Oh Dengril, poor Dengril…
How does a chosen cause a church to split? It’s quite simple, all they need to do is contradict already established lore harshly enough to elicit an antagonistic response.
Dengril, before they were chosen, was no one special, the bearded armor smith worked hard to protect their fellow dwarves from the monsters that tried to invade the tunnels between the bunker cities, but they weren’t all that talented at fighting.
Us dwarves were following the command of the Warden, “Do great works in the bearded’s name, and they will hear your prayers again.” We learned how to construct greenhouses but had a common problem in that there was a lack of sunlight for the crops. Sure, we could expand the above-ground glass domes, but they also made easy ingress for a motivated monster.
Dengril was on a patrol when the worst enemy imaginable invaded the greenhouse they were protecting; a sunbeaver. They barely escaped with their life, but it came at a deep cost. Dengril was the only survivor of their squad.
The guilt took hold of Dengril, the bearded didn’t deem themself worthy of surviving, for they were the poorest fighter. It got so bad, that Dengril couldn’t live with themself anymore and marched into the now forming sunbeaver den.
Adamanrion had other plans though. They themself once laid broken, wishing that everything would end. If not for Apheros appearing before them, they likely would still be wallowing in their grief.
Dengril was guided down an endless maze of tunnels created by Adamanrion to slow the dwarf down. Dengril, however, was determined to meet their end, and ignored the constantly raising heat to keep marching, unaware that they had come under Adamanrion’s final domain, Rebirth.
What happened in that tunnel, only Dengril and Adamanrion know. What we do know, is that the den of sunbeavers was destroyed, and that Dengril, now the Chosen of Adamanrion, returned in a full set of reforged armor that completely hid their appearance and a bag filled with sunbeaver monster cores.
The cores would then be turned into one of the first Light inscriptions, allowing greenhouses to be burrowed deep beneath the ground.
Dengril was praised as a hero. Everyone gathered to hear their stories, but one day it all came crashing down when after being asked a question. Dengril petitioned for an answer, then replied, “Right, just got finished confirming it with the beardless themself. The planet’s orbit around the sun isn’t a perfect 384 days. We’ll need to shorten the calendar by a single day every 12 years.”
---
Arc
Travis looks down the edge of my blade with a skeptical look while we practice in the spell range, “Are you sure about this?”
“It’ll be fine. Now quit stalling and hit the stone target.”
Travis raises me overhead in a two-handed grip, then draws in a deep breath.
“Don’t forget to say the attack out loud.”
He scowls but acquiesces as he swings me down in a powerful Slash!
“Mana Slice!” / “MANA SLICE!”
I cut deep into the stone but get stuck partway through. Travis grimaces in pain from my reverberations traveling up his arms and even lets go of my handle. He begins massaging his palms and lets out a small groan of pain, “Well, that hurt my hands. What about you?”
“Didn’t feel a thing. Though… I don’t think you put your all into calling out our attack.”
Travis glares at me, looking completely done with my antics, “Remind me again what I did to make you feel physical pain?”
“Ok, ok, we can stop. Maybe your blessing prevents me from feeling pain during combat?”
Travis stretches out his arms, then begins to gather additional mana to practice casting, “Makes sense, it would be counterproductive otherwise.”
I watch as he then forms Orbs made of all four basic elements, flings them towards the back wall, and detonates them as Blast spells. It blows my figurative mind just how much he has improved, even compared to his friends that have made much larger leaps in skill. Granted, he did have a head start and a good base to work from. But considering that he doesn’t have an affinity to help him with minor adjustments, I’d say he’s doing well in the spellcasting department.
It also helps that his internal mana supply has been growing much faster. His stomach is still a bottomless pit, but thanks to the monster meat and other mana rich food groups, he hasn’t had to consume nearly as much food or need to take days off due to exhaustion. We certainly underestimated how mana starved Travis was in his village. Next time I get stuck in a tree and must make a bargain with a child to not tattle on me, I’m going to make them eat every single varmint that they hunt.
“Are you just going to sit there pouting, or do I need to pull you out?”
“I’m not pouting, was just thinking is all.”
