With my skills now public knowledge, my future opponents will be less likely to underestimate me, less likely to drop their guard, meaning I’ve lost the element of surprise. I take that very seriously."
"Is that not the whole point of enrolling in this academy? You’re here to learn and develop new skills for combat. It was inevitable that you’d have to fight seriously and let people see you. How long do you think you could have coasted by hiding your abilities?"
"Long enough, ma’am, and until I do develop those new skills, I need every advantage I can get. The sooner people know my abilities, the sooner they can develop countermeasures. I chose to lose a sparring match to my teacher in an academic setting, rather than risk getting killed in the future because my enemies would know my strength."
"You’re here to become a knight of Uther. You will live, fight, and possibly die for this nation. Instead of hiding your strength from potential enemy cadets, shouldn’t you be making them into your allies? When you graduate, you will be part of an order, with people who will depend on you just as you’ll have to depend on them."
"I know how to depend on people. I know they are valuable and necessary."
"Necessary to preserve your own life, right? To fulfill your own goals? That’s not how we do things around here. You’re thinking long-term about yourself, but I need to think long-term for this country."
"Are you sure you aren’t focusing too much on the short-term? It’s a choice you may not like, but you know it was the right one."
Valia’s eyes narrowed. "Excuse me? Do not presume to know what I think."
"You’re an elf, are you not? You’ve seen how far the choices we make ripple out. Years, decades, centuries can pass before consequences lose their momentum. A human teacher would obsess over a sparring match on the first day at the academy, but I’m rather disappointed that you would as well. I figured you would have a better sense of perspective. You of all people should know how easy life can be thrown into chaos, and how insignificant the things we deem important really are."
He saw it, the slight tremor in her expression, alerting him that he had touched a nerve.
"You forget your place, cadet."
"On the contrary. My place has been made quite clear, has it not? I get the sense you’re stronger than most gold-rank knights, so it’s probably safe to say that my place is in the high silver. Once I include magic, I’m probably gold-rank. Might makes right in this world, does it not? The purpose of this academy is to support that rule. You’re teaching us how to wield our strength to extend the reach of our influence and control, all for the glory of Uther. Tell me, what authority does that drop of blood on your cheek grant me?"
"Is that a challenge or a threat?"
"It’s a request. You wanted to know my level, well now I would appreciate the respect it deserves. When I speak of concerns, I want you to acknowledge them as the concerns of a gold-ranked warrior. When I calculate what is important in the long run, I want you to trust my math."
A moment of silence. "You are dismissed. Hurry up to the mess hall."
"Thank you, ma’am."
When he arrived, the mess hall was already half-full, and he could hear de*****ions of his fight with Valia. It seemed like his match with her was a big deal. Only the two dozen cadets had seen his face and heard his name, and they were already eating or weighting in line. He could still blend in with the cadets still streaming in and get his tray of food without being hassled.
Alexis was eating by herself, so he walked over. "Mind if I join you?"
"Go right ahead." He sat down on the other side of the long table. They both ate in silence for the first few minutes, each acclimating to the presence of the other. This was time to eat and rest, so they gave each other time to decompress. "Today was your first day training under Lady Zodiac, right?" she finally asked.
"Was it the sword that gave it away, or just how I look?"
"Well, you do look… weathered. I’m guessing she was a bit rough on you?"
"More than a bit, I’d say. When do you start?"
"Tomorrow." Then, a rare smile. "I honestly can’t wait. This will be a dream come true."
"You’re that excited?"
"I was raised on stories of her adventures. She’s my hero, and training under her is one of the main reasons I enrolled. Most of the women here probably feel the same way."
"Well you can probably expect the same introduction she gave me."
After eating, Noah made his way to the infirmary, where he found several other cadets already waiting. At least forty were gathered, sitting on long benches in the brick corridor, all with varying injuries, much of which came from sparring matches and inexperience with new weapons. Unless something was broken, missing, or spurting blood, suffering an injury was not an excuse to skip a lesson. Cadets had to learn to fight through the pain. Blisters were aplenty, even for seasoned warriors.
There were a few other armed cadets; an archer and two spearmen, but no one from Noah’s swordsman class, so he went unrecognized. He took his seat and listened to the injured youths yip at each other, either complaining about the harshness of the lessons or trying to brag about their pain tolerance. Every few minutes or so, one cadet would exit the infirmary doors, and the next in line would enter.
