The first year recruits’ first excursion on the Overland was a success, although some had suffered injuries or were unable to complete their tasks without the help of their accompanying seniors. The point was that they gained experience with their new gear as well as seen for themselves what the Overland was like.

The first to return was the group handled by Nina. Their dramatic return involved an airboat speeding through the sea of clouds like a drill piercing through the heavens. When they passed over the flight deck, the flotation engine ran out of power and the airboat crashed. Because of this, Nina and Chevia were put on maintenance duty instead of receiving their assistance reward of a two day furlough.

The rest of the first years arrived in the afternoon. They were given two days of rest and are free to do whatever they wanted within the academy’s unresricted areas without breaking the rules and regulations.

It was the first of their rest days but Arovin chose to spend his time within the training hall. He had found a vacant room used for one on one combat training and spent his entire morning there.

He stood in the center of the room with his upper body bare naked. In his hand was a training longsword. It was the same weight and length as his actual weapon. He continuously swung the sword downward while moving back and forth.

This was the very first thing taught to him when he learned how to use a sword. It was meant to train perseverance and discipline. The movements may seem simple and easy, but doing it again and again without pause and without breaking form was the hard part.

As he grew up, he used this training method to clear his mind whenever he felt troubled.

The Fragor House could be dated back to the time when the Sky Islands first arose. One of the ancestors was rhe first head of the Fragor House. He passed on discipline, chivalry, and the way of the sword to his descendants.

A time of peace and content came, and the noble house fell to decadence. The heads of that time forgot the original teachings of the house and they promoted corruption and extravagant spending. It was not until the existence and threat of the Horde was first discovered that the noble house tried to return to what it once was.

Arovin, as a child, had always felt proud of his father. To him, he was the epitome of the house’s teachings, that was until five years ago. His father participated in the defense against the Horde. He held on to his position and defended it. He had extra manpower on standby but he did not send them to aid the other defensive points nor did he use it to push back the invaders. Instead, he turtled up like a coward.

Later, he found out that his father’s actions at that time was part of a strategic plan where Fleet General Keifre Kraden took the limelight and was named as a hero. Arovin knew that the general was indeed crucial to that plan, but he believed that his father could’ve done the same if they swapped roles. He told his father the same thing, but he disagreed and told his son that there were no one who could have done the same as Fleet General Kraden.

His father had also been a proud man. He had the lineage, the talent, and the skills. There was no reason for him to not be proud of himself, but whenever Fleet General Kraden was mentioned, his father would act subdued and even praise the other man like a loyal dog wagging its tail. In Arovin’s eyes, it was disgusting and pathetic. He started hating his father for it.

Then, he met the fleet general’s daughter and was even defeated by her despite being a cripple. It was the greatest shame of his life. Furthermore, the events of yesterday shook him to the core. He had done well not to show it, but when the girl killed the rockroach in one shot, he had wanted to stab her there and then. Why did she always have to be the better one?

He swung the training sword down. His arms had gone numb for some time already and he the sword slipped out of his hand. It flew away and struck the wall. That was what he was currently feeling right now.

He had struck a wall.

Vonandi was shook awake by her beastkin roommate. The latter was worried for her, and it pained her to turn her away, but she wanted some time alone for herself.

“It’s already noon… Want to grab a bite?” asked Yuna.

“I’m sorry, Yuna. I just want to sleep.”

“Are you hibernating?”

“Elv—half-elves don’t hibernate, silly. I just feel like sleeping, okay? I promise I’ll be fine by tomorrow and we can have fun then.”

“Okay. That’s a promise.”

The beastkin left their room leaving the half-elf alone.

“I don’t know anymore,” she groaned as she covered herself with the sheets.

Vonandi hadn’t been lying when she said that she just wanted to sleep. Last night, she was unable to sleep at all. Whenever she closed her eyes, voices and images haunted her. Worse, those were the scenes of the rockroach queen while it was being attacked.

It was not fear that had kept her awake. The creatures were hostile, but none of them had approached her. She was in a much safer position compared to her companions.

Instead, what she felt was pity and sympathy. She felt regret. She felt those toward the monster in that cave.

She remembered a time when she was younger and naive, when she still had not known the divide between elves and half-elves. The URA had done their best to remove discrimination between races, but they could not do anything at the deep-seated nature of the hate elves had toward half-elves. It was a part of their culture, and although there were some minor elven groups that have moved on from such old-fashioned way, the majority of the elven community including their leaders still follow it.

Vonandi loved to play in the forest near their hometown in Misce. Unlike the other half-elf children, her mother believed that she had inherited more of the elven blood despite her more human physical traits. As a little girl, she did not really give much thought to such complicated matters. All she wanted was to play in the forest.

She loved the trees and the damp soil. She loved the smell of the hearth and the cool breeze. The rustling of leaves where songs to her ears, and the scuttling critters and wildlife where dancing in her eyes.

If there was one thing she hated in the forest, it was the tiny bugs crawling about. She was not disgusted by them in any way. She just found them so weak and annoying.

