Having been dismissed by Pollux, I went to Headquarters to find Polly. 

When I arrived, I found her still doing paperwork. I approached and saluted, standing at attention silently.

She ignored me as she continued filling out the page, taking a minute or so to scribe things down at a rapid yet consistent pace. Once she reached the bottom of the page, she took a breath, scribbled a neat signature, and turned to me. 

“Cooper. You know how to be patient. Keep that virtue.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“So? What do you need?”

“I was told to come to you if I wanted to take the test for promotion to Captain.”

“Ah.”

She nodded and rested her hand on her fist, leaning against her backrest while crossing one leg over the other. Dressed in the summoner fatigues, she looked just like an office lady – except her gaze was hardened by years of menial paperwork and military experience. 

“Yes, you can put in for it, but the test won’t happen right away. You’ll first send in an application, which will be reviewed by High Command before getting accepted or rejected. If it’s accepted, it’ll be sent back down and I’ll give you the books to study. After studying them, you’ll take the test. Once you pass, I’ll carry out your promotion.”

“Understood.”

“Then wait here.”

She stood and walked off to another room. Four minutes later, she was back. She placed two papers on the desk next to me. 

“There’s your application. Fill out the first page and I’ll complete the second. Here’s a pen, and there’s a table over there for you to use.”

“Thank you.”

I took the two items and headed to the table. 

The application consisted mostly of basic stuff, requiring details about me and my position in the military: duty station, commanding officer, requested rank, duration of service, etc. 

I filled out most things easily. Before long, the entire page was filled out. The only difficult part was what to put down under a section titled “Reasons for Application.” 

What was I supposed to put down there? Why did anyone want to be promoted? More money? Better benefits? It was like they couldn’t understand why anyone would want to have a higher rank. 

I rolled my eyes at that and put down some fluffy bullshit. Things like how I wanted to serve the Kingdom better, how effective I’d be being able to command more people, my past performance during academy. I had a hard time not cringing at my own work. I didn’t want it to seem like I was trying to jerk them off, but that was kind of how these things worked. It was all nothing more than ass kissing and false righteousness. 

Once done, I clicked my tongue and handed the page back to Polly. She looked over it, reading through my work before smirking and scribbling across the second page. 

“How ingratiating. Just based off this I’d think you were a noble.”

“Seeing as I’m trying to appeal to nobles, I figured that would work best.”

“Very true. But most people don’t even have this breadth of vocabulary, let alone know how to write in such a uselessly eloquent manner. Either way though, you’ve been on active duty for all of a day. I’d keep expectations realistic. Then again, if they’ve got their eyes on you, they’re probably waiting for this to come through with a stamp in hand.”

“I certainly didn’t ask for it, but I’ll take what I can get.”

“I would too.”

With that she stamped the second page before putting them together. 

“That’s all, Cooper. I’ll send this out with the next shipment. And keep your ears open. You’ll be receiving a message from me tonight with an instructional brief. Go to sleep early tonight, the Pathfinders are getting an early start tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

I saluted her, receiving a quick salute back, before I left headquarters. 

Next stop, my dorm. 

I arrived in the room a little while before dinner. I decided to get myself comfortable with the free time I had. 

I figured that all of my issued gear should stay on me, so I just kept it in my storage. Then, I brought out the armor box. 

After setting it on my bed, I pulled off the letter attached to it, saw the insignia of a Marshal stamped on its front, and opened it. 

It was signed by Marshal Talerria of the 2nd Warlock Corps. 

My brows shifted higher as I read the letter.

  Hello John. 

The shipment of armor you have received comes from an intercepted order in APR. You’re one of the extremely few summoners who have ever been placed into a combat role on the level you have. APR planned to give you a slightly modified warlock armor set, since both summoners and warlocks have ordinary bodies. But I understand that your coat is of higher quality than anything they would give you. Those armor sets can only sustain Authority Six attacks at best, certainly nothing comparable to what your coat can take. 

