Why would two nations of the same continent we were at war with be fighting amongst each other? Maybe the nations had sworn allegiance during this war? Or was there a separate international army, training together in order to dispel any enmity that members of the various nations had toward one another?

  I shook my head, physically trying to get rid of the never-ending stream of questions and thoughts running rampant in my mind.

  This memory had made me curious, though. I made a mental note to learn more about this—perhaps even from Uto himself. The Council had ordered our forces to take in prisoners when possible to interrogate them, but in most cases, the prisoner either committed suicide or was too low in the chain of command to know anything useful. This was the first time we’d had a potential source of real information in our hands—though knowing him, he’d make us work for it.

  I was beginning to fall into another bottomless ditch of questions. Thankfully, just then there was a perfectly cadenced series of knocks at my door. The knocking sounded more like someone was hammering a nail into it.

  “General Arthur. It’s Alanis Emeria. I am here to escort you to the training grounds to meet with the four training assistants you requested,” she said in a clear, clipped voice.

  “Coming,” I replied, chuckling to myself. It’s not just her speech; even her knocking’s robotic.

  Without washing up, I changed into a more close-fitting outfit, suitable for sparring, then followed my personal training attendant to the training ground on the lower floor. I debated whether to take Sylvie with me, but decided it’d be best not to disturb her.

  On our way down, we ran into Emily Watsken—or rather she ran into us.

  “So sorry!” she huffed. Most of her face was hidden behind a large box, which she was attempting to carry on her own.

  “Here, let me get that.” I took the box out of her arms, surprised by its heft.

  “Thank you… oh, Arth—General Arthur! Perfect timing!” The artificer was practically gasping for breath, but a wide smile crossed her face when she recognized whom she’d almost trampled.

  Emily turned to Alanis, adjusting her glasses. “And you must be Alanis. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” the elf replied, but her manner in no way indicated this. “I assume you are Emily Watsken. I was informed we would be collaborating in our efforts to assist in General Arthur’s training.”

  By the wrinkle between Emily’s brows, she seemed to have been processing Alanis’s string of words, but finally she nodded. “Yes! And as you’ll soon see, I think your particular magic and the set of artifacts I made will work nicely with each other.”

  “I’m glad you two are getting along, but let’s get to the training room. This box feels like it’s actually gaining weight,” I joked, shifting the large box in my arms.

  “Oh! Sorry, and thank you for carrying it. I thought my arms were going to fall out of their sockets,” Emily said, hurrying down the hall toward the entrance to the room, which was just up ahead. “Come on, everyone’s waiting!”

  Chapter 43

  Gadgets and Magic

  I didn’t know what I had expected of my sparring partners. My request had been fairly last-minute, so somewhere in the back of my head I had thought they would just be soldiers from inside the castle.

  There were quite a few conjurers and augmenters who were assigned here, as a precaution to keep the castle residents safe. I had noticed early on that many of them were quite capable, so any one of them would have been a reasonable choice for a training partner.

  But the presence of three elders, each of them obviously powerful, on the training grounds, alongside Kathyln and a smug-looking Virion, took me by surprise.

  “Ah, you’re here!” Virion bolted up to his feet, taking the box from my hands and setting it on the ground before guiding me toward the group. “I want you to meet everyone.”

  I looked back over my shoulder to see Emily waving me goodbye like a mother sending her son off to a battlefield.

  “I know the two of you are already acquainted,” Virion said, motioning to Kathyln. “But for formality's sake, this is Princess Kathyln of the royal Glayder House. This is her guardian, Hester Flamesworth.”

  An elderly woman, her gray hair pulled tightly back into a bun, dipped her head in a formal greeting.

  “Flamesworth?” I blurted, surprised.

  “Ah, so you’re familiar with my family,” the woman said, a hint of pride in her voice.

  “Yes. Fairly familiar, actually,” I replied. The surname had caught my attention, but I dismissed the questions stirring in my mind and focused on the princess.

