Free Web NovelChapter 7: All Cores Go to Silas
Silas had already used his Time Mind ability several times in the past ten minutes. He had seen what each member of the team could contribute, observed the monsters’ behaviour, and watched everyone struggle through their first real battle.
By piecing all of that together, he simulated different possibilities within his mind. Scenario after scenario unfolded before him, most ending in disaster. Yet among them, one stood out, a path that led to victory without a single casualty.
Whenever his ability activated, Silas would freeze for a few seconds. The battlefield around him vanished, replaced by countless shadows moving according to his thoughts. His teammates became red silhouettes; the monsters became black shadows. They fought, died, adapted, and repeated the battle over and over until he found the outcome he needed.
In most futures, at least half their team died. In only one, they won without losing any.
During the fighting, the two hunters had already suffered multiple wounds from the frogs’ tongues. The tongue attacks appeared without warning, moved too quickly to react to, and reached far farther than anyone expected.
Once everyone reluctantly agreed to follow his commands, Silas immediately began issuing orders.
"First, we retreat."
The suggestion stunned everyone.
"We’ll clear the field and let the monsters freely attack the rune shield."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Brant shouted. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
This time, however, Leon was the one who silenced him.
"We’re doing terribly already," the mage said calmly. "At this rate, we’ll lose the rune site anyway, alongside our lives. Let’s hear what Silas has in mind and see if he can turn things around."
Despite being only a support-type Enhancer, Silas had already proven his value. His wind enhancement strengthened everyone, accelerated mages’ casting, and even improved the movements of Cassian’s controlled Stone Frog. More than once, his timely intervention had saved Brant from serious injury.
It was their first battle together, yet everyone had already realised how important Silas was to the team.
"We’ll retreat, reorganise, then attack again," Silas calmly explained.
He wasn’t entirely certain his plan would work, but Time Mind had shown him a future where they crushed the monsters with minimal losses. At least no one would die.
After successfully developing his Raven ability before within those simulations, Silas had begun placing increasing trust in the mysterious ability. This battle would only reinforce that faith. The team ultimately followed his orders, with different opinions.
Silas wasn’t gambling. He had already watched several frogs attack the rune shield directly. Some struck it with their tongues, others slammed their reinforced bodies against it, while a few clawed at it with their powerful limbs.
The shield remained completely unharmed, not a single scratch even appeared.
That observation reminded him of what Vaelous had said earlier regarding academy rankings. On the surface, the test was about protecting the rune site. In reality, Silas suspected it was measuring teamwork, combat ability, and the number of monster cores each student could obtain.
Entrusting the protection of such an important structure to newly enhanced children made no sense. Plus, Vaelous’s complete lack of concern only strengthened that suspicion.
The optimal solution was obvious. They should let the monsters attack the shield, as the shield would tolerate such attacks. freewebnσvel.cøm
The moment a clear path opened, the frogs lost interest in fighting the students and rushed toward the rune structure instead, as though something irresistible was drawing them there.
Unwillingly, Brant retreated alongside the others. Everyone watched as dozens of frogs surrounded the shield and launched a furious assault. The impacts echoed loudly across the battlefield, but the barrier never even trembled.
"See?" Silas said.
Brant’s expression twisted.
"The shield is fine."
"We can’t risk our test on assumptions," Brant argued. "We still need to kill these things and collect their cores."
"Which is exactly what we’re about to do."
Silas cut him off with a faint smile.
"But first, we need to change our tactics."
Ignoring Brant completely, he turned toward the rest of the team.
"We’ll start with the tamer. Cassian, your monster’s role changes... Stop using it as a shield. I want it to finish weakened enemies and disrupt any counterattacks."
Cassian frowned.
"Even with its help, the hunters were getting injured. Are you sure?"
"They’ll be fine."
The confidence in Silas’s voice surprised everyone.
"Our problem isn’t strength, it’s efficiency. Every fight lasts too long. If we shorten the battles, everything becomes easier."
He then explained his strategy in detail.
The two hunters would operate as a single unit. Darius would focus on repeatedly striking the same point on a monster’s body until its tough defences fractured. The moment an opening appeared, he would move on to another target.
Brant would follow behind, launching bone spikes into the weakened areas Darius created. Silas had noticed that the only monster they had successfully killed earlier had died through this exact combination by accident. Now they would repeat it deliberately.
