Valterion: The Space/Arch? Mage

Chapter 104: Improvised Combat (1)

Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC

Nothing important happens after my talk with Jack. We all keep doing what we’ve been doing before until the week of holiday winds down. Lucy of course was very happy that I managed to include her brother as our support staff for the trip to Earth. Now we’re only missing the confirmation from Maja and our other friends at Peacekeeper Academy. Unfortunately, they are still in a communication blackout.

Anyway, the next week picks up on Wednesday – a day after the last one was interrupted by Grandpa John’s speech. This means it’s now time for the Leadership course. This is also the first course I’m taking without the others. I’m quite nervous.

Turns out, I shouldn’t have been worried at all. The course was bog-standard. The professor mostly only did introductions and gave us a few recommendations for books to read. At the end of the lesson, we did a few small exercises for different leadership styles, but that was all. The most interesting thing was that this was a mixed course as I detected a lot of people that didn’t feel magical at all.

This brings me to the here and now. After having lunch with the others, it’s time for Lydia and me to go for our Improvised Combat course. This sounds so exciting. I’ve got absolutely no clue what awaits us there. As the course description said we should wear comfortable clothes, we make a quick stop back at our room to change.

I grab my gym clothes consisting of a sports bra and leggings and throw over an older shirt to cover up my exposed midriff for now. The outfit is finished with my trusted sneakers, and I put my hair into a bun. This has the advantage that my pink tips are hidden away as well.

When I exit my room, I notice that Lydia has the same choice of clothes. She’s got her auburn hair in a ponytail though. We both grin at each other and head out. The classroom isn’t far, just a few buildings over, so we decide to walk there.

“Do you have an idea what this will be about?” Lydia asks.

I just shake my head. “Nope, not a clue. Other than thinking about what I’ve done so far during our times of combat, I’m going in blind. You?”

“Yeah, same. I haven’t even been in combat besides the one time when we shot down the pirates… But that doesn’t count as I’ve never had to do anything.”

She’s right. We picked her up after our stunt with Don Fernando, and I’ve been to Earth alone. My most formal combat was probably back in the Estriduros Republic with Adrian. But that was also only me.

“I’m sure they’ve got something interesting prepared for us.”

Lydia agrees. “True, otherwise they’d probably tell everyone to just get an A&D core.”

We walk for another five minutes until we arrive at building 19. It’s the tallest one I’ve been to so far, stretching over a hundred stories in height. At the same time, it’s also the slimmest. It almost looks like a toothpick. That thought brings a smile to my face, and we step inside.

We immediately head for the elevator, as our lesson plan tells us we have to go up to floor 86. Lydia presses the button, and a few seconds later, the elevator opens with a ding. We enter, and just as the doors start to close, someone calls out for us to wait.

I put my hand between the doors, and they open up again. A tiny woman in her mid-twenties enters. At least I guess she’s in her mid-twenties as I now know just how much appearances can be misleading. “Thanks, girls,” she says breathlessly. You just saved me from being late to my first lesson as an instructor.”

She looks at the elevator buttons and is about to touch one as well. “Oh, floor 86!” She looks back at us with a bright smile and puts some black strands behind her ears. “You’re in my class!”

Lydia stares back at her, taking in her tiny stature. “You’re teaching Improvised Combat?” She asks in disbelief.

The woman’s head bobs up and down and she winks at Lydia. “I am. You wouldn’t expect that, right?”

Lydia blushes. “No… I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”

“Don’t worry, I hear that all the time. And every guy who didn’t believe learned very quickly not to mess with me.” She leans close and whispers. “Especially their balls.”

I can’t help myself and burst out laughing. The others quickly join in. Imagining that tiny woman beating up some big guy just sounds ridiculous, but if she’s our instructor, she must be serious. Now I’m even more curious about that course.

The elevator arrives on floor 86 all too soon, and the three of us disembark still laughing. There are about twenty people already waiting in the hallway next to a closed door. The woman, our instructor who I still don’t know the name of as I just realized, stops laughing and starts to move through the small crowd till she arrives at the door.

A quick flick of her wrist unlocks the door, and it slides to the side. Beyond is a rather small room with furniture I didn’t expect at all in a classroom: It looks like a coffee shop! With a counter and chairs and tables and all… There is even a real coffee machine in the back, and the tables are laid with cups and plates. The only thing missing is food.

“What the…?” Comes from a student who has already been waiting, and all the others look just as confused.

“Come on in,” the instructor who has already entered the room calls out from the inside. “I don’t bite. Just step inside and take a seat. I promise to clear up your confusion… Soonish.”

Oh, she’s still amused by our elevator ride. I can hear the grin in her voice. Lydia clearly thinks the same, and with a shrug, she steps forward and enters the room.

“Ahh, we have our first volunteer. Ten points to the fine young lady here.”

Err, that doesn’t sound like something an instructor would say… Though the ten points reference rings a bell. We’ll see where this leads to. So far, the instructor seemed fun. I enter the room as well, and all the others soon follow. Lydia already sits at one of the tables and I quickly join her.

Then I look at the instructor who now stands behind the counter. Steam emanates from the coffee machine. Is she brewing herself a coffee? The machine finishes and the instructor grabs the mug. “Coffee anyone?”

