Chapter 10 Combat Evaluation Exam

Sunday November 11, 2001 Takeru POV (Brain-room)

"Good morning Kasumi" Takeru groggily opens his eyes and greets a little silver hair girl

"Good morning Takeru san." Kasumi replied monotonously

It has been more than a week since Takeru worked with Kasumi on his little project. The concept of perceive things through Kasumi's senses barely yields any huge improvement. Even as Takeru could see things through Kasumi's eyes, he finds it's hard to control his own body as he wished since he always messes up with the timing and the distance. If Takeru would put it in another word, it would be he suddenly develops myopia and is forced to wear thick-glasses over a night. However, Takeru still find his experiment is heading toward a positive end. Kasumi is slowly changing as she frequently contacts with the girls in his squad. There is still no subtle change in her daily expressions and behavior. But, through his synchronization link with Kasumi, Takeru can detect there were a significant change inside her. Takeru doesn't know how to describe this change that only he and Kasumi could perceive. It feels like Kasumi is painting a beautiful picture inside her soul with many colorful crayons as she interacts with the more people.

"This room is really cold at night" Takeru complained while folding his blanket. He has slept in this room since the start of his experiment. Takeru didn't want to have another bloodbath over him spending the night with Kasumi like his previous loop. There is no amount of explanations could prove his innocence in this matter. Last time, he even has to bribe Ayamine his Yakisoba to keep her quiet in this matter.

Moreover, he wants to spend more time listen to Sumika thought before her rebirth with the aid of Kasumi. Sumika's current state of mind is extremely unstable. Her traumatic experience from the BETA make her close her mind from all surrounding thought and interference. Her memory was scrambled and mixed up from all of different Sumika of different parallel worlds. Her mind seems so fragile that it could broke apart any moment. However, even among all of the scrambled memories, even Sumika mind desperately fight a constant battle against all of her mixed up memories; there is a single image and a single name engraved into the core of her existence. "Takeru chan, Takeru chan, Takeru chan…" Those words were echoed over and over through Sumika's mind. Those words were repeatedly beseeched like a miraculous spell that shields away even the most traumatic experience at the depth of Sumika's soul. And even among a chaotic vortex of jumbled up memories; Takeru could clearly see images of his foolish younger self appear without fail in any piece of Sumika memories. The images of his foolish and laidback self shines brightly like thousand suns in the midst of the chaotic vortex as a landmark toward Sumika's soul.

That was probably why Takeru always wept like a baby whenever he dives deep into Sumika mind. He understood one fact that the only forces that keep Sumika alive are none but the G-element liquid and the memory of a foolish boy. Takeru himself had constantly wondered if this was the source of power that makes him into a Casualty Conductor. Was that why he was brought into this world? Was that why a miracle was created despite all the odds? Takeru didn't know. Perhaps, not even Sumika herself as the cause of the Quantum Oddity had the answer. Maybe...only God knows which it was.

(PX) Takeru POV

Kyozuka worriedly looks at a blindfolded young man waiting in the line "Takeru chan, you should at least remove your blindfold during your meal. No matter how many times I look at it, it's always disturbing"

"Oba chan, please don't say that. I'm getting embarrassed. It's my assignment. I have to obey it"

The old lady gently rubbed Takeru head and said "You can ask Yuuko chan for a permission to at least remove it during your meal right? I am sure that Yuuko chan will understand"

Takeru quickly waved his hand in denial "No, it is entirely my own decision to do it. I need to finish this assignment as fast as possible. That's why I kept the blindfold on at all time. Besides, even this blindfold has its own advantage. I can easily sleep during Marimo chan class without getting caught."

"Hahaha, you better not let Marimo chan hear it. She definitely tears you to pieces just for merely having the courage to think about sleeping in her class… Here kiddo, you can have some Yakisoba. I heard from Marimo chan that you were almost dropping dead from Yuuko chan's assignment at night."

"Hahaha, Thanks a lot oba chan. Wow, this Yakisoba smell really appetizing"

"Don't worry about it kiddo"

Takeru brings his food tray to an empty table while waiting for Kasumi.

Kyozuka "Kasumi chan, you are here with Takeru chan today as well? Good girl, I have some delicious Yakisoba for you, too"

"Thank you"

With large sapphire eyes, long silky silver hair, adorable face, and small stature like a doll, Kasumi exudes an aura that just compels everyone to smother her with affections.

"Woa, you are here early today Takeru. Ah, Good morning Kasumi" Chiruzu spoke in great surprise.

