The Infinite Bk. 03 Ch. 01

Another contender, and this one was faster than the others. He attacked as Noah righted his posture, unleashing a flurry of punches. Noah deflected them away as if avoiding a lashing blade. A sweep of the feet knocked his opponent off balance and Noah finished with a push kick square to the center of his chest, knocking him out of bounds.

Boom! Noah was tackled from the side and knocked to the ground with someone on top of him. The punches came, and Noah wasn't able to block them all. Pinned down with fists raining, he was in a desperate situation. A hard strike to the kidneys made his attacker pause, and Noah sat up and grabbed him by the back of his head. Pulling him back down, he unleashed several elbow strikes to the side of the neck until the man finally gave in. He tried to get away, but Noah grabbed him in an armbar and snapped his elbow with an added shoulder dislocation. With the young man shouting in pain, Noah got to his feet and dusted himself off. He was hot, thirsty, and sweaty, but it didn't seem like that would change soon.

Once he had calmed his breathing, he returned to the battle. Compared to the Harajin, most of the applicants were basically flailing children, so dodging their attacks and landing his own was easy. While he wasn't cruel to his opponents, he didn't display much mercy. He struck pressure points, dislocated joints, and cracked ribs and vertebrae with hard throws and slams. As long as he didn't kill them, he didn't have to pull his punches.

Looking around, he spotted Alexis on the other side of the battlefield. After fighting ogres on the Paleon Channel, this was almost tedious, and she was knocking out small fry with painful grace. Back on those waters, she proved herself someone he could naturally work with and rely on, a rare compatibility he got to experience.

'Fighting alongside her again would make the test more entertaining,' he thought.

Before he could take a step towards her, a complication arose. She was fighting a young man and something was wrong. The look on her face, her whole demeanor, it was nothing like when they fought together. He saw anger, frustration, and desperation. Her snarling face was dirtied with sweat and her hair was coming undone. Her attacks were feral and without her normal composure. Things weren't going as smoothly in this battle as in her last, and, as Noah suspected, it was because of the young man she was fighting. He couldn't hear what he was saying, but it looked like he was taunting her. While interesting, Noah wasn't in a situation where he could sit back and watch.

He and the other top contenders had whittled down the mid-tier mob, so now, the true fighting could begin. Like dancers at a ball, all it would take was eye contact for two individuals to pair off. Upon finding worthy adversaries, all the other applicants ceased to exist, and it seemed like the world itself gave these duelers space to duke it out.

Gideon, the man who had been in front of Noah in line, once more stood before him, now in a combat stance. Noah had seen some of his handiwork earlier. His fighting style seemed like a fusion of Taekwondo and Muay Thai, as he mainly relied on powerful kicks for smashing through defenses. He could also strike at vitals and soft targets with the Nukite spear-hand technique. Noah, his mind aloft with adrenaline, welcomed the challenge.

Noah stepped back out of the reach of the first kick, shooting straight to his chin as if to knock his head back like a Pez dispenser. He raised his guard to protect his head and blocked the second kick from the side. The blow was heavy, almost knocking him off balance. He closed in and kneed Gideon in the stomach, once, twice, and then a punch slipped past his guard and struck his jaw. Noah forced Gideon back, and the two of them began hurling fists to both attack and defend.

They'd separate and then go at it once again, always with Noah dealing more blows, but unable to match the force of Gideon's powerful kicks. One of them, he managed to catch, grabbing a hold of Gideon's leg to try and bring him down. Without missing a beat, Gideon jumped off the ground with his other foot and spun around to launch a second kick. Noah blocked and was forced to release him, letting him fall to the ground. He bolted back onto his feet with the same speed and aimed once more at Noah's jaw.

'Huh, it's been a long time since I met someone who could actually pull that move off.'

Eventually, Ford whistled and the battle ended. Around a hundred combatants were left, give or take, most with torn shirts and plenty of bruises. Even Noah had a shiner and swollen lip. Looking around, he spotted Alexis, as well as a handful of other women. Each of them carried a chip on their shoulder, driven by the need to prove themselves, and it served them well. Gideon had also managed to remain in the ring.

