[MA] 283. Very Instructive (Patreon)

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[Chapters this week: 3/3

Next release: Tuesday]

No incident happened while Shen guided people through the fortress. No one said or did anything they weren't supposed to.

Alicia seemed desperate to talk to Shen initially. However, she calmed down when he answered a question in a roundabout way to emphasize how one shouldn't pursue personal matters during a mission unless they had absolutely nothing better to do. He exemplified it by saying how he talked to his fellow Recruits during his own introductory training, but only after they asked all their questions. Even then, he paid attention to what others asked to ensure he wasn't missing anything.

The fortress was massive, so Shen had to summarize everything he had learned about it and present the troops with a broader view. He barely covered his original plan by the end of the day he had been given. Less than half an hour remained when he returned to the teleportation area.

First Lieutenant Zyn and Lieutenant Specialist Karlov were still there, answering a question from Luthdel. The other Junior Lieutenants and Recruits were also already present. Only Shen had been missing, likely because he had been the one who tried to be the most thorough in his briefing despite cutting many edges.

"Form ranks," he commanded with a normal voice, and his Recruits obeyed. Shen himself also returned to his position. "You can keep asking questions until told otherwise."

None did it, at least not immediately. So, he waited for Luthdel to finish, then asked Zyn his own questions.

Shen had answered everything his people had asked him. While a few questions were tricky, he was confident in his answers. Even so, he double-checked it now to ensure that he had taught nothing wrong by mistake, which would be a minor offense. He also wanted to confirm he had gotten it right.

The military rules weren't a puzzle or a maze. Dealing with anything was only about figuring out which rules applied to a situation and uniting the slightly different recommendations in a logical whole that fit the spirit of the law. Shen had been right on his every conclusion, though Karlov pointed out a few rules he hadn't thought about when it came to three questions.

Karlov was a Lieutenant Specialist, and he had been presented as an expert to help train Guardians. Properly training troops also included a comprehensive understanding of the rules he was supposed to teach them.

Soon, the Standard day ended, and Zyn raised his hand, a simple gesture they all understood to mean "be silent and wait." When they all obeyed, Zyn produced a black dome around him, the Junior Lieutenants, and Karlov.

That was a fantastic display of skill. Zyn was using his qi and Law to create something almost like mana could do. Shen couldn't do that.

"As you all guessed," Zyn said, "this was a test. You all passed. Junior Lieutenant Shen will receive one Commendation for going beyond the call of duty to accomplish a mission at great personal expense. If anyone feels resentful, you're welcome to spend 18 million AP or more on something as impactful to a mission as that info cube."

| +1 Commendation

| Total: 1

When you shone in service, you could gain a Commendation. When you messed up, you got a Demerits. The total number was good feedback on progress, but it meant less than what circumstances led to a Commendation or Demerit.

A few Junior Lieutenants were indeed resentful, but no one was surprised. They had all guessed something like that might happen. Erin even pointed it out when they discussed what to do, and Shen's answer was similar to what Zyn had just said: "Would you rather spend the AP yourself?"

Zyn continued, "The test wasn't meant to force you to spend your resources but see your ability to solve a problem beyond your personal power. Your Laws and energy will not always be enough. Some of you have experience leading people through combat, but it's much more exacting in the military. You read the regulations. As a unit commander, I'm forbidden from fighting unless it's an emergency and either there are no other C-rank around, or I determine it very unlikely for those C-ranks to properly deal with that emergency. Instead, my job is to ensure the Battalions below me do what they're supposed to do with minimal losses. Everyone has their own roles and responsibilities. Likewise, every subordinate is supposed to carry their own weight. You'll find yourself in desperate situations where your power is useless."

Shen and a few others nodded. That made perfect sense.

