Capture the Flag Tournament

Day of Westar, 7:01 a.m.

Everyone inside the room where the Luxen and Heisen Chapter Priestesses were staying was busy.

They were all helping each other put on their Crusader Armor because today was the Capture the Flag Tournament and all of the classes were required to participate.

"Done!" said Kara.

Vivian's entire body was covered with a white-colored metal with gold accents from head to toe. 

She tested her movements by rotating her arms, closing and opening her hands, and moving around.

The armor came in with 4 layers.

The first layer was a cap and a bodysuit made out of thin cloth.

The second layer was again a cap and a bodysuit. But this time around, the cloth was thicker.

The third layer was a hood and shirt made out of chain mail.

And finally, the fourth or last layer was the armor.

The armor covered every inch of the wearer's body except for the tiny slit on their helmet for the eyes and a couple of holes under the slit to help the wearer to breathe properly. Its main color was white with gold accents and had a short yellow cape that ended a couple of inches below the lower back with the symbol of a sun embroidered in shiny gold threads.

However, as the Platoon Leader of her class, instead of a short yellow cape that ended a couple of inches below her lower back with the symbol of a sun embroidered in shiny gold threads, Vivian's cape was color red and still had a symbol of a sun embroidered in shiny gold threads.

And as for their weapon, because everyone had their own Affinities and there was also the existence of the 1 Magic Art to 2 Physical Arts ratio, there was no uniform weapon so anyone could bring whatever weapon or weapons they wanted.

This is my second time wearing this…

Despite that, I still feel uncomfortable even though it was specifically made for me…

Given her stats, she didn't have any problems carrying it. By her estimate, it weighed around 80 lbs. Even her flexibility wasn't an issue because it was specifically made for her.

The discomfort she was feeling was from the heat she felt from wearing 4 layers of clothing, the limited vision of the helmet, the limited breathing despite the holes under the slit of her helmet, and the limited sense of hearing due to the 4 layers of headgear she was wearing.

But at least it has something that allows the wearer to use the toilet…

Vivian looked at Kara and Samantha.

"Thank you, Sisters." 

Vivian, Kara and Samantha were helping each other put on their armor.

Meanwhile, Uliah, Sally and Diane were helping each other.

***

8:13 a.m.

Platoons of Priests wearing Crusader Armor were marching down a dirt road.

For Platoon 3, which consists of the Luxen and Heisen Chapter Temple, Vivian was marching in front with a poleaxe on her hand.

Please don't let me encounter any animals…

Please don't let me encounter any animals…

Please don't let me encounter any animals…

They were currently outside of the Holy City and they were on their way to the location of where the Capture the Flag Tournament will be held. The path they were treading on was a wide and spacious dirt road with lush forests on the sides.

I really have no idea how am I going to explain it if an animal comes attacking me…

Behind Vivian were her classmates. Since there were only 17 members, she divided them into 3 groups.

Squad A had Kara, Sally, Diane, Samantha and Uliah as the Squad Leader.

Squad B had Roderick, Jeston, Xander, Earl and Zean as the Squad Leader.

Squad C had Turd, Daler, Ejaz, Jergen and Brava as the Squad Leader.

And as for Vivian herself, she had Crew on her side as some sort of personal assistant.

The other classes also had more or less the same setup.

Meeeh!

An animal cried out and some of the recruits nearby turned to where it was coming from.

An animal that looked like a roided-up deer and had glow-in-the-dark flowers on its antlers was rushing towards Platoon 3.

Vivian let out a sigh.

Fuck…!

No matter how she looked at it, it was obvious that the deer was heading in her direction.

Why must the tournament today be held outside of the city…?

Vivian raised her hand and activated a spell.

[Lightning Arrow].

Pscht!

A 15-inch-long arrow made out of lightning burst out of her hand. And when it landed on the animal's body, it shot through it like it was made out of paper and also electrocuted the animal, killing it in an instant.

Those who witnessed the animal's death had mixed reactions.

Some were wondering why the animal was aggressive since it was an animal known to not be one. With that, a few surmised that Platoon 3 must've done something to provoke it.

Others were noting the cold nature of the Platoon Leader of Platoon 3. In their eyes, Vivian didn't even think twice about killing the animal.

***

Squak!

Squak!

