Chapter 80 – Trust

Prestige summoned each of the ambushers to her location, and Sal was relieved to see that the one with the shard of wood in his leg was completely fine. They gathered as they had the previous weeks and held their hands behind their back. Just like all the other occasions, Prestige started them off with her own feedback.

“You took our advice this time and worked well as a team. Sacrificing your base was a difficult decision to make, but you understood that it was a liability. That is quite praiseworthy in itself. To trick your opponents into believing you stubbornly stayed at that location was an excellent ploy, and I commend your Support for the use of illusions. It was something that the ambushers had yet to encounter in their fights against you, and it proved to be very effective.”

Prestige smiled as she gestured at the ruins of the tower in the distance. Her hand swept down to their feet, where she placed her cane.

“Adding in traps like the first encounter and hiding them with illusions was an excellent idea. It forced your opponent to be mindful of Erika’s gaze as well as on the ground. I would have liked to have seen more tactical placement of the traps, but that is only a minor criticism. They were highly effective and drove your opponent into acting rashly. I was negative in my reports last week about your Defense, but I can only give glowing remarks this time around. Wards are an exhausting means of defense, yet you managed to lay them out across a wide area in such a short space of time.”

Prestige’s cane came up to gesture at Ioseph. “You did well this week. Barriers were done expertly, and you protected your team.”

She walked around the camp and looked at each of the students before continuing. Her cane came to a stop behind Brophy as she smiled.

“You didn’t venture far from your team and remained mindful of their location. Utilizing teamwork with your Support was well done, and disengaging against a threat beyond your abilities was a wise choice. That golem was not a good opponent for you and would have likely resulted in more casualties had you fought that Controller directly. You showed great restraint and teamwork, good job.”

Prestige tapped Rochelle on the shoulder, who straightened her back immediately. “You showed excellent Healer senses and moved exactly where you were needed. I dread to think of the agony your Support would have gone through if it wasn’t for your quick thinking and reflexes. Slipping out of the barriers to back up your Support is an unorthodox play, but it was a testament to your adaptability and battle sense. Full marks from me this week.”

The anticipation was getting heavier, and Sal was sure that Erika was practically laughing on the inside. No matter what way Sal looked at it, she had used him like a Controller would. There were a lot of ethical boundaries that could be considered, but when it came to war, he was sure that the guilds would side with Erika’s methods. He was almost certain that Prestige would praise Erika for her tactics, but a small part of him hoped that Prestige would berate her for her actions. If any of their previous rounds were clues, it was that Prestige had no particular fondness for Erika. That was Sal’s petty hope—that she would find fault with Erika’s methods.

“Which brings us to the role of the Controller in this exercise.” Prestige began as she stepped around to face Erika. “You listened to your team and assisted them. I half expected you to dismiss the idea of using illusions, but I’m happy that you saw the merit in those tactics. You used your powers to enhance the communication of your team, but it was reckless to pursue the remaining Controller by yourself.”

Prestige’s smile tightened ever so slightly. “You used your ability on your Support, without consulting them and without their consent. Furthermore, you endangered their life while giving them a front-row seat. Your Support is not your Defense and shouldn’t be utilized in such a way.”

Prestige sighed as she glanced over to where Sal stood. “I debated on stepping in but saw it as an opportunity to assess the rest of your team. I was pleased to see your Healer and Defense move to protect their Support. It’s just a shame that the solidarity and teamwork displayed was caused by the Controller acting in such a cold-hearted fashion. Many will praise your strategy, but I am not one of those people.”

Prestige’s gaze returned to Erika. “From what I’ve learned of Mr. Argento, he’s able to transform his uniform into an impressive suit of armor. If you had tasked him with using his armor to take out the golems, he likely would have done it. Instead, you forced him to face them in just his clothing, which caused him serious injuries. Even if you have a Healer, it’s incredibly naive to sacrifice members of your team to achieve victory. There were multiple solutions available to you, and you chose the one that ended up hurting your team.”

Erika’s shoulders tensed as she tilted her head slightly to one side. “His gun wasn’t causing enough damage. We all saw what his armor did to that golem, and it made sense to replicate the scenario.” She was adamant that she had done nothing wrong, and the tension in her voice showed that she was aggravated by the lecturing tone from Prestige.

Prestige frowned as she stepped back. With a tap of her cane, she looked around at the ambushers and gestured for one of them to speak. “Let’s hear your version of events before we conclude all of this.”

