Tactical Warfare

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" Why is everyone so fascinated by this game? All these massages say nothing more than my target has died. If my fire burns through its entire body, then I can tell that it is dead. I don't need anyone to tell me the obvious." said a young red-haired boy with freckles on his face.

He stared at the young wolf he had just killed and could only shake his head. He did not pay much attention to how he was rewarded for doing something so easy. That was beneath him. He wondered exactly how others did not get mad repeating the same boring stuff over and over again.

Another wolf came running towards him fletching his teeth. It was greeted by a small fireball that came flying its way. A big red 556 appeared over his head.

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

He did not know whether 556 was high or low. This monster surely was just used to scare small children. Even if he stood still and did absolutely nothing at all, he still would not die.

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

All he wants to do is show his worth as a tactician and yet he was forced to waste his time killing monsters here. There has to be something else, that can be done besides spending time on something so useless.

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" But why can't I leave this forsaken place? Get me out" His scream reverberated through the place, but no could hear his scream

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

He was so sick and tired of killing this stupid wolf over and over again. No breaks, just wolves and even more wolves.

Oh, you killed a wolf, have another one. Bored? A wolf for you. Tired? Another one. It was an endless barrage of cannon fodder. It was only due to his training, that he was able to persevere. No amount of wolves or system messages would lead him to falter.

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

It was in times like these, that those of faith grew the most. With trust and compassion enduring such an arduous task shall become easier and easier.

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

Calm and collected.

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

PEACE AND SERENITY

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" HOW MANY ARE THERE OF YOU? DON'T YOU WOLVES HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO THAN COME TO ME AND JUST DIE?" His anger had risen once more after he was overwhelmed by system messages.

" LOOK AT YOU, WHY DO YOU SMILE AT ME? YOU ARE A MENACING MONSTER, ACT THAT WAY."

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" THAT IS NOT AN ATTACK; YOU HAVE TO HURT ME AND KILL ME. ATTACK ME"

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" SO, IT IS NOT LIKE I JUST MURDERED ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS, NO I AM SURE; THAT YOU ARE DIFFERENT. OH, BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME; IT WAS PRETTY CLOSE."

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" THE GROUND IS LITTERED WITH THE INTENSITIES OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND YOU KEEP ON SMILING. THE WORLD IS TRULY WONDERFUL, ISNT IT?

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" OH THIS PAIN, THIS SUFFERING; I AM AT DEATHS DOOR FROM THIS VICIOUS ATTACK."

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" I WONDER WHAT MY NEXT ENEMY WILL BE? IT IS A WOLF, WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING?"

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" THIS ATTACK IS TOO FAST, I CAN NOT DODGE IT, TELL MY FAMILY I LOVE THEM."

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" GIVE ME BACK MY SON."

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

" BOW DOWN TO ME"

[ Young Wolf's hp reached 0]

[ You received 50 copper and 15 xp]

----------

While one youth fought valiantly against a horde of young wolves many other players had come together and stood around a wide circle. The atmosphere was lively and many people chatted.

The circle was surrounded by statues depicting the noble Gods. They were decorated by garlands and jewellery. The people paid their homage towards these statues and looked at them in deep awe. No NPC could be seen in this place even though it was in the middle of the safe town. They were barred from coming here.

The days leading up to this moment were spent preparing for it in many different ways. Some fought monsters without catching a break, others chose to study the course of history. Some even went as far and socialized with NPCs in order to accomplish their goals.

Each person present followed a different philosophy. There was no correct path to follow in that regard because not much information has been publicized about this event. The ruleset was shrouded in mystery, as only a broad description was given out.

Everyone was eager to know, how exactly their tactical prowess was going to be tested. The skillset of a good tactician is diverse and versatile. Competing against other tactician was the ideal way to hone themselves and their strategies.

They did not want to let this chance slip by. Such an opportunity only came once in a lifetime and impressing the Churches meant nothing short of a glorious future. The representatives of the Church, on the other hand, had a different outlook on this matter.

It was their job to showcase the prestige of the Churches. They were not only embodying the Churches, but they were also functioning as role models for the general public who will follow this event. There was no room for errors, as any mishap of any kind would instantaneously tarnish the reputation they had to keep up.

The expression on their faces was a lot more solemn in comparison to those players, they could not win as much, but they had so much more to lose.

( Dear participants, welcome to the " Tactical Warfare" competition. Your applications are all treated equally to ensure a fair competition. It is in your best interest to pay attention to the rules of this event.)

The noise died down instantly after these words had appeared. Everyone focussed and listened attentively, they did not want to miss out on any valuable information.

( This event is a fight between 2 commandants. Each party uses its troops as they deem it fit, therefore there is no limitation on tactics and strategies. The battlefield is randomly chosen and can take a myriad of forms.)

( Every participant gets 1000 gold and has to buy soldiers and equipment with this money. Both are finite resources and should be treated as such. Some NPCs require certain criteria to be met before they can be recruited.)

This kind of assessment covered a wide basis of different skills every good general should possess. Though working with NPCs was new to them, as even the simplest troop in this world could use mana.

This posed a challenge to them, as all of their preparations did not prepare them for such a thing. The mere thought of putting their fate into the hands of those NPCs was revolting. But they did not dare to complain, as everyone was equally affected by this.

