Upon waking in the infirmary, Silas found a package containing a handwritten note: “Silas. Consider this a reward for all the suffering during the journey. Inside, you will find instructions; if you do not understand them, you may ask a professor to explain them to you. I could not deliver this personally because an urgent mission arose.”

  On the same day as the efficiency percentage test, Andros visited Salva’s workshop.

  —Welcome, General. I have your order ready —said Salva, bringing out silver-colored gloves secured at the wrist with a green gem button.

  Andros, intrigued, asked: —Let’s see, Salva, explain to me what these gloves consist of.

  —Alright —began Salva—, first I wanted to make a sort of soundproof cloak that would serve for stealth, but I didn't have enough fur to achieve it. So, I decided to conduct an experiment —said Salva—. I used the fur to create a thread and fashioned these gauntlets with it. They have quite high resistance, enough to stop the attack of a mid-level Mana Beast or a First Sergeant grade Legionary. If there is a greater impact, they have a component made from the beast's core that, in case the intensity of the blow is too great, dissipates the remaining force. Their function is double: on one hand, they dissipate the vibrations of any impact received, and on the other, they generate no noise when moving —said Salva while proudly showing his creation.

  —Since they were made from Mana Beast materials, it isn't necessary to add much Ether for them to function; they are very efficient in consumption and perfect for a Legionary who isn't a beginner. And, furthermore, they have a very fun function, special for birthdays —said Salva with a conspiratorial smile.

  Salva put on the gloves, asked Andros for a coin, and said: —Okay, General, your coin is in my left hand, and I have nothing in my right.

  Salva slowly closed his hands, and something happened very quickly, but Andros failed to catch it because he was taken off guard: the coin was now in Salva's other hand, as if it were a magic trick. Once again, Salva took the coin, and with a movement of his left hand, the coin disappeared again. Salva exclaimed: —Ta-da! How did you like the show?

  Andros replied: —Very interesting. And where is my coin?

  Salva replied: —Check your pocket.

  Unexpectedly, the coin was there. Salva had to explain the illusion: the gloves, being impregnated with wind mana that improved speed, combined with their soundproofing, allowed Salva to hide the coin quickly without anyone noticing at a glance. And since they were silent, he could bring his hands close to Andros without him perceiving it. Salva said, half-joking, half-serious: —I hope the kid you give these to doesn't dedicate himself to pickpocketing, because he would be the perfect thief with these gloves.

  Andros replied: —No, this boy is calm and will probably find more uses for these gloves than stealing a few coins.

  In his mind, Andros analyzed the gloves: “It would be great to have a pair. I could slap Lenio without anyone noticing.”

  —Thank you, Salva. You have exceeded my expectations —said Andros.

  —No need for thanks, General. I have already sent the bill for my work to General Elias —replied Salva.

  Andros commented: —Yes, I know. Elias was already asking me not to spend his money, but I let him talk to me like that only because he is a good shield.

  Andros said goodbye to Salva and headed to the academy, but on the way, he was intercepted by a legionary.

  —General Andros, I have an urgent notice! A Superior Mana Beast has been sighted in the vicinity of Peseggo —he informed.

  —Damn it, right now! —murmuró Andros with tight lips—. Corporal, pass me a pen and paper.

  Andros wrote a few lines on the paper and handed it, along with a box, to the messenger legionary. —Corporal, please take this shipment to Academy Jared VII for recruit Silas.

  Generally, Andros preferred to operate alone on Superior Mana Beast subjugation missions or, on occasion, go with Ronny if he was available (since Ronny usually fulfilled border guard duties in Haniel, utilizing his strength and endurance for prolonged shifts watching for intruders). On this occasion, due to the sector where the beast had been seen, he already knew who he had to go with, but he encountered a peculiar situation.

  Upon arriving at the regiment, a lieutenant approached him: —General, we have a matter here regarding a Devotee on a Sacred Faith Trial mission.

  Andros’s face reflected clear displeasure. —So, one of those…

  Sacred Faith Trial missions were mandatory for "mixed-blood" (mestizo) Devotees aspiring to ranks higher than Bishop. The declared objective was to serve in the subjugation of a Superior Mana Beast to prove their commitment to the Church of the Devotees of the Soul. However, the true purpose was twofold: to dissuade mixed-bloods from ascending to higher positions and, in the worst case, to eliminate those with too many aspirations.

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  Being "mixed-blood" was a pejorative term, coined by the nobility, applied to those who channeled a type of energy different from their parents. "Pure users," in contrast, had an ancestry of at least four generations with the same type of channeling. Likewise, "passive users" were those who failed to unlock any channeling in the Rite of Baptism and inherited the "passive" designation from their parents, meaning it was possible to be a passive mixed-blood or a passive pure. All these nomenclatures were of great interest to the nobility and royalty, used as badges to show off or to justify prejudice before their acquaintances.

