Kian Goldmaul POV

  A week has passed since we did that first joint training session with the other two csses.

  We headed to the academy training hall today. It definitely isn't our first time being here, as we do quite a bit of our physical training in this hall most of the time.

  We are also allowed to come here if we want during our afternoon free time, and I have taken advantage of that often to keep my skills sharp and running at a high level.

  Either way, we are in the training hall today because we are scheduled for combat training.

  Although it is officially called combat training, for now, it mostly consists of drills where you block, then you hit, and then the other person blocks.

  We are using the shield magic we recently learned as a way to get used to the magic and become able to use it by reflex whenever it is needed in a real fight. Or at least that is what the teacher told us.

  He also mentioned that it is a good way to get used to each other's individual strengths outside of a standard sparring match.

  We are divided into twelve teams of two for this training. My partner for today session is Rhaelor.

  The way this works is that I use my shield magic to defend while he attacks me using a heavy mace provided by the teacher.

  It seems dangerous at first gnce, but we are both wearing a specialized type of armor that is capable of blocking all the physical damage from the mace wielded by us if it manages to hit us directly.

  After every ten attacks, we swap roles.

  “By the way,” Rhaelor says while he is busy blocking with his shield. “It is pretty much confirmed now that there is something sketchy being pnned for us.”

  After hearing him say that, I nod. “You mean the joint csses training?”

  “Yes,” Rhaelor replies. “If it had only happened once, it might have been suspicious and nothing more, but they have made us train together for another two times since then.”

  The cssmates standing around us nod in agreement as they overhear our conversation.

  I gnce over at the teacher, but he is currently focused on his tablet and isn't paying much attention to what we are discussing.

  “By the way, Kian, don’t you live in the Vice-principal’s house? Did you ask him if there was something actually going on?” Jasper asks from a few feet away.

  “I did ask him, but he just told me that there was nothing.” I answer truthfully.

  We continued that specific training for another three days, repeating the exact same drills until we all felt numb and bored with the repetition.

  I guess that was exactly what the teacher was pnning for us to feel, as we eventually reached the point where we started using the shield magic half-unconsciously.

  We also used Human healing magic during these days under the teacher's instruction to help us regain our stamina after the long sessions.

  Now it is the day after we finished that repetitive training. Our teacher is going to teach us a type of magic today that he considers a must-learn skill.

  He expined that it is creation magic, which we can use to create various items like food, tools, and other necessities. He said we will start by learning how to make basic military food rations for now.

  Although we can technically use Human healing magic to "feed" ourselves by restoring hunger and energy, it is still not recommended to do that all the time.

  This isn't because it has a negative side effect, but simply because relying on it too much might eventually make us forget the actual habit of eating.

  Because of that, the teacher told us to eat real food whenever we have the chance instead of just relying on Human healing magic to keep us going.

  Making military food using creation magic is slightly difficult compared to the other things we've done. The teacher showed us the basic principles of the magic as usual and then sent the full detailed guide to our group chat so we could study the steps.

  It is now the first day after the weekend. Me and my cssmates got on the bus to go back to the forest for some simution training.

  This time around, there are no other csses joining us for a joint training session; it is only our group.

  We arrive at the same forest we first went to a few weeks ago. After leaving the bus, we picked up our gear and went for a warm-up run. This run is shorter than the st one we did, only thirty minutes long in total.

  After we finished the run, we were instructed to get into formation as the teacher had something specific to tell us today. After we made our formations, the teacher started speaking to the group.

  “Alright everyone, today there is something a bit special pnned. You will be doing a military simution as I mentioned before we came out here. The simution goes as follows.”

  “You will be put into a military truck and sent to a certain part of the forest. Your job is to collect a specific crate and bring it back to put it in the truck. But there is a catch: you only know the general area of where the crate is located, and there are various traps and enemy dolls pced in your way.”

  “That is not all. There will also be enemy dolls constantly coming towards the truck, and you have to protect the vehicle until it is time for it to move away. The truck will stay in position for twenty minutes. After those twenty minutes are up, the truck will move regardless of whether you have brought the crate back or not. And even if you bring the crate back early, the truck will still stay there until the full twenty minutes are finished.”

