A surprise guest joins Suzuki and company at the compound. They must face the oncoming gladiator battles in order to challenge for the right to assume a position as a centurion.
Meanwhile, danger looms on the horizon as restless nations seek more dr...
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"I am not Kashi," Suzuki reflexively shot down Taidan's conjecture. But, he quickly realized that deflection would only lead to more questions or at least a lengthy explanation, so he added, "But, yes, I am a member of the Twilight Wolves. Also, I meant no deceit when choosing the team name. I did not think to link the in-game guild name to our world."
"No worries. I understand," replied Taidan. The young man looked at Ayumi with admiration in glittering eyes. "Judging from our reports and how you carry yourself, you can only be Ms. Lightwood." A soft, teasing smile teased the edges of his lips as he added, "Surely, you will not say I am wrong?"
Ayumi politely nodded. "No, you are correct. I play Leila Lightwood of the Twilight Wolves. Let me take this as an opportunity to thank you all for cooperating over the Oni Hill event. The mission would have failed if even one of you were not present."
"I'm not so sure about that." Taidan chuckled as he glanced at Suzuki. "Somehow, I feel you would have managed just fine."
"Taidan."
"Ah, sorry, boss." Taidan apologized, realizing the atmosphere was turning weird. Pa! He suddenly clapped, the abrupt shock softly resetting the room's atmosphere, and then pointed at the map. "Let's get back to the topic at hand. Seeing as we have under a week to prepare, I propose we immediately adopt Crazy Head's plan."
"That's a bit hasty, isn't it?" Titan's Breath's leader, Kaido, asked with a frown. "We can optimize it further with a little more time."
Surprisingly, Natsu shook her head. "Normally, I would agree with you. Even I can spot problem areas that could do with some refinement. Unfortunately, we only have a week until the assessment. The sooner we can start practicing the mission, the better. We could easily waste a few days trying to get it perfect."
"I concur," Ayumi agreed. "We are fortunate enough to have obtained the general layout of the bases and surrounding forest. It would be a waste if we did not use VR Builders to practice our infiltration. I, for one, have never gone skydiving. I imagine it will not be easy to learn in a week, even with the aid of Virtual Tech."
Taidan flashed the two ladies an appreciative grin and then looked at the remaining leaders. "So, we agree?" Both leaders nodded, prompting him to exclaim, "Then, we have to decide the teams, right!? From your plan, I don't think it's wise to group up by our respective teams." Taidan counted his fingers as he muttered, "I'm counting... one, two... three teams. First, to infiltrate the relay station; second, to strike the dam; and final, to infiltrate HQ early."
"Yes," confirmed Ayumi. "To reduce the chances of detection, the relay station infiltration team must have the smallest number. Three is preferable for stealth, but five is enough if we want to add more security should they need to escape. Since this mission requires a high degree of hacking knowledge, I recommend Yuhi Jade from our team. The rest of our team members are not suitable for infiltration missions." Well, except one. Ayumi furtively glanced at Suzuki. Suzuki was equally skilled in stealth, but she would be daft if she wasted such a potent weapon when they had much bigger fish to fry.