  The Devotee fulfilling her mission was Valeria, a woman of about 18 or 19 years old, 1.75 meters tall, with short light brown hair, wheat-colored skin, and black eyes. Her face denoted marked toughness, and she wore lead-colored armor that was visibly worn. Valeria had strived tirelessly to ascend but always encountered obstacles due to her condition as a mixed-blood, the daughter of Scholars—the worst possible classification in the hierarchy. Valeria always blamed her parents for her fate, regretting not having been born into another family; these values were forcibly instilled in her in the monasteries where Devotees were trained.

  Valeria was a Devotee of Grace with an innate talent for combat. She was trained by one of the houses of the Valke family, Devotee experts in holy combat. This fighting style and training were based on enhancing the body through Ichor, which not only accelerated recovery after intense training but also revitalized the body to prolong the fight and kept it in constant regeneration to avoid lasting damage. Furthermore, Valeria possessed small gifts as a Devotee of Faith, which granted her the ability to fight and exorcise malignant entities, something exceptional as she possessed more than one type of power. If Valeria had been born into a pure Devotee family, she would be a recognized and praised Bishop; however, being a mixed-blood Devotee, and on top of that born of Scholar parents, she was not taken much into account, with the sole exception of her master, who saw genuine talent in her.

  Andros didn't like these situations much, as he considered it "carrying extra weight of unpleasant children to babysit." Normally, few Devotees on missions arrived in Haniel, since not many Superior Beast subjugation missions appeared in that province. But, by a coincidence of transit, Valeria was in the city on her way to another with a higher frequency of Mana Beasts, and she took advantage of the rare appearance to save time, given that a new appearance of Superior Beasts could take several months.

  Andros approached Devotee Valeria, who was throwing a tantrum about the rules of faith missions. —What do you mean I'll have to go with a Battle Scholar? I won't travel with that kind of people! I'm going to speak with General Guardian Elias! —she complained to a corporal who was trying to explain the situation.

  Valeria was back-to-back with Andros, who heard the complaint. The sergeant, seeing Andros arrive, put on a scared face; everyone in the regiment knew Andros's bad mood when Scholars were offended.

  —Look, kid, since it’s your first time, I'll let it slide, but if you talk about Scholars like that again, the Superior Mana Beast will be the least of your worries —said Andros with a gravelly voice.

  Valeria turned around and asked: —And who are you?

  Unfortunately for Valeria, those not close to the regiment were unaware of Andros's peculiar condition. For non-legionary outsiders, the General Guardian was Elias, known for his great strength and stories of subjugating Mana Beasts eliminated with a single blow. Therefore, they assumed that Andros was simply a legionary carrying out orders the Guardian didn't want to do, a sort of assistant.

  —Call me Andros —he replied.

  Valeria quickly noticed his red armor, a badge of high-ranking legionaries, and said: —Greetings, Major Andros —assuming the highest rank she could guess from his clothing, which lacked many visible decorations.

  The sergeant was about to correct her, but Andros looked at him with an expression ordering him to remain silent.

  —Yes, Major Andros —continued Andros—. I am in charge of the Superior Mana Beast subjugation, but my absolute requirement is that we go with a Battle Scholar.

  He held this requirement precisely to dissuade the Devotees; normally, upon hearing that they would go with a Scholar whom they would have to obey during the journey, they desisted from fulfilling their mission in that city. But Valeria was not going to let others think she refused her mission at the first opportunity. Reluctantly, Valeria accepted.

  Knowing that Valeria had accepted, Andros tried to hide his face of displeasure. In his mind, he thought: “Well, maybe when she sees old Sigmund, she’ll regret it.” While the other legionaries began to load supplies, Andros and Valeria headed to a training sector of the military center.

  From afar, an old man of about 50 to 60 years could be seen. He was bald with a white beard, 1.72 meters tall, slightly tanned, and possessed an extremely worked body peppered with scars. He didn't have a gram of fat, and all his muscles were at their optimal capacity; there was no disproportionately large muscle that could hinder his fighting. He was, literally, a human weapon. He was training, striking a pillar of slightly solid material filled with a liquid. This training implement had viscoelastic properties, opposing greater resistance and hardness the higher the speed or force of impact, but distributing the force so as not to damage the hands and legs of the legionaries training.

  Seeing this man from a distance, Valeria commented: —That legionary has quite a lot of strength in his strikes; by the sound, I know they are precise and forceful blows.

  Andros, seeing Sigmund, scolded him: —Damn it, old man! Why are you shirtless? What did I tell you about wearing your tunic?!

  Andros had asked Sigmund to train in a wide tunic. This tunic made him look like a weak old man, revealing only his wrinkled and fragile face. But the plan for Valeria to regret seeing a weak elderly Scholar had failed.

  Andros spoke to Valeria: —Well, this is Sigmund...

  Before he finished, Valeria greeted him, having heard some legionaries speak of this gentleman as "Captain." —Greetings, Captain Sigmund! —she said.

  Sigmund corrected Valeria: —Hello, my name is Sigmund, and the guys say 'Captain' out of affection. I am a Combat Scholar.