The Newbie Is Too Strong's
205. The Emergence of the Strategist, Lia
One day before the tournament,
“Egi, want to go together to the club?”
“Ah, wait a minute, Luca. I finish this first.”
Seeing Egi not usually enthusiastic about something, Luca peered into the strange rectangular box that Egi was holding.
“What is it, Egi?”
“Ah, this is said old school games in the 2000s era. I happened to get this antique from a relative. Although old school, it seems interesting too. Ah, I'm game over. Again NPCs who must be saved die.”
Luca stared deeply into the dead NPC character stabbed by a giant spider inside the game console that was being held by the Egi.
“Stay press the restart button, then the game starts again. This time I have to save his NPC so as not to die stabbed by a spider.”
Somehow seeing Egi playing the game, not the face of enthusiasm shown by Luca, but frustration and sadness.
“Stay press the restart button, everything will return to how it was, Egi.”
“Iya... Hmm? What's the matter, Luca? You crying?”
“Ah, no. My eyes glitter. By the way, how did the fate of the NPCs who died in the game was Egi who disappeared when restarted? I'm sure he also lives in the world there with misery.”
“Hah? What are you talking about, Luca?”
“Haha. Just some bullshit. Anyway, it's time. Let's just go to the club, Egi.”
Different from what he said, it appears that Luca was not joking at all. His face was filled with an aura of sadness.
Whereas when he finally could accept a little that he was actually just an NPC in a game called The Last Gardenia, he again had to accept the fact that more than that, he was also actually just a 29th doppelganger who came from the mirror world. Exactly the same as the game character who suddenly reappears without the slightest injury when a game restart button is pressed.
Unfortunately, no one will ever understand Luca's feelings. Luca had to bury his sadness deeply.
***
“Finally you guys came too. Quickly here follow sit.”
Arriving in the club room, apparently there, Luca and Egi teammates have been waiting for them since.
But there is a strange thing, because they can also see Lia and Andra in the club room which is not part of its members.
“Coach? What's up here? Why is this woman also here?”
It is the ego who asks.
“Ah, starting today. Lia and Andra will join our vrmmorpg e-sport club.”
“Hah? How can that be, Coach? Isn't the club's facilities limited so we can only accommodate at most 30 players?”
However, it appears the coach has been reluctant to answer Egi's questions.
“Ya. Whatever it is, the addition of two more members will not be too problematic. Part of their existence will greatly help us.”
“Areka's right. Let's just continue our meeting.”
Through the middle way of the opinion of Areka and Yudishar, Egi finally accepted the decision and finally the meeting resumed.
“But why is that woman leading the meeting?”
“Egi?”
“Ya?”
“This woman is that woman... What does that sentence mean? I'll have a name. L-I-A, Lia!”
Suddenly, a sharp gaze from Lia struck towards Egi which made all of her hair goosebumps.
“OK. Let's cut the joke. As you know, from now on, I am a member of this vrmmorpg e-sport club who will act as a tactical member of the team. As for, on our agenda this time, we will discuss about our first opponent in the year-end tournament tomorrow.”
“Hah!”
All the team members, unable to contain their shock when Lia flipped the paper on the board and found out who their opponent in the first round was.
His opponent turned out to be no ordinary school team, but a team that ranked third in the year-end tournament last year, Sahabat Hutan High School, the first representative from Kalimantan Island.
“Hahahahaha. Again it seems we will soon be eliminated in the first round.” Not nothing after listening to who their opponent was, Areka immediately pessimistic first.
But unlike Areka, there did not seem the slightest look of despair on Luca's face. Accidentally the plain young man's eyes met directly with Lia's gaze. Seeing that, Lia also touched her lover with a happy feeling.
“Take it easy. It is precisely to say that this is our luck because among the top eight ranking team last year, Sahabat Hutan High School is the weakest team in terms of purely physical strength. They won because they relied on tactics. And with my presence here, I will direct the team to penetrate the brilliant tactics of the Forest Friend High School with even more brilliant tactics.”
All the faces also regained their enthusiasm with Lia's speech.
“Listen to everything. Team SMA Sahabat Hutan is a team that focuses on a tamer who has eight beasts such as hamsters, four of them are dark type, and four more are light type.”
Lia spoke while compressing the photos of the beast together with her tamer.
“Well, these four black hamsters played a role in the attack. You should always be able to be wary of him because this tamer has a kind of skill that can swap the position of one of these black hamster beasts with a fellow assassin who can swiftly and deftly slice your neck even without you knowing.”
“It is not clear if the position-exchange skill can only be applied to black hamsters and assassins, but so far, only they have been seen using it. However, we should be aware of all possibilities.”
“As for white hamsters, two of them will continue to eat certain herbs that will somehow continue to recover the HP and MP of all their party members so they seem immortal to beat. While the remaining two white beasts, will be in charge of defense, supporting their shield as well as a long-range attacker.”
“There is also a cleric among them who serves to keep the defense behind in addition to also have a deadly long-range attack. The rest, they usually struggle between using their swordsman or fighter as a sub attack.”
“In the reserve group, there are also some players that we must be aware of who have fighter, cleric, archer, and mage classes. The latter two seem to be just substitutions for following individual matches. While double fighter or double cleric will usually be used when they fight unusual tough opponents.”
“However, I'm sure they won't currently consider us such formidable opponents at all so they will definitely only use their standard strategy then. This is certainly good for us.”
“Then the subject of the alchemist and scout will also follow the individual match on the first day, then let's first exclude Chika and Diana from the match. And as the players I recommended performing in the first round, they were Senior Areka, Luca, Senior Yudishar, Egi, as well as Senior Yurika.”
“Then the strategy is..”.
Thus the plan was drawn up by Lia, the strategist, and it seemed that all the team members accepted it enthusiastically.
***
The meeting of the day went well until the anticipated H-day, Tuesday, December 28, 2083, the first day of the year-end tournament was held.
However, who would have guessed that on that important day, Luca would get misfortune.
Arrogantly, the teacher BK stepped into the class that still has Mr. Susanto there as his homeroom teacher gave directions.
“You, come with me to room BK.” With a cruel and sharp gaze, the mad teacher pointed towards Luca.
“Me? But I have to go immediately to the post-class landing tournament, Bu.”
“There is no such thing as tournaments! How can a cheat like you participate in such an activity?! Look it! How can your answer be exactly the same as Puput, the first ranker in your class, huh?!”
“Mother, isn't that a matter of multiple choice? It is only natural that the answer will be the same if each student answers the answer exactly.”
“Don't bacot you much, you poor bastard! Anyway, you have to repeat this daily replay in front of me now!”
“It could have been, Mom. But it can't be now. You will have a tournament today.”
“Poor disciples like you alone dare to challenge my orders?!”
Mr. Susanto who happened to still be in the class, can only be bowed while holding his head in pain about the behavior of the teacher BK who is getting out of control.
Luca regrets. If only he was like Lia and Egi who chose not to enter the class from the beginning about having found official permission from the president to attend the tournament later that year, he certainly shouldn't be stuck with that crazy teacher.
Luca regretted at that time for being an exemplary child.