TAKE ON ME [Survival LITRPG Apocalypse]

"Runner!" Crystal barked, already scanning the tank slates. "Find me Scott Porter, I think he's a [Builder] so check the construction sites. Tell him Team Five needs a tank!"

With a tank already being claimed, the tiny office exploded into chaos. Fifteen simultaneous conversations, runners darting in and out, candidates squeezing through the door for rapid-fire interviews . . . Tess watched it all from behind her splinter-riddled desk, jumping in when conflicts arose or questions needed answers.

"—don't care if you're only Level 1. Can we count on you?"

"—says here she's got a [Mending Touch] spell. So what if she only has one offensive spell?"

"Personality conflict with that dude, gonna have to pass. He seemed like a real ass . . . "

Three hours. Three hours of loud conversations, hard decisions, and compromise. Healing roles vanished fastest; anyone with even basic recovery magic found themselves courted by multiple teams. Tanks went nearly as quick. The utility and damage dealers took longest to place. Battle masters debated back and forth, doing their best to mix people whose skills would boost and aid each other.

Tess hated that so many important decisions had become hasty choices, but there was no more time. She looked out at the fifteen battle masters, each now standing beside neat stacks of ten slates. All looked tired but satisfied.

"Okay, once this meeting has concluded—don't get your hopes up, we're still in here for several hours—"

Groans echoed off the walls.

"Once this meeting has concluded, gather up your teams around a campfire. Introduce yourselves, have your teams meet each other, and have open honest conversations about how everyone plans to use their spells and contribute."

Heads nodded. Eric made notes on his slate.

"What about scheduling?" Darrel raised his hand. "Fifteen teams, limited training space—"

"Schedule training for your team with the admins," Tess cut in. "They're already working on it. We're going to open more time-dilated training areas as well, but resources are tight. It's a big undertaking to schedule so many people in so many different time-dilated areas, and to also account for eating and sleeping in-between. The admins will do their best to pack everyone's day with several 'days' worth of training and crafting."

Darrel and the other battle masters nodded.

"Okay. Hand off your stacks to the admins, take a few minutes' break, and then we'll discuss the army. Someone, please send a runner for Charlie."

The battle masters filed out, some stretching cramped muscles, others still debating team compositions in low voices.

Fifteen teams. Nearly 150 fighters organized and assigned. It had gone better than expected.

Now they just had to figure out how to make an army.

No pressure.

Charlie knocked and came into the room. He had wiped most of the soot off his face.

"Charlie, I need help! I don't even know where to start!" The words tumbled out of Tess. "I don't know how to form platoons for an army. I don't even know if I know what a platoon is. Is that like a hundred people? Is that a battalion? What's a battalion? Isn't a legion a thing?"

Charlie raised his eyebrows.

Tess knew she was spiraling, but she couldn't stop. All those people in the Town Hall had stood up for her, believing she could save them. The pressure returned to her chest.

"Everyone's counting on me, and I don't even know basic military terms. What if I get them all killed? What if it goes worse than last night? I don't know the difference between a corporal or a major or a sergeant and what's a—"

"Tess." Charlie's weathered hand covered hers. "Breathe."

She sucked in air, held it, and let it out slowly.

"Let's start from a more manageable spot," Charlie said, his voice gentle. "Who cares what we name anything? It's our army. There is no historical military we have to follow. No traditions to uphold, no need to compare our army with anything else. We can make it up as we go along, just like everything else in this town."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Okay." She nodded. "Okay, for simplicity . . . we'll just call them 'units'. So, we'll have a tank unit, an archer unit, et cetera."

Charlie's tired face cracked into a smile. "Sounds like a plan."

The door opened again, and battle masters began filtering back in. Some carried clay cups of tea, others munched on strips of dried meat. Hopefully the small break had helped: some eyes at least looked sharper.

"Moving on," Tess said once everyone had settled. "We will now be forming our 'army units'."

She walked to the far wall, where several slate boards had been hung into a crude chalkboard. The chalk 'stick' was a sharp rock that was way too big to write clearly with, but she did her best.

"As I said earlier, teams are for smaller tasks like clearing Dungeons, patrols, and escort duty. Army units are for the big fights, like defending Foundation when the monster waves hit."

The rock squeaked against slate as she drew circles. "Okay, so let's pretend Team One is in a fight, and I'm going to issue the orders for them."

A circle for Tom at the front, labeled 'T'. Another for Kate, to the side to function as off-tank. Circles for everyone: Bo; Chloe; Hana; her own position marked with 'Tess'. Then she grabbed a red chalk fragment and drew the enemy.

"If my team were going to fight one monster, I'd have Tom the tank up front like this." She tapped the diagram. "Then I'd have ranged attack from here and here." Tess drew arrows showing movement across the battlefield. "Then I'd have physical damage, Amber or Kate, come in from the side." Tess continued to draw as she spoke. "Anyway, the point is that I plan to take a similar approach when positioning our army as we prepare units for battle. Team fights, just scaled up: makes it easier to understand."

She pointed to Tom's circle. "This position is for the role of tank. So it doesn't matter if it's one tank, or ten, or a hundred. We can plan bigger battles the same way: instead of a place for Tom, it's a place for a unit of tanks. They'll form the front line."

Understanding dawned on faces around the room.