Spurred by Travis’ taunt, I gather Earth Mana around my blade, then begin to reform the trashcan sized pillar I’m embedded in to bring myself upright, and into a proper Excalibur pose.
Wait, was Excalibur the sword in the stone or the one given by the Lady of the Lake?
Oh, who cares? No one on this world, I’m sure. Now, what was I doing? Right.
I send my gathered Earth Mana into my pillar to create a layer at my base. Then direct the teardrop shaped lines to…
My pillar begins to slide across the sand, not quickly, but at least faster than a snail. I move towards Travis to give my stone a twirl and watch as he pauses to get a look at me. Instead of impressed, he looks more confused if anything, and after a brief moment, turns back to his practicing.
Ugh, that’s fair. I have been screwing around lately during practice. Yes, I am learning a lot from the professors and students here, but I think I’ve hit a wall when it comes to expanding my internal mana. No matter how I look at it, I have a big disadvantage that Travis isn’t even close to hitting yet.
Mana Density.
There’s only so much mana that you can pack into a 3–4-pound sword, and I think I might be hitting my limit. Since mana is its own unique form of matter or something similar in this universe and not some mysterious energy, that means that my mana supply is a physical thing. Casting spells requires me to draw in ambient mana, and the amount of external mana I can sync with can’t exceed the total amount in my sword body.
Travis, of course doesn’t have this problem. He probably weighs fifty times more than me, leaving plenty of room to pack in mana. Heck, it will probably be even more than that soon. He still has a long way to go before catching up to Darius in size, but now that he’s not deprived of food and can let his mana stay amped upped for long periods of time, it wouldn’t surprise me if he starts packing on more muscle due to the faster recovery speed.
A loud Boom! fills the range, snapping me out of my mental stupor. I bring my focus over to see Travis stretching his neck while giving off a big grin.
“I wonder if I’m allowed to use that [Air Burst] spell tomorrow?”
“Hmm, Hector said last week that you could only use spells you learned in class… You should probably ask, being given a diagram for self-study might not count.”
Travis nodded his head, then turned to check the time, “Still got half an hour left, anything you want to try?”
“Yeah, let me move this pillar into place first though.”
I move my pillar towards the back wall, then loop the Earth Mana so that I can start syncing it at a higher pulse rate. Once high enough to draw ambient mana from the entire back area, I mold the Earth so that I’m lying on top, then create a crystalline latticework of hexagonal synced Earth Mana lines in the pillar. Many of the lines then become directional, causing the ambient mana to cycle in a twisting loop that begins to speed up. I keep pushing, and Order Mana begins to form, making the entire sandstone pillar stronger than concrete.
“Ok, come pick me up. I think this is the biggest I can make a stone object while still meeting the Order Mana saturation I saw in the gates to the city.”
Travis comes to grab me, but pauses to inspect the pillar before walking back, “I know that your blade is made of adamantine, but it still boggles my mind that you don’t feel any pain from amping your mana up that high. I’d be doubled over in tears or going feral if I did the same.”
“I do have difficulty controlling it once it amps up to this level, but I’m limited on the amount of mana I can use for the Volume x Amperage x Shape = Output equation, so I don’t really have an alternative.”
Travis sticks me in the sand by the casting area, then moves as far back into the shelter as he can before hollering, “Ok, go ahead!”
Seriously? It’s just Chaos Mana, what could possibly go wrong?
I ramp up every mote of my internal Wind Mana to a high pulse rate, then begin to copy the same formation that Professor Quinsandoral made on Travis’ first day of school. The numerous rotation arrays would have driven my old self insane, but thanks to my “patch”, I can robotically copy the spell exactly. Chaos Mana begins to form inside the spell formation, likely from sending the mana traveling in a roller-coaster of a trip in contrast to the steady highway that I used to make the Order Mana, and the spell takes shape.
Three spinning blades form, rotating around a central point like fan blades, and after double checking with my memory to determine the trigger, I launch the trio towards the back pillar. They quickly fly down range, impacting the pillar and slicing deep into the stone. I use my remaining control to push the blades, but their shapes begin to warp too much to contain the mana.