Another animal came charging at Platoon 3. 

And this time around, it was a bird that looked like a parrot but was 2ft tall and with a wing span of 6ft.

Chud!

SQQQAAAUUUCCCKKK!

SQQQAAAUUUCCCKKK!

Crew caught the bird with his hand. And instead of the bird attacking him, it cried and flapped its wings wildly and was trying desperately to go and attack Vivian.

"Crusader Crew, kill that bird right away before we catch the attention of the officers," said Vivian.

Crew pulled the bird down and reached out for its neck.

Crack.

He crushed the bird's neck and threw it to the side.

The platoons continued marching as if nothing happened.

However, Vivian noticed a problem waiting for her.

Fuck…!

Up ahead, one of the instructors wearing a White Cloak was waiting for the Platoon 3 and his eyes staring at Vivian.

When Platoon 3 finally reached him, he called out for Vivian.

"Platoon Leader of Platoon 3!"

Vivian broke off of her platoon and went over to him.

She saluted.

"Brother Lieutenant!"

"What is your platoon doing?"

"Nothing, Brother Lieutenant!"

"Then why is your platoon causing so much ruckus?"

"I have no idea, Brother Lieutenant! We're just marching but the animals just keep approaching and attacking us!"

A Priest's eyes turned to slits as he stared at Vivian.

"I'll be marching with your platoon."

"Yes, Brother Lieutenant!"

Vivian turned away and regrouped with her platoon with the Priest following behind her.

***

A Treebark was rushing towards Platoon 3. 

None of the recruits gave it any attention and continued marching.

Meanwhile, the instructor who was accompanying Platoon 3 didn't do anything as well and simply watched the monster head straight to Vivian.

Whaaack!

The monster swung its branch-like arms against Vivian.

Vivian simply ignored it and continued marching. She didn't feel any pain because of the mithril-grade Crusade Armor she was wearing. 

Whaaack!

The monster swung its branch-like arms against Vivian once more.

Chud.

The Priest grabbed the Treebark and lifted it above the ground with one hand. And to his surprise, the monster was ignoring him and was simply focused on Vivian.

"Platoon Leader of Platoon 3!"

Vivian stopped and turned to him. And since they were in the middle of the road, everyone behind them stopped as well.

"Don't move!"

"Yes, Brother Lieutenant!"

The intructor let go of the Treebark and it immediately rushed towards Vivian.

Whaaack!

Whaaack!

The monster kept swinging its branch-like arms against Vivian but couldn't land any damage because of her armor.

"Why is the monster only attacking you?"

"I have no idea, Brother Lieutenant. Maybe it's because there's something on my armor? This is a brand new set of armor and I only received it a few days ago. Or perhaps someone is trying to sabotage this Capture the Flag Tournament by having all of the animals attack me? I mean, I'm the strongest out of all of the new recruits here and I have 4 Magic Art Affinities. I don't think it's that far of a fetch to assume that someone wants to use me as a distraction to kidnap the 2 Priests with 5 Magic Art Affinities on Platoon 4."

The instructor was about to say anything but another officer approached.

"Brother Lieutenant Flane, what's going on here?"

Flane turned to the officer.

"Sister High Lieutenant Julia, there's something strange going on here," he said and began explaining the situation.

Once Flane was done explaining, Julia turned to Vivian.

Not long ago, a fresh recruit from the Orion Chapter Temple went missing. On top of that, this month's batch of fresh recruits was quite impressive. 

There was Warren and Elise who had 5 Magic Art Affinities and were being treated like VIPs with escorts, bodyguards and all because of the threats they were experiencing. 

There was also Vivian who had 4 Magic Art Affinities with a Physical Force of Adamantite and a Magic Force of Orichalcum-Adamantite. And although she wasn't being treated like a VIP, she came here with a recommendation letter and medal from the Luxen Chapter Temple that must guarantee her safety and only the Light Saint himself can question or overturn it.

And as to why the monsters were aggressive to Vivian, Julia had no idea at all. And even if she knew the cause, she deemed it unnecessary. All she cared about was not to put the fresh recruits in unnecessary danger. 

Because if something bad were to happen to Warren, Elise and Vivian that wasn't part of the Basic Training program, it would be such a headache to deal with. And the administrators in charge of conducting this tournament would have to answer and pay a heavy price, especially to the Iron and Luxen Chapter Temple.

