The Author's POV

Receiving words of Jin's sighting in the distance, John's first thought was to immediately send everyone and attack him. The reason was obvious...considering Jin's personality and strength, the most obvious candidate for being the code holder would obviously be him.

With his strength and agility, he could just outrun everyone. However, after a bit of thinking, John refrained from doing so. This could very well be a smokescreen.

Although that was the most obvious course of action, Jin wasn't stupid. He could very well be trying to act as bait.

Biting his nails out of habit, John thought to himself

'....Is Jin really the one holding onto the code?'

That was the most logical conclusion John could think of. After all, Jin was famous for being proud and arrogant. He being the code holder was a very real possibility.

...However, John still hesitated. Eventually, he shook his head. He needed more information before deciding on the right course of action.

-Beep!

Just as John was immersed in his own thoughts, his watch vibrated. Thereafter, John heard one of his teammate's voices coming from the speaker of the watch.

[Captain, spotted someone on the west side].

Hearing this piece of news, John's brows furrowed slightly as he carefully asked

"Dante, do you know the identity of the individual?"

[Unsure-wait, I'm getting a closer look]

"Yes, be careful and don't get spotted. Make sure you keep a safe distance from them"

Nodding his head, John warned Dante, his teammate, in advance.

If the other team found out that they had a visual of them, their advantage would immediately disappear. They had to be extra careful.

[Roger that]

Turning off his watch as he waited for Dante to respond, John's brows furrowed as he fell into deep thought.

Before the tryouts started, John had looked through the list of students that he had to watch out for. Therefore, as soon as he knew Jin was one of the people present, he already knew the general composition of the opposite team.

From what he recalled, the other team compromised of, Jin, Amanda, Arnold, Donald, Zack, and Ren.

...apart from Jin, Amanda, and Arnold, John wasn't very wary of the other three. To him, they were extras. Nothing worth taking note of.

Therefore, his current focus was now on finding out the whereabouts of Amanda and Arnold. Once he had a read on them, he could come up with an appropriate plan.

-Beep!

A couple of minutes since Dante last contacted him, John suddenly felt a vibration on his wrist. Quickly turning on the watch, John seriously asked.

"You've got something?"

[Captain, Dante here, I've got a visual. According to what I can see, Arnold is walking by himself]

"Arnold? wait are you sure?"

[Affirmitive]

Hearing Arnold's name being mentioned, rather than being happy, John's frown deepened.

...that was because he wasn't with Jin.

Since he had investigated the group in advance, he knew who Arnold was. Jin's lackey.

...The real question was, why was he by himself.

However before he could think any further, Dante's voice raised a few pitches resulting in John snapping out of his thoughts.

[-No wait, Captain, it seems like there is someone else a fair distance from him-no there are two people quietly moving next to him. If not for the fact that I am using my skill, I don't think I would've spotted them...]

"Can you get a visual?"

[I am not sure because I am too far, but I see the silhouette of a girl and a boy]

"A girl and a boy? Are you sure?"

[Affirmative]

"Huuuu...alright that's enough, keep a close watch and make sure you don't lose sight of them"

-Click!

Turning off his watch, John's mind raced.

Since there was only one girl in the group, John could already figure out the identity of one of the two individuals around Arnold. Amanda Stern.

...Someone that was on par with the likes of Jin. However, John wasn't too worried. Since everyone's strength was the same, it shouldn't be too difficult to defeat her if they ganged up on her. Moreover, she was an archer.

If they ambushed for from a close distance, she was probably the easiest member to defeat.

[Captain, it's me Roman, I've got a visual on the other two members]

Just as a plan started formulating in John's mind, he suddenly heard another one of his teammates contact him. Pausing his thoughts, he carefully asked.

"Where are they?"

[They are at the center making their way towards the pillar]

"Towards the pillar?"

Hearing the piece of news, placing his hand on his chin, John fell into deep thought. Thereafter, he smiled.

"Alright, I've got the gist of the situation"

Clenching his fist tightly, John quickly ordered.

"Send Sera and Bob on the east side where Jin is. Tell them that all they have to do is buy time. Don't let them fight against Jin at any cost....the rest go attack the trio in the distance"

[Understood...but what about the other two members of the opposite team?]