"Congratulations, all of you," said the commandant. "You have earned your placement in this academy, and so too have you earned your rest. Until the mages complete their own trial, make yourselves comfortable and regain your strength."

Many of the combatants dropped to the ground in exhaustion, grateful to finally get off their feet. Carts full of food and drink rolled in between the two fields, and Noah and his fellow cadets ate heartily. The mages, dripping with sweat as they fed every drop of mana to their armbands, could only watch in jealousy and curse their fellow applicants. When their bellies were full and their thirst quenched, the cadets simply laid out wherever they were comfortable.

Noah saw Alexis sitting in one of the few shady spots. Her mood appeared sour, but she relaxed, if only slightly, when he approached. "Hey," he said.

"Hello."

He sat down next to her and sighed in relief. "How did things go over back home with the ogres?"

"Well, the damage was already done, and officially, they were slain by my family's vassal troops."

"Did you get any kind of reward or acknowledgement?"

"Only a harsh lecture for taking the heirloom wyvern bow without asking."

"Well you made great time getting to the capital."

"I didn't, actually. I got here just yesterday and thought I was too late to enroll. Were you here during the great fire? Was it as bad as everyone says it was?"

"Worse. It was like a civil war in the streets. Your talents would have been of great use to the knights."

"Well, before long, that'll be us."

"The longer, the better, I say."

Eventually, the last few exhausted mages were forced to give in and accept their loss, leaving the last one hundred standing. Like the combatants, they too dropped to their knees when the commandant announced their victory, then ate and drank as though they had just crossed a desert.

"Well done, all of you," said the commandant. "For the rest of the day, you shall be shown around the academy and instructed on the routine and demands of your lives as cadets."

They were split into groups and led throughout the grounds. Noah, along with nineteen others, were in the care of a silver knight in uniform. He was a middle-aged man with white hair and a mustache, with the physique of an MMA fighter. He carried no sword, but looking at him, Noah doubted he needed one. Sir Kiev, he was called. He led the group to the back of the academy, where the fields were full of obstacle courses and setups for fighting under the most extreme circumstances. It was as if a playground and a torture chamber had sex and spawned a litter.

For Noah, it was pretty nostalgic, though not for the best of reasons. 'Ugh, I do not like the look of that traverse rope, and I just know those sandbags are going to be a chore.'

"Over the course of the next year, you will get to know every inch of these fields. These obstacles you see, you'll be able to get over them in your sleep. This is also where the bulk of your weapons training will take place. For the first six months, you will be trained to use swords, bows, spears, shields, and maces, as well has hand-to-hand combat. The longer and harsher you train, the more likely you are to manifest an ability. For the second half of the year, you can select which weapons or style you wish to focus your training on. If you haven't developed warrior or monk magic by then, you'd best hope you can learn elemental magic."

"A lot of those obstacles look pretty painful," said one cadet.

Kiev turned to him with an icy stare. "Here in the academy, you will speak only when spoken to, and always with the correct honorifics. If you break the rules here, pray you get a punishment as light as scrubbing floors. However, you are correct. Ever since I became an instructor here, I've advocated for harshening the training methods and doing more to expel weakness from the cadets. Lady Zodiac shares my sentiment and we've worked together to make changes in the training regimen."

'Well, I'd probably be bored if this wasn't challenging,' thought Noah. 'Hopefully they've kept things reasonable.'

"Every morning, at dawn, you will all run ten laps around this field. The sooner you finish, the sooner you get to eat breakfast. Take too long and you go hungry."

No verbal complaints were made, but Noah heard the exhales of anguish and dread from the other cadets. While he did have some interest in grinding the rust off his combat skills, the outside of the academy didn't matter to him nearly as much as the inside. One of the first stops made on the tour was to the academy library. In an age before the printing press, the towering shelves of books were all the more impressive. Almost all were bound in the leather of various monsters, same with an equally-grand collection of scrolls. It was a feast of information, and Noah had a ravenous appetite.

