ã€ŠThe Lands of Puppetsã€‹


 Prologue

    Authors'' Note:

    This little prologue does not follow the main character nor have any important plot elements. It''s purpose is to mainly set up the story and give the readers a sense of the world. I''m trying to create a world where life is inheriently cheap and give it a sense of realism. There are no real "super powers" or "magical abilities" in this world.

    I''m also stuck with trying to balance technology that would be currently available at the time period but I do not want it to be a main focus or inherint problem with the novel. So if you see something written in like a flying hover car (hopefully not) I''m not really intending for it to be that important. If someting bugs you though please let me know and I''ll take a look at it

    <hr>

    Two merchants strode across the desert of Elijah. Tan cloaks whipped in the hot sharp wind. It was not enough wind to stir up a sandstorm, but the merchants still hid their face behind veils for even they knew the dangers of the desert of Elijah. Behind them followed a camel. A desert beast of burden led by a rope. Tied to the back of the camel was their cargo. Concealed inside of the bags rested their mission. Employed by a small insignificant noble fleeing from Otello to deliver the contents across the desert to the town of Byzna. Normally this trip could be completed by anyone with the will and supplies. Of course, this was before the war started.

    Humans always liked to be at war with anybody. The war of six swords as it was called began little under a year ago according the calendar of the cross. Following the death of the human king of Ardun, the neighboring land of Danacia seized the opportunity and extended its reaches past the river of Voltaria. Unfortunately the small duchy of Otello, belonging to the southeastern part of Ardun along the Voltaria river, became isolated. It had the river to the east, the desert of Elijah to the west, and the ocean to the south. Otello''s main road to Ardun went north along the river. North was a battlefield as Danacia had already cut through the top of Otello to the desert and was slowly pushing south. The only way the refugees had to flee to Ardun was to cross over the desert. Transforming the desert into a blood bath.

    No caravan had a chance of crossing the desert in one piece. Raid missions and guerillas easily demolished any small group. Unpredictable winds and shifting mirages made tracking impossible. Eventually, the sands easily became dominated by robbers and scoundrels. Deemed filthy pathetic humans clinging to life by the duke Randrick Otello. Soldiers soon abandoned their posts as the Otello duchy was vanishing. Both merchants took their eyes off the ground and looked ahead. Dust loomed in the horizon

    ¡°Looks like we might have guests Devrick,¡± said the smaller of the two.

    ¡°Scourge of the land, hmph,¡± replied the larger merchant.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Well might as well stop here and wait. They might not see us if we stop kicking up this dust,¡± said the smaller merchant. The sand dust from the wagon remained in the same direction in the distance slowly getting larger

    ¡°Looks like they spotted us Evan,¡± said Devrick.

    ¡°I guess we better prepare. There is only one way out of this,¡± confirmed Evan. The two shed their cloaks. White onyx colored armor stood gleaming underneath. On Devrick¡¯s back stood a large shield. Embroidered on the shield stood a white cross with a red field, the house symbol of Couldesh. Couldesh was a minor house in the Otello Empire swearing fealty to Randrick. Hanging on Devrick¡¯s waist stood a large battle hammer. Evan unsheathed his long sword. Here they stood back to back with the camel in the middle. The raiders proceeded up to the merchants and five men jumped off of their mounts. Each man carried at least one khopesh. An khopesh was a small curved sword highly favored by nomadic people for their speed.

    ¡°Give us your weapons, armor, and camel if you value your lives,¡± bellowed the leader.

    ¡°As knights of Couldesh your lives as thieves and robbers are forfeit. Leave now or die fighting,¡± yelled Devrick.

    ¡°Then prepare to fall at the power of the Scorpions of Elijah,¡± said the leader. The scorpions surrounded the two knights. Devrick rushed to engage the leader and two other scorpions. He swung his hammer at the scorpion to his right. Instantly the scorpion jumped back. Over the top of his shield he could see the second scorpion coming in to attack. Devrick did not have enough time to counter attack so he raised his shield in defense. Then the leader and other scorpion darted towards him. Devrick tried to smash back the attacker with his shield while parrying the four ankrh blades aimed at his chest. However, he was only able to block three and redirect the fourth. The ankrh sliced through a portion of his armor into the forearm. He felt a sharp pain in his arm. Fear and panic struck him as a tingling crept up his arm.

    ¡°Poisned? Have you men no honor!¡± bellowed Devrick. All he got was a smile in reply. His life would soon be over. He turned to see his compatriot for the last time. Evan¡¯s fight was even shorter. From the first swing of his long sword Evan¡¯s life was over. One scorpion caught his blade in between the two curved khopesh. The second scorpion aimed for the heart and struck true. Devrick closed his eyes and embraced the darkness.

    ¡°Foolish knights with their sense of honor... Believing themselves to be infallible. Load the armor, weapons, and anything else valuable into the wagon,¡± ordered the leader.

    ¡°Sir, what about the bodies?¡± questioned one of his scorpions.

    ¡°The sand of Elijah will cover the rest. It has protected us this far and will not falter.¡±

    ¡°Sir come have a look at this crate.¡± the leader opened the crate. Inside the crate was an ornate chess board and pieces.

    ¡°Worthless junk. Probably some birthday gift to an over privileged noble prick.¡± He flung the crate back out of the wagon and into the sands. No sense in keeping anything worthless in a desert. One of the scorpions laughed and looked through the pieces.

    ¡°Heh it¡¯s even missing a white rook. Cheap ass noble.¡± Laughed the scorpion. He then overturned the crate spilling the contents onto the sand. He threw the empty crate into the back of the wagon and finished loading everything. Then the scorpions lead the spoils back into the desert. Sand had already crept over the half the chess pieces covering them from the rest of the world.

 Chapter 1

    Elias jumped up. Sunlight that was slowly reaching his sleeping face was now blinding him straight in the face. It was his first day of what he deemed the rest of his life.

    Today he started at the Imperial Army Academy. Most of his fellow friends and teachers viewed this as a poor decision.

    He had the capacity to enroll in a top scholarly academy if he applied himself. Truthfully he didn¡¯t want to.

    He would become a soldier of the imperial army for Ardun. Possibly a lieutenant if he could hone his battle abilities. Anything higher than lieutenant would be near impossible without a drop of noble blood in him.

    He ran his hand through his black hair and shut off his alarm clock. He showered and donned his uniform.

    For the most part the uniform was a pure white color. The trim, arms, and a stripe going from the armpits to the bottom of the pants were black. One day he wished to get gold to separate the colors indicating the rank of lieutenant.

    On the collar of the uniform each student was allowed to put their house symbol or in cases like Elias, an insignia of choice. Elias admired the collar of his uniform.

    He chose to put a white pawn. He smiled to himself of the symbolic identity of the pawn. Because of his blood status he was viewed as unimportant in the world, just like a pawn on a chess board. He finished making himself presentable and headed off to the academy.

    About an hour later he laid eyes on the academy for the first time. Elias thought the academy looked more like a palace or castle.

    Tall white spires spread up into the sky and surrounded it. The main building was the largest thing he had ever seen.

    It had to be since it housed all the students, classes, and equipment needed for war.

    He felt severely unprepared as he began to wander aimlessly through the grounds.

    The academy told him to only bring his issued uniform, and identification.

    Admittedly this was all Elias had to his name. He would have everything provided for him while the nobles were allowed more privileges like room arrangements and select furniture.

    The only thing he felt comfortable knowing was that the room sizes were the same. The academy viewed this as you come in here as equal civilians but rise to a degree of importance.

    He at least wished he knew the plans for the day. All they told him to do was arrive at the allotted time.

    As he followed the crowd and wandered into the main hall he was immersed in a field of black and white. If he was to be a soldier he at least should act like one he thought.

    He rolled his shoulders back and puffed out his chest correcting his posture.

    Figuring he was supposed to check in at one of the counters he marched through the sea of people and approached a man at the counter.

    ¡°My name is Elias and I am here to check in sir.¡± He passed over his ID.

    ¡°Elias,¡± the man hummed, ¡°You will be in barracks C room number 317. Here is your room key and schedule. Follow the directions on the schedule for today.¡±

    Elias then departed from the lobby and looked at the schedule. First was the opening ceremony speech.

    It also had a map of how the students were supposed to be arranged. On the map there were three sections, one for each of the freshman barracks.

    After in the correct section you were supposed to line up by room number. Elias figured the arrangement was based on the normal caste system and he placed himself with the rest of the nobodies.

    At least he wouldn¡¯t have to share a room with some he had to bow down to while being taken advantage of.

    Glancing further down the schedule. His heart sank. In bold letters read battle placement tests.

    All students have been arranged into a bracket. You were supposed to fight and defeat your opponents until you are defeated.

    This would then be used to measure your fighting ability and determine your battle weapon training course.

    It wasn¡¯t the fact that he couldn¡¯t battle that he was worried. In fact it was completely opposite.

    He learned swordplay earlier than most nobles by standards. He was taught by an army soldier named Kayle.

    Kayle had practically adopted Elias and taught him everything he knew. Elias even adapted Kayle¡¯s somewhat cynical views and ideals.

    Sadly one day Kayle had moved north across the land and Elias¡¯s lessons came to an end.

    However he never stopped practicing. He sighed as bells began to ring. It was almost time for the ceremonial speech.

    ¡°Greetings to all new academy students. I wish to welcome you here to the Imperial Army Academy.

