"How much longer?" I ask offhandedly to the young woman riding by my side. The horses has settled into a comfortable gallop, eating up the miles between ourselves and the destination. Hooves beat down rhythmically on the rough but well worn road as my companion and I leave the city behind us and strike out across the wilderness. 

Well scratch that, its not actually wilderness. The Beyond has been well mapped by multiple explorer parties and pretty much all the Great Houses have laid claims to the resource sites located there. Its been what, two hundred odd years ever since the demon king got himself wasted? Give or take. The resource lodes have been getting a bit thin all around, but still worthwhile enough for the bigs to send excavator crews out. 

And that's a good thing. I would starve otherwise. Me and all the assorted magic knights that make a living from this racket. 

"This is my first time out here, Mac." the young woman plays with the collar of her battle coat nervously, "I wouldn't know." 

I frown, wanting to reprimand my apprentice for her lapse in composure but finally deciding I couldn't be bothered. For a start, Christina was the Knight Commander's apprentice, taken in to add to the strength of the House of Robeur. But the Knight Commander, being the busy man that he is, did not have the time to train his apprentices. That job was left to the Senior Brothers like myself. And if the Knight Commander clearly wasn't all that concerned about Christina, I saw no reason to get myself worked up over the small stuff. 

Fuck. Senior Brother. I feel old. Wasn't all that long ago I was the apprentice and riding into my first battle. Strictly supervised of course, just like what's going on with Christina today. Its bad business for an apprentice to be gutted by a random goblin on their first outing into the Beyond. Makes the Great Houses think we are incompetent. If you can't guard your own apprentice, how can you guard the toffs' workers?

I idly note that her battle coat is an smooth, rich shade of black, a sign that it had just left a tailor's rack. That's quality stitching and cut right there. Christina's family must have shelled out a fair bit for her equipment. The House of Robeur might pay us a wage, but the expense of our gear were settled from our own pockets. Part and parcel of being a magic knight. Ownership of our own arms is what differentiates us from the mundane guardsmen or the conscripts. 

"I mean, how much longer is your apprenticeship?" I clarify my question to Christina. Her long black hair dramatically billows out as our horses continue their gallop. Christina's delicate features take on a contemplative look as she considers my question. 

"Its my eleventh month." she tells me as she wipes a bit of sweat from her fair skin. I have to admit, the Knight Commander does have a way of picking attractive apprentices. Its become kind of a thing with him. 

"Almost about done then." I exclaim in surprise, "Why did you leave your first expedition to the Beyond during the final month of the apprenticeship? And where is your sword?"

"I've got this ..." Christina draws a ebony wand etched with golden runes from her battle coat, "Senior Brother Henrik said it should be enough." 

"It is." I confirm and turn away from Christina, finally understanding the situation. 

The sword has become synonymous with the Magic Knight as a profession. It was the weapon of choice wielded by Gallant, the founder of the profession, when he defeated the demon king. Portrayals of Hero Gallant are never complete without his demon king slaying sword by his side. But Gallant was something of a polymath. He was not just killed in swordsmanship or magic. He founded entire new schools of combat. Gallant's knowledge could fill entire libraries. You needed to be a once in a generation prodigy like him to absorb everything the man had to teach. 

That was why Gallant's encyclopedic fighting style had subsequently been divided into separate disciplines by the practitioners that came later. No one could achieve the same level of mastery the legendary hero had managed. And the House of Robeur, being one of the most prominent sects of Magic Knights, is well represented in almost all the disciplines. 

But that does not mean all disciplines are equally desirable. 

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"Really, Mac?" Christina chirps up hopefully as she plays with her wand, "It'll be my first time in combat. I just don't want anything to go wrong."

"Hnh. It's Senior Brother Henrik, but just Mac with me." I snort, messing with Christina, "So that's how it is."

"Oh! Sorry!" Christina bows her head apologizing, "Senior Brother Nair."

"Its fine." I wave the apology away as the landscape turns into a hellscape of crystalline shards jutting out of the ground. The shards crumble to dust, completely hollow inside, as our horses thunder past. The life vein here must have already been tapped out. 

