Chapter 7: A Show to Remember

With our equipment sorted the four of us gathered once again in front of the table. I have acquired a pair of daggers to add to my arsenal. A long dagger about as long a bayonet that I strapped to my left thigh and another shorter dagger that I hid in my right boot. Close Quarters Battles or CQB is part of my urban warfare training and I am quite proficient with the use of short blades. I have a feeling those who fight me will expect me to be weak in melee, nothing like the element of surprise to strike a deadly blow.

“Now that your equipment is in order I will move onto a basic explanation on how the power system in this world works. All in all it is quite simple, you can ask your companions for further clarification at a later date. I will just give you the basic run down for now.” Davis said as he took a small pocket watch sized machine out of his pocket. The machine had a blue crystal embedded in the middle.

Then from the crystal sprang up a display.

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Strength:

Increases power of attacks Increases physical strength Increases armor weight capacity Increases power of [Strength] based abilities Increases [Physical Resistance] Increases pain tolerance

Dexterity:

Increases speed of attacks Increases movement speed Increases precision of movements Increases power of [Dexterity] based abilities Increases pain tolerance

Intellect:

Increases power of [Intellect] based abilities Decreases [Arcane Heat] generated Increases [Arcane Heat] capacity Increases mental faculties Increases Exp gain Increases [Magic Resistance]

Perception:

Decreases reaction time Increases attention to detail Increases mental faculties Increases precision of movements

Tenacity:

Increases pain tolerance Increases [Physical Resistance] and [Magic Resistance] Decreases effect of [Crowd Control] Decreases effect of [Status Ailments]

Charisma:

Increases speech competency Increases persuasion competency Increases power of [Command] abilities

Faith:

Increases pain tolerance Increases [Physical Resistance] and [Magic Resistance] Increases power of [Healing] abilities Increases power of [Buff] abilities Increases power of received [Healing] abilities Increases power of received [Buff] abilities Decreases [Arcane Heat] generated

۞═╬═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╬═ ۞

So that’s what the stats do. It seems I won’t profit much from supportive abilities. Which means I need to be careful, I won’t recover from fights as easily.

“Your stats should be much higher than normal. Your current stats are based on your lives in your previous worlds and the classes your god has chosen for you.” Davis explained as he gestured to the display.

“You can examine them in more detail later. I will not ask what your abilities and skill classes are. It is poor etiquette to ask such things, especially of the Heroes. For now we shall move on to your first taste of combat.” Davis said as he gestured to the line of people behind him.

“All the people behind me are fresh recruits. They have high level caps, most of them are of noble blood. Their levels range from five to ten, their highest stats range from ten to twenty, they are all young in the summer of their life. They have been chosen as the promising young men and women of this generation. They are a blank slate for you to turn into your retainers and followers.” Davis said, his voice ringing with authority.

At those words the line of aspiring soldiers stood to attention as one their faces stiff, their backs ramrod straight and chests puffed out in pride. All except the three in rags at the extreme left. Their heads were down and their bodies still. They looked to be just entering adulthood,

“Why do you send us cubs that are not even soldiers?” I ask curiously, raising an eyebrow. I have had enough of dealing with sniveling welps that are playing at war in my old world.

At those words I see the expressions of some of those lined up change, some of them faltered as if struck by insecurity and some expressions darkened as if insulted. Then one of them, a guy about as old as me, opened his mouth and spoke.

“We are the finest this kingdom has to offer Dark Hero, the likes of you should…” the boy said angrily.

WHAT DID YOU SAY?

I hear the voice of Davis thunder as he wheels around to catch the boy with his mouth still open. Davis stormed over to the boy and pulled him up by lapels.

What did you say?

I hear Davis hiss into his face.

“My… my apologies Sir…” the boy stammered, his voice quaking in fear.

So they are really fresh recruits, if they can’t even take a good scolding then they won’t last long in a real war.

You listen to me you little welp

Before you are the four Heroes of legend and you dare to speak out of turn?

You forget your place

I don’t care what you think of the Dark Hero

I don’t care what your family put into your empty head about the Dark Hero

No matter what you think of him he is still one of the four

You will give him the respect he is due

Am I clear?

“Yes… sir…” the boy stammered.

AM I CLEAR!

“YES!” the boy shouted in terror.

YES WHO! I AM A KNIGHT OF THE SILVER LIONS!

