Chapter 193: The Battle Begins (1/2)

”Alright, now that's settled, let's head to wall. I wouldn't want you to be late, Tal. Do you know where you're supposed to be heading to?” Mike asked as he started walking. The elf fell into step beside him.

”What's settled?! What did you do?” Sera yelled angrily. She started following after, still examining her arm, as if expecting it to fall off.

”Northeast section. Near main gate.” Tal replied while ignoring the Oracle's outburst.

”Hm, that's going to be right in the middle of the fight. What are they having you do?”

”Defend headquarters. Magic protection.” She answered simply, intimating that she was assigned to part of the last line of defense for the command element of the 1st Division, which he recalled was being led by a respected leader from the Martial Arts department.

”Hey!” Came a shout from behind. ”Stop ignoring me!”

Although it was a little unfair of him to do so, Mike didn't really want to go through the process of explaining how he made the item he'd just used, or the intended effects. Especially since he needed to concentrate on ensuring Tal's safety. As a member of a front line force that will be involved in battle in the near future, her situation took priority. Luckily, it sounded like he would have time to prepare a more comprehensive set of defensive measures.

Figuring that Sera wouldn't let it go unless he could give her a decoy, he pulled Audra from his pocket.

[Do me a favor and distract her for a bit, would you?]

After an irritated reply to the negative, he shot back, [Hey! I haven't asked you for anything since the day you were born! Do me this favor, alright?]

He sensed continued reticence, so with a sigh, he made a promise. [Fine, if you can get her to change the subject, I'll let you have another mana core.]

Bribe successfully acquired, Audra scrambled up his shoulder and launched herself at Sera, who caught her with surprised delight.

”Ah! I thought you hated me.” She exclaimed happily. She promptly proceeded to rub the little dragon against her face in satisfaction.

[Alright, now I feel a little guilty.]

”Here, give this to her.” Mike called as he tossed a large red mana core to the Oracle. Although there was a bit of fumbling involved, she managed to catch it.

”Huh? Isn't this a mana core? Why would she want...” She started confusedly but trailed off as the little dragon began excitedly looking at the core. Tilting her head a bit, Sera brought the item closer, only to gasp as Audra took a large bite out of it.

”Interesting.” Tal commented, having stopped to watch the exchange.

”Ah! No! Don't eat that! It's not...good...for you?” While concerned, Sera was evidently in the same boat as Mike when it came to knowledge of dragon biology. Audra was happily munching away at the core, and eventually got to the point of licking the crumbs from Sera's hand, eliciting a subdued giggle.

”Are they supposed to be toxic or something? I fed one to her previously, and it didn't seem to have any negative effect. If anything, she seemed more energetic afterwards.” Mike asked, not particularly concerned.

Sera frowned, slightly confused. ”Well, not exactly. In fact mana cores serve as the basis for a number of consumable items, especially in Alchemy, but they usually have to be treated in some manner before use. Raw mana cores are basically concentrated energy, and consuming them directly can do some serious damage to your body. Or so I've heard. I guess that doesn't apply to dragons.”

”Dragons special. Mana based.” Tal added, suggesting that a dragon's nature might play a role in allowing them to do things like that without harm.

He shrugged in response, ”Anyway, we should get a move on, we don't have much more time.”

”Right.” The elf replied simply. With a little hustle, they were able to make it to her assigned location with time to spare. The 1st Division headquarters was situated in a recently constructed command tower that stood behind the walls and a little taller than them. This allowed for a commanding view of the surrounding scenery, at the expense of making them a target for long range siege equipment.

The tower itself was mainly composed of a highly reinforced spiral staircase that was eventually topped with three, simple and unadorned spaces, each roughly 20m in diameter. Tal's immediate supervisor, a magic instructor by the name of Harnik, was based out of the top floor. Here the headquarters' mages worked to defend the tower from external attacks. Apparently, there were some magic items built into the structure which made this easier to manage, although Mike hadn't seen them in action yet.

There were only five mages in the detail, which included Tal, Harnik and three students, all of which appeared to be novices.

[I knew we were running short on mages, but I didn't think it was this bad. I doubt those three will be able to do more than use Mana Transference to keep the instructor topped off.]

As Tal was reporting to Harnik, a red haired and slightly pudgy man that looked to be in his late thirties, Mike located a clear section of the tower that wasn't being used for anything at the moment.

”I guess I should find some place to bed down for the rest of the day. I still have to man the walls tonight.” Sera commented while reluctantly handing Audra back. ”Not that I feel particularly tired, but I'm sure that will come later.”

”I'd be surprised, actually. I hit you with a dose of healing magic not too long ago. It should have dispelled your fatigue at the same time.” Mike replied absentmindedly before chanting a quick spell and summoning a table and stool with Calling Magic. It took a fair amount of mana, but he needed a stable place to start working.

[Now, let's see here. How did I make it again?]

He was so deep in thought, he didn't even notice Sera's stunned expression. The casual display of magical ability had left her momentarily speechless. She looked ready to launch into a series of questions, but stopped and then finally sagged. ”I'm not sure why I'm surprised. It is you after all. I suppose this means I should stay here?”

”That would make things easiest. At least until we've removed the threat of abduction. I'm working through a couple of ideas that mitigate the danger to a certain extent. Just give me some time.” Mike answered without looking up.