SOPHIA STONECLAW

Whenever I was left alone with my thoughts, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what my purpose in this world was. It was becoming worrisome because I was beginning to feel trapped in my clueless thinking. Since I was reborn in this world, I had always wondered how and why it happened. Although the answers were far-fetched, I wasn't overly bothered because I was living a life in which I had everything I wanted, but recently everything started to feel different. I believed everything changed when Father first sent me to the southern continent as I discovered firsthand that there was more to this world than I had imagined.

Based on books I’d read in my past life, I was supposed to be the main character of some sort, or at the center of whatever was going to happen but I didn’t even know what to do or what role I was supposed to play. I’d thought about it thoroughly and started inclining to believe that the war held answers to my numerous questions. Curiosity got the better of me so I decided to take an active part in it.

After I had made my intentions known to my father, he immediately promoted me to the position of General. Being a princess surely has its perks as I was given a position some would only dare to dream of. Although I didn’t have much military experience, I believe I did justice to the title strength-wise. I didn’t have any intentions of taking control of the military, I wasn’t interested since I had reasons for my involvement in this war. Vayr, a General in his rights, was still the military chief and I still received orders from him, although it was fair to say I was the second-in-command rank-wise.

I had to take my job seriously so I spent more time trying to know more about this continent, its people, and its structure, and comparing it with the Azkhan Empire. There weren’t a lot of similarities we Azkhans shared with the people here, but the concept of the Feel and mana was practically the same on a broad scale and differences were only found in minor concepts such as the mages here being referred to as casters. The system of government was completely different. Indirect rule was the case here even though there was some semblance of class systems involving Lords and High Lords. Azkhan had a more direct rule under the Emperor, and a more defined class system. The common folk with no affinity for mana manipulation made up most of the population and had a class of their own. They were important to the Empire as they were the forerunners in every sector of the economy that didn't involve combat. That was a decree made to ensure that they weren't always looked down upon. Mages and advanced mages were of a different class and made the bulk of the military. Being a soldier in the Azkhan Empire was regarded as an honor of a lifetime. The El-bloods were the ruling class. But since positions like that were limited, most of them were compelled to join the military too.

Issues arose in Academroth and Vayr wanted to take care of it but I insisted I did it, pointing out that the matter in Academroth was one to resolve with strength rather than wits, and I was the stronger one. With that reason, I was able to convince Vayr to let me go. Even though I was the strongest soldier there, he was still worried about my safety so he suggested that an Arcane from House Choryth went with me. I didn’t raise any objection to his suggestion because it didn’t make much of a difference to me.

In the reports sent to us, the situation in Academroth seemed to be a serious one as the lieutenant overseeing Academroth requested we deploy Elder Guards to quickly take care of it. It was a funny request because it was evident that he didn’t understand how things worked.

The Elder Guards weren’t part of the military although they were the strongest division of soldiers the Azkhan Empire had. They were Pure-bloods who answered only to the Emperor. Vayr and I were on the same boat regarding the issue. Our pride wouldn’t let us make such a request to the Emperor because getting the Emperor involved simply means that we can’t win the war ourselves.

The information we’d gathered so far brought us to Brisdow. It didn’t come as a surprise to me, facing off against our supposed enemy even though we were yet to arrive at our destination. It was a sudden attack, an ambush of some sort but I’d anticipated that something like that would happen.

I spotted the Imperial soldiers in the distance as their figures were defined in silhouettes. The numbers favored us, nine of us against seven of them but I didn’t know how the lieutenants with me would fare against them since previous reports stated that they were no match to them. I didn’t know what abilities the enemy soldiers possessed, but I was confident of holding my own.

I watched as Svan and his mother walked forward, swords drawn, locked in, and combat-ready. For a moment, I felt they were going to turn against us and side with the Imperium, but that worry disappeared seeing the determination in their faces as they readied themselves against the approaching enemies.

“They sure are fearless,” I said inwardly.

The Imperial soldiers drew closer. I’d never imagined that white outfits could look scary as the masks they wore made them appear even scarier.

Just as I had suspected, the Imperial soldiers approaching us were Arcanes. I wondered why it wasn’t stated in the reports. Maybe none of those who experienced them first hand lived to tell it. It was easy to tell that they were Arcanes since I could sense the aura of their Feel and the same applied to El bloods. I also believed Arcanes had the same perception too.

The aura gave off different sensations in Arcanes, El-bloods, and mages. Normal mages didn't give off any unique aura, Arcanes gave off a chilly sensation, and El-bloods gave off a burning one. It came in handy because at least, I knew what enemy I was facing.

The ground quaked producing vibrations that could easily throw us off as fault lines ran in different directions. I didn’t know what to expect, but I readied myself for any incoming attacks. One of them approached me. He moved so fast that I almost lost track of him and in an instant, he appeared in front of me. I swung my lightning-clad sword in his direction. I had anticipated that he would easily avoid my sword but I had other plans. Tendrils from my sword shot in the direction of my swing toward my opponent. He was fast. Not only was he able to avoid my sword, but he also countered with lightning bolts of his own. I didn’t want the fight to drag for long, I needed to finish it as quickly as possible.

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I pressed in the same fashion, keeping him occupied with the blade of my sword and the bolts of lightning that came off it. After a few exchanges, I split the ground on which he stood which made him lose his footing as he stumbled a bit. Seizing the opportunity, I instantly froze him in a large ice cube.

Somehow, it felt too easy, or maybe I was just too strong. I knew that the spells I conjured weren't low-level ones. Lightning and ice fusion were advanced spells that only skilled mages and El-bloods could conjure, and I was able to conjure both with relative ease. Yet, I expected more from the Arcane who was fighting against me. A lieutenant wouldn't go down this easily and it was reported that the lieutenants were no match for them.