“YES SIR DAVIS!” the boy practically screamed.

“Erm Sir Davis perhaps that will be enough…” I hear Charlotte say timidly from the side.

At those words Sir Davis let the boy go and he collapsed onto the ground in a shaking heap.

“My apologies if I startled you Lady Charlotte.” Davis said as he turned and bowed his head.

“No it’s no trouble, please raise your head.” Charlotte said with as strong a smile as she could muster.

As this exchange happens I notice the boy is still on the ground and shaking like a leaf. Rookie mistake, if Davis is anything like the drill sergeants back home… Well let’s just say if he’s not on his feet by the time Davis turns back around he’s going to be in for it…

Davis then turns around and sees the boy still on the ground. And here it comes….

What are you still doing on the ground…

Davis hisses dangerously as he reaches down and hauls the boy to his feet.

You wear this uniform and dare to sit in the dirt?

Davis says as he glares at the boy.

Now you listen to me...

This is exactly the difference between a cub like you and the Dark Hero

He may be young but he is a young wolf bearing scars from many battles

You think a young wolf gets scars by being weak?

Weak wolves don’t live long enough to have scars

The fact that a few words from me and you are on the ground tells me everything I need to know

If it were up to me I would strip this uniform you are wearing right off your back

But luckily for you it’s not up to me

You are lucky the Life Hero is as merciful as the legends say…

Now stand up straight cub

Davis finishes as he let’s go of the boy who stands straight and trembling like a leaf in the wind. He’ll learn eventually… and if he doesn’t? Well then he won’t be learning anything anymore…

“My apologies for the shameful display Heroes, they are young but they will learn. Hopefully…” Davis says as he turns around.

“So why are you sending us cubs?” I reply as I look at the white faced recruits before me.

“They are the only ones with levels close enough to you and have the potential for growth. If the level difference is too high then Exp gained by the lower level individual is greatly diminished. These… recruits… have potential but that is all they have. It is our hope that you heroes will be able to make something of them.” Davis replied.

“Then what about the rest of the army?” I ask.

“They will be stationed all across the realms on the look out for Rifts, when one appears the nearby forces will move to contain the outpouring of Outworld Demons. Word will then be sent back here and then the four of you will journey to the Rift. Once you arrive the army will yield the field to you and you must close the Rifts. You must grow stronger as the Rifts will grow wider overtime allowing greater demons to enter. Thus soldiers like me must be sacrificed to facilitate your growth. These fresh recruits will be your soldiers in the field... if you will have them.” Davis says.

“If we will have them? If they can fight they will survive if not we could always use more cannon fodder.” I reply calmly.

“Katsuro!” I hear Charlotte chastise from the side.

“Sorry…” I reply as I turn to see Charlotte scowling disapprovingly at me for that comment.

“The laws of the gods have restrictions. All your power comes at a price each of you can only have two companions each to serve as your attendants. If anyone else participates in the fight, your Exp will be greatly reduced for the Rift sealing. Sealing a Rift gives the Hero that seals it an enormous amount of Exp. Once your retainers have sealed a Rift with you they will receive the [Heroes Sworn] skill class. After that every level will increase the Stat points they can gain by 50% usually when one levels up they gain two Stat points a [Heroes Sworn] gains three stat points. They will effectively have a 50% increase in power growth as compared to if they leveled up normally.” Davis explained.

“So this is an audition…” I say as I examine the line of aspirants.

“In a way Sergeant Onaga, an audition for a show that will decide the fate of millions.” Davis said.

“Then let’s get started.” I say with a smirk.

“Very well. First Squad step forward.” Davis said as a group of eight stepped forward. There were four with swords and shields, two with bows and two mages.” it was then I noticed that the line was ordered accordingly. By the looks of it here were three squads.

“So how will we do it?” I ask.

“Simple really, these eight will face off against you Heroes. It should be an even fight, you heroes will have significantly higher stats but these recruits have some measure of training beforehand. Although against you Dark Hero… I am quite interested in how they will fare.” Davis said with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

“Let’s find out shall we? Although my weapon is quite lethal, I’m not sure how that will fit into your audition.” I ask as I unholster my revolver.

“You are lethal as you should be, this arena is specially constructed. It will cause those standing in the centre to be transported into a mirror dimension. There you may fight with you full force you only exit when you die in this mirror dimension or if the battle is decided. It is a common way to train or put on show fights for the court.” Davis replied.

