17TH GEAR - WE CAN CALL YOU PANDA, CAN’T WE?

“First, we have to set a goal for our club to achieve,” I said as I crossed my arms.

“What do you mean our goal? Isn’t it our goal to participate in Speedmage Tournaments and win?” Ericka asked.

“We have to be more specific. Sure, we can enter the Speedmage Tournament. But what does Merry Knights need to achieve? Just a Championship trophy? Recruitment of more members? Participating in the international cup? Promotion of Speedmage products? Fame that will reach the edges of the country?”

Ericka went silent. It was Cruzo that answered me with a wry smile.

“Honestly, we did not think that far behind. At the start of the school year, we two are the only ones left in the guild that was almost disbanded. Our only goal at that time was to make the club alive. Now that we have enough members to continue operating, we have no clue what to have next.”

“Jonathan! What about being a Speedmage Champion and becoming the fastest magus alive?” Fluonessia asked with excitement.

“It’s not bad to dream, but we have to consider what is realistic,” I said to Fluonessia. “I know you promised to be the Speedmage Champion, but we’re just rookies. It will take some time for that.”

“Uwuuu.” Fluonessia sulked.

“What about defeating our opponents in the first round?” Cruzo suggested with a thumbs-up. “Since we haven’t beaten a single Speedmage last year, I think that’s an attainable goal!”

This is the first time I’ve heard that the Merry Knights have never defeated a single Speedmage during last year’s tournament. Well, I joined the weakest team at Saint Crusade Academy, so what should I expect? They even accepted a magicless person like me, so they must have been really desperate. I have to raise the bar to adjust their ego.

“That’s too shallow, don’t you think? We should raise our standards or else we’ll be stuck.” I said.

The table became silent since I’d been vetoing my fellow club member’s suggestions. Cruzo and Fluonessia are busily overheating their brain to think of a good answer, while I wait for any of them to speak up.

Suddenly, Ericka spoke up.

“I want to restore Merry Knights to its former glory.”

All attention went to Ericka who has this determined serious gaze. She’s not even smiling and nobody would even dare to interrupt her.

“Merry Knights was created as a club that focuses on the fun of being a Speedmage. My sister told me that as long as Speedmage Tournaments give joy to the people, the Merry Knights should stay smiling and race towards the finish line.”

Ericka has a point. Speedmage Tournament is, in the end, a sport. It is designed to have fun and to promote friendship and rivalry among Speedmages. It gives smiles to people, just like what it did to me when I was a kid.

“Merry Knights is a guild with a simple goal: having fun in Speed Battles. We never aimed to be the top players, and we never aimed to have a hundred members. We just aimed to make people smile as they watch our performance in the Triangle.” Ericka clenched her fist.

“You go, Prez!” Cruzo cheered.

“That’s right! Speed Battles are so fun and awesome!” Fluonessia also clenched her fists.

I smiled. “It’s a vague goal but we’ll go with that since the majority of the members agreed to it. I will just set objective goals myself since I’m your coach.”

“Yes, we will leave it all to you,” Ericka said. “All we need for now is to have fun together, like brothers and sisters, like a family.”

“I like that! A family that sticks together and laughs together! Hahaha!” Cruzo said.

“Most families are toxic though.” I made a side comment that no one could hear.

“Oh! Oh!” Fluonessia raised her hand. “I have a good starting idea! What about we call each other by their unique nicknames? I feel like we’ll be closer to each other if we do that!”

“I don’t mind having a nickname,” Ericka said.

“Same! You can call me whatever you want!” Cruzo said.

“I’ll call you Panda.” Ericka teased.

“Please not that one!” Cruzo cried.

Actually, I’m kind of on the boat with Fluonessia’s suggestion. As a navigator and a coach, I need to spend less time speaking a syllable during Speed Battles so that my advice would be on point.

“For me, just call me Flu!” Fluonessia shouted with enthusiasm.

“Flu, you mean like a disease?” I asked.

“Yes! Because my parents and siblings avoid me like the flu! I’m a failure after all! Tahahaha!”

