Colonel Vallen lounged back in his oversized chair, one leg draped over the armrest, a cloud of smoke curling lazily from his lips.
His office, if you could call it that, was a maze of papers, maps, and trash, the chaos reflecting his approach to everything relaxed, unbothered, as if the Academy was just a game he could afford to play half heartedly. The smoke from his cigarette spiraled upward, mingling with the dusty air, creating a haze that blurred the lines between responsibility and apathy.
He glanced at the stack of unread reports on his desk, barely suppressing a yawn.
"One more cigarette." he muttered to himself, leaning back further. But anyone who knew him well enough understood thinking wasn't something Colonel Vallen did with any sense of urgency. Not when there was time to waste and tobacco to burn.
His office was completely engulfed in smoke when footsteps from the hallway began to echo, growing louder. With a deep sigh, he stubbed out his cigarette and walked to the window to let in a bit of fresh air, but it was as if he were a vampire when the sunlight hit his eyes, he immediately pulled the blinds shut.
At that moment, the door swung open, and a girl entered.
Hands on her hips, her head tilted slightly as she looked angrily straight into Vallen's tired eyes.
"Did you finish the expense report?" She asked, and Vallen, instead of hurrying, lit another cigarette slowly, as if he were just trying to stall for time.
"No." He exhaled the smoke directly in her face.
"Vallen!" She yelled. "Since the summer break, you've done nothing but sit here and smoke that poison. Not to mention your office looks like a dump!" She gestured toward the half eaten sandwiches and empty bottles.
"I'm just a colonel. The budget report is for the Division General, not me." He said, turning to the desk and picking up a paper that had been buried under something and stained. "Here." He held out a document with coffee stains all over it.
"What's this?" She asked, holding the paper with two fingers, not even glancing at it.
Vallen looked as if he found even explaining it a burden, while the girl only grew more flustered and she had reason to be. On the stained paper, the only thing she noticed was the Astoria seal, something only the council can issue.
"Defense permission." Vallen puffed smoke into her face again. This time, instead of getting angry, her expression shifted to one of concern, and she finally began to read.
Her eyes darted across the lines until suddenly, she stopped at a particular section. "How can they be this stupid?" She muttered, taking a deep breath and gripping the hilt of the sword at her side.
"They're putting a former slave among the nobles she once served." She stubbed out her cigarette and sat back down, propping her feet up on the already cluttered desk.
"This isn't a coincidence, is it?" She gripped the hilt even tighter. "They know exactly what will happen to her if she stays there, and they don't even care. How can they be so—"
"Enough, Liora." He placed his hat over his face. "The permission is already signed. If anything happens after this, I'll handle it."
"Oh, and by the way, you have to attend the enrollment ceremony, so put on your uniform." She slammed the door so hard on her way out that a stack of documents on the desk collapsed.
Vallen didn't say a word, lying there comfortably, nearly falling asleep, until the sound of trumpets and drums filled the air the ceremony had begun. With a deep sigh, he stood up and pulled back the dark curtains. A large crowd of new students stood below, as stiff as soldiers already, while their parents watched proudly at least those who had parents.
Putting on his uniform, Vallen took one last look in the mirror, where he saw what could only be described as a zombie staring back at him. Dark circles under his eyes, disheveled hair, he looked utterly exhausted. Before leaving, he paused in the doorway, glancing back at his sword on the wall before muttering, "I'm off."
Vallen's uniform was anything but decorated there were no medals, no aiguillettes, and even his rank insignia had been removed, as if he were a cadet himself. The only thing he carried with him were his white gloves and the cigarette dangling from his mouth, which he immediately lit as soon as he stepped outside, just as the band began the opening music for the ceremony.
Vallen should have been standing on the stage with his senior officers and superiors, but instead, he found his place among the professors.
"Colonel, in the sunlight, you almost look alive." The person sitting next to him commented.
"Professor Sehrn, please don't call me by my rank. I'm just a student like everyone else." He replied, his dark eyes fixed on the beautiful professor beside him. "And maybe you shouldn't show off those gorgeous breasts of yours like that. Someone might call you a whore again."
