Today was just another day for the general of the Eve Glade Military force. Despite his grievances, he couldn’t help but feel the peace of the town seeping into his old bones. It always made him agitated somehow.
There was no reason to put aside peace. It was what soldiers fight and die for no matter the age. But this particular peace felt fake, as though it was the eye of the storm.
At his desk, Zacharia grappled with parchments more often than with his weapon, adding to that agitation. The parchments were detailed reports from his soldiers of his own grouping from their side of town–the other side having Captain Valorie in charge.
The town has two military forces, working in tandem to defend the large town. It would’ve been easier to defend the town if only one side was attacked, but unfortunately it wasn’t so. Due to this, the general had to spread his soldiers across the town’s base to ensure a lookout from any potential threats. All the while, the captain takes the lower-staged users to her side, where most of the fighting would be.
For the general’s soldiers, it wasn’t worth it. The average level for the monsters there was low, but big in numbers. It was a perfect scenario for the lower-staged fighters, who had barely reached the Expert stage yet.
However, the recent report of a horde rising in numbers to the point where the lord mage had to get involved was something outside of his expectations. He was having his own horde to contend, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the other side.
Throughout the month since then, Zacharia had hammered Cloud for details, information that would otherwise explain the anomaly going on. It wasn’t natural for the hordes to appear so suddenly all the time, especially increasing in numbers to such a staggering amount.
That’s when he realized the lords added two new soldiers without his knowledge. Even worse, they were extremely low level, barely reaching their twenties, and only just entered into the city a few days prior to that event.
So obviously, Zacharia ensured he wouldn’t ever miss such information again by learning more about them. However, it was no more apparent than what the mage had told him. Three visitors; a man, woman, and child were forced to live like beggars after their carriage was ransacked by bandits.
Since then, the lords took pity on them and took them to their homes. Having their own child being the same age as the visitors, it was obvious. Even more so when the Captain refused to let them go otherwise.
Even Zacharia couldn’t blame the mage for that. When Captain Valorie decides on something so fervently, she remains adamant come hell or high water.
What caught Zacharia’s interest however is that the man had the ability to conjure barriers, and not just elemental based ones–but a true born barrier capable of being formed in any which way he chose. When he heard about the emergency shelter he created, that brought up some ideas for Zacharia to use.
But eventually, Zacharia put that to the side. Apparently the woman visitor is quite the fighter, but if the Captain is ensuring her training, it’s only to be expected. What truly made him agitated is why the mage refuses to send troops to figure this anomaly out.
There was just no way to find it. Zacharia refused to believe that Cloud would be so wishy-washy about such things. Aren’t mages supposed to be knowledgeable about such things?
When he finished grilling Cloud for any useful answers, much to Cloud’s relief as Zacharia could clearly tell his own agitation, he poured over his documents himself. If he can’t trust the mage to figure this out, then it’s left to his own.
Normally the captain would be involved, but she had her own hands filled. She had most of the soldiers at her side, ensuring their training. Finding the source of all these strange going-ons would only stress her out further, and Zacharia doesn’t want that to affect their family household.
A knock on the door to his office echoed out. Zacharia was taken out of his studies, finding himself at his own office in his home. It was barren, much to his liking, only filled with the essential furniture and tapestry of his home and kingdom.
The door opened once Zacharia gave permission, revealing none other than his top subordinate. A young man built to stand on the battlefield for days on end. His blond dreadlocks tightly woven for combat as he faced Zacharia with a solid stance.
A straight but firm back, the young man raised his hand to a salute, holding his hand over his heart as per the kingdom’s way of saluting their superiors.
“General, I’ve come to report for the day,” The subordinate, Piker, spoke up with solemnity in his tone.
“Speak,” Zacharia said simply.
“Sir,” Piker nodded. “I received notice of the captain’s soldiers heading out for surveillance to find the cause for the hordes. As far as we know, there is no cause to find–they have, however, found remnants of the horde and are taking them down as we speak.”
“I suppose that is good for something,” Zacharia grumbled. He closed his eyes, trying to control his temper and poise. The best he could do is to at least look like he knew what he was doing. “And the new visitors? What of them?”
“I believe the warrior woman is out with a team of her own,” Piker said, his eyes drifting to the side to recall. “It was decided that her strength was high enough to encounter solo monsters on her own.”
