As Elicia was thinking about something, one of the applicants.
A young man with a blue hat spoke.
"I understand the structure," he said, gncing between Elicia and the others.
"But attacking is clearly riskier than defending."
He swallowed once before continuing.
"How are we deciding who risks themselves up front and who stays back?"
Conrad couldn't help the faint smirk that touched his lips.
It sounded practical on the surface, but beneath it y something deeper.
It was simply "self-preservation."
No one here was naive enough to volunteer for greater danger out of pure altruism.
This was not a battlefield forged through loyalty.
This was an exam, and it was not the final one.
Getting injured here means they may not be able to continue taking the exam even if they pass this stage.
Elicia understood that immediately.
In a formal military chain of command, she could simply assign roles, and by her authority, people under her have to listen to her orders.
If they do not, they could be punished by imprisonment.
Here?
Authority was voluntary.
She crossed her arms, considering her answer carefully.
"If anyone wishes to volunteer for the attacker team, step forward."
The cave seemed to grow heavier in that pause.
No one moved.
Of course.
Attacking meant initiative.
Exposure meant risk of being overwhelmed, injured, or targeted first by the opposing team's strongest members.
Defending, while not safe, carried less unpredictability, which everybody preferred to be stationed in.
Elicia nodded slowly.
"Then we settle this by chance."
A few murmurs spread.
"Small lots," she continued. "Or rock, paper, scissors. Quick and fair."
Some looked displeased.
Others nodded and understood the reason for such a game and event.
Luck was easier to accept than deliberate selection.
No one could bme another if chance decided it.
Conrad observed quietly.
The psychology fascinated him more than the mechanics.
In theory, everyone had signed up for danger by entering the Hunter Exam.
In practice?
They still negotiated the degree of that danger.
One man scoffed lightly.
"So we leave our fate to children's games?"
Elicia's gaze hardened.
"Unless you have a better proposal."
He said nothing further.
They divided into clusters of five and began quick elimination rounds of rock, paper, and scissors. Winners advanced to one pool, losers to another, the roles gradually forming through repetition.
Rock.
Paper.
Scissors.
Conrad felt a strange flicker of nostalgia as he participated.
The simple hand game carried unexpected weight in this world.
In the end, he found himself pced within the defender team.
Around him, the attacker team gradually filled, some faces confident, some tense.
One broad-shouldered applicant forced a grin.
"Guess we're the brave ones."
Another muttered under his breath,
"Or the unlucky."
Elicia allowed the sorting to conclude before stepping forward again.
"Listen carefully," she said. "This was chance. No resentment. Attackers, you move as a unit. No solo charges."
She turned toward the defenders.
"You are the backbone. If they break us, everything colpses."
Her eyes briefly swept over Conrad, measuring him again.
"Mobility remains key. Defenders rotate in pairs. Guardians remain tight around the fg."
A short silence followed.
Then she added one final point.
"If you are injured, fall back."
What had begun as a loose gathering now resembled something closer to a coordinated effort.
Conrad adjusted the blue shoulder band slightly on his arm.
Team A would be organizing as well.
One defender beside him exhaled sharply.
"Feels strange trusting luck to decide who faces the enemy first."
Conrad answered quietly,
"Luck only decides position. In the end, it is not decided who is going to get hurt or not to get hurt."
The defender nodded.
"I cannot say you are wrong."
Conrad smiled and said nothing to the man while he thought.
"If they knew how lucky they were to not be pced in the same team as Hisoka, they would start living their life to the fullest."
Ahead, Elicia raised her hand.
"Positions."
The Attacker Team began advancing into the dim tunnel system.
Defenders spread out according to pn.
Conrad took his assigned midfield rotation point, posture rexed but senses sharpened.
He did not want to give anybody a lucky hit.
It would be almost impossible other than Hisoka, who would have enough power and speed to hurt him, but he did not like to put such things to the test.
Who knows if there is something that he does not know how to defend against?
He did not want to test his chance.
Conrad's gaze hardened slightly as he took a deep breath.
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