“Sir!”

A dozen guards, recently awoken from the barracks stood ready to receive their commands. Each fully suited and long hardened by experience patrolling the city. Which was to say not much at all. They were suitable for maintaining peace but that was only among average people. Unlike adventurers, whose strengths laid in their skills, city guards relied on numbers.

Ferrick Bellard, the person in charge, a nobleman himself, signaled them to stay still. He watched from afar, atop his horse, at the carnage that was the front gate and walls. Monsters, beasts that were once hunted by adventurers, scaled the protective stones around the city and swiped viciously at the front gate.

Ferrick had heard reports of unrest within adventurers but hadn’t expected anything like this to happen. Monsters, by all means, were kept controlled and in areas far away from large cities. Beasts this strong would’ve been reported by someone to be hunted down. Their numbers were far too large to be anything natural.

“You six!” he swung his arm down, “Head over to the east wall. Those remaining will assist those at the front gate!”

“Understood!” they shouted in unison.

Ferrick eyed the men who ran to the gate. An hour. At this rate, it would only be an hour before the front gate fell to the beasts.

“Commander Bellard!” an officer whom he knew saluted him.

Being one of the first to arrive on the scene, Ferrick automatically became the defacto leader of the city’s defenses. Even if another person were to arrive, they’d most likely fail to outrank him.

“How are the walls?” he asked. Being one of the first to arrive on the scene also meant he had witnessed the initial carnage. The wall, from east and west, had gaping holes in them. The destruction caused wasn’t anything he’d call natural.

“They’re being held down for now sir.” the officer responded. “However, we’ll be in trouble if reinforcements aren’t sent soon. I assume the west side is having the same issue.”

“I shall go take a look. Direct the next wave of men to your area. If there are any you don’t need, send them my way.”

“Yes sir.”

Ferrick dug his heels into his horse and spurred him towards the west side. Any guard, or soldier who saw him would immediately recognize him as a high ranking officer. He wore no helm but a special badge, an embroidered picture of two spears behind a staff, and his blue cape marked him as a leader of the army.

Born into a prestigious military minded family as the second son, there wasn’t much choice for him but to either train as a knight or enroll into the army. Things worked out for him, however, as Ferrick had always been strategically minded.

Due to the influence of his name, he was able to start off as an officer. One of his first conquests, at the age of 16, was in a short conflict with a stray dwarven kingdom to the southern part of the continent.

The dwarves there had been outcasted from their original continent in the west and sought to create their own homes near a mountainous region in the north continent.

The forces sent had difficulty getting close to the dwarf fortress. Attempts to brute force their way through the front left many of the empire’s soldiers crushed under the dwarves’ wall mounted cannons and others falling into mana draining pitfalls.

Although the problem of pitfalls soon became no issue, the cannons still tore through the army. Mages did their best to defend from the attack but it didn’t take long for the cannonballs to destroy the barriers.

The cannonballs were made of pure mana. Mages of the empire who had come with the army wondered how it was possible such attacks were constantly released. Since they had no particular element, defense other than barriers were unreasonable defenses.

All out attacks on the mounted cannons failed to do any damage as the dwarves had mages of their own to defend.

Low on supplies and morale, Ferrick requested 400 soldiers capable of magic. The commander reluctantly agreed after much discussion among his officers. Many of whom had known Ferrick before the dwarf conflict.

For three days there was no contact between the main army and Ferrick’s men. On the fourth day, the commander of the main army received a message telling him to attack.

Ferrick watched from afar as the main army stormed the fortress unmolested by cannon fire. Afterwards, Ferrick was quickly promoted and credited with the victory over the dwarf kingdom. In those three days, he had led those 400 men to a smaller encampment of dwarves and took over it.

Inside of the camp, they found the ground to be rich with mana. He searched for how the dwarves were transferring the mana but knowing that time was of the essence and supplies were low, he ordered the men to create a gigantic barrier around the encampment to cut of the transfer of the mana.

He first suspected the possibility that the dwarves were using an outside source when he found out that the pitfalls drained mana rather than being filled with spikes.

Ferrick’s first and only real war he participated in was when he was thirty. The empire was responding to an attack made by the Alden Kingdom on a village at the empire’s outskirts.

