Wo Pim

Alder watched Gin’s movements. He had taken the INS from Gin, beforehand, leaving him defenceless. The only instructions he gave Gin was to dodge the onslaught of his strikes. The swings of his wooden claw weren’t particularly fast but it was enough to make Gin sweat. It was preparation for the fighting technique he liked to call ‘blade boxing’, which only those agile with fast reactions can master. After their first spar, Alder felt like it would suit Gin quite well.

Alder decided to up the pace to see how Gin would cope. To Alder’s surprise, Gin was coping. He ducked and dodged every attack, but he was forced to move backwards in the process. Alder noticed a tree in front of him and formulated a plan. He lunged at Gin with frightening pace. However, Gin’s reactions were on point and he managed to skip back. But despite the dodge, Gin landed awkwardly on a tree root that sprouted out of the ground. The opportunity showed itself and Alder hit Gin with enough force to knock him over.

‘Dammit!’ Gin exclaimed.

Alder saw Gin’s frustration and decided to console him.

‘Cheer up, brat. Most can’t even get past the ten minute mark against me. You achieving more than ten minutes on your first go is very commendable, and it’s only getting better. You got fifteen minutes this time.’

With his back wet from the marsh-like floor, and the fact all he had been doing for the past week was nothing but dodging exercises, Gin was in a bad mood. He didn't say anything up till now but felt like he had to speak up or else he was going to achieve nothing.

‘So when are you going to give me my weapons back? It’s already been a week and all we’ve been doing is the same thing day after day.’

‘You need experience. Repetition enables your body to act instinctively allowing you to think up strategies while your body is in auto pilot. If the enemy can’t touch you, you won’t lose.’

‘If I can’t defeat the enemy, I can’t win either. Your point?’

‘Everything is being done according to plan.’

‘A plan you’ve never explained to me. You’ve even taken me out of battalion training for some stupid reason of yours. If you really wanted me to improve, I should be joining them!’

‘Impatient and arrogant as always, brat.’

Alder felt like Gin was both a blessing and a curse. He had so much potential and yet he was so impatient. It reminded Alder of his younger self. Back then he was trained by the previous colonel of squadron W, now run by Maria. He was so desperate to fight, but his mentor wouldn’t let him until he managed to do as he was asked.

They had sparred often and he counted the score of his spars every time. As if this moment, the score was 1492 losses and 2 draws. Even then the draws were because Alder had lasted so long his mentor didn’t have any more time and had to attend something urgent. She would have won had they fought for longer.

With his mentor no longer around, there wasn’t any chance of changing his losing streak. What would she do in his situation, Alder wondered. In the end Alder decided to not give a straight answer. It would buy time and keep Gin occupied for a while longer.

‘One more lesson,’ Alder said.

‘What?’

‘One more lesson, in one week, and then I’ll give you the liberty to decide if you want to quit training under me. Also the changes I’ve made should be done by then. If you don’t like them, I can remove the changes. My Xernim is helping me and I trust it much more than I trust you.’

‘Oh. Great. Thanks for the support,’ Gin replied sarcastically.

Gin stopped and thought for a bit. He was annoyed at what Alder was trying to do to his INS but he was also curious. He was someone who wanted to be a mage. Although he made significant progress, in the past, he was stumped for the time being. This might be the thing he needed to boost his research.

‘Fine,’ Gin said at last.

Gin got up from the floor and headed back to his room. Once again he needed a change of clothes. He didn’t say anything to Alder on the way out. Alder, on the other hand, slumped to the floor. He had his battalion to train in an hour. His initial plan was to give Gin his INS back one once he could do the dodging exercise for an hour but Gin’s impatience meant Alder had to speed it up.

