-Callen Marek-

  I settled down, letting the queen work out how I was going to fit into the military hierarchy now that I was officially recruited. Nixie took some time to recover but was in no danger. Just a bit distraught discovering she was responsible for the death of yet another battle truck. I toyed with the idea of making her a proper tank just so that it could survive a single fight, but the loss of speed and agility from giving up wheels for tracks would be crippling in any engagement where she needed to escape. Honestly, in this world a tank would be more of a death trap than a viable design. Just like the gun prototypes I had made previously, the inclusion of stats and skills made them nearly irrelevant when leveraged against moderate- or high-level monsters. Driving skills could compensate for faster, but they wouldn’t help dealing damage.

  It didn’t take long to settle into my new place in the military hierarchy. I was both a specialist and a noble, which in turn meant my status was above a vast majority of the troops. The only person other than the queen who held authority over me was the elderly knight Sir Harold Garren, who was the queen’s right hand and managed most of the daily tasks while Karia set our course. I replaced the former leader of the magic division. The former leader was turned into my personal aide. I distinctly got the feeling he didn’t appreciate the drop in status, but hearing about my skill cap achievement of sensing mana seemed enough to set aside his grudge and properly assist me. Not that much assistance was needed; Karia didn’t contact the mages for this deployment for exactly the reasons I feared she would.

  I was made the leader of all three mages, and Nixie my “retainer.” Mages didn’t make much sense in a head-on fight against elves. In a human vs. human conflict, they would be incredibly helpful, providing an easy solution against swarming tactics. If the elves had a mage, we likely wouldn’t have held the city for as long as we did. Our cities were holding purely on the fact that the elven invaders were taking their time whittling away numbers. Hitting, killing as many as possible, and retreating before the humans rallied to repel them.

  We set out as soon as the sun was rising the next day. As we set out, I noticed a team of knights come over, and my men immediately got on their backs. Since we didn’t have enough people in the city left to recruit while leaving our rear secure, our army of 50 knights would be faster without having to carry the physically mediocre mages. I, however, didn’t need to be carried because I had still been following the advice to balance my stats until I finished growing, meaning my strength and skill were enough for me not to need to piggyback on a knight. I almost thought Nixie would need a ride, but despite being a lower level than me, her focus had been a complete opposite of mine. Not to mention she used to join Callia and Reesia on daily runs around the village. Her skill build was a mix of focus between speed, speed trap crafting, and stealth.

  We darted across the countryside, now 45 strong, as a small team of knights was left behind to hold what remained of the city. The final tally of the damage left the population somewhere more reminiscent of a small town in place of what had once been a major trade hub between the north and south. Splitting might not have been ideal, but it protected the south and secured the city so that civilians could be moved back in later to rebuild more easily.

  I shook my head clear of the logistics and information running through it and brought my attention back to the present. Up ahead we approached the town of North Crossing. For the first time since we set out, I noticed the telltale signs of people living in the town. It didn’t take long for the last leg of the journey to close before we came to a stop at the gate. The guards didn’t hesitate in the slightest, letting us through as the imposing strength of our forces gave them all the warning and authority they needed to not inconvenience us. Immediately it became apparent that the town was overflowing with people. Refugees from conquered territories caught between fleeing the north and the siege around Gilbert City had trapped thousands. The town was in an awkward situation, crammed between two enemy forces, with those lacking the means to run hoping that the elves just keep moving west and bypass them entirely.

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  Our arrival was met with thunderous cheers as the refugees realized what it meant to have so many human knights arrive from the south. I waved at some of the people around us as they opened the way for Karia to make her way to the mayor’s mansion. We were greeting a joyous and incredibly fat man.

  “Your Highness! It is my greatest honor to host you and your men!” The whole man's body jiggled as he awkwardly bowed while wiping some sweat from his balding forehead. Karia paid him little mind, walking right past him with her attention towards Sir Harold.

  “Harold, get a team out gathering volunteers and arming them with whatever we can.” I felt surprised as she turned to me. “Callen, assess the local supplies and requisition enough for however many volunteers we get to have two weeks of combat rations.” I nodded firmly but immediately was thrown into internal chaos.

  “Yes, your majesty.” I forced myself to stop hesitating at the gate and to throw myself into the problem. Managing local supplies was something I had plenty of experience with. The task was sudden, but not beyond me. I turned back, ready to confront the mayor to get my evaluation started while Sir Harold Garren rallied the locals. It would be best to know how much was available and where to source it before the conscripts were assembled. Making eye contact with the mayor, he must’ve seen something ominous because his nervous sweating increased ever so slightly. I gave him a wide smile to reassure him while introducing myself.

  “Greetings, Mayor, the queen requires support, and we will need to requisition supplies. Please, will you show me your food reserves?”

  Meditation

  Callia sat down next to her new friend Lisie. She wasn’t sure what to expect from the mandatory morning routine, but guided meditation was not high on her list of hopes. Despite the fact that the universe seemed determined to make her learn to sit and relax, her restless nature made it impossible. It didn’t help that the “guidance” was just some old guy standing on the far side of the auditorium rabbling nonsense. Well, maybe not nonsense, but it seemed more suited to putting restless children to sleep than active learning. Case in point, Callia started to dip forward as she started dozing off. Shaking herself back into focus, a sharp voice from her side snapped her awake.

  “Chosen Callia, sleeping during the sermon. One mark of disobedience.” Callia snapped her head sharply to the side, spotting an old lady wearing administrative robes. She clenched her fist and took a deep breath. Coming to the conclusion, strict, rude old ladies nosing into other people's business must be a universal constant.

  “Reaction of anger, one mark of disobedience. Control yourself.” The irritating bark of the elder snapped the moment Callia turned back to the sermon. Callia froze in place. She paused, taking in a deep breath and letting out a slow breath, forcibly calming her irritation, but the crone wasn’t done yet.

  “Disruptive noises, Chosen Callia, this is a verbal warning.”

  “Ok,” Callia thought to herself. Sometimes you don’t choose violence, but violence chooses you. With no inhibition in place, Callia summoned a small rock and carefully pelted the crone in the face. The sound of her flopping to the floor was all the satisfaction Callia needed to get back to her meditation. The soft shifting of cloth around her confirmed that others noticed the crone collapse, but nobody seemed eager to act. After a brief wait, one person next to the downed elder sighed and got up to drag her away for treatment.

  After getting a good ten minutes of meditation in, the drowsiness crept back in, eventually resulting in Callia sprawling on the ground softly snoring. Eventually the sound of the people around her getting up and the sound of movement snapped her awake. She seamlessly blended among the other chosen with the exception of a tuft of bedhead hair sticking up. Lisie giggled while Callia struggled to press the hair back down. Callia gave out a resigned sigh. She will only be here until she proves herself able to sufficiently hide her mana’s divinity. She reached over to Callen to check on him only to find herself getting jealous as he and Nixie raced across the countryside on an epic quest.

  He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”