Leave a comment

The day had finally arrived. This was the day I was to send the brats to war. After yesterday’s little exercise, they had learnt to work with each other, and perhaps even entrust their backs to their classmates.

However, my time with them was short. I had considered requesting an extension, but I quickly changed my mind on second thought.

The situation in the kingdom was rapidly deteriorating day by day. General Cleoz was currently holding the line at Fort Andaria, but should that fall, this kingdom would be at its death throes. The Ertalonese army would have a straight shot towards the royal capital, or anywhere else in the kingdom.

The Ertalonese army knew this as well, thus they threw their entire might at the fort. Andassis the Seventh had been desperately scrounging up men and equipment to send towards the frontline, but his efforts were miniscule compared to the 200,000 strong army he faced.

In just the eight days I spent training the kids, the king had visibly aged a few years. Deep eyebags covered a face devoid of any color, and even his hair seemed to fall limply by his sides.

After a brief discussion with Andassis the Seventh, I soon learnt why he was so desperate to send the magitek armors onto the battlefield. On top of the obvious military aims, there were political considerations as well…

These students were all picked from noble lineages. Every one of them were either scions of great houses, sole heirs, or just kids who held great potential in the future. Naturally, these great expectations were a testament to their strength, as well as a chain on them.

The fact that a hundred of such candidates were being sent to the battlefield posed a massive problem… What was a parent to do in such a situation?

The king knew that by sending these kids to the battlefield as soon as possible, he would be able to squeeze more aid out of these noble houses. After all, if the kingdom were to fall, their heirs would die a horrible death as well.

Well done on the part of the king… the moment he chose those candidates, those nobles were ensnared in his machinations.

Yet it wasn’t all smooth-sailing for the king either. The pressure on him was now two-fold, thanks to his little stunt with the nobles.

He had to send those kids now, else someone might start harboring certain ideas.

The morning that greeted us was a warm one. The camp wasn’t bustling like the past few days, but the atmosphere was immeasurably heavier.

Row after row of magitek armors lined the otherwise empty training grounds. After eight days of training, the kids were finally ready to graduate, whether they wanted to or not. Back straight and heads held high, they stood beside their future partner in war.

“Today is the day you will be sent to the battlefield. Are you scared?”

“No!”

As I looked at their firm faces, I was at a loss as to how to react to their enthusiasm. Thankfully, there was no need for me to consider as the king soon arrived…

“His Majesty, Andassis the Seventh, has arrived!”

As the herald announced the king’s arrival with a clarion call, his hundreds-strong entourage parted to make way for his golden carriage.

With Misseger’s help, Andassis the Seventh gracefully descended from the steps with a smile. Beside him was his longtime bodyguard, Baku.

“Long live His Majesty the King.”

Those who had met the king before quickly knelt down. As for those less versed in protocol, they merely followed the lead of their classmates.

I nodded at the king. “Your Majesty.” Perhaps to others he was an imposing figure, but in my eyes, he was just that, a human king.

“Lady Mo Na, are they ready?”

“They are.”

“In that case… I, Andassis the Seventh, hereby announce the formation of the Magitek Knights Corp!”

There was no fanfare. No ceremony. Nothing. It was just a proclamation by the king himself.

“Lady Mo Na, will you accept the appointment as the first commander of the Magitek Knights Corp?”

“I will.”

This had all been agreed upon beforehand. I had planned on making a big splash with my magitek armor, and Andassis the Seventh needed a competent commander, thus it didn’t take much before this mutually beneficial agreement was reached.

The king then reached forth for the jewel-encrusted sword in Baku’s hands. It was an ornately golden sword, carved with the words “Commander of the Magitek Knights Corp” -the sword that would soon represent the honor and dignity of the newly formed corp. An ornamental sword, but the symbol of authority of my new rank.

“I present to you the sword, Lady Mo Na.”

Normally, I would have to kneel at this point, but we had already agreed that I would not.

While all these actions might have seemed disrespectful to the king, my track record of having killed an overlord elevated me to the same status as one too. For the mighty, kneeling wasn’t even an issue worth mentioning.

If this was an actual knighting ceremony, it wouldn’t have been such a simple affair, but with the kingdom in danger, this would have to suffice.

With the corps officially set up, and a few words of encouragement later, Andassis the Seventh left in a hurry. The recipients of said encouragement -the students- were still in a tizzy from the quick ceremony; none of them aware of the implications of those short but heavy words.

I couldn’t blame them either – the eight days of training had left them unaware of the situation on the outside. Naturally, they had no way of knowing how bad the war was going for the kingdom.

At this point, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that these students were this kingdom’s last hope. If this newly formed corp were to suffer heavy losses, those nobles who had been tricked would gladly pay the king back in kind. Thanks to that, the safety of these students were paramount.

For that reason alone, I had to be the commander. Ugh… He has it good, he’s not the one babysitting these kids in a battle.

A short while after the king’s departure, Meister Amori walked out of the warehouse.

“Commander Mo Na, the teleportation circle is complete, we are ready to depart once the support team is ready.”

Next to Amori was a familiar bearded figure: Meister Belud.