    I am general Kobdan. Here you will be tested and pushed to the farthest reaches of human ability.

    I expect each and every one of you to follow every single protocol to the letter.

    First, you all have been assigned a barracks letter and room number. These are to be you classmates, roommates, and on the battle field, your saviors.

    Next, I wish to explain the rules of the combat training test. Each student has been assembled in a bracket.

    Here you will battle with training weapons until you have fallen. Training weapons if you are not used to them,¡± his gaze turned over to the barracks C unit, ¡°are blunt weapons.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    They will hurt when you do not properly defend yourselves. Luckily, since they are blunt, you will not manage to hurt yourself with your own weapon.

    However these weapons can still cause severe harm. I will not lie to you. Many serious injuries even death have been caused here due to training weapons.

    Let this be a lesson for you to learn how to defend yourself properly. Training weapons will be provided if you do not have one in your corresponding weapons room.

    You now have thirty minutes to arm yourself and report to the area on your schedule for training. Fight hard and do your families proud.¡±

    They were then dismissed and Elias headed off to the weapons room of barracks C.

    He didn¡¯t want to be the laughing stock of the barracks with some second rate weapon that didn¡¯t even work.

    He followed in suit with the rest of the students but the weapons provided for them were of poor quality.

    Armor lined the first set of shelves so Elias picked a set up. Most of the shields were gone and the bucklers were almost exhausted also.

    As for weapons there was a couple of spears and an abundance of short swords. Long swords were either missing or previously taken.

    It was only after this battle test you were able to specify under a weapon and receive a good quality one you would use throughout the rest of your studies unless you broke it.

    More students rushed by him and picked up a weapon as he slowly paced back and forth hoping for an overlooked weapon that wasn¡¯t a spear or a short sword.

    ¡°Is there a problem student?¡± said a grim man behind him. His uniform was trimmed with gold thread signifying a lieutenant and commander of barracks C possibly. Elias snapped to attention.

    ¡°There appears to be a poor selection of weapons here sir,¡± replied Elias.

    ¡°What is your name student? And what business have you with a poor selection of weapons?¡±

    ¡°My name is Elias sir. And if the point of the test is to test our fighting capabilities shouldn¡¯t we fight with equal gear sir?¡±

    ¡°So you believe if I gave you this sword behind me you could fight on equal terms with nobles?¡± It was after he said this Elias noticed the sword behind him.

    ¡°Well that would resolve one problem sir.¡±

    ¡°Oh? And what else is there?¡±

    ¡°Even if I chose to fight, it would only cause more trouble for me. If I choose to stand up to a person of noble birthright it would cause problems in the future.¡± The commander laughed.

    ¡°Follow me Elias. And let¡¯s see if we can¡¯t solve that little problem.¡±

    Elias followed the commander. He led him down a series of hall ways and they reached a room. On the door read Commander of Barrack C: Zacharias Tuxton.

    Zacharias then handed Elias a mask. It was black on the right half with white on the left. In the middle the two colors swirled together. It only had two eye holes.

    ¡°Sir?¡± questioned Elias.

    ¡°Wear this mask in the test. The teachers will know it was from me and allow it.

    Hopefully this will give you the courage to fight on equal grounds with the nobles. Although it will be a dangerous road if you choose to take it.¡±

    ¡°And what about my insignia?¡± Zacharias looked at the pawn and laughed. Then he passed him a black clamp.

    ¡°You might just have what it takes to survive.¡±

    Elias covered his pawn with the black clamp and placed the mask over his face. He adjusted his battle gear in the mirror checking for any evidence of his true self.

    His hair had been concealed behind his helmet. It was a filthy old thing with very little padding left.

    This was to be his only protection for his head making blows less lethal but still harming.

    He picked up the training weapon and checked the hilt length. It was a hand and a half sword.

    Ordinarily designed for one hand with a shield but adapted to a two handed weapon if the shield was lost.

    This made it longer than short swords but lighter and less effective than giant two handed swords.

    After he decided he would not be able to even determine who he was, he followed Zacharias into the arena.

    The arena as it was called was an eruption of noise and stench. It resembled more of a coliseum than anything else.

    Older students were already seated in the stands surrounding the arena. The arena had been modified to the battle test.

    Several semi clear squares divided the land. Each student was to have a one on one battle with another in a designated area.

    Instructors were a top of every stage ready to officiate the fights.

    Elias¡¯s grip tightened on his sword that hanged on the right side of his hip. The stands continued to erupt in shouting and laughter.

    Elias was in the middle of his test squad. He tried to conceal himself from the prying gaze of outsiders.

    He was also grateful that his test squad wasn¡¯t the same group of people that surrounded him in the ceremony speech.

    He would have to take off his mask then and there if everyone knew who he was from the speech.

    Gratefully Elias remained concealed for the most part. He did get a few questioning looks form those around him but remained silent.

    It was his first day here and he knew he could trust no one. He figured any street urchin would sell him out if it came to that point.

    He continued walking with his squad. The squad rounded a corner and proceeded down an isle of battle squares.

    It halted outside of square 21-14. A tall figure who led the squad to the battle square addressed them.

    ¡°Here is where you will take the battle test. You have been given your number on your schedule.

    Above the entrance is your bracket. Each person will have a one on one battle until you are defeated and one person remains.

    Once it is your turn, present your ID card in your corresponding entrance. Once inside the two combatants will fight until one has been defeated.

    You have five minutes after every match to prepare yourself and submit yourself for battle.

    If you do not arrive in time you forfeit the match.

    Let this be known. If you have no noble blood in you make sure you pay respects to those who have.

    Follow these rules and you may find your time here more pleasant than others.

    All men are not created equally. There are those of us who have been born into success.¡±

    Elias was confused. They expected him to loose and moreover they would punish him.

    Right when he submitted his ID card everyone would know who he was.

    But what then was the point of the number system? Was it actually possible to be a combatant with the mask and clamp given to him?

    Elias looked around the arena. For the most part he could see a handful of nervous students.

    A few stood tall laughing. Probably knowing they wouldn¡¯t even have to lift a single finger throughout the whole tournament if they followed the imperial chain of nobility.

    ¡°First year battle tests have now begun. First combatants please show your ID cards and proceed.¡± Boomed a loud voice.

    The stands erupted in a massive cheer.

    Elias watched as two students walked to the two entrances of the battle square.

    They flashed their ID cards and then strolled on stage.

    He then turned to the bracket in the middle of the doors to find his number. He was the third match.

    At least he would get to observe a bit to calm his nerves. The two students entered the arena and faced each other.

    Each person had a confusing look upon them as they tried to identify the insignia on their opponents¡¯ collar.

    Judging from their confused expression and the short swords in their hands, they were also from barracks C.

    Elias had no time to look around at what was happening in the other battles because the two in his square ran at each other.

    They were more like wild animals or barbarians than soldiers Elias thought.

    One student brought up his sword and slashed it down on his opponent.

    Instead of parrying the blade to the side, the student tried to block it completely.

    The attacking blade crashed down on his opponent forcing his arm and blade back into himself.

    It continued down until it struck the persons helmet. The student became stiff.

    The blow surged through his helm rendering him stunned and dazed to move as he toppled over.

    The referee stopped the fight and gave victory to the winner. After a moment the downed student regained control of his body.

    They both walked back out through their respective sides and rejoined the group as the next two approached the platform.

    Again one student was carrying a short sword. His opponent was anything but barracks C.

    In his left hand he carried a kite shield and a long sword in his right. On his collar bore a crest.

    At a distance it appeared like it was some form of black bird. They entered their ID cards and entered the arena.

    Panic struck the student from barracks C as he looked around for advice of what to do.

    ¡°Kneel down and be hit by my sword fool.¡± Commanded the noble.

    And Elias could see this was supposed to be the appropriate thing to do when confronting a noble.

    Sure enough the student kneeled down and the noble approached him.

    The noble brought his sword down plainly and gently struck the student on the shoulder. The referee concluded the match.

    Sweat trickled down Elias'' forehead as he walked to the second entrance on his right. He concealed his ID card and walked in.

 Chapter 2

    The referee took a long look at Elias.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to do this,¡± he asked. Elias had no choice but to silently stare at the referee. ¡°It''s your own fault for the bloodshed.¡±

    Elias felt a strange sensation coming from his hip. He unclipped the sword at his belt.

    Blood pulsed through his hand towards the core of the sword. He turned to face his opponent.

    His opponent carried a short sword and had a black flower for an insignia. Tension crept down his arm as he entered a fighting stance.

    Gripping the hilt with both hands he brought the tip of the blade down to the ground behind his right hip.

    The black flower rushed forward with the short sword in his right hand. Elias took off to greet him.

    Three steps are all it took for Elias to be in range. The black flower raised his blade and brought it down in an arc.

    Elias planted his right foot in the ground and twisted upwards. The torque generated sent his blade crashing into the short sword.

    The short sword was sent flying. Instinctively Elias planted his left foot forward and twisted again.

    The blade looped from its initial trajectory and flew under the black rose¡¯s arms. Elias felt an impact as the sword crashed into the rib cage.

    Energy flew from his hands up to his shoulders from the jarring impact. Black rose was immobilized and fell back crashing to the ground.

    He clipped the sword back to his belt and tuned to face the squad he was placed in.

    Everyone wore an expression of panic mixed with fear. Elias had forgotten he was still wearing the mask.

    He slowly walked back and exited. Nobody came near him. He stood in solidarity as the rest of round one was completed.

