Reincarnated in the game world ~ A gamer's beginning to [Dungeon job hunting recommendation]

The match between 17th block's classes continued, and as of now, half of the classes had been eliminated, such as—«Class 4», «Class-7», «Class-37», «Class-99».

Switching from the regular audience stand—toward the reserved seat spot. 

One could spot a person dressed in very...tasteful attire, reminiscent of showa era-ish cheerleader's navy blue uniform, with a white headband rolled on his head like bandana, along with round spectacles equipped on eyes.

He was Keel, the leader of Class-9, coming here to take a look at his opponent. He had chosen this attire to show his support for Jay, the leader of Class-10. 

"Hmm, I guess that counts as a good result. Since Class-10 and Class-18 have adamanted on holding in their base, they managed to survive so far. And it doesn't seem like Class-1 is coming to target them. I atleast imagined them to try out their stake at Class-99, but they really did themselves a favour by not making any big movement."

Keel murmured as he jotted down on the memopad. His finger rubbed against his chin as he checked out on his prospective opponent, and how his drawn out strategy was coming out to be.

After sketching out various strategies he had thought of, he selected the most optimal one and splitted it into scenario-wise, hammering it into Jay. For now, everything was proceeding as well as Class-1 made move predictability. Atleast, Class-10 and Class-18 were going to stick around until they, and Class-1, were the only one left.

"I was right in my mind to rule out Class-4 for alliance huh. Class-18 turned out to be a better choice. Too much movement would inevitably push them toward Class-1. I must say, Class-1 is really impressive to map out enemies at a large scale easily."

Class-18 was initially chosen because of their lower-rank, since that would be more in Class-10 favour. After all, if everything went as planned, and the last remaining class turned out to be Class-1, Class-10 and Class-18, they would have to decide who will get the throne to 2nd seat? If it came to an armed struggle, Class-18 was better choice than Class-4 since Class-10 would have better chance winning against Class-18.

But who could have thought Class-4 wouldn't even last long enough. They tried to play the role of oriole, assuming they could fish for advantage while Class-99 and Class-37 were pitting against each other. They were caught off guard in a surprise attack conducted by Class-1, and lose their leader, throwing their rank in chaos.

But their misfortune continued as a disordered Class-4 encountered Class-6 and Class-7's allied force. 

With their members engulfed into confusion without any leader, they could only offer that much of a resistance before they somehow managed to escape into their base at the cost of losing many of theirs.

This was one situation he didn't expect. After all, Class-4 wasn't some random class. Their members boasted an average of LV50. Their leader was even more stronger at the LV64. Though it matter not since the leader was taken out.

Meanwhile, Class-6 and Class-7 were clearly weak, with an average of 38~43 level. Their leader wasn't that strong either, having only Class-52. Frankly, their status was only enough to put them somewhere between Class-30 and Class-50. 

Anyway, they could've been erased if they moved against Class-4 individually. However they turned their chance by taking advantage of their numbers, and the fact that Class-10 had already lost their leader was another big factor. 

Ultimately, and it took them around 20 minutes to reach the settlement, Class-6 and Class-7 managed to take down Class-4. But, the price they paid was heavy, and in the end, the allied force gave Class-1 an opening to exploit. 

After reaping away the Class-99, and then Class-37, Class-1's scythe turned toward Class-7. Eventually, while they're on move, having just taken down Class-4, Class-1 pinned them down and showed them a way to the outside of the arena easily.

There was particularly no reason why Class-7 was chosen, instead of Class-6, however Keel believed the reason could be linked to that 'Detestable Brave' campaign run by them in July. Atleast, the girls in Class-1 were particularly active in their attack. In fact, even the girls that should've been a part of defense squad participated in raid against them. 

If he remembered correctly, the majority of participants in the July's guild battle were seniors, while first-years didn’t get much chance to join in the battle. Now that they’re facing their old enemy, they certainly made good use of the chance for payback.

Either way, this had Class-6 so scared they shut themselves on their base like turtles. In the end, it was Class-1, Class-6, Class-10, and Class-18 left behind.

Now, Class-10 had at least secured their seat for the top 4 of their block. It was pretty sufficient to get the reward Academy distributed. But now, if they want to win and make their place for the final, they must venture out of their fortress.

It just wasn't the best timing to move. They must fully grasp Class-1’s movement before they roll out their dice.

"Well, the situation is pretty much a stalemate now. Everyone had holed themselves in their base, leaving not even a tiniest gap for Class-1 to take advantage of. So what would be the next step of Class-1 huh."

Once a class had completely turned defensive, it wasn't actually easy to challenge them. 

It should be a challenge, even for Class-1, to tear down a well defended base easily. For once, other classes took advantage of the main force's absence to hail down attack on said class's base. Meanwhile, Class-1 had shown a trend where they only target the bases that had an opening. 

The general trick was to reap away as many points as much available in the beginning and then switch to defensive stance. This was pretty much the main theory of Class-1, having taken down three bases themselves, and Class-6. 

As long as they face no challenge, they're certain to score first two ranks. So, it would be a fool's errand to make another raid for them. And as long as Class-1 didn't roam around, Class-10 would have a chance to act freely.

This was one of Keel's points in his strategy. 

Now it had been 10 minutes since Class-1 returned to their base, and there've not been any movement from them ever since.