"But seriously," I continue, noting Christina's staring spellbound at the alien landscape surrounding us, the sign that we had entered the Beyond proper, "Why do you address me and Henrik differently?"

"Well, its just that, you're a lot more easy going I suppose?" Christina explains as she plays with her hair, "Henrik forced me to memorize the spell books until late into the night."

"Until midnight?" I ask, already knowing the answer. 

"Yeah!" Christina cries out in affirmation, "And then he expects me to be back in the training hall at six in the morning the next day!"

"Comes with the territory of being a battle mage." I shrug, "You need to know your spells by heart before you can cast them flawlessly in battle."

"You just have me doing guard duty at the keep." Christina frowns, "I actually have time to meet my boyfriend under your instruction."

"I'm a sword master." I grunt, patting the weapon sheathed at my hip, "The spells I use are far more rudimentary. And if you've been accepted as an apprentice, you should have already received basic training at the seminary."

"Hey," Christina suddenly glances at me with a suspicious look on her face, "Shouldn't you have been training me in swordsmanship then? Were you just trying to get me out of your hair by sending me to do guard duty?" 

My breath catches for a moment, but I have a ready made excuse just for this moment. The best part being, what I am about to say is also completely true. 

"You know the body enhancement spell?" I ask. 

"Yes?" Christina answers, the look on her face not changing. 

"Were you trained in sword fighting at the seminary?" I continue. 

"Yes, duh." Christina folds her arms, "Everyone learns Hero Gallant's basic forms."

"So there you have it. I can't teach you anything more." I smile, "Not in the keep at least."

"I don't get it though?" my dear apprentice mumbles, totally confused. 

"Sword fighting, even magic sword fighting isn't all that complicated." I begin to lecture, "You buff your strength and resilience. Then you swing your weapon as hard as you can at the enemy. What makes it difficult is not the theory, but the practical application. Try doing all that when a gobbo is trying to stab you in the face. Much more difficult."

"So this trip ..." Christina begins, understanding dawning, missing the fact that yes, I really had been slacking off on my duties in training her. Sue me. I'm a busy man. And I'm not being paid extra for this. 

"Is meant to be a learning experience for you. That's why I asked where is your sword." I sigh, "But that's fine. Henrik is training you as a battle mage, so we might as well get you used to that role."

"Aren't all apprentices meant to train in each of the disciplines before their graduation?" Christina protests, "Master said that its to find out which discipline suits us the most."

"Here's a secret." I chortle, "Henrik's already invested so much of his time into you. That means the Knight Commander intends for you to be retained as a battle mage after you graduate. Serving out the last month of your apprenticeship under me is just for show."

"Huh." Christina mutters, slightly nonplussed. 

"Relax." I encourage the girl, "Battle mage is a prestigious role. Many apprentices fight tooth and nail to get Henrik's attention." More prestigious then sword master, but I don't say that to Christina. I still have my pride, no matter how worn out it has become over the years. She can find out that fact for herself once she becomes a full magic knight. 

"But that would mean more late nights!" Christina protests in alarm, "I've seen how Henrik works the other battle mages! All that preparation before they head out, the additional training, its a nightmare!"

"Tough titty, said the kitty." I smug back, "Its your future you know."

Christina lets out a groan as the two of us lapse into an affable silence. The blasted landscape opens up before us, crystals growing out of the ground separated by patches of unhealthy grass. But the road stretches on, carved into the earth by the excavation teams that pull the wealth out of this cursed land, the former dominion of the demon king. And in the distance are the large steam powered metal drills, towering over the clusters of men that await our arrival. 

The dig site. 

"Time to earn our pay." I whoop and spur my horse onward. No need to keep the client waiting. 

"I just get an allowance from the House." Christina complains as she falls in behind me. 

I don't bother answering her though. I never had much interest in training Christina in the first place, it was an additional duty laid over my regular job with the House of Robeur. But now that I know her time with me is just a formality, even that tiny bit of obligation I originally felt melts away. I just need to go through the motions and that as they say, will be that. 

I've got problems of my own to think about anyway.