Chapter 42 – Excellence Camp Team Battle II

Ashern City - Reinhart Institute of War, 3rd of Brightforge, year 315 UC

Five figures in black cloaks sat around the circular table. Violet stood passing out a thin folder to the others and paused for a second when she arrived in front of Bryan.

"Your target is Leopold Vincent."

Her white and red rabbit mask tilted slightly as she spoke.

"This is an elimination mission. Clean, quick, no witnesses."

She moved behind Bryan, bonking him lightly on the head with her folder.

"Ready for your first real mission, rookie?"

A finger snapped in front of Bryan's face. The memory shattered, replaced by Christopher's concerned expression.

"Hey, you in there?"

Bryan blinked, his brow furrowing slightly.

'Why am I remembering that? It's three years old.'

The briefing room, the masks, Violet's question – none of it held any particular significance. Just another mission briefing. So why was his mind dwelling on such a pointless memory?

"Well?"

Christopher pressed.

"What do you think?"

Bryan's frown deepened. Think about what? He turned his attention to the dueling arena below their observation platform, only to find Team Four already walking off the field, their opponents defeated.

'What? The match just started two minutes ago.'

Had he really zoned out for that long? Julius and his team hadn't even broken a sweat, yet their opponents were already eliminated.

Bryan's fingers tightened imperceptibly on the railing.

Something was wrong with him.

The nose bleed, the headache, the memories, and now he was zoining out. Yeah, there was too much happening for it to be a coincidence.

Turning his attention to Christopher, he looked at the boy. His eyes were squinted slightly, and he glanced away when Bryan looked his way.

'Nervous?'

Bryan wondered as he read his body language.

Five feet away, Alexander, Sabrina, and Farrah were huddled near one of the support pillars, their voices a faint whisper. Bryan caught sight of Alexander motioning to the ground floor where the duel took place before his mouth moved.

Siliva stood at the entrance, her eyes focused on a device in her hand, but she spoke to her team every so often.

Team one wasn't paying much attention to the duel and were gathered in the corner right under the vent.

Neither group mingled with one another, each minding their own business. And with the space between, they made the room seem larger than what it actually was.

The observation room stretched along the gymnasium's upper level, its reinforced glass offering an unobstructed view of the floor below. Metal benches lined the back wall but were empty even though there was more than enough space to fit thirty or more people.

"Shouldn't you be over there?"

Bryan asked as he motioned towards the others in their squad with his chin.

Christopher smiled weakly.

"I kind of feel bad about the last match. I didn't do anything."

"Not like the others did much. Besides, you got scorched, it wasn't your fault."

Bryan told him.

Christopher laughed and then smiled.

"Honestly man, I didn't picture you as the type to try and make others feel better."

"Because I'm not."

Bryan quickly added in before Christopher could continue.

"Yeah, that's not what I'm trying to say. I think…"

He paused, looking away and down at the empty duel arena below.

"I just look at what you've done and it hit me. Like I'm pretty ass at this. You've seen what I can do, and I don't expect you to bullshit me. What do you think of us?"

Christopher asked.

There was something about his tone that made him seem like a lost puppy. Sad and wanting help.

"Why are you asking me?"

Bryan couldn't help but ask.

He thought that the others disliked him by now. Especially after he left things yesterday with them.

"You just seem like you don't care about what others think, so you're the best to tell me how it is. And you seem to have it all put together."

Bryan shrugged once as he looked away.

Team four and two were both being talked to by their respective instructors. Learning what went right and what went wrong.

Christopher was right about one thing. He did not care what others thought about him. But, he was wrong about him having everything put together.

Bryan had no clue where he was going. The only thing he knew was how to fight and how to kill. Was that something he should be proud of?

It was not like he could go home and tell his family that he had managed to take out two targets with more experience than himself. No one in the Inquisition cared; what mattered was that the job was done.

Simply going from one job to the next. There was no room for praise.

At least not for him.

"You're all bad. Skill-wise, you're nothing special, and there is a lot of room for improvement. I pictured that you all would put up a challenge and be similar to myself. I was far from the truth, and as I told Farrah in a real fight, you wouldn't last thirty seconds."