"Good morning Sakaki san"

"Good morning class rep. What with that surprise look of yours?"

"…You know, it's disturbing to hear such precise description from a blindfolded man"

"Geh, stop using that word. It's not disturbing at all." Takeru sighed outwardly in denial.

"You are surprisingly early today Takeru. Normally, you are always taking a nap until noon on every Sunday." Meiya spoke while putting her food tray down on the table.

"Ah, Meiya. Good morning."

"Good morning. You know? You are really amazing. I don't know how you were able to hear what I am saying with those ear-plugs." Meiya spoke as she sat down next to Takeru.

"hahaha, I'm nothing that incredible. It was Yuuko sensei who was amazing" Takeru quickly voiced up his usual lie. "Besides, what will you do today?"

"I will practice at the range with Tamase and Mikoto later" Chiruzu

"I will go to the combat field with Ayamine after breakfast" Meiya

The girls in Takeru squad were diligent and discipline. But not this much, they won't spend time to practice during day off like this. In his previous loops, with the exception of Meiya spent her time practicing her skills to fight evenly with Takeru, Chiruzu would spend the day reading books. While the rest of the girls playing marble or cat cradle. After the event relate to Hayase, even someone as dense as Takeru could notice that all of them work extremely hard for some reason. "Oh, that's good to hear. Can I join you girls later; I want to hasten this experiment as soon as possible. I can't get use to the stare of everyone around me any longer." Takeru suggested.

"Surely, Ayamine comes up with some good moves. She wants to try it on you first" Meiya happily replied

"It sounds really dangerous for some reason Meiya. Her Ayamine Tornado is already deadly enough. What type of finishing move is she coming up with now?" Takeru sweats profusely at the thought that Ayamine is upgrading her final move.

"Hehehe, it's a secret for now. You should know it sooner or later Takeru." Meiya giggles

"I just hope that I could survive until I am able to discern what kind of move is it" Takeru wearily replied

Suddenly, the alarm siren sound breaks up the peaceful atmosphere.

Chiruzu "Everyone, this is an emergency summons. We got to move quickly"

Even Takeru himself almost forget that it is today that the BETA will invade mainland from Sadogashima. His thought was too occupied by his project with Kasumi.

Briefing room

"Shirogane, you are spacing out once again." Marimo complained

"Sorry, I'm just a little relieve that we were able to push back the BETA so soon. Normally, this kind of battle will take many hours." Takeru decided to lie to avoid some scolding from Marimo. He already saw through how the battle would end from the beginning.

"You could say that we are lucky this time. Now that all of the squad 207 members have assembled here, I have good news to inform you all. With your good results in training recently, we have prepared a vacation in southern island for you all tomorrow." Marimo said while look expectantly at the squad.

"The Comprehensive Combat skill Evaluation right?" Takeru spoke without any enthusiasm. He may fell for Marimo's joke in his first loop but not now after looping countless time.

Marimo narrows her eyes and continues her speech "Right, you all show me what you learn in training"

(November 12, 2001) (Unknown Southern Island) Takeru POV

No matter how many time I see it, it still feel wrong. We are going to risk ourselves in this tropical jungle while a certain someone can relax and enjoy her time here like this is a holiday for her. The first thing that we saw on the island is Yuuko sensei in her bikini sunbathing under an umbrella. She looked totally on a vacation mood. Next to her is Kasumi who is playing with the sand in her one piece. It took me a while to convince Yuuko sensei to allow her to have her vacation with us this time. I promised to take Kasumi to a beach in my last loop after all.

"Oh. You are here already. Now, let get started" Yuuko smiles seductively and said "Here is your mission. Don't get lost"

Chiruzu received the paper and saluted "Order received"

"Do your best and not getting yourself killed. If it gets really bad, use the radio in your bag. Of course, it means failing the exam."

This is the second exam for the girls; they won't make any silly stumble like their first. Besides, we can't even fail any way. I can't even remember how many times I had repeatedly done this exam. So there is just no way would I let the squad failed in this exam.

"See you again Kasumi, I will come back and play with you soon." I patted Kasumi's head and grin widely to her.

"See you later Takeru san"

"Shirogane, you are awfully over confident, aren't you? Come here quickly and get your survival kits" Marimo complained while glaring at me for my nonchalant attitude.

"Sorry, Mari… Instructor". I quickly join the circle with the girls and pick up my survival kits.

