Marionette

Chapter 4

Two weeks later.

 

We were nearly done with basic training. The only thing that remained was for us to be tested on the field against easy monsters. This entire thing sounded increasingly like the beginning of some video game. However, there was no such thing as levels. If there were, I would have lost my mind for sure.

In MMORPGs, levels made nearly all the difference in triumphing over opponents. I remember taking on three gankers at once and surviving just because I had a higher level than them.

This world might have functioned much like a video game, but at least combat would be skill-based. PVPs were like that, so I knew what to expect going forth. 

Anyway.

During these two weeks, Captain Arne split us into the four classes he had mentioned.
Indeed, most became Warriors, and only a handful awakened magical powers. One of them was my partner, Yui.

Yui was now an Electrokinesis Mage. She could physically generate electricity from her fingertips, which was an insane thing to witness. 

Due to the mechanics of this world, Yui had no problems controlling her powers. They had become like second nature to her.

She had even created a skill, which she named Lightning Ball. 

As the name suggests, it was a ball of lightning, about the size of a watermelon she could summon and throw. It was a neat and powerful skill and did not require much magic power, so she could use it multiple times before feeling fatigued. 

Along with Yui, ninety others had unlocked magical powers, and only ten had become Healers.
I was among the seven hundred that ended up in the Warrior Class. I was given a short sword, a chest plate and a wooden shield as starting equipment. 

When I realised that I had no chance of becoming a Mage, I tried my best to at least become an Archer, but my eyes were not sharp enough during the shooting test. I missed all my shots.
Thus, I was given the sword and shield and off they sent me to my merry way with the other rejects. 

The Mages were unique, both in their powers, which were vastly diverse, and in their skills. Warriors and Archers, on the other hand, had no skills per se. 

We were taught plain old sword fighting techniques, identical to the ones used on Earth. The same thing went for the Archers, but you know, for archery.

But it was not all doom and gloom, as unlike Earth, everyone here had some magic power within them. Only Mages had enough magic power to cast spells and fire skills with bare hands, but the rest of us were not normies either. 

Warriors and Archers could pour what little magic power they had within them into their blades and arrows, boosting the strength and overall damage of their attacks.

Captain Arne showed me how to do it, and after a few tries, I got the hang of it.
"Use your imagination, pour energy into the blade and make it stronger," he had said. "The blade will start shining once you do it."

It was a bit challenging at first, but then a certain movie franchise about Space Knights popped into my brain, and I imagined the blade of my short sword turning red. And indeed, it did.

"Nice, hit that post, Marco," Captain Arne had said next, pointing at a wooden post before me.

I did as he said, effortlessly slashing it in half as if it had been made of paper.

Before long, the blades and arrow tips of every Warrior and Archer shone brightly in myriad colours. 

Apparently, the colour reflected one's soul, but I did not fully understand what that meant.