The others all continue to sit down and look confused. No one answers her. She shrugs. “More for me, I guess.” She sets down the mug next to her and waves her hand, which closes the door behind the last student who entered. Then she waits until everyone has found their seats.

She claps to get everyone’s attention. “Hi there, I’m Olivia Duarte, I’ll be your instructor for Improvised Combat. Before you ask, this will be different from your other classes. As you might have already noticed, we’re a rather small class. This is intentional. All across campus are currently other instructors like me, telling other classes like you, the same things. Well, not exactly like me, as I’m the best after all, but you get what I mean.” She winks at us and her gaze lingers on Lydia for a second longer. Or I might imagine things, who knows?

“Anyway, classes are this small, as this is a practical course. We’ll be doing real combat exercises in the coming weeks and if you guys are ready for it, we might start with our first practical lesson today. But before we start with a bit of theoretical stuff, let’s do a round of introductions. We’ll be beating each other up after all. It’s best to know whose nose you’re breaking…” She shakes her head with a grin. “Just joking! But let’s do the introductions, alright?”

She looks at my table, or I guess rather at Lydia. “Why don’t you start, you’ve been the first one in after all.”

Lydia nods. “I can do that, Miss Duarte…”

Before she can continue, she’s interrupted by the tiny instructor. “Ugh, stop,” she cringes. “I forgot to tell you. Call me Olivia, or Liv if that’s too long. I’m no real instructor. None of us Improvised Combat guys are. We’re all students just like you. I’m currently in my third year and aced the course when I took it a year ago. That’s how you become an instructor, I guess.”

Olivia jumps onto the counter and sits down with her legs dangling down the front. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that this course will be in a very casual setting. I’m no one special, so don’t bother about using honorifics for me or something. I can promise you one thing though. Once you are finished with this course, no combat situation that you find yourself thrown into in the future will surprise you anymore.”

Lydia grins broadly upon hearing this. “Alright, I’m Lydia Walton. I’m uh, a rather new Utility Mage, and I’ve never been in any combat situation.”

Olivia nods. “That’s perfectly normal. Welcome to the course, Lydia. I’d be surprised if anyone here has been in more than one of those situations actually.”

I almost choke at my spit when she says that, as I’ve definitely been in more than one of those situations.

Olivia looks at me. “Why don’t you continue? From what I managed to pick up so far, you girls know each other, right?”

I swallow and nod. “Yeah, that’s right. Lydia and I have been friends for a long time. My name’s Sara Green. I’m primarily a Master Space Mage, but I have a Junior Utility core as well.” I pause and look down at my right wrist, where I wear my newest piece of Magitech.

“Oh, and I recently got this as a reward from the College.” I hold up said arm and show off the device to Olivia. It’s the upgrade to my old shield watch I got from negotiation from a position of power which resulted in the mess with that Noble idiot Charles.

Olivia jumps up and walks over to inspect my device. Her eyes light up. “Hah, that’s perfect, Sara. Welcome to the course! We’ll be covering Magitech devices in later lessons, but we can work with what you have. It’s going to be great.”

She returns to her place on the counter. “Does anyone else have some Magitech devices with them? Just speak up and introduce yourself at the same time. Even if it’s something you don’t think combat viable. We‘re a course about improvising after all.”

Almost half the class raises their hands and Olivia lets them introduce themselves one after another. Then the others without any Magitech devices finish off the round of introductions.

Most of the others are Utility Mages just like Lydia. There are a few Space Mages mixed in as well. Even dual-core Mages like me. Surprisingly, there is also a single A&D Mage. Sure, he’s got a Utility core as well, but him announcing his A&D magic earns him a few raised eyebrows. Even Olivia asks him why he’s here, as this is a course specifically for non-A&D Mages.

“Well, I thought what I would do if I faced a stronger Mage than myself… The answer was I’d try to improvise. So here I am, looking for methods to bring my Utility core into play as well…” He stops, his eyes gloss over. Then he grins broadly. “I guess we now have another student with a Magitech device… Just got a coupon for the same thing Sara has over there.” He points at my arm with the new shield device.

Olivia laughs out loud. “That’s brilliant, congratulations! If the college’s AI rewards you, who am I to kick you out of the course? Welcome aboard, Kevin. Even better, you now can play the A&D Mage attacker in the future, which means we will always have one available instead of hoping for volunteers across campus.”

That earns her a few chuckles, then she stands up. Her face turns serious. “Now we’re almost halfway through the lesson, which means we’re perfectly on time. I do have one critical piece of advice before we start with a few practical exercises after a short break.”

She’s silent for a second. “Let me ask you this. What do you do if you ever face a hostile A&D Mage?” Her gaze wanders over us, students.

What would I do? My thoughts race. I can’t find an answer other than doing what I’ve done in the past, which is improvising. But I don’t think that’s the answer she’s looking for.

No one else seems to find an answer either, so Olivia nods once.

“I didn’t expect you to have an answer, don’t worry. The answer is simple though.”

Another moment of silence.

“If you ever face a hostile A&D Mage, YOU RUN THE FUCK AWAY!”

Oh!