"During the operation, you had no choice but to abandon your TSF and are in a situation where Reinforced Exo suit cannot be used, so you have to escape the battle area. Escape is the primary objective" Marimo started her briefing immediately as I join the circle with the girls. "You must also destroy objective marked on your map to delay the enemy. This is your secondary objective. It doesn't matter how you do it. As long as you finish both objectives before this operation time limit which is 114 hours. This is all information you have in the present. Understood?"

"Sir yes sir" The girls and I replies in unison.

"Good, now synchronize your watches …57, 58, 59…-Operation start!"

(Tropical Forest path) Takeru POV

"Takeru, at least watch out for your step" Mikoto looks at me worriedly

"Don't worry, I can see the traps over here" I reply quickly. It's not that I can see. I knew their position. After all, I did this exam countless of time already.

"You don't look like you are watching for them" Mikoto complained at my nonchalant answer

"Mikoto, if you continue talking, you just might set off the sonic landmine over there" I pointed at a camouflaged sonic landmine dozen meters away.

"Woa, how did you see that Takeru?" Mikoto was surprised.

"I told you that I could see them, right? Look out for the string trap under that rotten tree in front of us as well"

"Eh? Woa. Takeru, you are really amazing. You don't even look like you were watching out for them at all" Mikoto spoke while kneeling down and disabling the trap.

"I'm not that great." It's true. I was only able to spot the traps because I have been here before. Mikoto on the other hand was actually the one who deserved praising here. As expected of the squad survivalist, she could find traps easily just looking at the general direction and easily disable most of the traps. She must be a natural born talented survivalist.

My memory is more concreted this time due to the recent entry to this island (supposedly 3 months ago) in my previous loop. I could even probably run through this forest without set off any traps. With Mikoto being a talented survivalist to add up, we walked through the forest rather smoothly

After hours of walking through the forest path, we found our objective well hidden under a valley. The abandoned base lies hidden under a shadowy cavern. Last time, we blew up this place in the morning and get an earful from Marimo. However, this time, we find our way through the forest much quicker. That careless mistake won't be repeated.

Mikoto found nothing in the base but a sheet to cover us from the rain. Without wasting any time we plugged one of the oil drums near the generator building, making it look like a giant Molotov cocktail. We left a trail of oil around the place to make sure that the whole base goes up in flames too.

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Mikoto and I immediately navigated our way through the valley after flared up our improvised fuse. When we were about half a kilometer away from the base, a deafening explosion shook the atmosphere. A giant ball of flame soared through the sky could be seen easily even miles away. The night curtain was lifted off as the whole abandoned base burned brightly like a giant bon fire.

"Wow, it's bigger than I expected" I spoke jokingly while pointing toward the giant ball of flame.

"Yeah, it wasn't bad at all, considering the fuse was improvised."

"It would make a good diversion for the others. We should make our way to the forest for now and start camping. There were lesser chances to be detected with this distance."

"I agree Takeru. But you were really amazing. I can't believe that we can cover such huge distance in this little amount of time." Mikoto spoke while her eyes are glittered like gem stones with admiration.

"Stop it, Mikoto. If not for your excellent skills, I won't even make it here to begin with." It is true. I was practically a dead weight for her in my first loop. No stamina, no experience, lack of skills and awareness. It was impossible for me to survive through this Evaluation exam if I was partnered with anyone else other than Mikoto. That was the kind of useless excess baggage that I was once was. Looking back at those embarrassing memories, I realize that I have totally transformed from a normal student to a full pledged soldier.

"Ahaha, Takeru. You are really humble. I will make place for us to sleep. Takeru, you can check the nearby area for traps and set up ours in the mean time." Mikoto cheerfully replied

"Right away"

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The next morning after we all got our rest, the Mikoto and I head towards the rendezvous point marked on the map. We climbed through the cliff to save time rather than make our way through the forest.

As we climbed through the stiff slope, I can't wait to meet my archenemy here. I focus my eye sight and look for that little critter. That one almost fails me in my first exam and gives me an intolerable suffering from his poison.

Hisssssss

Ah, finally found him.

"Mikoto, stop. Snake"

"Ah…you are right."

"I bet Kyozuka oba chan can make a delish dish out of him. This guy is a rare catch nowadays"

"You sure?" Mikoto nervously asked.

"Don't worry. I can put him in my survival belt after cut-off his fangs. Just think of what dish Kyozuka oba chan create from this one already make me hungry." I replied while creeping closer to the critter. With a swift move I grab the snake by the neck. I can't help but smile evilly at the snake on my hand. It's the same guy who made me suffered badly in my first exam. "This is only karma my friend".