Julia returned her gaze to Flane.

"Order all platoons to stop marching. I'll inform the other officers about this first."

"Yes, Sister High Lieutenant."

***

9:21 a.m.

All of the platoons were resting at the side of the road and groups were formed.

In the case of Vivian, her female classmates and some of her male classmates gathered around her.

"So 2 things can only happen here," said Zean. 

"Scenario 1: The Capture the Flag Tournament would be canceled or postponed. 

"Scenario 2: Sister Platoon Leader Vivian and Brother Warren and Sister Elise from Platoon 4 wouldn't be allowed to participate."

Everyone nodded.

"The problem here is if Scenario 2 happens, right?" said Uliah.

Everyone nodded once more.

"I already have a plan in case that happens," said Vivian.

She turned to Zean. 

"Squad Leader Zean, you are the second most powerful member in our class. You will step down as the Squad Leader of Squad B and take my place as the Platoon Leader."

She turned to Crew.

"Brother Crew, you will be the new Squad Leader of Squad B."

She then turned to the rest.

"Does anyone have any objections or have a better idea?"

"Sister Platoon Leader, this is just for the Capture the Flag Tournament, right?" asked Kara.

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Any other questions?"

No one said a word.

"Okay, the decision is final. That will be the new chain of command for the Capture the Flag Tournament in case I won't be allowed to participate."

Uliah sneered.

"The other classes must be praying right now that you won't be allowed to participate in the tournament. But either way, we're still going to win."

Vivian smiled. 

"If it really turns out that I won't be allowed to participate, I still believe that you guys will win."

"We should definitely win," said Earl. "The class that wins the tournament gets 100 gold coins for each."

Julia approached Vivian and her group and she was accompanied by a Priest in his early 40s wearing a Gray Cloak.

Vivian and her group immediately stood in attention.

"Sister Platoon Leader Vivian."

Vivian stepped forward and saluted.

"Sister High Lieutenant Julia!"

"You won't be participating in the Capture the Flag Tournament," she said and turned to the Priest beside her. "This is High Brother Gustav. He will be escorting you back to the Training Camp."

"Yes, Sister High Lieutenant." 

Vivian turned to Gustav.

So this is a Gray Cloak…?

This was her first time meeting a Gray Cloak.

He has no weapons with him…

I think…

Underneath the Gray Cloak of Gustav, he wore a simple yet fashionable set of leather armor along with some gloves and boots and there was a belt pouch around his waist.

Maybe he's like Isaac who can summon [Mana Axe] or whatever mana weapon…? 

There was also another thing that Vivian noticed.

This person…

He reeks of death…

Reminds me of my father and uncle…

But his is too much…

It's almost suffocating…

Behind Gustav's calm and collected demeanor, just like a woman who works or used to work as a prostitute which leaves traces of it no matter how much makeup, dress-up or acting the woman does, the same can be said for him. There was like an invisible cloak of death draped over his body and his eyes painted an image of having seen countless deaths.

Vivian saluted.

"I will be in your care, High Brother Gustav."

Gustav smiled and nodded.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Please wait for a moment."

Vivian turned around and went over to her classmates.

"Good luck to all of you. I hope you guys win."

Uliah flexed her bicep.

"We definitely will!"

"Please be safe, Sister Platoon Leader and may the God of Light watch over you," Kara and the others said.

Vivian smiled.

"May the God of Light watch over you as well."

She turned to Zean.

"I'm counting on you to lead the team."

Zean smiled. 

"I'll definitely lead our class to victory."

Vivian nodded and smiled before turning away.

Her eyes turned to slits inside her helmet as she laid them on Gustav.

To be a Gray Cloak, one needs to have the [Resurrection] and a Physical and Magic Force of at least Adamantite…

Although I made up all those reasons…

If this guy turns out to be a traitor who wants to kidnap me…

Could I escape…?

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…

https://www.patreon.com/Immortal_Shades

There, you will have access to the Chapter Drafts for $5 a month.

Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. They also involve a few secret outline notes/details that I won't publish here because they contain spoilers or dispel some of the mysteries. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 253-257 are posted there.

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• GrimV

Thank you once again and I will see you in the next chapter.