“Truly?” Zacharia spoke with interest. He knew the girl would be strong under the captain’s tutelage, but last he checked, wasn’t the girl less than level 20? “What is her level now?”
“She is closing towards the next milestone, sir,” Piker said. Though his own tone showed that even he couldn't believe it.
“Mmh,” Zacharia grunted. Whether it’d be surprising or expected, he wasn’t sure. He did hear that the visitors were students of some kind, homeschooled perhaps. At first, he didn’t believe in such nonsense. But now he couldn’t help but be interested in where they learned such powers.
“And the boy? The one with the barrier?”
“Still at the lord’s household,” Piker mentioned. “He had gotten injured during the horde, and decided to stay to focus more on his magecraft..”
“Wasn’t he supposed to be a Support mage? How did he get injured?”
“He…” Piker slowed. This was a first for Zacharia as Piker usually answers with confidence. “They say he… walked towards the sky to be bait for the monsters… sir.”
“Bait…?” Zachaira raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, sir,” Piker said. Now he looked like he spoke something silly and nonsensical. “I kept trying to find whether such a thing was just ramblings of a tired soldier, but even my own men believed in it.”
Zacharia shook his head. How bad was the horde that the damn support mage had to go out and handle things himself? And now he got injured? What sort of town is this to let such a thing happen?
He rubbed at his temple. His heavy fingers rubbing his almost leathery skin soothed his headache a little.
“I see… is that all you have?”
“Yes,” Piker nodded. “Is there anything else you require?”
“No, that is all. You may leave. But keep a lookout for the mage.”
“For the lord, sir?” Piker asked.
“I do not trust their sudden interest in these visitors. Something tells me they kept more than they let on about their history. Keep it as a low priority, but keep your eyes and ears open.”
“Understood.”
Piker saluted once more to the general, then turned and closed the door behind him. The general could only close his eyes again, and let out a deep breath.
He truly hated how mages work. They’re always unexpected and annoyingly unpredictable.
…..
At first, Myra was excited to be part of a solo team with the boys and the newbie that joined their military force. Mikky, shortened for Mikella, was a powerful force added due to a misunderstanding on their part.
She was strong and determined, something that she wished half of the military force would have despite the age difference. At best, she was the youngest but most driven soldier of Eve Glade.
Now, however, she was starting to see the cracks behind that strength of hers.
On the first day, Mikky truly proved her worth, often soloing tougher monsters raising in levels the further they go in. Of course, Myra kept a tight leash on ensuring to find any sources to find the reason for the horde’s existence, but there was nothing of note.
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Then again, Myra wasn’t really magic-focused, so she can’t tell how the mana was in the world around her.
On the other hand, Mikky proved to be a disaster waiting to happen. She knew her Class is the cause for this level of power, but even then, it was like she was also using magic to finish off the monsters. It got to the point where she actively let the lightning course through her sword and finished off the monsters easily. It was astounding, especially since she was still based entirely on fighting in close-combat.
Normally, any soldier at her power would be considered top-tier. Myra hated to admit it, being a competitive woman herself, but she knew her own limits better than anyone. Meanwhile, Mikky kept improving further and further, squeezing out all the potential she had within her. But she also found something off during that day. As though Mikky wasn’t satisfied.
The next two weeks, that increased tenfold. During the fight when it was time for Myra and the twins to finally step in, they faced a large bear. According to her Identify, it was a pretty hefty son of a bitch.
Forest Bear, Level 32
A monster whose level would normally dictate an Expert staged user, but normally isn’t so strong. This is considered an Expert Rank monster, it usually needs a team of competent Apprentices to kill it. A very good Apprentice can defeat it with ease, and with her and the twins closing in at Expert nearing Level 30, it was a done deal.
But it still took them a fair amount of time to take it down. Jackie and Maxie took on defensive roles, each dealing damage when one was busy tanking the bear’s slashes. Meanwhile, Myra diverted to the side, swinging her spear horizontally at the limbs and tendons. This sort of monster had tougher hide than most, so attacking it by the limbs was a sure-fire way of weakening it before dealing the final strike.
And soon they did. Myra slashed the neck when the bear finally knelt from the slashes done to its body, taking almost a half-hour to take it down. As its head rolled by Mikky’s face, Myra expected her to be impressed, or at least jittery to take on some action herself.
Instead, she found… boredom. Mikky looked like she was actually disappointed at the fight. She looked like she was looking at a child who couldn’t pass a trial despite it being made specifically for them.