Those sitting around them turned in shock at Vallen's words.
"I've told you before, use my first name, let me hear you say it." She teased, leaning closer, her chest brushing his shoulder. But Vallen, unimpressed, merely took another drag of his cigarette, showing no interest despite being near such a beautiful woman.
"Stop harassing the Colonel, Hana." Said another professor, taking a seat behind them.
Hana turned around, forming a heart shape with her hands. "Don't be jealous of the colonel," She said, snuggling closer to Vallen, much to the intrigue of everyone around them, who seemed more interested in this interaction than the ceremony itself.
"Professor Sehrn, while you're busy sexually harassing me, I'm having a staring contest with General Dracon, whose veins look like they're about to pop." Vallen commented dryly, puffing more smoke into the air.
And it was true General Dracon, standing on the stage, had immediately noticed Vallen, surprised that he even showed up. But the moment he saw a professor clinging to him, any joy on his face quickly disappeared.
As the director finished his speech, he introduced the Generals and Division Generals on stage, warning the students that these figures would make their lives difficult. He then paused at an empty chair, smiled, and said, "One last thing, dear students there is only one person at this academy you cannot challenge to a duel, aside from the staff. This seat belongs to that person, but never mind." He continued introducing the others, leaving both the students and their parents confused by his earlier statement.
"Could he be talking about you, Colonel?" Teased Sehrn, nudging Vallen, who had been sleeping with his eyes open until General Dracon woke him.
"Vallen, they've already started packing up, and you're still here napping like a cat."
"General Dracon, what a pleasure to see you." Vallen stretched lazily.
"I have a request no, an order for you," Dracon said, his gaze locking with Vallen's as if he were staring at a corpse. "The permission you submitted regarding the girl, I want you to take her under your wing."
"Impossible." Vallen stood up, now visibly irritated.
"Vallen—"
"Caius, Darnell, Lily, Anna, Roman." Vallen muttered, his gaze lowering to the ground as he pulled his cap over his eyes. "But you know their names too."
"Vallen!" Dracon stood up, shouting. "Don't think I've forgotten they cross my mind every day. But don't forget you have a duty."
Vallen paused for a moment, his eyes fixed on the sky, reaching out as if trying to touch something.
"Fine, Dracon." Vallen turned toward the General, suddenly transformed, as if the person he had once locked away had returned. "But I want my right to duel back."
His gaze was sharp and piercing he looked like a true soldier, and even Dracon felt a surge of fire in his chest, realizing he was gripping his sword.
"I'll try to negotiate it, but you must promise one thing. You cannot challenge anyone below the rank of general."
Vallen walked away, smiling, while Dracon stood paralyzed by fear, still gripping his sword, long after Vallen had gone.
"General?" Came Liora's voice from behind, startling him. "Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to scare you." She bowed.
"It's fine, Liora, I was just lost in thought."
"I saw Vallen here earlier. He seemed tense. Did something happen, if I may ask?"
"We agreed that he would get his right to duel back."
Liora stood with her mouth agape, as if her brain had short circuited, then came the sudden realization and panic.
"General, but then—"
"Don't worry, he'll be bound by rules. Everything will be fine. But I must admit, for a moment, he was terrifying." He looked at his hand, still trembling with anxiety, realizing he might have made a decision that would change the academy once again.
Liora quickly said goodbye to the general and rushed back to Vallen's office, where she literally barged in through the door. Vallen was in the middle of "cleaning" the office, or rather, tossing trash from one corner to the other.
"General Dracon told me." She said, standing there with wide open eyes.
"Okay."
"Okay?! Do you understand the huge imbalance this will cause if you get your dueling privileges back?"
"Liora, it's alright," Vallen replied, lying down on the floor next to the pile of garbage.
"No, you don't understand the gravity of this. If you get your dueling rights back, you'll be the highest ranked swordsman at the Academy."
"Cool."
"Vallen, how many people do you think will challenge you?!" Liora, now visibly anxious, began pacing, clenching her fists.
Still lying on the floor, Vallen lit a cigarette, which Liora promptly kicked out of his mouth with surgical precision. In response, Vallen grabbed Liora's leg, causing her to fall, and a wrestling match began.