The Wind and Chaos Mana disperses after my control is lost, leaving me disappointed. The Order Mana reinforced pillar is badly damaged, but still standing.
“Not bad. Are you going to try again?”
“No, I needed to use all my available Wind Mana just to form that spell. If I try to cast another, my mana will amp up too high for me to control, or at the least, I won’t be able to talk for a while. I hate to say this, but I get why Mages prefer to specialize. Your professor could probably recast that spell multiple times per day without even needing to worry about mana sickness, simply because he can start at a lower amperage by substituting a higher volume of Wind Mana.”
Travis teased a smile at me, “Well, lucky for you, you’ll outlive the grandchildren of elves yet to be born. Should give you plenty of time to cultivate more internal mana.”
“Afraid not, I’m already running out of room.”
Travis cocked his head at me in surprise, “Really?”
“Yeah, hate to say this, but you’ll probably be more powerful than me by the time you graduate, simply due to having a bigger mana supply.”
Travis stepped up to give my pommel a comforting rub, “Don’t worry, I won’t ditch you once I graduate. Besides, I got a poleaxe to use for battle, I’m fine with keeping you as an assistant.” His composure broke, allowing his teasing grin to escape.
I sarcastically moaned in protest, but I did take in what he said. Travis swinging me around during the Fall Purge casting [Chaos Blade]’s would quickly out me and put him in a rough position. Maybe I should focus more on utility spells? I can maintain spells near indefinitely, even complex ones. Heck, maintaining different elemental Auras for Travis would be a huge benefit for him in combat.
“Guess we better finish destroying this pillar though, the rangemaster might get suspicious if a first-year student made a target with Order Mana in here.” Travis pulled me from the ground and started walking down the spell range.
Oh, right. I should have planned ahead better. The remaining mana in the pillar is still a long way from discharging enough for me to wrestle control over easily. And since it’s impossible to bring up the pulsing of foreign mana without raising your own, syncing with a fresh batch of ambient mana big enough to clean my mess would cause my Earth Mana’s pulsing to rise to an unwieldly rate.
“Sorry, should have thought of that earlier, I can blast it with some Fire or Water spells if you want.”
Travis lifted me up, and began to grin evilly, “Don’t worry, I got an indestructible sword that doesn’t feel pain to finish the job.”
Wait, what does he…?
“Mana Slash! Mana Slash! Mana Slash!” Travis swings me with all his might, chipping away at the stone, and probably giving some poor blacksmith nightmares. He keeps hacking, until the pillar is reduced to enough pieces that the Order Mana separates back into Earth Mana.
Travis brought my edge to his eye level, “Not even a scratch, let alone a chip.”
Not liking his treatment, I mentally scowl, “I’d like to see your poleaxe do the same.”
Travis shrugs his shoulders, “I put the hammer end on it so it could. Though, I am going to need to learn how to attune to it fully. Otherwise, it might get damaged.”
“Hah, take that! Sword – 1, Poleaxe – 0.”
Travis shook his head as he placed me back in my scabbard, then gave my pommel a pat like one a parent would give to a child as we left the spell range.
---
Travis
Durinn joined us for our study group, and we set aside some time at the beginning for them to give the verbal portion of their presentation. At Arc’s suggestion, I asked them to restructure their speech so that it would be easier for them to memorize, then had the bearded repeat their speech to themselves multiple times in a monotone voice.
It seemed to help, and Durinn’s last practice speech before all of us went much smoother.
“Thank you again for the help, this whole ‘standing before a crowd and preaching’ nonsense just isn’t my thing. If you ever need help with something, just let me know.”
I gave the dwarf a pat on their red arming jacket’s shoulder and spoke in a sarcastic tone, “Not sure what a future Master Artificer could possibly help me with, but I’ll keep that in mind.”
Durinn grinned back at me, “Could craft you a new sword, then you could put that antique up on the wall where it belongs.”
“Don’t you dare even think it.”
I let out a laugh, then said goodbye before returning to the study group. Adrian was helping Jethro and Mattius with their history homework, so I sat down by Bridget.
She turned her head to me, “How did your hearing go?”
“Went well, my lawyer negotiated a settlement with the academy and administrators, so no more ‘Young Master Farmboy.’”