    ¡°Round one has been completed. All losers must now exit the arena and return to your designated barracks.¡± Boomed the voice over the stadium.

    Elias watched as half of the squad left in disappointment.

    This time he was the second match. His match was preceded by the victorious barbarian from the first match and the black bird from the second.

    However, being a noble the match was given to the black bird.

    The sword hummed back to life in his hands as he unclipped it from his belt and went inside the square again.

    His opponent this time wielded a short sword but had a small buckler for a shield.

    Apparently he had been one of the lucky ones to get to the weapons room of barracks C in time.

    A lightning bolt insignia registered no noble house in Elias¡¯s head.

    Elias switched into a more defensive stance. His feet were slightly square with his hands lowered.

    His sword was pointed at an angle straight in front. Elias would need near perfect timing for his counter attack.

    The black lightning bolt ran forward. His footsteps pounded throughout the floor.

    Once the lightning bolt was close enough his opponent brought his elbow back.

    ''So it is a thrust'' thought Elias. Elias kicked back with his right foot and spun on his left.

    The short sword of the lightning bolt stabbed right where Elias¡¯s heart would have been.

    Elias had maneuvered to the side of his opponent where the bucker could not be used.

    He brought his hands down and followed the tip of the short sword with his hilt.

    Elias continued the parry as the tip of his half hand sword neared the shoulder.

    Successfully deflecting the attack, Elias thrust back into the opponent''s shoulder.

    The lightning bolt stumbled as he lost control of his balance and began to spin towards the ground.

    He tried to regain his balance with the buckler by bashing the sword away from his shoulder.

    However, Elias used the momentum and spun around crashing the sword onto the back of the man with the lightning bolt.

    Lightning bolt was sprawled on the ground laying on his stomach as the referee ended the match.

    Elias proceeded to the exit. With the sword clipped to his belt again he walked over to view the bracket.

    At the beginning there were sixteen people in his bracket. After round one only eight remained and soon he would be one of the top four.

    His next match would be an important one. Would he stand up to the black bird noble or give in like the rest had.

    He would at least like to have seen his fighting style. Instead he would be going in with a disadvantage.

    Round two came quickly to an end.

    ¡°Round two has been completed. Will all the losers please proceed to the viewing sections of the arena in your designated area.

    Round three and round four will be in quick succession so there will not be an interrupt. After round three ends you will have five minutes until the next round begins.¡±

    Elias stepped up to the door and readied himself again. He unclipped his sword and held it in his right hand.

    He stared at the block bird and smiled behind his mask.

    ¡°I am a noble under the house of Kassala. Kneel and be hit by my sword.¡±

    Elias just stood there watching the noble with an intent gaze.

    ¡°Did you hear me peasant?¡± roared the noble. ¡°Maybe you need to be taught a lesson.¡±

    And with that he charged at Elias. Without time to think Elias ran at the noble. He made up his mind.

    Elias didn¡¯t give a damn about some foolish caste system. He had the tools to create complete chaos throughout the academy.

    The black bird from Kassala brought up his shield. Elias saw that he was defensive.

    The noble was too confident and only thought he needed to block the attack. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Since Elias had no shield a single quick strike would be all he needed to win.

    Elias continued to run.

    The noble had raised his shield to block the incoming attack but did not leave enough room to maintain visual with Elias.

    Elias took a final step off his left foot and launched himself into the air by swinging his right leg upwards.

    The movement swung Elias sideways and placed him above the kite shield.

    He balanced himself midair with his left hand on the kite shield bringing the guard down.

    With his right hand he stabbed down into the chest of the noble.

    He could feel the tension in his squad intensify as their fellow comrade and noble lay immobilized on the ground.

    There was no going back now. If he failed in this test he would lose everything he had, including his life.

    He exited the square and stood by himself. This time it was his personal choice to be alone.

    Soon word would reach the school that a nobody with a mask fought against a noble and won.

    There would be hell to pay.

    Silence still loomed as the final two members of his squad entered the square. Both of minor houses, they entered combat.

    Elias figured they were pretty evenly matched. Both had obviously trained with a battle master at a young age but were not very proficient with their skills.

    One noble had a stork insignia of house Ardland. He was using a rapier in a traditional fighting stance.

    The other noble had a great oak insignia of house Oakly.

    The noble from Oakly had a traditional broad sword in one hand and a rondella in the other.

    The roundella was a much more manageable circular shield than the large kite shield.

    The fight lasted for quite some time until the noble from Oakly had grown tired.

    The stork from Ardland pressed the oak until the roundella became too heavy to keep at a proper location.

    One kick from the stork and the roundella came crashing into the oak sending him sprawling back onto the ground.

    The oak had no time to recover from the kick was quickly finished off by the rapier.

    Elias was glad his opponent did not have a shield.

    Anyone properly trained with a shield could defeat more skilled opponents that had only a weapon.

    Elias walked up to his entrance and waited before entering. He was facing the other entrance and the stork noble nodded in agreement.

    Elias would allow the stork to wait until the five minutes was almost up to recover his strength.

    He came into this arena wanting to fight on equal terms and would not want to win by some cheap tactic.

    After some time the noble from stork nodded to him and proceeded in. Elias nodded also followed suit.

    He unclipped his sword and entered a stance. It was similar to the second one but his weight was shifted.

    He needed to be the aggressor and finish this battle before he became tired.

    Elias darted forward as his opponent met him. He brought the sword down in a clashing arc but put no force behind it.

    The stork relied too much on traditional fencing. The rapier parried the blade to the side but he used too much force.

    The stork was expecting a full attack and not a feint. The rapier was no longer in position to riposte.

    With no force behind his initial attack he was able to reverse the grip of his sword and stepped even closer.

    Neither combatant has any room to strike the other with their blade without stepping backwards.

    Elias drove his hands forward and the pommel of the sword rammed into the stork¡¯s face.

    With that final blow round four was complete.

    ¡°I now ask all combatants to please leave the arena. Survivors have ten minutes until we open back the arena for round five.

    Those who have been defeated please proceed to your designated seating area.¡±

    Elias quickly clipped the sword back to his belt and hastily exited the arena. To his right he saw Commander Zacharias.

    ¡°One helluva show you put on kid. Once word gets out the whole noble regime will be looking for you. Still planning on continuing?¡±

    ¡°How many of us are there left?¡±

    ¡°As of right now there are only sixty-four survivors including you. All of them are of noble blood.¡±

    ¡°I think I can take my chances for a few more rounds.¡± Elias sat waiting for the arena to open back up.

    He saw a few other students waiting for the arena to open back up.

    Most of the others must have gone out in a different direction.

    The doors to the arena slid open. The arena had changed.

    Inside it now laid thirty-two different squares.

    However, these were much larger than in the previous rounds. Obstacles also littered the squares.

    He walked around until he found his number on square seventeen.

    He stood alone by the entrance waiting for the round to begin.

    ¡°Welcome to round five for the first year battle test. Here stand our final sixty four combatants.

    As you have noticed the squares have been randomly modified with obstacles.

    After each round everyone on the arena floor will be asked to leave so we can enlarge the squares and add additional obstacles.

    And now round Five will finally begin.¡±

    Elias entered the arena and looked around.

    It appeared as if the floor had been modified to create different elevations.

    Anyone who was careless would find themselves tripping over a bump and defeated.

    Elias laughed at the thought, being defeated by an insignificant rock.

    He examined his opponent at the opposite end of the field.

    Immediately he could tell by the equipment he was a noble form house Isiles.

    They were known for their two massive towers. He carried the traditional arms of house Isiles, a tower shield and a spear.

    The tower shield was a massive rectangle that rested on the ground. It was a formidable defensive item.

    But the most dangerous object was the spear. It had a massive range in which it would be foolish to enter without any means of defense.

    Elias hesitated. He could not be defeated here. His mask would surely be removed and insignia discovered if he was defeated.

    Panic struck Elias. He felt himself shaking. Had he done the wrong thing? He had to think of something.

    His opponent could not move with the massive tower shield and spear. His mobility was also significantly reduced.

    There was just no openings he could find. His only option would be to dodge the spear and wrestle it from his grasp.

    But, being trained from a battle master at a young age with the very weapons he now carries, wrestling the spear from his grasp could be a challenging task.

    If he had a corner or wall the opponent was forced up against he could use that to his advantage.

    However the noble form house Isiles stood dead in the center of a flat area of the square.

    Elias took off encircling the noble. He encircled him clockwise always running in the direction of his spear arm.

    Slowly as he continued to circle the noble he shortened the distance between them.

    Once the noble realized he was within range he thrust his spear towards Elias.

    The noble mistakenly stepped with his right foot with his thrust that made it impossible for him to swing the massive tower shield around in time.

    The clockwise direction also slowed down the time it would have taken the shield to block.

    Elias twisted as the spear head went sailing just past his right shoulder.

    One step with his right foot and he slashed across the nobles body.

    The tower shield ended up crashing into Elias¡¯s back which sent both sprawling forward to the ground.

    The battle had already been decided with his hand and a half sword.

    The noble angrily stood up and grabbed his spear only to be stopped by the referee.

    Elias calmly picked himself up and hastily strode to the exit.

    Elias decided it was best to hide during the break in case anyone was waiting for him once he got out.

    The nobles were in a furry. An unidentified masked student was raising his weapon against nobles.

    It almost seemed like everybody knew he had no noble blood.