"The test was also to see your leadership skills. You all passed. Although Junior Lieutenant shined more in that area, part of good leadership is also to know when to listen to those who obviously know better, which you all did. You now have leadership-level clearance. That means you'll learn new rules. Here, read this." Six thin books appeared floating before him, and he threw them at the Junior Lieutenants. "You have five minutes to read and ask questions."

| Clearance Added: Leadership

Shen and the others quickly read their books. Most of it covered testing subordinates, which was the main reason it wasn't widespread. Anyone might suspect something was a test, but it was different when you knew for sure.

The general rules Shen had learned before already covered situations that might lead to a reward or punishment, but it only said whether a direct superior or the Investigation Department could make the call. This rulebook went into specifics. Shen now knew precisely why, when, and how to reward or punish someone.

Something was missing, though.

"First Lieutenant," Shen said when he finished, "this says nothing about how to get a clearance."

The book explained clearances were similar to achievements. Shen could show or hide some of his clearances to some people, while others were always hidden or on display. Some people also could always see some of all of his clearances.

The leadership-level clearance was always shown to anyone who also had it. Indeed, Shen could already see it.

| Zyn (C) — First Lieutenant

| Rising Star

| Clearance: Leadership

Discussing the leadership-level clearance with anyone who didn't have it was forbidden. The exception was during an emergency when all with that clearance had died, and someone had to rise to the occasion.

However, the rulebook didn't contain any tests to determine if someone could be given that clearance—or any other, for that matter. That test had been very elementary, and Shen was almost sure it was because the military was understaffed. Uya had complained about not getting a promotion despite the lack of people, but it might be closer than she imagined.

"No, it doesn't explain how to get clearances," was all Zyn replied. The implication was obvious: there was another clearance needed to know about how to get clearances.

Shen got the message and didn't dwell on it. Instead, he focused on the two most interesting tidbits.

First, as expected, Staff Lieutenant Uya had been testing Shen. Using her Law against Shen was within the test's parameters, regardless of the duel's rules. However, it was forbidden to cause permanent mental damage or make the one undergoing the test faint. The latter was her actual transgression. That she didn't go beyond making him unconscious was evidence that she had controlled herself well, and the lethality potential was indeed low. It could then become "very low" if a superior was supervising the test, and after Captain Abbav took control of the Recruits, it was evident that he had a grip on every newcomer.

All things considered, Uya's punishment was severe because messing with tests always was. No one wanted the tests to be exploited. After all, some tests received special dispensation from specific rules. Mistakes were harshly penalized, and any sign that someone was using a test to abuse a subordinate escalated the issue.

The second interesting bit was that the Guardian System could lie to people in the military—kind of. Anyone on military duty had their Inspection Interface replaced with the Recognition Interface. It prevented the warriors from Inspecting any military personnel in the way Shen was used to. Instead, it followed different rules to display specific information on certain occasions. For instance, that's how the clearance thing worked.

The book only discussed it because some tests required people to assume false identities. The Guardian System couldn't lie outside specific situations, which didn't change here. But it could refuse to show information.

Therefore, those special tests required the undercover personnel to have artifacts or the power to create a fake inspection "tooltip" for everyone to see. It wasn't easy. Although someone's military identity was always displayed, they had to make it always face whoever was looking from any angle.

Shen looked suspiciously at Lieutenant Specialist Karlov for four reasons: Shen's instincts, Karlov's attitude, Uya's reaction when she saw Karlov, and Zyn's attitude.

Shen's instincts insisted Karlov was harmless. That was the first time it happened, and it made him uncomfortable. He couldn't confirm or pinpoint external influence within himself, but he suspected it and knew a sufficiently skilled B-rank should be able to accomplish it. Undercover agents were allowed to do it, too.

However, his impressions might be simply because Karlov's Idealized Path had that natural effect. Shen had never heard of it, but he was sure it was possible after he mastered all his Path's Laws.

That hypothesis would be enough to thwart most of Shen's suspicions if not for Karlov's behavior towards First Lieutenant Zyn. Karlov sometimes even interrupted the latter. He never crossed any line that could lead to punishment, but he was often... the word wasn't impolite. Ah! Inconsiderate.

