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2024-10-29 19:42:56Alexei didn't know how to feel.
On the one hand, he was overjoyed that he didn't have to go and fight on the front lines.
Like every other Initiate, he had heard the stories of the death and destruction that happened out on the front.
It was said that 90% of all Initiates didn't survive the first few days of their first tour, as the forces that the Demon Lord had amassed were just too powerful to be overcome by most people's weapons and abilities.
If he had been sent out to fight he would have been one of that 90% statistic for sure.
On the other hand, though, Alexei was distraught.
He had been chosen to come to the city as the best fighter of anyone in his village. Though considering how small his village was, maybe that hadn't quite been the achievement he had thought at the time.
Either way, being chosen to join the Royal Defence Corps had been an honor, both for his family and his town.
If he returned there now…
No, he couldn't return there. That was out of the question entirely. His family would be the laughing stock of his town and any town nearby that caught wind of what had happened and he wouldn't do that to his mum.
No, instead Alexei was going to have to try and make it on his own.
Though, walking out of the Head Administrar's office, he had no idea how he was going to do that.
His power was truly useless.
It came in the form of a system that allowed him to level up the more he used his abilities.
What were those abilities?
Simply to be able to take apart anything within my power level and then recombine them into something new.
If those abilities were stronger then he would likely be able to become one of the greatest Initiates that ever walked the Earth. But they weren't strong, they weren't strong at all.
Instead, the System Interface that Alexei was now able to summon proclaimed that his abilities were at a lowly level one that could only take apart the most basic of elements and then reconstitute them into equally basic elements.
If he ever got thirsty he would be able to conjure water out of nothing, or if he were underwater he would be able to transform it into bubbles of air to breathe, but that was about as far as his magical prowess went.
All in all, definitely not useful on the battlefield… unless he wanted to become some kind of depressing water fountain for people to use when they got back from fighting.
He stifled a groan and put the bag of coins into his trouser pocket as he walked.
At the very least he would be able to find a place in an inn for a few days while he figured out what he was going to do next.
"Oi, Alexei!" A voice rang out across the courtyard as Alexei exited the main building that made up the Initiate academy.
"I don't want to talk right now Harold," Alexei replied, "You should just… forget about me, yeah? I'm going away, so forget about me and try to survive the front."
"What do you mean you're going away? We're all going away, you idiot," Harold, a short boy with messy blonde hair, replied as he jogged over.
Alexei shot him a look.
"You're going to the front, I'm going away in the opposite direction," Alexei said, looking away from the other Initiate just as quickly as he had looked over.
"Is this about what happened at the ceremony?"
"Of course it's about what happened at the bloody ceremony!" He yelled, turning on the man with tears in his eyes.
Harold stumbled back a few steps in shock. Alexei was usually a calm person. He'd get angry if pushed, but he'd never actually go as far as raising his voice or yelling at someone.
"Hey now! I was just asking," Harold shot back, "And as your cohort, your friend even, don't I deserve to know what's going on? I'd be worried about you if you just disappeared!"
Alexei's anger deflated in an instant. It wasn't fair to be so angry at someone who had no idea what had truly happened, especially considering they had previously got on so well together.
"My abilities are duds, okay," Alexei sighed, "I'm too weak to send out to the front, so the Administrar's are cutting me loose with a stipend payment."
Harold had no idea what to say.
It was an unprecedented situation, something that no one had ever heard of happening before.
"Hey now, come on," Harold said, "Surely it can't be that bad! Every ability comes with downsides and weaknesses, so you can't be that weak surely."
Alexei sighed again, and this time decided to just give Harold a demonstration of the absolute limits of his power level.
He raised a hand and a light glow emanated from each of his fingertips.
Small runic circles flickered into being as Alexei's power absorbed the oxygen molecules around his fingers and began to reorganise them.
With the strongest nudge that his power could produce, hydrogen shed away from some of the oxygen and joined parts of the others until a very faint trickle of water began to spray from Alexei's fingertips.
