Mentally prepared to engage in battle at anytime, Adonis reluctantly opened his dormitory's door.
"Good evening Vindicta." Standing on the other side of the boy's door was an old man with piercing blue eyes, dressed in the Academy's Elder's standard attire, setting him apart from the rest of the staff.
"Good evening Elder Slyhead."
'Why was he exerting his Aura?' Adonis refused to let down his guard.
"Would you like to come in?" The first-year invited.
"No thank you, I'm just here to relay some news." The Elder smiled softly, his gaze striking a sense of discomfort into Adonis.
"News?"
"Yes, the Elders have made up their desicion in terms of your actions earlier today."
"Right..."
'I'm assuming I'll be expelled.' Adonis sighed.
"Since you have barely been here for a month and you have done your Empire a great service we have decided to give you a strike..."
"A strike?"
'Just a strike? After I caused so much damage?'
"Yes, take this as a warning. The academy has a zero tolerance for violence, so please abstain from fighting outside of controlled environments.
"Yes Elder..." Adonis narrowed his eyebrows.
'Something's not right...'
"Thank you. Keep up the good work, you have tons of potential." The Elder turned toward the corridor, preparing to leave.
"Wait..." Adonis called out.
"Yes Vindicta?" The Elder managed a slight smile.
"What about Fabianus... What happened to him?" Adonis stared at the ground, suppressing the rage that began steadily building up.
"He has been expelled. Bullying those weaker than you isn't a quality a magic knight should possess, nor will it be tolerated in the academy." The Elder said flatly.
"...Right. Thank you." Adonis whispered.
"Enjoy your night..." The Elder said.
Adonis shut his door and stared at the handle for a few seconds, the gears in his head slowly turning.
'The Elder was acting strange... Hiram told me that he is classist and has a tendancy to look down on others. So why was he acting so polite towards me?'
'Does he respect my strength?'
'I'll need to investigate that further...'
'And about their decision in regards to my actions, it's odd. They favored a commoner over a noble from an esteemed family... And the 'Queen' allegedly has them all in her pocket. So why?'
***
The next day, Friday.
9AM
Class 1A, MIlitary Tactics
"The Caelum military is amongst the largests in the world, boasting a little over one hundred thousand combantants ready to engage in battle at any time. "
"This large military is divided appropriately into various divisions, squads and units."
"Squads are the smallest group of combatants, having seven warriors including a captain and vice captain. Captains are usually Tier 5 magic knights or Grandmaster level mages/ knights. Squads are given various names, from Alpha all the way to Kappa in accordance with their useful to the Empire."
( Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Lota and Kappa)
"Ten squads are grouped together and called Units, them being lead by Liutenants. Lieutenants are Tier 4 magic knights. Units are then ordered using numbers, from one to thirty."
"Moving higher along the chain, thirty units altogether are called divisions, those being lead by Vice Commanders and Commanders respectively. Divisions are named using their commander's last names, making it easier to distinguish between them. Commanders are typically Tier 2 while Vice commanders are Tier 3."
"Our Empire has managed to sustain fifty divisions, ready to attack at any time."
"What about Generals sir?" A student asked.
"Hehe, I almost forgot."
"There are ten Generals in the entire Caelum Empire, all of which are Tier 1. Generals hold the second highest position in the military chain, being allowed to act independantly or command multiple divisions above the the Commanders."
"Above the Generals is the Legatus Legion or quite simply the Legate, this position is reserved for the Savior of the Empire... Currently occupied by Cornelius Minerva the Third PTC, Caelum's strongest magic knight."
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'Realistically Legate is out of my reach, even if I reach that level of power. No one will ever believe I reached Tier 0 without being Blessed, I'd be exposed as a damon immediately.' Adonis stared at the professor blankly.
'Even General status would be questionable, but... I need that level of influence and the freedom that comes with it. So it might be worth the risk, plus it's not like it's impossible to reach Tier 1 with your own strength.'
'In order for me to be able to reveal that level of strength I need to instill the idea of my potential in everyone's minds, so that my growth isn't that surprising. It's better to be known as a prodigy early on, than a mysterious Tier 1 who popped out of no where. ' Adonis concluded.
***
Next lesson
Martial Arts, shooting range.
"No matter what close range weapon you choose to wield, a magic knight should be capable of using ranged weapons." Professor Avitus said.
"NO!"
"Boring!"
"BOO!"
"So today you will all be practising shooting at moving targets. Please choose your ranged weapons of choice." Ignoring the students' retorts, Professor Avitus smiled calmly and pointed at the targets behind him.
