Entering the training camp with Gobber. I'm greeted by a few familiar faces. It's the adventurers we saved in the tier two dungeon. That's why they had so many warrior and thief classes mixed in their group. I head to apply in the main building. The training grounds outside has many people sparring. I head inside.

Me and Gobber both apply. No orb we need to touch like the magic academy. Instead we're separated and led outside. It seems like in order to join here you need to have a practice match to show you have enough skills to make it in. Gobber will do fine but I'm afraid for myself. We're stripped of all our gear and given a set of training gear. It's too loose to fit comfortably on me. The practice sword we're given is just a plain wooden one. I quickly apply infused counter spell runes of control nature to it before the fight, I wouldn't have enough time to quick enchant it.

My training partner is wearing the same gear as me but he's easily twice my age. Dammit this is going to be difficult! I already know that melee is my weak point. The match starts I silent cast haste on myself, when he sees the effect form on me he's surprised but keeps coming. I silent cast hex on him and he's even more surprised. I drop into complete defense and berserker stance. Both have negative effects for either my defense or offense. Using them together increases both overall. Rage starts to fill into me. No harmonicas to play or potions to drink this fight. I charge him.

It take's every trick I know. Aiming for weak points using thermal vision. Attacking with opportune strikes when I see he's dropped his guard. Hitting with frenzied strikes and heavy rending slashes and doing that much I haven't even beaten through fifty percent of his health. I managed to stay in the fight because my evasion is so high from the dexterity classes. If I didn't get my father and mothers levels in fighting I would have lost already.

I jump backwards with dragoons passive. I can already jump over the height of my body, around seven feet. I drop out of berserker stance and start channeling water under his feet. I wanted to not be forced to show off my magician tricks early in my time here. Let alone the first battle I'm in! It surprises him enough for an opportune control nature uppercut. It knocks him flat.

I here gasps and other noises from the other people watching our fight. Gobber had easily beaten his opponent already. I managed to finish mine off but it cost me the fact that I'm different to do so. I start hearing some of the onlookers talking.

"That is cheating!" Someone cries out from the crowd.

Finally the master of this boot camp steps forward.

“You know this is a place to train fighting skills right? The magicians academy is over there.”

He points in the direction I already knew it was in.

“If you want to practice here you shouldn't use magic in your fighting. It will become a crutch that you rely on.”

I guess that makes sense. I make a promise to not use any magic while I'm training here.

It turns out a lot of people seen that fight and have started challenging me and Gobber. I haven't won a single fight since the first one and from what I hear. The person I beat might have been the third or fourth weakest person here... Really? I struggled that hard against one of the weakest people at the boot camp...

Gobber is doing fine, he's lost a few matches but has won far more than that. The people he has lost against were all second year students. They might have had a level advantage on him and that was the only reason. Gobber is not even designed to be a close range fighter. He only has one melee class and it's more defensive. I don't know where his strength comes from. Maybe it's because he changed into a hobgoblin so early in his life?

I continue to get pummeled by everyone who challenges me. I'm starting to regret the fact that I promised not to use magic but my levels are definitely going up doing this. Getting beaten is a good way to level I guess. I've already gained a few levels, so I'm glad I did it. Me and Gobber head home. Walking back he asks.

“Master why didn't you use magic?”

“I can't get stronger with my other classes if I do.”

“Why do you need to get stronger? You can always rely on Gobber to be in the front. Are you trying to not need me?”

“No Gobber, I'm just trying to make myself better. I won't replace you.”

With the awkward conversation we make it back to the fortress.

The fortress runs smoothly even without me there. With the heads of the groups leading each group separately. The beast riders and thieves doing training separately. Most of the gnolls seem to be in high spirits from winning their first big scale battle. Some where still in mourning from losing loved ones. They understood that it was just part of this world.

The miners have expanded to the point where they can only dig down. Meaning they reached the other side of the mountain and have dug a path all the way to the ceiling opening air pockets. On the ground there are some buckets to catch the water if it rains. Having an opening to let fresh air in will help keep the cave from running out of oxygen. I should still start raising some plants inside to clear up the stale air.

The enchanters have been busy making paper. With the enchants they had been taught, they started to work towards making two teleport circle rares. From what I learned, the magic circle is going to be one of the hardest parts. You need to pour all the magic into it at once. Meaning not over a long period of time. Meaning we're going to have to combine magics in order to make the magic circle.

Even then, we don't have many magic class gnolls. So they'll be drained quickly. We might have to use the whole army to make a single magic circle. The chefs, tailors and blacksmith have all gotten really high in their jobs. They might be upgrading soon just because of the scale of their production. It matches the size of an army.

Lastly Hilda has started teaching the gnoll children common language. She's also teaching reading, writing and some simple arithmetic. They also have been told to do basic training with running and sword swinging. Both will increase their fatigue once they get old enough to learn classes. I'm hoping that some of these gnolls can learn magic classes.

My routine has started to form again. I wake up and head to magic school. Afterwords I head to the boot camp and get beaten until it's time to head back home. I heal my sore muscles with the hot springs. We've officially opened up the hot springs for tourists but we still need to make the route here safer. We started clearing a path through the forest to make a road.

Doing this wont make attacks non existent but it will help caravans get here. So more people can make the trip at once. Also we could provide a protection caravan with some of the beast riders leading the tourists here. That's the plan after the road is made. We've also expanded into the mountain near the hot springs to have rooms to stay in if the tourists wish too.

Everything altogether wont be too expensive but if we get enough people showing up over time it could build up our coffers quickly...

I can already taste the money! An urge to charge more than necessary overwhelms me. I should be charging the gnolls as well!

No! I can't charge the gnolls, they're my family... The overwhelming urge subsides. I guess that's what the negative trait does... I hope it doesn't happen every time I think about money.

