Chapter 79 – This is Just a Drill
The tournament was held in the Military department, in a woody area with a hilly terrain. Dean Alcione led Dorin and the rest into a log cabin with a porch in front where several other military men were seated in deck chairs. There were already hundreds of students arranged in platoons in front of the cabin, most of whom where dressed in military garb.
One of the seated men was Maj. Gen. Marcus Muller. He smiled proudly at Dorin as soon as the group approached the cabin and welcomed them with a tall man with short platinum blond hair and a lot of medals on his chest.
"Welcome to the Military Division, Dean Alcione, thank you for this joint lesson and congratulations to the students that passed the Special Class Sphere," the platinum blond officer said in a serious tone.
"Thank you for having us, Gen. Bennette," Dean Alcione answered back. "Let me introduce to you, Dorin Silvius and Johan Ignacius who will be joining the Magic Defense Class. They are part of the Special Class Sphere of the Magic Division." Upon the mention of the name Ignacius, a soft murmur passed over the students who stood in attention. "May I also introduce my other companions, Lord Ombra, who is a visiting dignitary from the south, and his very young ward, Dagon."
Dorin and Johan both looked at Ombra, awaiting his reaction, but were surprised when the tall dark dragon lord simply nodded his head towards the generals. Dagon silently sulked in his arms.
"Then, shall we begin with the tournament?" said the frigid general.
He walked towards the two platoons while the dean's group followed behind him.
"For your first day, we have arranged for you recruits to take part of a tournament," said Gen. Bennette. "Since this is the Magical Defense Class, all recruits from both the Military and the Magic divisions are expected to be proficient in either physical or magical battle, or both," he continued. "For this drill, we will be marking you according to your ability to defend yourself, as well as the ability to take down the opponents around you."
Another man in uniform came forward bearing a metal box filled with round tokens inside. Each token was about as big as a person's palm and made of ceramic. Gen. Bennette took one and showed it to the recruits.
"Each one of you will be given a token which you would place in the middle of your chest. You would also be given a survival kit with some medicine, food and water. You would then be grouped into squads of 5 and given 30 minutes to go into the woods to plan a strategy and defeat the rest of the recruits." They started passing the tokens around.
"Your token is equivalent to 10 points," explained Gen. Bennette, pointing at a wide screen monitor where the points were displayed. "The surviving members of the last squads standing will be given 50 points each, plus 10 points for every token they broke. Group points will be the sum of all the individual points of each surviving squad member, plus 100 points for each surviving member. Keep in mind, though, since this is a group exercise, a dead member will be equivalent to a negative 30 points to all remaining members. Dying is less 50 points from your individual points, and a recruit gaining 0 token points at the end of the tournament will get a hundred point deduction as an individual, as well as for the whole group."
Individual Points:
Your token ............ = 10 points
Each token you break ... = 10 points each
Survival ............... = 50 points
*Death ................. = - 50 points
*No tokens ............ = - 100 points
*Expired squad member/s = - 30 points each
Group Points:
Each members' individual points
Number of Survivals = 100 points each
*No tokens ........... = - 100 points each
"Are there any questions?" asked Gen. Bennette.
"No Sir!" chorused the recruits in front.
Someone was waving his hand at the side though.
"I have a question, sir," Dorin said with a smile.
Gen. Bennette's head slowly rotated to his direction, his face as frigid as ever. "Do you have a question, recruit?" he asked Dorin coldly.
"What do we get for the points?" he asked.
Gen. Bennette stared at him, unmoving. "Were you not told about the military points during your orientation?" he asked, his voice sounding even colder.
"No, sir," replied Dorin, his smile, wavering.
"Military points are used to pass a course in the military division," Maj. Gen. Muller answered from behind him. "Gen. Bennette, please excuse this boy's impertinence. It seems I have not trained him well enough," he said with his head bowed towards the general. "Rest assure that I will teach him the rest after this tournament." Gen. Bennette stared at them some more before turning back to the front.
