Blade Over Magic

Back in Avoma

The next day arrived faster than most could control, and before they knew it, the squad found themselves in front of Landor’s gates once again.

The soldiers manning the walls watched them, but unlike the first time they arrived, their gazes were no longer filled with wariness or caution, but rather respect and solemnity.

"Ah, damn. I wanna say time passed by so fast, but honestly, this last month was busy as hell." Ragna scratched his neck and looked at the group gathered.

"That’s right. A lot has happened since we got here." Aubrey sighed and looked up. "It’s honestly surreal, it feels like its been a year rather than a month." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Silence then fell over the group, the Benita, who was now adorned in a Captain’s uniform glanced towards the figure of Xander.

He stood further back, his hands in his pockets as his gaze was aimed down, though he was still listening. His clothes were casual, a simple shirt and pants, but both were black.

He hadn’t said a word in hours, apparently.

He seemed to notice her stair and looked up, to which he just offered a small smile, and Benita nodded in affirmation, then she poke again.

"Your assistance towards Landor is hard to quantify. Saying you lot saved this place would be a severe understatement, and we offer you all our thanks." She took the initiative to give them a military salute, and the rest of the Lunatics followed. Xander and co reciprocated the motion, except Mia, but no one paid her any attention.

"That said, just thanks isn’t enough, so..." Benita took out a storage ring from her pocket and tossed it at them. Curtis caught it and asked curiously.

"What’s this?" Nash was the one who spoke up then.

"It’s filled with different things. Potions, ores, food, and some other useful things you guys might need in the future. Gonna save you lot many shopping trips." That surprised them.

"... That’s a lot. I understand his Excellency undid most of the damage Landor faced during the sieges, but doesn’t it still need resources for the remaining reparations?" Falael asked with a small frown.

"It’s not like we gave you a year’s worth of our stuff. Landor still has a surplus in production, so we have stuff to spare." Bodhi shrugged. "Besides, there are less mouths to feed, so we can afford to give out some stuff." The statement was... morbid. So much so that it earned him a hard elbow in the ribs by Ragna, making him double over and wheeze.

After getting over the pain, he looked up with a grimace and stared at Xander.

"... You still owe me some sword lessons, you hear? I haven’t learned enough." Hearing this, Xander just let out an amused huff and took something out of his storage ring. It was a few recording devices.

He tossed them at Bodhi, the latter quickly catching them. After inspecting them, his face brightened.

"Aw, now that’s what I call thoughtful, giving me recordings of how to... hm?" He blinked when he caught sight of something that didn’t seem like just swordplay, and Xander held a finger to his lips.

Bodhi narrowed his eyes, but in the end, he didn’t question it and stored them away.

Everyone watched the exchange and sighed. Some things didn’t change, it seemed.

"Well, I suppose there’s nothing else?" Aubrey asked, and Benita shook her head.

"Alright, then. We’ll be taking our leave." The group started turning, but just then, Benita called out.

"Xander." He turned, and he caught something that was tossed at him. It was a circular medallion with a design he had never seen before. It appeared handcrafted and held an odd yet appealing aesthetic to it.

"If you or your group ever find yourselves near our tribes. Show them that. You’ll be treated as one of our own." With that, she, and the rest of the Lunatics, turned and went back into Landor, the gates closing with a definitive thud.

For a moment, the group just stared, and in their eyes, the scene of when they first arrived seemed to replay. Mia’s abrupt teleportation, the sight of the wary guards, and Andrew Rockwell coming to check them personally, his large frame like a small mountain.

And now it wasn’t there anymore.

Falael’s lips quivered, and they had to turn away, arm wiping at their eyes, and Curtis patted their back gently.

Aubrey adjusted her glasses quietly, while Xander took a deep breath before letting out a long exhale.

He glanced back at Mia whose arms were around his neck and nodded.

Without a word, she raised her hand and snapped her fingers. But she didn’t teleport them to Feidos City so they could use their teleportation formation, but rather, she teleported them straight to Avoma’s teleportation room.

Just like that, the Chapter of Landor had come to a close.

***

The abrupt appearance of the group both startled and alarmed the various mages handling the teleportation formations. After all, they operated under a specific schedule and system. No one was meant to be teleporting in at the moment, and the group didn’t even appear in any of the formations. They just appeared in the same room.

One of the mages—one who was clearly a guard—stepped forward carefully. However, when he saw the faces of the group, his movements slowed as a hint of recognition appeared in his eyes.

Seeing him approach, Xander simply took out a rolled up scroll. It was similar to the one they had given to Captain Rockwell when they first arrived at Landor, the one that stated their purpose at the town.