"Do you have a grudge against snake Takeru?" Mikoto was slightly shaken from my evil aura

"Ahaha, don't worry about it." I just want to pay him back for what he did to me. I drew out the combat knife and de-fanged the critter while throwing my belt at Mikoto. "Help me to empty the belt; I am going to shove this guy into it soon."

"Uwa, don't point it at me" Mikoto screamed as she caught my belt. It is quite unexpected that a survival specialist like her is actually bad at dealing with snake. I wonder if she is actually Indiana Jones's direct descendant. After all, it is really amazing that an awesome survivalist like him could be bad at dealing with snake as well.

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Mikoto cheerfully spoke "Ah, Meiya san and Chiruzu san are here already"

Two shadowy figures head toward our campfire from the direction of Mikoto is looking at.

"As expected, only both of you could do it so quickly. I was really surprised to see your objective destroyed in the first night" Meiya complimented while walking closer to the fire.

"Agree, when did you arrive here?" Chiruzu put her right hand on the hip and look at us in admiration.

"We got here yesterday noon" Mikoto replied happily

"…"Both Meiya and class rep were stunned at Mikoto reply. It can't be help. Even with a survival specialist like Mikoto tagged in the group, they won't able to cover the whole distance to our rendezvous position this fast. It is almost completely impossible if not for my memory from the previous loop.

"That was crazy. How did you do that?"

"It was really no…" I waved my hand at class rep's awe expression in denial.

Mikoto immediately cut in at Godspeed "Takeru was really amazing. He is even better at spotting traps than I do. We walked through the forest rather extremely easy."

"I am nothing that sort of awesome. Mikoto was really good at disarming traps. That's the only reason we can walk smoothly." I quickly denied Mikoto's overly praise. "By the way, we also collected fruits and mushrooms while waiting for you girls. Have some food if you like"

"Ah, Ayamine san and Miki san are here" Mikoto chirped

"Eh? We are the last group here?" Tama voiced her surprised

"What did you do Takeru? I saw your object destroyed in the first night." Ayamine stared at me and asked

"Ahaha, don't worry about it. Let's sit down and have some food for now." I tried to divert Ayamine suspicious stare away as quick as I can.

The girls settled down around the fire and shared their information in the last two days. Mikoto and I only got a sheet from our base. Meiya and Chizuru found a rappelling rope from their objective while Tama and Ayamine found a map with the location of the extraction point and an anti-material rifle that have enough firepower to piece through a tank's amour. We quickly discussed our plan the same while sharing the meal. Like last time, all the girls agreed to travel across the island and cut through a river to save up time. It was the same we plan we used in all my loops to reach our destination. After we finish discussing, Chiruzu ordered to set up shifts so everyone can rest and have their fills.

"Uwa, Takeru san, I think your belt just moved on its own" Tama nervously pointed her finger at the moving belt.

Mikoto heard that; her face turned paled as the result. She quickly jumped and hid behind Ayamine's back. "He stuffed a living snake inside it."

The rest of the girls quickly fixed their sight into the moving belt.

"Don't be so surprised about it. I don't have any seasoning here to cook it. Besides, I am not even a good cook to begin with. So it's a little gift for Kyozuka oba chan. I am sure she could make delicacies out of this one. You girls will surely love it" I caught the moving belt and tied it to a tree root while explaining to the squad.

Tama shrieked, mimicked Mikoto's reaction and hid behind Ayamine's back after she heard my explanation. Only add to the two chibi girl's horror, Ayamine gave me a thumb up "Good job…Takeru".

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The next morning, the squad moved towards the evacuation point marked on the map. I looked above and saw the cloudless sky looming over. But that was simply a ruse, in the next few hours, there would be a heavy squall swept by. We arrived at the river crevice somewhere between morning and noon. The water current was still fair so we had time.

"Looks like we can cross the river now" Chizuru suggested and the rest of the squad agreed. "Right then. Ayamine, get across the river and tie the rope around that tree so that we can get across"

"…copy that." Ayamine was the best when it came to climbing and balancing. Her sense of balance is as good as that of a cat. It took her barely a few minutes to cross over the river and tied up the rope. But just as she signaled us that the rope was tightly secured, dark clouds loom over us.

"Eh? Rain? At a time like this?" Tama complained

Ayamine signaled once again that it was safe for us to cross the rope. I quickly followed her signal as well as the rest of the girls. However, the moment the whole squad makes it across the river, another predicted problem came up. The girls started to debate whether they should use the only round of the rifle to retrieve the rope across the river or abandon the rope. The rain was heavy and bitterly cold and that was more than enough to sap the strength and morale from everyone. Everyone was getting agitated as the debate continues where neither sides want to withdraw their opinion. From my previous experience, this squall should end in the next four hours.