Bryan told him as he leaned on the metal railing. As they stood on the far end of the observation deck, he could hear Christopher shift beside him.

Christopher was silent for a second.

Hearing the truth could be too much for some people. Realizing that you weren't anything special when you've been told that your entire life.

Yeah… that would be hard to digest for anyone.

But there was something about being normal. If Bryan had been normal, he would have grown up differently, and he might have thought he was special, too. His skill level would have been on par with the other kids'.

However, it was impossible for that to ever happen.

"Ouch! I thought it was bad, but thirty seconds?"

Christopher let out a low whistle.

"Thirty seconds? You're not low-balling me are you?"

Strangely, he took the information better than expected.

"Alright, so we're crap in your eyes. Probably the instructors, too. But let's say you're the outlier in all of this. The rest of us should be on par with each other, right?"

Bryan turned to look at him for a second. He saw Christopher was in thought as he scratched his hair.

"No. The top 'twenty' aren't even in terms of power. These rankings are bogus, and I'm not sure what metrics they used to determine our rankings. However, someone, let's say, ranked nineteen could outstrip someone that's rank five in terms of spell power. So, why is someone who is more powerful ranked lower?"

Bryan asked.

It was a question he's been thinking about since he discovered the capabilities of his teammates as well as the others.

Alan said they were ranked based on their starting potential, but was that really true?

He was not going to toot his own horn, but he was strong. But, was he stronger than Alessia? If Julius' words are believed, then Alessia vastly outperformed him.

Being able to wipe out dozens of people in a snap?

The amount of firepower required for that was incomprehensible. Even now, Bryan was trying to wrap his head around how that would even look.

And that's taking into account the various spells he's seen cast in real life. Spells capable of destroying buildings, crushing people with force, and even poisons that couldn't be seen with the naked eye.

Wide area spells capable of flattening, burning, freezing, and paralyzing others.

Yet even those spells took time to kill their target, nothing instantaneous.

Alessia was truly special when it came to death. There might not be a mage their age that would be capable of killing on her level. If she could reach her potential and replicate what she did before but on a larger scale.

To think that she was able to do all of this at such a young age when she didn't have access to all of her spells. People considered Bryan to be a monster, but what sort of beast would she be in five or ten years?

"I've thought about that too. The others have as well, and we think it has something to do with our backgrounds, alongside what we've demonstrated during the test. We all took a written, physical, and combat test before we were accepted. Those scores played a part in our ranking as well, but there's just got to be more to it than that."

Christopher said as he leaned on the rail alongside Bryan. His sleeve brushed up against Bryan's as he moved. They were not even a foot apart from one another, only a few inches.

"You're spell, it's Rock Bullet, yeah?"

Bryan asked without looking at Christopher.

"Similar. Rock Barrage. I'm able to shoot rocks endlessly. The downside is it starts slow but picks up speed as time progresses."

"I'm guessing the area of control is what? Ten feet around you?"

Christopher raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah, something like that. More like five feet though. You're well versed in spell knowledge, huh?"

Bryan glanced at him for a second before turning his attention back to the ground below. The teams were dispersing now as the instructors got together.

"You can say that. Rock Bullet lets you summon a rock and shoot it out in a direction. Usually, one at a time, and the entire field is at your disposal. The Barrage version gives you an area to control, and you can fire out one or multiple at a time."

"Yup! For a starter spell, I'd say I pulled a powerful one. Sucks that it drains me of my ether, though."

Hearing what Christopher's spell was and knowing that he also had the armor one changed Bryan's view of him. Christopher was right, Rock Barrage was powerful. A capable mage would be able to shoot out endless amount of rocks that could go supersonic speeds.

It was not a spell that newly awakened mages would acquire.

Normally, it would be the fourth or even fifth spell a mage would unlock. And by then they would have other spells that would complement their fighting style.

That spell was also used for area denial but could be used offensively as well. Although it was unlikely due to the drain the mage would sustain.

