I am a warrior trained under the legion. People like me aren't supposed to lose our calm even if the sky is falling on top of us. Even with all of that training, I am not able to react to my master's words.

  I would not have even heard the man's voice if I had not been channelling my mana. (Even I am surprised by that. I hadn't even realised that I was channelling mana.) The sheer suddenness of those words caused me to stop mid-punch. I barely even notice as I fall to the ground, colliding with the ground.

  I have worked with my master for almost a decade. In all of that, I have learned one thing about the man. He never apologises for anything. I mean that literally. The man almost got me killed a couple of times. The only thing I have heard about that is how it was basically my fault. Even now, the man has an embarrassed look on his face, as if he has just told me the name of his childhood crush.

  "Well, I did know of the Aegis and their problematic nature. I also knew that you would be incapable of accepting it." The man continues speaking, a bit more loudly now. "I was hoping that you would never find out about this particular facet of the Aegis. It is not something that they tend to make public, you see. The problem is that I had no other option. The legion refused completely to take you back. The scholars would never have taken you, so there was no use trying with them. The guard corps were the only people who were willing to take you in."

  "Why exactly was I even supposed to join them?" I ask, feel my heart slow down for the time since meeting the man in front of me. My anger is replaced by a confusing sense of sadness. "You could have just taken me into the formation corps if you wanted to make me join somewhere so badly. I am ready for any work that you throw at me. I am able to make even class eight formations now."

  "Well, now is a dangerous time to be my disciple, kid." He replies. "I have taken on an undertaking that has sadly left me without any allies in the hexmountain. To be my disciple during such a time is going to be dangerous. Especially if you are not strong enough. That is why I put you in the guard corps. A few years as a guard, and nobody would have bothered with you. You have managed to screw that little plan of mine completely."

  "Oh." It is the only thing that I am able to say. "Well, I am sure that you can make me a normal member of the formation corps."

  "If only things could have been that simple. Whatever happens, you are my disciple. Even if I were to give you the position of a sweeper, Everybody else will be treating you as the young master." The man grumbles. "I still could have adjusted things if you were willing to work. Without that, the guard corps is the best that I could have done for you."

  "That is unfair, old man. I have only been working for the last few years. Do you know anybody with my cultivation and my age, who makes class eight formations?" I reply. I can feel the disappointment coming off the man even as he listens to this.

  "Well, let me correct myself. You are able to work hard, kid. You also certainly put in the hours." he replies. "My point is that this is not enough. Nowhere near enough. What you lack is a drive, kid. A reason to fight, if you will. Without it, no amount of your work will amount to anything."

  "I want to be the best formation mage out there." I reply. "I told you that the day that I showed up at your doorstep. “What is a grander ambition than that?”

  "That is not enough. This is enough to motivate you to work, but it certainly is not enough to drive you." My master replies. "Leave it be, things like this are not something that you can logic your way into. The day you have a purpose, you will understand."

  "Fine." is my only reply.

  There is no use pressing the man. The more that I press him, the more annoying he will be to deal with.

  "As you might have guessed, there are going to be consequences to your fight with Anthony Greyvoid. I am not sure if the guard corps will be willing to keep you anymore." My master replies. "I will try to convince them, but only if you are willing to work with them."

  "It is fine. It is not like I want to remain in the guard corps anymore." I reply. "If they are keeping slaves, then I can't work with them. You know that very well. Let me join he formation corps."

  "You don't get it, kid, I don't have anywhere else to send you to other than the guard corps." My master replies. "We are about to enter a war. I won't have the time nor the energy to keep you safe should things go wrong. You will become a target by joining the formation corps. Whatever you can say about the guard corps, they take care of their own."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "Well, even you know that I never really belonged in the guard corps. That is certainly going to be the case now that I have defeated somebody as important as Anthony. You can send me to the formation corps." I reply to this, as confidently as I can. "As you already said, you have nowhere else to send me. Also, I am a formation mage. I want to fix formations without worrying about anything else for once in my life. You do realise that I have not been able to cultivate at all in the last few months."

  "You don't speak about cultivating, you brat. I am sure that you would not have cultivated if you had all the time in the world. I have tried so many things to get you to cultivate, and I have failed to do so." My master speaks. "As for why I can't take you into the formation corps. You are simply not strong enough. You have only created three foundation slabs. That is nowhere near enough to hold your own against the threats you will have to face once you come into the corps."