Soon after Noah arrived, he encountered someone he did not expect. A young woman entered the corridor, wearing white vestments instead of her academy uniform. She was likely a female light user, recruited to work in the infirmary to train her healing abilities. Her beautiful scarlet hair drew Noah’s eye, contrasting with her outfit like blood on snow. Unfortunately, she arrived on the tails of the man whom Alexis fought. The despondent look on her face, Noah only had to see it from the corner of his eye to sense her misery. She hated the man at her side, and from the smug look on his face, he was fully aware. Neither appeared wounded, but they strolled right by the sitting cadets and approached the infirmary.
"Hey, there is a line," a dwarf barked.
"A line for you, not more me," he scoffed.
"Galvin, please, you don’t have to watch over me while I work," the woman murmured.
"Of course I do. I can’t trust any of these flea-ridden plebeians around you." He said it loud enough for all to hear. "And I thought I made it clear last time that no one touches you but me, and you don’t touch anyone without my permission. How can I trust you when you keep breaking the rules?"
"I’m… sorry."
By how she addressed him, she wasn’t a slave, probably his fiancée, though it didn’t seem like there was much of a difference. He pulled her inside, and the hallway became silent. The flow of conversation had stopped like a cold heart. Soon enough, it was Noah’s turn to get treated. He entered the infirmary, a sunlit room filled with beds, as well as cabinets stocked with various potions and ointments. The cadets were being tended to by the academy healer and several female cadets, all wearing white vestments. Each bed was occupied, minus the one in the corner, where the red-haired girl was stationed. Galvin leaned against the wall behind her, sticking out like a sore thumb. In all honesty, that corner of the room looked about as appealing as a minefield, but the academy healer, an old woman, ushered him forward.
‘Just get in and out. No confrontation.’ Noah approached and sat down on the bed. "Good afternoon," he said to the girl, without even glancing at Galvin.
"How can I help you?" she asked, likewise trying to ignore the unwanted presence.
"I was hoping you could fix my hand. It got scratched up during a mock battle."
He undid the bandages and showed her his wounded palm and fingers.
"I can take care of that." Without touching him, she held her hand over his. "Healing Light," she cast.
Like Rita at the Knight’s Sheath, holy energy flowed from her hand and repaired the damaged tissue. The wound wasn’t severe, so it only took a minute of healing. Noah kept his eyes focused on his hand, doing everything he could to appear inconspicuous. A wandering glance or wrong word could draw the ire of the petulant cadet behind her.
"There, all done," she said.
"Thank you, I appreciate it."
He bowed his head in gratitude and got up to leave. As he passed by, Galvin stuck out his foot to try and trip him. Noah managed to avoid it and escaped the infirmary. After Valia had exposed him, getting caught up in some domestic issue was the last thing he needed. Next, he went to the bathhouse, as his first lesson under Valia had given him quite the patina. It was busy when he arrived and louder than the previous day, as like outside the infirmary, the young cadets were sharing complaints about their lessons.
"Kiev was the worst! He made us do pushups until we passed out!"
"Oh please, Sir Walter made us run infantry charges all day. I feel like my feet are bleeding."
"Those fucking bows are so fucking heavy! A team of horses couldn’t pull that string all the way back!"
"The next time I see my brother, I’ll bust his teeth. The lying bastard tricked me into coming here!"
The gripes came from nobles and former adventurers alike. It seemed the academy really had upped the difficulty this year, and it was turning out not to be the cozy ivory tower many thought it would be. The de*****ions of what he had to look forward to did not frighten Noah. Instead, he was disappointed, having hoped to hear something as interesting as the glass swords Valia handed out. They were being explained by Noah’s classmates to the disbelieving cadets, and the difficulty of simply drawing them was a vocal point of frustration. Then, they described going up against Valia one by one and helplessly losing. The next shift in the conversation was inevitable.
"Hey, is it true about the cadet who beat her with a broken sword?"
"I don’t know which part of that question is more insane, but I’m amazed that you didn’t stutter once while saying it."
"No, it’s true! I was there! The guy managed to scratch her face! I never saw anything like it!"
"What, is she weak?"
"No, the fight was unbelievable! I was… ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Tingtingtingtingt—" While the excited cadet nearby made sound effects and swung his hands around, Noah got out of the bath as nonchalantly as possible. The conversation was spreading, with other classmates describing the fight.
"Oi, you’re that guy, Noah, right?" Many eyes turned to him.