“Will everyone be able to see what’s happening?” I ask.

“Yes they will be able to see everything.” Davis says

“Alright then let’s get this show on the road.” I say as I turn to face the other three.

“You guys know what your abilities do?” I ask, to nods from the other three.

“Alright, I’ll hold back at the start let all of you get used to fighting. If I open with my gun I’ll drop half of them before the fight even starts. We won’t see their potential nor will you guys get any practice.” I say, to further nods of assent.

“You guys mind if I take command for this fight?” I ask looking at the other three.

“You are the most experienced.” Charlotte said with a nod.

“Yes experience is valuable, you will be the most clear headed.” Ivan said.

“Then it’s settled, we're counting on you partner.” Jacob said as he slapped a hand on my back.

“Alright, let’s do this.” I say with a smirk.

As soon both groups were ready and the non combatants were at the side of the arena I see the world seem to shimmer and I noticed those at the side who weren’t fighting were now blue ghostly silhouettes.

I see the group about 15 metres in front of me. The four front liners array themselves in a spread out formation. Then I notice one of the mages sheds her cloak baring her skin for all to view. I look closely and I realise that her cloak looks just like any common cloth unlike the pearly white fabric of the mage beside her. So it seems she doesn’t have a steam cloak…

“Charlotte if you have any buffs use them.” I say.

[Combat Leader] now active

I hear in my head, so it seems my companion will give me updates on the battle.

“Alright, [Shaper of Life].” Charlotte said as a ring of white symbols expanded from her and covered the three of us. I see a white aura cover our bodies but I notice my aura seems dimmer than the other two’s. Must be my Skill Class [Forsaken] reducing the effectiveness of the buff.

Shaper of Life I (Rare Ability) buff received

~ First time recipient notification ~

+ 5 [Tenacity] - 10 % [Damage Received] + 10% [Global Resistance]

So this buff makes us more durable

“[Aria of Mercy]” Charlotte then says and the sound of woman singing could be heard as I see we are bathed in a green glow and green barrier appears around me for a moment before disappearing

Aria of Mercy I (Rare Ability) buff received

~ First time recipient notification ~

+ 10% [Healing Received] Received [Magic Barrier II]

Well then that slightly offsets my Forsaken class, how convenient…

I look up to see they seem to be unnerved, was Charlotte’s buffs that impressive?

“Jacob, Ivan press forward.” I command.

“Alright let’s try this out, [Righteous Advance].” Jacob shouts as his body glows and he dashes forward and smashes right into one of the front liners. The poor kid gets smashed back and goes tumbling back along the dirt floor.

“Ha! How do you like that?” Jacob says as he looks at the boy who was struggling to his feet his arm hanging limply clearly broken and his shield in splinters on the ground.

“[Heal]” the mage with no cloak says calmly and the boy is engulfed in a green light. He flexes his arm and grips his sword with both hands.

“Oh right… healing magic…” Jacob says.

“LESS GLOATING, MORE FIGHTING!” I shout at him as my eyebrow twitches. Seriously he’s gloating in the middle of the fight? He doesn't even realise he’s slowly being surrounded since he charged into the middle of their formation and decided to stand there and gloat.

“Ivan push up, support Jacob.” I command as I see Ivan start to run towards Jacob.

One of the front liners moves to intercept, it seems they have a basic grasp of formations. I watch as Ivan bring’s his warpick down on one of the front liner’s shield. The shield splintered but held, the boy was forced to his knees from the strike and I can see him straining against Ivan’s strength.

“[Homing Arrow]” I hear from one of the archers and a shot flies towards Ivan. The shot collides with Charlotte's barrier and clatters harmlessly onto the floor.

“[Gaia’s Fist]” Ivan shouts as his hand is covered in rocks and he throws a punch at the frontliner. The rocks shatter and flew out from his fist and the scattering rocks ends up taking out the front liner and wounding one the archers behind him. The frontliner shatters into blue motes of light

An area of effect cone melee strike, seems pretty powerful. This would make for a powerful flanking ability…

‘[Heal] the cloakless mage says again and I start to see a sheen of sweat appear on her body. The archer struggles to her feet and picks up her bow. I see her panting her teeth red with blood.

“Heal me again, can’t you tell I’m still injured?” the archer snaps at the mage. Huh, that’s strange, I thought they were a team? That sounded like they didn't really get along...