  “Are there any questions?” he asks as he finishes the expnation.

  One of the girls raises her hand and asks a question. “Is there a limited number of the enemy dolls attacking the truck?”

  “Yes and no. In the routes leading to the crate, there are a limited number of dolls to deal with. But the dolls attacking the truck will keep coming until the time is up. Any more questions?” he expins.

  After no one else asks any more questions, he nods.

  “Very well then. Get back on the bus. You will be dropped off next to the truck, and after the truck stops, the simution will immediately start. Because of that, I recommend that you start pnning your strategy while you are still on the bus. You have to decide on a ptoon leader and split yourselves into three separate squads. Now, get in the bus.”

  We enter the bus and, just like the teacher recommended, we start pnning our approach immediately.

  The ptoon leader was decided to be Rhaelor. We split into three squads; two of those squads will be responsible for protecting the truck, and another squad led by me would go into the forest to retrieve the crate.

  My squad has only three archers, including myself, and five other close combatants. The other archers in the css were assigned to guard the truck, leaving six of them to stay behind and defend the vehicle. Right after the truck comes to a stop, my squad will be sent out.

  After a while, the bus arrived next to the military truck. We were instructed to change into our training clothes and take a communication device for each of us.

  I picked up the squad leader radio for myself, and the members of my squad picked up their own squad radios. The others did the same thing according to their assigned squad roles, while Rhaelor picked up the ptoon leader radio to coordinate everything.

  We got into the truck, and after a minute, it started moving into the deeper parts of the forest.

  The truck drove for around ten minutes before finally coming to a stop.

  Without waiting for any further instructions from Rhaelor, me and my squad immediately jumped out of the truck and began following the GPS coordinates to where the crate location was likely to be.

  ‘Let’s not rush into this too much. It isn't very far from here; it’s only about three minutes away at a full running speed,’ I say to my team using telepathy.

  ‘And keep a sharp eye out for any traps and dolls. The close combatants should stay behind us three archers for now, as we have sharper senses when it comes to spotting traps and other people,’ I say as we take the formation I previously instructed.

  ‘If it is possible, we should try not to fight them in close combat. So again, close combatants, when a fight starts, move to overtake us but keep about a meter of distance from us three. Use your shield magic to protect us while we handle the long-range attacks. Do you guys understand the pn?’

  ‘Yes!’ they all reply through the telepathic link.

  After hearing that, I nod and continue leading the squad carefully through the trees.

  Third-person POV

  The guarding teams are currently setting up a defensive formation with the close combatants surrounding the truck.

  They are preparing to use their shield magic whenever an enemy doll is spotted in the vicinity.

  The six archers are also surrounding the truck, with two stationed on each side and one taking the front and back positions respectively.

  Rhaelor is positioned on top of the truck, using his shield magic to surround himself as protection from any surprise attacks while he keeps a constant eye out for any incoming dolls.

  He is using a specific magic to see in a full 360-degree field of vision and another type of magic that significantly sharpens his hearing.

  The two squads staying behind are in complete silence, with every single student using the hearing sharpening magic as well to detect movement.

  After twenty seconds of tense silence, Rhaelor suddenly starts talking. “Shields up! Enemy attack is coming in!”

  He shouts the command just as they deploy their shields at the same instant his order goes out.

  A volley of arrows hits the shields with a loud thudding sound. The archers from the defender's side immediately fire their own arrows back toward the direction the attack came from. They managed to shoot down four of the enemy dolls hidden behind the trees.

  At the same time, a group of close combat dolls are seen rushing out of the forest toward the truck.

  “Put the shield on one arm and attack using your weapon with your free arm when they get close! Archers, don’t let them get too close to the formation. Prioritize the close combatants rather than the archers for now!” Rhaelor says through the radio, as the dolls are being purposefully loud to try and distract them.

  Meanwhile, Kian’s squad.

  They are running at a moderate speed through the forest while trying to evade the dolls they encounter and creating a mental map of the route as they go.

