The week went by quickly for Chuck, he spent all of his time training his skills as all of the classes had been canceled. Today was the day his last healing skill finished. He had prepared as well as possible to deal with the rigors of combining spells.

Instead of heading to his room to complete this task, he stayed in the locked training room. The smell of charred wood and mist was somehow comforting to him.

He sat cross-legged on a blanket he had brought along. Ever since the theft, he kept all of his gear on him or in the same room as he was in. He didn't have time to go chasing another thief across the city. Not that he would, the city was in chaos as civilians were drafted to reinforce the army. Chuck had learned that Vitor had a much larger standing army than Nur but fewer mages. This balance had kept the kingdoms in a state of perpetual one-upmanship for decades. Something recently tipped the scales to full war. Chuck had a good idea of what that might be, not that he could tell anyone.

Chuck took in a steadying breath and closed his eyes. He activated mana manipulation and focused on the three spells he wanted to combine. He could already tell the process was more complicated with just an additional spell.

His mind expanded into the black void that he always saw while performing this task. Inside this dark abyss floated three complex orbs of power, each representing their respective spell. Each had its own degree of complexity and size, mend being the most complex as it was rare and had three levels. Minor heal was the next largest and slightly less complex spell form. Last was cleanse, which was rather simple when compared to the other two.

First Chuck tried just fitting two together. He quickly found that to be a useless endeavor. Every time he thought he had them stable they would collapse and he would have to start over. He would have to use all three forms simultaneously if he wanted this to work. He paused to stretch his muscles and take a drink from his waterskin. He wanted to be as comfortable as possible before he dove back in.

Six hours... it took him six god damn hours to fit the three spells together. The effort left him spent and exhausted. Instead, of heading back to his room to sleep he just pulled out his bedroll and fell asleep in the training room. He had twelve hours before he needed to report in.

Chuck was awoken by someone pounding incessantly on the door to the training room. He groaned as he stood up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He walked to the door and unlocked it.

Harlo pushed his way in. "Finally, I have been looking everywhere for you!"

"Morning to you to," Chuck replied, suppressing a yawn.

"Oh, sorry... wait, were you sleeping in here?"

Chuck nodded, "I was practicing and didn't feel like heading to my dorm room so I just slept on the floor."

"Really? That seems uncomfortable," the man replied looking at Chuck's bedroll with concern.

Chuck shrugged, "better get used to it, can't imagine comfy beds are in our immediate future. Why are you here so early anyway?"

Harlo pulled his eyes from the mat. "Right... like I said I was looking all over for you. I wanted to make sure we met up before you had to leave. I did it!" he exclaimed, doing a little happy dance.

Did it? It took a bit for Chuck's exhausted brain to realize what the man said. "You did it... you created a storage item?"

He nodded enthusiastically, "I did," he squealed.

"Congratulations," Chuck said, clapping the man on the back.

"Before I forget," he said, reaching into his pocket to produce a simple iron ring. "I know it doesn't look like much and it can't hold that much but it worked."

"Are you sure? It's your first success?"

"Oh, absolutely. If it wasn't for you, I may have never figured it out."

Chuck doubted that was the case, the man was extremely intelligent.

"Before I accept the ring I got something for you as well."

"Oh?"

Chuck walked over to his bag and took out one of the mirrors. He handed it to Harlo, "this way we can keep in contact on the front."

"Thank you, Chuck, but I won't be on the front lines." He hesitated to say the next bit. "As you may have figured out I am the fourth son of a noble. My father," Harlo said in exasperation, "pulled some strings and got me assigned to the scrying corps."

It was pretty obvious to Chuck that Harlo was someone of import. The surname was a dead giveaway. The fact that his father got him into a cushy military gig was kind of shitty but Chuck couldn't blame that on Harlo. Chuck knew that Harlo wasn't your stereotypical noble. The man worked his ass off and never threw his birthright around.

"That's good isn't it?"

Harlo sighed, "Yes, it will mean I am safe in the command area. I just don't want people thinking I only got the position because of my father."

