38

"This game places the greatest emphasis on teamwork, on coordination and counterplay between roles."

The Hogwarts Honor Match began at eight in the morning. They had started planning their specific strategy from midnight onward. Previously, since the Honor Box had not yet confirmed the fifteen participants from each House, they could only wait until it selected the contestants at midnight before making their plans.

The magical marks could help dispel the drowsiness in their minds. This stimulating magical effect lasted for twenty-four hours, ensuring that no mistakes would be made during the match because of fatigue.

When Sherlock developed the Mofilo game, he had added many of his own original spells into its various mechanics... Otherwise, with the magical power currently available in the wizarding world, it would still have been difficult for a group of students to run the Mofilo game.

"Who's the strategist?" Sherlock asked, looking at everyone.

"Me!" Kirk stepped forward. Sherlock nodded. Kirk becoming the team's strategist was more or less what he had expected. Through their interactions over this period, he had also discovered that Kirk Avery was an exceptionally intelligent young wizard, highly opinionated and very capable—not at all inferior to Hermione, who would enroll in the future.

"Very good. If anyone in this game has the power to turn the tide completely, it's definitely the strategist. Two hundred Strategist Cards will be scattered throughout the castle, so the strategist's primary goal is to find as many of them as possible and calmly consider the proper combinations and uses of each card. However, the strategist is also the only role with no means of attack or defense, so you'll need two raiders to protect you."

Kirk nodded. Of the eight raiders, six were older students, tall and powerfully built. The remaining two were first-years in the same year as him, but they were tall as well.

The two doctors were played by two pretty third-year girls.

Dandeni Lestrange had drawn the role. Seeing how pleased he was with the identity he had received, Sherlock thought about it and realized that it really suited Dandeni's personality.

The two shooters were both fourth-years as well, one boy and one girl.

The shooters' role was also very important. After all, shooters were the only ones on the field who could see thieves. Therefore, as soon as the match began, they needed to conceal themselves in high places as much as possible. This would allow them to observe the activity range of the thieves from the other three factions.

At the same time, they could snipe isolated players.

"Thieves pose the greatest threat. After all, no one besides shooters can see them. If a thief kills the commander without being spotted by a shooter, then we lose immediately. Likewise, if the shooter and doctor of the same faction are both eliminated, everyone else can just wait to be picked off by the thief one by one."

Sherlock spoke gravely.

Dandeni, meanwhile, drew a finger across his throat at the side, making a killing gesture that left everyone feeling a little more apprehensive about the thief role.

After everyone discussed it together, Sherlock settled on the final strategy they would carry out.

"Then at the start, the strategist will lead two raiders, while the thief follows far behind the strategist as an escort. At the beginning, the strategist's main task is to collect Strategist Cards. Remember, you must gather as many Strategist Cards as possible."

Kirk nodded.

"Next, the two shooters will each take up a position atop the castle's highest structures. But one shooter must always keep me—the commander—in sight, so that enemy thieves don't get a chance to sneak up on me."

"Mm!"

"No problem!"

"One doctor will follow me, along with one raider to protect me. The remaining five raiders and one doctor will form a squad and move about opportunistically. That will make it easier for me to explore the blank areas of the map."

Sherlock raised the map in his hand. Though it now showed the full layout of Hogwarts, most of it remained shrouded in an indistinct shadow, with only the black lines extending across the map visible.

The area where they were, the Slytherin common room, was bright, and all fifteen magical marks could be clearly seen within the Slytherin common room.

Sherlock continued, "The team made up of five raiders and one doctor will be called the Exploration Squad. While moving outside and exploring, the Exploration Squad must strictly obey the commander's orders. If you engage the enemy, protect the doctor while choosing your attacks wisely. After all, once a raider falls, the doctor's role is to heal and revive."

By the time the final plan had been set, it was already around seven-thirty in the morning. A group of excited Slytherin little snakes had gotten out of bed early and rushed to the Slytherin House common room, eager to see who the fifteen contestants selected by the Honor Box were.

When they saw that Sherlock was serving as the commander, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was as though, with Sherlock as commander, Slytherin House had already won half the match.

Lupo and Fimiya, meanwhile, were extremely annoyed at not being selected. Lupo kept shouting about how even a carefree fellow like Dandeni had been chosen to be a thief!

Dandeni rolled his eyes at him. He truly could not be bothered to argue with someone like Lupo, who seemed to have been born with a taunting aura. Sherlock had also noticed one trait of Dandeni's: he was especially protective of his own and never fought internally. Lupo, on the other hand, had a foul mouth that could cause trouble wherever he went.

If he had not been close to Sherlock, then even in Slytherin House, Lupo would probably have needed to watch out for enemies sneaking into his dormitory, throwing a blanket over him, and beating him black and blue.

But Dandeni was different. He never started disputes with people from Slytherin House, but when it came to Gryffindor House or either of the other two Houses, the kid never hesitated to hit hard.

So Sherlock found these two troublesome children quite a headache. Fimiya had improved considerably lately, while Kirk was, in Sherlock's opinion, the best-natured of the four.

No... Even within Slytherin House, his personality was rather unusual. If the kid had a sweetheart from Gryffindor House, he would practically be a younger version of Snape.

At eight in the morning, a map as large as a movie screen from the Muggle world had already been hung in front of the school dining hall. It displayed the full layout of Hogwarts. After breakfast, the students eagerly remained in their seats to watch the four Houses' contestants battle in real time.

All four Houses cheered on their respective teams. No one knew where Lupo had learned it, perhaps from reading books from the Muggle world, but he had actually painted his face the emerald green that represented Slytherin.

It was not until eight-thirty that the four teams finally began moving.

And on that massive map, every student could see everything clearly.