“[Heal]” the mage intones again and the archer spits out a mouthful of blood and draws her bow. She spots me just standing there and fires an arrow in my direction. I calmly dodge the shot, thanks to my stats I find myself easily able to dodge the arrow from this distance. It also helped that she paused for a moment to aim at me… dead giveaway.

“[Heavy Blow]” one of the front liners shouts as he swings at jacob. His sword glows red but Jacob easily blocks it with his shield.

“[Staggering Riposte]” I hear Jacob say and his blade flashes in counter attack and his sword slashes another of the front liners. He is thrown back blood leaking from his chest, he clutches his chest in pain as he rolls over onto his side. This causes Jacob to pause, well to be fair that’s not too unexpected everytime someone draws first blood it usually jars them for a moment. However, this is no time to space out…

“Jacob behind you.” I shout at the stunned Jacob. He turns just in time to get a sword to the face from another front liner that was behind him. Jacob immediately shatters into motes of light.

There goes one… spacing out in the middle of the enemy… I mean what did you expect?

[Fireball] [Piercing Arrow] [Snaking Shot] I hear as three sets of voices shout at once and I see three attacks fly at Ivan. He tries to dodge but he isn’t fast enough

[Lux Vitae] I hear Charlotte say from behind me and I see a white shield appear in front of Ivan. The white shield crumbles under the weight of the attack and it is barely stopped by Charlotte’s green barrier from her [Aria of Mercy]. But one of the arrows still goes through and it strikes Ivan in the chest. The arrow shatters against his chest plate and clatters to the ground.

Then I realised that one of the arrows wasn’t aiming at Ivan. The [Snaking Shot] had gone around him and was flying right at me. I’m curious about how much Charlotte's barrier will weaken from my [Forsaken] class so I decided to let it hit. The arrow smashes through and it strikes me in the chest. The arrow shatters harmlessly but I still felt it, it still hurt but it probably just left a bruise. I suspected the arrow would have low power, since it had to snake around like that. Probably had to trade some power for that kind of utility. I. Well that was a good strike overall, one point to that archer.

Then I noticed the mage who fired that [Fireball] didn’t take into account the blast radius and one of the front liners that was next to Ivan was caught in the blast and is now on fire. He yelped and screamed as he tried to beat out the fire as his clothes burned.

“Cleanse him you idiot.” the cloaked mage shouted at the other mage.

[Cleanse] [Heal] the other mage said, I see her stagger slightly. Her face was now flushed and I could see her shimmering in sweat.

So she makes the mess and makes the other one clean it up?

Ivan see’s the other mage being distracted. [Tectonic Propulsion] Ivan says as the ground below him shifts and launches him at that loud mouthed mage. The mage turns and shrieks at the sight of Ivan flying at her warpick raised. She drops her staff in panic and raises her arms to cover her face.

She sees a sudden attack and her solution is to drop her weapon while trying to shield herself with those twig-like arms?

What happens next is about as expected as the sun rising in the morning, Ivan smashes her into motes of light. However, what happens after that catches me by surprise. The cloakless mage moves towards Ivan’s right as he is caught post swing. [Lightning Spear] she intones as a lightning bolt appears in her hand, she then hurls the spear right into Ivan’s chest scattering him into motes of light.

Impressive, very impressive… good exploitation of that opening, Ivan didn’t factor in a possible counter attack with his charge. He got his target but left himself open, well this is their first fight. Considering this fight has zero actual consequences this is as good a lesson as any.

The mage then staggers forward and uses her staff to steady herself. Her legs wobble as she pants, her pale skin is flushed, her drenched body glistening in the sunlight. I watched her grit her teeth as she pushed herself upright with her staff and stood back up straight, a look of grim determination on her face.

Determination, I can respect that, it looks like we have a promising candidate…

“Heal me you peasant bitch!” the front liner that Jacob slashed shouted as he clutched his bleeding chest.

So she’s a peasant? That may be why the rest are treating like this, might be also why she wasn’t given a Steam Cloak.

The Mage struggles to raise her hands and weakly croaks out [Heal]. With that she falls to her knees and her staff falls from her hands and clatters onto the floor. She places both hands on the floor and starts panting like a dog. I can see the stone below her face start to be stained by her dripping sweat.

The front liner get’s up groans as he touches his chest, the bleeding hasn’t stopped merely slowed.

