Commander

Before I knew it the whole week had gone by. I spent all that time lazing around my room, taking the opportunity to practice gravity magic after I finished reading the book I had gotten. As of that moment though I was only able to sustain anything meaningful when I was in my other form. So it was really nothing more than a party trick. However, I had figured out how to combine my manna and soul energy, so I could cast magic without using manna, at least to an extent, which was super cool.

After that though… Yeah, I basically just layed around. Once or twice I felt restless and went for a run or stretched, but I was honestly content with having nothing to do for once. Nothing to worry about. I taught Mr Dragon how to play chess. He quickly became obsessed with it, but of course, he never beat me.

Just like that the rest of the week had passed and we were finally back in class… Everyone stared at me again, no doubt surprised, and… Some… A little disappointed…

"Alright then… Here are the rankings. Classes will be reorganized to fit your new specified ranks. So all we are doing today is taking time to adjust."

He called them all up in waves. Apparently Bear and Isy both wanted to push themselves, so after teaming up and succeeding, they separated, each one achieving the rank of lieutenant. Mo ended up killing a water panther, if not only so she could make herself new armor since I had kind of ruined and stretched out her old set. She was the only one given the temporary rank of guild master in the whole class. As for me… My name never got called, at least not until the very end when I had to walk up alone, standing in front of everyone… And facing the one person I felt the most uncomfortable around. My whole body was trembling… I had to use magic just to force my legs to stop shaking.

"Commander."

He gave me a large band that wrapped tightly around my upper arm to signify my rank… Though, I wasn't very keen on him putting it on himself… He must have realized it too, quickly taking a large step back when he was done… Every soldier had one, in order from lowest to highest they went white, black, teal, dark electric blue, and finally mine, which was a strange gold burned with red coloring. "I thought you couldn't get higher than a guild master before graduating?"

"After having killed three demons… And having undeniable success on at least a simulated battlefield… The academy has made an exception… But there is more." He gestured for me to go sit back down, and so I did before he continued.

"This next month will be spent familiarizing yourself with the duties your rank holds, things of that nature, as well as the duties of those below you. Theoretical classes will be separated by rank, but practical classes will involve joint class exercises. Generally speaking, a chief commands a group of four, a centurion commands a group of 12, a Lieutenant commands a group of 24, and a guild master commands a group of 50, the two added members being logistical and support specialists who can handle communications, etc. A commander will then command a group of anywhere from 100 to 300 men, and a general is just someone who is in command of all commanders within a regional area. For instance, right now we have five major regions." He pulled down a map. "The border with the empire is considered one, the border with the southern nations is considered two, then the region of the capital, which includes both Kasesh and Skorth, fourth is the region of the western mountains, and fifth is the Naya region just south of the capital. It's the largest, but the lowest population density. On top of this, we have three admirals, which are commanders given autonomous control, and answer directly to the king, rather than being commanded by generals."

'None of that information actually helps though… Like… Will I just be in class by myself? Or…He won't be teaching me one-on-one now will he? I'm definitely not prepared for that…'

He went on explaining the new class schedule and how we were supposed to all organize, then he went on to make sure and notify us that from that moment on we would all be learning not how to fight monsters, but conduct ourselves as a military and fight a war.

It wasn't all that surprising for a curriculum… But the way that he said it so seriously… I couldn't help but think there was more going on behind the scenes. Like a real war was coming…

"Siya, come with me."

'Right… I guess this is where we finally talk about why I'm special.'

We made it out into the hall and then down to the first floor. He didn't say a word, neither did he smile. His usual personality had been somehow weighed down like he was being crushed by his own heavy thoughts.

Finally, he opened a door to a grand war room, which… Well, I honestly didn't know what they normally used it for. Most likely upper-class education.

"Kal… This is the girl?"

I shuddered as I stepped inside, three giants staring back at me, each one the size of my father, one even taller. They each had the aesthetic of a battle-worn Viking that had lived through 9 wars, fought in 7, and lost 5. Rugged bodies filled with scars and worn-out armor that was somehow still well maintained.

"That's right…" He said quickly, stepping to the side and letting me through.

'What… Did I just walk into…' After scanning over the three men I let my eyes fall to the table… But it was so high I could barely see the formations on it, I could just tell it was a model of the surrounding area and military movements. "Why am I here…"

Kal shrugged. "Right… So basically, these are three commanders currently stationed in Kasesh, you are here to learn from them. If something goes wrong, you will be put in charge of commanding several of the students here to support the military.

"Support… A lot of these kids aren't even in their teens yet. You want them to fight in a war against the empire?"

Everyone fell silent.

"I mean… I'm assuming that's what we're talking about here right?"

The largest of the three let out a long groan as he leaned forward on the table, his cloak of bear fur swaying back and forth as his scarred hands bulged, supporting his weight. "I feel the same, but we will not stop those who wish to fight from doing so, not when it is to protect their homes…" He let out a deep breath. "This is also the worst-case scenario. And to be blunt, even if they are to evacuate, they would still need a leader to command them in protecting the citizens and themselves while doing so."

'Well of course the children would be in the reserves… But that only helps if you are assuming the main force doesn't get wiped out…' I slowly rubbed my forehead. 'War hasn't even been declared yet right? We are just preparing…' I sighed, grabbing a chair and pulling it up to the table, jumping on top of it. "I doubt I was brought here to debate the ethics of child soldiers… Let's get to the topic at hand. Right now… The generals will likely be in charge of the overall plan, all we can do is figure out how to properly execute the given roles… In this instance, what are our orders..." 'And how can I creatively interpret them…'