"This is the library. Your knowledge must be equally proficient as your combat techniques, and it is in here that your mental training will be performed. Ignorance is as great a shame as weakness, and both can bring death in the battlefield. You will be taught the theory of magic, the history of Uther and other nations, the characteristics of the beasts and plants of this world, how to create potions and tools, and how to maintain your equipment and yourselves.

Half of each day will be spent training inside, and the other half will be spent studying outside, with each lesson lasting four hours."

The next stage of the tour brought them to the dormitories, though, for regular cadets like Noah, technically they were just barracks. His group was brought before two long rows of beds with large wooden chests in between, almost looking like a giant zipper. Sitting on top of each chest were the bundled weapons and gear each cadet had handed over. Noah spotted his own, along with a folded uniform on his pillow. Each uniform came with a written schedule for the cadets in question.

"Welcome to the men's barracks. Here you will stay for the next year. Your bed and equipment must be kept organized at all times. The women's barracks are nearby, and any cadet caught where they don't belong will get the whip."

Noah looked at the barracks with disdain. He had expected this in the regular military, but not in the knight academy. While it was far more comfortable than living in the wild, at least out there, he could experiment with his magic. Here, he had no privacy.

On to the next building, where they had proper rooms, though they looked more like prison cells. There was a bed, a desk to study at, and a bureau for gear and clothes, all within four brick walls. There were copper nameplates on the doors, inscribed with noble families and their crests.

"Those of you who are registered under specific noble families and have their permission will be staying in these dorms. Dinner will be announced with the evening horn, and anyone caught outside their rooms or the barracks afterwards will be strictly punished."

They moved on. The third building of the living quarters was passed by, and nothing was said. More dorms, but built less like a dungeon and more like an apartment complex, with wood and plaster. They likely belonged to the more powerful noble houses. The academy was funded by taxes and private donations from rich families, and the larger the donation, the more of a say those houses had in how that money was spent. In this case, all the upper nobles had paid for these luxurious rooms for their enlisting descendants. Rather than an act of love, it was a way to show off and remain relevant. What was the limit to the extravagance these cadets were allowed to enjoy?

The tour ended at a door in the middle of a muggy hallway. "This is the final stop, the men's bathhouse. The women's is further down the hall. I will say this to you once: should you try to test your luck or courage in a way that would bring shame to this academy, know that the punishment is severe. You are to remain disciplined. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir," everyone replied.

"Good. After combat lessons and outdoor training, it is mandatory that you bathe and put on a fresh uniform, so as not to dirty the academy. In between and after lessons, you will have two hours in which you may use to bathe, eat, rest, and study. After dinner, you must go straight to your dorms. Now, all of you, get your uniforms and make yourselves presentable. Dinner is in one hour in the mess hall. Don't be late."

He walked away and the entire group released their held breath. Kiev was going to be a pain to study under. Noah and the other cadets went off to find their beds and collect their uniforms, then returned. Other groups were already inside, enjoying the five large communal baths. They lay at the other end of an array of shelves and benches for storing clothes. Soon enough, Noah was feeling the leftover strain of battle ebbing away and being replaced with warmth. Fresh water was constantly pouring in like a hot spring, and while the physics intrigued him, for now, he was just content with the result. Alongside the edges of the baths, bowls of powder had been set out. It was soap, rough soap, but better than nothing.

"Bliss..." he said to himself.

After taking some time to enjoy the water, he began scanning the other cadets. He'd be around them for the next year and they could affect his life even after the academy. It was best to determine who the greatest potential threats and assets were. He memorized faces and looked for any hints as to what their magic might be.

It was rather noisy, unfortunately, as a trio of brothers were arguing over who beat more applicants. Here in this stone room, a raised voice hit like a slap in the face. There were other noisemakers, the rare cases of friends managing to make it through the brawl. All the other cadets were still and silent, each surrounded by strangers.