    Probably, they thought, because he would want to honor his house instead of hiding behind a black clamp.

    He sighed and waited a while before entering the arena for round Six.

    Sixteen massive squares had dominated the floor of the arena. He looked up towards the stands.

    The word had gotten out. The stands above his section were filled.

    Even the isles seemed to be overcrowded with people.

    What he could only assume to be insults with all the white noise erupted when he walked to his platform.

    He entered and marched proudly through the door smirking at those in the stands.

    The obstacles this time were more advanced that bumps in the ground.

    Massive wooden ¡°trees¡± seem to be erected out from the floors.

    The terrain also had a sharper degree slant in most areas. Bumps turned into hills and rocks became boulders.

    His opponent had the insignia of a hawk. He had a kite shield and normal long sword.

    The kite shield also contained a hawk oh house Tryn.

    ¡°No time like the present¡± Elias said to himself. He rushed forward using his first stance.

    He was greeted by the hawk noble and twisted his body to block the long sword.

    He redirected the long sword but did not send it flying. He took a step with his left foot and looped his sword back across.

    The hawk twisted and blocked the sword with his kite shield.

    The hawk took a step forward with his right foot and launched another overhead attack with his sword.

    Elias parried his blade to the left. He let go of the hilt with his right hand and swung the blade around for an overhead attack.

    The hawk could not recover his blade in time so he instinctively raised his kite shield in defense.

    Elias¡¯s idea worked. The hawk had raised his kite shield too high.

    It blocked the hawk¡¯s field of view so he did not know what Elias had planned with his right hand.

    Elias grabbed the right side of the kite shield and lifted up and to the left.

    The unforeseen action caused the hawk to stumble akwardly since all his weight was braced for an impact.

    Elias stabbed through the opening as fast as he could. It was over.

    The hawk had been defeated. Elias clipped his blade to his belt and walked as quickly as possible to the exit.

    Once he got out of the arena he bolted. It was time for him to finish the test.

    He simply could not risk getting caught at this point and ran to the Commanders room.

 Chapter 3

    Elias knocked on the door.

    ¡°Come in¡± Zacharias said through the door. Elias opened it, walked inside, and locked the door behind him.

    ¡°I believe I have had enough sir.¡±

    ¡°What are you quitting? Why now?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir. I simply cannot risk getting caught at this point in the game. It would be too risky for me to carry on.¡±

    Elias took of the mask and clamp and offered them back to the commander.

    ¡°Keep them, they might come in handy if you ever wish to battle on equal grounds with the nobles again.¡± Elias thought about it and declined.

    ¡°It would be impossible for me to hide them at the current moment sir.¡±

    ¡°Ahh well they are here if you ever wish to claim them again. And no one else will be given a mask.

    Think of it like special privileges. Besides you have already caused enough chaos for me.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Elias said as he took off his helmet.

    He looked outside the halls and saw no one.

    Thankfully he wasn¡¯t approached by anyone in the hallways while he put his helmet back in the weapons room.

    He walked around to the arena spectators¡¯ entrance. He decided to go up one of the stairways in the opposite direction of his match.

    The stands were less crowded over here. He was able to sit by himself in the far up reaches of the arena by himself.

    He needed an area to cool down and let the sweat stop dripping down to avoid detection.

    Ten minutes were up when a loud voice of complaint erupted from the other side of the stadium.

    Elias wondered if sitting in this section was a good idea.

    By secluding himself he would be an obvious candidate if people were to come looking for him.

    However his heavy breathing would have been a dead giveaway.

    He finally managed to get his breathing under control as the rest of the students distributed throughout the rest of the arena.

    So Elias sat down and watched the final matches of the test.

    ¡°The first year battle test is now over.

    All students are dismissed for the rest of the day. Assignments for the following couple of days will be posted in your rooms.

    In addition each first year student has been awarded battle credits for competing and defeating additional opponents. Dismissed.¡±

    Elias got up from his seat. Battle credits?

    He wondered what they were and laughed that he had more credit currency than most of the nobles in the whole school.

    Unfortunately, he thought to himself, he could not go on an excessive spending spree or that might arouse suspicion.

    Elias continued to walk down the halls towards barracks C.

    Everybody was bustling with excitement and utter confusion. They all had one question on their minds.

    Who was the masked first year student? Elias reached his hall and entered a stairway.

    Judging by the large three on the wall he arrived on the correct floor. The third floor was much quieter.

    Paint had been run all along the walls. Random names and objects littered the walls.

    Beneath them held tally marks. Elias figured they were teams of sort marking their victories.

    The only thing that remained unpainted was the doors. Elias continued down the hall until he found his room.

    Room three seventeen was third to last in the hall. Twenty one rooms in the hall.

    Since each hall was identical, and there were only three floors, Elias counted 126 members of barracks C.

    He inspected his door once again. All it had was a small key slot to the right of the door.

    Elias entered his key and heard a click noise. He pushed down on the handle and entered his room.

    The room was ordinarily plain but contained all the necessities. Two beds were pushed up into the corners.

    Besides the beds were two desks and two chairs. Elias pulled off his shoes and placed them next to his bed.

    The door made a clicking noise. Elias stood up to greet his fellow roommate for the rest of the year.

    The door opened and the person walked in.

    ¡°Ah looks like you got here first.¡± Said his roommate.

    ¡°Haha yeah. Sorry I accidentally choose a side of the room without you.¡±

    ¡°No worries it isn¡¯t a big deal. My name is William. Most people just call me Will.¡±

    ¡°Names Elias nice to meet you Will.¡±

    ¡°So this must be the schedule.¡± Said Will glancing at all the papers on his desk.

    ¡°Yeah, pretty boring stuff for the rest of the day.¡± Elias walked over and slouched on the bed.

    William placed his stuff on the ground and spun his chair around to sit down.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°What did you think about that masked student?¡± questioned Will

    ¡°That student either has a lot of guts or is completely crazy. Who in their right mind would willingly dare to challenge the nobles?¡±

    ¡°No kidding right? But all the nobles are in a frenzy.

    Even the upper class men are searching for this masked student.

    I just can¡¯t believe he got away with it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah but it causes more troubles for us.

    If anyone was likely to be the masked student it was one of us and we are going to get the punishment for it soon or a later.¡±

    ¡°You have a point. But still the whole academy is in complete chaos right now.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Small groups of us nobodies are thinking of following suit. I mean we could change this whole academy.

    No longer would it be dominated by the nobles.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a good idea in all but you would need more than small groups.

    Even if they do start rising up against the nobles, there is no way we could protect ourselves.

    The whole school would turn into a battle ground.

    Students couldn¡¯t even walk to class without fear of being beaten up by a large group of nobles around the corner.

    Teachers would step in at some point and resolve the matter.

    Most likely with their influences we would be getting the short end of the stick.¡±

    ¡°I guess you have a point. We should all just wear masks then and conceal our insignias like the one kid today.

    No way they could punish us if they don¡¯t know who we are.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately they probably can.

    They would simply have to make all our lives so miserable that it would be better to quit.

    Eventually someone from our group would sell out the rest.¡±

    ¡°Hmm at least it was one hell of a show.¡± Elias glanced down at the schedule.

    Suprisingly, the only thing that was planned for him was schedule with Commander Zacharias Tuxton tomorrow at eleven.

    He wondered how this had gotten to him so quickly and who else knew.

    Elias regrettably sighed and decided to open up the instruction guide and get to work.

    ¡°Welcome to the Imperial Army academy.

    This guide was created to help incoming students learn and adapt to school life here.

    First thing you need to learn about is what you need to have decided before you meet with your commander tomorrow.

    This included classes you will be taking as well as what weapon you wish to become a master of.

    There are four specific class categories for first year students.

    These are weapon training, defensive training, field tactics, and group combat.

    Weapon training classes are specific to your weapon mastery.

    You will be automatically enrolled in this class to be separated amongst your barracks unit with other members of your specialization.

    Mandatory defensive training is also mastery specific.

    More than likely you will be enrolled in this class with the same group as your weapon training.

    Field tactics courses are for those who wish to lead troops into battle.

    It is not required for all students to take but is highly recommended.

    The final and most enjoyable class is your group combat class.

    You are required to form forty-two three man cells.

    Your cell will practice, train, and compete against other cells from your barracks.

    You may have noticed the graffiti on your walls.

    These are previous year¡¯s cells and their records.

    Winning group combats will reward you with battle points you can spend in the shop. I

    ndividual cell teams are chosen by you.

    This means that you are responsible for forming a cell and reporting to your commander.

    So the most important decision you will make tomorrow is your weapon specialization.

    A full list of weapons can be found in the battle point store under weapons.

    You will meet with your commander tomorrow to discuss your decision.

    Keep in mind that your commander determines the final say in your weapon specialization.

    He will also have reviewed your battle test records to confirm your selection.

    Besides your weapon specialization, the only other decision you must have before your meeting is if you wish to take the field tactics course.

    Now is a good time to select your specialization. Next we will talk about the battle points store.¡±

    Elias closed the instruction guide and opened the battle points store.

    He wondered if he had a lot from the entrance battles.

    The menu divided all the items into the following categories: food, furniture, offensive items, defensive items, decorations, weapons, and armor.

    He turned to the weapons list.

    Weapons were further divided into the following subcategories: pole arms, long swords, short swords, hand and a half swords, two handed swords, hammers, axes, and miscellaneous.