"My folks were pretty surprised when I awakened, and they saw what spell I had obtained. They were happy, sure, but it's pretty useless right now, and everyone knows it. I was lucky to get my other spell, less ether drain, and increased defensive abilities. I can even hit harder, too."

Bryan just listened to him, taking note of what Christopher was telling him about himself and his spells.

He was a lot more capable than what he first seemed, and Bryan realized why his stamina was dogwater. Christopher hated training and figured he could just rely on his spells to protect him. An immobile tank, that's what he wanted to be, and he didn't need stamina to not move.

Awakening his first and second spells utterly crushed that dream of his, and he did not know that casting spells would cause physical exhaustion.

"Why are you telling me all of this? Revealing your spells? You know that this is a competition, don't you?"

Bryan asked.

Christopher chuckled as the metal rail creaked with the movement of his body.

"Shit, man, you think any of that matters? Life is a competition. You knowing my spells doesn't mean anything to me. I figure I'd die anyway, what's the difference between now or later? Besides, do you think they'll drop us out of this academy, and we'd be free to go? Heck no! Most that will happen is we'll transfer away to a different military academy."

Christopher shook his head slightly.

"They will get their money's worth out of us. Drain us of everything we're worth and toss us when we're next to useless. You best to believe that."

Christopher sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"So you want to use what I told you against me? Go ahead. What's the point of working so hard? These are going to be our best years before everything goes to shit, and we're stuck at the border doing some pointless job. Gods forbid you to get sent to an expedition unit that travels into the deep caverns."

There was a silence that stretched between the two of them for a moment. Bryan could hear the bits of conversation between the other members of his team as well as team one.

They were talking about Alessia.

What were they saying? He tried to listen more intently, but Christopher spoke up.

"That blood of yours, it's similar to water and wind, huh? Plenty of people have crescent shapded projectiles, the size and how many vary from person to person but it's nothing unique. Just never seen anyone use blood before. How is it?"

Christopher asked.

Bryan glanced at him then shook his head.

"How is it? What am I supposed to compare it to? It's just magic, nothing more to it."

Bryan replied.

"Yeah, I get that. But it's still your own blood. Does it hurt?"

Bryan sighed.

"No. There's nothing to feel. You're essentially asking me the equivalent of me asking you if you feel anything from rocks. Do you?"

Christopher laughed.

"I might. There are some crazy people out in the world, and I could be one of them. Being all in tune with my element and such. Anyway, I just wanted to ask you about how you are so strong. I mean, my childhood was nothing special, but man…"

He let out another whistle.

"You don't act or move like the rest of us, that is for sure."

Bryan snorted.

How did he get so strong? Easy. Spend your entire childhood learning everything you can about magic, mages, combat, and how to kill. Then apply it when your teachers think you're ready.

"Just train like your life depends on it. Because someday, it might."

Bryan replied.

He could feel Christophers gaze on him, but Bryan didn't turn to look at the boy. There was no need.

"I might have to. Your attitude might be shit, no offense. But I can respect your abilities and what you've shown. I also don't have an ego the size of Mount Cai, so I can and will ask for help when needed. If you're still up for it, I'd still like to learn about body augmentation."

Bryan kept looking down, but he moved his eye to see Christopher for only a second.

He thought the guy was a liability, and he wasn't wrong. Christopher was, but Bryan did not take into account that he had room to grow. They all had room to grow.

It was just they were crawling while he was already in a full-blown sprint.

"It's only been two days since we've arrived. We have no idea what's in store for us for the remainder of this camp. These last couple of days have only been them testing us and us settling in. I expect by tomorrow or the end of this week, we won't have much free time."

Bryan said as he watched the instructors walk away from the duel arena.

"I'm not a teacher, so don't expect anything that's on par with what they are capable of. If you want to learn, then I can spare some time to show you how it's done. At least the way I learned it."

"Works for me. So, what's your plan for team four?"

Christopher asked.

"I don't really have one."

"Don't have one? Dude, were you not paying attention? Alessia just walked right into the enemy team, and they all died. No one else on team four made a move. It was insane."

'So that's what happened.'

"Well, then, I guess I'll have to kill her before I get to the others."

Bryan told him.