novelraw Chapter 6-23
Chapter 6-23
Standard infantry kit must be worn at all times when in the field. At a minimum, the body-worn kit includes:
One service pistol with no less than two spare magazines. One mil-spec combat knife with a blade length of no less than eight inches. One canteen (minimum one quart) drinkable water. One field medkit containing two tourniquets, two healing potions, one antivenom, one stim, one stamina potion and one calibrated mana potion (for Mage-type Classes only). Two flares.
Other required gear may be issued by your superior officers depending on your unit and mission.
- Army Tactical Manual (ATM) 402.42
Monday morning we all showed up to PT with our guns on – the rule was you had to run in ‘full kit’. That meant everything you’d plan to wear into a dungeon, you were required to train with. The basic list included canteens and medkits as well as backup weapons and, of course, full armor.
As we stood around waiting for the last of our classmates to arrive, I was surprised to see Clarice and Marta approaching me. Normally our groups stayed as far away from each other as possible at all times.
“Well Azure, I can see you’ve made a wise decision, committing to the Hammersmiths,” Clarice said, and I started to open my mouth to ask what in the Wastes she meant by that.
“The Hammersmiths have been very kind to us,” I replied in as neutral a tone as I could manage when looking at her annoying face.
“Yes, very generous of them,” Marta said with a sneer before Clarice shushed her.
“I think it’s a good time for our groups to… attempt more cordial relations,” Clarice said with a warning glance at her cousin.
My jaw dropped open and I hastily shut it as Raylan elbowed me and repeated his instructions over the Comms.
“Um, sure,” I responded hesitantly, and Clarice nodded before stalking off, pulling Marta along with her.
As JJ and Leon got the group started for our morning run, I looked sideways at Raylan who was still next to me.
Arlo put in.
Arlo cut in.
I found myself nodding even as I processed the fact that Arlo wouldn’t be with us past the end of the year. I knew that, of course, but it was easy to forget. He’d always been the trainee who cared the least about his status. Even Tara, after more than a month as a recruit, still complained about the dining hall food regularly, not to mention the lack of hot water in the showers.
I kept a wary eye on Clarice and her friends throughout the day, but they kept to themselves. They probably only gave me half the usual number of dirty looks during Ranged Combat, and in Magical Practice I think Clarice even tried smiling at me. Tried being the key word there.
That afternoon, as Tactics wrapped up and we followed Wolf outside for Team Combat, I was rudely interrupted in the middle of a conversation with G’hala about the differences between a spear and a totem – which to me looked like a spear with feathers.
[Gunner Ashley, a moment of silence please!]
I stopped in the middle of a sentence, confused, and G’hala gave me a strange look.
“Sorry, I just – “
[A MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE!]
I winced at the sudden shout ringing in my skull and G’hala gave me a concerned look as I rubbed my temples.
“Az, are you OK? Do you have a headache?” she asked.
“Yes! I have a PAST-sized head – “
[GUNNER! BE QUIET!]
“Fuck you, PAST!” I retorted out loud, drawing stares from the rest of my team. I shrugged helplessly.
[DAAAA-DAAAA-DAAHHHHHHH! DAAAA-DAAHH-DAHHHHHHHH! DA-]
“WHAT THE FUCK, PAST!? My alarm already went off this morning! Stop it!”
[WE ARE OBSERVING A MOMENT OF SILENCE IN HONOR OF THE NATIONAL MOMENT OF REMEMBRANCE!]
“I am NOT hearing any silence around here!” I retorted, extremely confused.
[IS IT NOT THE LAST MONDAY OF THE MONTH OF MAY!?]
“You’re the one who keeps track of the Wasted time here, you tell me!”
By this point we had reached the fighting pits and Wolf was trying to explain the drill he wanted as PAST continued to argue with me.
[I SAY IT IS THE LAST MONDAY OF MAY! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, GUNNER?!]
“I’m not talking to you if you keep yelling at me like that!”
[IT IS MEMORIAL DAY! A GLORIOUS DAY OF REMEMBRANCE, WHEN WE CELEBRATE THE SACRIFICE OF THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN DEFENDING THIS GREAT NATION OF AMERICA!]
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“I. AM. NOT. INTERESTED!”
[YOU WISH TO FORGET THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE PFC KANE?!]
“What?! Of course not!”