    Elias had already made up his mind about what he wanted to specialize as.

    He chose to keep with the similar style he had today and looked at all the hand and a half swords, or more comonly known as bastard swords, that were available.

    At the top was the normal straight one he used today in the tests.

    But, as he looked further down, the design got more complex.

    On the list were straight blades, longer blades, blades with no hilt, and even hook swords.

    He was pretty sure a hook sword would be more complicated and near impossible to use in real combat.

    So he looked through the list without hook swords. So far nothing stood out at him as his particular blade.

    He wanted one sword to call his own. He continued looking through the list until he saw it.

    The one sword he could call his own. It was a Wazakashi. It is a type of samurai sword similar to that of a katana.

    But this Wazakashi was special. Its blade was curved. A menacing blade with a ¡®S¡¯ curve.

    This was his sword. He selected it and checked the price. It was five thousand points.

    He checked another Wazakashi price. Both were five thousand points. Every sword he checked was five thousand points.

    ¡°Hey Will how many battle points do you think you got from the test?¡±

    ¡°I''m hoping ten thousand,¡± he chuckled. ¡°I won one victory and kneeled the second. Still debating if it was the right thing to do.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry you did the right thing. I feel the same way but I¡¯m the same as you.

    One victory and forced to kneel the next. At least we will only see them in passing.

    Everything else from here on out is with Barracks C."

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m actually looking forward to getting rid of the nobles. What do you think about the group combats?¡±

    ¡°I think I need to get into a group and fast. Wanna go take a look at previous groups?¡±

    ¡°Sure. So any idea on the weapon you wanna specialize in.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I was planning on being a traditional knight. Sword, shield, whole thing.

    But, after today I feel like defense isn¡¯t my thing. I blocked more attack with my sword than with my shield.¡±

    ¡°Ever thought about dual wielding?¡±

    ¡°Is that even possible here?¡±

    ¡°They might not have a specific weapon class for it but why not?

    Besides we are going to need an offensive striker if we are going to be a cell squad.¡±

    ¡°Well funny thing is, I picked out two different long swords that match my style.

    I guess I will have a long chat with the commander tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha all we need now is a defensive man and we have our cell.¡±

    They departed the room and examined the walls. They started at the dead end and walked all the way down to the stairs.

    Blue panthers had twenty-seven wins and twenty-three losses. Silver lances had nineteen wins to thirty-one losses.

    The walls continued down throughout the hallway. After a while of looking at the walls other students joined in running around to find the number one squad.

    The walls looked more orderly than his original thought. They were divided into sections.

    The name of each cell squad was posted on the wall in the middle. On top of each name was a drawing.

    The cell mascot as it was so called. Below the names was each cell¡¯s record.

    Twenty of the marks were painted in black. The other twenty one were colored.

    Upon further investigation they were not tally marks. They were other team names written vertically in the shape of tally marks.

    Twenty-one marks had a single name on them. Four marks had double names on them.

    The final four marks had a VS. before the team name. Elias turned towards Will.

    ¡°So, these are the different types of competition. The black marks are one on one group battles.

    That is the first twenty marks. Next, are the two versus two battles.

    Then you get into groups of three for a larger scale conflict.

    Finally, battles take place in bracket formation to determine your ranking.

    Sounds like this is going to be an exciting year.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get started. It is getting late, lets head back to bed.¡± They both walked back to their room.

    On their bed was sleepwear for them. They straightened out their uniforms and placed them on the desks.

    Finally they slipped into sleep at the first night at the academy.

 Chapter 4

    A loud banging woke Elias up. He heard marching footsteps outside of his room. Somebody was outside of his room.

    ¡°All nobody freshman exit your rooms now!¡± boomed a voice from outside in the hall. Elias rushed over to Will.

    ¡°Trouble! Will get up. I think nobles are here.¡±

    ¡°Hurry up you have one minute to appear outside uniform or not.

    If you do not comply you will suffer the consequences.¡± Said the voice again. Will turned towards Elias.

    ¡°We really have to go outside? How can they even reach us?¡± questioned Will.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure Will but I have a bad feeling about this.¡± Said Elias. They rushed to open their door and stepped outside.

    In the hall were upperclassmen. Two of them pushed Elias and Will up against a wall.

    ¡°Smart choice nobodies,¡± said the one holding will. On their collars were crests.

    The other two nobles stormed off into their room. ¡°Better pray we don¡¯t find that mask in your room.

    Or else you won¡¯t survive the night,¡± threatened the upperclassman.

    ¡°All clear sir,¡± reported one of the kids who came out of their room.

    Elias looked around of the panic induced hallway. Most of the students in his hallways were smart.

    However only one room remained closed.

    ¡°Times up,¡± menaced one of the kinds outside of the closed door.

    Two other upperclassmen joined the four outside the door.

    They unclicked wooden training weapons from their belt.

    Elias tried to move forward to see what they were doing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± warned the upperclassman who held him against the door.

    One of the nobles pulled out a blue key from out of his pocket. Elias¡¯s worst nightmare came true.

    The battle weapons store sold offensive and defensive items.

    They could get into his door and the two in the room had no way of stopping them. The door unlicked.

    Two of the noble upperclassmen kicked the door open simultaneously.

    All he heard was shouting and screams of pain.

    Two of his fellow barracks men were then dragged out into the hall.

    They were bloody and beaten till they couldn¡¯t stand.

    ¡°Not here sir¡± said one of the nobles coming out of their room. T

    he man who was the leader of the nobles paced through the hallway.

    ¡°Stupid idiots. On your knees filthy dogs,¡± commanded the noble leader.

    As he gave the command every noble who held a student against the wall punched them in the stomach.

    Elias and will were forced to fall forward on their knees.

    ¡°Listen now and listen well. You may think you have gotten away with it this time but it will not happen again.

    Once we find out who you are we will not hesitate to kill you.

    If we find out that you do know but do not tell us the identity of the masked man we will kill you.

    If you come forward and tell us the identity of the masked man out of honor, duty, and service you shall be rewarded.

    Things are only going to get worse from here on out if you continue like this masked man.

    If you ever decide to resist us again you will receive worse than your friends here.¡±

    After his speech, the noble marched away without a second thought about the two kids who were lying bloody on the floor.

    The nobles followed in suit behind him. The nightmare was over for now.

    ¡°Will help me out with these two,¡± said Elias after he couldn¡¯t hear the nobles anymore.

    Elias and William rushed over to the two students lying on the ground.

    ¡°Does anyone know where the infirmary is?¡± questioned Elias in a weary voice.

    ¡°I do,¡± said a largely build student who was walking on his way over to help carry one of the students.

    He led them down a couple corridors until they reached a location with a medical symbol over the entrance.

    ¡°Doc we got two more,¡± shouted one of the kids.

    He appeared to be a medical student working here in the infirmary of the academy.

    ¡°You guys wouldn¡¯t happen to be on the third floor would you?¡± asked the student.

    ¡°Yeah we were the last ones the nobles visited,¡± said the student who helped Will and Elias carry the two down to the infirmary.

    Apparently every floor of barracks C had been visited that night. The search for the masked man continued.

    ¡°Thanks for bringing them down,¡± said the med student.

    ¡°If you would please place them on those two beds over there I will be over there momentarily. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    After that you guys should head back to bed. You have had a long day and are gonna need your rest for tomorrow.

    The first week is always the most rough.¡± The three placed the two down on the bed.

    These two looked like they weren¡¯t the only ones not to open their doors to the nobles.

    ¡°Thanks for helping us out,¡± said Elias.

    He stuck his hand out to shake it with the student who helped them to the infirmary, ¡°My name is Elias.¡±

    ¡°No problem. It is nice to know that there are those who are willing to help others. The name¡¯s Liam.¡±

    Liam shook Elias¡¯s hand. William and Liam both introduced themselves and the three headed back up to the rooms.

    They parted and entered their separate rooms. Elias and William rearranged their room since it had been overturned.

    Once they straightened back their room Elias looked up at the ceiling and listened to the bells.

    In four hours he would meet with the commander to talk about the beginning of the rest of his time here at the academy.

    He slipped back into his bed.

    Loud bells continued marking passage of time.

    He lied there trying to fall back asleep until he had one hour to get dressed and be outside of the commander¡¯s office.

    He took a quick shower in the hall community bathroom. No surprise the water was cold.

    Nothing like a cold shower to wake you up in the morning.

    He hurried back into his warm room and dressed himself in his uniform.

    Then he set off to the commander¡¯s office.

    ¡°The commander says you can enter,¡± said the student who exited the office.

    Elias entered the office for the third time in the past twelve hours.

    ¡°Welcome once again Elias.¡±

    ¡°Good morning Sir.¡±

    ¡°So let¡¯s get down to business. Have you chosen a weapon from the store?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir. I have chosen the ¡®S¡¯ curved wazakashi sword. Hand and a half length sir.¡±

    Zacharias flipped through some papers till he found what he was looking for.

    ¡°Interesting choice,¡± laughed Zacharias. ¡°I feel like it will suit you well.

    Credits shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you. So have you decided if you want to have a shield or not?¡±

    ¡°Truthfully sir, I have not. However, I feel like I would have a higher fighting ability with one.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a specific style in mind?¡± Elias took some time to think.

    ¡°I¡¯m against a traditional kite shield, tower shield, and buckler sir.

