(CS) Chapter 7. D1 (Patreon)

Arik had found his way back to his room before all the chaos could start. A never-ending stream of students had washed into the underground, already dressed in their school uniforms. A few held the bearings of wealthy, influential individuals, and he’d prefer not to cause any trouble by getting in the way. It’s not that I’m scared of them, he reasoned, I just don’t want to pick any fights on the first day.

With little else to do, he showered again and explored the bookshelf that sat beside his closet.

“Hand-to-Hand Basics, Simple Battle Tactics, Economics 1…” Most of the books were based on combat, but a few contained general information on how to make working as any kind of Beast hunter monetarily worthwhile. It took a while for Arik to find any books that really fit his style, but he eventually picked up Swords For Dummies, Magick Types and Properties, and A Warrior’s Guide. Swords for Dummies covered a lot of information he already knew, like the different parts of a sword, how to clean blood off a blade, how to set your feet. It did cover and reinforce some other stuff, though, like some basic stances and which muscles to focus on with various swings and thrusts. He was sure the information would be hammered in by teachers later, but he wanted to at least skim through the book for now.

Magick Types and Properties was next. This book was interesting to him because of his heightened efficiency with Celestial, Radiant, and Gravity magicks. He found a few passages explaining their properties.

‘Celestial Magick’ is used by any spells which replicate or resemble effects present in the Upper Sky.

Arik grimaced a bit. The “Upper Sky” was used as an old and fancy term for what most people simply referred to as space.

The book described Radiant magick as the stronger and much more dangerous cousin of Light magick, capable of burning and inflicting great lasting injury upon its victims. It further stated that the light of the Sun was classified as Radiant, rather than just Light, a fact Arik had not previously known.

Magick Types furthermore stated that Gravitational magick was considered at least somewhat adjacent to all magicks that took physical form; the heavier the better. Gravity magick pushed and pulled on the very fabric of reality, creating “Gravity Wells.” It seemed somewhat similar to the Psionic magics he’d learned about from Mr. Lapenbaum, though more powerful and less controlled.

All of these magick types were rare and complex, which meant that they would have higher Purity requirements and Essence costs, but also more unique and powerful effects at earlier levels.

The Warrior's Guide actually covered tactics for different types of Beasts. It suggested using more numerous and generalized groups to take down rarer or larger creatures in order to handle greater survivability or unexpected abilities. It also stated that you shouldn't travel on your own until you're at least 2nd Degree, and never more than 50 miles out of populated, well-traveled territory without being at least 3rd Degree. Having a buddy or a group could effectively limit the risks of this, though. It furthermore went over what sorts of gear to pack and preparations to make before going into battle or the wilderness.

After skimming through all the books to get a good picture of what information they held, and finding what really mattered to him, Arik set the books back on the shelf and decided to go to sleep early.

===

Name: Arik
[Blessing of Celestial Skies]
Age: 18
Stats:

Physique: 16

Limit: 15

Talent: 12

Wisdom: 12

Essence: 6

Purity: 17

Free Points: 0

Primary Class: [Stellar Paladin] (2)

Skills (3/5):

￮ [Heavily Armored] (1)

￮ [Bladework] (3)

￮ [Starlight] (1) -> (2)

￮

￮

Secondary Class:

Tertiary Class:

Skill Points: 4

It looked like his training with [Starlight] had paid off… somewhat. He honestly didn’t really love the spell. It would be great while he was underground, but not much longer. He would have to keep an eye out for a replacement option, one that had effects other than just “mimics starlight.”

He would have to increase his Essence soon. Paladins usually ended up with a lot of buffing magicks, so he would have to ensure that he had the ability to sustain them for a while. Celestial magick also had higher Purity requirements, so their Essence cost would be higher. The cost of a sustain spell was usually based on the Purity cost, so spells that reserved 10 or less Purity would cost 1 Essence a minute, while spells that cost between 11 and 20 Purity would cost 2 a minute. An instant spells’ cost was different, needing 1 for every 3 Purity that was required.

With all that done, he closed his slate and looked to the sky.

===

An alarm blared through his mind, shaking him out of the Dream.

“Report to the main field in front of the Spartan building,” a familiar feminine voice said through some kind of loudspeaker, “You have 45 minutes to show up in uniform.”

Arik rolled out of bed– literally, he fell on his face– and rushed to get showered. After fiddling with his uniform until it was in a shape that he thought looked right, he speedwalked his way outside. He was one of the first people there, and managed to find Nisha, who gave him a little wave. They had to stand around for 10 minutes before the last of the students arrived.

Before him stood the dictatorial Kho’Ya woman from yesterday, the one who had told him where the cafeteria was. She was holding a clipboard and looking down at her wrist with a frown. “5 minutes too slow.” She looked back up with a scowl. Her voice suddenly picked up volume, and she boomed, “I expect more from you, recruits! Tomorrow, you’ll have even less time to get here! I want you to report directly here 30 minutes after the morning bell each day until every single one of you arrives on time! Now drop and give me five!”