Bridget giggled for a short bit, which caused the guys to look up at us. Realizing that she had everyone’s attention, she leaned an elbow on the table to emphasize her mischievous look, “That reminds me, we’re going to have to make plans to eat at the Exotic Axe. I heard they got a new act.”
Arc starts laughing at me as I groan out loud and bury my head in my hands.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Jethro, seeing the wounded animal that was me, went in for the kill, “That sounds like fun. We should try to go tomorrow. What’s it called?”
“The Farmboy, the Spartan, and the Princess.”
Adrian took in my exasperated face, “So… I’m guessing it’s about you?”
I nodded my head while keeping it in my hands, “According to my lawyer Vincent, it’s not considered libel since I’m not named directly, and it’s not being used to intentionally damage my reputation. Also, since it’s not an accurate telling of events, it’s under further protection due to ‘poetic license’ and other laws.”
Bridget gave my shoulder a pat, “There, there, maybe it won’t even be that great of a show.”
I moaned, already dreading the oncoming day.
---
After the study group called it an early night, I returned to my room to get showered, and was debating on whether to continue my investigation on Arc’s origin or do something else before lights out.
“Just a heads up to set your alarm clock. I’m going to cut off my mana sight so I can discharge faster and do a few other internal things.”
My head perked up at that. “Oh, umm… ok.”
Arc then modulated his voice into a brotherly taunt, “Would be a good time for you to read that letter from Caldia that you haven’t opened yet…”
Ugh, I hope that wasn’t his main reason.
I pull out my unopened letters from my bag. Mom’s ended up not amounting to much since she sent it before she got my letter telling her of my acceptance here. But I do have one from Franklin that I still need to open also…
I give Arc a few taps and asked if he was still there. After getting no response, I opened Franklin’s letter.
Travis,
So, I got your letter…
Not gonna lie, I was pretty livid there for a while. Had to take a day off from the shop and sit down with Father Viburnum just so I wouldn’t do anything stupid. (Had a close call just the other day when I caught Ryan sneaking off with Ingrid.) He helped me see things from your perspective, and I guess I can’t really blame ya. All of us old fellas put you on the spot that night after mocking your plans.
Not sure what I’m going to do about the shop now. Ingrid still has first rights for inheritance, but she’ll need a husband to do the smithing since she focused on the other aspects of running the shop. Oh, rotten rust, that Ryan boy better not come asking to apprentice while I’m sober.
Well, since I haven’t said it yet, I forgive you. Should have known better than to try and tell you something was impossible, you’d just take it as a challenge.
Speaking of impossible, I owe your pa a bottomless mug. Though, I think I’m going to get myself drunk first.
Oh, almost forgot. Thanks for telling me about your meeting with my Pa’s master. I always figured that he was full of it when telling that story, so thanks for telling me the truth.
Franklin
I gave out a deep sigh of relief. Lying to Franklin is definitely the worst thing that I’ve ever done. (And I once peed on the Aelder Tree.)
I glanced over at Arc, wondering what he was up to. He got shaken up by that blessing I got pretty hard. I wonder if cutting off his senses is his way of sleeping on a problem?
Hmm… I won’t get many chances to investigate who Arc might really be without him knowing…
I pulled out my history of human metal crafting and started comparing diagrams to Arc to see if I can find a match. After half an hour, I’ve got my suspects down to only a handful.
Not a bad night.
---
Arc
Alright, let’s dive in.
I cancel my floating focus and start to pull in my spherical vision. I’d been working hard to expand its range, but it seems like I’m limited by how much mana I can see. It has been improving every day, but similar to a video game, my maximum render distance is hindered by the resolution of the objects I’m seeing.
My soul comes into view once all outside influences are cut off, and… oof, it’s put on some considerable weight. Hmm, last time I checked, nothing had changed. I wonder what the cause is?
Normally a soul grows in size via reincarnation, each new life creating a new layer that mostly cuts off memories from a previous life, the growth a result of being connected to a living creature in the physical plane. The patch I created sorta acts like a layer, but my soul’s growth doesn’t make any sense.