Such a thing could be explained by his rank, Lieutenant Specialist. Specialists were a special part of the military structure. They were considered to be just below the highest designation of their rank, in this case, a First Lieutenant. However, if the Specialist was sufficiently knowledgeable, respected, or powerful, they could receive even better treatment than First Lieutenants. This could be such a case. Even Uya's reaction when seeing Karlov could also be explained by seeing an outstanding military member.

Once more, Shen would have considered that enough to quell most of his suspicions.

But then there was First Lieutenant Zyn's attitude.

No military law obligated anyone to be deferential to distinguished Specialists, but the rules did go as far as to recommend everyone show them respect. Zyn didn't act particularly respectfully toward Karlov. It could be explained by Zyn having personal issues with Karlov. It might even be due to Zyn's personality; Shen had previously believed Zyn to be a no-nonsense type of guy.

Why, then, didn't Zyn admonish Karlov?

Karlov acted perfectly within the rules, but even in a place with such a rigid structure and clear lines as in the military, there was ground for personalized interactions. For instance, when Karlov first appeared, he commanded Shen and his fellow Recruits to stand in attention for Zyn. Zyn had clearly not liked it but said nothing. Zyn also showed displeasure the first time Karlov interrupted him—during a wrong explanation, so it was allowed—but never called the man on it. The rulebook also recommended letting a superior office finish before correcting it to prevent unnecessary friction.

The First Lieutenant could at least ask the Lieutenant Specialist to change some attitudes to increase the smoothness of their interactions. Shen believed Zyn would do it in public, too, because why not? Yet, Zyn had kept silent.

All in all, too many things didn't add up, and Shen concluded Karlov was an undercover agent.

Was it a test? Was Shen supposed to point out he had found the undercover agent? Or was it something else? If undercover agents existed to apply tests, they could also be used for other purposes Shen had no clearance to know about, like investigation. Zyn had returned with Karlov after he went to report on the tale-harvester. Was that incident more relevant than met the eye?

Shen would talk to Zyn privately about it later in case the Junior Lieutenants were under investigation—maybe even Shen might be under watch.

Zyn answered a few other questions within the five minutes he had given them, then unmade his dome without further word. Uya and another goblin-like male, obviously from the same race as her and Zyn, had appeared outside.

| Uya (C) — Staff Lieutenant

| Clearance: Leadership

| Xun (C) — Staff Lieutenant

Unlike Uya, the newcomer had no leadership clearance. He was a few inches taller than the five-foot-three Zyn, as muscular, and had four curved horns instead of two, two of which came from the back of his head. Instead of sabers or longswords, he carried maces. Xun also had only one mastered Law in his Path.

Zyn nodded to the two, turned to the Recruits, and repeated something Shen had heard not long ago. "Congratulations on doing the bare minimum. You have just been promoted."

The C-ranks became Junior Lieutenants, and the D-ranks Junior Sergeants.

Zyn continued, "You would usually go straight to the basic course from here, but the level of animosity here would make it counterproductive. We all know some of you are just waiting for an opportunity to attack your fellow warriors. You were put in your place by Captain Abbav, but many are too proud and willing to pay the price of treason if it means killing your target. Captain Abbav obviously can't keep a watch over you all the time, and you mistakenly believe I couldn't stop you in time."

That was easily noticeable. Some people weren't even trying to hide their feelings or murderous intentions.

"I'd be glad to intercept and kill as many treasonous sacks of shit as they come, but it means many of you won't be paying attention to what I'm teaching you. You also won't do your best because you'll be looking for an opportunity to kill someone or looking over your shoulders for fear. The Alliance is undergoing a Calamity, and I'll accept nothing less than excellence from those I'm training. Reality's continued existence might depend on any of you not letting an enemy get somewhere they shouldn't. I won't have existence itself cease to be because you didn't know what you were supposed to do."