"Me? No, he’s in that bath over there," he replied, pointing over to the corner. When those gazes shifted, he ducked among the shelves of discarded uniforms and activated his invisibility. In a drawer under one of the benches, he grabbed a fresh uniform and got dressed, retrieved his belt, and disappeared without a trace.
"Magic is the study of concepts. It is to look behind the curtain and see the true mechanics of the world that the gods have created. As knights, magic is something you will inevitably come up against and will have to use. I am Sir Lewis Elyot, and for the next year, I’ll be teaching you how to utilize magic and survive it. No matter what your weapon preference or livelihood, it is a talent you should explore, the power to change the world."
Adjacent to the academy library, Noah and a new class of students gathered in an auditorium in tiered seating for this introductory lecture. He was younger than Noah expected for a magic instructor, looking maybe in his early thirties. Noah had been hoping for more of a bearded wizard, though if he was a magic researcher like Cyrilo, then appearances could be deceiving. Behind him was a board made of white clay, and he wrote on it with a piece of charcoal. "Theory of Magic" had already been drawn in large letters. Noah and the other cadets took notes on rolls of parchment with quills and bottles of ink. He had been waiting for this since he arrived in this world, to finally get a full explanation of magic.
"Magic is powered by mana, which flows through us at a steady pace, like our heartbeat and breathing. It can become disturbed when we are stressed, but so too can it be controlled. All of you here, you passed the magic exam yesterday because you not only had sufficient mana, but you were able to channel it to objects outside of your body. If you can do that, you can surely use magic, so there no reason not to look into it.
Spells are the means through which we harness magic. They are contracts made with the gods, and the circles that appear are those contracts made visible. The symbols you see in magic circles are known as runes, and they are the language of the gods, each symbolizing a concept of the universe, such as the elements of nature. It is the correct combination of runes that defines a spell and allows it to occur. Only when it triggers the appearance of a magic circle can any kind of mana manipulation be considered a spell. That is when it has become an act recognized by the gods.
Questions?"
Noah raised his hand. "I’ve seen spells activate without producing runes and magic circles. Assuming I didn’t simply miss them, is it possible that the runes cannot be seen by the human eye? Or would it be more likely that they do not produce runes at all?"
"A spell that does not produce runes is considered incomplete. It is an unfinished mana manipulation that has not been solidly defined enough to produce runes."
"Is there a limit to how powerful these manipulations can be without crossing that threshold?"
"I suppose… maybe a third as powerful as what the completed spell would be? That’s from what I’ve seen, at least. Now, speaking of unfinished spells, can any of you tell me the two methods in which magic is developed?" A young woman raised her hand, the redheaded girl that had healed him in the infirmary. Unfortunately, she was sitting next to Galvin. "And you are…?"
"Cadet Sophia Rosege, sir."
"Speak, cadet."
"The first is the natural method, in which repeated use of magic can cause spells to grow and change to match the skill level of the caster. The second is through in*****ions, using runes to formulate new spells that are too complex or beyond the affinity of the user."
"Precisely. These are known as intuitive magic and crafted magic. You could think of it as letting the gods write the contract versus writing the contract yourself. Each of you should be capable of using at least one intuitive spell. It is the magic you discover on your own, that is improved through practice and training." He wrote the terms on the board. "The most common intuitive magics are monk and warrior, one involving the condensing of mana within the body, and the other involving the projection of mana through a familiar weapon. These actions happen most often during battle, and with repeated exposure, can be controlled and enhanced. That is the point of the outdoor training with various weapons.
Less common is elemental magic, which features a link to the gods of thunder, earth, water, wind, fire, and light, allowing the user to manifest those elements in varying forms. If you have the talent and train enough, you may be able to shape your mana into actual spells, as well as make current spells more potent by rewriting the contract."
Elyot straightened his glasses and pulled a book out of his robe. He flipped it open to a particular page, and it began to glow. "Illuminate," he cast. He held out his hand, and a magic circle of holy energy appeared in the air in front of him, like a golden STOP sign. It displayed a line of runes that put out blinding light.
"As you can see, I am using a light spell thanks to the formula written in this book. I do not have an affinity for light magic, so without this book, I am unable to cast it. However, because I wrote it out, I have more control over the price and the results, and can adjust it to compensate for my lack of an affinity. Take the materials for instance. Everything in the world can conduct mana one way or another and at varying levels. If you want to cast a spell that requires more mana than you can produce, you can substitute the cost with more powerful ink and paper, or by adding certain conditions.