I’ve never seen a girl so proud while insulting herself.

“Disregarding your reasoning, I think Flu is a cute nickname. It kind of adds a flavor.” Ericka said.

“Awesome! What about you, Prez? What would you like to be your nickname?” Fluonessia asked.

“Just call me Prez.”

Ericka smiled with a hint of threat in her eyes. If only stares can convey messages, it would read as “You should respect me as the President! I would freaking choke you to death if you call me any other nickname.” Cruzo even signaled me by shrugging, so I know I should keep silent.

“How about you, Jonathan? What’s your nickname?” Fluonessia asked while her adorable face approached me.

“You can call me whatever you want. My parents call me Jon though.”

“John Doe?”

“Jon. Just Jon.”

“I kind of prefer calling him coach during practice,” Ericka suggested.

“I agree. It has a nice ring to it. Having a magicless person being called a coach by Speedmages is something that was never done before. It will stand out!” Cruzo thumbs up.

“It’s decided then! We will call you coach!” Fluonessia pumped her fists. Thereafter she whispered, “Can I still call you Jon after practice?”

“Whatever, you do you,” I said, then I turned to Cruzo to move on. “How about you, Sir Cruzo?”

“Panda.” Ericka grinned.

“Cruzo! Just Cruzo is fine! Just not panda!”

In the end, we all decided to call Cruzo by his name since a two-syllable name like his is no big deal in calling out. However, we also decided to call him Panda whenever he was not looking.

We enjoyed the fancy food and had a good time at the first meeting of the Merry Knights. We learned some things about the club and about the academy that is somewhat not relevant and a complete waste of memory and time, but at least we had some fun eating and talking together.

<>

The next day was Sunday, and it was my free day. I can do whatever I want.

Normally, I would spend my time surfing the Magicnet, watching useless videos, or even playing games. If I’m feeling industrious, I would even read my textbooks and study. But for now, I have something more important on my list.

I went to our stockroom and looked for a certain box where I kept my possessions as a kid. It took a while but I easily found it after removing some clay pots and dead rats and grasshoppers used for witchcraft. To explain those things, my mother practices witchcraft, so it’s often putrid in these parts of the house.

I carried the box out of the stockroom and dusted it off. It was sealed by masking tape that is a decade-years old, so I grabbed a knife and opened it.

“There it is.”

The smell of freshly manufactured books entered my nose. Pure nostalgia sparked in my brain as I saw the things I admired as a kid.

It was all Speedmage materials; from popular Speedmage posters, action figures, memorabilia such as old calendars and Speedmage Tournament mugs that have a decade-long history, and a broken Speedmage shoe that has the signature of a national champion.

I had planned on selling these things at a pawnshop to get a decent amount of money to support my merchant academy course, but since my parents can still support me, I will still keep them. These things kind of not remind me of my broken dreams anymore since I’m now part of a Speedmage Club.

There are also old clipboards, whistles, and even a slightly cracked Mystic Monocle which is kind of an outdated version of my Mystic Glasses. I even tried it on and it made me nauseous, so I kept it on the side.

I dug inside the huge box and finally saw the one I’m looking for- it is a book that has the title Speedmage Tactics. The author of this book is none other than my father: Flint Wardenorth. Unfortunately, this book of his was never published, so as far as I know, there is only one copy existing as of this moment.

I don’t know if my father still has copies of this book, or if he made another. He was a well-known Speedmage Captain during his teenage years and became an adviser to numerous magic guilds including Saint Crusade Academy’s Eaglecrest. He’s the one who introduced me to Speedmage Tournaments when he brought me when I was four.

I opened the book and saw various speed spells that are ranked A to S. I also saw some Speedmage tactics on what to do in certain situations. And most important of all, I saw the various training regimens for rookie and intermediate Speedmages. There are even pictures and illustrations of Speedmages doing the spells and training. This will help me in my endeavor as a coach of Merry Knights.

“I’m kind of excited to show this to Flu,” I said with a smile on my face.

…

Showing it to Flu was the worst mistake I made in my entire life.