  They have seen multiple traps pced along the route; some of them are trapdoors, fake grass traps, wire traps, and even camera detection traps that they managed to shoot down before being spotted.

  After walking and running for about nine minutes, they finally arrive at the destination. They see a formation of dolls surrounding the crate in front of them. The crate itself is small and looks like it can be easily picked up and carried by a single person while still allowing them to maintain their maximum running speed.

  ‘There are eighteen dolls in total. We should eliminate them as fast as possible,’ Kian says telepathically toward his squad, and they all nod back in response.

  ‘Three close combatants move in front of us, while one goes to our right and one to our left. Use your shield magic to keep us protected, and if one of them manages to get close enough, stab them,’ Kian starts instructing his team.

  After the formation is put into pce, the dolls finally notice their presence.

  ‘Shoot down the archers first. After this, I won't be able to focus on communicating using telepathic magic as much, so I will be speaking out loud from here on.’ Kian says.

  After Kian said that, he quickly loaded his bow and shot at the furthest archers, while the other two archers in the squad shot at the remaining ones.

  After eliminating all eight of the archer dolls, the close combat dolls starts to get closer to the squad.

  “Shoot them down! Don’t let them get close to the formation!” Kian yells.

  They start aiming and shooting the dolls down one by one as they approach. With only four dolls remaining, they finally reach the squad but are stopped by the close combatants holding the line.

  “Keep shielding and pushing them back, don’t engage them in a full duel!” Kian shouts. As he says that, the three archers shoot the remaining dolls at point-bnk range.

  Kian looks at the remaining time shown on his device. “There are only nine minutes left. Let's hurry up. One of the close combatants should pick up the crate now.”

  After the crate was picked up, they rushed back through the forest following the same path they had come in on. After running for three minutes at their full speed, they finally arrive back near the truck.

  ‘The vehicle is being attacked. I’ll put on a soundproof domain around us and communicate with Rhaelor using the radio so he can assist us in joining the defending formation. Put on a shield magic around us.’ Kian instructs them.

  After getting the radio ready, Kian turns it on and starts talking to the ptoon leader.

  “Rhaelor, we’re back. We are currently facing the back of the truck. Please help us create an opening for us to rush in.” Kian says through the radio.

  “Understood. Use your shield magic to protect yourselves. Shoot down the dolls directly in front of you first, and we will be doing the same from our side. I’ll be giving an order through all the channels when it is time to start.” Rhaelor says back.

  “Alright, understood.”

  Kian looks back at his squad. “You guys heard everything, right? Prepare to rush the line.”

  After a few seconds, the order comes through the earpieces. “Now! Start shooting. Kian’s squad, start rushing in!”

  After hearing the signal, they shoot down the dolls blocking their path and start running at full speed toward the truck while keeping their shields up for protection. As they run for five seconds, they successfully get inside the defensive formation.

  “Put the crate inside the truck immediately and join in among the shielding squad to help hold the line.” Rhaelor orders.

  Kian Goldmaul POV

  As we returned to the truck, I immediately joined up with the other archers and started shooting down the dolls that were still approaching.

  We can’t just defend the whole time, as it seems the dolls just keep coming in waves every thirty seconds.

  After five more minutes of defending the perimeter, Rhaelor’s voice comes through the radio again.

  “Everyone get in the truck! There are only ten seconds left before it is scheduled to move!”

  After hearing the command, we all switched our focus to only using our shields and scrambled into the back and the front of the truck.

  When the time was finally up, the truck began to move.

  The doll archers kept shooting at us from the woods as we moved away, but we continued to defend the truck with our shields.

  After driving for two minutes, the simution finally ended.

  After another eight minutes of driving, we arrived back at the bus. The teacher looked at us with a smile on his face.

  “Perfect,” he says to the css. “No casualties to report, and you brought the crate back with five minutes to spare before the truck's moving time was up.”

  “Alright, that is it for today's simution. We will be returning to the academy now. Put your gear away and return to the bus so we can head back.”

  Chapter End