Instead of the usual man who stepped forward, it was the ethereal woman. She gave Prestige a nod of respect before beginning her report.

“Excellent defensive perimeter, with an ingenious method of trap placement. We only spotted the visible ones as we were led to believe there was nobody in the student team with illusory capabilities. Seeing the Controller in the tower made us believe that they were going to try to cloister again, so we paid attention to staying out of her line of sight. When the first explosion went off in the forest, we assumed it was carelessness from one of our team, and it was only after the second that we realized there were hidden traps.”

She gestured at Erika as she spoke. “Knowing that our location had likely been revealed to the Controller, we attempted to storm the camp to incite panic in the students. We hadn’t anticipated that they would place traps in the camp interior, which took out another two of our team. I took a hidden position in the camp and waited for backup before proceeding.

“When the barriers were taken down, we breached the tower and realized that it was a trap almost instantly. The blast radius was much more dramatic than we expected, and it took out even more of our team. At that point, we determined that the exercise was too one-sided, and made the judgment call to utilize our abilities. It was to offer a challenge to the students.”

Prestige nodded. “I approve of the judgment call. If you had carried on as normal, then they likely wouldn’t have learned anything more than complacency. This isn’t about winning or losing…it’s about learning.” She looked at the students as she spoke.

“There will be unforeseen moments that happen in dungeons and towers. It will feel unfair and no matter how prepared or equipped you are, there will always be something that catches you off guard. Remember this.”

When Prestige finished speaking, she looked back at the woman giving the report, who gave a slight nod.

“I used a Scout ability to identify the location of each student and placed markers on them. I was only noticed by their Support, which was impressive. I goaded the Support into thinking I’d attack the remainder of the team, making them reposition out of their guarded location. I then attempted to dispatch him before being apprehended by their Offense. He evaded my attacks and showed keen senses. I was impressed with his actions.” She shifted slightly on her feet and gestured at Brophy.

“As an opponent, the Offense was incredibly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. The terrain provided no issue for him, and he was able to fight me on equal footing on the tree branches, which was very impressive. He also dispatched one of our remaining team members who had high durability and resistance to attacks.”

She moved her hand to the others on the team. “Defense and Healer performed very well in this exercise, showing a high degree of adaptability and ingenuity. My essence was being sapped when I was goading the Support, which led me to believe that I was already noticed by the Healer. I was particularly impressed by how quickly the Healer moved in to assist the Support.”

Prestige nodded and then pointed at Erika. “And what did you make of the Controller’s performance?”

The woman didn’t hesitate as she shook her head. “The Controller showed a blatant disregard for the safety of her team. It was particularly unpleasant to watch the Support taking those attacks head-on. From a strategic perspective, it showed a high degree of ingenuity and could be praised, but on a personal level, I was not impressed with their methods. The Controller could have used their ability on me to sow discontent among the rest of the team, or they could have attempted to take over the mind of another of my accomplices. Instead, she focused on someone within her own team while she remained in hiding. It felt like a cowardly act, but that is my personal feeling on the matter.”

Prestige sighed as she turned back to Erika. “Cowardly isn’t the word I’d use for this.” She seemed almost conflicted as she chose her next words.

“Controllers often need to carry the heaviest burden as they’re ultimately responsible for the safety and wellbeing of their team. There are some out there who would rate mission success over team survival. I would hope that you’re capable of seeing the gray area between the two. Captain Chatfield is highly regarded as a Controller because of his flawless track record in bringing his teams back alive. Every self-respecting Hunter would trade their entire set of equipment to work with him. There are other Controllers in the ranking who see teams as pawns, or stepping stones to reach their goals. Nobody wants to work with them, no matter how powerful or competent they are. Think carefully, Miss Clifton, about what type of Controller you want to be.”

Erika glared at Prestige as she shook her head. “They bend the rules to increase the level of challenge, but I’m the person who gets a warning? We’re here to do a job, and we did it perfectly. Salvatore is healthy and our enemies have been defeated. Why should I hold myself back from using my powers when I can end things faster than they can?”

Frustration crept into her voice as she looked at the assembled group of ambushers. “They ran into our traps recklessly and got dispatched one by one because of the planning we did in advance. Yet, you place more value on their opinions than on ours. With all due respect, I think this entire exercise is flawed. Chatfield wanted us to learn how to survive out in the Reclaimed Zone and criticized the student tournament. Yet, the solution was for us to fight adults instead of students? We should be running low-level dungeons to get us ready for the tower. Not out here playing with Hero rejects.”