So I intercepted the order and changed it. What you’ll find in the box is a pair of boots and pants. They’re rated for Authority Eight and equipped with temperature regulation, something you’ll appreciate in the Crags outside Stronghold Charlie. The boots also house a movement enchantment. I know that’s one of your weak points, and, although this doesn’t outright solve it, it’ll certainly give you more room for error. The enchantment is passive and toggleable, providing a power boost to your steps and weight reduction. It’s a step down from outright levitation, but that’s the cost of a passive effect. However, you can use the enchantment actively. It has limited fuel, but it can increase the power of your steps by a magnitude using air magic. Use it wisely, and don’t kill yourself by jumping too high. It’ll help you in the snow, but stealth remains your greatest ally.

You can consider this an apology for not taking command over you. The other Marshals want to see you perform, which will naturally place you in danger. Thankfully, I know your Aura is up to the task, which is the only reason I stopped fighting to keep you under me when they came to me with their decision. Keeping you away from Umara at this point in time is for the best. It’s already gotten every major family off our backs, and it will remain that way so long as they don’t have to worry about you two fornicating. They’re hoping distance and time will cause you two to drift apart. This buys us time; use it and get stronger. If you attain a high enough rank and gather the merits, you may actually acquire a noble title. This upcoming war will help facilitate that. Then, there will be no more opposition to you marrying my daughter. However, should you fall behind her Authority too much, marriage will quickly become a fantasy.

Take care of yourself, John. But keep up. Whether it's thanks to you or not, Umara is advancing faster than ever. She’s currently on track to surpass me. As of writing this letter, I’m also preparing for her next advancement to Authority Six. For her sake, I hope you’re as amazing as I think you are. 

I want her to be happy, John. Help me make that happen.

 

-Talexia

I smiled and placed the letter in my personal storage. I was glad to have the Duchess as an ally. 

Opening the box, I found a pair of black boots and pants inside. The pants had a heft to them, probably due to the segmented armor plating. They sagged in my hands, the weight of the plates dragging the legs down.

The boots were similar. They were made of relatively flexible leather and had smaller metal plates attached in no discernable manner.

I hummed appreciatively, slipping off my shoes before shoving myself inside the boots. They were shockingly comfortable for a pair of overgrown steel-toe boots.

After securing myself in with the leather straps, I stood and jumped experimentally. No sound besides the equivalent of tapping my feet against the wooden floor. Even when I kicked something, there was nothing more than a normal thud. It seemed the armor plates wouldn’t be a source of noise. That was good.

I then went on to try the pants, finding them nearly identical. Overall, the two pieces of gear were heavy, though I enjoyed the room the baggy pants gave me. They were thick and comfortable, and almost unbearingly warm in the heated barracks. 

These would serve well along with the coat. It was a good thing the Duchess decided to do this. Otherwise, I’d have the undershirt, the armor, and my coat, topped off with the fur coat for camo. I’d have ended up discarding the armor if that was the case. 

Now that I had these pants from the Duchess, I no longer needed the pants from my academy instructor Colonel Kotts. At least, not while I was in the field. I could wear them casually on base, since they were lighter than the armored pants. 

After taking a moment to mentally catalog my outfits, I stashed everything and moved onto the next box. 

The box took up a quarter of my room all by itself. The workstation Sawn sent slowly revealed itself as I pried off the wooden siding and packing material. 

It was vaguely desk-like with several devices built into it, including a series of Orb projectors, a specialized Aerial much larger than the one on my wrist, and a large screen that popped out from the back. 

On top of the desk was a letter. I grabbed it and scanned it briefly. There was only one line. 

“Log in with your personal Aerial. It’ll take your Crest information from that.”

I shrugged and looked down. The Aerial on the desk doubled as a kind of interface. I tapped my Aerial to it, and the two devices flashed before the screen glowed to life. 

I sat down on the chair that came with the desk and watched as a wall of text appeared on the screen. 

Another letter.

As promised, this was my workstation from Sawn. It was connected directly to the Sawn Industries network, with limited access to their repository. It was also equipped with a few programs that would help me design things, essentially 3D modeling. 

The real kicker was how summoners could interface with it. It handled information just like an Orb did. Orbs were built by summoners, for summoners, and they allowed the direct use of Psyka to transcribe information. This workstation was no different, which meant I could draw things and scribe descriptions with nothing more than my mind, some Psyka, and a bit of Aura. 

