The red leaves on the trees have fallen, and white snowflakes are flying in the air.
"It's going to snow," Griffith got out of the warm bed and went to the balcony to feel the cold air. He immediately ran back to the house and put on his coat, washed his face and brushed his teeth quickly, and then put on his helmet, breastplate, and Gauntlets, and greaves, then carefully put on the sword and dagger, picked up the spear and shield, and ran out of the dormitory as quietly as possible.
When he went out, the two roommates turned over in bed and went back to sleep without any difficulty.
It's still an hour and a half before ordinary students wake up, and the Shutorals have to practice together in the early morning before breakfast.
At this time, the sky was slightly brighter, the sun had not yet risen, and the quiet campus was still shrouded in silence and dim light.
Griffith quickly walked through the quiet corridor and glanced at the rooms in the girls' dormitory out of habit. Galadia often got up early for morning exercises, but she never knew where she went. Sonia, who is used to reading at night, must not have gotten up yet.
Lana and Murat, who were also heavily armed, came down from another building. The three of them nodded to each other quietly and ran towards the northern cliff together.
Professor Erich of the Military Command Section was already dressed neatly, as energetic as he had been during his decades of military career. He stood upright on the grass on the edge of the cliff, watching the Shutorals who were also silent and quickly gathered in formation.
"Why does this uncle get up so early every day?" Ophelia, a trainee knight on the same team, muttered in a low voice. Beside her, the strong and vigorous Midian Maier had just fastened his helmet on his blond hair.
Every morning, Griffith maintained the habit of the army and participated in early morning joint training with other Shutorals. They first conducted a heavily armed ten-kilometer march through the hills and valleys of Fort Homonworth.
Except for the senior students who were out on missions, the remaining seventy or so Shutoral formed a neat column and quickly passed through the rugged cliffside path and entered a valley. The scouts on duty in the team were like shadows, quickly widening the distance from the column, and dispersed to distant places for warning.
"An enemy scout team appears on the ridge at 3 o'clock." Professor Erich sent out imaginary enemy information based on the terrain shortly after the training column set off.
Griffith immediately followed a senior student with the Shutorals in his team towards the ridge for reinforcements.
"The brigade encountered a long-range attack," Erich did not leave others idle, and added after a while, "The incoming firepower was the projection of trebuchets, not arrow rain."
The Shutorals who had just raised their shields fled away like a nest of rabbits, hiding themselves in ditches and puddles.
"Bah!"
Griffith stepped into a pit full of muddy water, and the cold muddy water made him shiver. Behind him, the beautiful trainee knight Ophelia von Ishtar quickly passed over a low wall on Midian Maier. Lana and Murat followed closely, and several pairs of iron boots clicked on the mud-covered ladder as they rushed up.
"Hurry up! The trolls with broken legs are more agile than you!" Erich, who had already led the team away from the campus dormitory, yelled, "If we don't complete the detour within 5 minutes, the team will be annihilated by long-range firepower, you guys These poor bastards are going to be hanged!"
The third-year student leading this team gritted his teeth and sprinted towards the high ground against the biting wind on the coast. Griffith and several others were covered in mud and water, struggling to keep up in the rubble.
…
"Storm configuration 9, surface liquid designated, volatilize," Ms. Marianne stood a few steps away, waving her wand, and cast two commonly used small spells, "Storm configuration 30, surface sludge designated, peeling off."
The disgraced Shutorals stood in front of the entrance of the restaurant, watching the clock strike eight o'clock. The cold water stains were drying and solidifying quickly on their armor and clothes, and then large pieces of mud peeled off and piled up at their feet.
"Professor Erich, if your students wait a little longer, they will be able to have an additional training content called 'hungry endurance'." Ms. Marian solemnly and seriously glanced at the military commander whose boots were covered with mud. Professor.
"Suggestion received, madam," Erich came to sit down comfortably on a chair nearby and summoned a brownie to clean his boots. "I will try this subject another day."
"This bad guy!" After cleaning up, Ophelia quickly put the armor and weapons in a corner, put on the brownie elf's pre-folded robe and ran into the restaurant.
Griffith and the others followed, swarming into the hall.
Students from the four colleges are gathering around the dining table like a big family, chatting about last night's homework while enjoying breakfast of milk cereal, buttered bread, bacon and yogurt.