He had seen the village. Everything was burned down, and a single body was hung from a tree. Aldian soldiers were scattered dead in the forest nearby. Their faces too slashed and beaten to be recognizable.

That had been the worst sight he had seen, that was, until three years ago.

“Commander!”

Ferrick turned towards the guardsman. “What is it? How are the men doing?” he didn’t have to ask. He already knew they were having difficulties. The guard’s battered arm told him that much.

“We’re barely holding on! There’s too many and they’re too strong!” the guardsman fell to his knees. “We need reinforcements.”

Ferrick didn’t hesitate. “Rest for now. Other guards may pass through here soon. Send them my way.” he spurred his horse forward and grit his teeth. Things weren’t going well. The initial large stream of guardsmen was helpful, however, it seemed to have died down.

Many of the men were either too injured to fight or dead in the worst case. Other parts of the city were being attacked, not just the front half. No doubt some of those parts had fallen prey to the beasts already.

Zooming past buildings and around fallen and injured guards, Ferrick reached the hole in the wall. Twenty men were still there, still fighting. Ten with spears, five with only swords, and five who stayed behind to fire off arrows.

Broken spears and shattered swords laid strewn about the ground along with bodies of mauled humans and slain beasts. Fifty or so men rested against the nearby houses. If the monsters’ bodies weren’t blocking off most of the entrance, then the place would’ve already been overrun.

“It’s back!” one of the spearmen shouted in despair.

“Hurry and shoot it!” another cried out.

The archers knocked their arrows and fired as best they could into the opening. Two hit the fallen bodies of beasts, one hit a bear, and the last two hit a mass of flesh.

The monster unable to be seen except for that little part of its body roared in agony.

“It’s over!” the spearman from before stumbled backwards and a swordsman from behind him had to fill in the line.

It broke.

In that moment of weakness, the large deranged monsters poured in. Wounded men hurried to draw their swords, unable to move their feet they sought to fight to the death.

“Hold strong!” Ferrick commanded, as he bounded forward with his horse. Drawing his sword, he charged through the back of the line and effortlessly cut down a bear. Most of the monsters were variants of forest animals. It felt odd that none were goblins or orcs.

In the fray, against the horde of animals, he kept swinging his sword from above his horse. Then, he saw it. The monster the men were all scared of. A giant.

Leaping off his old companion, Ferrick dodged around the invaders and aimed for the giant. The giant’s arm was far above its head, ready to destroy more of the wall.

“[Enchantment: Extend]!”

The blade grew longer and with all his might, Ferrick pushed the piece of steel through the giant’s leg. It groaned in pain and lost its balance. It fell back and crushed the beasts behind it.

One small victory. He heard some of the men’s battle cries as their vigors were restored with that single action. However, Ferrick was now in the middle of dozens of monsters, all frothing at the mouth.

“Now how many can I take out.” he wondered to himself.

“[Arcane Blast]!”

A hellhound flew from inside the city back to outside the wall. Ferrick breathed a sigh of relief as new reinforcements came.

“Do you think we’ll get paid for this?” one of the newcomers asked.

“Maybe. Technically it’s like we’re working for the empire on a request right now.” his friend answered.

Adventurers had finally come to the city’s aid.

-----------------------------------------

“Are teachers allowed keys to students’ rooms whenever they want?” Axel asks suddenly.

I stare at him stupefied by his attitude. In all honesty, I should be the one to get angry, not him. Even if I have the right, I wouldn’t be angry. That’ll only intensify the problem.

“N-no.” she recoils. “Because of the recent attack on the school, we were asked to assist teachers and officials in investigations. We are to stop when we’re given the all clear.”

“All clear by who?” I ask. “The Headmaster?” he’s the person in charge around here. It must be him.

“No.” she responds. “Not the Headmaster. The day of the attack, we allowed teachers into students’ rooms to ensure their safety but afterwards the orders came from a government agent.”

“Is it alright to divulge this to us?” I ask her. She’s awfully talkative if that’s not the case.

“The person didn’t specify. It’s not something we need to keep a secret from the students.”

Then why didn’t you announce it to the students? Well, telling some of those nobles that teachers and other officials could barge into their rooms would probably send them into an uproar.

“Thanks,” I say with a smile. The two of us leave and wander around the city aimlessly.