“Lady Mo Na, looking forward to joining you on the battlefield. I’m sure this will be an exciting trip for the both of us, if you know what I mean…”

I ignored his little tomfoolery and sternly said, “I’ll leave the supporting in your capable hands then.”

“No problem, leave it to us!”

Belud thumped his chest with confidence.

“In that case, we’re off!”

This marked the first skirmish of the magitek armors, and it certainly wasn’t going to be the last.

Shameless Self-promotion

I hate this novel.

LINK HERE

Leave a comment

Anti-magic collars were specially crafted as a restraining tool for magical criminals. In general, they resemble a plain black choker, these would shut off the mage’s internal mana from the outside world.

When casting a spell, a mage requires both the ability to control the mana within him, and the ability to communicate with his environment. Theoretically, one could stop spellcasting entirely by cutting off this process. But these collars do not only work against mages. To a varying degree, aura in normal fighters have been noted as being affected. When worn, the collars restricted their ability to externalize their aura.

Naturally, these collars are made to be highly durable against physical removal, rendering most high-level mages powerless before this nightmarish implement.

———From <>

“Instructor… is it too late for me to take back my words?”

“What do you think?”

“…”

As of this moment, Tallin was a dozen meters above ground, climbing up a man-made plateau, hands shaking profusely as he grabbed onto the white magical rings.

Because of the anti-magic collar I attached onto him, he only had his physical strength to rely on while climbing. In other words, if something were to go wrong, he had no magical means of saving himself.

I was stationed above, watching over him in case of any accident.

Down below were the rest of the students. They gathered below their climbing compatriot like a bunch of ants. Each one of them had their arms stretched out should he suddenly fall off…

Or jump…

That was basically the game I had in mind for them. An exciting game which they would never forget for the rest of their lives!

“Instructor… I’m afraid of heights…”

While Tallin might seem like a fearless, stout fellow, and he was so as he climbed the initial section of the plateau, but when he finally reached the top and had the opportunity to gaze down…

“Then just jump.”

“I…”

At this height, his classmates were still able to see the terrified look on his face. Naturally, they weren’t about to let him off the hook so easily.

“Tall, stop stalling and just jump!”

“Yea, the Instructor’s orders, and all that.”

“If you’re so afraid of heights, why did you climb so high in the first place?”

“Don’t worry, Tall, we will catch you, I promise, so just jump!

“Come on, Tall, where’s your usual bravery?”

“Yeah, I want to have a go myself. Get your bum down here!”

“Stop wasting time now, come on!”

Unfortunately, no amount of taunting was going to change the boy’s mind. Thankfully, the weather today wasn’t bad, and a dozen or so meters wasn’t that high either. Because the winds were mostly mild, he didn’t sway much as he held onto the last ring. Being a three-star magister, his physical strength wasn’t bad to begin with, so hanging on for another half an hour shouldn’t be a problem.

Basically, he needed some convincing to… help him down.

With that in mind, I threw a look at the middle-aged mage nearby, who promptly nodded and began casting a spell.

Barely a second later, the spell began to take effect. Out of nowhere, a powerful gust of wind blew across the poor boy. And just like a helpless kite in a storm, he swayed violently from left to right.

Hours before this game started, I had already considered the question of “what to do if someone wouldn’t let go?” A gust of wind, what else!

“Ahhhh….” Tallin held on for dear life while his body continued flying about in the winds. In just one second alone, I saw his grip change a few times. However, he held fast, and was likely to hold on for a while longer.

Damn stubborn kid.

Shadow Guardian!

Time to up the ante…

I quickly summoned Shadow Guardian, materializing the shadowy being directly above Tallin’s head. Right hand morphing into a wispy scythe, it started to take aim at the ring that Tallin was holding onto…

A moment later, both the ring and plateau were split…

“Nooo… save me…”

Without something to grab onto, he freefalled down the plateau.

Due to how sudden this was, the kids below were caught off-guard by his sudden scream. Thankfully, some of the quicker students were able to form up, taller ones ready to catch him, while the rest began casting wind magicks to slow his descent. With everyone’s concerted efforts, Tallin landed safely.

Though he still fainted… useless brat…

A few students started calling for healers to attend to him, but all in all, our hair-raising first attempt was over, and Tallin woke up moments later.

“I’m… alive?”

“Did you want to be dead?”

Slightly before his descent, I touched down nearby – as a backup of sorts.

Now that he was awake, I was standing right above him, smirking at the silly kid who actually fainted from fright. “Ready for another round?”

“…I… do…” It took him a second to register what I was asking, but when he did, his eyes practically shone with light. “Instructor, let me have another go! Please!”

“…”

Hold on, that wasn’t the plan at all…

“Instructor? So can I go again?”

“Scram!” I snapped. “If you want to have a go, you need to wait your turn. There’s still 99 people in front of you!”

S̲h̲i̲t̲…

“Who’s next?”

“Me!”

“Me! Me!”

A good number of students began clamoring to be the second person in line. Of them, there was a 7:3 split between the boys and the girls. But I had other plans for the girls…

Not long after, the second plateau was erected, and the students began climbing up that as well.