[WELL, THEN – ]
“Az! Your team is up!” Wolf yelled at me, an irritated expression on his face. I quickly made the shocking discovery that it is very difficult to fight someone physically while someone else is bellowing nonsense in your head. PAST didn’t shut up until Venkat’s longsword went right through my gut, punching through the chain mail just below my breastplate.
I lay in the hot sand, curled up in agony waiting for the team fight to conclude, screaming at PAST.
“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!”
As Lydia healed me – leaving the lingering, brutal pain of the wound – I thought I faintly heard a voice say [sorry], but I must have been mistaken because it wasn’t a shout. I didn’t speak to PAST again for quite a while after that little incident.
Later that week, I made sure our true status was clear to both Wolf and Thompson. The Head Instructor asked about it when I stopped by her office to see if she had news about the kids. She did not, but told me that she might the following week or week after at the latest. Wolf didn’t seem too upset at our little deception, even agreeing that it was smart politically – though he added that part with a sneer.
We certainly didn’t become friends with Elite Squad as a result. In fact, Marta was just as vicious as always when we sparred in Melee Combat on Wednesday, so I didn’t take it easy on her either. I did manage to refrain from punching her in the face, which I thought was quite admirably diplomatic of me. Of the other members of their team, Vera, Polina, and Gullen seemed to follow Clarice’s lead – more than Marta did – in backing off.
The biggest problem on their Squad now was actually their newest member, Halas. He was quite definitely racist – or at least anti-orc, anti-manaborn, and anti-cyborg, judging from his comments. Though I never heard him express similar feelings towards his dwarven teammate. He did at least stay quiet when Clarice was around, and I wasn’t particularly worried about him breaking into my room to try and murder me. What an upgrade…
That Saturday we had an interesting break from classes when the Alchemist arrived. She turned out to be a small, older woman with a lined face and a bright smile. She showed up with a small group of Delvers that apparently were her bodyguards. When I Identified her, I was stunned at the result.
Name: Archana OnievaClass: AlchemistTier: 5Fucking hells, she is Tier 5?! What is she doing out here?!
Her team were all high Tier 3 combat Classes. We got more details out of Wolf as we waited for our turns to see the old woman, who had gone into the infirmary and was calling students in one at a time.
“She’s one of the best Alchemists in the city, and a Delver – yeah, I know that’s not a Class you normally think of when you think of Delvers. Trust me, she is a legend in her own right. She hates being cooped up in the city, so she insists on coming out here twice a year and personally calibrating mana potions for our students. It’s just an excuse for her, but it’s also damned convenient for you, so be nice.”
I had every intention of showing every Tier 5 I met just how nice I could be. She might have looked like a friendly grandmother, but for her to be even more powerful than Mason told me she was someone I absolutely did not want to mess with. We didn’t have to wait terribly long, since only Squad Elite was in front of us. I’d restrained myself from commenting when Wilson gave us our spots in line, not willing to ruin Raylan’s plans for ‘peace’ between our teams.
The calibration process took five to ten minutes per student, so it was going to take the rest of Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday for her to get through everyone. I’d finally learned that we’d started with 73 students – trainees and recruits combined. We were now down to 70 after the tragic loss of Alex, the not-at-all tragic departure of Yuri, and the I-didn’t-care departure of another student who’d quit the week before, unable to keep up with the demands of training.
When Halas emerged from the infirmary, it was my turn, and I coolly ignored the asshole as I marched past him into the modest room and closed the door behind me. The infirmary was only about three times the size of my bedroom, with two rows of four cots each, a single table large enough for a person to lie down on, and several shelves full of medical supplies. Archana was seated at a chair on the far side of the table, so I took the one facing her, trying to not show any nerves.
The brown-skinned woman smiled at me and held out a hand for me to shake.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Azure,” she said warmly, and I blinked in surprise, which made her chuckle. “Oh yes, I remember your name from that most fascinating incident with the dagger. Ah, don’t worry, my privacy ward is quite high quality. Even the Head Instructor can’t overhear this little chat.”
“Can you tell me anything about the dagger and what was in it?” I asked eagerly, unable to hide my curiosity.
To my disappointment she shook her head with another smile.
“I’m afraid not dear, the Guildmaster would be quite upset at me. That young punk is always looking for excuses to curtail my little expeditions as it is! Now, let’s get on with your calibration. I understand you had quite a reaction to your first mana potion, is that right?”
