For the past three weeks, Maiya had fought Ash Beasts every day. Initially, she’d cowered in fear of them. Who wouldn’t? After all, these were the same mythical beasts parents scared their children with. Behave, or the Ash Wolves will come for you.

How blissfully unaware those parents were. If Ash Wolves were the worst the Ashen Realm offered, Maiya felt it would be a downright peaceful place. Bless those innocent souls who knew nothing of Raptors, Phantomblades… and Shredders.

The white-skinned bipedal beast scanned its surroundings, its bladed lizard tail sloshing back and forth, eager for blood. Then its slit red eyes found them, a hundred paces away.

Kraeeeeeeeeeeiie!

The beast shrieked with a voice not of this realm, and charged.

“Shield wall!” Maiya barked.

By night, instructors had drilled into her military tactics, strategy, and every last morsel the Kin’jal Empire knew about Ash Beasts.

Including tactics against Shredders. Agile as they were on their prana-empowered hind legs, like most Ash Beasts, their hide was thin enough to see through and they possessed little-to-no self-preservation instincts. They were known to ram right into spear walls, impaling themselves.

Two Balarian warriors—the ones with shields and spears—crouched and brought their shields to bear, aiming their weapons through the openings. To their sides, their three squad mates planted their poleaxes into the ground, bracing them against the Shredder’s impending charge.

And at the very center of the formation stood their crimson-haired leader, aiming down her mejai bracer at the incoming beast. She’d done everything she could as a leader; she’d boosted her squad’s armor with the appropriate protection and she’d issued her command. Her troops needed no pep talk, nor any words of solace. They were Balarian Warriors. And elites at that.

All that was left was for her to do her own part. As an individual. As a mejai.

The creature from another realm half stumbled, half ran, jerking its body in ways that should not be possible, and yet it made startlingly quick work of the distance, leaving a trail of clawed imprints behind.

Fifty paces. Twenty-Five.

Maiya waited. Icicle would never hit such a fast-moving object. Wind Blade had better odds, but its range was limited. Blizzard would have been the most effective response, but A grade spells were just beyond her reach.

Now!

An invisible crescent of wind shot forth, low and horizontal. A Shredder’s greatest threat was its mobility. Without its legs…

But despite firing an attack which should have been invisible, the Shredder jumped, sailing right over the Wind Blade.

Unfortunately for it, that put it on a perfect trajectory to impale itself upon Maiya’s squad’s spears.

They sank deep, eliciting a primal roar from the creature. Saliva dripped from its gaping maw, lined with seemingly endless rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Neither Maiya nor her warriors flinched, but before she could fire another spell, the Shredder swiped the spear shafts, breaking the wood as if they were twigs.

Then it rammed the shields, breaking Maiya’s defensive line.

“Fall back!” Maiya ordered, deploying an Ice Wall directly into the rampaging beast’s path.

This is bad… Thanks to the earlier fighting, she was close to saturation. Whatever spells she fired, they’d have to count.

The Shredder slammed headfirst into the wall, and this time, it couldn’t pass.

Losing no time, Maiya held out a precharged B grade Hail Burst and triggered it. While technically a projectile-based spell, Hail Burst fired in a spread, meaning it didn’t need a mejai aiming bracer.

Dozens of tiny projectiles embedded themselves into the Shredder’s hide, causing it to writhe in pain.

It was an opportunity her squad did not miss. They surrounded the beast, firing off their Icicle and Wind Blade orbs Maiya had precharged for them, reaving into the Shredder. A dangerous gambit—if any missed, they’d likely maim an ally, but Maiya had boosted their defense. Even if hit by friendly fire, it wouldn’t be lethal.

Her pikemen took turns skewering the dying beast, peppering its translucent hide with holes.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

And yet, they were up against an Ash Beast. It would not fall so easily. The Shredder ignored Maiya’s squad, focusing on her.

She charged a Wind Blade, intending on bisecting the beast… but at the last moment, it suddenly veered, lunging for one of her warriors.

Not gonna let you!

“Don’t move!” Maiya shouted, firing her Wind Blade—not at the Shredder, but barely an inch in front of her warrior.

The Wind Blade’s speed was equaled only by the Shredder, and the wounded beast lunged forth—right into the blade.

Its decapitated head fell to the ground, right before her Balarian warrior’s feet, and its body followed suit a moment later.

The warriors thumped their polearms’ shafts on the ground and shouted the Balarian victory chant. “Hu! Hu Hu! Hu! Hu Hu!”

Maiya collapsed to her knees. “Let’s… get this cleaned up.”

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It was fifteen minutes later that a Kin’jal balloon ship trundled into sight, setting down on the plain. Resembling a corvette with a giant ovaloid bag of air strapped above it instead of sails, these skyships were a luxury and a sign of power. Few nations had them.

Nevermind that they paled next to the Altani’s fast attack skyships—nothing could compare to those.

Where the Altani’s variant required a dozen or more mejai all working in perfect harmony, these skyships only required a half-dozen mejai to power and steer, and were far more forgiving.