“Hey, Mikky, you alright?” Myra asked, leaving the two twins to rest from the fight. The two had the most draining parts of the fight, so Myra left them alone to recover. “You don’t look good.”
“I’m fine,” Mikky answered. Myra was hoping that she was actually not fine. Instead, her tone implied that she didn’t want to be talked to. Her eyes darted away, her shoulders shifting. “You sure took a while, huh?”
A twinge of genuine anger took over her. The comment came so brazenly it almost stumped Myra to silence.
“What do you mean?” Myra asked.
“I mean, shouldn’t you be able to kill the monster quickly by cutting its head off?” Mikky asked, pointing at the now corpse of the bear at the ground. “You kept slashing at the limbs even though it was so slow.”
“Because it’s safer that way,” Myra answered, and she did so with pride as it was Val who taught her that. “Plus, the twins needed some experience handling attacks. If I don’t, it’ll only get worse for them.”
“Then all of you should’ve just attacked instead of defending,” Mikky answered instead. Rather, she shook her head as though it was pointless. “Nevermind, let’s keep going.”
Before Myra could even respond to that comment, Mikky already walked off, not even leaving the twins time to relax as they quickly adjusted themselves to follow the powerhouse.
Meanwhile, Myra was just about ready to throttle her. She, instead, followed Val’s advice and calmed herself down. She activated Meditation to not regain her energy, but to soothe her mind.
She’s the type to usually get agitated, and while the captain won’t regard it as a weakness, it would be distracting if left unchecked. So she taught Myra how to control her emotions, to an extent, with a diverted use of Meditation. It was also perfect to recover some waning resources on the side, but most of it was poured into controlling her mental state.
That was the point of Meditation, and in some cases, it can evolve into a skill that deals directly with one’s emotions. Myra didn’t have any plans on that as she didn’t find it that necessary.
The days passed, with Myra noticing Mikky’s attitude worsening. She found herself using her Meditation more often than she should. She didn’t know why, but it was as though Mikky was getting under her skin. She knew she wasn’t a bad person, or at least someone so bratty to act like that, but there was something off about her.
Just yelling at her to stop acting like some fool on a high-rise wouldn’t help at all, at least that’s what her instincts are telling her. By the end of the many days they spent, Mikky didn’t even offer a goodbye before heading home.
That’s when the boys finally spoke up.
“Did anyone else pick up how bitchy Mikella’s been?” Jackie asked quietly, hoping that Mikky wouldn’t pick up. Thankfully, only Maxie and Myra heard him.
“Maybe the training’s just getting to her,” Maxie said, trying to diffuse the clear tense in the atmosphere, but it was clear to Jackie how unsure he was.
“Myra, is everything alright with her?” Jackie asked her. It wasn’t that she was a girl that she could immediately understand Mikky’s deal. She just had better senses when it came to other people’s feelings. In that case, Jackie learned to wise up over the years.
Myra stayed quiet, however. At first, Mikky seemed confused, lost, but she was sure of herself. Even after that, she seemed even more sure of herself, especially after the horde battle.
But now it felt as though she was deteriorating, but definitely not in strength. If anything, she was getting stronger.
“Let’s just leave her be,” Myra finally answered. “Maybe she’s just dealing with some crap.”
“You think maybe it’s because Zeke’s not here? She’s just anxious or something?” Maxie asked, a reasonable question that any normal person would agree to. However, Myra shook her head.
“Not sure. If anything… She seemed glad he’s not here.”
That put the twins to silence. Myra didn’t like it either, but decided to leave it at that as they separated to get some rest.
At the end of the month-long training, however, all hell broke loose. At least to Myra’s patience.
So far, Mikky has been the one fighting the monsters on her own. When Myra decided to fight one alone, however, Mikky paused.
“I don’t know,” Mikky asked, as though she was actually pondering about it. “You sure you can keep up?”
Myra didn’t even bother answering that. She just scoffed as she went ahead to fight on her own. At least in that sense, Mikky decided to let her be.
Myra was even more pissed off than before thanks to that comment. Even though she was facing another Dire Wolf, a loner this time but at a high level of 27. It wasn’t a hard fight at all, at least it wasn’t supposed to be.