She would poke them with a stick, drown them in a puddle, ruin their home, crush their eggs, or whatever sort of thing that seemed entertaining enough for her. They were so easily killed, and they couldn’t even fight back. She wondered how had such weak things lived for so long.

And then her mother’s relatives arrived in Misce as refugees. That was her first sight of the results of the cruelty done by elves toward half-elves. They were mangled and disfigured. Some were missing limbs, an eye, an ear, or were branded with burns all over.

The elves found out of a community of half-elves still living within Elfenheim. They were in hiding and moved discreetly within the elven community, passing themselves as true elves. This angered the elves when they were found out. Not only they were punished heavily, they were also tortured to reveal information of the other half-elves in hiding.

Vonandi realized that she was no different from the elves. Just because she was the one in power, she thought it was fine to just do anything to the weaker party. Now looking back, she realized that she didn’t feel that way toward the other critters and wildlife in the forest because they could easily outrun her. They would always run away before she could approach. The bugs on the other hand couldn’t escape from her, and they became her target.

The issue between the elves and half-elves were fundamentally different from her own, but that was not th problem. It lay in how she had handled the weaker party.

From then on, she changed. From the outgoing girl who loved to play in the forest, she turned into a meek and obedient girl. But the events in that cave reminded her of what she had done in the forest, as well as the figures of those refugees. The two had merged in her mind and overlapped with the image of the rockroach queen.

“I’m sorry…” she muttered before her lack of sleep had finally gotten to her. She drifted to sleep knowing that no sweet dream awaited her.

The flight deck was less busy today. There were fewer people moving about and less higher year students in sight. It was because many of the them opted to make good use of their two days furlough.

Yuna felt sleepy after having a filling lunch. Less students meant more available food… was what she concluded so she ate as much as she could before she felt like her stomach would burst. She then found a spot in the flight deck that was both peaceful and calm. She plopped on the ground and watched the few students and staff go about their business. She even spotted Nina and Chevia moving between hangars with teary expressions as they were forced to stay and help instead of receiving their permission for furlough.

The beastkin yawned and curled. She was not tired because of their activity yesterday. Like Vonandi, she also had a hard time getting sleep. In fact, she knew that the half-elf had been awake all night. She could hear the other girl tossing and turning, sobbing every now and then, and then apologizing.

She thought that the half-elf might have been terrified of the monsters they faced yesterday, which was odd, as she had performed extremely well in combat, except for the last part. She had dealt the most damage after that one-armed silent freak. Compared to herself…

She felt useless. She had promised the other girl that she would protect her. Instead, she was the first to flinch just as the battle began. She could always blame it on her more sensitive hearing, but it was still her fault for not taking that into account. Battles would always involve all senses, and some enemies would take advantage of that. Even they themselves use that to an effect. A big example were the tools known as flash explosives and smoke grenades.

It was no excuse. Her inherent sensitive hearing can not be used as an excuse for her ineptitude. The battle went slightly better after that, but she kept being distracted by the shots made by that one-armed freak. There was definitely something wrong with that girl and her weapon. At first she thought that gun thingy was cool, but later it filled her with dread. A single shot was enough to tear apart one of those rockroaches. It was not the slightest bit funny.

Worse was the accompanying flash of light and blast. It was like a bolt of lightning was shot out of that tiny weapon. In fact, she believed that to be what actually happened. Unlike Vonandi’s elegant ice arrows, that freak’s lightning shots were crude yet deadly. Too deadly. That weapon should not be allowed for people to handle, especially one who seemed so cold and emotionally detached. If it was in her hands instead, she could use it to fulfill her promise.

With a sigh, the beastkin rolled over to her back and looked at the clear skies. She was making excuses again. The truth was she felt envious. If she had that weapon and fired it, she would be the first to be knocked out. She had seen the impact of the shots not just on its target but also on its user. That recoil could break one’s arm off. She shuddered. Morielle was a freak… no, she’s definitely a monster in human disguise.

She noticed some movement in her peripheral vision and when she looked, she found that someone was sitting nearby. He wore civilian clothes with a cap on his head. He looked human judginf from the lack of any definitive trait from the other races, but it was too early to judge. He had something over his head and covered his ears. She sat up to observe in curiosity, which the man noticed.

“Oh, sorry. Did I disturb you?” he said after taking the thing on his head off. He let it hang around his neck like a loose oollar.

The man looked to be a little over his thirties. He had an amiable face, black hair, and eyes the color of the night sky. He exuded an aura of charm and purpose which the beastkin reacted to by unconsciously sniffing the air. The man chuckled lightly at her action. She glared at him in return.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh at you, but your reaction was similar to someone I knew. Or a lot of people I knew actually.”

“Hmm… Fine,” the beastkin girl grumpily said but then recalled something. “Hey, this place isn’t for civilians. What are you doing here?”

“I know. I just came to deliver something for my daughter. I just thought that this spot is really good and decided to take in the scene for a while before I go. ”

“This is a military establishment, you know. Sort of. You can’t just come and go to deliver personal stuff, and sightsee whenever you want.”