I give my patch a thorough evaluation while I’m here, and I can’t find anything wrong, so at least I know for sure now that being able to feel Travis touch wasn’t it bugging out. In fact, now that it’s gotten larger…
There. Wanted to add that documentation feature to the patch when I first devised it, but the auto-translate took up most of my… umm… hmm… calling it hard drive space for code doesn’t feel like a proper analogy. Uhm, maybe fragment of my personality would be a better term? My patch is basically just an unfinished layer on my soul.
Ugh… I just realized; it’s going to get cramped in here if I keep growing. I’m already too big to fit into the duck or beaver that I originally wanted to reincarnate as.
Well, I think I know what to ask Addy for my favor.
---
Snowsday, the 32nd of Fifthmonth
“Arena Fight Round Two, Let’s Go!”
Travis groaned at my excitement, he’s been doing that a lot lately, and I’m not sure why he’s doing so this time. Is it the relentless rain that’s pouring down on the open sky arena? The fact that Jethro reserved a front row booth at the Exotic Axe tonight? Or maybe because first semester students aren’t allowed to bring personal weapons to the arena?
Yeah, it’s probably that. Definitely not from me being way too chipper this morning.
Teams this week are Mattius and Adrian in the first squad (with Mattius as squad leader), Travis and Bridget in the second squad, then Jethro and Drozuk in the fourth squad. Before everyone moved to sit by their assigned squad for the day, Hector had a few more notes for today’s matches.
“Today is an exception, the Medic and Research divisions have marked today’s specimens for disposal. Therefore, you are ordered to kill every monster you fight today without hesitation.” Hector scanned the students to ensure everyone gave nods of affirmation, “Good, any questions?”
Travis lifted his hand, “Sir, are we allowed to use spells that we have been given for self-study?”
Hector’s head twitched back in surprise, “You first will need to report any such spells you intend to use to me or Sir Felicity, but yes, if a professor gives you a spell diagram, then you will be allowed to use it.”
Sir Felicity provided a follow up, “As a reminder, you are encouraged to free-cast spells. The purpose of these matches is to encourage adaptive thinking while under pressure. For safety reasons however, you are only allowed to modify a spell, within reason, from one that you already have permission to use.”
The students broke to form their teams, allowing Travis and Mattius to approach where Hector and Felicity stood underneath an awning.
Hector lowered his gaze towards Travis, “Initiate, was there something else?”
“Yes, wanted to report that I received the diagram for [Air Burst].”
Sir Felicity narrowed her eyes at Travis, “Which professor gave you the diagram?”
“Professor Quinsandoral.”
That got an audible gasp for the female knight, causing Hector to look her way. She recomposed herself, then grabbed a clipboard to mark down Travis’ new spell. Travis was then dismissed, allowing Mattius to approach.
“Sir, I have received the spell diagram for [Sand Burst] from Professor Quinsandoral.”
Felicity made a small grunt, then spoke, “Just so that you and Travis are aware Initiate, we do confirm when formalizing the paperwork that you did receive a spell.”
Mattius nodded his head, unable to hide his smile. He got dismissed, allowing Hector to speak to Felicity.
“Do first-year students normally get self-study spells this early?”
“No, even more so from Professor Quinsandoral. I’ve had his students complain to me about not being given access to spells.”
Hector shrugged his shoulders, then began observing the first match from one of the other battalions.
Travis moved over to sit by Bridget and leaned in to hear his squad leader for the day speak, “Zaccheus, you’re my second.”
One of the squad members cracked a joke, “Not even going to try justifying the nepotism?”
Zaccheus chuckled along with the squad, “How about my brother and I have identical voices, so we’re preventing possible confusion in battle?”
Oh, wow. Thanks to my “patch”, I could do a comparison, and he wasn’t kidding. Wait, do I know these two? I check back, and… yep. They are the twins that drug Drozuk out of the armory last week. Hmm, strange… they look completely identical, but with different mana builds. Zaccheus has a 50% Fire, 30% Water, and 10% for Wind and Earth build, while his brother Thaddeus has Fire and Water swapped for his.