"Continuing, you are allowed to use all means necessary to win against your opponents. You may use weapons and spells to protect yourself and to fight. You may use charms and amulets, but only legal ones. Likewise, You can also use enhancers and elixirs as long as they are not illegal substances. There are medics on the field, so there is no need to worry, but it is advised to keep injury at a minimum. Any questions?" the general asked again.
Dorin was about to raise his hand again, but Maj. Gen. Muller stopped him.
"Very well then," Gen. Bennette continued, "the tournament ends when only one squad is left standing, or when the sun sets. Whichever comes first. Now, you may begin."
The students quickly dispersed as soon as he said this. Most of them, already in groups of five, hurried into the woods, while the rest looked for other members to add to their squad.
"Can we start now?" Dorin asked Maj. Gen. Muller excitedly. "This looks like fun! Can we really go all out?"
"I don't think I get that stuff about points..." said Johan as he scratched his skinny red scalp. "Can we use it to buy stuff?"
"Maj. Gen. Muller," called Gen. Bennette from behind them. "Instruct your wards later. For now the tournament is more important."
"Of course, Gen. Bennette," Maj. Gen. Muller answered with a smart salute. As soon as the general left though, he pulled Johan and Dorin closer and hissed at them. "No killing, you two got that?" he said as he handed them their survival kits.
"Eh?!" Dorin replied.
"This is just a drill! A little exercise!"
"But during our drills before..." Dorin started to complain.
"This is different!" Maj. Gen. Muller hissed again, cutting him off. "Just remember, don't you two over do it!" he suddenly straightened as someone came behind them. "Now, make me proud." He slapped the two on the back and went back to the cabin.
"Dorin! Johan!" the two mages turned around and saw Margarette approaching them with another girl in tow. "How about teaming up? This is 2nd Lt. Lilith Grayson, we're from the same company."
"Nice to meet you," 2nd Lt. Lilith Grayson greeted them with a slight bow. "I'm in 3rd level elemental weapons class. You can call me Lilith. How about you guys?"
"Wind mage, rank 2." Dorin said with a grin, then looked at Johan who was fuddling inside the survival kit and already had a chunk of bread in his mouth. "Oh, that's right, we haven't had breakfast yet!" thought Dorin.
"Fire mage." Johan answered after gulping his bread. "Is this all the food we get?"
"Yes. You're not supposed to be eating that this early," said 2nd Lt. Lilith Grayson.
"It's okay, we'll manage," said Dorin with his mouth also full. "So, can we start now?"
"We still lack one recruit," replied Lilith.
The four of them made their way to the field where several other students were also recruiting others to join their squad.
"We need one more. Is there one more person here in need of a team?" Margarette called out. But it seems no one was listening to them, some of the students were even discreetly moving away.
"See? I told you so," Lilith said. "They stand out too much!"
"Who does?" asked Dorin.
"It seems that news about you two have reached even the military department," Margarette explained. "Especially Johan Ignacius who hatched a dragon egg."
"Now, everyone wants to challenge you and see if you're really worthy of that title," continued 2nd Lt. Lilith.
"Oi Lilith!" called Johan, "What about that guy over there?" he pointed at a single guy wearing a fatigue uniform.
He seems to be trying to blend into the bushes, as people passed him by. His shaggy brown hair covered most of his face, and he quickly looked away when he noticed Johan and the rest staring at him.
Dorin quickly ran to the guy and pulled him back to the squad, squirming.
"Okay! Let's start!" he said happily.
"W-w-w-wait a minute! I didn't say I wanted to join your group..." the guy complained, "You'll get mobbed! For sure!"
"Don't worry, we'll take care of that stuff," Johan replied. "I'm Johan, that's Dorin, Margarette and Lilith, and you?"
"I-I'm Sgt. Matthew Owen..." said the new recruit, "elemental weapons... master class..."