"This is it, Harold," Alexei sighed, "This is the limit of my power. If you want a cool refreshing drink, then sure, I can provide you with a small glass of water. But on the battlefield, I'd be just the same as anyone who hadn't gone through the ceremony. You understand?"
Once more Harold found himself in a state of shock.
"I didn't know powers could even be that weak…" He muttered, not realising that he was speaking aloud.
"Yeah, well they can and mine are," Alexei said, "So, forget about me. Fight on the front lines and try to be one of the ten per cent that make it back alive. I'm leaving."
And with that, and not another word spoken between the two, Alexei left.
He had been ejected from the Royal Defence Corps forever.
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Alexei worked his way through the woods until he was able to catch up with the soldiers of the Royal Defence Corps. These were all men and women who had gone through the training at the Academy and come out the other end, each of them with a Power Divine powerful enough for the previous Demon Lord to want to absorb it. Perfect for fighting against a Proto Lord who hadn’t fully come into the powers that Eldreth was offering them. At first, Alexei wasn’t sure who he should approach, but then he noticed someone who looked just a little bit familiar. Without any doubts, Alexei was sure the man he saw walking in the centre of the column was none other than his old friend from the Academy, Harold. “Harold!” He exclaimed, “Is that you?” The column of marching soldiers froze instantly, like a rabbit caught in the path of an oncoming dragonhorse, before turning on Alexei with their powers at the ready. It took only a moment for Harold to realise who had called out to him. “A… Alexei?!
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“Okay, wish me luck you two,” Alexei said, he was standing in front of a Warp Gate, one that Risa had told him led to a town that was very close to the front. Neave wrapped her arms around him as best she could and he returned it by holding her close. “You better come back safely, yeah?” Risa said, she held his gaze with a stern look. “Hey, if the Shades are running wild then you have my promise that I’ll be jumping right back into that Warp Gate,” Alexei said, “This is a recon mission, nothing more nothing less. Promise.”She gave him a critical eye, “You know, every time you’ve ever said that you’re just going to look at something or do a bit of recon you’ve come super close to dying.” “Yeah, but those times I had no idea what I was going into, this time it’s either going to be one of two things, and only one of those two things could actually be dangerous. Pretty good odds if you ask me,” Alexei said with a grin, though he could tell he was only annoying Risa with his banter.
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“So, let me get this straight,” Lyla said, “You’re going all the way to the front to maybe take on a massive Shade Army that you have no hope of actually fighting against just in case they’ve gone wild now that the Demon Lord is actually properly dead.” It was a pretty succinct way of explaining the situation, but Alexei was glad that Lyla had grasped the broad strokes of what was going on. “Yeah, pretty much,” Alexei shrugged, “Though I have a feeling that it’s not going to be nearly as bad as you’ve just made it sound. In fact, I think it’s going to be a wasted trip, but a necessary one just in case.” “A wasted trip?” Lyla asked. “Well, after first meeting the Demon Lord and being given a sliver of his powers I’ve always been able to sort of… you know, sense them,” Alexei said, “Just as a kind of dark fuzz off to the eastern border. Can’t feel that anymore.” “What, as in they’re just gone?” “That’s what it feels like, yeah,” Alexei said, “It feels like the Demon Lord had one l
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While Alexei had made it seem as if he were going to be running off to the front lines as fast as he could, there was one thing that he needed to take care of before he left Alandria again. He was sure that if he left the city without at least swinging by The Trout’s Gills at least once then Lyla would have probably ripped his head off with her inhuman beastkin strength. Once again Alexei was struck by a distinct sense of de ja vu. The day had receded into night, with the final glimmers of the twilight sun just about peaking over the very top of the mountain. It was dark, and the streets of Alandria had drawn to a near-empty silence. The only thing that guided his way was the lamplight from the many torches that hung off of the sides of various buildings. The water lapped at the underside of boats and barges alike, and he knew that somewhere deep down under the water there was the body of the very first assassin that he had dealt with, now likely stripped of flesh to the bone by