The squad went over a few preliminary strategies, though everyone took a moment to gripe about having to sit in the rain until after their fight. It didn’t take long for Mattius’ squad to head out for their match, so I followed them to the prepping stage with my focus.
Mattius turned to Adrian, “Adrian, you’re my second. Stay in the center of the formation with a [Water Aura] big enough to keep us dry and help spot. I don’t want to give the monsters an advantage over us.”
Adrian gulped nervously but nodded his head. The group was let out into the arena, but upon the door closing behind them, the terrain in the arena began to change. Stone pillars, short walls, tall walls, trenches, and archways began to rise from the ground, changing the battlefield from an open field to an urban labyrinth.
Mattius called a 3x4 formation, then took point as he led the group into the small maze. Loud-clicking gear noises echoed along the walls, signaling that this week’s varmints were about to flood into the arena.
“Giant rats?” Travis spoke with a bewildered tone.
“Please, those are hardly giant, they’re only the size of a cat. I’ve seen way bigger.”
Bridget’s back went ramrod straight, then spoke out loud in a controlled panic, “Not giant rats, corpse-rats!”
Oh, those poor kids…
“Corpse-rats, vermin-type varmint. These creatures appear during every flood to consume the abundant corpses of monsters. They carry numerous diseases, making them particularly dangerous for non-mana users, and can quickly multiply by consuming a large amount of mana-rich flesh, then fusing with other corpse-rats to spawn a new litter by dividing the accumulated mass. After a flood ends, they burrow into the ground to hibernate until the next flood, making them difficult to purge.”
Mattius spots the corpse-rats moving in while he leads his squad down a long alleyway, “Contact! Knee-wall! Fire!” Mattius and the other two in the front crouch to one knee, then he sends his Earth Mana into the sand to create a small, sloped wall to hamper the vermin. [Fire Orb]’s fly over his shoulders towards the rats and detonate into Blast spells once they get close.
Adrian stands in the middle, keeping the rain off the group with his Aura, and keeps twisting his head around with his mana sight active. He repeats to the rear guard to copy Mattius’ strategy when a smaller second group of rats approached to flank, then orders one of the Fire Mages to target the rear and the Wind Mages to attack.
Mattius keeps his eyes forward as a few [Wind Blast]’s help push back some of the closer approaching rats, but like the grizzled war vet that he apparently is, starts muttering that everything seems too easy.
I pull up my focus to get an overview of the arena to see if he was right and…
Travis grips my pommel, and squeezes me hard out of fright, “What the…”
A very, very, big rat, probably the size of a washing machine, plods its way towards the rear of the group.
“Ok, that is the biggest rat I’ve ever seen.”
Travis, still terrified, clenches my handle harder, “That’s not a single rat…”
Huh? I zoom in on the giant corpse-rat and, oh dear gods and God… the shaggy “fur” that I spotted earlier is really rat tails, and its “head” is actually dozens of smaller heads all fused together. For the first time in my new life, I’m happy to be restricted to only seeing mana.
Adrian manages to see the moving mass through the wall and calls out a warning to the rear. Mattius, oddly looking relieved, orders all of the Fire Mages to attack the approaching monster while he begins to prep a large spell of his own.
He starts by gathering an Orb of sand the size of a bowling ball, then coats the entire thing in Wind repulsion arrays. He slowly moves the Orb down the alleyway amidst the [Wind Blast]’s being used to push the rats back, his jaw clenching tightly from the mental strain of having to manually move all those mana lines, then calls out, “Front, shields up!”
The spell detonates, sending sand flying in every direction and forcing the rats to retreat or lie stunned. Adrian pays the explosion no notice, more worried about the slowly approaching monstrosity. Despite the additional [Fire Blast]’s being sent its way, the giant corpse-rat keeps moving, pausing occasionally to shake off the dead rat corpses on its surface.
With the heavy rain hampering the Fire spells, Adrian starts cussing underneath his breath once he likely realizes that they’ll be overrun soon. He suddenly jerks his head to the other two Water Mages, “Mud it down, we need to slow it.”
[Water Orb]’s fly down the alleyway, then crash down at the monstrosity’s feet. It seems to help, but not enough. Adrian, taking notice, orders the rear Earth Mages to prep an [Earth Slide], once prepped, the two call out, and Adrian orders to hold.