After reading about the details, I got to the last part of the message. It was the contract, a custom one made by Sawn. 

I would be receiving the job position of Design and Development Specialist. I’d have no formal schedule, and my obligations were limited. I would occasionally receive blueprints and designs and would improve designated or alternate aspects. I would also be able to design my own pieces of tech and submit them for assessment. Should anything I made be used and eventually sold, I would receive commissions between 10% and 30% of the profits, depending on how much of the work was actually done by me. This point was negotiable per product. On top of that, I was to receive a weekly salary of 3 thousand coin.

Besides that, I would also have the opportunity to learn about enchanting, since that was a pretty big part of magical design. The lessons were all on the workstation, and learning them was up to me and my schedule. 

Finally, there was the last and most major stipulation of the contract. 

Doing this wouldn’t be free. Although I’d be giving him my knowledge, it wasn’t like Sawn knew its depth. All he knew was that I was a valuable summoner, someone who’d acquire far more power than most other summoners. And because of that, he wanted to keep me to himself. 

So the last stipulation was that, in exchange for this opportunity and position, I was to promise that I wouldn’t work or interact with other companies or development entities for the next 30 years. I wouldn’t be allowed to talk to anyone about my intellectual property nor anything regarding Sawn Industries. 

Basically, it was a non-disclosure and non-compete agreement. And honestly, I didn’t mind all that much. 

Unless Sawn Industries crashed and burned, I had no reason to go anywhere else. And if they did crash and burn, there wouldn’t be anyone to stop me. 

Besides, who the hell knew what this world would look like in 30 years. It’d be unrecognizable in 10 with the Scourge Kings knocking on the door, given how the Pillars went down. It wasn’t like I was tying myself down, and money wasn’t doing much for me right now anyway. 

I simply signed when I saw the Crest imprint line at the bottom. 

After that, the screen flashed. Sawn’s face flickered into existence, surrounded by what seemed like a workshop. 

“Hello John. I’m glad to see you agreed to the contract. Just remember that as we move forward, some of details can be negotiated, such as commission and salary.”

“...”

“This is a live call, by the way.”

“Ah. Thank you, sir.”

I smiled. I had thought it was a video, but it seemed like it was programmed to connect us when I signed. 

“I look forward to working with you.”

“As do I. I think an important step in realizing your value will be learning enchanting. Although enchanting relies on warlocks and mana, summoners play an important part in the design process. The only limitation, should a summoner completely understand enchanting, is the warlock’s ability to apply the enchantments according to the design. To that end, I’m currently the second best enchanter. The best currently resides at the top of the Magic Tower. For now, worry not about complexities and simply learn as much as you can. Anything you make will go through my hands first, and I’ll guide you should you need advice.”

“Understood.”

“As for your schedule, please take your time. Stronghold Charlie is one of the more dangerous places to be at. Focus on that before worrying yourself with education. You can’t design anything if you’re dead.”

“Of course.”

I smirked a bit. Then, Sawn nodded. 

“If you need anything, like a trip back to the capital should you want to leave the military, just let me know. Your workstation can send messages to my own. Leave them there, and I will respond when I can. I’ve also given you a sign-on bonus of one month’s pay. It should deposit into your bank soon.”

“I’m grateful.”

“Mm. Goodbye then.”

The video call clicked off, leaving me to lean back into my seat. 

I was now an employee of Sawn Industries, given the freedom to create anything I wanted. I already had several pieces of technology I could give him, none of them magical, but more than revolutionary enough. And if I could learn enchanting, I’d be able to make some really special things. 

Although I wasn’t something like a full-fledged engineer since I barely graduated from college, I still had a working knowledge of several technologies. I knew how combustion engines worked, I knew how turbines worked, I knew how trains and cars worked, I even knew how to make things like looms and printing presses and several other basic technologies and tools. 

It really wasn’t difficult conceptually. Although the designs would be basic, it wasn’t like this world could handle anything more. They simply didn’t have the required base infrastructure. As I improved and put out more complex pieces, they would improve their ability to produce what I put out. 

