When they turned around, they immediately recognized the guy who was getting bullied a couple of moments ago. He sheepishly raised his hand and offered to join their team.
Initially, he wasn't sure whether he should approach them or not, considering that they had done enough for him. If any, he assumed that he'd be doing them a disservice if he were to join their team. At the back of his mind, he already accepted the fact that he'd be a burden, the weakest link of the team.
Nevertheless, he forced himself to ask them, steeling his resolve and swearing that he'd do his utmost to support their team... but before anything else, he had to persuade them that he'd be a fine addition to their team— well, he was a bit unsure of himself so that wasn't going to help at all.
"Not a single group would take me in, and I saw that there were just four of you... may I join you?" The guy asked, flustered. From time to time, he would divert his eyes from them, his inferiority getting the better of them as he couldn't maintain eye contact.
"Sure, if you don't mind us being on your team." Horatius was the first one to speak up just so he could at least alleviate a little bit of the awkward atmosphere enveloping the guy.
"Your superpower's all about shields and barriers, right? We could really use that, we're all offensive, you see." Finana let out a sigh of relief left her mouth. Now their team was more viable than before. After all, it wouldn't hurt to have an additional defense.
"P-please take care of me." The guy bowed his head, just when everyone was done forming their team and gathering in silence once again to listen to Magnus Carter's instructions.
With the conclusion of the group formation, Magnus Carter could finally relay the instructions for the test. "Today, we're going to have a cavalry battle, and you're free to use all your superpowers in this test." Magnus began, directing everyone to an open field where they could go all out.
"What we're testing today is your adaptability and your teamwork. After all, this is a crucial necessity when it comes to being a Disciple. More often than not, you'll find yourself in a situation where you have to assist someone or work with someone. This exercise would do just that."
"It has the same rules as any cavalry battle. There will be a team captain and he or she will stand on top of the four. The team captain would wear a headband, and the group would be eliminated if that headband was removed."
"And before I forget, while you're allowed to go all-out, the summoning of tamed beasts would not be allowed for this exercise. If all of you summoned their respective tamed beasts, then we won't have enough space." Magnus Carter continued, briefly stealing a glance at Satoshi. "Of course, beast integration would still be allowed."
Now that everyone was directed to the open space where the test was going to be held, Magnus Carter gave everyone a minute to decide who'd be the team captain.
"Of course, you're going to be the team captain, Satoshi." Horatius patted him on the shoulder as a grin appeared on his face. He was already sure that Satoshi won't reject the opportunity. After all, it's not every day that someone gets to be chosen as a team captain.
"Yeah, if you're the team captain, our win's bound to be guaranteed." Finana crossed her arms as she continuously nodded her head.
"Yes, I agree with them. You should take in the reins, Satoshi, you're more than fit to get that spot." Lucy also agreed, turning towards the guy who just approached them. "You agree as well, right? By the way, you haven't given us your name."
"I'm...Leif Phiresa. I know, it doesn't sound exactly pleasant. Even I find my surname weird." He sheepishly commented, scratching his head as he forced a laugh out of his system.
"What do you mean? It's a nice surname." Satoshi said.
"So, what would it be, Satoshi? We only have ten seconds left to decide." Horatius brought up, getting anxious by the ticking seconds since they could be automatically disqualified.
"Don't worry, I have a plan. And for that to happen, I need you to take the steering wheel, Horatius." Satoshi said.
There was no time left. Before anyone could react, Satoshi integrated with three of his tamed beasts. He could always integrate with more of them but for now, he only needed three.
First on the list was Octo, and as usual, slippery tentacles appeared on Satoshi's posterior. They wriggled around before wrapping around his four teammates. The next tamed beast that Satoshi integrated with was actually a Representative, Stat (Statue of Captivity).
Not only would Stat provide all the debuffs they needed to give their opponents, it's gravitational pressure would also be useful at crucial moments.
The last tamed beast that Satoshi brought out was none other than Ghast. With his dimensional portals, their group could easily grab other team captains' headbands. It would be their trump card for this test.
"What are you doing, Satoshi?" Horatius flailed his arms in panic as all four of them was lifted off the ground.
"Oi, what's this?" Lucy also panicked, but she didn't dislike the tentacles that wrapped around her waist.
As for Finana and Leif, they both have positive reactions since this was the first time they saw this particular superpower of Satoshi. They've seen plenty of beast integrations in the past but this one is by far one of the best they've encountered. That's why they weren't complaining even though they were wrapped with tentacles.
Satoshi's apperance changed as well. He'd gotten unusually bigger and tankier. Adding to that, purple smoke came out of his body while tentacles portruded out of his back.
Apparently, this was Satoshi's plan. He would be the one-man cavalry while the four of them were the riders.
Since anyone could basically grab a team captain's headband, their group had an even greater chance of securing the win. After all, four people in their group were free and only one was manning the cavalry.
"What are they doing?"
"I don't know, but it looks kind of cool, don't you think."
"It's as cool as it is disadvantageous. How would they be able to work together like that?"
While everyone was wondering what Satoshi and his team was doing Satoshi found the time to ask the four of them what their superpower was. As it turned out, Lucy could actually use her Golden Pen and integrate with it. She did it without thinking twice.
Utilizing the powers of the Golden Pen as her integrated beast, she gave everyone a two-way connection with each other's minds. Unbeknownst to everyone, there was actually a limit to how much she could use the Golden Pen's innate power. Then again, she didn't feel the need to tell them about it so she didn't mention a thing.
"Wow, that feels weird. Really really realy weird." Horatius muttered to himself, to which everyone agreed in his mind. It was certainly a creepy feeling since it felt like everyone was in his mind at the same time. Adding to that, he felt like he had gained four other minds and it overloaded his mental capacity a little bit.
"All right, this could work," Satoshi said as their one-man cavalry transformed into an efficient five-man team that could act on each other's piloting.
Seeing that everyone's preparations were more or less done, Magnus Carter floated at the top of the open space to overlook the entire test. He could tell that there were a couple of innovative ideas here and there, but Satoshi's team was by far the most novel out of everybody else.
"It's new... but that doesn't mean it would work. Let's see how they'd be able to work with all that intricacies in their plan." Magnus said to himself as he raised his hand, catching everyone's attention.
Silence filled the air as everyone waited in anticipation. Some of the disciples felt butterflies in their stomach. Rarely do they ever get a test which included working with a five-man team. That's why this was a somewhat new experience for them.
"The test would be over in ten minutes. Once the timer is over, the team with the most headbands secured would win. Of course, since this is a competitive group test... the group who would win will get a reward." Magnus Carter said, rubbing his nose as he did so.
Of course, saying that would give everyone the right amount of motivation. From up in the air, Magnus could feel his Disciples' morale rising up. Without further ado, he brought his hand down, signaling the commencement of the second test of the day.
"Let it rip!" He screamed out of nowhere, as if that would mean anything.
In an instant, the peace that enveloped the open space disappeared in a snap of a finger, and a complete pandemonium occurred as everyone tried to get each other's headbands.
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