"Good morning, Griffith!" Sonia greeted the trainee knight with a smile. Her appearance was even more beautiful than the morning light Griffith had just seen in the muddy water on the edge of the cliff.
"Good morning, Sonia," Griffith quickly sat down on the seat reserved for him next to Sonia and greeted the elf lying on the table, "Good morning, Galadia."
The elf buried his head in his arms and moved his long pointed ears twice to say "good morning".
"You only have less than fifteen minutes to eat." Sonia put down the yogurt in her hand and watched with a smile as the trainee knight grabbed a large piece of bread, mixed it with milk and stuffed it into her stomach. "Eat slowly, no matter when. All must be elegant, this is the way of chivalry of the Larmore family."
"Yes." Griffith, who had stuffed his stomach with a piece of bread, forked six pieces of bacon demurely and ate them elegantly in three bites.
At the table next to him, Lana took the dinner plate that Fiona had prepared, inserted the baguette filled with sausage, bacon and vegetables upright into his mouth, and then moved his upper and lower jaws at high speed, like a saw. Crushed food like wood.
"Hahahaha!" Sonia covered her mouth and laughed, "The way Lana eats makes me laugh to death no matter how many times I see it... Griffith, don't try it!"
Griffith regretfully put down the bread with a lot of bacon and sausages, broke it into several pieces and ate it carefully.
"What's the news?" Rana said hesitantly with his mouth full like a hamster.
"Don't talk while eating," Fiona criticized him, then picked up the morning newspaper that had just been delivered, "Let me take a look~
“The great triumph was held in Beyeland!
"Hey, you all missed out."
"Ah - ah~" All Shutoral on the long table sighed together.
Ophelia patted the table from a distance and asked: "What about the bonus? Where is the bonus after the big victory!? Has anyone got it? Why didn't I get a penny!"
Fiona continued reading:
“The Ministry of Justice has suspended the prosecution of residents of the Eastern Province who are draft dodgers, and young people of appropriate age can apply for citizenship.
"The latest survey from the Bureau of Statistics shows that after the grand triumphal ceremony, the government's support level is +20, the people's wariness level is -50, and the available manpower is +100. Long live the wise Senate. Ah, here, the parliament is formulating the bonus distribution details. Bonuses for local corps and auxiliary corps will be distributed by the Ministry of Finance to local lords and arranged by the local governments, while bonuses for directly affiliated corps will still be distributed uniformly by the central government."
There was a sigh of relief on the long table. Including Griffith, most Shutoral can receive bonuses directly from the lord.
Fiona flipped through other pages and continued reading:
“The trade volume between Beyeland and the southern provinces has increased by 1,500% in the past three months, grain and commodity futures have fluctuated violently, and the Arcane Parliament and the Senate are discussing the latest trade and tariff bills.
"The BI50 index has increased by 59.17% compared with the previous thirty trading days. Sonia, Sonia, should we invest some with private money?"
There is no intuitive feeling... Griffith listened hard for a while and couldn't think of the impact of other things other than the bonus policy.
"Look! The messenger is coming!"
A flock of beautiful ravens and owls nimbly passed through the hall's skylight and hovered over the dining table. Fiona, who was reading the newspaper, also stopped.
"Come on, Palulu," Sonia stretched out her white hands toward one of them. The fat bird that was called ignored her, flapped its wings and landed on the fruit plate at hand, and pecked at the nuts on the plate.
"You're still the same~" Sonia sighed, scratching the little thing's head and taking a small package from it.
The moment the girl opened the package, Griffith noticed that there was a small, bright red bottle inside. The pure bright red is purer than the red of roses, magma and fire. Even a quick glance makes the trainee knight's heart boil.
The small crystal bottle seems to be alive, emitting invisible fluctuations and temptations. There was still an imperceptible whisper echoing in the air.
"What is this?" Galadia seemed to feel something, raised her head and asked, "A magic potion?"
"Well, there's the potion, and there's also a letter sent to Griffith from our family. It was written by Sauron to you," Sonia said, flipping through the small package, "You can actually communicate."
"Who is Sauron?" Fiona asked.
"My father's secretary, the novice monk Armance Soren," Sonia thought for a moment and said in a language her friend could understand, "the one with beautiful and melancholy eyes, pale and serious."
