Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Chapter 24: The Legendary Platoon Commander (3)

‘Fool.’

The soldier’s fists shot out toward Henry like a volley of arrows. However, Henry’s spellcasting was much faster.

Whoosh!

As soon as Henry buffed himself with his magic, his movement became lighter. Henry dodged the soldier’s fists with ease, then elbowed him in the nose.

Crack!

It sounded painful. However, Henry had targeted the nose bridge, and his aim was perfect. At worst, the soldier’s nose was broken and it would start to bleed.

Eventually, just as Henry had expected, blood began to drop profusely from both of the soldier’s nostrils.

However, stopping a fight due to a nosebleed was something only children did. Henry twisted his hips and kicked the man in the stomach.

Thud!

With Henry’s strength amplified by his magic, the pain felt from his attacks was amplified as well. Even as the soldier flew away, he kept his eyes locked on Henry.

His gaze was full of anger and venom. Henry maintained eye contact with the man as he approached him.

“Name.”

“...”

“Not going to talk?”

“Gabo… Sir.”

Seeing how Gabo was hesitant to even speak with honorifics to his superior, Henry could feel that Gabo was trying to retain his pride. This was the perfect example of the proverb that men were still children within, even if they were all grown up.

‘Looks like he still needs to be taught a lesson.’

Henry had already expected that this man’s anger would not be easily quenched, considering that Henry had burned his beloved commander’s legacy in front of his eyes. But it was Henry’s job to bring that anger under his control.

He looked down at Gabo with cold eyes. Then, he turned his head and spoke to the rest of the platoon, as if Gabo wasn’t even worth wasting his time on anymore.

“You fools.”

He started with an insult.

“You guys still think you are elites?”

This was an embarrassment for the platoon. They were all outstanding soldiers in their own way, and yet, they were being easily dismantled by a new officer who had just joined them. An officer who was a Learner-class swordsman and couldn’t even use Aura, at that.

“Everyone should be ashamed. Do you think your deceased commander would be happy seeing you guys like this?”

Henry’s stinging insults continued. The target of his insults also included the company commander, who was watching silently.

“Now, nothing of him remains. And if you bring up Commander Carter in front of me one more time, I will consider it as an act of protest against me, and you will be punished severely. Is that understood?”

“...Yes.”

The platoon struggled to answer, their voices full of dissatisfaction. Having warned the soldiers, Henry immediately turned around and went back to his residence. The company commander tried to say something, but soon gave up and dismissed the soldiers.

‘Foolish bastards.’

Now in his residence, Henry sat in his chair and looked at his now-cold teacup.

The situation with the soldiers was much more dire than he had thought.

‘Looks like there’s a lot of areas I’ll have to get involved in.’

Henry wasn’t too worried, though. All he had to do was get rid of the ones who were rotten to their core.

* * *

After dismissing the platoon members, Solomon returned to his own residence, troubled by Henry’s unexpected behavior.

“Fucking hell.”

Henry was far more insane than Solomon had expected. He had somehow managed to spotlessly clean the dilapidated residence that Solomon had assigned to him to fuck with him, and he had even burned the former platoon commander’s belongings that no one could bear to throw away. Because of this turn of events, Solomon’s plan to expose the new platoon commander and reject his integration into the unit was shattered.

‘If this keeps up, he’s really going to end up staying here…’

Once Henry took on full-fledged missions and adjusted to the unit, it would become truly irreversible. Solomon was determined to deny Henry’s acceptance into the unit at any cost, before it was too late.

‘Why did the Captain even send a total greenhorn over here?’

Solomon’s reason for rejecting Henry was simple; Henry was a new officer, and new officers were usually incompetent. No matter how smart or quick-witted they might be, they would inevitably make too many mistakes unintentionally simply because they lacked experience.

Mistakes made by incompetent subordinates usually ended up becoming the superior’s responsibility, and that could affect Solomon’s chances of promotion. That was why most of the important positions required experienced personnel.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

Solomon was outstandingly skilled, but his desire to succeed was just as strong. After all, with the unfortunate passing of Carter, the former platoon commander, he had personally taken on some of Carter's responsibilities. Now Carter suddenly had a new successor—someone without any experience with demonic beasts and with no Aura, and a huge thorn in Solomon’s side.

‘In the end, there’s no other way, huh?’

After much deliberation, Solomon finally decided to take extraordinary measures. Having made his decision, he secretly invited the other two platoon commanders to his residence.

* * *

The next morning.

After breakfast, Henry headed to the administrative office to attend the morning meeting. All the other officers had already arrived. As soon as Henry saw his seniors, he bowed his head in greeting.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Henry Morris, the new platoon commander of the special task force.”

As soon as Henry finished, the company commander began to introduce the other officers in a dry voice.

“Let me introduce them. This fella here is Hugo, the leader of the platoon in charge of the Captain’s personally assigned missions. Next to him is Borg from the support team that’s in charge of administration and supply of our company.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Hugo.”

“I’m Borg.”

As soon as introductions were over, the senior platoon commanders smiled gently and asked to shake hands with Henry.

Shortly after, Hugo asked, “I’m the senior, so you have no problems if I drop formalities with you, right?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks. May I ask you a question? There’s something I have been curious about.”

“Yes, please feel free.”

A smile appeared on Hugo’s face as soon as Henry readily agreed.