“Again!” the front liner shouts. When he hears no reply he turns to see her on her knees. Perhaps in a fit a fury he finds the strength to stagger to his feet and starts staggering towards her.

I look to the rest and see the two archers left along with two of the frontliners now facing me. One’s shield was gone, the other was still singed and judging by the way he moved that healing spell didn’t heal everything. The two archers raise their bows and take aim…

[Divine Spear] I hear Charlotte shout from behind me as white shing spear fly’s forward and hits one of the archers in the face shattering her form. So the two kills go to Ivan and Charlotte the healer… I need to give Jacob a good talking to after this…

The other archer who was the same one that was injured by Ivan turns and fires an arrow at Charlotte.

[Lux Vitae] I hear her shout and the white shield blocks the arrow. [Chains of Conviction] I hear Charlotte shout as gold chains sprang up and binded the two front liners.

Huh, not bad Charlotte you’re getting the hang of this…

[Piercing Arrow] [Divine Spear] I hear the two of them shout at the same time. Then I see the two projectiles fly, Charlotte’s spear missed as the archer dodges and the arrow smashes through the white shield but breaks on the barrier from the [Aria of Mercy].

HEAL ME YOU WHORE!

I hear a shout and I look to see the injured front liner has grabbed the mage by the hair and his fist was raised as if he was going to punch her.

Ok I’ve had enough of this…

I draw my revolver and fire right at that idiot’s head, blowing him into motes of light. The two front liners and the archer freeze and they look over to the scattering motes of light in front of the mage.

I fired again this time right at the archer, with her head turned she didn’t even see it coming as her form shattered.

“Never look away from the enemy in front of you.” I say coldly.

The pair wheel turn their heads to face me, their bodies still bound by Charlotte’s chains. I can see their fear as they look at my gun helplessly. Well I think it’s time to end this… let’s test their bravery…

“Charlotte release them.” I shout.

“Are you sure?” Charlotte asks.

“Yes let’s see if they are cowards.” I say goading the pair. I see their eyes narrow as the chains disappear. They ready their weapons as they stare me down. I hit the button on my helmet and my mask folds down. I see them pale as they look at my mask.

My turn…

I say as I begin walking towards them. The half burnt one finds his courage first and charges me shouting as he does so. His sword is raised and his eyes locked on my face, his attack is perfectly telegraphed. I mean he’s looking at my face and his sword is held up as if to swing downwards. Where else is he going to swing?

So I side stepped to the opposite side of his swing and he tries to correct, but swinging a weapon like this towards the wrong side of your body puts you off balance, plus I’m much faster than him. I dart behind him and sweep his legs from under him, as he lands on the ground I shoot him right in the back of the head.

The last front liner takes a fearful stepback as he looks at me.

[Skittering Headsman] I say as I hold out my left hand. A black capsule about the size of a soda can appears in my hand and I drop it on the ground. The capsule sprouts legs and buries itself into the ground.

“Do you really expect me to select you if you don’t even dare to attack me? I’ve seen my share of cowards but you are something else.” I say dryly, goading him further. This isn’t a test of courage this is a test of clarity of mind… and maybe intelligence. I just dropped something at my feet that buried itself right in front of his face, then I mock him. Any one with a brain can tell it’s a trap…

And he proceeds to charge at me...

I sigh as I holster my gun, I look up and see the mine shoot out of the ground and latch onto his face.

“Hot blooded fool.” I say with contempt as the mine detonates blowing his head into motes of light.

Now that leaves the mage, I walk over to her at a leisurely pace and see that her panting has lessened and she is muttering something. I suspect the heat is making her delirious, however as I stop infront of her she stills. I see her raise her head wearily and I get a good look at her. Her figure is slender and from my upward perspective I can see her chest is rather small. Her hair though is quite interesting, it's black with purple highlights and her eyes are like a pair of shining amethysts. Her skin is quite fair judging by how vivid the flushing on her skin and face is. Her clothes were also torn in several places and it generally looked old and beaten up with crude stitching used to keep it from falling apart.

Her eyes focus for a moment and I see the lucidity return to her eyes. She raises her hand at me looking as if she is going to fire a spell at me, but her arms fall weakly to her side. She raises her head again and I see tears start to form in her eyes. I see two rivers of tears flow from her eyes and she looks down again biting her lips.