"I'm impressed!" Fiona pounded the table, "He's very handsome."
"This is far away from Beyeland. I asked Mr. Soren to help me investigate some things." Griffith replied.
I don’t know if there has been any progress in the investigation of Isis and the Cook gang. Griffith carefully put the letter into his close pocket, preparing to read it later.
Sonia nodded, raised the bright red medicine bottle with slender fingers, and examined it by the light:
"This is a bottle of advanced potion from Sequence 9 'Recruit' to Sequence 8 of the Paladin pathway. It has been prepared. I originally said that I would just send you the raw materials. While comprehensively improving the physical and mental abilities, the user will also Will acquire several extraordinary abilities. Prepared for Griffith.
"However, it's up to you to decide whether to take it or not."
The girl's soft words attracted the attention of everyone nearby. This is an expensive potion worth more than 2,000 silver francs. Sequence 8 is the minimum requirement for becoming a knight. It may be the end of many people's life growth. It takes many years of hard work to reach the threshold. But everything will change when Griffith gets promoted if he drinks it. He was destined to be a noble and a knight, unlike most people.
Curiosity, envy, and greedy gazes drifted from the nearby long table and were projected on the faces of the little package and Griffith.
Sonia handed the potion to Griffith, and the bright red luster immediately caught his eyes. The potion, which was more crystal clear than blood, seemed to contain life, calling the trainee knight's heart with a vague voice.
Fiona, who was sitting not far away, looked at the small sequence potion with great interest, patted Lana sitting nearby on the shoulder and said:
"The paths of Spellbreaker, Paladin and Demon Hunter are very interesting. The ranks of Sequence 9 are all 'recruits', and you can choose the direction of growth at will during the promotion process.
"Although each path has its own advantages and disadvantages, for those of you who are interested in becoming an army commander, it is generally believed that the Paladin is the best solution. It takes into account both combat and protection, and you can pray to the gods to obtain gifts and team battles. Very strong too.”
Rana does not quite agree with this statement:
"Griffith and I have both shown our talents as spellbreakers. If you ask me, piercing the enemy head-on is a man's battle. The way the Paladin wants to build a wall between the warrior and the spellcaster, motherfucker Only the cannons are chosen.”
Fiona, who has a paladin family heritage, grabbed Lana's face and pulled it hard on both sides: "Say it again! Say it again!"
Sonia smiled and explained to Griffith:
"This potion comes from a sacrificed knight, Al de Nova, Sequence 8 'Agent',
"Like most advanced potions, this potion also carries part of the memory and knowledge of the previous generation. When taking this potion, you may be able to hear the voice of the El Knight.
"Knight El de Nova has the ability to pray to the Holy Light and receive blessings. Inheriting part of his power and knowledge will allow you to become a Paladin. This is why I hesitate to hand him over to you. The reason. Theoretical research on the principles of extraordinary characteristic inheritance is incomplete."
"Thank you, Sonia. This potion far exceeds my meager contribution. With my current condition, I should be able to break through on my own next spring," Griffith used great perseverance to turn this little man full of seductive magic into his eyes. The small crystal bottle was returned to the girl's hand, and she tried to look away from the light of the potion.
"I know," the blonde girl smiled sweetly, putting the small package into her pocket seriously, "there is something special about this potion. I want to prepare it for you first, and I don't want you to drink it now. ."
The bright luster was blocked by the package, and the vague and strange aura also disappeared. Griffith seemed to hear sighs of regret and jealousy coming from all around.
Galadia rubbed her sleepy eyes, thought for a moment and said:
"The number, type, and intensity of the unique abilities mastered during the advancement process vary from person to person. Sometimes even those with extraordinary talents may acquire some weird extraordinary abilities due to bad luck; relatively speaking, the magic potion that has been appraised The improvements brought about are predictable and safer.
"But, having said that, why do we need to prepare the potion now?"
"A few days ago, the Provost informed us that the first graders will soon go to the edge of the Whispering Forest for a staff trip this semester!" Sonia suddenly remembered an important event, "I heard that it is a good place for research on alchemy and black magic countermeasures. , but lately I’ve always had a vague feeling that something might happen, so I prepared this potion at home just in case.”