I plan to make a library for the gnoll children. The smarter they get the more likely they can learn magic classes. Well that is just a theory right now. I mounted a few of the giant crossbows onto the towers. They can swivel now and even the gnoll children could use them if needed. I doubt we'll be attacked but every extra step of protection could be the difference between life or death.

Months have passed, it is getting close to the end of the school year. Everything is going smoothly with the road being made. Their was a hitch with making the road though. When we were almost finished the group was stopped by a treant. They normally passive and wont openly attack anyone but since we've been over harvesting trees, he's stepped in.

I reasoned with him. Saying we would replant trees after words. He agreed to leave us alone until it was finished.... Maybe knowing a treant lives in the forest will be helpful later on. While I don't think it was needed this time. I feel like paladin might make a difference on crucial talks like that one.

I've made a knife cannon for each of my generals and Hilda. I filled a room with all the books I could buy from the shop in town over a few trips. The fortress has been expanded again and we have opened recruitment up to humans. I don't think any are going to join. It might be reasonable to higher a few to help the gnolls level in dungeons. Right now we lack magicians. Once we get enough to risk losing a few I'd like my army to start clearing dungeons close to here.

The path through the forest also cuts the time it takes to make it to the city. Gargarz and Nargzar have all evolved into different gnolls. Gargarz evolved into a gnoll magician and Nargzar evolved into a gnoll skirmisher. Neither of them got much bigger but they both stood out more than the other gnolls now.

Gargarz has started carrying around a rare white mage staff with infused anti magic runes with control nature. The enchanters made for him and a robe with a basic enchant to magical defense. He's cast regrowth on the plants and it made a much bigger difference from when I did.

Zergnar has taken to carrying around a spear instead of a sword. It's enchanted with the enchant that increases attack power. His dire wolf also has enchanted gear for defense and an offensive enchanted claw. I hope he evolves soon, he's starting to feel left out.

Finally Nargzar has a pair of rare boost and a set of enchanted armor for defense. The rare boots increase his energy regen from movement. Nargzar has been putting in more effort than the other 2. He must be trying to compensate for his group failing. I sometimes see him overlooking the graves of his comrades that we brought back. I just hope he doesn't think it was his fault...

My pets are both active. Pokodo is doing very well. She's become somewhat of a fortress mascot. Walking around and visiting the hot springs in her free time. Sock heads out with the beast riders. Just by himself he has a higher body count than every other gnoll besides Zergnar. Gizmo cleans when he's activated, I don't know what else to use him for yet. Maybe I'll think of some other way to use him once I graduate school? He might end up just being a maid forever now.

Speaking of maids. Kora, Ashley and Trice have all decided to stay here. With having a communication barrier they have become friends with the gnolls slower than normal. Trice heads into town often and visits the farm to help when she can. Ashley has started cooking again and she seems a lot happier with every day that passes. And Kora just enjoys living here. She does tons of random things. I've seen her practice with the blacksmith, the farmers, talk with the stable master, help mine sometimes… She does everything and hasn't really focused on a single thing to do. If she had my class she would be insanely useful.

Finally I'll talk about myself. I've gained several levels in everything. Some are closing in on level twenty five, when I will learn a new skill. Scout hit twenty and I unlocked tracking. I had a ring made for each magic class that I had unlocked the enchanting tree for. I also made a wand with improved summoning on it. I wouldn't be able to wear every ring so I don't wear the white magic or black magic ones. Since they don't stack with "duality of magic". I give Pokodo the white mage ring to wear as a necklace.

The summoning ring and wand do stack though. Making a tier two familiar seems to give it some extra properties and allow it to use it's level ten skill if it's a class familiar. While the wand increases the size and power by about ten percent. So not a great boosts but any improvement to a semi permanent member of my group is a bonus. With how difficult making the magic circles was we spent two days making them. One for each day. We enchanted one in a secret room by my room.

I now have a few secret rooms attached or near mine. The treasure room and the magic portal room. I've let all the gnolls know if they're caught in the treasure room they'll be killed. The other magic circle is drawn on a concrete slab that is transportable. I made my shield out of wood so I could enchant it with control nature. I made a rare gem for it too that increased defense. I now have plenty of extra rares.

I don't want to rely on rares too much though so I don't wear them too often. For some reason I feel I could start relying on the quality of the gear and it would end up as a crutch like me relying on magic. We're also not allowed to use rares at the boot camp. Rares might even slow down my learning speed like the knives cannon. That is just speculation right now though. I managed to finish all the enchanting books I was reading. I learned a lot about enchanting from them and added them to the library.

It's approaching my tenth birthday, I'll unlock my heirloom weapon on that day. I wonder how much bigger it's gotten since then. Maybe it's still too small to even use. I guess we'll just have to see. Lance and his party visit sometimes. Leaf still hasn't talked to me since then. Too shy to I guess. Lance often talks with Trice when he visits. Maybe they'll become a couple in the future? Since Beatrice raised Lance they're kind of like siblings though...

Lance got his heirloom helmet and arm guard for his tenth birthday, making him look pretty distinguished. You don't see many intermediate dragoons. It has a pretty cool design with two wings on the side of it. The effect it gives is stopping fall damage. The armguard helps protect against injuries from himself while falling onto enemies with his spear. He can easily jump fifteen feet in the air. He does a move I'm going to steal once I can do it. Where he jumps and kicks off the ceiling of a dungeon. It probably quadruples his piercing power with his spear.

Gobber is at the point where he won't lose to any his sparring partners unless they're about to graduate. He's easily in the top five members at the boot camp. At least I'm not in the bottom five anymore. A lot of people just assume they're going to get stronger but do nothing. I've slowly passed the lazy students in strength.