The hardest part would be learning how to use whatever design program was on the workstation. After that, I could put together various technologies and send them off. I was also interested to see some of the designs they would send me. I didn’t know if I could improve them, but learning how they operated would be valuable. 

But that would wait for now. After turning off the workstation, I stood and left my room. It was about time for dinner. 

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all at set times. Between those times, small snacks would be put out for anyone that needed a bit more sustenance. 

When I got to the chow hall, I found that most of the base was already there. I filled up my tray and went and found a sparsely populated table. I didn’t know anybody here yet, so I just stuck to myself. 

I gave a nod to the people at the other end of the table while I sat. There were three - two were Authority Eight while the other was Authority Nine. They seemed like friends and none of them cared enough to have a chat with me. 

I just ate my dinner while operating my Aerial, sending and receiving messages with Umara. We could go days at a time without talking to each other, while sometimes we’d hold conversations for hours at a time. 

She told me about the fact that she was close to Authority Six. She had already mentioned stuff about it so I wasn’t surprised seeing the topic in Talexia’s letter. However, one thing only Tana and I knew about was her recent advancements regarding Aura. 

From her descriptions of it, her breakthrough was sensory in nature. She told me how she could sense things in far greater detail, but, more than that, the things around her took on extra attributes. She said that the air took on different colors and textures while she could sense the inherent natures of different materials like metals and fabrics. 

Of course, these colors and textures she was seeing weren’t actually colors and textures. It was all sensed via Aura and Mana, and interpreted into something familiar by her brain. In the case of the colored air, I assumed that she was actually seeing the elements composing the air, things like nitrogen and oxygen. When I asked about it, she said that the majority of the air was composed of a neutral gray color while there were hints of blue. She couldn’t see much of anything else, unless she focused on different sources of other types of air. 

For instance, the air that someone exhaled appeared slightly different than ambient air. She said there was a greater hint of something similar to violet in that air. Perhaps that was carbon dioxide. And, in the case of fire, most of the air around it was violet, with streaks of red and orange diffused throughout. 

The conclusion after she had tested various things was that she was now able to differentiate elements, and not magical elements. Air was no longer just a transparent gas around her, but a mixture of different fluids. And most importantly, she was already learning how to focus her control based on the element. It was as simple as separating oxygen from nitrogen, but the applications for that kind of ability were endless. 

However, that in itself posed more questions. 

Why could she control some elements but not others? Why could she pull oxygen out of the atmosphere, but not something like iron out of the ground? Was it as simple as being the difference between a gas and a solid? Or did the magical Elements differentiate themselves based on other attributes?

It felt like an impossible question to answer, especially since I wasn’t a warlock myself. I could only pose those questions to Umara and educate her in hopes that she could figure it out for herself. But no matter what, the question wouldn’t be answered until she mastered at least one other Element, like Fire, which she was currently trying to gain affinity for. 

Still, she was excited, and I was happy for her. Her Aura was starting to go down the path of precision, which would allow her to utilize the knowledge I was giving her. Being able to tell the difference between things like nitrogen and oxygen would be the first step in developing new spells that harnessed the power of exotic compounds and chemicals. One of her goals was harnessing poisonous gasses like mustard gas. Now, she had a place to start from. 

She’d be a force to be reckoned with very soon. I could hardly imagine her limits. 

With those thoughts in mind I polished off my tray and returned it to its designated disposal area. I left the chow hall wordlessly. 

Not long after that, I received a message on my Aerial from Polly. 

“Orders for the Pathfinders: Mission brief in Room 2 at 0500 hours.”

I sent a quick acknowledgment and continued walking back to my room. That was an early wake up call. 

I set my alarm and got ready for bed. After finishing any organizing I had to do, I piled on my own cushions, blankets, and pillows onto the bed. There was no way I was sleeping on the standard issue cardboard pad. That was a lesson I had learned at the Magisterium. Always bring your own luxuries. 

After that, I hastened myself to sleep. I wondered how long my application would take to get processed. I hoped it wouldn’t be long. I’d like to rank up quicker than not.