Throwing Knives

"Be quiet." A single whisper brought Doevm wide awake from his slumber. He didn't immediately open his eyes. He almost activated his mana by instinct from his past life, but he managed to fight the urge off. He relied on his ears and hear a few people creeping around the barracks. The footsteps went up to each one of the hammocks and stopped. After a few seconds, the footsteps would move on. Doevm was on a bunk at the back since he and Frey were the last to arrive, however it didn't take long for the invaders to near him. Peaking his eyes open by the tiniest sliver of a hair, he saw the shapes of several mages, all in dark robes. The light crystals had been turned off, so Doevm couldn't tell anything more about them. One, however, stood out against the rest. The brown robe looked small on him. His footsteps weren't nearly as quiet as his companions.

"I'm trying." Doevm recognized Ashtehar's voice. "But war monks don't usually sneak around." As the robed figures made their way around the barracks and stopping at each hammock, they held a stone on top of each soldier.

'So it's a hidden magic test,' Doevm thought. 'When those stones detect any tiny amount of mana, they glow. Human mages value anyone with magic power and they will do anything to get their hands on such individuals. Luckily, I had my mana sealed, so they can't detect anything from me. Ashtehar is suspicious of me. Hopefully this will put his doubts to rest.' He waited in his cot for the magicians to come around and test him. So far, none of squad six were tested positive. Doevm guessed if one did, they would be gagged and kidnapped. Most of the men here were drafted, it was a common occurrence for people to desert. 

One of the cots moved. Doevm slowly turned his head to Hopi, who was wide awake. Since Doevm could hear them coming, Hopi, who had enhanced hearing, definitely heard them as well. He was shaking in his cot. Doevm shook his head and motioned to close his eyes. Hopi nodded and acted like he was asleep. The mages came by, put the stone on his chest, and moved on. Nothing happened. As for Doevm, Ashtehar did his test.

When the war monk put the stone near Doevm's head, it faintly lit up. 'That shouldn't have happened,' As a massive hand went for Doevm's throat, he pulled the dagger hidden under him and held it against the man's throat. The weapon was sheathed but it wasn't as if he intended to kill the War Monk, not yet.

"So you're awake," Ashtehar whispered, completely unfazed by the weapon. "What are you going to do, kill me? If you do, you'll be exposed. Just come with me and I will enlighten you. I will bring you over to the path of the light. You have no choice." The monk's smile kept widening. "It was you who had magic."

"Check again." Doevm whispered. He gestured to the stone, which was now completely dull. Ashtehar tilted his head to the side and put it to Doevm's head again.

"What did you do?" Ashtehar asked. "No matter, I'll bring you in anyway."

"It was the dagger," Doevm slightly unsheathed the dagger. The runes on its elaborately designed blade lit a slight red and the stone in Ashtehar's hand lit up a tiny bit. "I got this from gambling. It was my right to take it from my lord. I swear I have no ounce of magic in my body. I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Ashtehar put the stone back in his pocket, "Yes, you should be sorry." He huffed and walked away with the other mages. No one in squad six had been identified with magic. Doevm and Hopi nodded to each other and went back to sleep.

…

The next morning, there was a great commotion over the amount of people who went missing. While desertion was common, the exits and entrances should have been guarded. Captain Marcus called all the squad leaders together and explained the situation. He told everyone the people taken were assigned to a secret mission throughout the war, and that their disappearance would be kept under wraps. Like that, the incident was swept under the rug and the men who were taken were never seen in the war again. After Wade cleared everything up to the squad, he took everyone out to the sparring field to train. While battle was days away, it was more dangerous to head out tired, learning how to fight came first in every situation. While Wade mostly knew about the spear, he still knew the basics about every sort of weapon the squad had. While he trained every soldier individually, Hopi and Frey sparred against each other.

Doevm was left alone, so he took out his throwing knives and took aim at a dummy far away from everyone. 'I guess it's time I learn how to properly use these things.' While he had never thrown knives before, he knew how to throw with accuracy. The thing he didn't get, was why they kept bouncing off their target. He would throw and the knife would hit exactly where he wanted, but it would bounce off. Sometimes they would stick, but it was at random. He kept throwing for an hour and retrieving his knives until Wade had to stop him.

"Doevm, what are you doing to the knives I gave you?" Wade asked.

"Oh, you gave them to me?" Doevm asked, "Thanks, but what am I doing wrong? I'm throwing them, but they bounce off of their intended target."

"Give me them." Wade sighed. Doevm handed over the throwing knives. Wade held one balanced on his finger. "Each knife is balanced at some point. You need to find this point. After you do, you need proper grip. Hold your index finger along the spine, thumb on one side, and the rest of your fingers on the other. After, you will find the rest familiar. It's like spear throwing. One foot is forward. As you throw, shift your weight and pull your hand forward." He launched the knife at the dummy, which hit at its head. "You don't want any rotation with this kind of throw. The knife only has a point, and barely any blade on its side. If you don't hit the target at the point, it will bounce straight off."

'Oh, I just needed to counter the rotation,' Doevm internally laughed at himself. "I think I understand." He retrieved the knife and held it according to Wade's instructions. He was twenty feet away from the dummy as he held his arm up. He threw the knife as if he was throwing a spear. It flew through the air, making a whistling sound and hitting the same spot Wade's knife did.

"Beginner's luck." Wade handed Doevm a few more knives. "You can get cocky after you get all the knives in a row." Doevm held the knife up and threw. It hit right at the dummy's heart. The next went into its crotch. The next went into its neck. He held the next up. "I hate you; you know that?" Wade said as Doevm put on a cocky smile.

Doevm retrieved his knives and tried again. At this point, the whole squad stopped their practice as Doevm hit the head every time in the exact same place. He retrieved his knives and tried again only to get the same result. He sheathed his throwing knives. "Wade, where is Jameson? Is he not here?"

"N-No," Wade was still recovering from his shock. "He has already done enough military service for three lifetimes. He had the right to refuse the draft, so he did. He's back at the Virility household."

"I see." Doevm went over to the side of the field and picked up two wooden daggers from the barrel of training weapons leaning against the metal bars. "So next can you teach me how to use a dagger? You've only been helping me for five minutes?"

"On one condition." Wade said. "If you master this in a few minutes as well, I'm going to throw you off this platform."

"You can try." Doevm tossed a dagger to Wade, who caught it. They both sparred for several rounds. Doevm lost every time.

"I guess you can only be a genius at some things." Wade sighed. "First, let's work on your grip and basic moves. We only have a day or two until our first battle, so you shouldn't use them in battle yet unless you're somehow disarmed."