“I have special permission.”

Yuna didn’t really care about the man’s reasons or if he actually had been permitted to do whatever he said he was doing. She was just taking revenge for laughing at her.

The beastkin’s ears twitched when she heard something. She then looked around to look for it and noticed that it was coming from the man. She tilted her head as she inspected him and found out where it came from.

“Oh, you can hear it, huh? Beastkins really do have a good pair of ears,” the man said. “Here, give it a try.”

He took off the thing from his neck and handed it to her. It was attacked by a wire to something which looked like an Armament attached to his belt. Staring blankly at the thing in her hands, the man realized that she didn’t know what to do with it. He came closer and helped her put it on her head, albeit with a lot of difficult adjustment since her ears were located differently from a human’s.

Yuna was stunned. There was music coming in from the thing!

“Pretty nifty, huh?” the man said proudly. “I made friends with an engineer in the URA and had him develop this. I designed it myself, including the music player. Hey are you listening?”

“Huh? What?”

“Nevermind. I’ll let you borrow it for a while. What do you think?”

“No. You can have it back.”

Yuna returned the strange object back to its owner with a bit of disappointment.

“I call this pair headphones, and this one is a music player. Although my intentions for these were mostly selfish, the engineers who made them thought that it was for something else. What they derived from this would be most helpful for you and your kind, so don’t believe the rumors that would come later saying I made this to aid you. You should thank the engineers instead.”

The man took off after leaving some confusing blather. Yuna shook her head and thought that the man, despite his age, was weird. She didn’t dislike him, though.

She lied back down and enjoyed the sun’s warmth.

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Unbeknown to Arovin, the room behind the wall he had unintentionally hit with his sword was occupied by one of the sources of his frustrations.

Morielle had been in that room earlier than Arovin in the other. She had just undergone repeated sets of full body training, leaving almost no muscle untouched. Her slender frame belied the true strength of her body. She did not train to offset the fact that she was missing a limb. It was for another purpose.

She ended her training and opted for a soak. On her way back, she noticed the beastkin lazily take a spot on the flight deck. The half-elf was still covered in her sheets, but she seemed to have finally fallen asleep. The only man in their group was nowhere to be found.

The academy had facilities for recovering fatigue and injuries. It included a simulated hotspring with medical properties. She soaked there for an hour.

After resting, she headed for the engineering facilities and went directly to the weapons department.

“You’re here! I was just about to have you called,” a short man in his fifties saw and greeted her. He then led her to his office. On the door was the nameplate: Vice-Chief Enginner Arnold Bruteswing.

Arnold Bruteswing was an engineer poached by the URA directly from the dwarfs’ capital city in Skymount. He was quick to accept the offer given by the URA as he felt that he would see no more development of his skills if he stayed in his homeland.

“Ah, you missed your father. He was here earlier,” the half-dwarf said.

“It’s okay.”

“Well, let’s get right down to business. Your father left something for you, but before we get to that, you must have something you need from me, seeing as you came here without being called.”

“I need this fixed,” she said as she placed the gunblade on the desk.

“Oh, dear. It seems like despite the choice of materials, it still couldn’t handle the power of the shot. The barell is already damaged and, the blade is slightly bent. I can’t tell if the bent blade is because of the shot or if from its handling.” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“A bit of both.”

“Well, this could be fixed easily, anyway, but the question is what about for the long term? You can’t possibly be thinking of having it repaired after every use? Sometimes, soldiers will be sent to the Overland for extended periods of time with minimal support. Your weapon is your lifeline and if it breaks during a fight…”

“I know. Just reduce the power of the shots.”

“You don’t want to strengthen the materials instead?”

“No. The shots are too powerful and use up too much of the Armament’s energy. I could only shoot six times and wait for an entire day before I could shoot again.”

“Hmm… that is troublesome. Reducing the power of the shots would theoretically reduce the consumption of aether… I guess we could only give it a try.”

The half-dwarf wrote something on a piece of paper and stuck it on the weapon. He then put it in a case and pushed it through a hole on the back wall of his office.

“It would be done by tonight or tomorrow morning. I heard you have a two day rest, so no need to worry.”

The girl only nodded in response and was about to leave.

“Wait!” the half-dwarf called out and slammed another case on his table. “Your father left this for you.”

Morielle returned and looked at the case. Her lack of expression caused the engineer to sigh.

“Why don’t you just open it?” the aged man said.

Morielle flipped the set of locks opened. She didn’t show it, but she was definitely annoyed as the sound of locks clicking open increased in rate. Why were there so many locks?

Finally, as the last lock clicked, the case opened on its own. Inside was long metallic object made of many parts connected together in a complicated matter. The crucial point was a Jewel Armament hidden inside the contraption.

No matter how she looked at it, Morielle couldn’t see it as anything else.

“It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it?” the half-dwarf said with shining eyes. “Such complexity and ingenuity. Your father really does come up with the strangest yet most ingenious designs.”

It was an Armament.

In the shape of a left arm.