But her anger and mental state caused her distress in her forms, causing the wolf to get the upper hand at times. But just when Myra was getting into the swing of things to finish off the now weakened wolf in her grasp…
A sword was thrusted into the wolf, gouging out its neck and leaving it to bleed on the ground. Now laying limp and still, Myra stood over the wolf’s body, a new emotion bubbling from her chest to the surface.
Rage.
“Mikky!” Myra shouted, and that alone caused the leaves of the trees to shake from the force. Even the twins backed away, the years of being her childhood friends teaching them not to be around her.
Myra stepped over to Mikky with a raging gait, facing up close and personal. While Myra was practically glaring daggers at her, Mikky only looked… content.
As though the fight was finally over and she can move on.
“The fuck was that?!” Myra shouted, her anger seeping into her tone of voice. “I had it!”
“Clearly, you didn’t,” Mikky answered dryly, her eyes showing nothing of guilt or even hesitation. “I don’t know what’s up with you, but even for you, that was sad to watch.”
“And you think you can come in and steal my kill?” Myra asked, trying her damn hardest not to throttle the girl’s throat in front of her. “I don’t know how things work on your end, but here, we have a saying–we don’t take others’ kill!”
She spoke the last words slowly, almost growling at the end. It wasn’t such a horrid thing that it would be a crime, but there were plenty of issues with what she just did.
First, the amount of experience points granted at the monster’s death can easily deter. While in some cases it won’t really matter as much, even just taking the final kill could bump someone up a level. If someone else took the kill, however, that could easily be taken away. And what kind of degenerate would do such a thing willingly?
So anyone who often steals a person’s kill is looked down on by the warriors who took the time and effort to take it down themselves. Like one said, it didn’t really matter–it was just the common thing to do to help others power up.
“But you could’ve died. I can’t let that happen.”
Despite all this, Mikky answered so blatantly flat-toned that it sounded… like mockery.
Just like that, Mikky had the audacity to let out a breath of annoyance and walked away. Myra, already on the cusp of her patience running out, shouted out.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
“Hah…” Another breath escaped her lips as she turned around. “I can’t handle this. You guys are just getting in the way. It’s already bad enough that my XP is being shared before this, and now… it’s just not worth it. Just go back and let me handle this.”
“What…?” Myra couldn’t even find the words before Mikky suddenly dashed off to the distance. She ran fast enough that it boggled Myra when it was just recently that her level matched hers.
Just like that, Mikky was gone. She just dashed off after saying her piece, as though it was rightfully deserved.
Gripping her fists so tight she could draw blood, Myra gritted her teeth.
That… that wasn’t Mikky. She wasn’t sure, since anger was pretty much telling her to go right after her and kill her just for those words alone. It’s one thing to insult herself and the twins, and it’s another to do something as despicable as taking someone’s kill.
But to blatantly ignore the captain’s orders and go off on her own? Clearly, something was wrong. No matter how bratty one is, Mikky should know that going against a Journeyman’s orders is paramount to insulting someone who can kill you with a finger.
It should be felt straight to the soul, as someone on a lower stage than the captain. There were some clear exceptions, and every soldier was lucky enough to get a captain as kind as Valorie leading them, someone who doesn’t use her stage’s power but instead her good will and kindness to lead everyone along.
So unless Mikky was actually a fool on top of being so bitchy, Myra could understand. But she knew Mikky before this. She didn’t lean that way, at least not to Myra, and she had good senses like Jackie would suspect.
So something was up. And then there was something else… her eyes.
Instead of being the usual brown like normal, they were sharper, almost angular in her vision. And even then, they were still yellow, a sign of her skill active at all times now. Normally, that’s not something one could easily do, not unless they don’t even realize it themselves.
So along with anger, there was also hesitation. It seemed like Mikky was transforming into something else. And there were only a few ways one can actually do that.
“Myra…” Maxie spoke slowly, walking up to the nearly shaking Myra. “W-What do we do? Should we just follow after her?”
“No, don’t bother,” Myra shook her head. She made her choice. “This is beyond us… we need to contact the captain.”
“I-Isn’t that a little, you know, too much?” Jackie asked. He sounded hesitant, fully knowing what might happen if they do contact Valorie. “I mean yeah, she was pretty annoying, but isn’t that–”
“I think it’s worse than ya think, Jackie,” Myra said solemnly. She looked up to the boys, her anger slowly dissipating.
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. And the worse she felt as she talked.
“Let’s just get the captain. She’ll sort this mess out.”