I quickly suggest my own opinion "Can we wait for the water to recede? I would be the best to save both the rope and the rifle for later." The girl stared at me for my opinion. It is only understandable since we don't know when this squall will stop. In addition, the pressure of the time limit and the freezing cold will drain everyone of theirs strength. "Wait, don't give that look. I had a little bit knowledge of meteorology. If my guess is dead on, this squall will end soon in another two to three hours. Class rep, can we wait here for roughly 4 hours? We can save both the rifle round and retrieve the rope that way. Besides, marching in this squall wouldn't be a smart idea, it is hard to detect traps and the water would surely deplete our strength before we reach the destination."

The girls accepted my argument and waited under the large tree for a rest. Using the large sheet that Mikoto found, we used it to cover ourselves from the rain while waiting the squall to stop. We shifted our watch every twenty minutes and in roughly two hours the rain suddenly came to a stop followed by the appearance of the sun.

Chiruzu muttered softly "Really…two hours".

Meiya voiced her observation while looking at the current "At this rate, the river will recede in another hour and then after Ayamine retrieve the rope, it's another hour. That's four hours in total"

Tama and Mikoto were brimming with admiration and spoke in harmony "It's amazing"

"Don't praise me like that. We were lucky that my prediction is dead on. Besides, it was you all agreed to it." It is only understandable that the girls were stunned at my accurate prediction. I have already known precisely when this squall will stop with my knowledge of the future.

Meiya folded her arms and spoke in respect "You are only so humble, Takeru. It's really amazing that you were so knowledgeable. Who could have thought that not only you were excel in military and meteorology like that."

"Like I said, stop complimenting me. I will definitely get arrogant. It is only luck that my prediction is correct." I quickly brush off Meiya's praise. I felt extremely guilty to deceive them like that and only to receive praise in the end.

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After few hours walking through the wood, we finally arrived at the Evacuation point. The heliport site was totally empty without any trace of the supposedly awaiting vehicle. At the edge of the site, there were some smoke signals placed tidily. This only brought back some of my awful memories. Due to Yuuko sensei's prank, I who was waving the signal flares for the chopper was almost turned into Swede cheese by a gun turret.

Meiya looked around seeing that there were no vehicles in sights. "I do not see any other means of transportation. Perhaps we are meant to use these to signal for a rescue?"

"Haaa… we actually finished the exams on the fourth day!" Mikoto sighed in relief

"…I'll wave one" Ayamine volunteered but I stopped her immediately. Anyone beside me that tried to signal the chopper will undoubtedly meet their God. It's only due to sheer luck that close to a miracle; I was able to avoid being turned into a human Swede cheese in my first loop. Yuuko sensei is so heartless, playing a prank at this moment. Everyone is on a good mood now. They were extremely happy since they failed last time. I really don't want to break everyone heart in this moment.

"Girls, think about it. Do you think this whole exam was a little too easy? After all, this exam was set by Yuuko sensei herself." I took the flare in Ayamine's hand and spoke.

Tama innocently asked "Eh? What do you mean?"

Meiya replied while looking around for traps "I agree. This whole exam was a little too easy. And this is Professor Kouzuki that we are talking about. There is no way she would make this exam in such a way."

"Yes, yes, yes. This is Yuuko sensei that we are talking about. She is a devil. She definitely comes up with some sort of pranks to kill her boredom." I can't help but admire Meiya intuition. That woman is a devil. I could easily imagine her laughing evilly at the sight of us fallen for her prank. Why does she have to break everyone heart in this manner?

"Uwa, I could totally see what you were trying to say now Takeru. It's so like the Vice Commander to do something like that." Mikoto shivered at the thought.

"See, that woman is a devil. It smells nothing but trap here" I could see horror in everyone eyes. They have finally realized that this is a trap.

"How dare you talk about the XO like that, Takeru? However, I agree. It's so like her to pull a prank at this moment." Chiruzu nodded her head in agreement.

"What scarier is that if we don't fall for her trap, we can't continue the exam. See, that woman is definitely a devil"

This time, the girls disheartenedly nodded in harmony at my statement in silent.

"That's why. As her lab assistant, it's my entire responsibility to take up this challenge." I reasoned while striking a courageous pose.