( This competition is split up into 3 phases. The first one is free for all where only the top 100 players with the most points will qualify for the next round. Points will be awarded for winning and deducted for losing. People are reimbursed with additional resources based on their performance.

(The second phase is dividing these 100 players into equal groups. Every contestant has to fight each person of the group at least once. In this stage, special privilege can be bought with your resources. The person with the most points advances to the third and final phase.)

(The final phase is a special event and will be revealed later on.)

Many people were shocked by hearing about this kind of competition. They had not expected such an arrangement. The shock was visible on their faces. This expression slowly changed as more and more people were lost in thought about this situation.

How should they proceed? Should they spend their gold on few but excellent fighters or buy many people who are weak? What kind of strategies could be used with these kinds of NPCs? Which equipment should they use?

Thoughts like these were occupying their minds, as they processed the information they had just received. Some insights were gained but nobody really knew what they could expect.

( In order to make the hiring process of NPCs a bit easier, it was decided to use this space and teleport potential NPCs in this space. You can check for respective stats just by looking at them. The funds necessary for one NPC differ on many factors.)

A white circle descended from the sky and many NPCs appeared in the gigantic circle. Men and women alike were placed in front of the crowd. The NPCs looked bewildered as if they did not know what just had happened.

( Take a look at this person here. This men's status should be displayed in front of your eyes right now)

[ Harry Otter] [ LVL 6]

[ Human Male]

Health 50/50 Mana 0/0

Strength: 15

Intelligence: 6

Dexterity 10

Endurance: 6

[Remarks, Glorified cannon fodder.]

An exasperated outcry came from the crowd, how where they supposed to work with something so useless. Even the weakest monsters have better stats than this human. This was not a test, this is a punishment.

This cruel joke went too far, how could they be forced to do something so unreasonable. The mere thought of having to deal with these insignificant vermin was deeply unsettling.

( Some of you may wonder, why humans were chosen. Indeed humans are pitifully weak and pathetic creatures. Their bodies are frail and their minds crumble easily. Their behaviour is irrational and absolutely arbitrary. With their weak constitution, they incapable of wielding mana. )

( Instructing something so terrible, is the perfect way to produce the most capable tactician. This human would cost you a mere 50 copper. WIth your funds you could buy so with your funds, you could buy 200000 of him. The cost to hire a specific NPC can be seen under their status. Of course, each NPC is unique and can not be recruited more than once. But do not worry, we have more than enough NPCs.)

While the crowd still was contemplating about their bitter fate. Numerous NPCs had already appeared right in front of the crowd. This sea of NPCs had every kind of NPC in it, women, men, children or the elderly alike. All of them had a bewildered expression on their faces, as they did not seem to know what was happening to them.

( You are given the opportunity to choose your first NPCs for absolutely free. We wish you the best of luck in your choice.)

[ Do you wish to participate in the "Tactical Warfare" competition?]

Everybody did not hesitate before confirming their participation and then looking at the NPCs trying to fanatically find something of value. Some were looking for the most expensive human, others were looking for an NPC who exceed at a certain stat. Some searched for the highest level, while others looked after the best evaluation.

" Trash, trash, trash, trash." someone mumbled after looking at the first 4 NPCs.

" Abomination, disgraceful, utter shame, disastrous... What are those evaluations?" another person found it hard to believe.

But despite their vehement search, all they found were NPCs with very weak potential. Despite their lacking success, they did not stop until they have looked through every last NPC present. That was the least, what they could do.

" Why is here an NPC that is still level 1? His stats are horrible and what even is that evaluation? A [Wicked madman] worth 1 copper?" Who would choose stuff like that?"

Some people were interested after hearing this description, but this interest was shortlived as they did not want to waste their time looking at an obvious joke. Nobody had noticed that this NPC was sleeping soundly. This detail was ignored just like all the other abnormalities, that could have been found by paying more attention.

Though the chances of this discovery slipping through would have been nonexistent if that NPC was awake. He would have complained about his low evaluation and the cost to hire him. His words would not have been very friendly to put it nicely.

Instead, someone finally found an NPC and promptly hired it on the spot. The expression on his face was giddy as he found a hidden treasure in this ocean of rubbish. This discovery was not missed by everyone else, as a message popped up in front of them confirming it.

Fueled by this news, the participants began to search even more feverishly. A strange silence filled the place, everyone was solely focussed on scanning the NPCs. Though the decomposing corpse with greenish burning hair was still not noticed.

This craze continued as even more NPCs were finally picked up. No one knew how many good NPCs were left and so they began to settle for NPCs that were just slightly better than the rest. As more and more participants made their choice, the field of NPCs got smaller and smaller.

( Those NPCs you have chosen will follow every order and they are unable to complain. Familiarize yourself with them and you will find great success in this competition)

it did not take too long before nearly all the NPCs had been chosen and the former sea had been thinned out. But in the midst of it, faint snoring could be heard. Though this noise was covered up by the confused and frightened NPCs.

These NPCs formed a small circle and cowered in front of the crowd, that had eyed them for several minutes. They did not know why some of them were selected and what would happen to the rest.

A dangerous glint appeared in front of certain players and he spoke to the NPC he had chosen.

" Kill them for me." He lifted his finger and pointed at the NPCs that were not chosen by anyone.

The NPC had a horrified expression on his face, but he could not resist the order and started to move.

Their fate had been sealed at that moment.