  “A pleasant surprise to see you, Kathyln, but what are you doing here?” I asked.

  “Princess Kathyln is an accomplished ice-affinity conjurer, now in the dark-yellow-core stage,” Hester answered. “I was asked by Commander Virion to help you with your training, General Arthur, but my primary job is to keep the princess safe at all times. By being here together, we can achieve both goals at once.”

  I glanced back at Kathyln, who nodded in confirmation. “Not much else to do besides my occasional training with Master Varay, so I’m here to help.”

  “The princess and a knight. Classic pair,” said a gruff dwarf sitting on a raised stone pillar. He scratched at his large bulbous nose, which stuck out of a thick bush of white beard covering the lower half of his face. He was tall compared to most dwarves I’d seen, but that might’ve been an illusion caused by his elevated seat. One thing was for sure, though: His body looked to be composed entirely of muscle. Thick, striated bulbs of hardened flesh covered his arms and chest, and I winced when he gripped my hand with his large calloused one.

  “Pleasure to meet you, young General. I am Buhndemog Lonuid, but most call me Buhnd,” he said, his grip unrelenting. Whether it was to gauge me or to assert his dominance over a young—and potentially arrogant—Lance, I didn’t know, but in any event I reciprocated his greeting with a firm grip of my own.

  The assimilation I had gone through as a child after inheriting Sylvia’s dragon will meant that I was stronger than I appeared. Combined with the fact that I had lived practically this whole life with a sword in my hand, it meant that I could hold my own even against this bearded ball of muscle.

  His mustache quirked in what could have been a smile, and he let go. “Not bad. Not bad.”

  “Careful, Buhnd. The kid didn’t become a Lance with just a pretty face,” Virion said. “Arthur, this musclehead has been a close friend of mine for quite a few years. He may look like this, but he’s a genius when it comes to earth-affinity magic. I guarantee you’ll learn a lot.”

  “What’s wrong with my looks?” Buhnd snapped. “I’ll have you know I’m quite the ladies’ man back home.”

  “No one said anything was wrong with your looks,” Virion said dismissively. “Stop being so sensitive.”

  I watched as the two bickered, holding my tongue despite all the questions I had.

  Just from the thick silver aura he emitted, which was almost visible to the naked eye, it was clear Buhnd was a powerful individual. If he was so close to Virion, I wondered why he hadn’t been selected as the dwarven representative, instead of Rahdeas.

  Considering the recent events, it was obvious that Virion had introduced Buhnd as a friend to alleviate any suspicions I may have had of him. But just the fact that he was a dwarf I had never seen before put me on edge.

  I guess that makes me racist. I thought, concerned at my own clear prejudice.

  Race in this world was much less subtle than back in my old world, but I had never considered myself one to discriminate based on a person’s outer appearances or location of birth. However, witnessing a large faction of dwarves cooperating with our enemies, as well as being personally betrayed by a powerful dwarf, did strain my previous fair-mindedness.

  My attention was abruptly called to the only person I had not yet been introduced to when he gave a loud, surly yawn.

  As if the yawn had been his cue, Virion spoke. “Arthur, this is Camus Selaridon. He’s a—”

  “The boy doesn’t need to know any more than my name. I’m here to spar with him. Any information beyond that is irrelevant,” Camus said, cutting him off.

  I was shocked to see Virion being told off. He was the leader of this continent’s entire military, after all. Seeing Virion’s unperturbed expression, I held my tongue, but made a mental note to ask the commander who exactly Camus was once we were alone.

  Assuming the mysterious elder wouldn’t be impressed by an ostentatious greeting, I simply dipped my head and introduced myself while taking a closer look at him. Long silvery-blond hair fell down to his shoulders in disheveled locks, covering his forehead and eyes. Long pointed ears poked out of the hair, indicating he was of elven descent. Unlike most elves I had met, though, he took no care with his outward appearance—or, judging by the stench emanating from him, hygiene.

