Lord of Training - Chapter 21



Only Krnovel

21. Sore finger.

21. Sore finger.

The deal with Elf Evolod went well.

I told him briefly about the gravity field generator I had found at the Labyrinth Gate and the situation there.

Evolod, who had always had a cold, murderous expression, showed a troubled expression for the first time. Does he miss his hometown too?

As promised, I received a map of the location where the Imperial General and the defeated soldiers were.

Now it was time to quickly subdue them.

Because it is effective to strike before the remaining troops are gathered.

“Could this be a trap?”

Sergeant Phelps followed and asked.

“Even if it’s a trap, we have to go. And there’s no reason for the author to lie.”

“Is that so?”

“And even if you don’t trust that elf, you can trust the situation they’re in.”

“Then, please take at least three more battalions of troops.”

I gave a snicker.

“They only have one platoon of troops that can fight properly. Adding troops from other units will only be a hindrance. Have you already forgotten what happened this morning?”

Phelps furrowed his brow.

It seemed like something had come to mind in the morning.

If Major Lapin of the 4th Battalion had only listened to me, the casualties would have been significantly reduced.

“Then, please leave this operation to me.”

“You?”

My head turned at the sudden words.

“I’ll take Carlin’s squad and John’s squad.”

“Can you do it?”

“As the captain said, it is inefficient for one platoon to move. And shouldn’t someone stay here and guard that elf?”

“That’s true, but······.”

“I also want to try commanding an operation.”

Sergeant Phelps always followed my orders well.

And long before I came along, he was an excellent non-commissioned officer, an excellent squad leader, and an excellent adjutant. But he had never commanded a unit on his own.

“Do you want to be an officer?”

Phelps nodded.

“Yes. I felt a lot this time.”

“okay?”

“It’s already been six years since I first awakened the detection technique. My skill level was maxed out, but there was no sign of improvement. I thought that was my limit. So I didn’t aim for higher things. I just lived my life, taking the salary the military gave me.”

Phelps’ expression was more serious than ever.

“But a lot has changed since I was with you, Commander. I was promoted to Special Sergeant, and my spatial and flight techniques have also awakened. I really didn’t know I would develop this much.”

If you think about it, the person who improved the most in the shortest amount of time was Phelps.

He had awakened his flying magic a few days ago, so he could have joined the Airborne Magic Unit, and he had awakened his space magic, so he could have become an officer in the logistics unit.

Moreover, he had the ability to detect things, so he was a talent that any unit would covet.

In short, he has now become a true magic knight.

‘I heard you’re going to be an officer, I can’t stop you······.’

Even if you have awakened the three types of magic, you will not need any special difficulties or procedures to become an officer.

Since you have a lot of military experience, if you just submit an application, you will be commissioned as a second lieutenant right away.

But if he revealed his awakening technique now, there was a high chance that he would be sent to the logistics unit.

Even with Phelps’ level 1 subspace warehouse skill, he was able to single-handedly take charge of the supply of the regiment’s troops.

For a small company like ours to remain was like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.

“Okay. This time I will tell my superiors and push for it actively.”

“You misunderstood what I said.”

“huh?”

“I’m not saying I’ll do it right away. For now, I’ll work under the company commander to further develop my commanding skills. And there’s another reason why I want to become an officer.”

“······?”

“When you become a lord later on, wouldn’t you need a knight or commander more than an adjutant?”

“ah!”

For a moment, the tip of my nose tingled.

The reason you wanted to become an officer was because of me!

He was a man who was sincere from the beginning when he said that I would become a lord.

I’m sorry I misunderstood Phelps.

“So, I would like to take charge of this operation.”

“So you want to gain practical experience?”

“That’s right.”

He nodded.

“Good! I’ll leave this mission to you.”

“Thank you, Commander!”

I said no more.

If it’s Special Agent Phelps, he’ll bring his men back safely.

‘I got the right guy.’

The lord and the knight······.

I felt a surge of excitement in my chest.

He defeated more than twice as many enemies and saved his life simply to make a choice he would not regret.

At the time, I thought it was crazy, but I had no idea that choice would lead to such a result.

Indeed, there are many excellent adjutants now, but there is not a single commander.

It was a fitting stage to test Phelps’ commanding ability.

***

With 16 of their men gone, the vast base seemed even emptier.

