The children who had just been fighting with Eugene were lying on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Seriously, is that guy really a freshman like us?"
Yongje was the first to speak.
"What kind of magic does he use, breaking everything with his bare hands and how does he detect ambushes so well? Does that even make sense?"
Eugene's appearance just now was no different from that of an awakened fighter well-versed in combat.
"So, he must be the boss. He really is a monster, no matter how you look at it..."
Jinwoo, who had just fought Eugene at close range, shuddered as he recalled the battle.
It was as if Eugene could predict where every attack would come from.
Even when they mixed in paint for an unconventional attack, Eugene grabbed the dagger with his bare hands and pulled Jinwoo towards him as if it were nothing.
Jinwoo shook his head, thinking that if it weren't for Yongje's magic, he would have fainted in a very embarrassing way.
"This, we can't do again. Even if we try to interfere with the field, interference is coming from outside. It seems that Instructor Jisu Hyun is preventing any further interference with the field."
Seo, who was catching her breath, nodded in agreement with Yongje.
"Indeed, it doesn't make sense to keep interfering with the field. Still, thanks to that, we gained one turn."
It was a last resort, and it was disappointing that it didn't succeed immediately, but there was nothing they could do.
It was a cheat they could only pull off because the field was made of mana.
Yongje, thinking this, recalled how Eugene had found them just now.
Despite their efforts to hide their location and alter the trajectory of their magic with Seo's help, Eugene had found them through the birds.
Yongje decided to change his attack strategy and got up from his crouched position.
"Seo, can you search for the vice-captain's location again?"
"Wh-What? Right now? Well, since I moved Eugene, I can probably find him quickly by scanning the area where I sent him."
"Please do it now."
Seo, who had no strength left to stand, leaned forward and stretched out her body like a frog, scanning the area where she had sent Eugene.
Eugene was found quickly.
"Hmm...? Eugene is just standing still in the place I sent him?"
"Really? Then I'll activate my magic, and you guide it to that location."
"B-But, won't Eugene find us again?"
"Don't worry about that. I'll send the magic underground."
"...Underground? Then I'll give it a try."
Seo's answer made Yongje nod, and he raised his fountain pen, pointing it at the ground.
"Tranquollo. (Quietly.)"
A small wave of mana was emitted as Yongje's magic shot towards the ground.
Seo took control of the magic and directed it towards where Eugene was standing.
She made the magic rise towards Eugene's location, but at that moment—
!!
Seo's shoulders slumped as she realized the control had been lost due to some shock.
"I didn't hit this time. But it seems he didn't figure out our exact location."
"Really?"
This meant the method was effective.
"Then, I'll leave the adjustments to you."
"Got it! Leave it to me."
Seo's answer made Yongje continue to cast his magic towards the ground.
Yongje's original magic, 'Conduttore (Conductor)', expressed a willed magic through words. 'Tranquollo' (Quietly) meant the magic would be very quiet, continuously shooting towards Eugene.
"This time, it grazed. It seems he's shifting more towards evasion than defense. Or, is he moving now? He's moving... very slowly."
'Slowly?'
Seo's words made Yongje curious, and he looked at Jinwoo, who was resting against a tree stump.
"Jinwoo, climb up the tree and check the direction of the vice-captain."
"Huh? Now?"
"Quickly!"
"Uh, okay. Okay."
Jinwoo, hearing Yongje, immediately climbed the tree. At the same time, he realized something strange was happening far away.
"Uh? Why is that area empty, like a bald spot?"
*Thud*
Another tree fell, and the impact sent birds flying and dust rising.
*Crash!!!*
More trees fell behind it. The birds had already flown away, but the dust didn't settle.
"Wait, what is that...?"
Another tree fell. Jinwoo, watching the scene, recalled a documentary he had seen when he was young.
A documentary about poachers clearing a forest with heavy machinery.
He remembered that even heavy machinery couldn't fell trees as quickly as this.
"Is he... trying to clear the entire forest?"
Jinwoo finally realized.