    All that leaves left is roundellas, but a completely spherical roundella would be too awkward with my attacks sir.¡±

    ¡°Then that leaves two options. First is the crescent roundella, second is the double crescent.¡±

    The commander turned the screen to show Elias. The crescent roundella looked like a normal spherical roundella.

    The only difference is that there was a crescent shape cut out of the right side of the shield.

    This allowed freedom to swing your sword further in front. It also allowed blades to be blocked if they came across his body.

    The double crescent was the same but it had the cutout on both sides.

    Elias figured this removed too much protection from his blind side.

    ¡°I feel like the single crescent roundella is more appropriate sir.¡±

    ¡°Ok so the sword is five thousand credits. The shield is an extra seven thousand five hundred.

    Would you like me to register these for you?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir¡±

    ¡°Ok we will have these in the armory later today. Next in order of business are classes.

    You will be in the bastard sword specialization.

    Unfortunately for you, since it can be two handed, there is a parrying tactics defensive class you must take in addition to the general shield use class everyone who has a shield will be in.

    Do you wish to be entered in the field tactics course?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir I was planning on it.¡±

    ¡°Why do you want to enter this course then? You are already in a strict offensive course with two defensive courses.

    Do you think you can handle all the work? You will receive no special treatment from any of the teachers.¡±

    ¡°I plan on being a lieutenant one day sir.

    The course work should not be a problem and I do not expect any special treatment.¡±

    ¡°As you wish and if anyone asks you are now negative battle points.

    Your class schedule will be finalized and sent to you soon.

    All that¡¯s left is for you to register or join a cell team.

    Entries are due by the end of today or else I put you in a squad. You are dismissed.

    Please send the next student in.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Elias replie. in a breath of relief. Everything went according to plan.

    He wasn¡¯t that surprised the commander allowed him to go along with his goals from what happened yesterday.

    Everything from here on out would be up to him. He exited the office and sent the next student in.

    He smiled and walked back to his room.

    ¡°How¡¯d your meeting go? I take it that it went well,¡± laughed Eliass.

    ¡°Surprisingly well,¡± replied Will. ¡°The commander was a little surprised at the thought of me dual wielding.

    He said it wasn¡¯t very common but it has been done before. Only problem is that I can¡¯t take the field tactics course.

    Instead I have to go to two different long sword classes. In each class I¡¯m only allowed to use one arm.

    Teachers have been notified in case I decide to cheat and switch hands though. I¡¯m so excited.

    I¡¯ve probably walked down to the armory every five minutes to see if they have my swords yet.

    How¡¯d it go with you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m about the same. I was easily surprised at how easily he let me choose my weapon and shield.

    I have two defensive classes compared to your offensive.

    One for the bastard sword and one for the shield. The only problem is that now I have negative battle credits.

    The shield I chose put me at negative. Besides that I managed to talk him into letting me enroll in the field tactics course.

    Hungry?¡±

    ¡°Starving. Let¡¯s go find the barracks cafeteria.¡±

    They walked down to the first floor and found the cafeteria farther down the hall from the armor room.

    They got in line and followed the crowd.

    Breakfast food consisted of dry eggs, burnt ham, and a glass of milk.

    No wonder why they had a food section in the store.

    ¡°Well all that¡¯s left now is to find a third for our cell. Got any ideas?¡±

    ¡°The only other person that I can think of that might be our defensive guy is Liam.

    We forgot to ask him last night. Think we could head over to his room and ask him?¡±

    ¡°Might as well give it a try.¡± Will finished his breakfast and they went up to floor three.

    They reached door three twenty and knocked.

    They heard footsteps behind the door and Liam opened the door.

    ¡°Hey Liam how¡¯d your meeting with the commander go?¡± asked Elias.

    ¡°It went well with my size and all,¡± Liam laughed.

    ¡°Most everybody in the hall seems to be in debt now that equipment orders are over.

    Even for me I never thought it was possible to be negative in credits but it¡¯s allowed for first year students for a limited time.

    Luckily for me I am not too much in debt. So what are you guys up to now?

    Everyone seems to be down in the armory waiting for their weapons.¡±

    ¡°We were wondering if you had joined a cell group yet,¡± said Will.

    ¡°I have not. You guys need a large tower shield man with a battle hammer?¡±

    ¡°Exactly what we need,¡± said Elias. ¡°So what shall we be called? How about the Suicide Kings?¡±

    ¡°You mean like the king of hearts? Sounds pretty bad-ass to me,¡± said William

    ¡°It is pretty ridiculous to me but is defiantly better than anything I could have come up with,¡± agreed Liam.

    ¡°So let¡¯s go talk to the commander.¡± The three students walked down to the office.

    They knocked on the door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± said Zacharias without really looking up. ¡°So you three are a cell squad?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± They replied. Zacharias wrote down their names.

    ¡°What is your cell name?¡±

    ¡°The Suicide Kings,¡± answered Elias. Zacharias looked up at them.

    ¡°I have some concern with the name. Many nobles might find the name offensive.¡±

    ¡°We based it off of the king of hearts sir. No offense is meant by the name.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh I see. If I was to allow this I assume your cell logo would be the playing card?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    ¡°Alright the Suicide Kings it is.

    Since you are one of the first cell groups to register, the wall opposite of your door is open.

    Is this where you want me to put your information?¡± The three agreed.

    ¡°Okay. I will enter this into your schedule and plan training time in the training rooms.

    Battles will take place every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday.

    I will update your information as well as your record status on your wall every night. If that is all, you are dismissed.¡±

    The three students exited the room and could not contain their excitement.

    They were the Suicide Kings. They vowed to go undefeated and become the number one cell in the barracks.

    After they left the office they went off to get lunch together.

    When they got back to their hall they separated and went back to their room.

    Elias sat down and excitedly looked forwards to this year.

    He figured he should read the rest of the instruction guide if he wanted to prevent another midnight invasion.

 Chapter 5

    ¡°After the meeting with the commander, it is important to talk about the battle credit shop since the messages and schedule is self explanatory.

    Any item can be ordered through your representative commander.

    It will be delivered to your representative to be picked up in person.

    You will receive a message indicating that you may pick up your item.

    Please be considerate in placing your furniture with your roommate.

    Finally the last piece of advice offered by this guide will be offensive and defensive items.

    However to your disappointment this will not outline specific items and their uses.

    These will be for you to discover and learn yourself. In this academy, competition is key.

    If you want to succeed you will have to use sabotage and counter methods.

    Offensive items are those which will aid you in the collection of data, whether that is training plans, movement strategies, or items of strategic importance.

    Defensive items will be utilized to help protect your plans, strategies, or items of importance.

    One last piece of advice to all students, competition is not limited to the arena. Learn and adapt to survive.¡±

    Elias was somewhat confused and irritated by the last section.

    It appeared he would have to learn everything from here on out by himself.

    It would be extremely easier if he could get a list from an upperclassman about the purpose and functions of different items.

    Just then a loud crash as something impacted the door from the outside.

    William had poked his head inside after making the loud ruckus by colliding with the door.

    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± he shouted. Elias quickly stood up and they rushed out of the room.

    They ran as fast as possible to the armory.

    Most students in the hall heard the commotion and checked to see what was going on.

    Soon Elias and William were being followed by a stampede of first year¡¯s barracks C members.

    Once they arrived they were third and fourth in line.

    William held the two boxes he received in his hands.

    He could barely contain the excitement of opening up the boxes then and there.

    After it was Elias¡¯s turn. He handed over his ID and the man at the desk.

    The man handed back the card and disappeared into the back room.

    Soon he came out carrying two large packages.

    One package was long and slender. The other was much larger.

    The larger was flat and definitely an oddly shaped object to carry.

    He managed to akwardly lift his smaller box and place it ontop of the larger one.

    Elias ran to keep up with Will. They got outside of their room and opened their boxes outside in the hallway.

    Will managed to get his two boxes opened first.

    The first long sword was longer in comparison to the second by almost an inch.

    This would be the weapon he would place in his main hand. It had a red hilt with a silver sheen down the blade.

    The second long sword had a blue hilt. It was smaller in comparison but not by much.

    He got an evil maniacal look on his face as he stood up holding the blades in his hands.

    Elias couldn¡¯t help but laugh at his expression.

    Finally Elias managed to open the box containing his shield.

    As he opened the box there was only one thing that stood out.

    The crescent roundella was pitch black except for a giant white pawn in the middle.

    He picked up the shield admiring his insignia. It was terrifying to behold.

    His eyes seem to be entrapped by the dark black surrounding the pawn.

    Elias finally managed to set the shield down. He picked up his wazakashi. It was menacing.

    A dark steel blade flowed from the hilt. It winded down like a river bending back and forth.

    The sheer look and feel of the blade had only one purpose, decapitation.

    The final curve of the blade beckoned for a neck to give the kiss of death.

    Both edges of the blade had the capacity to cut into most objects. Sharp edges met in a piecing point.

    Elias sat in awe of the fear radiating from his equipment. The pommel size felt perfect.

    It wasn¡¯t too big to the point where he couldn¡¯t grip it nor too small so his hand wrapped around the grip so far it felt loose in his hand.

    His roundella had a black strap to throw his forearm through and a grip by the crescent cut.

    He pulled the shield up through his arm and held it in front of him.

    It was lighter than he was used to but the center of mass for the shield was difficult to figure out.

    It would take him quite a bit of practice to get used the new weight of the shield.