Meanwhile, General Dracon sat quietly and tensely in the Academy Council, where nearly everyone was pondering what might come of this situation.
"What if we just go through with it and give him his rights back?" The founder of the academy asked.
"Well, sir, we would disturb the balance between the divisions." Reinharadt pointed out.
"I don't understand." Said one of the newly arrived Generals. "What's so terrifying? He's just a kid who's been here for four years but has never participated in a duel."
The room fell suddenly silent, and everyone looked at the Founder.
"Well, we owe you an explanation since you're new, and you couldn't know, so let me allow the academy's Principal to explain." Said, passing the responsibility on.
"Thank you, Leon. General Ödgür, let me explain why we are so concerned about Vallen." He began, wiping his sweaty forehead.
"As you know, there are three division wars each year, and on rare occasions, we also hold wars against other academies. Only those who win the division wars can participate in those."
Before continuing, he took a deep breath and looked around at everyone.
"Well, back in the day, Vallen was an outstanding student and soldier, a true leader who won as a Division Commander five times in a row."
He said, staring into Ödgür's eyes.
"I won't go into details about how he humiliated both the Farhain and Lyrinthia Academies with his division, but there was one problem: Vallen didn't like sword fighting, so he forfeited every duel. But since he won so many division wars, it didn't really matter if he gave up duels. Then the war broke out with the empire, and Vallen, along with five others, was requested by the army. I won't go into details, I'll just say that he survived Hague."
Ödgür, who had been standing, sat down in shock.
"It's also important to mention that the King wanted to make him a general, but Vallen refused and bluntly told the king to go to hell. Despite this, he was given the rank of colonel and returned to the academy, but no one recognized him anymore. His eyes were empty, and he isolated himself. The only person he spoke to was Liora, a corporal. We still don't know how they became acquainted, but it was something akin to a friendship.. Then, one day—"
"No, Principal." Interrupted Reinhard. "The date was December 4, 839, the day when Liora was attacked and almost ra–"
"Don't say it." Dracon stood up. "There's no need to say it aloud. It's enough to know that Vallen killed six students that day and wounded me and General Reinhard." He said, sitting back down.
"Yes, so Vallen took the lives of six students and caused serious injuries on General Reinhard and General Dracon, both of whom are excellent swordsmen with extraordinary abilities." They nodded in agreement. "You don't know this, but Colonel Vallen is more than just a student; he's a monster with unfathomable physical strength and swordsmanship that is—"
"Unfathomably beautiful and perilously beyond human comprehension." General Yemena, the only female general joined in.. "General Ödgür, I'm sure you've visited the Royal Library" She said, to which he nodded. "When you tried to learn a martial art, how much could you absorb and in what category?
"Uh, I once tried to learn the Celestial, Dragon Blade, but I fainted as soon as I opened it."
"Colonel Vallen absorbed and mastered the Divine category Yin and Yang."
The silence grew heavier than before, except for Ödgür, who laughed at what he had just heard. But when he saw everyone's serious faces, he couldn't grasp it. "That's impossible. There are only three people in the entire kingdom who have ever managed to absorb a Divine category martial art."
"That's not true," The principal spoke again. "There are five. Three of them are the King's bodyguards, the fourth is General Dracon, and the fifth is Colonel Vallen."
Ödgür was utterly lost, and understandably so, given the weight of the information and just looked straight in General Dracon eyes
"Let's pause for a moment with all of this." Ödgür stood up again. "First of all, the blades are all made from soft material without edges and, as far as I know, there is a doom which limits the usage of any ability."
"Yin and Yang is a bit different than we imagined. Vallen suppressed his emotions regarding everything that happened in Hague, and in the end, darkness won. The power he possessed at that moment was stronger than anyone in the Kingdom, perhaps even in the whole world. When they said he killed six students, that's not true because nobody could prove it.
"What do you mean?"
"They turned to dust, no blood, nothing, they just disintegrated. Then I came in, the martial arts I was so proud of meant nothing because I couldn't even move. At that moment, I was overwhelmed by darkness, by death." Said General Dracon, fear evident in his eyes. "He fainted. If that hadn't happened, we would probably be dead.