"Same with ranged damage in the back. Whether it's one or a hundred archers, it doesn't matter." She drew more circles, building a basic formation. "Tonight, we'll create units of like-roles and assign a battle master to each. Tomorrow, we train."

"How many units are we talking?" one of the battle masters asked.

"Let's work through it together." Tess set down the chalk and picked up a fresh slate. "We've got nearly 300 combat-capable adults. Everyone who volunteered gets a place, even if about half aren't in the smaller teams."

The image of the incoming giant creature flashed through Tess's mind. "We're going to need everyone."

They built the army's structure piece-by-piece. Charlie did most of the talking, but some battle masters also called out suggestions, while Tess organized and refined.

"Front line tank unit," she wrote.

"We'll have to practice the proper way to form a line," Charlie said. "Now that everyone has different spells and weapons, we won't be able to form a traditional tight shield wall."

"That's true." Tess nodded. There was no way Tom could tank with people right next to him: especially if he was swinging his Flail around.

"All right," said Tess. "What else?"

"Physical ranged," Eric added immediately. "Archers, but maybe we shouldn't mix bows with crossbows. They have ranged differences, right?"

"That's true," Tess said. "So maybe we have a separate unit for that."

"Also, another for ranged spell damage," said Crystal. "Separated from physical because they'll need different positioning. Many of the spell casters need a direct line of sight."

"Are off-tanks in the same unit as main tanks?" Darrel asked. "And what about close-range melee damage dealers, for when things get past the tanks?"

"Not sure on that one yet. We'll have to practice." Tess nodded at the admins, who were diligently taking notes.

"We gotta have a band," someone called out, earning chuckles. "No, seriously, we do—a [Bard] unit for buffs and morale effects."

"Skirmisher unit," Charlie said. "Fast movers with slings, blow-darts, that kind of thing. Hit-and-run tactics."

"I like that. We could also use them for chasing down enemies with broken morale," Tess added, remembering lessons from their small-scale fights. Once monsters started running, if you harassed them enough then they would completely abandon the battle.

"Ambush and trapper units?" Lisa suggested. "We have time, we can booby trap the hell out of this place."

"Great idea," Tess said, pointing at one of the admins.

The list grew. Each unit would be mixed: consisting of not just their primary role, but also support members who would bring crowd control, passive auras, and buffs. A tank unit might include a non-tank utility providing [Inspiring Presence] or [Steadfast Aura]. The archer unit could have a magic caster with [Far Sight] like Richard or [Wind Guidance]. They couldn't figure out how a healing unit would work, so instead the available healers were positioned inside the other groups, with the front line tanks getting the most.

"Assignments," Tess announced once they had defined all the units. "Who wants which unit? See if you can get some type of synergy with your way of issuing orders and the unit you want to command."

Eric raised his hand. "I'll take the archer unit."

"Good choice," Tess said. His floating magical banners made it easy for him to mark targets and issue orders to ranged fighters.

They worked through the list. Each battle master was matched to a unit that fit their command style and class abilities.

"What about you?" Darrel asked once assignments were complete.

"I won't command a specific unit." Tess had thought about it carefully. "I'll give orders to the battle masters. I'll be keeping my eye on the whole battlefield."

The eight-hour mark crept closer. Tess's eyelids were losing the fight with gravity. Around the room, others fought similar battles.

"Before we break," she pushed, her voice hoarse, "equipment plans. We're working on [Basic] Bronze armor, Leather armor, and combat robes. New gear might not be ready until just before the battle, so make sure your teams are at least outfitted in [Crappy] gear. There's plenty lying around for everyone to be fully equipped for now."

Nods all around.

"Don't forget, training schedules. See the admins tomorrow bright and early. If you have training questions and I'm not available, ask Team Two and so forth. Heck, ask the kids who've trained with me for ideas. They know the basics."

She paused, gathering the last of her energy. "As for Team One tomorrow, we plan to explore what Dusty called the 'Deep Woods'. With that monster wave headed here, we need levels. The way Dusty describes it, we can farm monsters in that area daily. I intend for us all to start leveling before that wave gets here."

"Just Team One?" someone asked.

"Just Team One for tomorrow, yes. Also, Team One will clear out the Headless Dungeon tomorrow. Unless anyone else wants to do it?"

Silence. No volunteers after the previous night.

"Okay, well, this week Team One will do it. However, in future weeks it will be expected that other teams begin to help clear the Dungeons, like Team Two did."

Tess rapid-fired through the remaining announcements: special expeditions; Travertine mining needs; and escort duty assignments. Tess also emphasized the desperate need for [Bowyers] and [Leather Workers] to those who did not have a profession yet.

"I know this was a lot." Tess's voice cracked slightly. "But I'm really happy with everything we accomplished today. Go introduce your teams to one another, and I'll talk to everyone tomorrow."

The meeting dissolved into tired voices and shuffling feet. Battle masters clutched their unit assignments and team rosters, already planning despite their exhaustion. The door opened to reveal full darkness outside.

Tess stayed behind as they filed out, her hands braced on the terrible desk. Fifteen teams and an actual army with units. Nearly 300 fighters organized and assigned roles.

Tomorrow it would all be tested. Tonight, she just needed to inhale some food and make it to her bed before she collapsed where she stood.

Charlie's hand touched her shoulder. "You did good."

She managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Charlie. Tell me that again if we survive the week."