“Very well, if that’s your decision. You may participate in the Assessment with rest in the 1st Century. Do you have a group for today’s training?”

Wayne looked around at his group. Yvonne was smirking at him, while Makelian had his signature off-putting smile on his face. Ivan had his head in his hands, but hadn’t taken the opportunity of the commotion to back away from the group.

“I have, I mean, we have most of a group.” Wayne replied.

“Ah, I see the problem there.” There was still a clear area of space being given to their group of four, making it easy for the discerning Praetor to recognize who Wayne was referring to.

“Let's have August join your group, that should keep the playing field level.”

At his words, a mousy smaller girl stepped out of the crowd and towards Wayne’s group. She had tousled brunette hair, tanned skin, and a presence that felt easy to overlook. However, when Wayne met her eyes, he found a determination so sharp he almost gasped.

“I’ll let you all have time to do introductions and to get Wayne up to speed on what Cohort training entails, so you can be in the last matchup.”

With that, Jaemeson began to instruct the rest of the Century, leaving Wayne and his group to incorporate their new addition while also teaching Wayne about their upcoming training.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Wayne.” He said while proferring his hand.

“I know who you are. I obviously know who you are, our whole Century just had an argument over you, Wayne.”

Despite her harsh words, she still accepted his handshake with a firm grip as she looked him in the eyes.

“I uh, yeah. That makes sense. Still-”

“Yes, I appreciate the sentiment. It’s nice to meet you too, I’m Lady August Banchera of the Seville Archduchy. Now if you would excuse me, I will be right back, I simply need to talk to the group I was planning to train with.”

With that she walked away before Wayne could protest, not that he was inclined to. Yvonne was tutting, clearly not enthused with their new teammate, but Ivan looked more appreciative than his sister.

The shorter man caught Wayne’s inquisitive look, and sighed before elaborating on his thoughts.

“She may not be the strongest combatant in the class,” Yvonne snorted when Ivan said that, “But she has a skill set that would prove quite optimal for the actual Assessment. I do not mind making a connection to her prior to the testing, not at all.”

“Of course you don’t mind brother, you’ve been casting glances August’s way for months. I’m sure you’re overjoyed at this opportunity.” His sister retorted.

“I-uh, that… has nothing to do with this.”

“Oh yes, I’m sure that isn’t the reason you are blushing right now. Of course, silly me.” Yvonne said, clearly enjoying teasing her twin.

It was also clearly effective, as Ivan was blushing uncontrollably and constantly adjusting his glasses. Wayne imagined the other Legionnaire must have conflicting feelings towards his sister.

“I hate you. So very much.” He finally said. Yvonne cackled.

Yes, conflicted feelings indeed.

“Ahem, anyways, Wayne you still need to learn about what we will be doing today in training. It isn’t too complicated, but there are some finer details it is worth mentioning.” Ivan said, trying to change the subject.

Wayne acquiesced to the boy’s unspoken plea, and inquired further about the format of their training.

“Alright, enlighten me Ivan.” Wayne couldn’t help but smirk slightly as he said it, and Ivan scowled but responded nonetheless.

“It’s a five on five battle to simulate future situations, as we’ll be deployed in five man Cohorts in most situations. This is still sparring, so overtly lethal attacks are banned. Also, considering the hectic team situation, ranged attacks have also been banned.”

“To compensate for that, if you hit someone with three Lightbeams then they are considered defeated and must abdicate the sparring field. Finally, if you fall under half your usable pool of mana, you are also considered defeated with similar consequences.”

“Beyond that, the bout should be rather self explanatory. Do you require any further enlightenment, Lord Aouris?” Ivan asked in a sarcastic tone.

“No, actually, I think I understand it pretty well now. Thank you Ivan.” Wayne said with genuine appreciation.

This was one of the few things he had gone into recently with a decent understanding of beforehand. Although the smaller Talagar Twin made his sister appear downright cheery, he still seemed an honest and respectable person.

“Ah- Well, it’s to be expected I would explain this to a teammate.”

“Not that you will need to know. Me and Yvonne will handle the opposition ourselves.” Makelian finally spoke, having been mostly silent up until this point.

Now that Wayne was looking at him closely, the other boy appeared downright exhausted compared to when he had seen him last. Makelian’s eyes were distant, and his normally well styled hair looked wild with turquoise locks splayed in strange directions.

“Are you alright, man?” Wayne asked instinctively.

Makelian started to talk then closed his lips, composed himself and spoke only after a few seconds.