Then, the tone shifted as the last group arrived, for among them was a cadet that had already earned a reputation. During the fight, he knocked out more applicants than anyone else, and not by pushing them over the line. He was built like a linebacker and had displayed frightening strength and skill, but now, eyes had fallen to the large rune on his chest. It was the glyph of Lumendori, but was it a birthmark or a tattoo? Once more, among the whispers, he heard a name: Prince Seraph.

'He was the one who scored 100 at the magic test? This could be troublesome later.'

Over in the women's bath, the air was less tense. A young woman, one of many, sat upon the edge of one of the baths and was scrubbing herself with the foaming powder. Her long scarlet hair hung freely and dripped endlessly. The water in the baths was warm, but it chilled her when it evaporated off her skin. She kept her head down and blue eyes closed, wanting to enjoy this brief peace. She was tired, physically and mentally. Despite being a noble, she envied the commoner girls and the freedom they enjoyed. She wished to disappear into the great wide world like they could. For now, all she could do was try to make the best of the situation, and hope that enrolling in the academy would help her down the road.

After washing away all hints of sweat, she changed into her cadet uniform. They were all identical military jumpsuits, using the same gray fabric. While not flattering, they were softer and more comfortable than the usual rough garb that adventurers and commoners wore. There was only one size, but plenty of laces and drawstrings for easy adjustment. It was almost time for dinner, so she hurried to the female dorms to drop off her clothes. In the small brick room, she stowed her clothes in the bureau, along with her other possessions.

The door closed behind her. She was no longer alone. She closed her eyes and tensed up, bracing herself for the mocking words and rough hands sure to come. But instead, she felt a soft caress to her cheek and unseen lips meeting her own, lips she knew.

"Alexis," she whispered as she opened her eyes, looking upon the smile meant only for her.

"Sophia, I promised I would be here with you." They shared another sapphic kiss and then held each other tight for a moment neither wished would end. They eventually separated, if only to wipe away each other's joyful tears. "I knew you would make it. See? You're stronger than you think," Alexis said.

Sophia giggled. "It seemed like you were having a bit of trouble on your end."

Alexis lost her smile. "I knocked him out twice, but that obnoxious serpent was never called on it. I'm sorry. I thought that if I could get him disqualified, you would be safe, but there is nothing I can do to—!"

Sophia silenced her with another tight embrace. "I don't want to think about that. All I want to think about right now is this moment right here."

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Noah and the other cadets gathered in the mess hall for dinner. They'd get in line with empty trays and take whatever the cooks had made. Tonight was chicken and raw vegetables, along with cups of wine. Noah took an empty seat along one of the long tables, isolated enough not to get drawn into any conversations, but not so far away from everyone as to appear prickly. He was still studying everyone, collecting data on their personalities. Who were the quiet ones? Who were the loudmouths? Who were the gifted and the moronic? The capable and the arrogant? The reliable and the backstabbers?

While mostly quiet in the bathhouse, the nobles were now celebrating like a bunch of frat boys after an exam. The wine was watered down to prevent intoxication, but they were drunk on the thrill of victory. Several at the higher levels appeared to already know each other, probably from formal events they attended with their parents. Noah listened in, always searching for useful information.

At the end of the room, the doors opened, and the commandant entered. About half of the cadets immediately got to their feet and locked their posture.

"As you were," the man said. Once everyone sat back down, he resumed speaking. "Now that you are cadets instead of applicants, allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Commandant Rupert Ford, and I welcome you to the Utheric Knighthood Academy. You have all worked hard to get here, and you've earned a moment of merriment and rest, but tomorrow, the real work begins, where you shall be forged into proper knights. Whatever reason you have for coming here, you leave it at the door, for every step you now take on the path of life will be under this flag."

He pointed up to the flag of Uther, hanging over the door. It depicted a shield with a swan on it.

"Uther's glory, its prosperity, and its safety; these are what you will lay your life on the line for, and you will do so with the pride and honor of the knighthood.

'Stand, so you may never fall.

Fight, so you may never die.

Charge, so you may never fear.

On crimson earth and beneath blackened sky.

With honor, we live.