    Good thing he was taking two defensive classes.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Due to the ¡®S¡¯ curve in the blade, it could not have a sheath.

    Its unnatural size also made it impossible to clip onto his belt without the tip being damaged and scraping on the ground.

    He pulled out the last thing in box which was a weapon clip.

    He attached the clip to the bottom blade section of his wazakashi and held it up.

    He reached over his back and attached the clip in an angled fashion so that the hilt could be seen by someone in front of him over his right shoulder.

    His back gave a little shudder as the clip attached itself to his uniform.

    After, he slung his roundella over his shoulder.

    The crescent end was towards the left of his back with the large pawn standing tall.

    His wazakashi became blocked by the shield so all people could see from behind was the hilt and tip of the sword.

    As he stood up, he lost his balance and almost fell backwards.

    He managed to catch himself on the wall and stabilize himself.

    He laughed and went over to meet up with Will.

    Will snapped both of his blades to the opposite corresponding side of his belt.

    From there the two went to go find Liam and meet other members of their hall.

    Liam had already opened his weapons and stood towering above those around him.

    His tower shield was not quite as tall as himself but it did not need to be.

    Its sheer size and width easily covered his large body and more.

    On the shield was a white dove flying in the same pitch black field Elias had.

    Elias was more intrigued by Liam¡¯s war hammer though.

    The war hammer had a pole like handle the length of a normal long sword.

    At the end of one side was a spike. Opposite the spike was the hammer portion.

    It had the appearance of a hammer tool instead of a giant hunk of metal that Eliass was envisioning.

    It looked like a nice general multipurpose weapon either for bashing with the hammer side, or impaling with the spike side.

    With Liam¡¯s size if he could master the tower shield, he would be a formidable opponent with the speed and brute force behind the war hammer.

    The fact that you could change where you gripped the shaft also could be useful for deceiving your opponent of your range.

    Elias couldn¡¯t wait until they started group practice.

    The three went down to the practice rooms to see if they could get in and spar until dinner but the rooms were locked.

    A notice next to the door said they were open and free to use but one had to register to reserve the room for practice.

    Since they didn''t have time to register, they went off to an early dinner.

    Dinner was a combination of comical relief and wasted food.

    Strewn through the cafeteria was a littered mess.

    Students were knocking over trays, chairs, and even some tables.

    None of them figured it would be this hard to eat with a shield on your back and swords hanging from your hips.

    Most students it seemed were captured by the feeling of the new presents.

    Elias, William, and Liam got their food and chose a table that was pushed up against a wall.

    This way they could take off their swords and shield and lean them against the wall.

    ¡°So Liam, are you taking the battle field tactics course?

    Elias is taking it but I have two offensive classes so it makes me very time dependent,¡±

    asked William with a mouthful of corn in his mouth.

    Liam swallowed the food in his mouth before he responded.

    ¡°Nah I decided against it. My older brother is two years older than me here said I should come to his advanced strength and conditioning course.

    I asked the commander and he said it would be alright if I chose to go to classes even though I wouldn¡¯t officially be enrolled.

    He talked with the course teacher and said it would be alright so he placed me in the beginning strength and conditioning class.

    Also, I would be unable enroll in the field tactics course because they are at the same time.

    I figured I¡¯m not much of a tactical person anyways, always relied on the brute force method.

    Besides I can learn some things and then teach you two a little about conditioning.¡±

    He made a wide grin on his face as Elias and Will both gave a reliant laugh.

    ¡°Looks like our cell team is going to be pretty balanced then with me as the defensive base, you as the offensive striker, and Elias as our tactician.¡±

    They finished their dinner and continued watching the new students as they continued to walk in and destroy everything in their path.

    One kid even tried to sit down with a roundella on his back.

    It caused the chair to fall backwards as he tried to sit down in it.

    Milk came out of Will¡¯s nose after watching the poor kid try to stagger back to his feet like a turtle.

    Eventually they got bored of watching other people and headed back off to their separate rooms.

    Elias sat down in his chair and saw a message on his desk.

    He opened it up and it read:

    <table>

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="text-align: center">

    Dear academy student,

    </td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td>????Your schedule for the rest of the academic year has been generated. Please feel free to check it to make sure the information on it is correct. If you have any discrepancies please contact your commander. In addition you have been registered for your cell group Suicide Kings. A general meeting with your barracks will take place on the date inscribed in your calendar to discuss cell battles. Your are now allowed to register for additional time in the training rooms located at your barracks.</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    Elias discarded the message and opened his schedule.

    On Mondays and Thursdays he had weapons training for two hours in between breakfast and lunch.

    After lunch he had a three hour field tactics class followed by an early dinner.

    Then their cell had access to training room three for two hours after his early dinner.

    Tuesdays and Fridays were his dual defensive days.

    Two hours of sword defensive tactics followed by lunch and then two more hours of shield defensive tactics in the afternoon.

    Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays were normal battle days.

    However judging by the time it took for the tournament and the fact that not every battle would be settled in the arena.

    Which left a lot of time open for them to do homework and rest up over the weekend.

    Because of what happened last night he would need all the sleep he could get for tomorrow.

    Tomorrow was the meeting for the discussion of how cell battles would take place and he wanted to be alert as possible for the meeting.

    Elias awoke to a familiar ring of the school bells.

    Right on time and he was thankful they did not get another visit from the nobles.

    He got showered, dressed, picked up his sword and shield, and met up with Will and Liam for breakfast.

    Both of them were grateful for a peaceful night also.

    After breakfast they followed the rest of barracks C into the barracks conference area.

    There they saw commander Zacharias addressing the barracks.

    ¡°Good evening students. Once again I am commander Zacharias Tuxton of barracks C.

    We are gathered here today so I can explain the rules of the cell battles.

    There are three different types of battles. First, is the general field battle.

    A general field battle consists of the teams fighting in a battle square in the arena.

    Secondly, there are assault/defensive missions.

    In these battles one side is designated assault and the other is designated defense.

    The defensive group¡¯s mission is to protect a certain item of interest.

    The assault group¡¯s mission is obviously to recover the items of interest.

    Utilizing the battle store would be a great idea if you want to win.

    And the final challenge type is delivery.

    There will be two delivery missions throughout the year for each team.

    In addition to the competiting teams there will be two "neutral" teams.

    Of the two groups battling, each will consist of three cell squads.

    One squad¡¯s mission objective is to deliver the item safely from one neutral group to the other.

    If the other neutral group is in possession of the item at the end of the allotted battle time, than it is their victory.

    The other three squads¡¯ objectives are to intercept the item.

    If the item is not in possession by the other neutral team by the end of the allotted time, than it is their victory.

    So I would like to officially start the school year here with this. He pulled out a wooden circular ring.

    Last team to have this ring in their possession by the end of today wins.

    Although this will not count towards your record, I still want you to try.

    So there is a five thousand credit reward per person to the winning team.

    The final thing I will say once and only once. Violence outside of the arena is forbidden.

    I will not have students resulting to barbarianism in order to accomplish their tasks.

    If a single student is sent to the infirmary, someone will be expelled.

    You each have brains and I implore you to use them. That is all I have to say today.

    Classes begin Monday and everything else you should be able to figure out for yourselves.

    Dismissed.¡±

 Chapter 6

    ¡°I never thought there were be different types of challenges,¡± William said to the group. They funneled in line towards the exit.¡±

    ¡°You guys go on ahead. I need to talk to the commander about my schedule tomorrow,¡± said Elias.

    Elias walked back back in to the auditorium towards the podium where Commander Zacharias was packing up his things.

    He turned around and made sure nobody was still in the conference center.

    ¡°Sir,¡± Elias said trying to get the Commanders attention.

    ¡°Its right there on the podium. Go ahead.¡± Zacharias chuckled. ¡°I guess the suicide kings are in the lead.¡±

    Zacharias smiled. Elias took the ring and wedged it between his body and the back of his pants.

    He hefted his shield and sword onto his back to make sure the ring was concealed.

    Then he strode out of the conference center and back to his room.

    ¡°What was wrong with your schedule?¡± asked William when he entered the room. Elias closed the door behind him.

    ¡°Nothing was wrong with my schedule. I was picking up this,¡± Elias said as he pulled the ring out from his pants.

    William looked astonished.

    ¡°But¡­ but¡­¡± was all that William could get to come out of his mouth.

    ¡°Just keep it on a down low.¡± Elias winked and set down his sword and shield.

    He needed a more legitimate hiding place for the ring.

    For now Elias lifted his mattress and placed the ring between his mattress and the bed frame.

    ¡°That should be sufficient for tonight.¡± A knocking sound resounded on their door.

    William answered it and Liam stepped into the room. William closed the door behind them.

    ¡°So what is the plan to capture the ring?¡±

    ¡°What ring?¡± questioned William.

    ¡°The ring the commander wants us to capture!¡± Liam said in a panicked voice.

    ¡°Oh you mean this ring?¡± Elias asked as he pulled it out from underneath his mattress.

    Liam¡¯s eyes focused on the ring in confusion.

    He then relaxed as he understood that they were in the lead and no one else was any wiser.

    He slid the ring back under his mattress. ¡°Ok we need to act like we don¡¯t have the ring.

    Let¡¯s go outside and discuss how we¡¯re going to get that ring.¡±

    They walked outside and saw a couple of other groups discussing the same thing.

    ¡°So wait a minute where is the ring?¡± questioned Liam.