“Well, my betrothed’s de-”

“Ok, that’s enough of that.” Ivan interrupted. “It looks like the first match is about to begin, and we’ll be up against whoever loses.”

“Yes, we should pay attention to formulate our strategy.” August said as she rejoined them.

“Eh, the only one we need to strategize for is Avery. No point in thinking too much about the weaklings.” Yvonne countered.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Still, Wayne was excited to watch some of his Century spar, without him on the receiving end.

* * * * *

Lining up on the field, ten young Hastas were preparing to fight. On the right side of the field, that meant strapping and securing various pieces of armor, the steel gleaming with the soft glow of powered Runes reaching Wayne’s eyes across the training grounds.

On the left a few of the Hastas Wayne recognized amongst the Century stood, waiting for their opponents. Amelia and Jayna had teamed up, alongside Avery and two other Hastas Wayne didn’t know. One girl and one boy, both with different colored armbands.

Now that he was paying attention, Wayne realized that Amelia also had a red armband over her sleeve, meaning that the entire five man group were all geniuses with different Affinities beyond what Luminos provided.

“What Affinities do they have on that team?” Wayne asked openly.

“Not enough to matter. The sizzling sisters over there bring electricity and fire. That’s Jayna and Amelia, in case you don’t know.” Yvonne said.

“Ah, yes I was… somewhat familiar with Jayna’s capabilities.” Wayne said, thinking back to when she had left him a twitching mess on the ground.

“Heh, I can tell you are.” August said, noticing Wayne's reaction.

“Just observe what’s about to happen. Their individual quirks are about to be apparent.” Makelian said, taking his armor out of a specially prepared case.

Wayne turned back to the field and noticed everyone out on the field was ready. Jaemeson gave a quick motion from across the arranged area, and all ten Hastas burst into action. The magic on display almost blinded Wayne.

Jayna gave off sparks as she burst forwards zagging ahead of the others, but she was still slower than the Lightbeams that blasted from both sides painting the field in a neon glow. The team to Wayne’s right with the standard Affinities of the Empire had anticipated the initial barrage and immediately thrown themselves into evasive motions after taking their own opening shots.

Jayna had already moved past where their enemies had aimed, and the rest of the team didn't need to dodge. Instead, they let Avery and the girl Wayne didn’t know step into the front, directly in the path of the rapid beams.

If Wayne had time to flinch away he would have, but the rays of light were too quick. He watched helplessly as the light blasted into the Legionnaires. Then, it just as quickly pooled and dissipated against the armoring they had formed as Wayne was reacting to the barrage.

He stared as Avery and the other girl burst forwards, now coated head to toe in steel and stone respectively and apparently impervious to the projectiles.

“Ah, I see.” Wayne intoned absently, realizing what Ivan had meant.

“Yes, those are their elemental Affinities’ versions of the Enforcer Form. While Jayna’s Lightning or a standard Light offer enhanced speed, other elements provide varying benefits.” The other boy replied, less interested in a fight he had seen play out previously.

I’m going to learn how to do that?

Wayne gazed longing as the two teams entered closer range and abandoned their barrages. If earlier he had a spark of desire to expand his Form Space, now a raging bonfire roared in Wayne’s heart.

It was almost as loud as the roar of the Hastas as they crashed into one another, Avery and the stone-covered girl leading a charge into the gut of the other five man formation. Amelia and the other man stood farther away, leaving their Cohort much more divided than their opponents who had regrouped after the projectiles had paused.

Jayna had already flanked around their left and was launching a series of enhanced blows at one of the opponents that had been trying to set up in the backlines, blocked only by a pair of hastily raised, Rune engraved steel vambraces.

To Wayne it looked like it might be a match decided by this initial attack, but his inexperience was quickly proven. Just as the two armored frontliners were about to begin to lay into the other Hastas, a plume of fire came from the upraised hands of the fifth unoccupied member.

Simultaneously, bubbles of water appeared around Avery, Jayna, and the stone girl. Wayne could tell that the bubbles were intended to protect their targets from the flames being brewed in the Legionnaire’s hands, but his compatriots were clearly prepared for these defenses as close range Lightbeams sliced into the bubbles and popped them before they could accomplish that task.

Then, the man let the flames spew forth from his hands. A torrent of fire sloshed forth, blasting the elementally coated enemies back while breaking cleanly around the man’s teammates.

Wayne gasped as he saw his colleagues consumed by the grand conflagration in front of him. Then the great ocean of flames swirled together, quickly condensing to a singular point and revealing Amelia straining over a pulsating ball of white hot fire and the rest of her team covered in glowing cocoons of light.