Blade boxing was a very rare style of fighting. Within the Eurasian army, there were only three that could do it. Out of the three, two of them were in squadron W, himself included. It was his favourite style of fighting but he wasn’t that good at it. At least not compared to her, the one who taught Alder blade boxing in the first place. However, what Alder lacked in complete mastery, he made up for in versatility. He had learnt and trained, to an advanced level, over fifty different styles of fighting. He was a nature elemental. The Xernim - his armour - was born with him. Starting out as a small seed, at birth, and it had grown along with Alder. They co-existed as a single entity. The Xernim takes its source of energy from Alder’s blood stream and at the same time Alder relies on the Xernim for protection. He didn’t know how, but the Xernim seemed to understand what Alder was thinking. To a lesser extent, Alder seemed to know how the Xernim was feeling as well.

In his thoughts, Alder didn’t realise someone approaching him. It was the colonel. It always annoyed Alder that he could never notice Maria approaching. She wasn’t even a stealth bestial, so it always intrigued him how she did it.

‘Hello Alder,’ Maria said.

‘Oh. hello Maria. What brings you here?’

‘I got a new recruit. He will join your training today. The way he fought, in the initiation exam, reminded me of a certain someone you’re training. Speaking of him, how’s Gin doing?’

‘Gin might not be under my wing for long, Maria.’

‘Did you try to make someone a blade boxer again?’

Alder gave a wry smile under his mask, ‘Haha. How did you know?’

‘I really think you should give up. Blade boxing is never going to be a thing. It’s neither popular nor does anyone have the speed and reflexes required to be good at it. You make everyone leave you.’

‘But he can! I’m sure of it.’

‘As stubborn as ever. Well if it doesn’t work out, don’t get too depressed. Hate seeing you get upset after another failure in teaching Blade Boxing. Also don’t put too much pressure on the child. I know what you’re planning. I read the letter too.’

‘I can’t believe they’re forcing me to do it after all this time. I will have to leave things with him. He’s the best choice I believe.’

‘When we need you the most, you will disappear. Are you sure you want to leave things to him? He only just joined us.’

‘Yes I am sure. He’s not that strong but he’s smart. You’ll see. He’ll change how we run things in ways you couldn’t imagine. He’ll also take the opportunity with great strides and not complain too much. Or at least I hope so.’

‘Can’t wait to see it then. The child piqued my interest a while back too. Anyway, we’ve side tracked a bit, but keep an eye out for the new recruit. He’s a bit, how shall I say, important.’

‘Hmm?’

‘He’s a transfer from Squadron A.’

‘What?! You've got to be Joking!’

Maria gave a wink and smiled before heading off. Squadron A? Only the best of the best are in that. Said to be the highest ranking Squadron in all of Eurasia, with all members at least rank A and above. Their in-charge was also rumoured to be the highest rank of all; SSS. They got all the best privileges, so why would anyone like that want to join the Squadron W?

Alder began meditating again. There was too much going on and he needed a breather. Maybe Maria was right. He was enforcing blade boxing onto Gin a bit. The problem was, in Alder’s eyes, Gin was weak in every department, apart from reflexes. He wasn’t even that fast. What’s the point of reflexes if you can’t move your body in time to dodge or block?

That’s why Alder was pressing Gin to focus on his movements, in the form of dodging. Gin was getting better, no doubt, but Alder was hardly fast himself, having to carry his armour with him all the time. Not to mention Gin’s reliance on melee weapons. Anyone with range or speed could beat him. Gin’s strength was also on a whole level of bad. Any mage with defensive qualities could ignore him and he still wouldn’t be able to deal major damage. The problem proved too much for Alder to concentrate and he got up from his meditation. It was time for him to train his battalion anyway.

****

The training facility was located on the 52nd floor. Alder could already hear the voices of his subordinates. He noticed an unfamiliar voice among the chatter, which Alder presumed was the transfer. He was talking to someone else, whom Alder recognised was Gin.

‘I tried it out yesterday. It worked brilliantly!’

‘Finally something good has happened today. Did you really win the initiation test with it?’

‘What? Don’t trust me, Gigi?’

‘Considering it’s you, no I don’t. I don’t understand why you help me so much. You especially didn’t have to join me in Squadron W.’

‘Everything’s so boring; at least helping you test things out brings some enjoyment in my life. Everyone in S.A. is so full of themselves. You can’t have a decent conversation.’