Just like with Tallin, they had anti-magic collars to restrict their use of magic. Thankfully, everyone here was a trained magister, so regardless of gender, the students had the strength required to complete the task.

This whole exercise was to simulate a sense of helplessness in the students. Hence the collars to prevent any levitation magicks. This was to hammer into them the fact that there were times they had to rely on others, and that a single person’s strength was limited.

Having the students gathered below was a sign of support for the person up top -even if you are helpless, we got your back, was what they were saying wordlessly.

Hopefully, the brats would come together as one. It was in times of trouble that real bonds were forged. Teamwork. Cooperation. By aligning everyone together, even the complexity of human beings could be purified and distilled into a cohesive unit.

Shameless Self-promotion

I hate this novel.

LINK HERE

Leave a comment

The morning after their night “lessons”, the students gathered at the campgrounds as instructed.

Through the miracles of modern healing, their wounds were completely gone, though I couldn’t say the same for their psyche. A quick look later and I could have sworn that they had just walked out of a carriage crash.

A complete wreck…

On the other hand, some of them were just raring to have a go at someone. Then, finally, there were those who were just pissed, like they were owed a million gold coins.

You could almost say that this was the whole three stages of grief right there.

“Gather up!” By now, Ansom had fully assimilated into his role as my adjutant.

Hearing his command, even the dissatisfied students jogged over to form up.

Upon arrival, they found a group of robed men gathered by the side. Their curiosity was piqued, but hours of harsh training had conditioned them not to ask for the time being.

“Morning, Instructor!” Ansom led the students in greeting.

“Morning, Instructor!”

“Mhm, morning, everyone.” I nodded curtly. But by the time I was done, I could sense that some of them were still dissatisfied with yesterday’s treatment, they just weren’t saying it out loud.

Hey, I mean… better a lesson learnt than a life lost, am I right? At least they won’t think they are all-powerful just because they can pilot some magitek armors. After all, they are still newbies, just more powerful ones.

“I know some of you might not be happy, but this will be the last day I’m training you before you will be sent to the battlefield. On the battlefield, there is no telling when the enemy will strike and where…” I paused at that point and looked around. Some of them were finally getting the point. “How can you hope to survive on the battlefield without at least this level of mindfulness? What happens if you get ambushed in your sleep again? I’m sure you can tell already.”

Death -that’s what’s waiting for them at this rate.

At this very least, I want to hammer this logic into them before they leave. I wouldn’t want them to just die meaninglessly.

“…”

“Since no one is objecting, I take it everyone understands then.” I did not bother to look at their expressions this time. “In that case, there’s nothing more for me to say. This is something you will experience for yourself on the battlefield. But back to the training… today is the last day, but I’ve just realized I haven’t imparted something important onto you guys… The importance of trust in your comrades and cooperation. Everyone here still thinks of themselves as a solo hero.”

Or maybe I’m just too strong? There were no cannons yesterday, but they would have just lost faster if I could use them.

In actuality, the students shouldn’t have lost so one-sidedly. They were just too used to duels, and too complacent in their numbers advantage. By the time they realized they were in trouble, it was too late.

“In order to work on this problem, I’ve devised a little game. I hope that everyone will learn to trust each other once we’re done. Any questions before I start?”

“Yes. Will it be fun, Instructor?” Green-haired Tallin was the one to ask, raising his hands as if he was in a classroom.

“I’m sure it will be.” I revealed a toothy smile at our eager little bird. “You will be gasping with excitement by the time I’m done.”

“Any other questions?”

“…”

“Good, now stay there, I need to go get some… Anyway, I’ll handle it.”

On the western section of the base, a group of multi-colored mages stood at the ready. These were the mages of the Royal Mages Circle.

“Please begin, just follow what we discussed earlier.”

I nodded at the middle-aged mage who was leading the group. Yet even though he was the leader of this group, he was at most a six-star; the higher starred ones weren’t too easy to borrow after all. But the ten of them should suffice for my needs.

Soon, mana began gathering in our vicinity. As the energies grew, the ground began to shake. The rocks cracked and danced wildly. A number of students were already starting to lose their balance, nearly tripping in the process…

As the tremors reached their crescendo, a deafening rumble swept across the forest, followed by a strange black plateau rising out of the ground.

When the commotion died down, the plateau reached several dozens of meters high, like a sword pointing right at the heavens.

But that wasn’t the end of the spellcasting either. Riding on their wind magicks, a few of the casters floated up to the plateau and created a bunch of descending white rings as they came down. From a distance, these rings almost looked like bangles on an arm.

With that job done, the head mage floated before me, looking at me with an inquisitive gaze. “Lady Mo Na, will that be enough?”

I nodded politely. “Yes, but I might need your cooperation in the near future, please standby at the side.”

“Understood.” He nodded as well.

“Instructor, what is this?” Stars practically spewing from his eyes, Tallin rushed forward, pointing at the new plateau. “Instructor, is this the game you were talking about?!”

“Oh, this is just the beginning. Would you like to be the first person to try it?”

“Of course!”

He immediately answered without consideration…

“Actually, Instructor, is it alright if I take that back?”

“What do you think?”

Shameless Self-promotion

I hate this novel.

LINK HERE