Knock! Knock!

The bonfire was burning brightly.

Sergeant Herman, who was tossing and turning, looked at me.

“Can’t sleep?”

“You just think a lot.”

“Will it be okay?”

“what?”

“Sir, this is your first operation without a company commander.”

“I’ll do well.”

The answer was easy, but I was also worried.

Still, it wasn’t a bad idea to try.

We are special forces.

I don’t know what missions I will be assigned in the future, and I may be absent or the unit may be divided to take on the mission.

It was a chance to test Phelps’ capabilities in preparation for that time, and it would also be a good experience for the squad leaders and unit members to learn how to deal with me when I’m not there.

Still, I can’t help but feel uneasy.

“It’s shift change time. Who’s on guard now?”

“This is Corporal Sven and Corporal Duncan. It’s Corporal Sven’s turn to shift.”

“Then, I’ll take Sven’s place.”

“Yes? Are you going to monitor it yourself?”

“I can’t sleep anyway.”

I got up from my seat, poured coffee into a cup, and went into the warehouse where the elf was locked up.

“Private Sven, your shift.”

“Yes? The company commander?”

I gestured toward the elf tied to the chair.

“I have something to ask that elf.”

“Ah! Good luck.”

After Sven left, I handed the coffee cup to Sergeant Duncan next to me.

“You must be sleepy. Drink something.”

“I will drink well.”

Sergeant Duncan grabbed his coffee cup and blew on it.

There was no prison in this unit’s facility.

The elf was tightly bound and had piercing wounds on both his legs, but he had a body strengthening skill, so he couldn’t let his guard down.

So we monitored in pairs, and instead of both of them taking turns at the same time, we took turns one by one.

“uh?”

Sergeant Duncan suddenly looked at me and made a complicated expression.

“why?”

“Oh, no.”

“You’re a single guy. Why? Are you nervous about Sven coming in?”

“Yes? No.”

I asked because Sergeant Sven and Sergeant Duncan have been always hanging out together like a set lately.

And there was one bad rumor about Sergeant Duncan.

She likes men and always follows Sergeant Sven around.

Duncan had a similar personality to Alain Bombard just before he died.

If Alain is the officer of interest, Duncan is the soldier of interest.

There are people in the world like Phelps who are responsible and proactive, but there are also people like Duncan who are timid, don’t get along well with others, and are passive in everything.

In a word, it’s a sore finger for me.

But since they were my men, I created this opportunity to talk and become closer to them.

“We’re not like that. I like women. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“It looks even more suspicious when you see me getting angry?”

“Yes? Absolutely not.”

“Okay. The stronger the camaraderie, the better. Don’t worry about the rumors. If you have any concerns, just tell me.”

“excuse me······.”

Duncan seemed to have something to say.

Are you planning to come out and say you like Sergeant Sven?

Sven and Duncan were best friends because they enlisted in the same army, were in the same platoon, squad, and were the same age.

Moreover, ironically, the awakening techniques for both were the same, with the concentration (mental) technique and the skill being rapid fire (lv. 1), which led to even stranger rumors.

“I have something to tell you.”

“I understand everything. The company commander doesn’t show disappointment, so tell him the truth.”

I prepared myself mentally.

Duncan looked around and opened his mouth.

“I am not an awakening wizard.”

“Yeah. What?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to deceive you.”

“You’re lying? I confirmed that I hit the final blow at each and every one of the labyrinth gates, and I also confirmed that you used the rapid fire skill.”

“In fact, I have awakened, but it is a half-awakening, and I cannot do anything on my own.”

“What? Half-baked?”

Sergeant Duncan continued to speak in an unintelligible manner.

“Tell me more. What is your awakening technique?”

“It’s an interventional technique.”

“If it’s an interference technique, isn’t it a technique that interferes with the enemy’s technique and nullifies or disrupts it?”

As far as I know, it was a very rare technique, and if used well, it was a technique so feared by awakened magicians that it could be called a fraud.

“That’s true, but in my case, my skills are a bit unusual.”

“What are your skills?”

“It’s a copy.”

“copy?”

“This is a skill that randomly copies one skill by interfering with the spells of the Awakened within 10 meters.”

For a moment, my head went blank.

“So, if there are no Awakened people around me, I just become an ordinary soldier.”

“Huh! So you said you weren’t an Awakened one?”

