“I know that for you nobles your points are much more precious than commoners’ lives, but I’d like for your Lordship to realize that some of us may not come back to their families because of you brats.
“Captain, instead of wasting our time with niceties, let’s see how much a waste of space he is. What’s your status, Saddle?”
“I have a girlfriend. Don’t know if she’s the right one, though.” Lith pretended to have misunderstood the question. Being obnoxious was a game two could play.
Seeing Lith’s smug expression, Khran became red from anger. Some of the officers laughed at the joke.
“I don’t give a damn about your love life. I want to know what can you do!”
Lith took a mental note that no one was defending him. Even the captain did nothing, aside from the occasional eye roll.
“His specializations are Forgemastering…” When Captain Yerna read out loud Lith’s file, multiple groans and the sound of hands slapping a forehead or a leg in a fit of rage echoed through the warehouse.
“That’s great, another one as useful as a third nostril…”
Yerna ignored Khran, raising her voice to cover the sergeant’s whining.
“…and Healing. Back in his village, White was a hunter and a bounty hunter. Last year he survived Balkor’s attack, went toe to toe with a Valor and lived to tell the tale.”
Instead of wasting her time arguing, the Captain had decided to check her trainee’s personal files from her data amulet. It contained an image of his visage to recognize him and all the relevant information for the mission at hand.
Many heads turned when they heard about the healer part, a few nods followed Lith’s past as a manhunter, and clear disbelief accompanied the last sentence.
“His village?” Many echoed.
“Yeah, I’m a commoner, not a noble. I’ve worked very hard to get where I am.” Since they showed him no respect, Lith was ready to pay them back in kind. His voice was cold while Death Vision showed him a series of gruesome deaths he had no intention of preventing.
“A healer from the White Griffon sounds nice.” Said a brown haired man in his mid-twenties. For Mogar’s standards, he was tall and lean, with his 1.74 meters. Like all the men in the unit, he was perfectly shaven.
“I’m Hren Nacth, nice to meet you. Can you get rid of this scar? The ladies don’t like it.” He took Lith’s hand in his own, making the request without a hint of shame.
“I could, for a price. It will leave you exhausted.” Lith was amused by the change of attitude. The scar was long and deep, going from the lower half of the left cheek down along the neck.
“A healer is damn fine as long as they are trustworthy.” Khran spat again.
“Every kid still attending an academy is a survivor, so there’s no point in bragging about it. As for fighting a Valor, what kind of sick joke is that, Captain?”
“It’s no joke.” The Captain replied.
Yerna’s words caused a small commotion. All the unit’s members rushed behind her to read from the hologram projected by the amulet, but it was soon interrupted by the arrival of the second student.
He was a fifteen year old boy, 1.7 meters (5’7″) high with blond hair and deep green eyes. The newcomer had the build of a soldier, rather than a student. Something in his confident attitude told Lith he had to be a lady-killer at his academy.
The Captain moved to his file, hoping for another pleasant surprise.
Alas, the student from the Fire Griffon was a Warden and an Alchemist. His only perk was having received some nondescript military training. Yerna clicked her tongue, turning off the amulet before moving in front of the board.
“Now that Red is here, let’s wrap this up. Today’s mission is very simple. We have to raid the drug depot of a local gang. It’s a three stories building right in front of this warehouse.
“Thanks to an informant, we know the disposition of doors and corridors. We’ll split into four teams of five. Two teams will break in respectively from the front and the back door while the other two will secure the perimeter to prevent anyone from escaping.”
She pointed with her finger on the two entry points and then on the position of the windows on the first two floors.
“According to our intel, each floor should be lightly guarded. Expect a minimum of five guards but no mages. The organization we are against is notorious for being ruthless. Its men carry Fire Seeds with them and have no hesitation to blow themselves when captured.
Hence kill first and questions later. We are not taking prisoners.”
Captain Yerna took a deep breath before addressing their guests.
“Remember that despite our targets do not have magical powers, they are likely to be well armed. Enchanted blades need one hit to rip to shreds a light armor and the one wearing it. They could also have Alchemical weapons, so never underestimate them.
Any questions?”
Lith raised his hand. Yerna nodded, giving him permission to speak.
“Do you plan on breaking in or for a stealth approach?”
“Stealth it’s not an option. The doors could have magical traps or alarms and we don’t know exactly how many people are inside. If we take it slow we would risk getting surrounded and outnumbered.”
“I can detect and disarm magical contraptions. I’m a Forgemaster.” Lith lied. Wanemyre had yet to teach him about those subjects, yet he was confident about succeeding thanks to true magic.
“And I can tell you how many people there are in the building and where they are positioned.” Red said with a confident smile. “I’m a Warden and my family specializes in Life Detecting arrays. Speaking about my family, My name is not Red, I’m…”
“Happy to have you with us, kid.” Captain Yerna used one hand to shook Red’s right one and the other to shut his mouth.
“Today you are Red and you are going to be evaluated based on what you do, not on who your relatives are. Got it?”
Red nodded with a slightly annoyed look. Only then Yerna took the hand off his mouth.
“Good. I’m Captain Yerna, your commanding officer for today. He is Sergeant Khran, my second in command and he is White.”
Lith and Red were still deciding what to think about each other when Khran handed them a black uniform and a communicator earpiece each.
“Welcome to the team, kids. There are no Griffons here, only members of this unit. Put on your uniform, so we can separate the good from the bad guys and you avoid getting shot in the back by friendly fire. You can change behind those crates.”
“Thanks, but it’s not necessary.” Lith put the uniform inside the blue gemstone at his neck, allowing his clothes to shapeshift into a new form.
Red took step back from the surprise, while Khran took a wand out of his dimensional ring, pointing it against Lith’s still morphing clothes. Its tip shined with a yellow light, allowing Lith to perceive the fire magic it contained.
‘Must be the equivalent of Earth’s service weapons.’ Lith thought noticing a small red mana crystal set into the alchemical tool.
‘Yup.’ Solus confirmed. ‘The crystals work as a cartridge. These guys must be good because a wand like that costs a pretty penny.’