“What are you going to do about Mr. Rune?” Axel questions. “Do you think he’s a government official just posing as a teacher to investigate the odd students?”

I rub my chin, “That’s possible. It’s the most likely answer too. The Headmaster also personally announced him as a new teacher.”

“Is there anything you think you can do about it?”

I shake my head. “No. Probably nothing.”

Well, nothing as Rainen Weaver anyways.

----------------------------------------

“Carlyle!” I enter the warehouse shouting out his name.

“What is it?” he answers, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Leaning against a wooden support, Carlyle absentmindedly flips through the pages in his book. He doesn’t bother to look up until I’m right in front of him. Anne and the others watch on, interested in the words about to be exchanged.

“Yes?”

“I need to talk to you in private.”

Carlyle closes his book. “Alright.”

Wow. He’s surprisingly compliant today. If only he were like this all the time. We head behind some boxes and Carlyle signals the others away.

“What do you want to talk about,” he says, sitting down.

“Do you know someone who calls himself Mr. Rune?” I ask. Carlyle doesn’t react to the name. “I think he might be more than just a teacher. He might be working for the government.”

He sighs, “And why are you asking me this?”

“Because you should know something about these guys considering you’re the First.” I reply. I don’t know how long Carlyle’s been the First but he should have some sort of insider knowledge. He’s basically one of the protectors of this city.

“That’s a good assumption, but assuming too much is bad. I’m assuming here but I’m sure Reinhard taught you that assumptions are bad. They’re fine when they’re based on information and past experience, however, the Twelve don’t have too strong of a connection with the higher ups of the empire. We aren’t entitled to know anything they don’t want to tell us.”

Wonderful. Dead ends one after another.

“What does this Rune guy look like?”

I raise an eyebrow. Is he offering to help me?

I quickly provide him a description of Mr. Rune. He nods in response and rubs his chin thoughtfully. He’s being awfully helpful today.

“You’ve already been patrolling with the Twelfth the past few days, feel free to go back home today if that’s all you needed to ask of me,” he says, opening his book.

I don’t think I’ll get any results anytime soon but it’s better than nothing. In the meantime, since I know Mr. Rune is behind the break in, I can watch him after school. Maybe even ask some of the third years. Although I don’t want him catching any wind of my actions.

Lost in thought, I almost fail to hear someone calling me.

“Thirteenth!” Hannah grabs my shoulder and spins me around. “Gosh! Are you going deaf or something? I’ve been calling you ever since you came back from your little discussion with Carlyle.”

“Ah, my bad.”

“Yes, your bad!” she crosses her arms. “So what were you two talking about?”

“Yes, yes. They leave to go have a private conversation just to have someone ask about it later.” Adrian shakes his head. “I don’t think you should be butting into this one Hannah.”

“But I’m interested in what our youngest member has to say.”

“Uh huh. Even if you’re interested in what he has to say, I doubt you’d listen to him if he were to give his opinion on something else.”

“Agreed,” I say. “Is Anne here today?”

“Right behind you.” Anne waves. “Hi. Did you need me for something?”

“No.” I answer. “I was just wondering.”

“Wondering about her but not your other senior?” Hannah interjects. “I promise I’m more fun than Anne is.”

“Just more loose.” Adrian laughs.

Anne joins in and I let out a chuckle.

“Who’s on watch today?” I ask.

As if glad to take attention away from herself, Hannah immediately says, “Twelfth and Anthony. And we know you haven’t met Anthony yet. He’s usually more of a messenger and doesn’t come as often but after the event, he started coming more often, well, only since last week or so.”

I furrow my brow. “Hasn’t the Twelfth been going on a lot of patrols lately?”

“He has.” Adrian nods, “But it’s because we need someone who’s familiar with the city. He’s a bit of an odd one considering he was a very fast re- addition but we don’t have time to waste.”

Replacement… That’s the word he was going to use. If they’re acting this way because of how I failed to save Henry, I’d better not tell them it was my hand that ended his life. It’d only cause me more distress.

Pulling back my hood and running a hand through my hair, I turn towards the door ready to leave.

“Hey.” Anne stops me. “Could you explain to me what your ability is again?”

“That’s a weird question Anne,” Hannah says. “But you should still show us.”