Who here can use holy spells?" A few cadets instinctively raised their hands, including Sophia. "If you have the affinity, it is surely possible to cast this spell on your own. If not today, then someday, but it would require training, time and effort spent twisting your mana to take this form. Or, if you cast the spell by using this book, you can memorize the feeling and use it later on your own.
Now, before you can start runecrafting, you first need to know the runes themselves. I’m going to show you all the basic need-to-know runes and explain their meaning so that you can record them. Other runes will be taught later, but most of your vocabulary should come from research and real-world exposure. Make sure you copy them exactly as I show you, as misdrawn runes will not function. Just know that I won’t be kind to anyone who falls asleep."
And so, the hours passed. One by one, he’d use charcoal to draw symbols on the board and give their definitions. As he said before, runes were the language of the gods, and like all languages, there were rules for grammar and syntax. Each rune had only one meaning, but its interpretation varied among cultures, and its effect could change depending on the runes around it, with various concepts existing on wide spectrums of abstraction. There were hundreds of them, each with individual designs, using lines, dots, dashes, and other minute details. Compared to the up-close and personal first lesson with Lady Zodiac, Sir Elyot’s class was more tedium-incarnate, but Noah’s attention was undivided.
He raised his hand during a transition.
"Yes, cadet?" Elyot replied.
"Does naming a spell have any effect on it? I noticed that everyone verbally states the names of their spells when they use them. Is there a reason for that?"
"Runes are concepts of reality, and within every spell, they rank in importance. To speak those concepts while activating the spell helps solidify its definition and allow it to manifest. A spell is always strongest when its name is spoken, and the closer the name is to the superior runes, the better. However, most amateur magic users don’t know about superior runes and simply name their spells on whims. A spell cast without its name is considered incomplete."
He continued with the lesson, but Noah’s mind was already buzzing. He had three spells so far: turning invisible, creating an illusory clone of himself, and taking on the appearance of the freshly slain, but none of them produced any visible runes. In his fights with the Harajin, he had uncovered the mechanics of the technique known as Bakudan, a similar invisibility spell that didn’t produce any runes. The one who explained it described it as a "state of being" more than a spell, likely meaning it was incomplete. Were his spells the same way? All of them having yet to be developed far enough to produce runes? Or were the runes there and just waiting to be seen?
In time, a familiar trumpet blowing in the distance signaled when the lesson was over, much to the enjoyment of the rest of the class. "My, my, where did the time go? Before the next lesson, I want each of you to find a beginner-level spell in the library and record the rune sequence. You are to use only standard ink and parchment. To activate it, simply speak its name while channeling mana into the parchment as I did before. Keep it small, nothing too bombastic. All spells damage the material you use, from a slight crinkle to utter disintegration, so if you find a spell that destroys your parchment with a single use, you need something smaller. If you choose a spell and cannot cast it, just pick another."
The cadets were released, finally able to decompress after the long day. There was still time before dinner, so Noah headed straight for the library. To his luck, the place was devoid of all but a few people. They were fellow cadets with similar thirsts for knowledge. With some direction from the librarian, he found one of many books on the different known branches of magic and secluded himself to begin his search. Since he arrived in this world, he hadn’t had many reading opportunities, but he had grown accustomed to the local alphabet. More than half of the letters were at least slightly similar to English, and the flow of the text helped him figure out the rest. The problem was the author’s handwriting and their diction, like an overinflated textbook combined with a messily-scribbled notebook.
Eventually, he got accustomed to the dialect and began skimming through the book, looking for keywords while letting his subconscious process the rest of the information later. ‘Invisible,’ ‘illusion,’ ‘eye,’ nothing stood out, nothing pertaining to his own magic, and before he could get very deep into the book, he heard the evening horns announcing dinner.
‘There’s always tomorrow.’
He returned the book to its shelf and made his way to the mess hall, already bustling. He didn’t see Alexis at her earlier spot, so he went to find his own quiet corner. Moments after he sat down, her own tray of food was slammed onto the table.
"Why didn’t you tell me about your fight with Lady Zodiac?" she asked. While not angry, she was more excited than he had ever seen her.
"Need I bother if you were just going to hear it this quickly from someone else? I wasn’t keeping it from you; I just felt there wasn’t a good enough way to come out with it. ‘Hey, you know your hero, Valia Zodiac? Well, she and I got into a life-or-death fight, and I managed to scratch her cheek. Boy, this lunch is delicious.’ See what I mean?"
She sat down and stared at him. "Who are you?"
"I’m the son of an adventurer. He taught me everything I know, trained me, and then sent me here to become a knight."
