Machinist of Mana

With an upward twist I caught the incoming blade, trying, and failing to toss it from my opponent's hand with a turn of the wrist, but succeeding in making him hop back. The buckler strapped to my arm might have been small, but it was perfect for what I was doing, quick to move, quick to strike, and not cumbersome in the slightest.

“You think you can win?” the other boy asked with a scoff.

“Who said anything about winning? You're the last group in the area,” I pointed out.

In an instant I saw his eyes widen and he turned. It was about that time that Lucas' group send up the flare indicating that the package was delivered. While he muttered something under his breath I stepped forward, the shortsword in my hand flashing as it struck up and into his chest, right where his heart would be. There was a brief flash of light from his armor.

“You're out,” an automated voice informed him.

“Honestly? You didn't need to do that,” he complained to me.

“Game's not over until everyone is back at base,” I retorted as I moved to leave, something he certainly already knew.

There was a bit of cleanup here and there, but for the most part we were done. The survivors all wanted to make it back, with deaths losing each team points at this juncture. Perhaps the other team could have been spiteful and tried to take as many of us as was possible, but that was rare, as they really didn't want to lose any of their people.

My group was composed of four older students and myself, and we flew through the mock battleground, legs pumping as we tried to make our way back home. They'd been around the same building I was in, and had joined up at the rendezvous right as I got there. Before we made it there a retort sounded and something small whizzed by the leader's head.

“Did nobody kill that bleeding sniper?” he asked all of us.

“Appears not,” I responded. “Want to?”

“No, half the time they trap their nests, and we've already won, just keep the sight lines closed from him and move fast.”

The sniper in question was probably just a normal soldier, non-magical that was. There were rules on how we had to deal with them, so as not to accidentally injure or kill one, but they were often brought to these practices. After all it was excellent real-world experience for both sides to face off against something they might see on a battlefield.

The area wasn't large or anything, only a few square blocks, with towers, houses, and the like. These buildings had been raised by magic, and were completely unsuitable for long term living, but as a practice arena they served a lot of purposes. Mages got a chance to work on making things from the surrounding countryside, complex structures that could be used as rudimentary bases in wartime of for any expedition into wilder lands. The students and soldiers however got a free working area that nobody cared if they destroyed. Rendering these into rubble was just another chance for some wizard to learn to put buildings back together in case of disaster, natural or otherwise.

When finally we returned I was pleased to see most of us had made it. There were five or so boys running laps around the camp, indicating their 'deaths' but that was a good result. They looked miserable, superhuman or not it was boring, tiring work to run around the camp for hours, and since they'd ostensibly already given their reports on what happened they'd be at it for hours more. Our Headmaster didn't want us to die intentionally, so he made sure we hated it when we fell.

As soon as we made it to the command tent we were for the most part done, being handed a small packet of paperwork to fill out on what happened, with whom, where, why and how. We were supposed to do all of this immediately, while our memories were still the most fresh, then after some rest go over it all and point out places where we succeeded or failed, and why we thought that happened. All of that was part of our grading for these exercises.

Lucas would be awhile yet, but Simon and Reese flopped down beside me when they arrived.

“Remind me to never help anyone ever again,” the former complained.

“I'll second that,” the latter agreed.

“Don't complain boys,” came a voice I was quite familiar with. “Or do you not realize what a boon this could be to you?” Professor Killic slowly approached, smiling.

“Honestly sir, the only thing I feel like I'm gaining is soreness,” Reese griped.

“There are dozens of men here, generals, captains of various industries, and exploratory companies. You know what they're doing? Scouting for talent. These extra sessions may seem harsh to you, but you're getting better at working in groups, understanding things from multiple levels. Keep at it and you're sure to get their attention.”

He wasn't wrong, but we were still tired, the Headmaster had promised us extra lessons and he'd delivered. Our little group of four was now in every practical he could fit into our schedules without taking us out of any of our regular classes. I'm sure that he viewed this as a reward, but it honestly felt like just as much of a punishment.

“We're still tired professor,” I informed him.

“Understandably, actually Percival I was hoping to have a word with you.”

After sharing a confused look with my friends I moved to join him as he walked from the tent. He was here as one of our advisors, watching things like resources, plans and the like, even if he didn't contribute anything to the students in leadership positions unless they asked.

“What's this about sir?” I asked as we walked.

“I can't help but notice that you seem to find combat rather unenjoyable,” he observed.

“Not something I mind, and I do understand the need for us to learn it. You are right though, it's not exactly a passion of mine.”

“Professor Ruien tells me that you're rather enjoying her class though, and recently something interesting has come up. There's an opportunity for an observer on a small transport mission involving some rather specialized magical items. You'd have to make up the classes, and work hard to keep out of trouble, but I thought you might enjoy it.”

“They're allowing students on this too?” I asked.

“Practical education, and only for one leg of the trip. You'll mostly just be watching the real soldiers as they bring things in, but it goes close to where your family lives, and you're doing well enough to miss a couple of lectures without a problem. Are you interested?”

“Certainly!” I answered, excited to be out of class for any reason. Most of them were rather boring after all.

“Alright then, our esteemed Headmaster thought you would say so,” he chuckled.