“Yes. It’s too much to call someone like me, who can’t do anything on my own, an Awakened One. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance. I felt like I would be ostracized even more.”

“Hahaha! You’re so wrong.”

“yes?”

“Your skills are blessed!”

Copying skills!

He said that he could use my piercing skill or air shield skill, or he could use Sergeant Herman’s induction technique, Corporal John Cutter’s flame skill, Sergeant Cameron’s earth shield skill, or even Sergeant Chris’s buff technique as long as he was close by.

In addition, you can use Phelps’ detection skill and subspace storage skill.

‘Ah! Subspace won’t work!’

If the distance exceeds 10 meters, the skill will disappear, and the items in the subspace warehouse will also disappear.

But just thinking about it briefly a little while ago, it has tremendous utility.

“So you’re saying that you’ve awakened Corporal Sven’s magic? Because it’s not so noticeable when the skill disappears due to distance?”

“yes······.”

Duncan nodded.

There was no way to check the rapid fire skill outside of combat.

Moreover, since the two were in the same squad, they always moved together, and it would have been easy to deceive other people’s attention.

And who will be there to check if you’re using rapid fire skills while the battle is in progress?

He must be busy shooting his own gun.

“Now that Sven is out, whose skill did you copy?”

I asked because the elf and I were within 10 meters.

“Once copied, if the target moves away by more than 10 meters, the skill disappears and copies the skill of the nearest Awakened.”

“Then you must have copied my skill just now. Tell me.”

“Huh? That······.”

Duncan looked uneasy.

“Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on. I was able to use all the other members’ skills, but the captain’s skills didn’t respond at all.”

“What is the name of the skill?”

“They say they copied the decomposition skill.”

Of course.

That’s an alchemist’s skill.

Without dimensional energy, it’s useless.

But it was truly a terrifying interference technique that even copied the alchemist’s skills.

“Hahaha! Now, hold your chest out. Do you know how much you can do with your magic?”

I told Sergeant Duncan about the strengths of the skills he possessed.

He was not a 1/2 half awakened, but an awakened with the best option of 1+1.

Moreover, as the copy skill level increases, the copy range increases, so the utility is endless.

“Right now, we can figure out what the author’s awakening spell and skills are.”

I looked at the elf, and Evolod was looking at us with a very disappointed expression on his face.

“Ah! Let me try it right away!”

Duncan’s self-esteem rose.

I can already picture Sergeant Duncan’s exploits in my mind.

That sore finger became an indispensable talent to our company.

***

Early in the morning, Private Jester flew in.

“Captain! We have captured all the Imperial generals and the defeated soldiers.”

“Oh! Which agent is injured?”

“No! We’re currently being led to the gate entrance where the 3rd Battalion is, and Sergeant Phelps has asked you to bring the company commander.”

“Okay! Let’s go right away.”

Phelps met at the gate entrance.

“Chung! The mission was completed safely.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

I saluted and patted Phelps on the shoulder.

Regardless of the success of the operation, Phelps’ commanding ability was satisfactory as he brought the troops back safely.

I was thinking of giving him more missions in the future.

We entered the 3rd Battalion Garrison.

“Wow! I heard that your company performed exceptionally well in yesterday’s battle, but today you captured the remnants of the army and even an imperial brigadier general. That’s amazing. Amazing.”

Lieutenant Colonel Colville, the 3rd Battalion commander, shook his head.

“I feel like I’ll be saluting you soon.”

“No, that’s too much praise.”

I reported on the battle yesterday and the operation this morning.

Our mission here is now complete.

However, they planned to train for a few more days, citing the possibility that there might still be stragglers.

Suddenly, Lieutenant Colonel Colville’s appetite grew.

“I did a great job, but I feel bad about this. What should I do?”

“yes?”

“I wish you could give me a few days off, I got a call from Legion Headquarters last night.”

“······?”

“Your company has been notified to cease operations against defeated troops and return to the corps headquarters.”

“Yes? What’s going on?”

“The situation on the front has changed. The Allied forces have captured Pascaltes.”

“ah!”

“They say that the retreating imperial army is gathering all the surrounding forces and reorganizing its battle lines in the capital city of Loire.”

Unfortunately, the training had to stop here.

We had to go to the outskirts of the capital city of Lutes, where the 2nd Army Corps was.

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