"You're all so immature." Amber, who held a crossbow muttered.
"You're such an old soul." Holding a giant wooden bow, Luna mocked the 3rd Rising Star.
"You know you don't always have to speak your mind right?" Tarzy growled.
"Since when do you protect anyone who isn't the princess? Did she throw you away?" Luna chuckled.
"...S-she didn't throw me away." Tarzy whispered.
"He isn't as lively today." Maxwell, who was now fully healed, turned his head to Adonis.
"Yeah, he musn't have gotten his bone." Adonis chuckled.
"Where is the princess anyway?" Maxwell giggled.
"Apparently she's sick today." Veda replied.
"I didn't think princesses got sick." Jerald said.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I-I mean... I didn't think someone that strong could get sick." Jerald nervously laughed.
"Hey Vindicta!"
Snatching Adonis's away from the awkwaard atmosphere was a calming feminine voice.
"Hm...Evergreen?" Adonis's silver eyes set on an enchanting petite girl with beautiful shoulder-length blonde hair and hot pink eyes.
'Why the fuck is that bitch talking to Vindicta.' Vera scowled at Flora.
"Could you please help me?" Flora asked sweetly.
"Yeah, why not." He shrugged
'I don't feel like being around Jerald, plus this could be an opportunity to study another classmate.' He concluded.
"Okay! Let's go!" Flora grabbed Adonis by the arm and dragged him toward a set of targets.
'Where the hell is she taking him!' Vera internally fought the intense impulse to rip the girl's head off.
***
"So what do you need help with?" Adonis asked as he watched the girl pick up a wooden bow.
"I struggle with the aiming."
"I'm not the best at using bows, but I can try helping."
"Thank you..." Flora drew the bow shakily and pathetically shot a single arrow, completely missing the target and venturing into the bushes behind.
WHOOSH
RUSTLE
"Hmm... I think your posture is the problem, everything else seems to be okay."
"My posture?" She frowned.
"Yeah, straighten your back a bit and lift up your chin."
"Like this?" Following Adonis's instructions, Flora straightened her back and faced the target before her.
"No, just a bit more and your hand is a bit misplaced."
"Like this?"
"No, lift it up a bit."
"Like this?"
"No, that's a bit too high?"
"Like this?"
"No, now your drawing is the problem..."
"Like this?"
"No. I'll just show you." Growing irritated by Flora's inability to follow instructions, Adonis walked up behind her and placed his hands on hers assisting her with her grip and aiming.
"You have to hold it like this." He demonstrated.
"Okay..."
'He's so close.' Flora licked her rosy lips as she followed the instructions more accurately.
"Now your posture is the problem." Adonis critiqued, using his hand to manually straighten her back.
"Heehee." Flora giggled under her breath.
"What?"
"Nothing." Flora let go of the arrow, allowing it to strike the target accurately, with considerable force.
"That's good!" Adonis smiled, widening the distance between the two.
"Thank you." She smiled.
"Since you've got the hang of it, I'll go practise with Maxwell." Adonis turned to leave the girl's side.
"Why don't you just practise with me?" Flora asked.
"Hm?"
"We can even play a game to make things more interesting!" She smiled.
'A game?'
"So what's the game?" Adonis asked curiously.
"Simple really, we'll compete to see who can hit the most targets." Flora looked at the moving targets.
"Hmm... I expected something more creative." Adonis chuckled.
"That's a bit mean... Not everyone is as smart as you Vindicta." She pouted.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"C'mon, don't play dumb now... You're the smartest in the class." Flora's pink eyes pierced through Adonis's being.
"That's according to the test scores..." Adonsi said, straightening his face.
"Heehee... So humble." She giggled.
'She's strange...'
"Is there atleast a prize?" Adonis asked, looking toward the moving targets.
"Hm, I haven't thought that far yet." Flora put her finger to her lip, as if deep in thought.
"How about... The winner gets to ask the loser for anything they want?" She continued.
"A blank cheque is a bit risky." Adonis contested.
"Are you not confident you'll win?" She teased.
Extra Information:
The average magic knight is Tier 7.
The average mage and knight is Intermediate level.
Although Caelum has over 130 000 soldiers in their military, this doesn't mean that is number represents everysingle mage, knight and magic knight; as there are also combatants in other occupations.
Eg. There are around 300 000 rangers in the Empire ; 200 000 working mundane jobs; 50 000 doing government work; and about 200 000 doing other things (Gladiators, Independant companies, body guarding etc.)
The Caelum Empire's population is almost 2 Billion.