“Mundane, ordinary, non-magical. The Rankless. Most of humanity are unable to access the Mana stored within them, lacking the talent or motivation to channel it effectively. Without Mana, they can only rely on the Ranked from protection.

On the Rankless

Chapter 23

The trio slowly walked back towards the main square and Wil finally took in his surroundings. The alley he was currently in was separated from the main path by brick buildings.

The passage was littered with debris, chunks of brick and masonry. There was also scattered weapons and the bodies of the fallen.

Wil could see a handful of smaller goblin bodies lying on the ground next to several grey cloaked legion warriors.

Wil hadn’t realized how far from the square he had traveled as they walked back, and he took in scenes of destruction. Bodies scattered the ground in all directions, fires engulfed buildings and he couldn’t find an undamaged structure anywhere in sight.

“Hale was right next to me.” Erinn said quietly, looking downwards as they walked. Wil glanced at her and saw tears in her eyes. She wiped them away aggressively before continuing.

“She saved me.” She said, looking at Wil. He nodded gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. He was at a loss for words and could only silently comfort her.

“Victor is gone.” Gunther said simply. Wil turned to look at the armored man, who shook his head. “I didn’t see it happen. He was with some of the other clerics defending the church. None of them survived, but the children all escaped safely.”

“He died a hero.” Wil said. He was sad for the loss, but proud of his friend. “What about Anise?”

“She’s in the triage tent. I just left her to come look for you.” Gunther said. “She’s alive, but she can’t walk. Her legs are burned pretty bad, they gave her sleeping draughts for the pain. The clerics will need at least a week to heal her, but she should heal alright.”

“That’s good. I’m glad she’s going to be ok. “Wil said, letting out a sigh of relief.

The group arrived at the main square, and Wil finally took in the destruction the fighting had caused.

Large sections of the town were simply gone, the fires having burned the wooden structures to the ground. He could see that many of the buildings in the square were no longer on fire, the residents were carrying buckets of water and dousing the smoldering structures.

The warehouses in the distance, near the docks, were still standing, although Wil could see that they didn’t escape the fighting, smoke was rising from some of them.

The square was busy, filled with people dousing fires, caring for the wounded and searching the dead.

The defenders were gathering the fallen in long rows, covered by blankets, sheets or cloaks. The dead Goblins and Orcs were being dragged into large piles, before being placed in carts and wagons to be brought out of the city.

The equipment of the dead Orcs and goblins were stacked by the residents to the side. Clubs and axes, knives and crude armor were separated, as he watched the dead be stripped of their belongings before being dragged to the large piles of the dead.

The following hours passed by in a blur for Wil.

The trio visited Anise in the Triage tent but were unable to stay for long due to the sheer number of people requiring healing. Wil was well enough to wait a few days for his turn, so they left and visited the mess tent. Residents and volunteers were handing out food to the defenders.

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Starving, they ate until they were nearly bursting. They then headed over to the rest area that had been set up in a relatively untouched section of town. Their original lodgings had burned, so temporary tents had been set up in a cleared area in the northern section of town.

Over the following days, the reinforcements arrived and assisted the townspeople with dousing the fires, clearing the debris and burying the dead.

The hundreds of new legion fighters, clerics and mages secured the town. They hunted down any Goblins that were hiding in the ruins or rubble.

The priestesses of Secundus, skilled in healing, brought potions and healing prayers to the injured.

Within a few days, Anise was back on her feet and rejoined the group. She was shaken by the knowledge of how close to death she had been. Wil understood how she was feeling, the battle had been a terrible experience for everyone.

When the battlefield had been cleared, they had learned the huge cost of the defense. Nearly half of the defenders of Whitewater had been killed, with most of the clerics and mages dead.

Holland, the Fort commander, survived his encounter with the abomination. Antonia did as well, although she would no longer be able to walk without assistance.

Gilman, the Sergeant that Wil had followed into the fighting at the square, was promoted for her efforts and was now in charge of the Fort while the commander recovered.

The sun rose after seven days on the town of Whitewater. During this time the smoke had cleared from the fires and much of the devastation had been removed.

The empire had brought in assistance from the nearby cities and towns to help the rebuilding. Already, scaffolds were erected, and construction had begun. It was estimated that it would take over a year to repair the damage, but Whitewater had survived the night.

With the sun burning brightly overhead, the Legion led a large force down into the tunnels. They were assisted by a cadre of Mages and clerics. It didn’t take them long to secure the underground city.

The legion reported that hundreds of Goblins were exterminated in the taking of the tunnels, with legion losses being minimal. One thing they found had concerned the legion commanders, a large banner had been erected in the center of the city, a sun split in half by an axe.

Wil and his companions rested in the days following the battle. They had all recovered from their injuries and had even made gains from their experiences, each ready to breakthrough to a higher rank.

Wil sat crossed legged on the floor of his room. He had accepted an offer from one of the residents of Whitewater to stay in their home. The legion would need all the spare lodgings to house their reinforcements and the craftspeople assisting the rebuilding.

He was preparing to attempt a breakthrough to the next rank. Eyes firmly closed, Wil did as he had been taught at the academy. He pictured a glass container in his mind, containing all the Mana in his body, a silver and mercury like substance.

This was a representation was of his ‘Core’, the vessel that held and controlled all the Mana in his body. It would pull the Mana from the world around him and store it inside for him to use.

Breathing deeply, he pulled the ambient Mana from around him, forcing it into his Core. He kept filling the vessel until it couldn’t hold anything more.

His experiences in the last week had agitated his Mana, making it violent and intense. The container in his mind could barely contain the energy. To break through to a higher rank, he would need to shatter the rank one core. Then he could remake it into a larger, stronger one. A rank two Mana Core.

Wil circulated the Mana in his body, causing it to move. It swirled like a whirlpool as it slammed repeatedly against the Glass walls of his core. Each collision of the powerful Mana would cause fine cracks to appear on the container.

Funneling ever greater amounts of ambient Mana into his core, the orb could no longer take the pressure and shattered.

Wil felt a great sense of relief as the core splintered and broke. It was like a man finally free of shackles or standing after a long-time kneeling.

He quickly formed a new container with all his remaining Mana, willing it to take the solid form of a new container. The Core’s size would be dictated by his mana reserves, he could only form a core as large as the amount of Mana he now had.

Finished his breakthrough, Wil examined his new Mana Core. It was 50% bigger than his rank one core. The bigger Core also made his body stronger and more durable.

Standing, Wil rejoined his companions at the Fort’s courtyard. They would receive their share of the rewards from the protection of Whitewater.

Wil could also retrieve his horse. He had been pleasantly surprised when he had found that the innkeeper had led the stabled horses to the Fort before the fighting began. The legion had used his horse in the defense of the town but would now give it back to Wil.

Meeting his three other companions, they stood in the courtyard with the few remaining Auxiliaries. Of the original forty or so, less than ten had survived the Night. It was one of the worst loses the Auxiliaries had experienced, outside the fighting with the undead in the west.

The Guard Captain, Oakley, would be increasing the payment in recompense for their losses.

As the group waited, Wil felt a sense of relief. He had survived the Battle of Whitewater and he could finally go back to the academy.

Later, he would reflect on how naive he had been.