    ¡°I dunno. Who¡¯d he give the ring to?¡± asked Elias.

    ¡°Nobody. He just set it down on the podium and we all left.¡± Said William. The three looked at each other.

    A group next to them looked up. From there it became a mad house.

    Elias, Will, and Liam smiled at each other as they raced across the hall.

    The noise disturbance caused the whole hall to come out and see what was going on.

    Eventually they had every kid in barracks C doing a mad dash towards the conference room.

    Once inside everybody made a dash to the podium. To everyone¡¯s amazement, except for Liam, William, and Elias, the ring was gone.

    Someone shouted that someone must have already had the ring.

    ¡°William, Liam, spread out. Find what group or groups aren¡¯t here.

    It¡¯s highly likely that one of them has the ring. William you look for those groups who aren¡¯t on the first floor.

    Liam you have the second floor. I¡¯ll cover the third.¡± They spread out. Soon everybody followed suit.

    This also proved an ample opportunity to test William and Liam¡¯s reconnaissance.

    Elias had already noted most of the groups that were there when they were rushing to the conference room.

    He already counted all third floor members. Second floor had two empty rooms.

    The ground floor also was missing one room. Six people total were missing.

    That made two cells that they could blame for having the ring. Liam and William ran back to him.

    ¡°I counted two rooms that are absent from the second floor.¡±

    ¡°Only one is missing from the first.¡±

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s go then.¡± The three ran back to the dorm area.

    Other teams gave up on trying to figure out who was missing and followed the three back.

    ¡°Alright were goingto have to act natural. I¡¯m going to knock on the door normally and wait for them to open it up.

    When they do I want you guys to grab the two on the inside. Everyone else search the room for the ring.

    Elias knocked on the door. He heard footsepts behind it and someone opened the door.

    Immediately the two students were dragged out of their room.

    ¡°Whats going on?¡± questioned a frightened and angry student.

    ¡°We are looking for the ring. It wasn¡¯t located in the conference room where he set it down,¡± said William.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have it I swear!¡± By the time he finished the students walked out of the guy¡¯s room.

    ¡°Nothing in here they don¡¯t have it.¡± The large group then made another mad dash towards the second floor.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Will, Liam wait. There would be no chance for our group to recover the ring if it is in the other two rooms.

    There is too big of a crowd for us to reach it in time.

    Let¡¯s go under the assumption that Commander Zacharias still has the ring.

    If we head down to his office maybe we can get it and hide it before the other teams.¡±

    With that the three followed the mob towards the stairway and went down the stairs.

    They waited until all focus was on the second floor and loudly whispered each other down the flight of stairs to the first floor.

    One person noticed their descent and signaled for his group to follow Elias and the others.

    ¡°Smart group,¡± he thought. Once they got to the bottom of the stairs they ran to the Commander¡¯s Office.

    William knocked on the door. Zacharias opened the door.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡±

    ¡°We were wondering if you still had the ring sir.¡±

    ¡°I left the ring on the podium. It is currently in possession of one of the cell squads.¡± With that Zacharias closed the door.

    ¡°I guess we missed out. It must have been in one of the rooms on the second floor.¡±

    Elias gave his best depressed look. ¡°We still got plenty enough time to find it later for now theres nothing we can do running ourselves ragged.

    Maybe we can catch the person with the ring if he tries to flee down the stairs.¡±

    So the group of six jogged back to the dorms with exhaustion.

    They walked back up to the stairs to see a confused group of people.

    ¡°Did they have it?¡± questioned a student from the group that followed them.

    ¡°No it wasn¡¯t in their rooms. Where did you six go?¡±

    ¡°We talked to Commander Zacharias. He said he left the ring in the conference room.

    He also said it was already in possession by a cell squad. We thought it would have been in one of your guy¡¯s rooms.¡±

    ¡°No it wasn¡¯t in neither room.¡±

    ¡°Then we must assume the worst. One group must have gone back and grabbed the ring before the rest of us realized it.

    Might even have had enough time to store it in their room.

    No way to do a room by room sweep either.¡± Time passed by as the time neared midnight.

    All of the students in barracks C were to tired and confused at this point to do much.

    Five minutes of silence ensued until the bells softly sounded midnight. Footsteps sounded from the stairway.

    Commander Zacharias strode up the stairs and into the hallway. All the students stood up and snapped to attention.

    ¡°It is midnight and I came to announce the victors. Congratulations Suicide Kings.

    And with that I announce the start of the group battles. Get to sleep you have classes beginning tomorrow.¡±

    Zacharias waved his arm towards the noisy students.

    ¡°Congratulations guys. This is going to be a terrific year,¡± said Elias.

    Will and Liam agreed and with that they separated and went off to bed surrounded by angry scowls.

    Elias and Will awoke sluggishly the next morning. They picked up their arms and headed out to breakfast.

    The groups¡¯ information on the wall changed! Last year¡¯s cell teams had been replaced with their years.

    Each squad took off to see their mascot and name printed on the wall.

    Elias, William watched as Liam rushed up the stairs.

    Once he reached the outside of their door they looked at the opposite wall and saw their mascot.

    It was a giant king of hearts playing card tilted on one of its corners. Below the mascot was their name, Suicide Kings.

    Excitedly the group headed down to breakfast.

    Will had weapons practice right after breakfast and did not want to be late.

    He wolfed down his cereal, excused himself, and then ran off full sprint to class.

    Elias counted the bells and judged by his speed Will was going to get there fifteen minutes early.

    Elias finished his breakfast also and headed to look around the school. His weapons class was in two hours.

    Since he had nothing to do until then, he walked back to the training rooms.

    None of them were in use or scheduled for use.

    Since no one had scheduled any they were put on a first come first serve basis.

    Most of the rooms had been separated as individual rooms or group practice rooms.

    He peeked into the rooms and examined the different training grounds available.

    Among the different types was cardio, obstacle, tactical, dummy battle, attack, sword defense, and shield defense.

    Every training type had a difficulty level written next to it.

    He walked into the obstacle type. His main objective was to get familiar with the practice rooms and have a warm up session before class so he would not be slow.

    However he didn¡¯t want to be completely worn out before class. Especially on the first day.

    Elias closed the door behind him and read over the objective.

    ¡°Your objective is to reach the end of the course within the time limit.

    Since you will not need weapons or shields please set them down against the wall.

    You will have a time limit of two minutes to complete the task.

    You can begin by pulling the designated roped and lifting the weight fully to the ceiling.

    The pulleys and ropes have been adjusted so that it takes the weight the appropriate time to hit the ground.

    Additional weight can be added to challenge yourself to complete the track even faster.

    An example difficulty chart is shown below.¡±

    Elias finished reading the instructions and set his equipment down and tried to get a layout of the course.

    Elias was surrounded by walls on each side. In front of him was a round opening in the wall that had entrance printed above it.

    On the other side he saw a pool of water that was around ten feet below the ground he was currently on.

    Opposite of that was a giant slide that led down into the water.

    It was close enough to try and jump off the slide and land on the platform if he timed it right.

    If he missed however, he would land in a pool if water.

    Elias then began to walk towards the weights and hoisted them up.

    Elias pulled the weights up until they hit the ceiling. He steadied his breath, let go of the rope, and ran.

    He jumped into the opening and began crawling inwards.

    Once he got far enough into the tube, it turned towards the right.

    Elias continued to crawl hurriedly through the tube. He eventually got out of the tube after it snaked back around.

    Once he got out he was surrounded by walls on all four sides again.

    On one of the walls were openings to climb up. At the top he could see a large opening.

    Elias began to climb the wall. He always enjoyed climbing trees when he was little so this was no problem for him.

    Once he got to the top he stood on a large square platform.

    Across the way was another large square platform. Slightly above him rested crossbars one was meant to swing across.

    He grabbed ahold of two separate crossbars with his hands and swung out.

    Below him was a similar style pool that had a ladder leading up to the second platform if one fell in.

    Smoothly he made his way over one arm and one crossbar at a time.

    Once he arrived he stopped to catch his breath and recover the strength of his grip.

    Below him was a slanted section leading into water. A little beyond the water was the starting area.

    He had to time his jump while he was sliding down the ramp in order to reach.

    Elias got down and began to slide.

    He used his hands for balance on the slide as he felt himself starting to slide faster than he had anticipated.

    Once he thought he was close enough he jumped. His heart was beating in his chest but he was going to make it.

    The platform he landed was on was surprisingly harder than he thought. His knees buckled underneath him.

    He rolled on the ground three times before he came to a complete stop.

    Elias crawled over and grabbed the rope as the weights were still descending.

    Elias smiled and released the rope as he watched the weight eventually reach the ground.

    He wanted to continue with obstacle course training. The feeling was exhilarating.

    He just didn¡¯t want to injure himself and sprain his ankle like he almost did with the jump.

    He picked up his sword and shield and walked out of the room. He would definitely be back here many times.

    Elias walked back to his room and waited for class to start.

    His hand and a half sword class would be in outdoor field C.

    He clipped the sword to his back walked out of the academy.

    On his way out into the outdoor field he passed a bunch of weary students walking back into the academy covered in sweat, mud, and a few in blood.

    Good thing he didn¡¯t over exhaust himself in the training room.

    He met up with a couple of other students he saw with hand and a half swords he noticed from barracks C.

    Together they walked out into the field and assembled in front of their new teacher.

    He was a rather large grizzly man. Both of his hands were resting upon a massive sword stuck into the ground.