Arthur again sidestepped inside the earthen arena as he dodged another strike from his opponents staff. He tried to make it look like he was barely keeping up, but this was starting to get boring. "Why in the hell did I let myself get into this situation?"
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Arthur was walking along the shoreline towards his first assignment as a lance, to support the second and fifth divisions in case any Alacryan ships decided to break off from the fleet, and move further east down the coast. Arthur could see the encampment at the base of a cliff, with rock formations between them and the ocean that would provide excellent protection from any attacks by sea.
Sylvie poked her head out from Arthur's wool cloak to check their surroundings, before ducking back inside where it was warmer.
"Hmm, so mighty dragons are weak against the cold," Arthur teased.
"Very funny, but this isn't like that monster catching game. Real dragons have no weaknesses," Sylvie said with pride. "I just don't like the cold."
Using the method he learned of controlling his input and output of mana, Arthur was able to completely hide his presence as he entered the camp. With an arm full of firewood Arthur navigated his way through the camp in search of the division Captain's tent. As he walked he saw augmenters sharpening their swords, while conjurers were polishing the gems in their staffs and wands. They all noticed him, but either paid him little attention or looked down on him as if he were a joke, since because of Arthur concealing his presence and his plain looking clothes, he looked just like a normal poor sixteen year old human that ran off to join the war.
"If only they knew, they'd be bowing and kissing your boots," Sylvie commented feeling annoyed at the way they were looking at him.
"No thanks, I never want to live like that again," Arthur replied, referencing his previous life. "I like walking among everyone like this. It gives you a better idea of their character."
Finally Arthur caught sight of the captain's tent, and started walking right for it.
"State your business," the guard outside the tent demanded as Arthur approached.
"I'm here to see the captain," Arthur stated as he showed his ring, that signified he was a Lance.
The guard opened his mouth to speak as he stood taller at attention, but no words came out.
"You can refer to me as sir, but do not call me general. For the time being I'm trying to maintain a low profile," Arthur explained, then waved his hand to remove the localized sound spell.
"Yes sir," the guard replied as he lifted the tent flap.
The warm air from inside the tent greeted Arthur and Sylvie, causing Sylvie to jump out, as Arthur recognized the captain diligently working behind the desk.
"Good evening Professor Glory," Arthur greeted with a smile, getting her attention.
"Good evening to you too General Leywin," she replied as she stood up from her desk and walked over to him.
"Please don't, it feels too weird for one of my professors to call me something so formal. Just call me Arthur."
"Alright Arthur," she outstretched her arm. "Then you can call me Vanesy." She then took Arthur into a hug.
"Alright Vanesy," Arthur said as she released him. "How about giving me a quick situation report."
"Alright, currently it's only my division of three thousand, with fifty-eight being mages. Captain Graves should arrive either later tonight or in the morning with close to as many troops."
"Graves, I swear I know that name," Arthur appeared deep in thought as he tried to remember where he heard that name.
"I can answer that one for you if you like," Vanesy chuckled. "Clive Graves, the former student council vice president, that really did not like you."
"Wait, they gave him his own division?!"
"No, Captain Graves is his father."
"So how much trouble will I have with him?" Arthur asked as he rubbed his temple.
"No clue, I've never met the man before. But I wouldn't expect to make friends with him."
"Didn't expect to." Arthur then stretched his arms into the air. "Well, since everything seems to be under control here, I'm going to go out and assess the troops."
"Would you like me to gather them all for you so you can make another exciting speech?"
"No thanks, and how did you hear about that?"
"Our cooks were in Etistin stocking up on supplies and heard it."
"I see, anyone else that might recognize me?"
"I doubt it, why?"
"I read a book once, where on the eve before battle, the king would dirty himself up and dress like one of his soldiers," Arthur somewhat lied, as it was actually a play from his old life.
"Why?"
"I was getting to that, don't interrupt. Anyway, he knew that if they saw their king they would present themselves at their best, and hide anything that could be concerning, like fear. But as a normal soldier, they showed their true selves. With that he could see their weaknesses and concerns, so he could try and boost moral and assess if they could really win."
"I see, well you're definitely dressed for the part," Vanesy commented as she gestured to his clothes, which were very plain in appearance. In actuality though, commander Virion had ordered practically a whole wardrobe of clothes for Arthur, all made of the same protective cloth that the clothes Tess gave him before their summer break were made of.
"I never did like drawing attention to myself." Arthur then turned around and waved. "I'm going to go have fun with your troops."
"Don't hurt any of them," Vanesy called out with a concerned expression.
"Do bruised egos count?" Arthur asked and walked out of the tent.
Once back outside Sylvie retreated back into the warmth of Arthur's cloak. "So where to?"
"I can hear some cheering, so let's go see what's going on over there."
Arthur walked through the camp following the sound of the cheers, and found a makeshift battlefield across from their shabby looking kitchen. Surrounding the battlefield were a series of benches, that were really just hastily assembled rocks with logs running in between them. Arthur took a seat and watched this bear of a man essentially wrestling another large man.
