Tactical Explanation

The day after Drew finished reading the intelligence report, everyone on the list received an admission letter.

The letter stated that classes would begin on the first of next month, and that admitted students should pay their fees before then.

On the first day of school, the academy's principal—Drew, the mage-alchemist—would give a speech.

Students were asked to attend on time. Thomas looked over the admission letter in his hand and let out a long sigh. "I hope it's as good as I imagined."

He then had someone put the letter in his backpack.

Nelson Eddie had received a letter too, but he was clearly excited. The hand holding it trembled slightly.

"Dad, is this an invitation for you to enroll?" Nelson Eddie's son asked.

"Yes. This is a chance.

"I'll be away for a while. While I'm gone, you'll have to look after the house.

"Be patient when you can. We'll deal with everything else when I get back," Nelson Eddie instructed him.

"Yes, Father. It's all my fault. I didn't inherit your talent, and now you have to put up with people mocking you."

"Don't say that, son. You're already doing very well. Very few people are born with a talent for magic.

"You were just unlucky. Don't blame yourself. I can provide for this family. Stay here and wait for me in peace."

Seventeen admission letters had been sent out, and all seventeen people enrolled on the first of the month. Not one was missing.

They were all assigned to the classroom where Joseph and the others had studied before.

"Looks like we're pretty appealing. They all came," Drew said to Joseph.

"It's all thanks to you."

"All right, go prepare your speech."

"I've been preparing it for days. It'll be fine."

"Everyone's here, so let's begin."

"Understood." With that, Joseph strode into the classroom.

The students had clearly split into several groups, each chatting among themselves.

The largest group was naturally made up of the noble students. They had come in the first place to make connections.

Besides, they were all nobles and knew one another from noble circles. Even if they hadn't met before, they could introduce their families and soon become acquainted.

They were the most numerous, so naturally theirs was the biggest group.

The second-largest group consisted of the few junior mages. They had been stuck at the junior level for years, unable to advance. They had all been formal mages for quite some time; even the most recently promoted had been one for seven or eight years.

After so many years, even a shut-in mage like Drew, who rarely left home, would have had plenty of time to get to know the others.

Some of them also regularly organized discussions, hoping that one day they might have an insight and find a chance to break through.

The rest were two loners who didn't fit in. One was Thomas, who had traveled a long way and had little interest in socializing, so he was by himself.

The other was naturally Nelson Eddie. He had come alone, without any attendants, because he felt that showed how sincere he was about studying. As a merchant, he had usually been good at socializing.

But the two groups here were made up of nobles and mages.

For an ordinary merchant like him, with no status or standing, both groups were beyond his reach.

After finding no welcome, Nelson Eddie could only sit by himself. When he saw Thomas alone as well, he wanted to go over and greet him. But then he noticed that Thomas was a mage and seemed to keep everyone at arm's length, so he changed his mind.

Just then, Joseph walked in. The classroom fell silent, and everyone's eyes immediately turned to him.

Fortunately, Joseph had come prepared. He had rehearsed many times.

Calm and composed, he walked to the lectern, cleared his throat, and said, "Hello, everyone. My name is Joseph. I'm in charge of this academy, and I'll also be one of your teachers.

"Since this is your first day, let me start by introducing the academy.

"Our academy was founded for the purpose of (one thousand words omitted). Our academy's mission is (one thousand words omitted). Our academy's rules are (one thousand words omitted)..."

Just as everyone was starting to nod off, Joseph said, "All right, that's the introduction to our academy.

"Congratulations on becoming the first group of students here.

"Formal classes will begin tomorrow. For today, you can take some time to familiarize yourselves with the place.

"To conclude, our principal will give a speech. Let's welcome him with a round of applause."

Listening outside, Drew wore an exasperated expression. Even an honest man like Joseph had learned to pull a fast one.

That hadn't been part of their plan. But Joseph had singled him out, and if he refused to go up, the students would think less of him. Drew could only walk in with an impassive expression, and Joseph ushered him to the lectern.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Drew, the principal of this academy.

"Our academy may be very different from others, so be prepared.

"Of course, it's nothing to worry about. Just remember why you came here.

"Stay true to yourselves, and I believe you'll all achieve what you came for. That's all I have to say. If you have any questions, you can ask them now."

Unlike Joseph's lengthy speech, Drew's was very brief.