"Don't worry about them, they are merely cannon fodder. Even if they are aware that their teammates are being ambushed, they won't be able to make it in time to reinforce them"

*Hmph*

Those two were obviously ordered to go to the pillar and wait there for them to place the code once they defeated the other team.

How arrogant of them.

Their intention was obvious from the start. Thus John didn't even bother giving those two a spare thought as he chose to directly split into a group of two. One to hold back Jin the other to attack and snatch the code from Arnold.

Snorting, a smile appeared on John's face.

"Your arrogance is going to be your downfall"

To think that they were so confident in their win that they just directly sent two of their members towards his team pillar which was a fair distance from where Jin and Arnold currently were. By the time his group attacked Arnold's group and Jin, it would take too much time for them to assist them.

Furthermore, even if Arnold didn't have the code, with three members gone, victory was still well within his grasps.

The more John thought about it, the more his heart started beating due to the excitement.

...Victory never seemed so close in John's eyes.

[John, will we be alright?]

As John was starting to gain more and more confidence in his deduction, he suddenly heard Dante's worried voice coming from the speaker of the watch. Feeling the worry in Dante's voice, John smiled as he reassured him.

"Don't worry, although I have the code I will be careful when engaging against them. This is going to be a four vs three scenario, no matter how strong they are, with our strengths being relatively similar, we should be able to defeat them quickly. Moreover, we will be ambushing them. If we catch them off-guard, chances of us winning would be increasing exponentially"

[...I-understand]

-Click!

Turning off his watch, John stared into the east side as he thought to himself.

'oh Jin Jin Jin, although you are talented, it seems like you aren't very good at coming up with strategies...I guess you only amount to this much'

Pausing his thoughts there, John smiled as he quickly jumped off the building he was on and sped towards the west side where Arnold and his group were.

This was going to be his victory.

...

15M : 31S

"Fifteen minutes huh, should be about time"

Checking my watch as I moved forward, my footsteps halted. Thereafter, as I looked at Zack who was behind me for a brief moment, I tapped on my watch and contacted Jin.

...if my guess wasn't wrong, the other team should've already made their move.

"Jin what's the situation?"

[Two on me]

As I thought.

They really had made their move.

"Alright"

-Click!

Turning off my watch as I nodded my head, I quickly got in contact with Amanda to get a read on their situation.

"Amanda, what's the situation with you guys?"

After a short pause, Amanda's crisp and pleasant voice echoed from the speaker's of the watch. The loud sound of metal clashing could be heard in the background.

[Four people on us]

"Alright"

-Click!

Turning off my watch, I sighed in relief as a smile appeared on my face.

It seems like they've taken the bait.

Turning my attention back towards Zack, I pointed towards the large black metal pillar in the distance and ordered.

"Zack go to the pillar and wait for me to tell you the code"

Taken aback, Zack looked at me. His voice couldn't help but raise a few pitches as he asked.

"What why me? What about you?"

Deeply staring at Zack straight into his eyes, I answered him in a firm tone.

"Just do it, trust me. Regarding me, just go, you don't have to worry. I will take responsibility for everything"

Staring at me for a couple of seconds, only after Zack heard that I was going to take full responsibility that he finally relented and nodded his head. Shortly after, just like I had ordered him, he made his way towards the pillar in the distance.

"...alright, I'll do it"

A moment after Zack left, turning around, I quickly activated my movement art [Drifting steps] and took a step forward. Thereafter, my speed increased with each step I took.

Feeling the virtual wind brush past my skin a faint smile appeared on my lips as I quickly moved towards where Arnold and Amanda were.

If my deductions were correct, I was currently being underestimated. Just like I had predicted, they probably assumed Arnold was the code holder.

Moreover, if my guess wasn't wrong, the reason why they sent no one to obstruct Zack and I was because they thought nothing of us and that they were confident in defeating Arnold before we could arrive and reinforce them.

The more I thought about it, the funnier the situation became. Rather than being angry, I was actually quite relieved.

...this just meant that no one was paying attention to me. That was good, this was exactly what I wanted. Low-key.

Plus, if they actually thought I couldn't help Arnold and the rest on the time, they had grossly miscalculated.

I had already predicted this scenario beforehand. Since the very start...they were playing within the palm of my hand.