy.
I smiled quietly and helped him say what he wanted.
"You're trying to ask how we'll fill the rest of our team, right?"
Kals nodded so vigorously it was almost comical.
With everyone else forming groups, his expression clearly said:
Shouldn't we recruit two more, too?
To complete the quest, we needed a five-person team to enter the hunting grounds.
"But we can't take just anyone. We need people we can trust."
That was exactly what Tyrbaen had said.
Once the ritual began, anything that happened was considered unavoidable.
'Even if someone mistakenly killed a teammate, thinking they were prey...'
It would just be recorded as an accident during the hunt.
That was the inherent risk of the Ritual of the Crimson Wind,
which was, at its core, one massive hunt.
Therefore, getting to know the other children beforehand was crucial.
Building rapport early on allowed you to recruit the right people for each role.
But this time, I had skipped that step—
because I already had someone in mind.
Someone who'd be harder to recruit if I'd tried to befriend him in advance.
"Where is he...? Oh, there."
I raised my head and scanned the campsite, spotting him easily.
My "sure bet" was there—busily digging at the ground.
A young mage, doing absolutely nothing to find a team,
and getting zero attention from anyone else.
The pitiful boy's name was Baruel Hejit.
Baruel Hejit
[Character Entry] Also known as "Master of Lightning."
A genius mage who endured a harsh childhood due to erratic talent and physical disabilities,
but would one day rise to become the strongest in the Revolutionary Army's ranks.
'Of course, that's assuming the Revolutionary Army's storyline unfolds as intended.'
Either way, this boy was the greatest prodigy the entire camp had to offer.
"..."
Even if no one else recognized his potential—
'I do.'
I walked slowly toward him, who sat alone, and tapped him on the shoulder.
Baruel didn't seem surprised; he must have sensed me approaching already.
"...?"
He simply looked up with wary eyes.
Pointing to the staff in his hand, I spoke clearly and calmly.
"I need an offensive mage. Want to join us?"
There was no verbal answer.
Instead, his small hands moved, forming gestures.
I spoke again.
"It's fine. Come with us."
He gestured once more.
My response was the same.
"It doesn't matter. As long as you can cast spells."
Then, after a short pause, the boy let out a slow, strangled cry.
"Gghhhhhh..."
As always, his cry sounded strange—
because Baruel couldn't hear, and had never learned how to produce proper sounds.
It was said to be a tremendous handicap for someone studying magic.
But this boy would overcome it all—
and eventually become the strongest mage in the Revolutionary Army.
I already knew that.
"Glad to have you."
—Me too.
And that was how the mute boy mage, Baruel Hejit, joined our team.
A future Transcendent Extra—now recruited.