"He trained you to fight Valia Zodiac to a draw?"
"Let’s just say that the training was rough. You could probably handle it, but not many others here. My mother, well, she wasn’t around, so there was no one to tell him to go easy on me. Let’s just say I didn’t have many happy memories. When I saw the average level of the other cadets, I decided to hold back so I wouldn’t get asked about it, but Lady Zodiac wasn’t going to let that slide. I was hoping for a fresh start when I got here, a new life where I wouldn’t be burdened by my past. So much for that."
The traumatized youth with fresh scars, an easy role that he played well. Alexis was sharp, but not sharp enough to see through him.
"Forgive me for prodding."
"Anyway, what’s your story? The noble kids here aren’t as spineless as I expected, but I doubt many of them would track down a pack of ogres on their own."
"My full name is Alexis Fleija Veres, third daughter of Duke Boris Veres."
"Duke? That’s pretty impressive."
"Like I said, though, I’m the third daughter, so I don’t actually rank very high in the family, not that I really care. Noble life… never really suited me. I’d rather shape my destiny with a bow than have it be decided by someone else’s money. I’ve fought tooth and nail to break every engagement, and a noble daughter that can’t even be married off has no value. The carriage you saw me riding in was all for the sake of family appearances."
"So I guess I can’t expect you to bail me out of trouble with your family connections, or brag about having friends in high places?"
She laughed. "Sorry, I can only be a regular friend."
"Well, that’s good enough for me."
He raised his cup, and she clinked hers against it.
Valia could smell the burnt gonlief, despite all attempts to hide it. The commandant banned smoking for the cadets, but even he had a few rules he ignored.
"You’ve made quite an impression on your first day. You got into a fight with a cadet that could have turned deadly. We are here to train cadets, and we can’t do that if we end up killing them." She ignored his words, choosing instead to stand by the window of his office and gaze at the stars. "I understand that you did not come to this position willingly, but you are here to teach, not to maim. You got lucky today; that’s all it came down to." Still, she didn’t answer. "Damn it, Zodiac! Explain yourself!"
She didn’t show it, but Valia tensed in annoyance. Summons like these had brought her nothing but bad fortune as of late. She was getting sick of hearing her name called. "I’ve encountered an anomaly," she finally said.
"An anomaly?"
"Something I honestly cannot explain. That cadet, Noah…"
"Are you sure you aren’t being a little dramatic? He was a talented youth, that is all. I’ve seen plenty of them come and go."
"Well I’ve seen more than "plenty." I’ve met hundreds of enemies, thousands of warriors. I know what talent looks like. That was not mere talent."
"Then what was it?"
"That’s the thing, I’m not sure. I know he’s human, I can’t sense any other blood in him which would explain it, but for some reason, he fights like an elf."
"Like an elf?"
"I’m talking about mastery of movement. He’s trained himself to be ambidextrous. Kinesthesia and coordination like his would normally take centuries to develop. As for his technique, it was too vague for me to identify a specific school or style. There was no ingrained pattern to how he moved. I first thought he was making it all up as he went along, relying on talent mixed with whatever training he’s had, but his steps, his breathing, his balance, his pacing, it was like countless styles had all been mashed together."
"Is he someone we should be concerned about?"
"I’m not sure yet. There’s something strange about him, and I’m going to find out what it is."
"So is it true what they say? About your fight with Lady Zodiac?" one of many cadets asked, interrupting Noah’s reading. All the students had returned to their various dorms and barracks and enjoyed the brief window of time before light’s out. Like the bathhouse, most of the conversations in the barracks were just complaints about the first day, but the story about Noah's fight was Valia was also spreading. Unfortunately, evening roll call had destroyed Noah’s hopes of studying in quiet anonymity.
"It is true that she and I sparred," he replied, "just as she did with everyone. I don’t know what else people have been telling you."
"The other guys down the row are saying you fought her to a draw," another cadet said.
"I managed to give her a scratch, while she tore my uniform to ribbons. It was hardly a draw. Besides, you’ll get your turn to fight her."
"Where did you learn how to fight?" The questions kept coming as the cadets searched for any information that might aid or amuse them. Noah would deflect and dismiss the probing so gently that the men barely noticed, and felt their attention directed elsewhere. If any of them got too inquisitive, a little fake backstory would get them to shut up.
"Do you have any advice about fighting Lady Zodiac?" Gideon asked out of the blue.
Noah closed his book. "Finally, a worthy question."
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