They don't want me to try anymore.

Before he could decide which way to go...

Boom boom boom!

Waaagh!

The noise continued, and countless figures appeared on the left side of the road.

Richard cautiously peered out from behind the earth elemental and saw three classmates being chased by a group of dark-skinned goblins.

He squinted to make out who it was, recognizing that the other person was probably one of the same group that Hamilton and his friends usually hung out with.

The three of them spotted Richard and quickened their pace.

Just when it seemed the two sides were about to meet...

The three suddenly made a sharp turn and ran back the way Richard had come. At the same time, the mage at the back deliberately cast a fireball spell overhead. A burst of heat flashed and blasted several large rocks to the ground.

The passage was immediately blocked, while Richard and a large group of goblins remained at one end.

Good heavens, this is a classic case of shifting the blame!

Richard, who had initially intended to help, immediately realized he was about to be scammed.

Unfortunately, neither of the two elementals beside Richard was quick to act. By the time Richard realized what was happening, the passage was already blocked, and dozens of goblins wielding various weapons were already in front of him.

Can't run away.

At this moment, inside St. Goethe's auditorium.

Many students who hadn't signed up for the Illusionary Realm, or who had been quickly eliminated after entering, gathered here to observe the situation inside the Illusionary Realm using projection magic.

Some people noticed Richard's predicament and shook their heads, saying, "Isn't that a bit despicable?"

"No, it's just a normal strategy. Students aren't allowed to fight within the Illusionary Realm, but it's acceptable to attract monsters to indirectly reduce competitors. After all, the number of treasure chests is fixed, so if fewer people open them, you can get one more point."

After someone finished explaining, they grinned and said, "This freshman will probably drop out soon. The Fire Charcoal Goblins are not lowly minions in the jungle. A single Bronze-rank person cannot handle such a large group."

"That makes sense... wait a minute?"

While people were discussing it outside, Richard had already run dozens of meters down the passageway.

However, the black-faced goblins were not shaken off, and the road ahead became increasingly narrow and chaotic, to the point that the map became unusable...

Richard shuddered as he watched the goblins wielding their filthy tetanus weapons, and felt a sudden urge to use a teleportation scroll.

Fortunately, a familiar voice came from the other side.

"Richard, over here!"

Richard looked up and saw a half-open trapdoor diagonally in front of him, with Tom waving at him from behind.

In an instant, he felt the same exhilarating feeling as someone who had been holding their pee for two hours while watching a movie and was finally able to wait for the ending.

Without hesitation, he ran towards his senior and slipped behind the trapdoor.

With a bang, the goblins were shut out of the rocks.

"Phew... Tom, what are you doing here?"

“There are abandoned tunnels inside the Red Prison Mine. These secret passages are not marked on the map. Only veterans who have been in here a few times know their locations. Otherwise, why do you think I dared to come here after I got sick?”

Tom spoke with a hint of pride in the middle, but his tone fell when he mentioned the illness at the end.

He paused for a moment, then suggested, "Richard, come with me from here. There are still many people here who use monsters to eliminate their opponents. I can lead you through the side paths to bypass them."

Richard nodded in agreement, then, after a moment's thought, asked, "Can we get around to the direction those three ran from here?"

"I can, but... what do you want to do?"

Richard's lips curled slightly.

"Me? I take revenge right away!"

In the tunnel hundreds of meters away.

Hamilton's friends are resting.

The mage who had just cast the fireball suddenly looked up, puzzled, and asked, "Why is the noise from deep inside the cave getting louder? Could Richard have escaped the encirclement?"

"What good would it do to escape?"

Another person said dismissively, "With just two slow-moving elemental creatures with him, we can outmaneuver him however we want. He's definitely going to hold off those goblins, I'm telling you!"

Tap-tap, tap-tap!

"...What is this?"

The three were startled by a strange noise halfway through their conversation and turned to look... just in time to see Richard riding a horse, its four hooves clattering as it whooshed over their heads!

"W-what?"

Amidst the exclamations of his opponents, Richard pulled on the reins and laughed, "Gentlemen, my horse is faster than yours!"

"Why is there a horse among your summoned creatures?!"

"What, you're envious because I have a horse but you don't?"

Before the three could come up with a solution, Richard summoned earth and fire elementals on the spot. The latter two grabbed each other and immediately blocked the narrow passage.

This time, however, it was the three of them inside.

"Hoola hoola! Waaagh!"

In the distance, the roars of goblins could be heard.

"Damn it! We've been tricked!"

How did you escape?!

The three men panicked and drew their weapons, trying to force their way out, but then realized that this might completely block the passage, so they hesitated to move.

Richard snapped his fingers.

"Let's make a deal!"

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Earth Roars, but in a Youthful Mini Version

"trade?"

"That's right, you will follow my orders, and I will help you deal with this wave of goblins."

"Dream on! I won't... Waaaaah!"

"We agreed."

The mage in the trio covered his companion's mouth, allowing the deal to proceed smoothly.

After all, the shadows of a large group of goblins had already appeared in their field of vision, and if they didn't want to be swarmed by Waaagh, they had no choice.

Moreover, if the four of them team up, they might actually win...

Richard chuckled. "Very well, then please move closer to me, student. Two warriors, hmm, one a knight and the other a swordsman? One on each side."

As he spoke, he summoned an earth elemental and a water elemental on the other side of the passage, which appeared to be a 2x2x1 formation behind the two warriors.

It's just like playing chess.

"Swordsman, please take the initiative to provoke the goblin."

"Mage, get ready. We'll fire together with my elementals in a moment."

"Knight, move your lance five meters to the left."

"That's lava!"

"...Haha, I was just kidding~"

"Damn it, did you treat us like summoned creatures?!"

Ah, yes.

We're just using you as summoned creatures, what else would we do?

Richard squinted and continued giving instructions.

As Professor Arno said, the way a summoner fights is very similar to playing chess, and Richard is naturally in his element in this environment.

Putting aside the "joking" part, his command was still very appropriate. The earth and water elements were both offensive and defensive, and they played a very strong role in the team.

That's why the trio, who were initially forced into an alliance and were full of resentment, became more and more adept at fighting, to the point that they began to have the idea of ​​forming a team temporarily later on.

Naturally, they became more obedient to orders...

"Knight, stop!"

Just as the knight was about to stab the goblin leader, who had the highest score and the strongest strength, to death, he suddenly heard Richard's order and instinctively stopped.

Then he saw a figure rush out from the side and take down the big goblin with a fireball.

Who else could it be but Tom?

After hitting him, Tom slipped away again.

At the same moment, several summoned elementals unleashed their attacks, taking away some dying goblins. Richard also remounted his horse and disappeared at the other end of the tunnel.

The trio and the remaining thirty-odd goblins were left looking at each other in bewilderment.