"Well, change their minds by being the best damn scryer in the army," Chuck replied.

"Thanks for the pep talk, and thanks for the mirror. It will come in extremely handy, as long as you stay safe."

Chuck laughed at that. "I don't intend on dying."

"Excellent, when do you need to report in?" Harlo inquired.

"Midday, why?"

Harlo's face looked worried, "you need to hurry, its less than an hour to midday."

"Wait... what!"

"Sorry, I thought you knew the time," Harlo replied as Chuck hastily grabbed up all his gear and put his armor on that he had removed before bed.

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"Chuck, your ring," Harlo added, stopping Chuck's mad dash down the hallway.

He raced back and grabbed the ring. He placed his travel bag inside and smiled.

"Thanks again, Harlo. I'll see you later."

Chuck rushed down the stairs taking them in leaps as he scattered the few remaining students not dumb enough to try and flee for conscription. Once outside he had to run the entire way to the barracks.

He arrived with minutes to spare, handing the man at the front gate his orders as he tried to catch his breath.

The man gave him an appraising look before replying. "Head to building 3C, your commander will be waiting," the man replied gesturing in the right direction.

Chuck wasted no time and jogged into the compound to find his commander. Chuck spotted the building and headed over, four people were standing in a line and one older man pacing back and forth angrily.

When the man spotted Chuck he stopped pacing.

"You're late," the man spat acidly.

"Sorry I -," the man cut me off.

"Save your excuses and get in line."

Chuck did as ordered. When he looked over he noticed the others standing there were some of his classmates, Vigo, Jala, and Darfon. He couldn't recall the last girl's name.

Chuck was forced to return his attention forward when the acerbic man started talking.

"I am Junior Commander Velin and I will be your squad leader. If you are unfamiliar with the rank and file of the army let me fill you in. You are all Cadet Commanders until such time as I see fit to acknowledge your potential. Then you will be given a squad to command and prove that you are worthy of the Junior title. If you succeed you will be moved up to Commander and placed in charge of two juniors. Are you all still following?" the man asked sharply.

We all nodded.

"Good. After that comes Senior Commanders. They are put in charge of ten squads. After that comes Generals. They follow the same naming structure aside from cadet and command anywhere from a single formation of twenty-five units to the entire army. Any questions?" the man said, pausing only long enough to take a breath before continuing.

"You will show respect for anyone in a position above yours, as designated by the hat. The larger the feather, the lower the rank. And before you ask, it's to make it harder for enemy mages to spot the commanders in the field."

Chuck thought it wouldn't be hard to figure out the deception but he didn't vocalize his thoughts.

"Behind me is where you will live for the next week while we train. You four should be versed in the basics of combat but you will also be responsible for ordering men into battle if the need arises. You will also learn how to fight as a team. A solo mage will not last long on the field of battle. Now grab your gear and meet back out here in five minutes."

The four rushed into the building, finding racks of uniforms of all sizes waiting for them. Chuck realized in his haste he hadn't even checked to see what skill he created the previous night. It would have to wait until after training today.

Chuck dug through the uniforms until he found one that fit decently enough. The clothing felt like it was made from a rough plant fiber, feeling almost like denim. The material was sturdy and easy to move in. Chuck had to remove his armor to get it on but he was well practiced at that by now. He slid the armor back on over the clothing and slipped the tabard over his head, cinching it at his waist. Last he donned the had with a comically large feather and rushed out to join the others. Of course, he had been the last one to finish dressing due to his armor.

"Late again," J.C. Velin said, staring at me darkly.

Chuck just ducked his head and hurried to line up.

Junior Commander Velin stared at the Cadet with loathing. If this peon made him look bad in front of the higher-ups he would make him wish he was dead.

"As a commander, it is your duty to always appear in control of the battlefield. Failure to do so will lead to troop moral issues or confusion following orders. When I receive orders I will decide on the best course of action to accomplish those orders. I expect my orders to be carried out and not second-guessed. I will not hesitate to administer immediate punishment if this is not done. Have I made myself clear," the man growled.