Alder finally decided to step in the room. Unlike the marsh he normally worked in, this room was designed to emulate a desert. The floor was covered in sand and the temperature was thirty-five degrees Celsius. There were a lot of training rooms to emulate different landscapes. However, with their Rezah located in the Middle East, the most common landscape used was the desert.

Upon seeing Alder, the hundred or so people hurried into five blocks of roughly twenty. The only exceptions to this were Gin and a white-haired man that accompanied him.

‘Ah. There’s the guy I was talking about,’ Gin said, pointing at Alder.

The person Gin was talking with began walking up to Alder. Alder stopped moving, as the man began circling Alder, analysing him as if it was actually Alder who was the new recruit. The man had pale white skin and was quite lanky. He had brown eyes and his white hair was long enough to cover his eyes, but it was held back using some clips.

‘Ya sure this guy’s been whooping your ass the past two weeks?’ the man asked, looking back at Gin, pointing his finger right in front of Alder’s face.

‘Well, I wouldn’t call it a whooping---’

‘Don’t lie. You always get wrecked.’

‘Please. Stop.’

‘Awww. Does poor little Gigi feel embarrassed?’

‘Come on! Not in front of everyone!’

‘Ha! This is why you’re so much better to be around. HEY EVERYONE!’ the man shouted, catching the eyes and ears of everyone in the room, , ‘You must know Gin, right? Your expressions say yes, I presume. Well, let me tell you his actual name, Gigi. Remember the accent! The two ‘G’s are pronounced with an ancient French accent, please take note.’

Gin sighed while the room burst out in laughter. Alder found the conversation between the two entertaining. He has never seen Gin so flustered before. He did get annoyed during training but that was always due to his impatience. This humble side to him was new. Seeing him like this made him join in the laughter. When the room settled down, Alder decided to speak,

‘Gigi, was it? I’ll remember that. But first, you must be the new transfer. May I ask what your name is?’

‘Where are my manners at? I am called Wontiferus Poxim,’ said the man

‘What kind of name is that?’ Alder exclaimed.

‘Just call him Wo Pim,’ Gin intruded.

‘No one asked you, Gigi,’ Wo replied.

‘Why are you always like this?’

‘Listening to you two bicker like that has really cheered me up. You must be close friends, right?’ Alder asked.

It was Gin who answered, ‘Well, I’ve known him for thirty-three years. But I wouldn’t exactly call him a close friend, to be honest.’

‘Ouch. I am deeply hurt by that, especially when we haven’t seen each other for ages. I thought I must come and see you,’ Wo said sarcastically, to Alder’s amusement.

‘Is that so? I’m sure you two have a lot of things to catch up on. However, I must take Wo with me. Must see what he’s capable of first. Is that alright?’

‘Take him,’ Gin replied with hesitation.

‘Everyone, you know the normal routine. Practise that for today. And you just sit out and watch carefully, brat like always.’

‘Really? This again? Ugh. Fine.’

Wo grinned and went with Alder. They were heading to the marsh room for some sparring. Seeing how Wo was from Squadron A, he must be a strong fighter, Alder thought. To see just how strong he was, was what Alder intended to find out. From Wo’s appearance, he didn’t show any hint of what type of mage he was.

‘I heard you use a sword, just like Gigi,’ Wo mentioned.

‘That’s what Gin called, wasn’t it? I call it a wooden claw but it doesn’t matter. It was a great shock to me when I found out too. By the way, is he really called Gigi?’

‘Nah. Just some name I made up to annoy him.’

Alder couldn’t help but laugh. Wo wasn’t what Alder expected. He thought someone from Squadron A would be more serious, probably even more beefy than Wo was. This man, however, was much more care-free. Whatever power he was hiding, he was doing a good job at it.

‘We’re here,’ Alder said, guiding him into the room.

Their feet squelched as they walked through the Marsh. Alder directed Wo to stand a few metres away from him. He then drew his wooden claw, and then asked if Wo was ready. Wo nodded and the fight began. Alder stayed cautious, not knowing what his opponent’s abilities were, it was best not to get too close.