Zyn made a pause. Uya's presence and sadist smile gave Shen an idea of what was coming.

"I'll change your minds with a little exercise. A simple one. A battle royale.

"The goal is to be the last one standing. You'll be punished if you kill someone but won't be treated as a traitor. You won't receive a Demerit. It doesn't matter how many you kill, either. You get a notification proving it to you.

"Do you want to try to kill anyone? This is your chance.

"You only have to go past my defenses.

"During the basic course, you'll face external threats. I'll not save you from those. I will, however, always interfere if anyone takes any action that will end in the death of another Alliance warrior. That includes dereliction of duty, deliberate mistakes, sabotage, traps, convincing others to attack, and direct attacks.

"To prove to everyone here that I can stop the attacker and protect the victim no matter how far they are, regardless of their power and schemes, I'll move to a spot one thousand miles away from here. When I arrive there, Staff Lieutenant Uya will declare the event's start.

"To prove I can stop any attacker, whoever takes action against someone else for the first time will be frozen in place for ten seconds. They can be attacked while in that state, but if it's also your first time attacking them, you'll also be frozen even if you were their intended target. If you plan on killing people, I suggest you find others to protect you while you're frozen.

"There's no 'first time only' rule for attacks aimed at more than one target. Whoever acts against two or more beings will be frozen for ten seconds.

"To prove I can act in the nick of time, the next attacks will go through. If an injury would be lethal or anyone's HP fall below 100, I'll push the attacker one hundred yards away, surround the target with a protective blue bubble, and move them to safety. You might want to surround someone and attack simultaneously from all directions to try to beat my protections.

"Attacking someone in a bubble will make me freeze you until the end of the battle royale. The same applies to anyone who attacks before Staff Lieutenant Uya gives the command.

"To prove the Staff Lieutenants and the Lieutenant Specialist are also to be respected, you can attack them at will. Neither party will be frozen. If you resent how Captain Abbav handled you, I suggest you take it on them.

"I repeat it to you: do you want to kill someone? This is your chance.

"Block my senses. Distract me. Try to kill someone faster than I can protect them. Resist me when I freeze you. You'll fail, and that's the point.

"Whoever wins the battle royale will receive a special prize. I'll freeze everyone for ten seconds if there is no winner within ten minutes.

"I'll reach my observation spot in ten seconds. You have that long to prepare yourselves."

With that, Zyn ran away faster than Shen had ever seen a C-rank accomplish without a domain. The First Lieutenant became a faint blur. Shen could not fight that.

Shen wanted to tell his people not to act, but he couldn't. Anyone who knew the battle's royale purpose was forbidden from interfering, and it was explained in the leadership rulebook.

He just crossed his arms and waited.

He wouldn't even try to plot a way to victory because Zyn might see through it, consider it as Shen acting against his fellow warriors, and freeze him. Shen definitely didn't want that for one excellent reason:

Zyn hadn't explained how he would freeze those who attacked.

Battle royales weren't a test but a punishment that doubled as a display of force when dealing with unruly subordinates. Indeed, killing someone during it wouldn't be considered treason; the battle royale wouldn't work otherwise. Failing to protect a few people could spell the end of Zyn's career, so other methods were suggested, but this was admittedly the most time-effective solution.

As with any punishment, this one was meant to discourage a specific action, in this case, infighting. That wouldn't work if it became just a game of dare against Zyn. People had to pay some price for attacking a fellow warrior.

So, while Shen didn't know what Zyn had planned, he suspected being frozen would be, at the very least, very instructive.

[A/N: I wanted Shen to talk to his people in this chapter, but it didn't happen. It's not my fault, though! Zyn decided he had to discipline people because that's how his character would behave, and I couldn't do anything about it.

On a bright note, I already explained everything even slightly complex about the military structure. This is how things will roll:

Battle royale → Shen's conversations (no more than 2 chapters, if even that long) → basic course (things pick up the pace)]

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