She weakly grabs her staff and tries to use it to struggle to her feet. I watch silently as she painstakingly drags herself inch by inch to her feet. As she finally stood, her body leaning heavily on her staff, her staff also looked old and beaten up nothing at all like the beautiful white wood staff that Charlotte has.

She looks up and I see the tears have stopped, in their place I see her eyes are filled with grief. For what reason I don’t know, all I see is the determination of a broken and defeated individual choosing to go out on her feet. This I greatly respect, she looks at my mask and holds her gaze. I hit the button on the side of my helmet and I see my mask fold away. Her eyes widen for a moment as she looks me in the eye.

Well done…

I praise as I raise my gun and fire straight at her head. Nothing happens, she continues to stare at me.

“YO KATSURO THAT WAS AMAZING!” I hear Jacob shout from the side and I turn to see him running at me. I turn back to see the girl’s eyelids close and her body falls forward. I catch her and gently lower her to the ground. I cradle her body and rest her head against my shoulder. She’s panting and I can feel from her skin that her body is scalding hot.

“Admirably done, Sergeant Katsuro.” I hear Davis say.

“You have any water?” I ask, not moving my gaze from this brave girl.

“Of course, but I have something better.” Davis says as he pulls out a small bottle filled with blue liquid.

“It’s a cooling potion, it helps to relieve [Arcane Heat]. It’s quite expensive to produce but I have a feeling it will not be wasted.” Davis said as he handed me the potion as he uncorked it. I take it and gently pour it into her mouth, I then toss the potion aside and close her mouth. She chokes initially but with me forcing her mouth shut she swallows at least half of it instead of spitting it all out. Immediately I feel her panting slow and she opens her eyes.

Her eyes are initially hazy and as her eyes focus I see her eyes widen and her cheeks flush when she realises I am holding her like this.

“Well done.” I say to her with a smile as she sits up. I stand up and help her to her feet, she’s still wobbly but she stands nonetheless.

“What’s your name?” I ask her.

“Amethine… Amethine Errat” she says weakly.

“I think Amethine will do nicely, don’t you think.” I say with a smirk as I look over my shoulder.

“Yeah totally, she got you good Ivan. HAHAHA.” Jacob says as he lets out a booming laugh.

“That was a good strike.” Ivan agreed with a nod.

“Davis, why doesn’t she have a Steam Cloak? She seems pretty capable.” I ask Davis.

“Because I’m the daughter of a whore…” I hear Amethine say quietly. The four of us freeze as we turn to look at her.

“Amethine’s mother is a prostitute, her father is a Lord. The last name Errat is granted to bastard children of nobles.” I hear Davis say from behind me. So that’s what it is…

“Mistake…” I hear Charlotte whisper.

“What?” I ask quizzically.

“Errat... it means mistake in Latin, so her name translates to…” Charlotte says but falters at the end.

“Amethine the mistake…” I mutter as I look at Amethine who was biting her lips and looking away in shame.

“Well Amethine, I don’t care what your birth is, you're brave, determined and have a talent for combat.” I say as I remove my helmet and put it under my arm.

“We could use someone like you, if you would like to join that is.” I say with a smile as I offer my hand.

Amethine looks up at me eyes wide, then her eyes water and her face twists into sobs.

“Thank you… Mama... I did it… I did it…” she sobbed. I see Charlotte walk forward and pull her into a hug.

“WHY THE HELL ARE YOU CHOOSING HER!” I hear a female voice shout. I turn to see the other mage that Ivan took out standing at the side red faced.

“Because she out performed everyone on your squad.” I reply dryly.

“THAT WHORE DOESN’T DESERVE IT. I’M SO MUCH BETTER THAN HER. I DESERVE TO BE CHOSEN!” the girl shrieks.

So now she’s throwing a tantrum?

“THIS DIRTY WHORE DARES TO SHARE MY FATHER’S BLOOD AND SHE IS CHOSEN OVER ME?” she shouts and I pinch the bridge of my nose. So she’s her half sister no wonder she hates her. The thought of Celestine whose mother is a lowly prostitute being chosen over her must be a great blow to her pride.

THIS SLUT!

WHO GETS FUCKED BY EVERY BOY IN THE SQUAD EVERY NIGHT GETS CHOSEN?

I freeze at those words and slowly raise my head to look at her.

“I didn’t want to...” Amethine whispers tearfully.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy it, you slut, your mother is whore. You have whore’s blood, you exist to be used as a hole for better men!” the girl shrieks.

