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I looked up at Calere with a hint of sadness in my eyes.
"Sorry. There's nothing I can do. Jazlyn only rides in carriages with a gold badge."
Calere's apologetic expression made me stop teasing her.
"Hehe, I know. I'll meet you at the Plains of Frenu."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Give me a hug."
At my request, Calere opened her arms and embraced me tightly. She was so tall that my face ended up buried in her soft cleavage. A hug like this is always welcome.
Once the hug was over, Calere boarded Jazlyn's carriage, while I got into another with Gopi and Joanne, since there was still space left.
As soon as I sat down, Joanne turned to me, her eyes full of curiosity.
"Zeon! Since when did you and Calere get this close?!"
"I've been interested for a while."
"I see."
As I shared my story, Gopi listened with an equally intrigued expression.
"Yesterday, I went to the Magic Tower with sister Calere, and we grew really close."
"What happened? I'm curious. Tell me."
"We worked together in the Magic Tower, got to know each other well, and later, I took her to a restaurant to repay her."
"That's right. Calere's crazy about meat."
"We bonded while grilling and feeding each other at the restaurant."
"That's a unique meat date. But Calere is so muscular. Do you like muscular girls?"
"Of course. Tall, muscular women like Calere are my type. Besides, Calere's a good woman—strong on the outside, and just as healthy on the inside."
"Oh! Calere does seem pretty great."
I glanced at Gopi, who seemed to be wearing an ambiguous expression, as if unsure whether tall, muscular women were to his taste.
Suddenly, Janne leaned closer and asked me something in a subtle tone.
"So, what did you do after the meal?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Calere wasn't in the dormitory this morning. She said she spent last night with you after eating, but Calere doesn't stay out for no reason. Spill it—what happened last night?"
'Wow, this sister is sharp.'
No matter how much I liked Joanne, there were some things that were better left unsaid—like Calere and I spending the night together.
"Sister Joanne, I have no comment on this."
"Come on, just tell me. I'll keep it a secret."
Next to me, Gopi was eavesdropping with wide-open ears, and I knew well enough that this "secret" would spread.
"Nope. It's private."
"Hmph. You're no fun, Zeon."
"Sorry, but I'm not about to flaunt my relationship with Calere like some kind of trophy."
"Zeon is such a gentleman. I'll let it go."
"Thanks."
Gopi seemed disappointed that he didn't get to hear a juicy story, but I pretended not to notice.
Afterward, Joanne continued to pester me with questions about Calere's good points and our time at the Magic Tower. Is it really that interesting to hear about someone else's love life?
"I can sleep easy now."
The moment I mentioned the hint of sleep, Joanne and Gopi began to nod off.
When the Silver Badges of the SS hear that particular phrase, they become drowsy and fall asleep.
'I should take this chance to plant a suggestion in Joanne about keeping Paris in check.'
I carefully removed any lingering trust or friendship Joanne had with Paris and increased her loyalty and friendship toward me.
After adjusting Joanne's hypnosis and resting comfortably for a while, the carriage came to a stop.
"We've arrived at the Plains of Frenu."
The coachman's shout brought me out of my thoughts.
When I stepped outside, I was greeted by the sight of thirty Imperial soldiers standing at attention in a neat row.
As soon as Jazlyn disembarked, the soldiers saluted loudly.
"Salute! Honor!"
The leader of the soldiers, who stood at the front, introduced himself as Jazlyn approached.
"This is Okto, former artillery commander of the 246th Artillery Company. I am in charge of mana mortar training today."
"Have the preparations for training been completed?"
"Yes. We brought two mana mortars, along with eight boxes of mana stones for the mortars. Scarecrows have been set up for practice!"
Sure enough, there were two large mortars installed behind the soldiers. They looked somewhat similar to the mortars used by the Republic of Korea Army, but with a significantly larger diameter—about 50 cm. Eight large wooden boxes were arranged around the mortars, and scattered across the plains were scarecrows meant to serve as targets. All the slimes and horned rabbits seemed to have fled the area.
"Have you prepared a place for me to rest?"
"Yes! You can rest under the tent over there. We've set up cool drinks and snacks for you."
Under the tent was a luxurious sofa and dining table, surrounded by regular chairs. On the table were ice-filled containers, drinks, and an assortment of snacks.
Jazlyn waved her fan, praising Okto with a satisfied tone.
"Well done. If this training goes smoothly, good things will come your way."
"Thank you!"
Jazlyn gestured toward me with her fan.
"Zeon over there is my close associate. Teach him everything about mortars."
With that, Jazlyn strolled toward the large tent, her personal guards following close behind to attend to her.