I couldn't care less about him, my goal was to end the fight as quickly as possible. Though I had incapacitated him at the moment, I had to end his life. I conjured a fireball and shot it at the ice cube, precisely at the position of his head. Following up almost immediately, I conjured an ice spear and launched it in the same direction as the fireball.

I had precisely planned every move and spell I conjured. I froze him in an ice cube strong enough to completely render him immobile. Ordinary mages would go numb and pass out if they were encased in one but, he was an Arcane, a spell like that wouldn't kill him. Despite the relative ease of the fight, I didn't want to get ahead of myself and get careless. The fireball was to melt the area I launched it at, to let the spear pierce easily. To my surprise, the whole block of ice shattered even before the spear hit it, and somehow, he managed to catch the spear mid-flight, shattering it. All the shards came flying in my direction but they never reached me as I melted all of them in a sizzling furnace.

The series of events that followed shortly after was a relentless bombardment of spells mostly thrown at me. He suddenly switched up and got serious. While I was busy fending off the spells that approached me from different corners, two boulders erupted from the ground in an attempt to crush me in between them. I had already strengthened my body with mana so I didn't have to worry so much about being crushed by them. I was quick to react, turning in the direction of one of the boulders, I slashed with my sword, as lightning bolts from its blades shattered the boulder before my sword could even make contact with it. I wasn't fast enough to react to the second boulder as it hit me, knocking me off. But I was able to cushion my fall, recovering almost immediately.

“That's one hell of a response,” I remarked.

I was a bit annoyed that the boulder hit me. If I had an Erkvare pendant with me, it wouldn't have happened. I'd always refused to own one because I was always confident in my abilities and control of mana so I didn't see the need for one of those pendants. I didn't want to need an artifact or boost to make me stronger. To me, it was a sign of weakness since Pure-bloods like me took pride in our strength.

Once again, our swords clashed, accompanied by a fury of spells that took different forms. I had to admit, he was impressive but I was confident about finishing him off. His defense was good, almost like he was aided by an Erkvare pendant but I was sure he didn't have one. My spells couldn't do any damage to him as he was able to reinforce his body with different elemental forms. One time during our fight, he completely covered himself in full body armor made of ice, looking like some ice robot. Even so, it didn't hinder his motility or efficiency.

I did the same thing sometimes, even going far to bolster my defenses with rock and ice simultaneously. Other times, I just let my mana-augmented body take care of the rest. Our engagement had gone past the point of a battle. It was utter chaos and destruction. I didn't have the luxury to observe whatever was going on around me, but it was easy to tell that the area was a mess. It looked like it was turned inside out.

I wasn’t going easy on him but I wasn't going all out too. The fight was dragging on longer than I had anticipated. No doubt, he was lasting longer than I expected. Not long after I complimented his endurance, he started showing signs of desperation as he imposed his Feel realm in an attempt to overwhelm me. I wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he felt like I was just like one of the lieutenants he had probably fought and that I was being stubborn and resilient. I couldn't help but smirk. I wished I could scream at him, “I am a Pure-blood,” but he wouldn't understand the weight of those words.

As white motes floated around us, I became oddly excited. So far, lightning and ice fusion were the most advanced spells he had conjured though he seemed to have an affinity for all four basic elements. I still believed he had some tricks up his sleeves but I wasn't fazed.

Suddenly, the area surrounding us began to freeze, as the freezing ice started taking shape into human-like figures too many to count. I had thought I would easily cut them down, or shatter them with bolts of lightning, but surprisingly, they were fast. They didn't spare me anytime to react, coming at me with their hungry-looking blades. I managed to fend off the first ones that came at me, creating a little space for myself, as I conjured golems to keep the rest busy. Somehow, I was trying to show him that whatever he could do, I could do better. He wasn't done, as spikes came at me from every direction. Several of them hit me, they were just too close for me to avoid. I constantly kept my body reinforced with mana so I was fine, although the pain from numerous hits was getting unbearable. I reacted quickly, condensing the air around me until it was impermeable. The rest of the spikes never got to me, as they shattered before an invisible wall.

A sharp pain flashed across my chest, reminding me that I was beginning to step things up. The situation was different for both of us; the Arcane was already at his best but I wasn't. He kept bombarding various spells at me, but one way or the other, I stopped them from reaching me. I couldn't see his face to tell what expression he was wearing but could tell that he was shocked. He couldn't overwhelm me with his Feel realm even though I didn't impose mine. I was a Pure-blood and my Feel was far stronger than his.

Although I was forced to defend against his spells because his Feel realm made it quite difficult for me, I managed to send some spells his way even though they were easily countered. I held out, but he couldn't as the strength of his spells waned. Seizing the opportunity, I attacked. He tried to conjure spells to fend me off, but they were weak as I broke past them with ease. He was bare and defenseless as I slashed in his direction. He was able to block with his sword but I knew he wouldn't hold out for long. The spells stopped coming and our engagement was reduced to a swordfight. He put up a few decent swings but I was able to avoid all of them, countering some with my sword. We exchanged a few more strikes until my sword found its way into his chest.

I heaved in relief as he dropped to his knees, subsequently falling to the ground. I squatted beside him, taking off his mask as guilt and pity overwhelmed me. I muttered,

“He is young.”

Those emotions didn't last long as I was forcefully knocked off from where I squatted. I didn't know what hit me but luckily, my body was still mana-augmented so I was fine. I got myself to my feet and looked up as two Arcanes approached me. I clicked my tongue,

“This is still far from over.”