The corpse-rat monstrosity keeps shedding layers of rats from the [Fire Blast]’s but the Fire Mages begin to visibly slow from having their internal mana amp up. Adrian takes note, and orders the Fire Mages to cease, then waits for the monstrosity to take a few more steps forward.
“Now!” Adrian shouts, and the giant corpse-rat slides down the alleyway, losing all of the distance that it had made. “Front, Fire! Rear, Drown!” Adrian takes the Water Mana that he was using to create a repulsion array above the squad and sends it towards the monstrosity. He then recreates his [Water Aura] formation around the target, but inverted, causing Water to accumulate over the monster.
The other two Water Mages join in, and soon the monster starts to thrash about from drowning. Adrian and the other two’s faces begin to strain from concentration but get a surprising assist from the Earth Mages, when they harden the sand around the monstrosity’s feet. Muffled screams continue, but after what must have felt like hours for the team, the giant corpse-rat fell unmoving.
Hector called the match, then jumped into the arena with the other knights to help finish off the remaining rats.
Travis and his battalion stood up to cheer the squad loudly as the terrain was reset to a flat plain, and then again after they returned from the post-match debriefing.
“Great job guys!”
Mattius scratched the back of his helmet and Adrian shifted from foot to foot, but even their humility wasn’t enough to prevent them from talking about how Hector applauded their performance. Only criticism being that the other two Water Mages should have extended Adrian’s [Water Aura] to allow the Fire Mages to attack without hindrance.
Princess Seleyna’s squad came out next. They had to fight a horde of tumblepig-spore infected giant frogs in a forest of wide stone pillars. The squad’s strategy had them split into three teams and have two groups create barricades on opposite sides of a large pillar and the remaining group to kite the monsters through the maze of pillars. The plan worked quite well, since the infected frogs were slow to move, but their Drill Instructor wasn’t thrilled with their plan, and took the time to point out the numerous points where everything could have gone horribly wrong.
---
Travis
I breathed in and out, taking a moment to enjoy the respite from the rain outside while we stood in the staging area. Bridget moved to the middle of the group with Zaccheus, Thaddeus, and the other Fire and Water Mages. We decided to copy Mattius’ 3x4 alternating mage type formation, with me substituting a Wind Mage in the rear with a pair of Earth Mages.
The door opens, allowing our squad to move into the still shifting terrain of countless narrow stone pillars with “branches” of stone sticking out of many of them in odd angles. I think it was meant to mimic a forest, but I wonder if it looks more like the coral forests located on the Dwarven Coast that I read about.
Thaddeus and the other two Water Mages set up a group [Water Aura] to redirect the falling rain away from our squad as Zaccheus orders us to spread out to a full horse’s width between each person to navigate the “forest” better. The rain keeps pounding down outside of the Aura, and I can’t even hear the crowd, but am just barely able to hear the monster gate open.
“Sweet merciful gods and God! You need to kill this thing! Burn it, crush it to paste, throw it in a hole, burn it again, and then burry it under a mountain just to be safe!”
I clench my jaw, and squeeze Arc’s handle in my grip enough for him to yelp in pain as I feel every hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Sorry, single monster, 10 o’clock.”
I turn my head in the direction, then close my eyes and fully activate my mana sight. Water and Earth Mana is everywhere due to the rain and manufactured field, but… there! A shifting blob that has Fire and Wind Mana moving with it.
“Contact! 11 o’clock, 48 yards out. One target.”
Thaddeus calls the squad to halt, then after the monster moves closer, orders the rear Earth Mages by me to move forward and fortify the front. He then calls for us to prep spells, while the monster keeps moving, and eventually gets close enough for me to open my eyes and clear away my mana sight.
A long, thick spider leg the size of one of my own legs wraps around one of the pillars, then is soon joined by three more. The torso of the spider moves into view, but my breathing stops as the rest of the monster makes itself visible. The furry cephalothorax looks familiar, but a scorpion tail substitutes the abdomen, and a…
The horned mammalian head twists a full 180, giving me and the squad full view of the eight-eyed goat’s head on the chimera monster. Its eyes lock with us and it lets out a haunting bleat before jumping towards our front line.
