(This is terrible) Zack thought as he walked down the hall with his four classmates, after finishing attending the class.

“This is fantastic,” Austin said as he walked to the front of the group with a cheerful walk and a smile on his face.

Nobody noticed it, but if Zack's parents were present they would know that Zack had just given Austin a not-very-friendly look.

If Zack could, he'd hit that simpleton for not realizing the situation they're in.

Worst of all, Shun and Miyu seemed to have believed Albert's nonsense. After all, what he was saying seemed to make sense. What good is it for you to know those complicated theories when you are faced with someone who wants to kill you?

Austin and the others may not know the difference between a normal mage and a combat mage, but Zack does.

Although a normal mage and a combat mage may have the same magical class, their approaches are completely different.

The main difference is that combat mages are mages specialized in using magic on the battlefield.

At first glance, combat mages look like upgrades. After all, combat mages focus on using their magic practically, rather than being locked up studying complicated magical theories. At least that's the idea that Austin and the others have after listening to Albert.

The truth is not so.

Basically, combat mages are mages who have given up anything that isn't useful on the battlefield. For example, a normal wizard when he learns the fireball spell, not only learns the spell, but also knows how to change the size, temperature, speed, and even the number of fireballs; a battle mage only knows how to cast the spell.

Zack thought of one of the books in the central library in which he spoke in depth about these types of magicians.

Combat Mages arose as a result of an issue that arose in the positioning of mages on the battlefield.

Traditionally, wizards have always been at the rear of the battlefield. Their role was to use complicated magic formulas to create super spells thanks to the synergy of multiple magicians simultaneously, and cast them on the enemy, slaughtering them.

The function of the rest of the classes was to act as a human shield so that the enemy would not approach the formation and attack the magicians.

That was the traditional positioning on the battlefield.

The problem arose in a war between two small neighboring countries a long time ago.

The book that Zack read about it did not correctly specify the date on which that war happened, and even the names of the countries that were lost to history.

Apparently, the difference in strength between the two countries was quite large.

When they arrived at the battlefield, the aggressor country had triple the number of soldiers and five times the number of magicians than the attacked country.

Even if all of his mages were focused on forming a magic shield around his troops, the super spell from the enemy mages would make it useless.

At that moment, one of the generals of the invaded country had an idea that would revolutionize the battlefield from then on, turning the magicians into a mobile unit.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The idea was that instead of the magicians being in the rear preparing spells, they would advance with the rest of the army and solve problems that the rest of the troops could not solve in a short time.

The plan was for the army to advance fast enough to catch up with the magicians from the opposing country before they cast their combined spell.

The plan was a success.

Since then, that idea has been used by other countries, causing the military arts to develop without precedent for the next ten years.

There was only one small problem.

The number of magicians from the invaded country who survived that battle was only one-tenth of their original numbers.

While in the following years that strategy developed without precedent, it also led to the death of a number of mages never seen before.

The situation got to such a point that many magicians came threatening to leave their country if they were sent to the battlefield. Considering that most wizards came from noble families, that was not good.

The training of a magician was very expensive, ordinary families could not afford it.

That was when the idea of training mages from families without a noble title, in exchange for a tour of duty in the military as combat mages, first arose.

They are mages who survive on the battlefield on a daily basis, having to discard anything that doesn't help them survive in that place in the short term.

What's the use of learning that if you're dead? That is the mentality of combat mages.

Some combat mages have gone so far that they know less than ten spells.

But the most important reason why Zack almost threw the table he was sitting on when Albert explained that he was a combat magician was not because they were going to be sent to the field of combat in the most dangerous position that he could be given. The reason was quite another.

A combat mage was trained to fight non-magical combat classes quickly and effectively, but this is why these mages have a fatal flaw.

A standard wizard has to go through rigorous training before they can call themselves a wizard, combat wizards don't have to go through such training.

Because of that, when both types of magicians face each other, the result is only one. Slaughter.

From a standard wizard's point of view, his spells were incomplete, poorly varied, and incapable of adapting to his offense.

On the battlefield that's not a problem. The standard mages are left behind. The only mage a combat mage can face is another mage of the same type.

But Zack and his teammates find themselves in a different situation.

Zack hasn't forgotten that the chance of being eliminated by the time the kingdom has finished using them isn't low.

The moment Zack and the others dare to disobey orders or go against the interests of the kingdom, they can be eliminated.

Zack had been wondering what method they would use to control them and prevent them from running away.

Zack wasn't so naive as hoping that people used to being obeyed didn't have a way to make them obey his orders. At first, he thought that they were going to try to cultivate their loyalty to the kingdom step by step while giving them the best possible treatment as 'heroes'.

Now it looks like Zack was thinking too much.

Although Zack doesn't know what kind of methods they will use on his companions, looking at the style the nobles have used on him, it is most likely a simple and crude method that takes advantage of their lack of knowledge, while making them lower their guard with compliments and banal words.

The nobles of this kingdom value honor, duty, and justice, as long as it suits them. The moment Zack or one of his companions rebel against them, their masks will fall to the ground just as quickly.

Zack hasn't forgotten how all of his classmates who had tier 1 classes were forcibly removed from each other by the guards while those bastards jeered.

Even now, no one has told them what has become of them.

Seeing that his thoughts darkened, Zack shook his head and began to think about something else.

(Now that I think about it, it's not that bad to have a combat mage as an instructor either) Zack thought trying to think positively.

Combat mages have a fairly large hole in their knowledge, which depends on the mage's mindset. And looking at Albert's attitude it's easy to see that we won't be learning magical theory in the future. Despite everything, combat mages can bring practical knowledge that a normal magician cannot.

Normally that wouldn't be enough to pick Albert over a traditional wizard, but Zack is different.

His title not only allows him to read at a speed he would never have thought possible, but also he can internalize that knowledge as easily as if it had been taught to him by someone who had mastered said knowledge.

While Zack walked with his companions as if nothing had happened, Zack had made a decision today that he had been pondering all week.

(Fuck this kingdom. Once I've learned as much as possible, I'm outta here. I won't spend a second on the battlefield for these bastards)

Zack's steps hadn't changed, but he walked with a new determination.