Arik’s body moved on its own, forcing him to do five push-ups, one after another. When he was done, he just kinda fell to the earth below awkwardly, more stunned than anything. Was that mind magic?

“Every day any of you show up late, that number will double!” She cracked her knuckles, one after another. Her volume lowered slightly, and grew less harsh. “Now, let’s move on to talking about your schedules.”

The next half an hour was dedicated to explaining exactly when each class started. Those bells would go off every hour. Breakfast started at the first bell after the wake-up call each morning, or in other words, at 7th hour. Lunch was at the 12th hour, and dinner was at the 19th. Classes were between 7:05 and 12:05, and then between 13:05 and 16:05. The five minutes were to help us arrive on time.

The morning classes were mostly intellectual, with stuff like Battle Strategy, Basic Traps, Theoretical Essence Smithing, Beast Knowledge, and some of the magic classes. The classes in the afternoon were all physical, stuff like Practical Combat, Endurance Training, and classes for various weapons. We were meant to sign up for at least two classes in each section, and were encouraged to pick up at least one extracurricular. The extracurriculars on offer were limited, but the students were encouraged to start their own clubs. To do so, they would need a signature from one teacher, who would act as an advisor for the club, and one signature from an administrator, to agree to provide the group funding.

At the end of the announcement, the three hundred-or-so students were each handed pieces of parchment which held lists of the classes and clubs on offer, as well as magic quills that produced ink on the tip while in contact with any writable material. Arik skimmed through it, picking out a few entries. He looked through the physical offers first.

Basic Combat and Sword Fighting sound great. I could take a third, too. Hmm… I won’t really need much else… Dueling, maybe? Intelligent Enemies? Practical Tactics? He decided to leave the topic on the table for now to instead take a look at the intellectual classes. I’d rather not take Math or History… How about… Theoretical Tactics, Beast Knowledge, and Rare Magicks? The descriptions told him that Rare Magicks was a catch-all for the magick types that they couldn’t offer directly, since they didn’t have any teachers with them.

What’s the difference between Practical Tactics and the Battle Strategy classes? He looked over both option’s descriptions again. Ah, Battle Strategy focuses on teaching you how to create the general steps of a plan, while Tactics teaches you how to accomplish the goals in said plan. I’m more of an action guy myself, but it’s still pretty good. He considered for a moment before placing marks next to Practical Tactics, Basic Combat, Sword Fighting, Theoretical Tactics, Battle Strategy, Beast Knowledge, and Rare Magicks. He wrote his name on the paper, waited in line, handed the paper into the reception desk, and then went to get some food as soon as the bell rang.

===

The school must have had some kind of high level, Skill-assisted management team, because the class lists were done half an hour before classes even started. In Arik’s case, he’d have Battle Strategy first thing in the morning, then go on to Beast Knowledge, and then he’d have an hour to relax before Rare Magicks and Theoretical Tactics. After that, there would be lunch, immediately followed by Practical Tactics, followed by Basic Combat and Sword Fighting an hour later.

The classes also all listed different places to go. Apparently, the field outside wasn’t the only training grounds for the more physically-aligned classes. While all his morning classes were on the second floor, and his Practical Tactics classes were out in the field they’d met at in the morning, there was also a small map with a highlighter circling the “1st Training Yard,” where he’d spend his Basic Combat and Sword Fighting classes. There were other training yards too, according to the map, but apparently he’d just just gotten lucky or something.

On the map, buildings ringed the main Spartan Initiative building, though he hadn’t seen that on the olm ride or since he’d arrived, likely due to the low light levels. Some of them were the training yards, while some were tagged as magical research, storage, or just “unused.” He wondered why there was so much room here. The place seemed built for a student and administrative body ten times what it had. Heck, it could probably house a city. Why? It was possible that they just expected to grow a lot, but then why were the basement and fourth floor of the main building hidden? And why the extra hallways? Something’s not adding up.

He dismissed the thoughts for now. He doubted that the Initiative had any sinister intentions, and if they did, it wasn’t like he could do anything about them. He was just a kid, and they had people on par with Johnseph. That was one heck of a lot of firepower.

Arik arrived at his first class a bit early, and took a spot at the front of the room. The professor was a slight man he hadn’t met before with a sharp look to him. His face looked like it had been carved from stone, then painted and animated by some kind of spell. His features were distinctly Wendowian. Oddly, he sat on his desk as he waited for the student to trickle in. A plaque beside him read “Mr. Jean Chasapi (Pg).” When the bell rang, he hopped off his desk and started speaking.

“Welcome to the best and worst you’ll take this year. You may call me Sir Chasapi. I am a Pedagogue who once specialized in teaching noble brats how to lead armies. My reputation went downhill when I led Hulendorn to victory in the Second Battle of Red Sands. They said I was ‘too brutal,’ can you believe it?” The professor wore a sadistic smile. “In any case, it is my job to teach you how to win, at all costs. My teachings will be most effective in times of war, and that is when your only options are victory or death. For those of you who didn’t read your pamphlets and are wondering what the differences between this class and the Tactics classes are, the principles that your Tactics classes will teach you are used by generals and squadrons to accomplish goals with minimal loss. That is very different from strategy. Tactics is about how to reach the end point. Strategy is about balancing risk and reward. How much is this strategically valuable location worth? How much are you willing to sacrifice to get there? Tactics wins you battles, but strategy wins you wars.