"…so cool" Ayamine gave me a thumb up

"Be careful out there Takeru" Meiya worriedly look at me

"Sob…sob…I have only meet you shortly Takeru, I didn't expect that we would part in this way" Mikoto spoke dramatically with her tearful eyes.

"Oy, Don't go killing me off without my permission just yet" I cried out at Mikoto dramatic act while flare up the signal. "You girls better hide behind those rocks just in case"

I walked to the far corner of the heliport site and start waving the smoke signal. Less than a minute, a chopper appears. Immediately, the other side of the heliport was covered with holes and sound of the machine turret gun makes cheese out of the concrete heliport sends me chills. I ran at max speed toward where the girls were hiding.

"The gun batteries! I saw the shots coming from that outcrop!" Tama pointed at the direction of the offending battery

" …the chopper ran away" Ayamine pointed out the obvious. The entire squad sighed outwardly in harmony; this is surely one of Yuuko sensei's schemes. Then the awkward silence was replaced with static noise of crackling radio sound.

"Yes, this is squad 207B" Chiruzu quickly answered

"Aah, are you all still alive?" Yuuko's voice was on the other line.(…) "Good to hear that. That aside, plans have changed a bit. I'm sure you all noticed when it shot you, but the gun battery on the island northeast is still active for some reason"

Chiruzu nervously asked the impossible "Can you deactivate it from your place?"

"Nope, it's all automatic. What a pain." Her voice is extremely unconvincing. "So I will give you all a new evacuation point. Your new evacuation point E is directly behind the offending battery. The chopper has been direct there"

"Roger that." We can do anything but obey order from the devil herself.

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"Tamase, can you hit the dome from here?" Chiruzu asked. After walking for an hour, our squad located the gun's sensors. Since the offending battery proves to be the most dangerous, the solution was to use the anti-material rifle to disable it.

The little pink haired sharp shooter nodded confidently. "Yes. There's no wind right now so I should be able to hit it without any problem" There is a subtle different in her expression compare to her usual confident when she was training. It would take her a while to fully confident in her own skill in my last loop. Her skill as a sniper is second to none. After all, the only person could snipe down a falling HSST at subsonic speed across the horizon probably doesn't exist with the exception of Tama herself.

"Alright, leave it to Tama. Let's spread out and keep an eye for any signs of trouble" Chiruzu gave order immediately. As expected of her, she could she through the subtle change in Tama right away. She knew Tama was nervous from being watch and decided to help by removing some mental pressure for the group mascot.

Tama aimed her rifle toward the dome in the English posture.

Bang!

Gray smoke escapes from the riffle's muzzle. Everyone except me was nervously looking at Chiruzu who is observing the dome with her binocular. There is only one result with Tama's top notch ability. It is like a regular occurrence in all my loops.

"Target destroyed"

The squad celebrated cheerfully at Tama's impeccable marksmanship.

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It took us nearly half a day to reach the new evacuation point. Marimo and the chopper were waiting for us at the point.

"Evaluation complete! Squad 207B, forms up!" We immediately stood at attention at the call of Marimo. This Comprehensive Combat Skill Evaluation is hereby complete. You've all done well." We let out a sigh of relief hearing that.

"I will now inform you of the result. Your methods of destroying the enemy facilities, plus capturing and using their items all get passing marks. Yoroi and Shirogane set a new record for this part of the exam. I have never seen anyone able to do the task as fast and efficient as both of you. Well done, you two. Next, your neutralized the greatest threat in this exercise, the gun battery with minimal effort." Marimo read her comment in the grade book. The girls silently cheer as they heard the result from Marimo. Marimo continues "You all have done magnificently in this exam. Until today, I have yet to see any squad get as much score as this"

"Does it mean…" Chiruzu stuttered at Marimo's compliment

"The six of you passed this exam with flying colors" Marimo smiled kindly and replied.

"…" everyone in the squad choked softly. They can't hold back their tears of joy after hearing Marimo's confirmation. Since these girls have once failed this exam, I guess this kind of reaction is just natural. However, their failure didn't lie in the faulty in their technique or abilities; it was their teamwork. The main reason is that every single of them has unique attributes in different fields. If I would word it differently, every single one of them is a star player in their own field. As the result of an all star team, they often find disagreement in their teamwork. "That is until an odd ball like you join the fray." Marimo told me that in my very first loop. Despite being the dead weight, my uselessness actually pulled off an unexpected miracle. Rather than dragged everyone else into the mud, it somehow unified everyone under one flag. So even without the help of my future knowledge, these girls will definitely pass this exam as long as they cooperate among themselves nicely.