"Hey there," a voice called.
Arthur looked to see a young man with red hair, with a young woman with black hair, both looking at him.
"Hello," Arthur replied as he was extended his hand. "I'm Arthur."
"I'm Jona," the man replied as he took Arthur's hand. "And that childish little girl behind me is Cedry."
Cedry gave Jona a quick jab to the kiddies for that comment, then waved to Arthur. "Nice to meet you."
"So we haven't seen you around before, are you one of the new recruits?" Jona asked as he sat down rubbing his back where he got hit.
"That's right, just joined yesterday," Arthur replied. Which technically wasn't a lie, as it was only yesterday when he officially became a Lance.
"Welcome to the second division," Cedry said with a smile. "Most of the soldiers here are pretty nice and will help you grow into an effective member."
"Yeah, just stay away from guys like that," Jona added as he pointed up to the bearish man fighting in the ring. "Unless you're a mage more powerful than him he's kind of a bully."
"Hey bumpkin!" The bearish man yelled as if on cue.
Arthur glanced up and realized he was staring right at him. "Who me?"
"That's right, get up here!"
There were some protests from the other soldiers that were looking for a good fight, but Arthur decided to remove his cloak and see what this guy was made of.
"Don't break him," Sylvie commented from his cloak.
"Don't worry, this is all in good fun. I'll even keep myself at five percent to keep from hurting him badly," Arthur replied.
The man let Arthur have the first hit, which was stronger than he expected, but not enough to do any real damage. Following that he began swatting Arthur around from one side of the ring to another, but never able to knock him out. Eventually Arthur got bored, and as he swung at him again, Arthur used his own momentum to throw him out of the ring. Everyone had a good laugh, but the man just claimed to have slipped.
"Well that was fun," Arthur said to himself sarcastically, and started to head to the edge of the ring.
"Not so fast kid." A tall black haired woman said as she jumped into the ring. "I guess no one explained the rules, you stay and fight everyone that steps into the ring, until you're knocked out." She then pulled a staff out of her dimensional ring.
"Sorry, but I left my sword with the blacksmith for repairs, maybe..." Arthur started before getting cut off.
"Somebody give this boy a sword!"
A sword still in its scabbard flew into the ring and landed by Arthur's feet. "Here we go again," Arthur thought as she drew the sword and dulled it with mana. "Please go easy on me," Arthur commented with a smile as he took a fighting stance.
Scowling the woman shot forward, and with an upward swing of her staff tried to take Arthur out quick. Arthur was easily able to parry and step back, as she pursued and continued to strike. She was clearly better trained than his previous opponent, but her attacks were by the book, making her easy to read and predict, showing she had no real combat experience.
Becoming bored yet again, as she lunged in to attack Arthur dodged while leaving his leg out, causing her to trip. If not for her staff catching her she would have fallen out of the ring.
"Nice try, but no." She then turned her head to someone watching. "Raise a cage around here!"
"Hey, what happened to this being a friendly competition?" Arthur asked as an earthen cage rose from the ground.
"This is practice for war! There's no out of bounds when fighting for your life!" She shouted.
"Funny, coming from someone with no real combat experience," Sylvie joked from inside Arthur's cloak.
She then shot towards Arthur and began trying to hit him again, but with no luck. Arthur dodged and parried every attack, making it look like he was struggling, but he was bored and annoyed. She tried to strike again, but Arthur deflected it and threw off her balance. Then with a good push as he tripped her again, she went tumbling into the cage. Everyone became silent as her face was contorted into rage from her embarrassment.
"I think I'd like a piece of this fun."
"Like hell you... Madam Astera," the woman started to yell, before seeing who she was talking to, and her rage disappeared in an instant.
The woman identified as Madam Astera appeared to be a frail elderly woman with hair that turned grey long ago, with a ladle handing from her hip.
Despite her appearance, Madam Astera leaped over the cage and landed gracefully as the other woman left.
"So who do I have the pleasure of sparing with now?" Arthur asked, actually showing some interest in his opponent.
"Just a simple cook," she replied as she did some quick stretching. "But you may just call me Chef Astera."
"I see. Well tell me, how effective is a ladle in a fight, because I've only ever been threatened with one," Arthur joked.
The woman gave a light chuckle. "The right tool for the right job. Fighting with this would be disrespectful to our skills," she replied as she gestured to someone outside the cage. A sword came flying in, and landed right in her hand. "And may I get your name?"
Arthur took a fighting stance, "Arthur."
"A pleasure to meet you Arthur," she replied with an excited grin.
With that Astera disappeared from sight, at speeds no simple cook could achieve. She reappeared above Arthur, who jumped back as he brought his sword up to block. Arthur increased his mana output to ten percent as the two unleashed a flurry of strikes, keeping them at a stalemate. Astera leaped back to create some distance.
"So Arthur, how about you take it up a notch, I can tell your holding back," Astera asked as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
"Only if you do the same," Arthur replied as he did the same.
"Gladly." With that a powerful gust of mana emanated from Astera.
