Chapter : 18

  Zinia, a strong-looking girl with short hair, stepped onto the mat. She did not use a weapon. Instead, she slammed both of her hands hard against the padded floor. "Earth Wall!" she shouted.

  Instantly, the ground shook. Thick, heavy pillars of solid rock shot up from the floor, surrounding the target dummy in a tight circle. Then, with a flick of her wrist, the rocks turned into sharp spikes and crushed the dummy from all sides. The sound of breaking wood was incredibly loud.

  Ken clapped his hands like a happy child watching a magic show. "Wow! That is so cool!" he cheered loudly. "Hey, Zinia! Can you build me a small stone bed in my room? The mattress they gave me is really lumpy. I think a rock would actually be softer!"

  Zinia just shook her head and walked back to the group, completely ignoring his joke.

  Over the next twenty minutes, Laxmi, Ira, and Luna took their turns.

  Laxmi summoned a giant ball of roaring fire that completely melted her target dummy into a pile of black ash. The heat was so intense that Ken had to wipe fake sweat from his forehead. "Hot, hot, hot! We should bring some marshmallows next time!" Ken yelled, giving her a thumbs-up.

  Ira used water magic. She created a high-pressure whip made entirely of water that sliced her dummy cleanly in half, just like a sharp sword. Ken pretended to be terrified. "Oh no! A highly aggressive shower! My worst nightmare!" he joked, hiding behind his own arms.

  Luna used lightning. She pointed two fingers at her dummy, and a bright yellow bolt of electricity shot across the room. Zap! The dummy exploded into tiny pieces of smoking wood. Ken covered his ears and did a dramatic spin, falling onto his bottom. "Ah! The thunder! I am going to have a heart attack!" he cried, sitting on the floor and eating another chip.

  Finally, it was time for the Vice-Captain.

  "Sayma," Finlay called out. "Demonstrate your barrier magic."

  Sayma stepped forward. She was a tall woman who wore thick glasses, and she looked very calm and intelligent. She didn't have a flashy weapon, and she didn't look aggressive. She just adjusted her glasses by pushing them up the bridge of her nose with one finger.

  Three fresh target dummies popped up in front of her. At the same time, Finlay pulled a lever on the wall. The walls of the training hall opened, and four magical cannons aimed directly at Sayma. These cannons fired heavy balls of pure magical energy.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The cannons fired all at once. The energy balls flew right toward Sayma’s head.

  Ken stopped chewing his chips. For a split second, he paid actual attention.

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  Sayma didn't blink. She calmly raised one hand. "Absolute Hexagon," she said quietly.

  Instantly, a beautiful, glowing golden shield appeared around her. It was made of dozens of small, connected hexagon shapes, looking exactly like a glowing honeycomb. The four energy balls slammed into the shield at full speed.

  Bang! The explosion created a huge cloud of smoke. But when the smoke cleared, Sayma was standing completely untouched. Her golden barrier did not have a single scratch on it. Then, she pushed her hand forward. The barrier suddenly expanded outward like a massive wave of solid light, completely smashing the three target dummies in front of her into dust.

  Ken raised his eyebrows. "Now that," he thought to himself, "is a solid spell. She didn't waste any extra mana. She is smart. She is definitely the brains of this team. In anime logic, the character with glasses who plays defense is always the hardest one to trick."

  Out loud, however, Ken just whistled. "Man, that is a shiny shield!" Ken said, standing up and dusting off his pants. "I should hire you to hold an umbrella for me when it rains. You are like a walking roof!"

  Sayma turned and gave Ken a polite, wholesome smile. "Thank you, Ken. I will keep that in mind if it ever rains."

  Finlay stepped back into the center of the room. The girls had all successfully destroyed their targets. They looked proud, strong, and ready for war. The room smelled like smoke, burned wood, and ozone.

  Finlay crossed his huge arms and stared directly at Ken. The entire room went dead silent. The fun part was over.

  "Alright, Eliot," Finlay boomed, pointing a heavy metal finger at him. "The girls have shown you the standard of the 13th Unit. Now it is your turn. Step onto the mat."

  Ken froze. He slowly lowered his bag of potato chips. He looked at Finlay, then at the girls, and then at Princess Iris.

  "Me?" Ken asked, pointing a finger at his own chest. He widened his eyes to look like a confused puppy. "Are you sure? I mean, I already saw everyone else do it. I think I get the point. We are strong, yay! Teamwork! Can I just go take a nap now?"

  "Step onto the mat, Recruit!" Finlay shouted, his voice shaking the windows.

  Ken let out a huge, dramatic groan. His fun morning of eating snacks and making silly jokes was officially over. It was time for him to take the test, and he had a very, very big problem to solve.

  ----

  Ken dragged his feet as he walked toward the center of the training mats. His cheap shoes made that familiar scuffing sound. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. He looked completely out of place standing there with his untucked shirt and his crooked tie.

  Finlay pressed a button on a remote control, and a brand new, glowing ironwood target dummy popped up from the floor. It was heavily shielded, shining with a thick blue layer of magic.

  "Show me what you have, Eliot," Finlay said, stepping back. "Use your best spell. Do not hold back. The Princess selected you for a reason, and I want to see that reason right now."

  Ken stood ten feet away from the dummy. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and slouched his shoulders. His face looked sleepy and bored, but inside his head, his brain was working at lightning speed.

  "This is bad," Ken thought to himself. "This is a really annoying situation. I have to hit that dummy, but I cannot use my real power. If I use a 'Domain Expansion' from my anime logic magic, I will accidentally erase this entire castle from the map. If I use a 'Super Energy Beam', I will blow a hole through the wall, the courtyard, and probably the mountain behind the castle."

  He looked at the dummy. He needed to do something that looked like magic, but he had to make it look incredibly weak. He needed everyone in the room to believe that he was basically useless in a real fight.

  "Okay, let's go with a classic," Ken decided internally. "The basic anime 'Spirit Gun' or finger beam. It is simple, it is not flashy, and I can dial the power all the way down to one percent of one percent. Yes, a tiny finger gun will make me look like a total beginner."