It was so brief that the students, who had prepared themselves for a long battle, hadn't even gotten ready before he finished.

For a moment, none of them reacted. The room fell completely silent. Just as Drew was about to assume they had no questions and turn to leave—

"Principal, I heard you took down the entire Hurricane Bandits group by yourself. Is that true?"

"It's true?" Murmurs immediately broke out among the students.

"How did you do it? Could you tell us about it?"

"Put simply, it was a combination of strength, strategy, and tactics.

"Strategically speaking, the first thing you need to do is learn about your enemy. The first step is reconnaissance.

"After scouting their strength, I determined that they had five intermediate-level fighters, thirty junior-level fighters, eighty-one apprentice-level fighters, and eighteen ordinary people.

"Facing them head-on was clearly out of the question.

"To defeat them, I had to find a way to play to my strengths, exploit their weaknesses, and make good use of tactics.

"My strength and weakness were both the same: I was alone. One person meant less fighting power, but also more mobility. So I used hit-and-run tactics to gradually wear down their weaker forces.

"Once only their strongest fighters remained, hit-and-run tactics were no longer effective. I had to face them head-on.

"But even then, there was more than one way to do it. Using tactics wisely still played a crucial role in the fight.

"I was fighting five people on my own. If I had simply charged in, I couldn't have won.

"But my earlier hit-and-run tactics had worked very well. The enemy was exhausted and couldn't fight at full strength. Then I lured them into terrain that favored me, using the landscape to narrow the gap between us.

"In terms of my own strength, I was equivalent to four average intermediate-level fighters.

"But even so, I couldn't have beaten three opponents attacking me head-on at once. And against two fighters who worked well together and had a good combination of skills, I might not have won either.

"But by using tactics wisely, I managed to defeat all five of them by myself.

"That's the power of tactics." Drew stopped just as he reached the part the students most wanted to hear, leaving them with the feeling that he had ended on a cliffhanger.

"Principal, how do tactics come into play during a fight? Could you explain in more detail?" As expected, many couldn't help asking. They all wanted to learn about Drew's combat strength by hearing about a specific battle.

"All right, I'll explain in more detail. The core of tactics is separating your opponents. As I said, you can't fight all your enemies at once. Two at most; any more makes it easy to slip up.

"They had two ranged fighters and three melee fighters. At the start of the fight, when they first entered attack range, only the ranged fighters could hit me.

"So I ignored the melee fighters for the moment and focused my fire on suppressing the two ranged ones.

"When I had an opening, I used spells to disrupt the melee fighters' charges.

"Once the fight had settled into a rhythm, I launched a sudden attack, restrained the rogue, and finished him off with a powerful burst of spells.

"It's better to break one finger than to injure all ten.

"Where I chose to fight was also part of the plan. I used traps and took out another melee fighter.

"That left two ranged fighters and one melee fighter.

"The place I'd chosen was a steep slope. I stood at the top, where the back side was especially steep.

"When the last melee fighter approached, I took him down the slope with me. The two ranged fighters couldn't see us, so they couldn't support him.

"In that one-on-one situation, I quickly took down the melee fighter. The two ranged fighters left after that were no threat. That's all there was to it."

Simple? Not at all.

Suppressing two opponents of the same level, instantly killing a rogue of the same level, taking one opponent out before his allies could help, and then making short work of the last two—none of that was something an ordinary fighter could manage. And that wasn't even counting Drew's calm, tactical use of the terrain, careful planning, and precise execution.

All of it showed just how powerful Drew was.

The students were satisfied. The noble students felt that making connections with someone so powerful was definitely worthwhile, while the others thought their prospects at the academy looked bright.

Drew had revealed all of this deliberately. Strength was the foundation for securing a foothold.

But if no one knew how strong you were, you could still run into plenty of trouble.

Letting it slip this way, then having the students spread the word, made it seem natural and harmless. Still, Drew had kept plenty hidden, such as the effects of his powerful potions and his ability to stand against high-level fighters.

Being strong was a good thing. But being too strong could make others wary and unite them against you. It could even expose you.

This was the best approach: show enough strength to keep his people safe from troublemakers, without attracting too much attention or drawing out even stronger fighters. This should buy him some peace for a while. From now on, he would leave things to Joseph and shift his focus back to alchemy.

After answering a few more questions, the day came to an end.