Everyone replied, "yes, Junior Commander."

"Good. Is there anyone here with a healing skill?"

Chuck raised his hand.

"Of course it's you. Name of skill and level."

"Cleanse level five, mend level three, and minor heal level one," Chuck replied quickly.

"Well, well... not completely useless. Congratulations squad, you have a dedicated healer. Now I won't have to pull you back for every little scrape."

Chuck could feel the burning eyes of his fellow cadet's and he groaned internally.

"Who was the top student in class?"

"I was," Vigo said without hesitation.

"Uh-huh... and what type of spells have you specialized into?"

"Earth magic, Junior Commander."

"Acceptable. Raise your hand if you have a defensive skill."

Everyone raised their hand. It had been a requirement in our combat classes.

"Anyone have a defensive skill that can protect more than themselves?"

Vigo, Chuck, and the girl he couldn't remember the name of raised their hands.

"Follow me to the training yard, I want a demonstration."

The four followed after the quick man, Chuck had to jog to keep pace. When they stopped it was the typical sandpit like the arenas they were so used to.

"Step inside one at a time and demonstrate your defensive skills."

Vigo went first, throwing up his earthen wall. Chuck had learned that this skill was called earth shield and was the weaker version of earthen rampart.

J.C. Velin stepped inside the arena and pelted the wall with a barrage of rock spears. He stopped when little of the wall remained.

"Acceptable, any others?"

Vigo summoned a much thicker wall using earthen rampart. This time Velin threw an honest to god fireball at the wall, forcing Vigo to duck behind it. The spell exploded, blowing a large chunk of the wall out but failing to go through.

"Good, it should help with retreating if the need arises but earth defenses are not good for assault. You next," J.C. Velin said to the girl.

She stepped into the ring and cast a water barrier. That sparked my memory, her name was Raina.

J.C. Velin pelted the barrier with firebolt for a full minute. Chuck could see that Raina had to recast the spell every six seconds or so. It took a toll on her as the minute ended.

"Acceptable to stop a fire mage but you would be better off fleeing from the fight as they could just trap you there until your mana ran out. Any more?"

Raina shook her head.

"Alright, you, get in there."

Chuck headed into the arena, passing a tired Raina and giving her a reassuring smile. It seemed to help as she held her head up a little higher.

Chuck cast wind barrier, similar to Raina the J.C. pelted it with rock spear for a minute. Chuck wasn't even halfway through his mana pool. Chuck didn't wait for the man to ask, casting his next spell, kinetic barrier.

He made sure to step back as a mix of rock spears and firebolts passed through, only to fall to the ground shortly after, all of their energy spent.

"Good, it will help to have a variety of defensive options during combat. Cadet Vigo will be the spear, Cadet Jala you will back him up and focus on offense. Cadet Raina and Cadet Chuck you will use your skills to defend and heal where needed. You will only go on the offensive if I order it. I will assist where needed. If I fall in battle or am incapacitated, Vigo will take over and you four will retreat and find a Commander to reassign you."

The rest of the day J.C. Velin went over squad tactics and how to push in and retreat in the face of the enemy. Despite the man's dislike of me, he was a competent commander so far. The squad returned to our room late in the evening. All of the racks had been removed, leaving the space clear. Only four beds were placed in the room, along with a footlocker. Chuck peeled off his sweaty armor and unstrapped his sword, tossing them into the container. He washed up using the basin of water next to his bed and lay down.

Before he passed into sleep he checked his new skill.

Name: Hallowed Body

Rarity: Crafted - Epic

Prerequisite: Cleanse level 5, Mend level 3, Minor Heal level 1

Level: 0 - 1

Status: Active

Stat: Willpower

SP to Next level: 10000

Description: This spell will set all bones, cleanse the body of impurities, and heal major wounds.

At first, chuck thought it was just a combination of all three spells but the maximum level of mend only increased healing speed by four times. Looking at this spell it had no timeframe. Chuck wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing as he drifted off to sleep.