Alder reached to a pocket in his armour and placed his right hand in it for a few seconds. Wo looked on and was surprised when Alder’s emerged empty-handed. Alder raised his arm in the direction of Wo. Wo still didn’t move, he wanted to see what Alder was trying to do.

Suddenly an orb went flying towards Wo at an alarming speed. A direct hit would most definitely pierce an enemy and Wo did not have time to dodge it. Alder’s eyes widened when the orb began to disintegrate when it reached Wo. Wo’s smile on him turned into a grin. He just stood there with his hands in his trouser pockets as if nothing happened. Alder lowered his arm when Wo began laughing.

‘What’s so funny?’ asked Alder.

‘You are way too similar to Gin, not gonna lie.’

Alder was confused. What did he mean by that? The continued silence prompted Wo to speak again.

‘Well, Gin asked me to test a weapon design. He must have told you about the INS, right? Anyway, he asked me to test something out and it works exactly like what you did now.’

Wo picked something out of his pocket. Alder recognised the cuboid shape and knew it was related to Gin, just as he said. Wo pushed his finger through one of the holes and the cuboid began to change shape. On one side, the cuboid began to elongate and narrow, leaving a circular hollow chamber in the end. On the other side, the INS began to curve downwards leaving three holes, where Wo had his fingers inserted in.

‘What is that?’ Alder asked

‘Gin called it a ‘gun’. Look. If I press my finger in the second hole and aim at this tree...’

A large banging sound echoed around the room.

‘Did you manage to see that?’ Wo inquired

‘A small pellet came out of it, right?’ Alder replied.

‘That was a bullet. The reason I laughed earlier on was that it was so similar to your attack earlier on. The speed at which the bullet comes out is also faster than your wood pellet and is much more damaging. See the tree I shot at? Now there’s a hole in it. I wonder though, did he get the idea for it from you?’

‘No. I haven’t shown that to him before. But the effects can be lethal, how on earth did you not get hurt from my shot?’

‘Guess I can tell you, since you will be my in-charge soon. I’m a utility category mage, type: medic.’

‘But medics---‘

‘But medics can’t do that, right? Well I am a sort of special medic. Although you can’t see it, I am surrounded with a special type of microorganism. Much like your Xernim, I was bred to be born with it. It eats away at objects, both living and dead, at quite a quick pace. Your bullet was too slow to harm me. I can’t do healing like some other medics but I do specialise in being an anti-poison/Xernim/virus type medic, so I do have my niche. It also allows me to be one of the few medics who can fight. Want a demonstration?’

Alder didn’t even answer when Wo began looking at Alder’s sword. The weapon in his hand began rotting away, as if it was being consumed by some invisible force. Alder threw it away instinctively as the claw disappeared, leaving no trace of its existence.

‘Unfortunately, I can’t do that too far away, I do have my range, roughly thirty metres or so. Even then, the further away, the longer it takes.’

‘Looks like you won this match. Can’t fight without my wooden claw, you see.’

‘That’s it? You’re pretty bad. Not sure how Gin keeps losing to you.’

‘I was just surprised at your abilities. Never come across something like that.’

‘That’s not surprising. The microorganism is pretty gluttonous. If I’m not careful, I could easily be eaten alive myself.’

‘I see. Well, I have gotten what I wanted so you are free to go now.’

Wo gave another smile, before leaving the room. How could anyone be so cheerful, knowing how close to death they were? It was nothing like his Xernim that takes only a little to sustain it. His ability was unique and something Alder decided to keep an eye on.

‘One more thing. You’re not really an A rank, are you?’ Alder asked.

Wo turned back, still wearing that wry smile of his.

‘Neither are you, right?’

They both burst into laughter. Lying about your true rank was common in squadron W. It was one of its unique qualities that was loved within the squadron but hated by everyone outside of it because of how unorganised the squadron seemed.

‘You’re right. I’m actually an S rank. Mind if I ask what rank you are?’

‘SS. But don’t tell anyone.’

‘I’ll keep it between the two of us then.’