That was Eugene. And he was destroying every tree in the forest to find their location.
If that happened, they would end up fighting in an open field, just like a desert.
"Damn."
Jinwoo quickly climbed down the tree and looked at the children.
Yongje and Seo were still casting magic towards Eugene, but their expressions were much darker than before.
"Something is moving around Eugene. And... the ground is shaking."
They had also noticed the change.
Yongje turned to look at Jinwoo, who was breathing heavily.
"What's happening right now?"
Jinwoo, trying to catch his breath, pointed in the direction of Eugene.
"The boss is knocking down trees wherever he goes."
The other children's expressions changed in various ways.
Seo looked confused, while Yongje had a meaningful expression.
"Damn."
Yongje, realizing something, quickly cast mana and shouted.
"Whether our location is exposed or not, we need to bombard the vice-captain's location immediately!"
"What?! Now?"
"In this situation, the magic won't hit us anyway! Seo, guide the magic to the last known location of the vice-captain!"
At the same time, countless magical attacks began to fly from Yongje's fountain pen aimed at the sky.
Seo hurriedly guided Yongje's magic to the last known coordinates of Eugene.
Jinwoo climbed the tree to observe the situation, but the trees continued to fall in the direction the magic was flying.
"They're still coming!"
"Seo! What's the situation with the vice-captain?"
"I don't know! The trees keep falling and the magic is everywhere, so I can't figure it out!"
Even the direction of the incoming magic seemed to indicate that Eugene was heading this way.
"It seems the magic is affecting him! Is this really working?!"
"There's no other way to win! Do you know what the vice-captain is doing?!"
"What?"
"He can't find us because of the trees, so he's trying to clear the entire forest!"
"Then what do we do?! We can't stop him now!"
"What can we do?! If I stop the bombardment, he'll—"
"–Found you."
A cold voice came from between the trees.
"Damn... Did you break through the magic to get here?"
Yongje stopped casting and aimed his fountain pen at Eugene's voice.
"There's no reason to walk over when I already know your exact location. More importantly... the fact that you're still doing this means you can't interfere with the field again, right?"
Eugene's expression, more serious than when they first met, made Seo shudder.
"W-Well..."
"I'm not criticizing you. In fact, I should praise you. Hacking and interfering with the spatial magic in the field to send me flying was something I never imagined."
Eugene genuinely thought so.
Hacking the field and controlling it was a method he had never seen or heard of.
Yongje and Jinwoo's skills were also impressive.
Yongje thought their leadership and command as temporary leaders, and Jinwoo's animal-like senses that had bound him before the teleportation, were sharp.
Therefore, Eugene decided to give the children a tip.
"Seo, you can support Jinwoo in addition to supporting Yongje."
"Me? But I don't know any buff or enhancement spells..."
"There's no reason to limit spatial magic to just exploration."
In the past, Eugene had played many games, including CS, and among them were spatial mages.
"The advantage of spatial magic is that you can set coordinates and manifest magic there. Unlike other spells, which are based on the caster, this is a different strength. So, you can use it to form obstacles or terrain."
Seo's expression turned to shock as she listened to Eugene.
"Then, let's start."
As Eugene ran towards the children, Yongje cast his magic.
"Adagissimo. (Very slowly.)"
A blue shimmer appeared around Eugene, slowing him down. Seo and Jinwoo, watching this, began to move.
"Kim Seo! Can you sync your timing?"
"The spell is too difficult! How can I know where Jinwoo will jump and create a platform?"
The most important part of their coordination was how Seo knew where to place the platform for Jinwoo.
It was almost impossible for Seo to match Jinwoo's speed and form the platform.
"If you don't know, you have to learn by trial and error."
Meanwhile, Eugene approached Jinwoo and swung his left foot.
"No, wait—!"
Jinwoo quickly raised his right arm to defend against Eugene's kick.
Feeling the force in Eugene's foot, Jinwoo braced himself for a broken arm, but Seo, following Eugene's advice, created a purple shield next to Jinwoo to block the attack.