  “Well!” Virion broke the silence. “I’m sure you are all going to get well acquainted these next several weeks. And while I’d love to stay and watch, I have the pleasure of spending my time looking over mountains of paperwork!”

  With a tired sigh, our commander left the training room, his shoulders just a bit more slumped than before.

  Virion’s departure was followed by a moment of silence, which I used to survey the training room.

  The place wasn’t anything extravagant—just a large dirt field a little less than fifty yards long and no more than thirty yards wide, enclosed by walls and a ceiling of mana-reinforced metal. There was a small pond in the far left corner of the room, but other than that and the door on the opposite wall, there was nothing. It was just a large open space to train.

  Emily was enthusiastically waving her arm at us, and I turned my attention to her.

  “I finished setting up, for the most part. There’s a bunch of stuff I want to go over before you start your training,” she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

  Looking down at the equipment that had spawned from the giant wooden box I had carried inside, I was surprised to see how familiar it looked. It was a metal panel about the length of my arm, littered with gauges and knobs. It resembled some sort of ancient control center on a ship from my previous world, except for the crystals on either side of it. One was large and clear, while the other smaller crystal was tinted blue.

  A cluster of wires led from the panel to the wall of the training room—more specifically, to a large disk attached to the wall. I hadn’t paid them much attention when I’d looked before, but the metal disks didn’t seem to be a part of the design. They looked to be embedded into the wall and were spaced out evenly.

  “Ah! One more thing,” Emily exclaimed, practically diving headfirst into the box. She pulled out what looked like pieces of leather armor, but the different parts were connected by the same type of wires that connected the panel to the wall. Embedded in the bottom center of what appeared to be the breastplate was a blue crystal, identical to the one on the right end of the metal panel.

  Emily heaved the leather armor in her arms and walked to me. “Miss Emeria, if you wouldn’t mind helping me put this on General Arthur.”

  “Of course.” Alanis nodded, and I found myself being dressed in a rather ridiculous-looking getup.

  The ‘armor’ seemed more like a sensory receiver than protective clothing. I would have to wear the gloves, breastplate, arm and leg bands, and shoes throughout the training.

  “Perfect. You look great!” Emily said approvingly, adjusting the breastplate so that the blue crystal embedded there was directly over my sternum, where my mana core was located.

  “Thanks,” I replied sheepishly, completely unconvinced. The armor looked bulky, but it was soft and flexible enough that I wasn’t too worried about it hindering my movements.

  Kathyln and the three elders watched silently, enraptured by the sight of this unusual equipment, until Buhnd finally spoke up. “So exactly what is the point of all of these toys?”

  Emily shifted her glasses and spoke. “I don’t want to spoil anything, but I guess a bit of a heads up is fair. General Arthur is an anomaly on our continent—being the only known quadra-elemental mage and all—and while he excels in most aspects of mana manipulation, it’s come to my attention that he has begun to plateau in terms of utilization of elemental magic.”

  “What about his training with the asuras?” Kathyln asked.

  “That was mainly technical training for augmented close combat,” I answered. “I did pick up a few techniques, but Emily is right—I’ve been relying heavily on ice and lightning magic these days. I’m hoping that by training with all of you, I’ll get better at utilizing all the elements I’m capable of controlling.”

  “I see, I see.” Buhnd idly stroked his beard, then shivered. “Yeah, even thinking about using one other element gives me a headache. To be a quadra-elemental on top of being able to use ice and lightning… ugh.”

  “General Arthur’s mental capacity isn’t as restricted as yours, so I’m sure he’ll learn,” Hester chimed in, smiling innocently.

  Buhnd whipped his head around. “What’d you say, Grandma? My mental capacity is fully unrestricted!”

  The fire mage just shook her head.

