The two of them, sitting in front of Noah, froze in their place. They didn't know what to do or say. In Particular, the one who shot the SS skill had an unknown kind of expression. Who knew what passed through his head.
Back in time, the lesson which showed Noah's team how much more they all had to learn had finished. The team members had finally caught their breaths and were coming back to their senses. The first emotions were more like it was hard for them to accept the loss, then came the despair, how could they all lose and then came the excitement. In this world, which was closer than ever to a game, they had the opportunity to live a better life.
Brody hadn't participated in that fight. He had purely remained as a spectator of the one-sided fight, where Noah, who was alone, was the one who was so many steps ahead – both as skills and as power. They began asking questions, each personally wondered how to improve.
"Anna, you might be able to cast fast, which is indeed talent, you can't just jump in the air. Instead of wasting all of these barriers, just to trap the enemy, some of them could've been used to protect you. As a mage, you aren't supposed to go on the first lines of the fire, you can remain backwards. Additionally, against an unknown opponent, instead of casting an all-round scaling attack, which will tire you from the very start, you should start with a test spell, something small to see what the enemy's reaction will be. A strong enemy can only benefit from you all going together and will use the chaos in their favor. Instead, you should go one after another, after watching the enemy's movements."
Anna just listened and was lost in thought. Before the world changed, she wasn't exactly close to the gaming world. She was never a person who was on the back-lines. In the company she used to work for, she always strived to be first. Apparently, now that she was a mage, this made her more vulnerable, since the role itself wasn't like her previous life.
"But will there be a chance for me to be on the front-lines? To not be protected by anyone?"
"Yes, we can work towards that but you will need a completely different set of skills. Slow-firing Area of Effect attacks won't do it on the front-line, you will need something quick and effective. Lightning could work, necromancy if such exists here, maybe even gravity magic. You will have to choose yourself though. Whatever suits you best."
"I see, noted. Thank you a lot for this information, it was valuable. How could I show my gratitude?"
"By making results. You being strong will help both the team and me. A strong mage is the core of any team."
Anna accepted Noah's words with a smile.
"Lily, you might be a skilled assassin, but you should always have at least two back-up plans. You saw yourself, how when I took your blade, you were left vulnerable. You didn't expect it and hadn't prepared for such a possibility. As an assassin, you should know the importance of back-up plans and multiple possibilities. What if I turned out to be a clone, duplicate, hologram or something like that and I appeared behind you? Or if I just teleported? You hadn't thought about any possibility of me stopping you. When you fight as an assassin, you shouldn't just blindly wait and hope that in an unforeseen situation, a teammate or an ally will help you, just because you went together. What if I had trapped you in a different reality? Also, you relied on poison just like most newbie assassins, which isn't the problem. Top tier ones also use it, but poison is not the one and only solution to everything. Even if you had pierced me, I have poison resistance. And what was your next plan? Such didn't exist. So, think about it. Your imagination should be your main weapon and not poison."
Lily's eyes shined with sparks of excitement every time a different possibility was mentioned, her mind had finally thought about different possibilities which amazed even her. All that Noah said was completely true. She was so certain that she would win with the first strike that she hadn't thought of a different possibility.
"You are right, I accept everything you told me. Honestly, until now I hadn't ever lost against anyone. Will I be able to become more like you someday? More calculative? To think of different possibilities during the fight itself?"
"Yes, though it comes with practice – a lot of practice. Which will come from many battles. Every opponent can teach you something and you should be well aware of that and make the most of it every time. No matter if you have won or lost."
"Leo, you have explosive strength, this is good, I'm sure that you have more skills as well but jumping on an unknown enemy head on is too risky to be worth it. Instead, you should have either waited for the enemy to make the first move or used a more long-ranged attack to check the enemy's type. Additionally, you put too much power in your first attack. Showing your strongest attack immediately is basically giving up on the idea that the battle could get longer due to various factors. What if I was a tank? And even worse – I had a reflective shield which multiplied the returned power? One of the bad options of an enemy for you would be that. Or what if I was a tricky mage and just created an explosion below you or changed the trajectory of your attack? If you have to go head on with an unknown enemy, you should either try to distance yourself first or to use a weaker attack. I know that you miss the surprise factor but it's not worth it."
Leo listened excitedly. Noah was like the teacher he dreamed of but never had. One who actually knew what he was talking about and practically showed it. One, who will answer questions no matter how stupid it was. Someone who wouldn't make the whole world hate you because of a question.
"I want to be stronger, Noah and to be able to be cool like you, maybe even a teacher. But besides pure damaging skills, I don't know how to do anything else."
That was the life of someone whose life had hit the bottom and from a good child had to become a delinquent.
"You can use destructive abilities in different ways, you know. The exploding punches can be used as shockwaves in the ground to worsen the enemy's balance. While in a fight you will feel it with your own body."
Lastly, Albert was left.
"Albert, you already have the skills, you have the mind and the thinking. You just lack practical experience. I can guess you have read a lot of books but practically, when you are in a battle, too many thoughts are passing through your head and it becomes a mess. Let me show all of you a practical lesson against enemies against which all four of you stand no chance."
All team members looked at Noah confused. He knew very well that someone was watching him. He knew the direction and could guess that it was at least two people. One was a scout and one was a sniper.
To think they could go against him, they definitely had at least one very strong skill. The scout was probably a tank as well. At this point in the game no one could fully utilize anything above S. Unless, the enemy possessed an artifact which can lower the cost for using such a skill. There was most likely a higher being involved, one from above the lower islands, who could afford to pay the penalties because no normal player had the coins for system and limit penalties.
With that, Noah activated an item which was similar to a camera which followed him and dashed with extreme speed towards the incoming attack. Just by knowing the limits of the lower islands, he could guess the power of this attack and took it, using different support items.
Just moments before clashing with the Blue Dragon, Noah entered a mind realm with it. Against such an ability, the battle was on a mental level.
'Why is such a divine being in the hands of a weakling? Where are your manners?'
「'Worthless entity, how do you dare to speak to me?'」
'Are you so oppressed that you should lower yourself to be eaten by a stupid artifact? Where is your pride?'
「'You shall pay for your words with your own life.'」
'Send me to your engraved defeat. Let me meet the one who made you suffer this way.'
A temple and a playground for young monks to train. There, a foreigner stood, his blade covered in blood. On the ground – bodies. A massacre. He looked at Noah, who was now in the body of a young boy.
"This child's playground has gotten too boring. My new dream world doesn't need old-world cliches like you."
Noah had appeared between the Blue Dragon's original form and this foreign fighter which looked just like the ones Noah had seen in the webtoons he had read. In his bare hand was the burning anger of the original Blue Dragon.
「Entity: Noah has accepted the tale Divine Blue Dragon Savior 」