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Gilbert was calmly feeling the lingering sensation of operating a Colossal Mech after a long time. Although he wasn’t receiving support due to the activation conditions of his main skill, it would have been strange not to perform this well in the Entrance Mock Battle, which served as a tutorial.

Achieving 100% completion in the notoriously difficult Tactical Combat for the first time in the world was the result of his relentless persistence and talent. Gilbert, who had a natural talent for piloting, poured his skills and time into the game’s insane difficulty and eventually rose to the top.

Even though it had been a long time since he last piloted a Colossal Mech, that sensation didn’t easily fade. For him, piloting was like riding a bicycle—a habit ingrained in his body that he couldn’t forget.

After losing all the Colossal Mechs that had come as the vanguard, Gilbert returned to the base and took his position as the original commander. His deputy, Angelina, stood beside him while still aboard her Colossal Mech, and the other team leaders surrounded him protectively.

It was clearly a different treatment compared to before deployment, but he didn’t point it out. Considering his notorious reputation, he should be grateful they even listened to him.

[Commander, a messenger from Team 4 has arrived!]

A member on guard duty in the distance was seen approaching with a Colossal Mech. Judging by the markings, it seemed to belong to Team 4. In an actual battlefield, even with markings, one would doubt their affiliation, but in the Entrance Mock Battle, it was impossible, so it was safe to assume they were a messenger from Team 4.

[I am James, the messenger from Team 4.]

[I am Gilbert, commander of Team 1. State your purpose here.]

As the mock battle was ongoing, formalities were boldly skipped. There was no time to waste, not knowing what Teams 2 or 3 might do.

[The commander of Team 4 sent me to confirm if the alliance proposal is still valid.]

James, the man who introduced himself, spoke with a firm voice, unshaken even in enemy territory. Well, it wasn’t a life-or-death battlefield, so his attitude wasn’t unreasonable. Still, it was clear he had guts.

[Of course, it’s still valid. Is the communication channel currently connected?]

[Yes, it is. The commander of Team 4 wishes to break the alliance with Teams 2 and 3 and form one with Team 1.]

[Good. Then connect the magic channel.]

[Connecting now.]

After a brief moment, Gilbert’s communication magic channel connected with the commander of Team 4. The face of Team 4’s commander, whom Gilbert had seen before the mock battle began, appeared on the main screen.

[This is Patrick, commander of Team 4.]

[Gilbert, commander of Team 1.]

Both were heirs to Count families, and their families held similar statuses in the Empire, so neither spoke in a superior tone. Even if they did, it was usually with mutual respect. However, since they were in the middle of a mock battle, they spoke casually.

[I must have been blind not to recognize your true skills earlier.]

Gilbert was slightly surprised by this proud Count’s son admitting his mistake so readily. In the game, he was a kind of measuring stick for combat power—skilled but arrogant to the extreme. This was unexpected.

So, the game is just a game, and reality is reality, huh?

Gilbert shook his head inwardly, hiding his thoughts.

[I think it was an objective judgment. Forming an alliance with Team 1 from your position would have been a gamble.]

[You say some interesting things. They say you’re the black sheep of the Count family, but perhaps that’s just a rumor?]

At first glance, it sounded like a jab, but Patrick’s eyes were filled with curiosity rather than disdain. It was just his natural sarcastic tone.

[No, it’s true. I am the disgrace of the Count family.]

[Haha. Is that so? Well, good. That’s not what’s important right now.]

Patrick, who had been smiling slightly, set aside his thoughts about Gilbert, who had piqued his interest, and got straight to the point.

[I was informed that the proposal I made earlier is still valid. Is that correct?]

[Yes. As the commander of Team 1, I formally request an alliance with Team 4.]

[Given the skills you’ve just demonstrated, we welcome it. Shall we set the duration of the alliance until Teams 2 and 3 are eliminated?]

[That works for me.]

[Straightforward. I like it. Which side do you plan to attack first?]

[Are you giving me the initiative?]

[Honestly, if you take the vanguard, it would be perfect.]

[Sounds like you’re trying to use me.]

[Haha. You’re not wrong.]

As Gilbert continued communicating with Patrick, he had to admit that he had been viewing him through biased lenses. Patrick wasn’t as narrow-minded as he had thought, and his personality wasn’t as arrogant. Perhaps it was because the protagonist’s status was lower than his in the game, but now Gilbert was Gilbert of the Lion Heart Family, not the protagonist.