It turned out she’d read our ‘medical files’, which apparently contained any information the Guild had on us that would be important for a Healer to know – my mana sensitivity being the only thing of note in my file. I quickly explained to her what had happened when I’d taken the potion in the dungeon, and she nodded when I’d finished.
“Well, I’ll certainly take appropriate precautions as we test you, then. Now, I need you to expend some mana for me, at least ten points.”
I summoned my gun, removed four shells from my bandolier, and refilled it with 4BK, using twelve mana in the process. Then, the Alchemist produced a small wooden rack holding numerous glass vials, each with a rubber bulb on top. The bottles were all full of blue liquid which I assumed was mana potion. On one end of the rack, the liquid in each vial was nearly clear, while at the other end it was a dark, intense blue.
She opened a vial from the transparent end of the rack and unscrewed the top, revealing a tiny glass tube. She had me tilt my head back and open my mouth, then she dropped a single drop of liquid onto my tongue. I felt it tingle as soon as it hit, and checked my mana at her instruction.
“I got a point of mana from that,” I reported to her, and I saw her eyes widen in surprise.
“Quite extraordinary!” she exclaimed, and then she repeated the process several times. It took two drops for me to recover each additional point of mana after the first one.
“Well Azure, I can tell you that you have one of the highest mana sensitivities I’ve seen. Top 1%, I’m confident.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I asked nervously, and she laughed lightly in response.
“Like most things, it’s a bit of both. On the good side, you’ll be better able to detect fluctuations in ambient mana, especially if you raise your Acuity. On the bad side, you’ll never be able to buy a mana potion off the shelf, or share them with any of your team. You have a copy of A Healer’s Primer in your room, correct?”
I nodded and she continued.
“Make sure to read the section on mana potions. I’ll tell you that you’re below a 1 on the calibrated sensitivity scale, or CS. Most stores only carry potions starting at 5 CS and ranging up to usually around 50 or so. You’ll need to buy directly from an Alchemist who can properly dilute a potion down to 1, or even one-half CS.
“Remember, even a calibrated mana potion puts stress on your body and can increase the likelihood of experiencing corruption if you’re injured! Now, since you’re a special case, I’m going to mix up a few potions for you right now.”
The Alchemist pulled a set of metal potion vials – five of them – out of her Inventory, quickly unscrewing each one and setting the tops aside. Then she pulled out another vial and casually poured a small amount from it into each of the metal tubes, not bothering to measure as far as I could tell.
The fluid had a distinct – if slight – blue color to start with. Archana then filled the remaining space in each vial from a larger container of what looked like water, before capping them and shoving the whole set over to me.
I looked at her in surprise. “Five potions? Isn’t that a lot?”
“Of course dear, you should certainly avoid using this many while in Tier 0! Also, do not attempt to dilute potions like this on your own. I’ve employed several Skills which you certainly don’t have. Using regular water, even purified in a canteen, to dilute potions is strictly for emergencies.
“When properly made and stored, a potion can last for several years, though it will slightly decrease in potency over time. Once contaminants are introduced, however, you can expect at best a few months – and depending on what gets into which type of potion, the results can even be poisonous. When you need potions in the future, make sure to go to a credible Alchemist and have them diluted for you.
“The good news is that you’ll save money overall because you’ll be using far less of the expensive potion part than just about anyone else!”
She chuckled again as I carefully took the potions and stored them before leaving, thanking her several times for her generosity.
I spent some time working on Slow that night, and felt that I was finally nearing the level of comfort that I had with Fire. It had only taken several weeks of practice. At this rate, I could learn all the runes! But then I’d have to remember them all too…
As I lay in bed, I found myself missing the kids again, and hoping – Hazel might have called it praying – that they had safely made it to LA. It was hard for me to believe that the next morning would be June 1st, marking a full two months since I’d gone into the Tutorial.
Let’s see, in two months I’ve gained six Levels, made at least nine friends – and lost one of them – got trained by the Wasted Black Razor, survived a dungeon, was almost assassinated in my sleep, ended up in a feud with the son of the richest man alive, and fought a scary spiderfuckingwolf over and over and over. Oh yeah, and that rich asshole took off without giving me the item he owes me!
Shit, I’ve been busy! What the fuck is gonna happen in the next two months?