Only this time, it was the opposite. Having been signed by Benita, it pretty much explained that their mission had come to an end, and they had completed it with flying colors.

The guard read through the scroll, nodded, and handed it back.

"You lot are to head towards the Administration building where you will be processed and receive the corresponding rewards based on your contribution to the area you were assigned to." He explained, and they all just nodded before exiting the building under the gazes of the mages.

When they were out, one of the operators whispered to the guard.

"That was ’them’, wasn’t it?" Hearing this, the guard nodded slowly.

"The scroll clearly stated that the assigned area was Landor, and it had all their names on it. It is definitely them." Hearing this, the surrounding operators sighed. All of a sudden, they had a feeling that things were going to be hectic in the near future.

***

’Well, this is very familiar.’ Falael shoved their hands in their pockets and looked around. The others concurred. The familiar buildings of Avoma Military School filled them with a strong sense of familiarity, however, it was a bit hard to bask in this feeling...

When everyone was staring at them like they were mythical creatures.

’... This feels weird.’ Curtis mumbled through the telepathic link. The attention felt different from what they had received in Landor. While there, it was filled with respect and camaraderie, here, they were being looked at like they were from some exhibit. It was pretty irritating.

However, Landor had changed them all as well.

Not only did none of them show any reactions to the looks—not even Curtus. A deep look from Falael sent many of the onlookers walking away quickly, the spectators suddenly feeling like they were looking at their superiors.

Falael then glanced at the still silent Xander who hadn’t even said anything through telepathy, then their ears twitched in irritation.

They silently stepped in behind him and raised their hand to smack the back of his head. But as though he had eyes at the back of his head, he smoothly sidestepped the sneak attack.

He then looked back with a questioning look.

"?"

Falael’s eye twitched, then then clicked their tongue and looked away.

"Forget it." They mumbled. However, Aubrey could clearly see the worry in their eyes. She sighed inwardly.

’Give him some time. This is his way of mourning. I doubt he’ll let it dictate his personality for too long.’ Curtis nodded in agreement, and Falael just huffed.

’I know... It’s just weird. He’s usually so calm and collected. So seeing him like this is... concerning. Not like I care that much.’ They clicked their tongue, causing Aubrey and Curtis to give them an exasperated look.

’... Other than that, he’s probably still feeling guilty, about the whole thing with the ant.’ Curtis ruminated. ’I guess the fact that his gamble caused him to miss the funerals hit him harder than he expected.’ The group fell silent a bit at that.

If they were being perfectly honest, while they were quite a bit annoyed by what Xander did, none of them were truly mad at him for it. He didn’t seem to know... but their trust in him was far deeper than they showed.

Hence, their frustration lay more in the fact that he let things get drawn out, but in truth, none of them ever felt like he would lose at any point. And it was even harder to be mad at him considering that Mia had manipulated the situation as well, taking into account his personality to achieve the desired result. So saying that he was the only one mad at himself wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

As they were pondering over this, they finally reached the Administration building, and unsurprisingly, there were quite a few students there already. The group was once again hit with a baffling sense of familiarity, remembering how they came here on their first day to receive their colored Cards.

Well, Xander had been the initial first year to be processed, so he hadn’t faced any crowds.

As soon as their group entered the building, though, the whole place fell silent almost immediately.

Just as they were steeling themselves to endure what would certainly be a long period of stares and whispers, someone approached them.

"Good day to you all. You lot are Xander and co, correct?" The person who addressed them was, surprisingly, someone Xander was somewhat familiar with.

The small, lithe, dark-haired figure of Samuel stood in front of them, his trademark smile seeming to clear out a bit of the tension in the air.

"Yup, it’s you alright. It’s been a while." He winked at Xander before addressing the group as a whole, and other than Xander and Mia, the others suddenly had a weird feeling.

’Why is he so familiar with him...?’ Aubrey and Falael had almost the same thought, their brows furrowing subconsciously.

"Anyway, no need to stress yourselves. Actually, I was told to take you to the Major General’s office as soon as you guys arrived. Thankfully I guessed you would come here, so I saved myself the stress of looking for you all individually. Come on, no need to waste your time here." Samuel’s words caused a ripple of shock to go through the room, the surrounding first years all showing varying signs of shock.

The Major General? Just how incredible was the group’s feat that they managed to get such a legendary figure to call them in personally?

However, as though they were expecting it, Xander and co just nodded.

"Great, follow me." Samuel turned and walked out of the building, and the group followed suit, leaving behind a crowd of very confused students.