There was no need to push away someone who wasn’t hostile to him.

[Alright. We’ll attack Team 2 first. The attack will begin when the messenger returns. I’ll take the vanguard.]

[Excellent. Then I wish you good luck.]

With that, the communication ended. Since it was a mock battle, the alliance was formed verbally rather than through formal documents, but that was enough.

With just one show of force, the hopeless situation of the mock battle had changed.

From 3 vs. 1 to 2 vs. 2.

[Commander, I don’t think you should take their words at face value.]

[Deputy Angelina, what makes you say that?]

As soon as the messenger left, Angelina contacted Gilbert. Her face appeared on the screen, her brown bob neatly parted on both sides.

[The alliance just now was formed because you took the lead and showed your strength. Thanks to that, the dynamics of the mock battle have completely changed, which is great. But.]

Angelina emphasized the last word.

[Because of that, you’ve drawn too much attention. You single-handedly destroyed the entire vanguard that three teams sent together. If you’re left alone, what do you think will happen?]

[Good point.]

Gilbert stroked his chin with the back of his right hand, acknowledging Angelina’s sharp judgment. It was indeed a valid point. He had overlooked it because Patrick left a good impression, and he had naively thought that they would unconditionally cooperate, as in the game.

In fact, apart from everything else, his confidence that he could cause chaos if things went south had made him overlook this detail.

[Are you suggesting that the alliance proposal itself might be a smokescreen?]

[Yes. The purpose of the mock battle is not only to test Colossal Mech piloting skills but also to evaluate the cadets’ judgment, political skills, and ability to handle all possible situations on the battlefield. That’s why there are no regulations regarding alliances. So, can a few words really form an alliance? I don’t think so.]

Gilbert nodded at Angelina’s clear explanation. Initially, he had chosen her as his deputy out of consideration for Hans, but now he felt that he was the lucky one.

As Gilbert tapped the control stick, pondering for a moment, a communication came in that the messenger from Team 4 had returned to their base. Angelina, still connected, looked at him with a furrowed brow, waiting for his next order.

[I’ll leave the defense of the base to you, Deputy Angelina.]

[Understood. What will you do, Commander?]

[I can’t avoid taking the vanguard. We’re outnumbered, after all. We’ll reduce their numbers as much as possible, then break the alliance first.]

[That’s not much of a plan. But if it’s you, Commander, it might just work.]

[Enough with the flattery. I’ll head out now.]

With that, Gilbert ended the communication and, along with Hans and the members of Teams 1 and 2, moved his Colossal Mech to take on the vanguard role. As he moved, he opened the team communication channel to boost their morale. Fortunately, their morale was already at its peak thanks to Gilbert’s one-man show, so there was no need to do much.

Upon reaching Team 2’s base, Gilbert adjusted the formation of his team.

He arranged them in a delta formation, a pyramid shape, with himself at the forefront.

As the formation was set, Team 2 also sent out their Colossal Mechs to meet Gilbert’s vanguard. Their formation wasn’t as uniform as Gilbert’s, but they had their own arrangement. At a glance, it was similar to Gilbert’s formation, with one Colossal Mech at the front.

Gilbert didn’t need to connect the communication channel to realize that the person inside was the protagonist, Ian.

‘Assuming his characteristic skill is still the same.’

Since the tutorial wasn’t over yet, he thought Ian wouldn’t have any sub-skills. The status and skill windows were unlocked right after participating in the Entrance Mock Battle, so it was impossible to gain any new skills at this point.

Still, Ian’s characteristic skill was Synchronization.

It was a ridiculously powerful skill that maximized synchronization with the Colossal Mech, elevating piloting skills to a whole new level.

Even the final tech tree Colossal Mech of Atlantica, which had mastered magic engineering, couldn’t match the synchronization rate of the protagonist’s mech when Oneness of Body and Mind was activated. Despite the advanced technology, there was always a slight delay when moving something other than one’s own body.

Gilbert calculated the odds of winning the upcoming battle. Even as a veteran of Tactical Combat, he had never directly fought against the protagonist before. In Tactical Combat, you played as the protagonist, so you never faced them as an enemy.

It wasn’t until after unlocking Custom Mode by completing all achievements that he had the chance to try, but he was pulled into this world right after creating a custom character, so he never got the opportunity.