Sal couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. He wasn’t sure whether she was delusional or unbelievably arrogant. Prestige and the ambushers had literally just told her that they disapproved of her actions, but instead of accepting the criticism, she threw the blame at everyone else. He wondered whether she had ever experienced the sensation of being a puppet under someone else’s control. It would likely give her a lot more perspective about how terrifying her ability was to experience firsthand.

Prestige sighed as she gestured for the ethereal woman to step back into the line of ambushers. She turned her attention to Erika and tapped her cane against the ground as she stepped closer.

“I had hoped that the personalized training might have put you on the right path, but you seem insistent to rush things. Your opinion of your own capabilities and career trajectory seems to be misaligned with reality. As a Controller, you might someday specialize in interrogation or some form of Assassination style class, but for now, you’re learning the basics. To get to where you need to go, you’ll need a team.

“If you look at the faces of the people who are supposed to trust you, you’ll see that they’re not particularly pleased with how you’ve conducted yourself today. Go on, feel free to read their minds and see what they’re thinking. I can guarantee that they share the same thoughts as me: Will Erika Clifton take control of my body in the tower and get me killed?”

Erika’s face went white as she shook her head vehemently. “That’s ridiculous. This was just a test. There was no way the golems would go for the kill. It was the only solution that I could see. They wouldn’t have come up with a better solution if I hadn’t acted.”

“Because you don’t trust anyone other than yourself,” Brophy said, to everyone’s surprise.

Rather than admonishing her son, Prestige gestured for him to continue.

Brophy turned to face Erika and pressed his hand against his chest. “Broken Brophy.” He pointed at Rochelle. “Healer Bitch and Vampire.” His hand moved to Sal. “Crafter.” Finally, his hand moved to Ioseph.

“I don’t know what you’ve categorized Ioseph as in your brain, but I’m sure you probably think poorly of him in some way. Because, to you, all of us are essentially tools to be used. You barely used our names, or asked us about what we could do, because you already knew that you could make us do whatever you wanted. You didn’t bother contributing to the group chats with other teams because you don’t like collaborating. You shoot down nearly every idea that isn’t your own, and all your attempts at working with us have felt contrived and forced. It feels like we’re a means to an end, and while I can respect that among other teams, you have a particularly horrible way of doing it.”

Prestige looked at Erika and smiled. “It’s a lot to take in, but as a Controller, you need to be able to work with your team. If they’re all against you from the beginning, then the cohesion falls apart and mistakes lead to fatalities. Even if you don’t agree with what you’re hearing, respect the fact that your team is communicating with you and telling you how they feel. It will help you navigate inter-personal relationships going forward and you might find yourself able to rely on others as they start to rely on you.”

Erika’s face became incredibly passive as her voice slipped into a neutral tone. “Thank you all for explaining this to me. I’m grateful that you’ve communicated your feelings, and I’ll work to improve on my actions.”

Prestige shook her head with a sigh. “Overall verdict from this exercise is a pass. We don’t need to do this for another week. You’ll return to the academy tomorrow and you’ll have a week of rest before you take on the tower exercise. It will give all of you a chance to cool down from the tensions of the last three weeks, and I hope you’ll use the time to reflect on everything you’ve learned.”

Sal blinked in surprise. “Wasn’t there supposed to be another week of training?” He blurted out the words and saw that the other members of his team were thinking the same thing.

Prestige gestured at the group behind her. “That golem attack was supposed to take place in your final week of training, but you managed to overcome it early. I think it would be disruptive to your development if we were to keep you out here for another week. There are a few other teams who have returned early due to their performance.”

She paused for a moment, considering her words as she placed her cane in front of her, holding it with both palms. “I’m not entirely dissatisfied with your teamwork over the last number of weeks. You have two victories out of three, and the two that you won were convincing enough to warrant a pass. I have an issue with your cohesion as a group, but it isn’t enough for me to fail you. I will be accompanying you into the tower as an observer and watching you carefully to see how many floors you can successfully clear.”

Sal couldn’t help but feel relieved knowing that they’d have her there with them. The feeling was short-lived as Prestige continued.

“The requirement of students is to clear a single floor to pass the assignment. As you’re my group, I expect a minimum of five.”