It looked like the other members of the SS were watching me receive training.
Okto greeted me with a warm smile.
"Zeon, nice to meet you. Let's begin the mana mortar training."
"Yes, please take care of me."
"I'll start by explaining the basics."
According to Okto, the mana mortar was a mana cannon designed to fire magic at angles greater than 45 degrees, allowing it to strike targets behind tall obstacles like castle walls or buildings. When a mana stone was placed into the mortar's muzzle, it rolled down to the breech and collided with the sinking mechanism, activating the magic circle and launching the spell. The magic flew in a parabolic arc, influenced by gravity.
The mortar could rotate both up and down, as well as left and right. The angle of rotation up and down was called the "elevation angle," ranging from 0 to 90 degrees, with 0 degrees being parallel to the ground and 90 degrees being vertical. The left-right rotation was referred to as the "azimuth," measured as degrees of deviation to the left or right of the target.
To hit a target, you needed to know both its azimuth and distance. Once you had the azimuth, you'd rotate the mortar left or right to aim at the target. The distance determined the elevation angle necessary to ensure the magic's trajectory hit the mark. After adjusting the elevation by rotating the mortar up and down, you could load a mana stone and fire. Mortar magic wasn't known for precision since it could be affected by factors like wind, atmospheric mana, measurement errors, and initial velocity, but the explosive splash damage made up for the lack of accuracy. In real battles, commanders performed complex calculations and relayed the azimuth and elevation to the soldiers, who would then adjust the mortar accordingly. During the Academy team competition, Jazleen would calculate and provide these instructions.
After finishing his explanation, Okto had a soldier demonstrate by targeting a scarecrow about a kilometer away.
The soldier rotated the mortar to adjust the azimuth and elevation, then retrieved a red mana stone from one of the boxes. Mana stones, which resembled gems, were translucent minerals filled with mana. Their color indicated the type of mana they contained—blue, red, green, or other colors. The red stone, infused with fire mana, had a complex magic circle etched into its surface.
The soldier carefully placed the stone into the mortar's muzzle, quickly pulling his hand away as the stone rolled down. The moment it touched the breech, the spell activated, and a roaring fireball shot out in a perfect arc.
Whoooosh!
The fireball sailed over the scarecrow and landed just behind it.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed a 3-meter radius in flames, including the scarecrow.
After the demonstration, Okto explained the different types of mana stones stored in the boxes. Blue stones were pure mana, red stones were fire magic, white stones were ice magic, green stones were poison magic, and black stones were curses. Since each type of stone was engraved with a distinct magic circle, you had to memorize the patterns to identify them.
All this information made my head spin.
Okto chuckled when he noticed my overwhelmed expression.
"Kikikick. When you join the artillery, the first thing you'll learn is to memorize the magic circle shapes. It might give you a headache at first, but with practice, it'll become second nature. Now, why don't you try firing one?"
"I'll give it a shot."
"Take aim at that scarecrow over there."
A scarecrow set up about 1.2 kilometers away became my target.
After making some calculations to determine the azimuth and elevation, I adjusted the mortar's direction and loaded a white mana stone into the muzzle.
Whooooosh!
An ice ball shot out, trailing a frosty chill.
Thud!
The ice ball landed right on the scarecrow's head and exploded, freezing the surrounding area. A few seconds later, the scarecrow shattered.
"You're really good at hitting the scarecrow's head with such precision, and it's your first time! Try hitting the other scarecrows too." Okto encouraged.
Using the exact location data provided by Okto, I adjusted the direction of the mortar and fired at the next target.
Shoouuuuur... Souuuuu...
So far, I had fired at six scarecrows, all of them perfect headshots with a 100% hit rate.
Okto and the soldiers stood by, mouths agape in astonishment, seemingly at a loss for words.
Now it was time to fire at the last remaining scarecrow.
I turned the mortar 32.6 degrees to the left, adjusted the elevation angle to 69.2 degrees, and inserted the blue mana stone into the barrel.
Shoooooaa...
A blue sphere of pure mana shot out, sailing past the scarecrow and crashing into an empty spot.
Kwaaaaa...
The mana sphere exploded, sending a column of soil into the air and leaving a massive crater in its wake.
After my miss, Okto consoled me with a tone of relief.
"The last one was a bit off, but that's perfectly normal! You did great, Zeon! Haha!"
Had I scored a perfect record of headshots, the soldiers who specialized in mana cannons would have felt embarrassed.
Relief washed over the soldiers' faces.
'Is my luck running out?'
Just then, Joanne, who had been watching from under the tent, called out.
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