"Guardians, make defense line!"

Ash shouted.

"Yes, captain!"

4 people with a huge shield came forward and lined up with certain distance.

"Courage Howl!"

They let out a defiant roar and turned the monsters attention at them. It was a mental skill to taunt the nearby enemies to attack them.

Those who were affected by the skill will have the urge to attack them mercilessly.

Roaaaaar!

The monsters charged at them with fierce look after being provoked.

"Castle Walls!"

The four of them casted their skills at the same time. Their bodies were covered with green light. It was a skill that boost their defense greatly in exchange for speed.

Thump!

A loud sound was heard when the horde of monsters attack their shields. However, the monsters were being repelled by the impact instead of swarming them.

"Warriors! Kill them! Archers! Hinder the monsters movement and support them!"
"Yes!"

They moved as soon as they heard Ash's command.

16 warriors were divided into 4 groups and went to support each guardians.

"Crushing Blow!"
"War Cry!"
"Raging Slash!"
"Critical Strike!"

The warriors started to mow down the enemies one by one. They wielded their weapons without caring about their defense.

Blood gushed out as the monsters were killed. The smells of blood began to drift in the air. The monsters soon came with a fierce counterattack as if the blood of their brethen drives them crazy.

"Triple Shot!"
"Fireball!"
"Rains of Arrows!"

8 archers were providing cover fire as they shot all kind of attacks at the monsters.

As their attack fell, explosion happened all over the place. The ground where the attacks landed were charred. The smells of meat being burned slowly mix with the smell of blood.

Usually, when you think about archer, it was someone who use long range weapon like bows and arrows. However, the archers in the 8th divison are different because they consist of people who could attack with explosion from a distance.

They put explosive on the arrows head or used fire magic to create an explosion directly. It doesn't matter whether you're a magician or someone who cannot use a bow.

You can even throw a spear from a distance and as long as it explodes, you can call yourself an archer.

As long as they can attack with explosion from a distance, they could call themselves as a proud archer in the 8th division.

If Rain saw them, he would definitely think they were a bunch of madman and should called themselves as an artillery squad instead of archer. No, even an artillery squad would be shameful to be compared with them.

Amongst the 13 division of royal knight, the 8th division led by Ash is the most unique. They called themselves as gentlemen who likes to help the people in need.

There were three strict requirements to join the 8th division.

One, you have to be tough. A man with no muscle or strength is banned from 8th division. Two, you have to be brave. The more you can make your enemies fear you the better. They especially think explosion is the peak of braveness and fear. Third, you have to be handsome.

The royal family have authorization about the royal knight recruitments. However, each divisions have their own standard requirements and rules. Due to their weird requirements and also their eccentric behaviour, they 8th division was not popular. They only have around 50 members including those who were off duty or were on another missions.

Normally a division was made out between 300-1000 personnel. Even the most elite 1st battalion have 150 personnel. However in terms of overall strength, the 8th divison was ranked 5th. Although their numbers is low, but the talent of each personnel is high.

There were no magicians in the 8th division as those who could use attack magics called themselves as proud archers. However, there were bards who specialized in healing magic and to provide support magic.

"Harmony!"
"Soul Requiem!"

The two bards were providing supports to the vanguards. One was using a flute and the other was using a harp.

Two melodious sound resounded creating a weird harmony.

"Ohhh!"
"Kiiiiiiii!"

The knights were being energized as they heard the music. On the other hand, the monsters were screaming in agony.

"Leave none alive!"

Ash shouted and leaped into the monster packs.

His sword were covered with red light and he slashed at the monsters without rest. Horizontal slash, vertical slash and sometimes thurst at the monsters.

Blood were being splashed on his armor and his sword were being stained with green and purplish monsters blood.

Ash only targeted the monsters neck or heart, so it's a one-hit kill every single time. Usually the sword would become dull the more it slashed at the monsters. The impact of hitting the monsters thick skin or hard bones would chipped the blade.

Even when it was coated with mana, there was a limit on how long it could last when used constantly.
However, there was no such trace on Ash's sword. It's either the sword was good or he was skilled enough to not damage his sword while killing nonstop.

"Guardians, hold the lines! Archers, destroy the enemies rear! Warriors, charge!"

Ash gave out his command.

"Not bad. Their sense might be lacking, but their cooperations and strength is good"

Agatha muttered.

"I didn't expect that kid was quite amazing. They listened to his order without hesitation and carried it perfectly. Although, their fighting style is a bit messed up"

Agatha was looking at the fight amusingly. At first, she only wanted to test out their capabilities, but it exceed her expectations. She was planning on going alone if they didn't satisfy her requirements because she doesn't want any needless casualties.

Soon the battle ended. More than a hundred monsters corpses around level 35-40 littered on the ground. There were no heavy casualties, at most some broken bones, scratches and some cut wounds. But it was healed soon.

"Kuhahaha! Captain, did you see my explosion!? I bet that one was the most beautiful thing in the battlefield!"

A bald man with bulky body was laughing loudly as he held a huge staff on his hand.

"What are you saying? Of course it was my melodious music!"

A handsome tall blonde man refuted his words.

"You pathetic lot in the backline! Of course it was us who was the most beautiful! Don't you see how awesome we were holding the frontline with just the four of us!"

A man with a huge shield interrupted them.

"Shut up you damn meat shield!"

The battle was finished, however another battle was about to start amongst them.

"Enough! Hurry up and gather the loots!"

Ash said.

"Yes, captain!"

They went to gather the loots while Ash went to Agatha.

