Earthholder Castle is situated in one of the kingdom's many border points and is constantly being invaded by the demon empire.
Every year, tens of thousands of soldiers are besieged by enemies from the north, and every year, thousands of allied troops perish defending that very same castle.
Near the castle, there is a city in charge of sending supplies to the battlefront. If the castle is where the soldiers fight to defend their borders, then Earththorn City is where their weapons, armor, clothing, food, and everything necessary to keep the soldiers at their best are made. It is a supply point.
Because Earthholder Castle needs to be constantly defended in case of enemy attack, thousands of professionals inhabit its walls on a daily basis, being one of the places where most of the kingdom's classes gather.
(That doesn't mean that there aren't people with adequate classes to teach us in other places) Zack thought when he saw the map.
Zack is sure that just here, in the capital, there are people with at least half of the classes that his classmates have.
Only Airi, Shun, Miyu, and himself won't go directly there, and that's because of the classes they have.
Airi's class can be useful in combat where there are many allies, which will make the battlefield an ideal place for them, except for the small detail that bards are not combat classes. A bard can look at the battlefield in the distance to draw inspiration and create songs, but by the time he fights, he may not last two verses.
It is for this reason that there are not many bards who are fighters. Although they have some offensive skills, in a place like that there will always be someone better.
As for Miyu, who would come up with the idea of sending a tailor to fight? Nobody would be that crazy.
If she was a tier 2 class, Miyu would be sent to Earththorn City like Ronald to supply high-level clothing and armor, but she is a tier 3 class, so Zack can guess what the nobles thought: Instead of providing clothing and armor for the soldiers, she better stay here making clothes for us.
Regarding his class and Shun's, they have something in common. His training is impossible on the battlefield.
Zack's fictional class is Great Mage, the direct promotion of the mage class. The requirements to level up the wizard class are the same for his evolution: learn to use magic. It's not that simple, but that's the main idea of the mage class.
Like every basic class, all you have to do is explore what the class can do. Sounds easy, but they can take decades to fill up to the maximum level of a basic class.
With the Great Mage class, things get complicated. You are no longer a novice, you have discovered how vast the path of magic is, and yet you do not want to specialize in one branch of magic, You want to learn everything.
The reason Zack didn't even bother to learn a tier 2 spell is that they're branched, and each magic class has a completely different system of spells; Necromancy, runes, elemental, shamanism, strengthening magic, arcane magic, etc... Each of these branches, and the thousand more that make up the art called magic, have different learning systems. And yet the Great Wizard decides to learn them all.
The Great Mage class is an exception among exceptions. It is the only one that allows you to use spells from different magic systems, so to level up you need to learn enough. This is an impossible condition to meet on the battlefield. No Great Mage would go to places where he can't learn magic, and that's why they couldn't send him to fight with the rest, without proper training, training that can't be provided in Earthholder Castle, he wouldn't be more useful. than any tier 1 magic class.
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On the other hand, Shun's class, Shaman, uses the strength of the spirits as a means of gaining power. The problem is that there are too many spirits on the battleground, some weak and some too strong.
Shamans need peace and quiet to contact the chosen spirit and request their strength. If a shaman were to try to form a pact with a spirit on the battlefield, chances are something would go wrong due to the interference of other spirits, or the shaman himself would go berserk. That is why, like the Great Wizards, there are no shamans on the battlefield either.
Despite all this, the kingdom will want them to go fight once they have learned the essentials. There's only one reason why they're going to be sent to a place like that.
(They want to send us to the battlefield immediately) Zack thought coldly as he clenched his fists tightly.
It seems that the higher-ups have decided that half a year of basic training is enough to send them to the meatgrinder as quickly as possible.
Of course, the other trainees' instructors will almost certainly be teaching alongside them, and more than one lesson will be 'practical' but there is no reason to think they will come out of the `apprenticeship´ alive.
It is precisely for this reason that Yamato and the other three did not accompany them, it is too dangerous. It's not worth losing a tier 4 class by exposing them to big threats early.
Even if Zack and the rest of his class survive, what's next? Once they're done with training, all he can imagine is that they'll have to keep fighting there for who knows how long. Maybe until the day he dies.
A chill runs down his spine just thinking about it.
(Time to pack) Zack thought as he watched the trajectory from the capital to Stormblade City.
No matter how much his actions resemble those of a Great Wizard, by the time he arrives at his new destination there is no doubt that he will be discovered. He has to disappear before he gets to Stormblade.
He has inspected the castle for the past few months and has come to a conclusion: the castle is impenetrable. Even a tier 3 class would have no chance of getting in or out without being noticed.
Not only are there a large number of tier 2 knights patrolling at all hours, the castle is surrounded by magical formations to detect intruders and defend against raiders. The moment he steps outside the walls he will be caught. The only chance to sneak out is during the transfer to Stormblade City.
Stromblade is one of the most important cities in the northern part of the kingdom, which means that there will be roads connecting the two cities.
Knowing the poor physical condition of the magicians, and that Zack does not know how to ride a horse, it is most likely that the trip will take approximately four days by carriage.
As for the possibility of teleportation from one city to another, it is impossible. The cost of using a teleportation matrix is huge, and even higher the further away you are. Zack's value to the top brass isn't enough for such a thing.
Considering that Zack is the only one going to Stromblade among his companions, and the pragmatic value that the nobles have placed on them, the carriage he will ride in will only have two guards, four at the most.
Zack carefully watched each part of the journey, looking for spots where he could mislead the guards, and escape.
After memorizing each important point of the journey, Zack left the library and hurried to his room to get ready. When he got to his room he went to the door and blocked it from the inside. He didn't want to be interrupted and find out what he was trying to do.
(Conceal)
Zack's hands began to glow and a spell covered the room.
He approached the place where he had his clothes, and the clothes that the maids had provided him for day-to-day, in addition to the tunic that he was wearing. When he took off his clothes, Zack's everyday efforts to increase his physical attributes could be appreciated.
A well-toned body comparable to that of a bodybuilder, muscles of iron, and a fully formed eight-pack was shown to the world that, together with the smooth features of his face, gave him an air of sensuality.
A pity that he was alone in his room. If his body could be admired by the opposite sex, it would not be very difficult for him to find a partner for tonight.
Plans had been made long ago, the only thing left was to outline the details and make the preparations.
His magical power began to manifest around him, and his eyes glowed with an ethereal touch, as he braced himself for the future.
There was a lot to do, and very little time. Especially considering that he leaves in two days.