Seeing the growing number of Team 2’s Colossal Mechs, Gilbert decided not to waste any more time and gave the order to charge.

At the same time, he used High-Speed Maneuvering to rush toward the protagonist’s Colossal Mech.

Clang!

He swung his sword, but unlike before, Ian blocked Gilbert’s strike with his own sword. It seemed the title of protagonist wasn’t just for show, as he did it effortlessly.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Clearly, Ian was different from the cadets Gilbert had faced earlier. Blocking Gilbert’s rapid strikes, Ian began to counterattack, putting pressure on Gilbert.

Gilbert blocked the attacks easily, but he felt a pang of frustration when he realized his mech was slower to react than Ian’s. When he used Synchronization himself, he hadn’t noticed, but being on the receiving end made him realize how infuriating this skill could be.

Meanwhile, Ian, surprised by Gilbert’s skill, gritted his teeth. He already knew he possessed a characteristic skill and had used it to gain support from his family, honing his piloting skills.

Excluding his talent for characteristic skills, Ian was also exceptionally skilled at piloting Colossal Mechs, to the point where he could hold his own against a 5th Grade Knight within his territory. He had never thought there would be someone among his peers who could surpass him.

This clash was no different.

After a few exchanges, Ian clearly realized that his characteristic skill gave him a faster reaction speed than Gilbert. Gilbert’s mech moved a beat slower, sometimes even half a beat, which was noticeable.

Ian confirmed this difference with his own eyes and was convinced of his victory. If the opponent’s mech couldn’t keep up with his reaction speed, it was inevitable that they would be slower.

If the Colossal Mech couldn’t follow his movements, blocking attacks would be impossible. That’s why Ian fully understood how blessed he was to have his characteristic skill.

But the more he fought Gilbert, the more he felt something was off.

Gilbert should have been unable to keep up and lost, but somehow, he was matching Ian’s every move.

Not only that, but Gilbert’s use of Mana Boosters for high-speed movements frequently caught Ian off guard, and his attacks, delivered with chilling precision, repeatedly targeted Ian’s blind spots.

Whoosh!

A steel sword narrowly missed the cockpit in the chest area. If it had been even slightly slower, the Magic Barrier would have been nearly depleted.

“What the hell is going on!”

Frustrated and angry at something he had never experienced before, Ian shouted as he pulled the lever.

Ian’s Colossal Mech blocked the downward strike and, with a speed half a beat faster than others, slammed its shoulder into Gilbert’s mech.

And that was exactly what Gilbert had been waiting for.

Feeling the recoil from the block, Gilbert manipulated the controls to perform an acrobatic backflip with his Colossal Mech.

Ian was stunned, while Gilbert smiled. It was a veteran technique that wasn’t too difficult once you got used to it, but it was great for catching opponents off guard and eliciting shock.

A massive Colossal Mech performing a graceful backflip followed by a high-speed dash was not only a performance but also a dagger aimed at the opponent’s weak spot.

Using the Mana Booster, Gilbert dashed forward and thrust his steel sword with immense force. The physical impact drained Ian’s Mana Battery to zero, resulting in a loss.

“Damn it!”

As the screen flickered and darkened, Ian slammed the control stick. Having lost for the first time, he burned with determination to face Gilbert again.

Next time, he would definitely win.

With that resolve, Gilbert, now free from the protagonist Ian, joined forces with Team 4, and the chaotic battle against Team 2 began to heat up.

Especially Gilbert’s performance, showing evasion maneuvers that didn’t seem like those of a new cadet, was dazzling.

Even Patrick, the commander of Team 4, displayed piloting skills unbecoming of a freshman, but compared to Gilbert, he still fell short.

Clang! Clang! Boom!

Thirty minutes into the battle.

Gilbert swiftly slashed diagonally, cutting down the enemy Colossal Mech in front of him.

[All Colossal Mechs of Team 2 in the Entrance Mock Battle have been lost. Team 2 has been eliminated from the Entrance Mock Battle.]

The announcement echoed through the arena, signaling that Gilbert’s attack had been the final blow.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a long sigh, relieved that the battle with Ian and the ensuing chaos were over.

Now, only Teams 3 and 4 remained.

***

Entrance Mock Battle.

Team 2 eliminated.

Remaining teams.

Team 1, Team 3, Team 4.

 

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