"How is it vice-commander? Are we up to your standard?"
"Not bad. However the formations is a bit unique. Especially the archers..."

Agatha said hesitantly.

"I see. So, vice-commander is a gentleman as well. As expected, archers must use explosion after all"

Ash nodded.

"No. That's not what I meant. Also, what do you mean by gentleman? I'm a woman, alright?"

"Why can't a woman become a gentleman? Only gentlemen understand each other after all"

Ash looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Captain! Come and help us! It's not fair if you're the only one flirting with the vice-commander!"
"Bastard! Who is flirting with who!? Vice-commander, it seems like I have to discipline my men even more. Please excuse me"

Ash left Agatha and went to help them gather the loots.

"Wait! I haven't finished talking yet!"

However, Ash was already left.

"I have heard the rumours about the 8th division. But, I never thought they were this weird. Will it be alright?"

Agatha muttered softly.

∆ ∆ ∆

Back in the academy.

I'm currently sitting alone with Arteria in the library. Lucia was with me on the way to the library, but she was lured away by Irina.

That damn sister of mine lured Lucia away using foods and sweets. I thought she would refuse foods other than the one I provided, but it seems like they knew each other and get along quite well behind my back.

I know Irina is my sister and I shouldn't worry about them. But, it's still irritating. It's like your precious little sister suddenly likes big sister more than big brother.

"Rain. Rain!"

Arteria was calling me.

"Ah. What's wrong, Arte?"

I asked.

"I should be the one asking you that. You keep staring at the book with a blank look"
"Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought"

I quickly apologized.

"Is something wrong?"

Arteria tilted her head and asked with curious eyes.

Well, I can't say that I'm worry of Lucia prefers Irina more than me.
Come to think of it, Arte was the youngest and also the only daughter of the royal family. Maybe I should try asking her?

"Say, Arte. As a little sister, do you prefer a big brother or big sister?"
"What's wrong with the sudden question?"
"I've been thinking about it. I have an elder brother and also an elder sister. Both of them are worrying me. Sometimes, I'm wondering if both of them fight because of me which side should I pick"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. So, Arte, if you were in my position which one do you prefer?"

Arteria went silent for a while as if she was contemplating my question.

"I only have 3 big brothers. So, If I really have a big sister, I will pick her side. Big brother sometimes is annoying. They keep nagging me for no reason. Not to mention we have different taste, be it food or fashion"
"So, a big sister is much better than big brother for a little sister?"
"Yes. At least for me. For example, we could bath together, sleep together, shopping together and tried all kind of dress together. We can also exchange our dress for fun. We could also cuddle together. I cannot do all of that with big brother after all"
"I see"
"Moreover, my brothers always bickering and fights each other. That's why I really wanted a big sister"

Arteria had a tired look on her face when she mentions her brothers.

Well, I guess it's true. Me and Ash also bicker all the time. And our skinships only happened when he was throwing me and punching me in sparring.

On the other hand, Irina sometimes patted me in the head and even hugged me out of nowhere. Heck, even as a younger brother I prefer big sister like Irina than a shitty brother like Ash.

"Then, what about a little sister? do you want one?"
"No. I prefer to be the youngest one because that way I could be pampered more. Although, I don't mind having a cute little sister. That way, I could be the one pampering her instead"
"I'm the youngest one as well, so I understand your feeling"
"Right?"

She giggled.

"Now that you mentioned it, Rain. Which one of us older?"

Arteria asked curiously.

"Me"
"I doubt it"

Arteria looked at me with doubtful eyes.

Well, putting my real age aside, Rain is really older than Arteria.

"You were born in the summer while I was born in spring on the same year"

I said.

"How did you know when I was born?"
"The flower festival in the summer were celebrated as your birthday after all"

I shrugged my shoulders and answered nonchalantly.

"Ah, you're right"

Arteria was surprised by my answer. Her face blushed for a little bit.

"Anyway. Why are you reading books about curse?"

Arteria asked. Her eyes were filled with curiosity.

"I find it interesting. You see, there were all kind of curses in stories. A curse that would let someone into an eternal slumber, one that would turn a prince into a frog or monster. There was also curse that could harm the people from a nightmare to something that would affect an entire kingdom"

I continued.

"The way to break them were also interesting. Kissing a princess would break her eternal slumber or being loved by someone will break the transformation curse. If the curse was strong enough, you even need a sacrifice to just lower it's power or undo it temporarily"
"Isn't that all come from story books? In reality most curses could be removed using Purify magic"

Arteria said.

"That's what makes it interesting. Who knows there might be a curse that could turn you into opposite gender as well"
"Well, seeing Rain as a girl might be interesting"

Afteria chuckled.

"If that ever happened please kiss me or fall in love with me and undo the curse"
"No! keeping you as a girl is more interesting! We can even become sisters!"

Arteria objected and puffed her chest while smiling.

I was dumbfounded by her respond. Although I was just joking in the kiss and fall in love part, but can't you at least say yes?

Also it might be interesting for you but not for me, alright?

"Rain, tell me interesting story with curse as the theme"

Arte asked.

"Why so sudden?"
"You brought it up first, so I became interested with curse as well. Please take responsibilty and share some story with me"

She suddenly held my hand and bring her face closer to mine then looked at me with begging look.

So close! And also so cute! Damn it! My heart! Attacking me so suddenly is unfair! What if I retaliate unconsciously and ends up kissing you!?

"A-Alright! Please don't startle me so suddenly like that"
"Okay!"

She let go of my hand and leaned back.

Cough.

I coughed and cleared my throat.

"A long time ago..."

And so I began telling her a story.