"Wow, I haven't seen you this excited in a while," Sylvie commented, but Arthur didn't reply, as he raised his output to thirty percent.
The two clashed as sparks flew, both of them smiling in pure excitement upon facing someone so skilled. Arthur managed to force Astera back and was working her into a corner, when she jumped back to create some distance before charging. As she was coming at him he noticed her footwork, and was shocked as he realized what was about to come next, Feint Step, a move Arthur developed in his past life. Suddenly Astera disappeared from view, and reappeared behind Arthur. However much to her surprise he was already turning around to continue his offensive, and used Feint Step as well. However not as ready as Arthur, Astera was able to narrowly dodge Arthur's attack.
"I see you've got a few surprises up your sleeve young man."
"As it appears you do as well."
"However you're still holding back on me, do you think so little of me?"
"To be blunt, I just don't think you'd be able to handle it if I went all out."
Boos were heard from the crowd. All believing Arthur to be arrogant of his luck and power.
"Oh I have no doubt about that," Astera laughed, causing everyone else to become silent and look at her, wondering why she was giving Arthur so much credit. "But still, sparring with someone of your caliber is a rare treat, I want to see how I match up."
"Do you think she knows you're a Lance?"
"Probably. Vanesy said the cooks were in the city getting supplies."
Arthur sighed. "Fine, but you better get another sword and come at me at your best too. I can tell you're used to fighting with two swords."
Astera smiled as another sword was thrown in and Arthur then went up to fifty percent. No one could believe the power Arthur wielded as they felt a wave of mana come over them.
Astera lunged forward and began to unleash a furious assault with her two blades, as Arthur parried and dodged every strike. The biggest difference between then and before, was that Arthur's speed couldn't actually be perceived by many in the crowd. Astera herself could tell this wasn't even his best, but she couldn't do any better.
Arthur raised his sword to block a swipe from his right, but when the swords collided Arthur's shattered. Astera's sword nearly connected with his head, if not for him catching it between his left thumb and index finger, just a hair away from his jaw.
"Well that's my loss," Arthur stated with a smile.
"You want to call this a loss for you?"
"Well, it's not like this sword is usable anymore." Arthur held up the remains of the sword in his hand. "Besides," Arthur inhaled deeply through his nose. "Dinner smells delicious, and I'm hungry."
Astera chuckled. "You heard him you lot! Line up for food or starve!" Astera roared at the top of her lungs.
The soldiers cheered as plates were stacked high with steaming hot food, and barrels of liquor were rolled out. Arthur found a log off to the side and took a seat with a plate of food and a mug of alcohol, and started a small fire, as Sylvie remained hidden in his cloak for the warmth.
"Mind if I join you General?" Astrea asked with her own plate of food and alcohol.
"So she did know who I was." Arthur thought as he gestured for her to take a seat.
"So, why is the youngest Lance in history disguised as some nobody country boy?" Astrea asked as she sat down beside him.
"What's someone with your skills doing cooking food?"
"That's a story for another time, and a lot more liquor," she replied as she gulped down the rest of her drink. "However before this I used to actually be a teacher at Lancer Academy, and before that a soldier during the last war with Elenoir. That's how I knew about you."
"I thought you just saw the announcement?"
"I did, but have you ever seen anyone on those oversized projections?" Astrea scoffed.
"Good point," Arthur replied with a laugh as he remembered how grainy the images were.
"No, I ran into Pasta afterwards as he was looking for some ingredients for his still. We started talking, and then saw you running by with his niece and Prince Curtis. He pointed you out to me as he was trying to call her over."
"I see."
"So, why aren't you making a spectacle of yourself? I feel most other generals and the other Lances would."
"You said you served in during the last war with Elenoir. Tell me, from your experience, how do you think most of the soldiers, and officers would react to a sixteen year old general?"
"They'd find you a joke." Astrea replied, understanding.
"I don't usually care about stuff like that. I went to Xyrus academy with all those snobby nobles, so dealing with this wouldn't phase me, I just don't want the headache. I don't need to command the troops, that's for the captains, and Captain Glory respects me enough that I'm not worried about her listening if needed. I'm just here in case one of their elite soldiers makes an appearance."
"You'll have to lead eventually."
"And I will, but there really isn't a need for it now. Anyway, unlike a soldier that works their way up the ranks, gaining the trust and loyalty of the other soldiers, I'm still at the age of a new recruit. So I need to build a reputation to give them faith in me. I can get individuals to listen when needed, but I don't need to deal with a whole division with officers that won't listen to me despite my rank."
"Sir!" The captains tent guard said quietly. "Captain Graves has arrived, but I can't find Captain Glory."
Arthur sighed. "Alright, I'll give you a hand looking." Arthur then looked to madam Astrea. "Looks like well have to continue this conversation at a later time."
"That's a shame. But one last question before you go. How much of your power did you use?" Astrea asked.
Arthur smiled as he stood up. "About fifty percent." Arthur then turned and walked away.
Astrea just smiled and shook her head. "Kids these days are getting too damned strong for me."