“I heard that you haven’t learned how to utilize Aura, is that true?”

It was a question that was probably a bit rude to ask after just meeting someone. So obviously rude that there was no chance it wasn’t deliberate. However, Henry did not care about such trivial matters and answered with a smile.

“No, not yet.”

“Oh my God.”

Hugo made an exaggerated expression of surprise, and began to respond sarcastically

“Unbelievable… I heard that the top performing cadets can choose their first place of work?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“‘That’s right’? Is this a joke?”

The atmosphere in the administrative office quickly grew tense. However, Solomon did nothing. He was waiting for it to get worse, so he could make use of the other platoon commanders to drag Henry through the mud.

Hugo’s accusations continued.

“Have you no conscience? Knowing what kind of place this is, how dare a new officer like you set foot in here?”

“The Captain gave me a choice and I simply made one, is there a problem?”

“What do you think? The soldiers here are all experts with a sword. But what about you? What the hell are you, huh?”

“I’ll learn Aura when the time comes, so there’s no need to be so impatient.”

“Impatient? Whoa, this bastard is a real piece of work.”

Henry knew exactly what Hugo was going on about. But to Henry, it was nothing more than mere attempts to blemish his reputation.

“Get out, now. Because I have no intention of entrusting the lives of our company to a kid that came from nowhere,” said Hugo.

Blushing with anger, he looked like he might raise his fist at any moment. Henry responded.

“Officer Hugo.”

“If you’re going to give me excuses, you better think twice.”

“Are you perhaps doubting the Captain’s decision? Or maybe, my abilities?”

“What did you say?”

Solomon and Borg’s eyes widened. Of course, Hugo did the same.

“You madman, the whole reason I caused this uproar is that I was questioning your skills, so what nonsense are…”

“Then let’s put it to the test. Why would the Captain appoint me, a new officer, and not someone more experienced to the position of platoon commander of a special task force, despite it being the most important position in the company?”

It was obvious to everyone that Henry was trying to provoke Solomon. However, the more easily one was angered, the more prone one was to provocation. Just as Hugo lost his temper and was about to put his hands on Henry, Solomon stepped in to intervene.

“Wait. Why should we do that?”

“Didn’t I tell you? You said that you questioned my abilities. Then, isn’t it only right that we put it to the test so that you can find out for yourself?”

“Does that pride of yours matter that much to you? The only way you can retain your honor is through voluntary resignation.”

“Why do you think voluntary resignation is the only option? Are you afraid of me?”

“What?”

“Am I wrong? Frankly speaking, based on what you’re saying, Officer Hugo is far superior to me. So why did the Captain allow me, a new officer, to take up the position that I am in? If that isn’t proof enough that I am far superior to Officer Hugo, what is?”

“Hey, you son of a bitch! Let’s do it! Do it! You son of a bitch, let’s see how long you can keep running that mouth of yours, you asshole! Commander, since he wants it so much, let’s give it to him. I’ll test him personally myself.”

In the end, Hugo’s patience ran out, and he quickly cut off Henry’s provocative tirade. Now, all that was left to do was to light the fuel that Henry had been carefully pouring.

* * *

The test was to be a duel between the two, Hugo and Henry. Hugo had to keep his feelings hidden; he couldn’t let the others know that he was facing a new officer simply because he couldn’t contain his anger and had decided to take it out on him with his sword.

Eventually, under the orders of Commander Solomon, all the company members gathered in front of the administrative office.

‘I don’t know what his plan is, but regardless, Hugo is an advanced Expert. As a Learner, there’s nothing I can do about it.’

Solomon was determined to humiliate Henry. That’s why he decided to bring as many witnesses as possible, to use their testimony to remove Henry from his appointed position. The company gathered in a circle around the two men, forming a simple arena. Among them, there were some of the members of the special task force who had been savagely scolded by Henry the night before.

There was hope in everyone’s eyes. Rumors about Henry had already spread overnight. For that reason, most of the crowd had eagerly gathered to see the cocky new officer get humiliated.

“Will you really be okay with a wooden sword?”

“That bastard is cocky to the end…!”

“Ah! Please don’t misunderstand. I just said that because this is a test for the position of Special Task Force Platoon Commander. I was wondering if it would be better if we made it as real as possible.”

Henry casually strutted around as he explained his reasoning, but everyone just criticized him for his cockiness. Everyone already knew how this was going to end, and they couldn’t bear to listen to his arrogance any further.

Commander Solomon spoke.

“Both men, in positions.”

The two men held their wooden swords and stood facing each other.

“As you are using wooden swords and not real swords, please do your best.”

‘Do your best’. In other words, Solomon was giving the sign of approval for Aura wielders to use their Aura. Henry smiled and lifted the sole of his foot ever so slightly.

Thud.

Whoooosh!

Henry’s magic buff wrapped around his whole body. The magic buff he was using this time was Maximum Magic Power, a buff that he had never used before up till this point.

“Ready.”

Strengthened with immense magical power, Henry’s body trembled as if it was about burst at any moment.

“Begin!”

Bwooong!

As soon as the match began, Hugo swung his arm. His wooden sword was enveloped in a blue aura, and his eyes were full of vigor. On the other side, Henry’s sword was quietly boosted by the buff’s magic.

Clang!

The two swords collided, and a startling scene unfolded.

Hugo’s wooden sword was neatly cut in two.