With a shout, the pink haired woman thrust her arms forwards and sent the condensed flames careening at the other Hastas. Wayne slammed his hands over his ears and watched, horrifyingly sure he was about to see some of the noble scions of the realm blown to bits.

However, just as the unstable energy lost its final strands of cohesion and seemed about to combust and incinerate all the life around it, it instead rapidly deflated, burning away into a small wisp of smoke.

At the same time, similar cocoons of light sprung up and grabbed the remaining Hastas, leaving Amelia as the only one still standing amongst the ten who had lined up to spar.

“Scored one remaining against zero remaining combatants. Amelia’s team wins.” Jaemeson announced across the field, before letting out a tremendous burp.

A suspicious familiar waft of smoke escaped his lips along with the belch.

* * * * *

“Did he just… eat that fire ball?” Wayne asked incredulously.

“Yes he did. Amelia must’ve gotten stronger, usually he would have just protected them and let it explode.” Yvonne said, looking strangely contemplative.

“Mmm.” Ivan hummed his agreement. “Felicio’s attack was impressive as well, I don’t recall his Sea of Inferno ever having possessed the force to break Avery’s Enforcer.”

Yvonne snorted at her twin.

“That’s because it didn’t. Praetor Jaemeson obviously just restrained him to remind him not to rely on being able to survive every attack.” She smirked at her brother.

Wayne looked around, his group clearly moving on and no one else seemed particularly impressed or even surprised by the Praetor’s actions. Some people had even been laying down, and were only now standing to take the field for their match as the previous Cohorts emptied it. It seemed this was a commonplace event, and Wayne should get accustomed to it.

“Ah well… that was an impressive fight. Both teams were clearly well practiced against each other. How often do these Cohort spars take place?” Wayne asked, trying not to seem too out of his depth.

“Twice weekly, most weeks.” Makelian absently added as he polished some of his armor. He hadn’t looked up during the whole previous fight.

Wayne looked back at the field, thinking back to the intensity of the spar he had just seen. It was another sour reminder how far he was from the rest of the Century currently. Even with the healing pools, Wayne didn’t think he could keep up with the demands of training. Yet.

He watched the next Cohorts finish preparing for their bout. He noticed that only one of the participants was wearing an armband, so he was determined to pay attention and use them as examples of what he should strive for.

“Do you think we should employ a similar strategy to Lord Alsprein’s Cohort, or does anyone possess other plans?” August asked dryly.

For a moment, no one spoke, before Yvonne elbowed her twin.

“Yeeeow- I mean, uh, yes. I have a plan. A good plan.” Ivan managed to get out.

Another moment passed, until Yvonne prompted, “Which is..?”

“It's… well, the crux of the plan relies on you being able to handle both Avery and Joanne for at least the opening engagement. Do you think you can keep them both busy and focused on you?” Ivan asked.

Both of the giantess’ eyebrows raised.

“Are you underestimating me, little brother?” She asked, seemingly amused that Ivan was concerned for her.

“Alright, if that’s settled, then… Lady Banchera if you would stall Jayna, then me and Wayne would be free to follow Keli to attack their backliners. Use our numbers to isolate and conquer them, in pieces.”

Wayne nodded. It sounded like a solid plan, and one that wisely didn’t rely on his own competence.

“Alright, then it’s settled, Lord Talagar.”

Wayne did his best not to laugh at the emphasis that August put on his new friend’s name, and watched as the second bout got underway.

The only person he recognized on the field was Kleft, and he was on the team with the man with the black armband. The two of them raced forwards ahead of their team. Wayne watched the familiar red haze surround Cleft’s fists and felt sympathy for the other Legionnaires who would be sparring with him.

Then, an inky black smoke billowed from the other man’s body. The entire dueling area was quickly filled with the thick gas, but it didn’t drift much further than its bounds. Wayne was confused for a few seconds, but he didn’t have to wait much longer.

Within the minute, the fog dropped, and only the two boys that had charged in were not encased in the light of Jaemeson’s magic. Wayne stared at the Hastas with the black armband, in awe of the speed with which they had beaten their opponents and slightly peeved he didn’t get to see any Light Affinity through the darkness.

August noticed his attention and nodded at him.

“Johnathan, the Archduke, is the most powerful member of the Century, so be thankful we aren’t facing him. That’s the Cohort I’m usually with, and I’ve yet to lose one of these events. Let’s not change that today, alright?” The mousy girl said.

“Yeah, let’s win it.” Wayne said, imagining himself in Johnathan’s place.