I turn and glare at the male members of the squad and they go pale as parchment.

“What did they do to you…” I hear Charlotte ask shakily, I turn to see Charlotte looking wide eyed at the girl in her arms. Amethine was weeping and choking on her sobs.

They used me… they all did… I didn’t want to, but they just… they just...

At those words Jacob grabs the nearest boy by the scruff of the neck.

“YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!” I hear Jacob roar.

“So what? A whore like you deserves to be…” the girl begins, but then I see Charlotte storm over and slap her across the face.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Charlotte shrieked.

“SHE’S YOUR HALF SISTER AND YOU… YOU JUST LET THEM…” Charlotte shouts, red faced in fury.

The girl pauses for a moment as she brings her hand to her cheek in shock. Then she turns and her face twists in rage.

“HOW DARE YOU! I AM THE DAUGHTER OF A DUKE!” the girl shouts in reply.

“YOU ARE DISGUSTING!” Charlotte shouts in reply.

In all honesty I never thought I would see Charlotte lose her temper. Charlotte getting flustered? Charlotte getting jarred by some unforeseen situation? Yeah for those two I expected those, but I never thought I would see her blow her top like this…

This would be very fascinating if I didn’t start feeling that familiar chill on the back of my neck. I instinctively put my helmet back on and turn to look up at the stands. I spot an elderly noble lord glaring down at the group of us from above. The light above is dim but I can just make out their faces. The older lord is standing next to a younger one and from the younger lord I see a resemblance to the mage, they had the same eyes and nose…

I turn back to Charlotte who is still having her shouting match and Jacob has another boy by the scruff of the neck. If noble egos are as fragile as that girl’s then we were going to have a problem...

“Enough!” I shout, in the same tone I use when I shout at those fresh faced replacements back home. I see the commotion still as my voice carries over them.

“Katsuro what are you…” Charlotte begins but I shoot her a look. This gives her pause and her eyes wander around and look to the spot behind me where the nobles are.

“Ahem, yes thank you Katsuro, it appears I lost myself for a moment.” Charlotte said as she calmly folded her arms in front of her.

Jacob seeing this let’s go of the boy and stares quietly at me.

“Sir Davis, could I get another set of clothes for Amethine as well.” I say nonchalantly.

“Certainly, Sergeant Onaga.” Davis replied calmly.

“So Amethine, would you like to join?” I ask again, Amethine pauses and looks at me stupefied.

“Yes, please… if you will have me…” Amethine said timidly.

“Then it’s settled. Sir Davis, would it be possible for Amethine to get one of those Steam Cloaks?” I ask Davis.

“Certainly, Sergeant Onaga. Steam Cloaks are rare enough that they are all property of the crown. They are granted not purchased.” Davis replied with a nod.

“So when can I expect one for her?” I ask.

“Effective immediately.” Davis said as he picked up Amethine’s old cloak and walked over to the other girl.

“Your cloak girl…” Davis said as he held out his free hand.

“What? But…” the girl said aghast.

“That cloak is granted to you because you are a promising candidate. You have been rejected and are no longer a candidate. Thus you have lost the right to wear that cloak.” Davis said coldly as he thrust his hand out.

“NO, I am the daughter of the duke! This is given to me…” the girl sputters.

“Disobeying a knight, complicite in grievous misconduct in the barracks, speaking out of turn to the Life Hero, I will be having words with Magus Council when this is over.” Davis says coldly, cutting her off. The girl seemingly wilts under those words and looks away. I sense the mood change and I feel the chill on my neck lessen. It seems this world has many centers of power, this Magus Council must have a good amount of authority.

Your cloak girl...

Davis says again and she begrudgingly unfastens her cloak and hands it to Davis who then promptly shoves Amethine’s old cloak into her hands. Oh how the tables have turned…

Davis turns and hands me the cloak, I take it and put it around Amethine’s shoulders before fastening the button that holds in around her neck. She looks at me wide eyed with a slight pink flush on her cheeks. I sense another chill on my spine and I turn to see the other mage glaring at me and Amethine.

I turn back to see Amethine quickly look away from her fearfully as she bits her lip. I reach forward and push her chin up and so her head is up and facing me pink in the face.

Hold your head high Amethine

Do not be what the world thinks you are

Show the world what you can be…