  “Now, now.” Emily carried the metal panel over and gently set it on the ground near us. “Instead of arguing, I’d appreciate it if each of you would place your hands here, and infuse some of your mana into the clear crystal to power up the device.” She pointed to the left end of the metal panel.

  Hester and Buhnd looked at one another, clearly trying to decide which one of them would go first. Then Camus stepped up and placed his palm over the clear crystal.

  “Like this, right?” Suddenly a vast whirlwind ripped free from his body and swirled around him protectively.

  Emily let out a startled shriek and tumbled to her back from the sudden force. The rest of us were able to brace ourselves, and we watched as the fierce gale condensed into Camus’s hand on top of the crystal. The once-clear gem lit up in a shade of gray, and an instant later the entire panel whirred to life. The gauges swayed erratically before settling into place.

  “Showoff,” Buhnd grumbled.

  I was intently focused on the panel. When the room suddenly buzzed from all directions, I instinctively raised a layer of mana around my body.

  “It’s just the apparatus powering on,” Emily quickly assured us. From the way the other mages had all assumed defensive stances, it seemed they were just as surprised as I was.

  “I shall go next,” Hester said, stepping forward calmly.

  After placing her hand on the crystal, she muttered a single word. “Burn.”

  A blazing inferno erupted from her body, and her red robe appeared to be made completely of fire. The ground around her became scorched, but, to my amazement, there was no heat as one of the tendrils of flame lashed at me. What had seemed like a brazen display of strength turned out to have been a demonstration of her control over her element.

  The metal panel whirred once more, this time a little less rapidly. It might have been just my imagination, but I swore I heard Hester clicking her tongue.

  “My turn!” Buhnd declared, flexing his fingers before placing his hand carefully over the crystal, which had returned to its transparent state.

  There was a beat of silence, then the ground beneath us began trembling. Loose pebbles and rocks hovered above the ground as an aura of brilliant topaz surrounded the bearded dwarf.

  “Uh, Elders, I love the enthusiasm and all, but… this wasn’t meant to be a contest,” Emily muttered weakly, her voice as unsteady as the shaking ground.

  “To a real man, everything’s a contest.” Buhnd grinned. As he spoke, the earth split, cracks spreading from his feet while the yellow aura gathered into his hand.

  The panel trembled and made its familiar noise, then the crystal absorbed and transferred the mana Buhnd had supplied.

  The muscular dwarf stepped away with a satisfied grunt, and Emily began inspecting her apparatus to see if any of the elders had damaged it.

  “Princess Kathyln,” she called. “If you please. I think just a bit more will be enough.”

  The princess nodded, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear before sending out a wave of mana as well. Looking at the tense expression on Kathyln’s face, I knew all too well that she had no intention of backing down from the unspoken challenge between the elders.

  The temperature dropped noticeably and a haze of frost swirled around the princess. Some of the rocks near her were already freezing when the frost began taking the form of what looked like translucent serpents. The frost serpents slithered in the air around her before coiling down her arm and disappearing into the crystal beneath her palm.

  Emily’s apparatus buzzed with fervor, and a motley of colors swirled in the clear crystal.

  The artificer turned a few knobs and flipped a few switches, then rotated the now-colorful crystal until a loud click sounded.

  “I’ll turn it on now,” Emily announced, not bothering to conceal her eagerness.

  She pushed down on the crystal until it was fully inside the panel. I could almost see the mana travelling from the device through the thick wires and into the rods on the wall. Everyone watched as strands of multicolored mana began shooting from one rod to another, spreading exponentially until the strands connected the metal rods to one another with a honeycombed pattern.

  “What in the world…” Buhnd breathed, stretching his neck as he gazed at the walls and ceiling of the room.

  “The same sensors are buried in the floor,” Emily said proudly. “Now, before I go over what all this is, General Arthur, I believe Miss Emeria has something she needs to do.”

  I turned to my training attendant. “Alanis?”

  She put down the clipboard she had been holding and approached me. “It won’t take long, General Arthur. Please give me your hand.”