“It won’t say it’s bad. These would be the appropriate conditions if this were your first time and you just wanted to get a grasp on what the Babel Roulette is... The real problem is the next portion.”
He thwacked a finger against the next item on the list.
“The stated goal is to ‘Win the Babel Roulette’... This may come naturally to you people, but it completely contradicts the first point I brought up. At the very least, you won’t get anyone Chrome or below with that condition.”
“But...we’re not getting anyone above that either.”
“I should think not. They’re being put off by the lack of professionalism in the criteria,” Elias said as he circled the criteria entry with the pen he took their order with.
“To win the Babel Roulette, tactics and strategy are more important than pure strength. That’s why you need to select races that match your strategy.”
“...Err, what do you mean?” asked Yuri.
“In a nutshell, you need the right person in the right place. The eight tribes all have their own characteristics, and naturally they have their strong and weak points. Saying anyone will do essentially means you have yet to decide on your strategy. You’ll make the high rankers lose confidence in your prospects of victory.”
He wrote the word “strategy” on the flier, and then went on to write “role.”
“First off, you should choose what roles you will fill in battle. Then decide whether you need to strengthen your strong points, or cover for your weak points. Narrowing down your subject pool will actually be a blessing to your applicants.”
“...Yeah, I see?” Try as he might to understand, Yuri found himself feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
“I get what you want to say,” said Elias with a wry smile. “What I’ve just said was based solely on the principle of ‘aiming to win.’ It was an opinion completely ignoring the thought process of ‘enjoying our fights.’ Ultimately, you need to find a balance you can accept... That’s how we won our way through the Roulette.”
If victory had been their only objective, Elias would have asked Reilly, Yuri’s master, to retire and replaced her with a stronger combatant. Despite this, they still managed to remain to the end. While Reilly was a mix-blood, she managed to contribute to the team in areas outside of pure combat.
“There’s really no telling how high each decision will raise your chances of victory. Your best bet is to form a team you know you won’t regret.”
“I see! That definitely does sound like a good idea!” Yuri jubilantly smiled, and Elias calmly nodded back.
“But I meant it when I said you should decide your roles in the team. If you decide on what tribes you need, I can talk to some people. Don’t forget there’s always new things to discover in the midst of battle—”
Just as it seemed he was going to start droning on again, a hand snaked out from behind to lock his shoulder in a firm grasp. He turned smack-dab into the smile of a young demon man in the clothes of a cook.
“Boss...how many times do I have to call you... The food was done ages ago...!”
“Oh, it’s just Frevo. My apologies, I’m occupied at the moment.”
“Really, well, it looks like you’re having a fun little chat, eh! Our tardy’s still not in, so if you don’t do your work right, I can’t clock out on time!”
“But I need to teach the Eniastar Team what exactly the Babel—”
“Athena, missy, can I drag off this stupid brother of yours?”
“Aye sir!”
“Thanks, miss. Look, if you wanna talk that bad, then do your work first.”
Frevo grabbed Elias by the collar and dragged him back into the shop. The way he was pulled away without any expression or motion made for a somewhat surreal sight.
Once Elias was gone, the party of three leaned in once again.
“Roles, eh... I’m not too good at thinking before moving,” Yuri glumly admitted.
Fram replied, “Roles are important, but we will have to find what we’re lacking as a team. If we’re hoping for around five people, for now, I’d say we need one extra backline and frontline.”
“There are tribal strengths and weaknesses to consider, right?” he asked.
“That’s right. I’m sure there are tribes you haven’t fought yet, Yuri, so let me give a simple explanation.” Picking up a flier, Fram listed out the eight tribes with fluid pen strokes. “The Beast Tribe, Dragon Tribe, and Dwarf Tribe are the ones most suited for the front line. They’re all tribes centered around close-quarters combat. Beastmen for offense, dragonkin for defense, and dwarves for burst damage. Generally speaking, of course.”
“Wait, the Human Tribe isn’t fit for the front line?”
“If I had to say, the Human Tribe are what I would classify as midliners. There are people like you who mainly fight hand-to-hand, and there are those who compose their skills around magic.”
“Ah, right, right. An angel’s Divine Might blessings can also be divided between physical and magic, so wouldn’t you say they’re midliners too?” Athena chimed in. The pen went round and round as she circled the Human and Angel Tribes.
“And the remaining three— demons, elves, and spirits— are suited for the backline. Spirits boast massive firepower, demons are good at stalling, and elves can snipe, launch surprise attacks, set traps, well, let’s just say they can pick up a wide breadth of positions.”
“I see... So right now, we have a frontliner, a midliner, and a backliner.”
“Correct. If I could pick and choose, I would prioritize getting a dragon or demon.” Fram wrapped those two names in a double circle. “You and Athena are both the all-out-offensive types, so if you have a dragon on the front lines with you, you won’t have to worry about defense. In my case, I might have the firepower, but I expend stamina quickly. I think I can fight better if we have a demon to stall and let me recharge.”
And after saying that, Fram hit her hands together to bring the discussion to a close.
“Alright. Anyone who knows a promising dragon or demon, please raise your hand.”
“Nope!”
“I already asked and they said no!”
“I hardly know anyone apart from you people.”
For the following while, the three looked at one another in complete silence.
“Hey, we’re back to the starting line!” Athena cried.
“No, no! We narrowed down what we need, so let’s just call that progress!”
“...Well, it’s a little progress. I’ll rewrite the recruitment ad on the city bulletin.”
“Then I’ll add the details on the fliers!”
As the two of them got to their own jobs, Yuri was about to step in to help when—
A familiar figure entered the edge of his line of sight. A large body towered a head over the people coming and going, characteristic curved horns sprouting from his head.
The moment he realized who it was, Yuri leapt to his feet.
The first duelist Yuri ever conversed with upon coming to the dueling city. The first opponent he faced.
“That’s right... I do know a promising dragon!” Yuri informed his two companions before dashing into the streets of the sightseeing district.