Chapter 135 - Planning

Words : 1096 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

Chapter 135: Chapter 135 - Planning I was initially thinking that we would have to accommodate all the beastkin, including the nonfighting people. So, the news that only the fighters would come by is actually a good thing, even if it means having only three tribes taking the fight. It’s okay, though. Those warriors who’ll join us are experienced fighters who never had the help of a system, so they don’t have bad habits to get rid of. They would also help train our troops in systemless melee combat, as that’s a part of fighting that neither I nor Lovelace are that acquainted with. And that will widen up our scouting perspectives. The numbers are small, but we aren’t counting on the strength of numbers to begin with. The enemies have the advantage of the numbers and the system. We’ll have mobility, surprise, and complete control over the supply lines. In that sense, a smaller but well-trained and disciplined army is more effective. The fifteen hundred warriors of the beastkin will be enough, together with the recruits we are training ourselves and the loyalist troops who’ll join us. After all, we aren’t counting only on the troops we’re training. We’ll obviously use the whole army. This is just the special ops troops, the ones who know how to fight systemless. We can’t allow the Church to catch wind of our systemless training, after all. "Then why are you insisting on creating the club at the academy? The Church will surely hear about it." "Ugh, you’re right, Lovelace. I didn’t think that through. I shall call that off and just do my graduation thesis and get over with that whole Academy thing." "So you are graduating early, after all. I didn’t know you would cheat like that." "It has nothing to do with that, Yaci, I swear. I just really need to focus on training the troops right now..." "I know, silly. I’m just messing with you. The Academy was never the point, anyway, but just your age." Damn, why is my face burning so much right now?? Aaaaaargh. This was supposed to be a planning meeting. "Can the two lovebirds please stop flirting in the middle of the meeting? Yaci, act your post." "I’m sorry, Kwarah." Yeah, Yaci’s post. As Yara is already past the age for fighting a war, she’ll be staying back, so she and the other elders of the council selected Yaci to be the warchief of the fox beastkin. That’s why she’s in this meeting now, having taken the place of Yara. "Anyway, I’ve heard many stories about you two, Aurea and Lovelace. It seems that you have very powerful and unusual magic." The one asking the question is Yawarete, the cat lady. "Well... yeah. Lovelace uses mostly the Dark element. My main element is lightning, but lately I’ve also been using a lot of spatial and gravity magic." "Spatial is like the one that summons the portals, right?" "Yes, but not only that. I can literally rip the fabric of space apart or connect distant places. It’s good for offense and defense. You can’t hit me if there is no space to cross between you and me." "That’s... very different from anything I’ve ever heard. We of the cat tribe pride ourselves in being the best spellcasters of the beastkin, with a natural affinity with magic, and we’ve been safekeeping a lot of the ancient magical knowledge, but I’ve never heard about anything like that." "Well... that’s probably because I invented it myself." "What?" "That’s true. Aurea invented both the spatial and gravitational magic fields." "I understand the spatial one... but what’s that gravitational one about?" This time it’s Kwarah asking the question. "Well, you know that pull that binds people and things to the earth? That’s gravity. Gravitational magic simply messes with that pull... like this." I cast a floating spell by actually chanting the aria, so everyone in the room can hear it. It’s a spell I’ve managed to pull off in the last years and then perfected last semester. It allows me to float freely in space. It’s not as powerful as proper flight, but it looks cool and makes me feel great about myself. "Whoa!" "Aurea, you’re... flying?!" "That’s amazing!!!" I get back down to my chair and end the spell. "This floating thing is mostly for show... the important thing is that I can add weight more easily than I can make something weightless." "So you can make someone heavier? How does this help?" "If they and the stuff they carry are heavier than they can carry, they won’t be able to stand. And I can cast it over a large area." "Aurea has already pinned down a whole group of people that were trying to flee. It would be even more effective against an army." "Heh, with a charging army I only need to pin down the guys at the front. The rest will tumble on them, and the whole momentum of the army will work against them." "Amazing... I would love to learn that." "It will be part of the training, of course. Those two magic schools are a bit harder to cast because they depend on a deeper understanding of the rules of the physical world, so only a few have been able to grasp them, just barely." "I understand, I’ll do my best. It looks really fun to play with." Oh, right. Cats. It’s not like cats aren’t natural casters of spatial and gravitational magic, after all. And from what I’ve seen, the cats of this world do the same stuff the Earth ones do. I think that cats are actually spatial elementals. If space were an element, of course. If I’m reading that fire in Yawarete’s eyes right, our enemies will have a hard time under her claws. Not that she has claws, obviously. She has normal humanoid hands. It was a manner of speech. In any case, that woman is fierce and likes to play with her food before eating. That’s something I’m completely sure about. "Now, can we proceed to the more practical and immediate points? When will you be able to come to join us?" Good one, Lovelace. Thank you. "Two tribes will join us in the next week to take in the ones who’ll stay behind. The warriors will be ready to go as soon as everyone else is safe." Of course, you can’t just leave alone people who can’t fight to fend for themselves in this land. That’s the cold reality of the Barren Wilds.

Chapter 135 - Planning

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