Upon landing, a wooden plank was deployed, and out stepped the head handmaiden alongside a dozen Balarian Royal Guard. The best of the best.

The Guard worked with Maiya’s squad to load the Shredder’s hide, burning the corpse.

“You did well, Maiya,” the head handmaiden said, walking up to her.

“That’s uh,” Maiya replied, before quickly curtseying and fixing her speech. “Thank you, head handmaiden. I am unworthy of such praise.”

“Nonsense. From fresh recruit to a squad leader capable of downing a Shredder in just over a month? As you know, I do not praise easily. And yet I must. This rate of progress is nearly unheard of. You have done well.”

Sure, Maiya thought. Done well for a handmaiden.

Except that wasn’t her goal. She was supposed to be feeding information back to Tanya. At least before, she’d been able to assuage the woman, telling her she was still new, that it would take time to break into the court’s inner circle. Tanya seemed to understand.

And then she’d been whisked away to the Ash Boundary, without an opportunity to tell Tanya. What would that look like? Would Tanya and Riyan consider it a betrayal? What if they’d captured Vir? What if they were hurting him? Or what if he’d succumbed during his task?

Maiya bit her lip. She’d had these thoughts. Dozens of times. And never were they of any help.

“You seem troubled, child,” the head handmaiden said.

Maiya snapped back to reality. “I just… we got lucky today, ma’am. I wonder how many more Shredders we’ll be able to fight without losing anyone.”

“You are right to worry. There are no guarantees out here, so close to danger. You have experienced a taste of this. Ensure you do not forget it.”

“I’m sorry? I didn’t catch your meaning. You’re sending me back?”

“Come,” the head handmaiden said, ushering Maiya up the gangplank. “Your performance has caught several eyes. Several important eyes.”

Maiya remained quiet, walking slightly behind the head handmaiden.

“Foremost of which is Princess Ira. You are to return to Sonam immediately. The princess wishes you to join her cadre of personal handmaidens.”

Maiya jolted to a stop, prompting the head handmaiden to turn around.

“This is quite an honor, Maiya. Many handmaidens spend their entire careers without gaining that honor. She sees something in you. As do I.”

“S-serve the princess?” Maiya squeaked. “I’m not strong enough!”

Why am I hesitating?

This was exactly what she wanted, wasn’t it? She knew why. She was deathly afraid that the princess would find out she was a spy. That she’d be hanged if the truth ever came to light.

“You are,” the head handmaid replied. “Have you forgotten? I am a certified Balar Ranking Proctor. Normally, a test is performed to determine one’s rank, but I have watched you over the days and weeks. Over this time, I have assessed your strengths and weaknesses.”

Maiya’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t know.”

The Royal Guard finished loading up the skyship, and once Maiya’s squad was aboard, the vessel lifted off. As they rose higher and higher, Maiya spotted other squads in the area. Most patrolled idly, but some were engaged in battles.

“That squad there,” the head handmaid said, pointing one out—currently in combat with four Ash Wolves. “What are they doing wrong?”

Maiya squinted, analyzing their fight. Two wolves repeatedly darted in, distracting the squad, while the other two circled from behind. The beasts took injuries each time, but the squad failed to land a decisive hit.

“They’re attacking the minions when they should be attacking the leader. There,” Maiya said, pointing to a wolf that hung back, “see how that one pauses a bit? It’s howling commands to the others. If they take the leader out, the others’ cohesion will fall.”

Most Ash Wolves had little sanity left, but occasionally, larger, more capable variants would show up with more of their faculties intact. These had a unique ability to rally others of their kind, making them difficult foes to deal with.

“Exactly on point. When you joined us, you knew of neither Ash Wolves nor Shredders. And yet now, you can not only engage and defeat them in single combat, but you lead squads, multiplying their survivability and effectiveness.”

“Even though I’m just a Lesser Mejai of Ash?” Maiya asked.

“Even as a Mejai of Ash. Maiya, there are few who can charge three B grade orbs in a single minute. I’ve no doubt I’ll be speaking to a Standard Mejai of Ash soon, and perhaps more.”

“I’m honored, ma’am. If I may… What’s my Balar Rank?”

“Of course you may. But a month ago, you were barely forty. Now, I rank you at one hundred. Continue honing your magic and you will no doubt jump well past that.”

Maiya blushed with pride. “Thank you, head handmaiden. I’m humbled.”

Mentally, her thoughts were anything but humble. Take that, Vir!

She couldn’t wait to brag to her friend. That Balar ranks were always whole numbers struck her as a little odd until she learned the scale was quantized to the nearest tenth rank, to account for some of the uncertainty of assigning a single number to something as complex as someone's strength.

“Well? Do you accept your new station?” the head handmaiden said, her black eyes glinting.

“Y-yes!” Maiya replied. She’d been so shocked she’d forgotten to give her reply. “It would be the honor of my lifetime!”

“Good. Then you shall return to Sonam at once.”

Now I can give Tanya some gossip. And now… Now I can finally look for Vir.

Her first stop? Riyan’s abode.