“I don’t think I’ve gotten to see it so if you’re willing, I’d love to see it,” Adrian says.

“How come I’ve turned into some sort of show?” I ask no one in particular.

“It’s because you’re interesting.” Hannah teases.

“Right. Here I go.”

“Hold on!” Anne stops me before I can use it. Grabbing me by the hand, she leads me over to a box. “Use your ability here.”

“What do you mean use it here? Do you want me to bring the box along too?” instinctively, I rest my fingers on top of it.

“No, don’t touch it.” she bats my hand away. “Just use your ability while standing next to this box.”

“Okay, okay.” Gosh, she’s like my master, only, she makes more sense than he does. “Here I go.”

In that moment, I use it. I appear on the other side of the room and wave to everyone watching. Anne looks at the box and then to me. I go back only to find her staring me down like a child angry at an adult.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Can you try to teleport the box with you?”

“Okay?” I put my hand on it.

Adrian shakes his head, “Can you do it without touching the box?”

“No.” I answer bluntly. “I can’t.”

Tucking one arm under the other, Anne rests her head on her hand. She rhythmically taps her cheek, lost in her own thoughts. Did she think I could teleport things without touching them? She’s only seen me do it a handful of time so she must have a few things she wants to clear up.

“Can you teleport a person?” Hannah asks. “Like if I wanted to go with you to the top of a building but I can’t climb it, could you teleport me up there?”

I wave my hand, “No. I can’t do anything like that. It seems like I can’t teleport living things, unless they’re really small like an insect or a rat.”

“Oh. So you’ve tested your ability before?” she asks.

“Yeah, I have. I don’t know much but there’s probably a weight limit or something to how much I can carry. Though, other living things might skew my ability.”

I’ve already run through a bunch of these tests with my master. We spent entire days just testing it. After each test he always ended up pacing around a lot. He also stared daggers at me when we did those tests.

“Can you accidentally teleport things?” Anne asks.

Again with the questions. If only they let me get a chance to ask about theirs.

“No.” I answer firmly. Any answer that sounds unsure will only make them pester me for more tests. Too many of these and I’ll get tired out. “I’m sure it’s like this with some of your abilities but it’s more of a feeling. I can pick and choose what I take with me.”

“What are the downsides to your ability?” Adrian asks. “You don’t have to share if you don’t want to. We understand the need for privacy.”

“Yeah, but you’d only not share if you were suspicious and didn’t trust us right?” Hannah adds so innocently.

“Yeah, right.” Anne elbows Hannah.

“Taking things with me like a box would tire me out. The more I teleport the more tired I get.” I run my hand over my bracer. “If I do it too much, I start to cough out blood etc.”

“Oh.” Hannah looks away. “So that’s why…”

“That’s one hell of a drawback.” Adrian comments. “It’s like using the teleport spell except a bit faster but with a lot more cons.”

“Are we done?” I ask.

“Done.” Anne nods.

I walk between them and leave. I might not have meant it to come out as mean or as pointed as it might have come out but even I know how much this ability pales in comparison to regular spells. It’s as if someone were playing a cruel joke on me.

Give me the powers of an oddity but make my magic extremely weak. Only useful as an offhand tool, a single do or die all out attack. What a joke. With this ability, I’m fast but not fast enough to do anything.

I want to run, run faster than anything, go faster than anything in the world. But I'm stuck with a bunch of bad cards.

A gust of wind blows past me and I relish in the cool air. It never fails to ease my thoughts.

“If only I were as flexible as the wind.”

Maybe then I could do more. Maybe then I wouldn't feel like I'm being crushed by my role.

What was it my master always said? “It’s fine to want to be able to do more but that only adds to your burden.”

It went something like that.

I let out a sigh.

“At least for now, I can rest a bit.”

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Author’s Note: Thanks for reading guys and sorry for posting it late again. I’m pondering a new series (don’t worry, this one will continue as my main project) but I’ll make a poll on it later today.

If you guys have anything you wanna say or if you wanna just help me out, write a comment or leave a rating. Even anons can rate, just click on the stars at the front page guys. No account required. Comments and ratings really do mean a lot to me.

I've been feeling a bit more stressed out lately so I can't guarantee any chapters next week but I'll still try.