Parallel Memory

"Hiro, another group of students has overtaken us! Shall we increase our speed?"

One of his teammates asked Hiro anxiously. They had yet to reach Demonwood Forest but already many other participants had already gone ahead. He was getting anxious and thought that they should also increase their speed.

"No need! As discussed earlier, we will conserve our energy for now."

Hiro replied. He knew that conserving energy was very important for them, especially because of what happened at the last tournament. Unlike the one asking the question, he had personally experienced being attacked by others at school together.

No matter how strong one was when attacked by many students, one is bound to get tired and be eventually defeated. Hiro as the captain had to make sure that his teammates did not use much of their mana before confronting other participants.

Hence, they were one of the last teams to reach Demonwood Forest.

Hiro along with his teammates moved into the forest. They became more alert and made sure that they didn't miss any opponents or monsters. Unlike in the city, they were prone to attacks from both other participants and monsters residing in the forest.

Sylvia looked everywhere cautiously. As an archer, her sight was better than others and she could see even the tiniest details clearly.

!!!

Sylvia looked at the area just ahead of their path and immediately signaled everyone to stop.

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

Sylvia said as she readied herself to shoot the arrows.

"Haha… Looks like we have been discovered! I am Preston Cooper from Crestview Academy."

Preston Cooper, along with other students hiding in trees revealed themselves. The students were not from famous schools nor were they individually known. However, combining the number of students that had come to confront them, it easily totaled hundreds.

By that, one could easily guess that Ace Academy was being targeted by them.

"What do you all want?"

Hiro asked calmly. He had to make sure whether the other party was hostile or planned on attacking them before he made his move.

While some of his teammates were a little nervous due to the number of enemies, Hiro was strangely calm. It was because he had already had that experience last year, and the situation was much worse. At that time, it was the other three Top-3 schools that had ambushed them.

Compared to that situation, this situation was just like being surrounded by goblins. While the enemies had quantity, they had quality.

"Hehe… I heard all kinds of rumors about Ace Academy. I want to see whether it is really number one or not."

Preston and his group seemed keen on fighting with them. It could already be seen from the conversation that they were really waiting for them.

"Get Ready!"

Hiro said to his teammates as he brandished his sword.

"Attack!"

Preston ordered.

Hundreds of students immediately started to attack right after Preston ordered. The first wave of attacks was from archers and magicians.

[ "Soteria Blessing: Goddess protection" ]

Lisa stepped up and used her skills to block the incoming attacks. Various skills were making their way toward Ace Academy students. Some students had already deployed their own shields while others were using mana barriers in order to reduce the intensity of the attacks.

However, the attacks never made it past Lisa's barrier. They were all destroyed the moment they hit Lisa's skill.

While the number of attacks was high, as the attacks were just from Rank-E and Rank-D, it was not enough to break Lisa's barrier. Lisa was at Rank-C +, adding to that fact was her Art was of level 7.

As long as she continued to use her skill, no matter how many times the opponent attacked, their attack would never make it to the Ace Academy area.

This move stunned many including Ace Academy participants. They knew that Lisa was powerful but they never expected that she could easily take care of so many attacks.

This scene was also played for the audience back in the stadium as well as for those watching on TV. They were equally stunned by what they saw.

Before that, they were discussing which side would come out on top. Even though Ace Academy was ambushed by hundreds of participants, it was nothing new. Because of their reputation, Ace Academy was always ganged up on by other schools.

However, the moment Lisa blocked all the attacks, they were surprised. 30-40 attackers were unable to break the barrier of Lisa. This show of strength was enough to tell how powerful Lisa was. Moreover, they believe it was not even her full power.

The participants attacking were also stunned momentarily. Some were hesitant about making their move as they could see how strong Lisa was.

"DON'T STOP! Her skill might be effective against long-range but she would not be able to block close-range attacks! Her mana should also be low because of using such a large barrier. Attack when her mana is low."

Preston said. His confidence was also affected by Lisa's skills. He thought that by using a long-range attack, they would be able to injure some students from Ace Academy or at least cause some disturbance. But Lisa alone managed to block all the attacks. This was a huge blow to his expectations.

However, no matter what, he was not one to easily give up. Moreover, he was promised by Landon to be among the Top-10 if he fulfilled this role. He had to complete his mission no matter what it took.

He also believes that Lisa's mana would be exhausted after using such a skill. Moreover, they still had an advantage in numbers.

Once more, students from various schools made their way toward Ace Academy. Preston's words were readily accepted and they assumed Lisa would be unable to use her skill anytime soon.

"Magicians and archers intercept them!"

Hiro said.

There were 3 magicians and 4 archers on the Ace Academy side. It looked nothing impressive compared to their enemies, however, each one of them was Rank-D and higher. Moreover, Sylvia and Lisa were at Rank-C +. In terms of quality, they were far superior.

[ "Lightning Strike" ]

[ "Multiple Shots: Dazzling Light" ]

[ "Inferno Blast" ] …

Ace Academy mages and archers started attacking the incoming enemies.

The enemies were not idle either. Their tanks stood in front to bear the brunt of the attacks while others used their skills to block the incoming attacks.

"Ah! The shield broke!"

"Help! The tanks can't hold on anymore!" …

However, the attacks from Rank-D and Rank-C were not something that they could handle. Lisa and Sylvia's attacks had a large AOE and broke many shields. Even some Tanks were instantly defeated by their attacks.

Only some with high defense could withstand the attack. Those with high speed also managed to survive by dodging attacks.

Other than them, many were either seriously injured or unconscious. In one move, at least 15-20 enemies were unable to battle anymore. Moreover, their attacking momentum came to a halt.

"Start healing the injured people. Others will continue the attack."

Preston ordered. He was no longer confident about carrying out the plan given to him by Landon but he was still unwilling to give up.

No matter what, he didn't believe that Ace Academy was invincible!