A faint smile crept up on Keel's lips.

"Hmm, so Class-1 has also switched to defense huh. Then its pattern C. Yup, just as predicted. Heehee."

"You sure look in a merry mood, huh?"

"Hmm?"

Just as Keel was immersed in his own world, excited at the outcome of the plan he concocted, someone interrupted him from the sideline, pushing him to take heed of his neighbour on the adjacent seat. 

"Nevermind, first tell me what's with that getup, «Reaper Keel»?"

"And I wondered who it was. It's just you, «Hundred Flame's Haku»."

His voice cracked a little in surprise as he glanced beside him, but seeing the person—A fox-kin girl, sporting white triangular ears, and just as white but big fluffy tail—he just gestured with a shrug.

The girl gave off a soft-spoken character vibe, though Keel knew better than not to go after her appearance. Having an alias was proof of that.

So, while being vigilant, he replied in an off-handed manner. 

"What do you mean 'just', huh? ...Believe it or not, I am also a leader of Class-3."

"I know that. And you know what, I would have called them madmen if someone else had been their leader. Anyway, what do you want? You can see, I am quite busy right now. We can leave other matters for later."

"Hah, look at your curt and pompous attitude. You know no girl is gonna take a dig on you with that attitude and lame glasses? The game is in a stalemate, so I thought to just make some random chit chat."

"...I am not giving out any information if that's what you're hoping for."

"I amn't even counting on it~."

"I wonder."

"Alright, so what do you think would be happening next, Keel?"

"......"

For a brief moment, Keel contemplated whether he should make a talk, or keep quiet. But arriving at the 'what if he prattled off by going in the flow?' conclusion, he decided to keep quiet about it, pressing on his mouth with right hand.

"Sheesh, that was a tease, Keel. You could've at least made a retort, now I am feeling awkward."

"......Good grief. Can you just not go all shy on me? It's instead making me nervous. But less of it, what is the great leader of Class-3 doing here, huh?"

"Well now, aren't you a sly fox, Keel? Trying to probe information from me while saying otherwise about yourself. If you bother to tell me, than so I will."

"...Forget it then."

"Aww~, so you're such a bore."

Seeing himself being caught in nuisance, Keel tried to cut off the conversation, but met with a pout from Haku. 

'What are you doing, me. My main objective should be to note down the details of the match,' Keel reminded himself internally and once again turned his focus to the match. 

But Haku threw a wrench amidst.

"You must be here for a little snooping on Class-1, or well the finalist, right? The same goes for me. Come now, it wouldn't hurt to share notes, eh?"

Sure enough, her intention was also to check out on Class-1. 

Keel thought, though unlike her, he was also here to cheer on Jay's class, and also to see Class-1's movement pattern and trend. To face off a super-elite class like Class-1, they would need to go above and beyond after all. 

So it was the most important time for him to see how his prediction goes, and how the result comes out. The last thing he wanted was someone pestering him. At the same time, Keel pondered. Maybe Haku wasn't here to check out on Class-1, but also to throw a wrench in his plan. 

In that scenario, unless he somehow tackled her, Haku would continue to wreck his plan. Keel thought of it and tried to rile her up.

"Oh? Are you worrying about finals already? I say instead of worrying about tomorrow, passing through today should be your bigger task. Or what, you think you have your pending match in your bag?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He stared at Haku, making himself as if he was mocking her for presumptuousness. Haku had a blank expression for a moment, and replied, a smile tugging on her lips.

"Well, you got me, I must say. We still have that Class-5 in our 20th block. They're tough nuts to crack, but then again, they're the only serious competitor to us. Rest of the participants can barely chase after us. And talk for yourself Keel. Don't you have Class-8 to tackle in your 16th block?  You believe the match is in your pocket?"

"......"

A sharp glint shined in Keel's gaze at the reply as he turned to stare at Haku. 

She wasn't wrong. They had more formidable opponents than just Class-1 to take on. They're their biggest obstacle, however they also had to be vary of other classes like Class-8 in 16th block. 

Struck between the two bad behemoths, it wouldn't do them anything well by peeling their eyes only for one. 

Publically, Class-8 was the 3rd fan favourite class. They've been ranked 5th—4th now, after the elimination of Class-2. The usual guess of everyone was they, Class-9, would surely lose in direct confrontation.

Even he wasn't sure who was better among them, the fight favouring either of the sides.

Following them was Class-3, originally ranked 6th, but now shifted to 5th spot. They're said to be slightly inferior to them, but having seen Haku personally, Keel wasn't so sure about his class chances. Haku was like a one-man armageddon, carrying Class-3 on her back. This was also how they triumph over Class-4. 

On the last day, they would surely come face-to-face against this girl, one they couldn't let down their guards. One of the biggest hurdles. 

So he couldn't figure out why Haku was out there, trying to talk things out with him. He momentarily shifted his gaze from the match and glanced at Haku, and she was still smiling.

Then, in a very off-handed manner, she hurled her words.

"Hey, you know what, Keel. I have a suggestion."

"......What is it? I can lend an ear at least, if that's what you want."

He replied concisely. However, that cautious front shattered into pieces when he heard Haku's following word, his gaze lurking behind those round glasses widening.

"It's about finals. Wouldn't you join us in a crusade against Class-1 and Class-8?"