My first sword slashed at the incoming blade while I aimed my other sword towards her leg, if I could injure her then maybe I would be able to keep up with her. Expecting my sword to hold off her strike I was unprepared for her sword to not only destroy my conjured sword but also flash across my chest sending me flying.
I quickly got to my feet, expecting the commander to continue her attack I was surprised when I saw that she hadn't moved, it became clear after I could focus on her as to why she didn't attack, with the other sword I had managed to stab her in the calf before she had flung me away.
"INSOLENT WELP!" The Commander raged as she snatched the sword out of her leg and threw it at me with all her strength, I had severely messed up, I had managed to really hurt the commander, and she was pissed!
The sword struck my already damaged chest plate and ran me through. The blade was showing out of my back, I fell to my knees as I saw the commander stop her rage as she saw just what she had done.
In her rage-induced blackout, she had managed to severely injure one of her charges just after said person had gotten back from captivity! She had gotten too involved in the combat, it had been many years since someone could give her a run for her money so she got a bit excited. She sprinted towards the now kneeling Bruni while calling for healers!
Laughter came from Bruni as he stared down at his own creation piercing his chest. The blade dissolved and the mana flooded into his injured tissues causing them to heal at a visible pace. Everyone had stopped as the laughter rang out, but now gasps of surprise rang out from the crowd upon seeing Bruni heal in front of their very eyes.
The armor reformed after the wound closed with the last of the mana left from the blade. The Commander bowed her head towards Bruni, "I'm sorry Bruni, this was never meant to go to extreme harm and I have shamed myself by taking it too far.." she said as Bruni laughed once again.
"As you can see you didn't cause any serious harm commander," Bruni replied as he allowed his armor to dissipate and he went into a more relaxed stance, clearly the battle was over but still my clothes were a mess, and patches of the nearby grass were on fire from the intense combat.
She raised her head at his words and just nodded her understanding, "you are completely different from who you were before Bruni, your capacity is immense and so are your destructive capabilities, would you be interested in a full time, paid commission, to work with the Magical core. Your strength is sorely needed Bruni I'm not going to lie to you, after the disaster of the training woods we desperately need more people capable of doing magic, so how about it?" she asked as she looked at me expectantly.
I smiled at her before accepting her offer, I had a few provisions I wanted to be added but nothing too serious, I wanted the right to refuse orders that were either sacrificial or suicidal at my expense, I also got officer quarters to befit my status as Firemage and a few more benefits to make my life a bit easier in camp, after that I went the offices with the commander to finalize all of the paperwork. I was now commissioned full-time to this military outpost, meaning I now took orders from a commanding officer who just happened to be ... yep you guessed it... Sergeant Kace.
He was heading a new unit of surveillance and infiltration that would go to places that a big army couldn't go and face threats that a single person couldn't manage. We would be one of a few sets of eyes that would be infiltrating the empire and gathering as much information before the full war managed to kick-off. I after I got my posting I went and got a clerk to lead me to my new quarters, I had things to move and a bed to sleep in, I was exhausted to the bone and just wanted food and sleep.
The next day I woke up with a beam of sunlight that was shining through the window onto my face. I was sore everywhere and my mana felt a little tender but it wasn't intolerable, I would have to take it easy for the next bit, or else I would really burn myself out! I was desperately hungry and I could go for a decent meal at one of the kitchens nearby.
I managed to get out of bed with a bit of foot-dragging, grunting, and moaning every time I moved in a way my body didn't entirely agree with. I left the small outbuilding that had been assigned to me and made my way for the nearest kitchen, I had the next few days off to rest and get back into tip-top shape so I had nothing planned but food and more sleep. I made it to the kitchen in time for lunch and I got extra food delivered to my table halfway through so that I had some food in my residence so that tomorrow I wouldn't have to leave again if I didn't want to.
I didn't see anyone I knew, so I just headed back so I could go get more sleep. I had a feeling my life was about to get a bit more complicated and the best way to prepare for that was sleep, and so I did. I slept like the dead hoping that the next day would never come and I could just sleep forever.