Cassian’s controlled frog would either exploit similar openings with its tongue attacks or interfere whenever monsters attempted to retaliate. The mages would also be separated. According to Silas, their abilities interfered with one another more than they complemented each other.
Leon would remain in reserve, acting as a defensive safeguard. His ice magic excelled at slowing enemies but lacked the power to kill them quickly. Selene, meanwhile, would support Cassian. Her flames covered a wide area and lingered for nearly a minute. While the damage was modest, it accumulated over time.
Her role was simple... She should weaken everything, not focusing on any specific target or spot. If the monsters abandoned the rune shield and turned toward the team, they would already be worn out and injured before the real fight began.
As for Silas himself, he repositioned behind Selene and Cassian while staying ahead of Leon. His wind enhancement benefited everyone, but it had limits. Beyond thirty meters, his control weakened significantly. He needed to remain close enough to support the entire formation.
"What about me?"
Left until the very end, Lyra finally spoke. And Silas sighed. In his Time Mind ability, he found suitable roles for everyone, except for her. Her ability was, after all, quite problematic.
"Your ability isn’t particularly useful against these monsters."
He chose honesty over empty reassurance.
"You should stay back and assist wherever you can."
"S... Sure..."
Even though she had been afraid of fighting from the start, hearing her ability dismissed so bluntly still hurt. Her purification power was designed to counter curses, corruption, and debilitating effects. Against giant frogs, it was nearly useless.
"Then let’s begin round two."
Unlike Brant, Darius looked genuinely excited to test the new strategy. And the results were immediate and quite remarkable.
Previously, the team had spent over ten minutes killing a single monster and suffered numerous injuries in the process. Now they kill one every minute, without taking any damage.
The frogs remained completely focused on attacking the seemingly indestructible shield. As more monsters fell, morale soared. And victory no longer felt distant.
Trust in Silas’s plan grew with every passing minute. Everyone followed his instructions without hesitation. Even Brant abandoned his objections after witnessing the first few successful kills.
From there, the battle progressed smoothly. One frog after another fell. Nearly two hours later, the final monster collapsed.
The victory had cost them almost half a Mana Crystal each, but nobody cared. It was their first real battle as a team, as Frontier students. It was their first victory. Darius immediately raised a fist into the air.
"To Silas! To our mighty leader!"
The others erupted into cheers and laughter before beginning the unpleasant task of extracting monster cores. A hundred corpses covered the battlefield, and a hundred monster cores waited to be grabbed.
Cassian instructed them about the right way to extract cores, while Vaelous remained silent. Only he knew what he was thinking about. Without hesitation, Darius offered all of his cores to Silas.
"You saved our lives. It’s only fair."
He looked around for support. And nobody objected, not even Brant. As a result, Silas received all one hundred cores from the battle.
"Thank you."
He accepted without false modesty.
"This is only the beginning. Let’s keep going and climb higher together."
The atmosphere remained lively as everyone discussed the fight. Selene excitedly described her experiences with fire magic while Brant complained about how difficult it had been to aim his bone spikes.
Then Vaelous approached with a strange smile resting on his face.
"You did well, Silas Ashborne."
He paused deliberately.
"Or should I call you by your true name, Lisan Al-Gaia?"
The celebratory mood shattered instantly. Everyone except Darius weirdly looked toward Silas.
The admiration that had filled their eyes moments earlier was suddenly mixed with suspicion and hostility. Silas suddenly felt like he got extracted from the current celebratory spot and was dragged back to the introductory lecture back in the aircraft.
The two situations were quite different, and still they ended in the same way. He became the centre of weird eyes and whispers.
"Take some time to rest," Vaelous continued, clearly amused by the reaction he had provoked. "The next wave won’t arrive for several hours. Recover your strength first, and prepare yourselves for what’s coming."
His smile widened.
"Keep up the good work. Especially you, Lisan Al-Gaia."
After emphasising the title a second time, he turned and walked away. While Silas remained standing in silence, watching Vaelous back grow smaller.
Only Darius stayed beside him. The others lingered for a few moments, throwing conflicted glances his way before eventually retreating to rest.
It was obvious they needed time to think. And for the first time since the battle ended, Silas felt completely alone.