"So, we are afraid he might lose control again?"
"Well, his power has fused with his sword, that is why he isn't allowed to wield it. Aside from that, the other major problem is his advantage. He's a genius, a born leader with incredible strategic and tactical insight." Sighed the director.
"What if we forced him to Level up?" Ödgür suggested, but seemingly no one understood what he meant. "His level is zero, what if he had to earn points from a different approach, say, being a teacher or trainer, or anything."
"What's the point of that?" Yemena asked.
"There's a book in the Royal Library called 'The Balance of Power,' which would allow him to fully control the power. Based on what's been said, he really is a miracle, and losing him wouldn't be ideal, especially if he dies due the curse.."
"Curse?" The principal asked confused.
"Well, most Divine books either kill you upon opening them or slowly consume you with a curse.."
Everyone turned to Dracon.
"What Ödgür says is true, but I have an antidote, coffee. It not only slows it down but stops it altogether."
"Coffee?"
"Yes, because the Divine books are the lifelong work of masters, so when they die, their knowledge becomes the book. You adopt a habit from the book master, and if you don't follow it, it truly slowly kills you. But regardless, if 'The Balance of Power' really exists, we need to get him points to level up, and I know how. The girl from the permission. We'll make him her mentor."
"Bad idea." General Yemena said. "The girl was a slave, what if something similar to Liora happens again?"
"It won't, because she will live with him." Everyone just looked at each other, and then General Dracon continued. "Her office is right in front of the main building, so the chances of anything happening are low."
"Wait, we don't know the nature of Liora and Vallen's relationship, they could be lovers…"
"That's impossible because Vallen was—"
"Stop it, Reinhardt." Shouted the Principal. "Then let's vote on Dracon and Ödgür's ideas." He raised his hand, followed by Reinhard and the Founder.
Once they made the order, they headed to Vallen's office to inform him, but they were quite surprised when they entered to find Liora was choking Vallen, who was lying on the ground.
"Are we bothering?" Asked General Dracon, to which Liora immediately stood up..
"No, sir, I was just dusting off his uniform." She smiled seemingly shocked seeing the whole council in the doorway.
"Well, Vallen, you'll get your duel right back under certain conditions." He looked at the Colonel who was still lying on the ground. "From this moment on, you are the mentor of Amara Elaris and starting today, you are ordered with the Academy seal to earn points and Level up so you can enter the Royal Library."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" He asked, still with his eyes closed and a bored tone.
"Well, you'll earn the same points as Amara does."
"That's great;. now you won't just be sitting here all day." Liora kicked him.
"Yeah, and Amara Elari will be living here, so clean up and get a bed from somewhere," smiled the Principal, to which Vallen jumped up.
"Anything but that, Liora is annoying enough all day." He pointed directly at her.
"I'm your assistant, who works harder than you!" She shouted.
"Well, we don't really care what's going on between you two and don't forget you're the head of the Investigation Office, so you'll earn points for solved cases too."
"More like the Office of Missing Items, but I get it." There wasn't a trace of excitement on his face, he was already tired of listening to them.
"Great, I almost forgot to mention, if for any reason you don't level up, we'll kick you out."
As the director's footsteps faded down the hall, Liora's excitement bubbled over; she couldn't contain her joy, finally, her chance had come.
She twirled around the small office, arms outstretched as if she could catch the stars. Living with Vallen had been boring, just the two of them doing nothing the whole day, while the Colonel was still processing that they put an end to his peaceful life.
Liora stopped and faced Vallen, her eyes sparkling with determination. "Come on, Colonel! This place is going to be full of life.
Vallen shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah..."
Liora rolled her eyes. "You're seriously, we need to clean this palace and the house to. He sighed dramatically, propping his feet up on the desk.
"What's the rush? She will come tomorrow.
"Ugh, Vallen!" She huffed, her excitement barely contained.
"This office and our house look like a battlefield." With a lazy grin, he replied, "Alright, alright. "
With this the Imperium greatest commander returned.