Its skull bashes into the shield of an Earth Mage, then tries to sting her with its tail, but is shoved off by her neighboring Wind Mage’s shield slam. I and the other Wind Mage cast [Air Blast] to shove the chimera farther away, but before Bridget and the other Fire Mages could Blast it, it leaps back into the fake forest and rain.
I grunt in aggravation, this thing’s a skirmisher; it’s going to spend the entire battle trying to harass our lines, until it or us finally get lucky. The twins let out irritated grunts as well, and have our squad maintain the current formation, but with the group sidestepping to keep the chimera at the center of our front line.
The chimera makes another attack, this time trying to come in from high and leaping over a Wind Mage towards Bridget. I cast a prepped [Air Blast] to push it back enough from her so she could fire her two prepared [Fire Blast] spells directly downward towards it in quick succession after it hits the ground. The first Blast hits a leg as it scampers away from the group, completely evades the second, then leaps back into the artificial forest’s canopy.
Thaddeus turns his head to me, “Travis, can you cast that big Wind spell you got?”
“Yes, but I can’t move it fast.”
Thaddeus nods his head, then orders the squad to shift to a different spot. The chimera makes a few feints while we move, retreating before committing to an attack, and causing our Fire Mages to waste spells. We keep moving, and I grow a bit confused at first, until I see where Thaddeus led us.
“Perfect. Travis, lay your spell in the middle. Rest of us, set a trap, snowflake!”
We create a spaced-out triangular formation with the Fire and Water Mages in the center, followed by the Wind Mages and Earth Mages in the outer triangle. I do my best to keep calm and prep the [Air Blast] spell, even making a small modification to direct the explosion better, then carefully move the spell into the center of our formation.
“Ready!”
Bridget, Zaccheus, and the other Fire Mage cast [Fire Orb]’s to hover in front of them, while the three Earth Mages call out that they were prepared as well.
Now for the hard part…
The chimera keeps skittering around, latching from pillar to pillar, in what was probably an attempt at disorienting us before it catapults toward a vulnerable looking Earth Mage. The mage’s reflexes were quick, and they duck low enough to get under the monster and use their shield to fling it towards the center of the group.
The two Wind Mages help push it in with Blast spells, while the Earth mages use [Earth Slide] to pull the now about-faced Water and Fire Mages out of the middle.
Everyone crouches behind their shields as I detonate the modified [Air Burst], launching the chimera straight upwards into a patch of several “tree branches”, and even shattering a few stone struts. My modification prevented the friendly fire, and the Fire Mages start Blasting the chimera once it crashes back to the ground.
Once the first wave clears, Thaddeus and the other Water Mages rush the injured monster with their swords while a second round of Fire spells gets prepped, but our spells get cancelled once Thaddeus chops off the goat head.
Hector calls the match, and we’re led into the post-fight lobby to get checked by the medics.
Despite the squad cheering in victory, I wasn’t in the mood to join in, and let out a deep sigh of relief. Having Arc start the fight by panicking due to a phobia despite being practically indestructible, then having to free-cast a spell I haven’t even known for a full week clamped the pressure down on me hard. I wish I had something other than an embarrassing theatre show to look forward to tonight.
“Hey, cheer up bud, you got a certain special someone to greet you.”
I looked up in confusion, wondering who Arc was referring to, when a brown-haired Northman approached me. He was wearing a golden arming jacket underneath a set of half-plate, painted green lines strewn across the steel, and shoulder pauldrons depicting a red feather between a set of green antlers.
“Initiate Travis, are you injured?”
“Reidar?”
The Spartan Medic nodded, then clasped my helmet to stare directly into my eyes, “No signs of concussion, you may join your squad for debriefing.”
He patted me on the shoulder, then moved to inspect the person behind me. My mind flooded with questions, but I moved to where my squad was gathering. I sat down while we waited for the last person to get cleared when Reidar’s voice chimed in my helmet.
“Excellent work in your match today, I look forward to conversing with you once my duties here have concluded.”