  "Why would anyone want to fight me. It is not like they care about combat strength in the formation corps. Anyway, you do realise that I beat a mage at the peak of the foundation stage on my own." I reply. "I might not have a lot of cultivation, but I am certain that nobody my age can beat me in terms of strength."

  "Well, the said person was drunk and distracted. He also clearly underestimated you, trying to torture you instead of killing you." My master replied. "I have warned you many times. Pride can get the best of us killed. Remember the Dragonsword and his death."

  "Still, it must count for something. You have to agree that I am significantly more powerful than my peers at the same level." I reply. "I will focus on cultivation from now on. I will rush to the ninth stage of the foundation stage before the end of the year if it comes down to it. Just let me join the formation corps."

  At this, my master suddenly begins to laugh.

  "You do realise that all of your peers are younger than you by half a decade. Anyway, you cultivating diligently. I think that the sun would rise from the west the day after you achieve that." He speaks as he clutches his stomach. There was no need to laugh that hard, also, you know.

  "Fine, fine. I know that I don't tend to cultivate much. That is because of you, though." I speak. "How can I cultivate when you have banned my cultivation?"

  "I have never banned your cultivation, kid. You haven't even reached the sixth foundation stage for you to even think of the stage beyond." He replies. "I just did that to prevent you from doing something that might hurt you. Cultivation is not a process that can be rushed through. Especially for our path. Your curiosity will cripple you one of these days. I am already tired of explaining this point to you."

  "Fine, fine. I have heard that lecture enough times." I replied, a bit irritated. "Will you let me join the formation corps if I reach the ninth foundation slab, then. You don't seem to think that I could do it anyway."

  "I will think about it. That still doesn't change the fact that I will need to put you somewhere until then." the man speaks as he suddenly stops in the middle of his statement. A few moments later. "Wait a second, I might have something that you might be able to do until you join the formation corps."

  "Tell me what it is, old man?" I reply. "You have kept enough secrets from me as it is."

  "There is no use speaking about it until I have something concrete to give you, kid. For that, I will need to go to a few meetings." My master replies. "Anyway, wouldn't you like not having a task so that you can concentrate on cultivation?"

  Well, this is a trick question. If I reply no, the man is going to scold me about my lack of dedication to cultivation. About how it is the only reason that I have barely made any progress in the last few years. If I reply yes, the old man is going to scold me about how I am so ungrateful. That I can't even show any interest in helping out the old man. That is why I have to say something that he wouldn't expect at all.

  "Well, you know me, master. I would just spend my time being anxious instead of cultivating. If you could tell me what my task is, I will be able to focus on my cultivation smoothly." I reply.

  Well, I certainly seem to have caught the man off guard. He stands there for a moment. He was expecting to scold me, and not doing so has tripped him up for a moment. (Only for a moment, though.)

  "Since you finally want to cultivate, I can think of something that might help you. You are going to be enjoying this, brat. I will also speak about this when I have confirmed something. It is related to the task I mean to give you, after all." My master replies, a rare smile on his face. Somehow, looking at the smile, I can't help but feel uncomfortable. "It will certainly keep you busy and out of my hair for a while. Busy enough that you don't end up ruining any more alliances that I have. You do realise just how much of a pain it is going to be to deal with the guard corps now."

  Yeah, the man is not going to forget about that any time soon. Anyway, I can't reply to what the man says. I had never expected that my master would help me with cultivation. All of my master's work till now has been about withholding resources and information from me. Well, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess. Who knows when his mood will change?

  As I think this, a question pops up in my head. One that I should have asked much earlier.

  "What about my troop. What are they going to do?" I ask, thinking of my soldiers.

  I have to admit it, but I have gotten quite dependent on them, especially Trevor. The man and his bag of tricks are going to be a very useful thing to have.

  "Well, that little troop of yours is not a part of the guard corps. They were all selected and picked by me." My master replies. "The two sworn are certainly never going to leave you. Even if I wanted to, they don't listen to my command at all. They will follow you even if I didn't want them to. Trevor is a bit of an exception. The man was doing this job as a favour to me. I think that I can convince him as well to join you. The man seems like he has had a lot of fun going out with you, anyway. So, that means your team should mostly be intact. Still, give me a couple of days to confirm that as well."