“In this class, I will primarily be giving lectures about history and strategy and teaching you to play a little game I like to call Eyladian Risk. In this game, you and your classmates will each simulate one of the cities of Eyladia. Your goal is to take all the other cities by force. Now, the first thing that you’re likely to think is that Hulendorn will win every battle, but that’s not so.” The professor adjusted his glasses. "While Hulendorn certainly has the greatest number of trained fighters and war veterans, it doesn't have much in the way of resources, and its quickest access points to the other cities are bridges connecting to its peninsula, huge bridges that can easily be destroyed. In the game, troops can only move one 'location' at a time, and different locations are spread all across Eyladia, making it difficult to travel quickly. Hulendorn ends up wasting a lot of time taking locations that don't matter just to move troops around. So, Reddit, the game is quite fair, from a strategic standpoint. Each city has its own, unique resources they the others simply lack. Today, I will cover the rules of this game and some basic strategies for it. Any questions before I begin?"

No hands were raised, so the professor went straight into it. "The first thing you need to know is…"

===

Arik’s brain was melting. At least, that’s what it felt like. Clearly, his Wisdom and Talent were too low to absorb all that information at once. The game wasn’t really that detailed in and of itself, it just had movement and troops and resources, but the professor’s explanation of “basic” strategy in it was very complicated.

When he stepped into Beast Knowledge, he was moving basically on autopilot. It wasn’t until he got to a seat in the front that he noticed the Beast that was chained down on the teacher’s desk. The teacher just stood there until the class started. She was a short woman, with brown hair and glasses. He couldn’t quite pin down her bloodline, but she looked to have some Rholumnian and, unsurprisingly, Wendowian in her. She was wearing a white apron, holding what looked like a massive hacksaw in gloved hands. Her foot tapped unceasingly, and a tag on her apron read “Ms. Avigayl Klandios (Pg).”

The Divine Beast on Ms. Klandios’ table seemed to be desperately trying to get away from her, which seemed like extremely odd behavior from something that was supposed to hunger for Essence beyond all reason. Perhaps the monster knew something the students didn’t? Only once the students had all arrived did the Pedagogue stop tapping her foot.

“Wonderful, you’ve all arrived,” she said with a cheery smile. She then turned and slammed her hacksaw into the neck of the monster on the table. Blood splattered all across the room as the Beast died with a gurgle. Pedagogue Klandios turned back to the class, her smile unchanged even with the blood dripping from her glasses. “Today, we’ll be learning about the magical properties of, and best ways to kill, the Giant-touched Wolverine.” Arik heard someone vomiting in the back, and even he felt a bit queasy.

She went on to spend the entire class dissecting the Beast with her hacksaw, pointing out vulnerable points and parts of its body that differed from the physiology of natural Wolverines. She also pointed out body parts with useful mutations that could potentially be extracted by Skilled crafters.

By the end of the class, only about half the students remained, the rest having stepped out to breathe and get away from all the gore. Arik himself had to move a row back, just to get out of the… splash zone. With that said, if you ignored all the carnage, Beast Knowledge was less mentally draining than Battle Strategy. He hoped the rest of his classes were more… normal.

===

Arik had needed a shower after the “dissection” in Beast Knowledge. His hair was still damp when he stepped into Theoretical Tactics.

Please, if anything is listening, just let this class be normal? He quickly prayed, more in jest than for anything else. He didn’t actually mind that his morning classes were weird–in a way, it made them more interesting to him on a personal level–but he’d like to have at least some normalcy in his day.

When he stepped into class, his hopes were immediately dashed.

First, there was the armor. It looked like some sort of Divine Steel, though it was hard to tell what kind due to his lack of experience. He only knew about the stuff because of Mr. Lapenbaum’s stories, and Johnseph’s battle with the Blaze Elk had been the first time he’d ever actually seen the stuff. It had gold filigree, though he wouldn’t be surprised if even that had some magical intention, just from the design. It covered every part of his body, leaving nothing visible. It was clearly the armor of an incredibly wealthy person, even beyond what a Journeyman would usually collect. It reeked of nobility.

Essence Runes looked like a mix between script and calligraphic decor. They were rare, since their patterns could only be found in ancient ruins from long-dead empires. Those who did know how to make Essence Runes hoarded the knowledge and charged a premium for it. Mr. Lapenbaum had informed him that the Essence Runes were theorized to have been derived from studying the patterns through which spells were made. The other accepted theory was that they’d been passed down to mortals by the gods, but they’d been lost.

The second problem about his teacher was his name. Upon the plaque on his desk had three simple, yet powerful words been inscribed.

Alexander Illysius II.