Chapter 318

This does not mean our goal has been completely achieved. Why?

“Why do you say this isn’t the end?”

[…We will give you a signal when the Vitriol enters a dormant period. First….]

Ulrike’s voice next to me overlapped with the artifact’s announcement.

The 98th class didn’t take us to their disposal site, and we came here to take a farm worker who went berserk in northern Prussia to the hospital after receiving our report. Currently, friends are standing one by one or in pairs at points 500 meters away from the Berserker.

And… Ulrike, who is with me, is wondering why everyone is stiff as usual even though we achieved our goal. In other words, she had a question about whether we had achieved our goal since we prevented the use of firearms. It is a reasonable question. I answered while keeping an eye on the Berserker.

“The reason it’s not the end is that with that senior’s personality, he’ll do anything except killing.”

“What do you mean how….”

Beep―

“Explanation later. Run!”

I shouted to Ulrike and rolled on the ground to spread a veil.

Since the soil of the wheat field was all entangled with Vitriol, I had to spread a ground veil to run faster. Feeling Narce striking his Staff onto the ground veil from the opposite side, I knew the Magic Power had been properly pushed to the exact opposite end.

Rumble―…. Thud―

I lowered my body at the strong vibration pushing through the Staff. Divine Power cleared away the Vitriol smoke in the air at once. As the Divine Power struck, the Berserker turned its head wildly and roared at the friends running toward it.

‘Around now….’

I opened my mouth around the time my friends ran up to a distance of 100 meters in front of the Berserker.

[Do not fear. For I am with you.]

Boom―!

I struck the Staff onto the ground. Simultaneously with the explosion, the ground veil broke, and a red dome-shaped veil began to unfold.

[Starting.]

As the veil completely settled on the ground, Leo’s voice was heard briefly. Along with that, a sound of something being pushed was heard, and all sorts of plant stems climbed up, wrapping around the body of the Berserker who was screaming while pushing through the wheat field.

[Oh.]

[Wow, Leo should only receive reports from places like this.]

‘Good.’

Although the Vitriol melted the stems quickly, it wasn’t a big problem in this place where Leo’s ability could be fully utilized. Soon, the speed at which stems piled up became faster than the speed at which they melted.

This time, without casting a ground veil, I struck the Staff onto the mud field and flowed Magic Power strongly underground. The dome-shaped veil connected to the ground compressed toward the Berserker.

Mecklenburg was right when he said we must handle it quickly because Vitriol restores itself in seconds. The moment the veil Magic Power used for the dome began to hinder the Berserker’s movement, I struck the Staff onto the ground again. From the tip, something like red glass pushed out along the ground. Now that I made it possible to run, it was Elias and Ulrike’s turn, who were accustomed to close-range attacks.

I watched them while maintaining the veil. In the blink of an eye, Elias’s sword striking the Berserker tore the stems wrapping it, and the Berserker fell to the ground from the shock. Ulrike stepped on the Berserker’s back and struck his Staff into the core.

Boom―!

[Whew, gives me chills watching. Is it bleeding?]

Amidst the explosion, his voice is heard through the communication artifact. Ulrike dragged down the corners of his mouth after striking. I could see that even from afar.

He hesitated, then extended his fist to Elias standing next to him, and Elias stared at it and did the same.

‘Today is the third day.’

Having experienced the berserk scene at the Panopticon mental hospital from the start, the Grade 3 Berserker experienced afterward felt quite manageable. Going berserk in such a vast place was easier to handle than going berserk in a building with many obstacles, and moreover, the population density was low and evacuation was easy, so there weren’t many people we had to protect. Still, since it’s Grade 3, it’s not very easy, but I learned that the environment where the Berserker is placed is more important than the danger of the Berserker itself.

At that time, Tsheringen laughed and praised Leo.

[Leo did a great job this time. Ending immediately like this, it’s a first.]

Tsheringen and Heike took charge of support in this field. Heike looked around us with an expressionless face as usual.

‘Hmm.’

She looked similar to usual, but to me, she looked strangely different. I grabbed Heike, who trudged toward me from the opposite side of the field.

“Heike.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay?”

Heike nodded without speaking. However, unlike her answer, her eyes that met mine briefly bounced to the opposite side involuntarily.

“…….”

I was about to ask why she was avoiding my eyes, but I patted her shoulder as encouragement and approached my friends with her.

Actually, the friends taking the main role change from field to field. Until yesterday, Leo also mainly took charge of support.

‘From what I’ve observed so far… Heike doesn’t seem to have greed for the main role.’

Is she worried she might not be helpful to us? Even if not that, there was no reason why her lack of energy like now wouldn’t be understandable. Since she has only been doing support since the first day of high-risk dispatch, she might doubt if things would run fine without her. If I didn’t misread her expression, that is.

“Everyone’s gathered. Good work. I called the medical team just now, so….”

Leo said looking around us. While doing so, I examined Heike’s complexion and thought.

‘…Next time, I should try devising a strategy utilizing Heike’s ability.’

First, I’ll think about that tonight, and now I must return to headquarters. There was something I had to do upon returning.

Just as I told Ulrike earlier, the 98th class probably hasn’t come to their senses yet. In short, from now on, I must change the power structure in earnest.

***

“Releasing.”

As the three gunshots ended, a Mage from the 98th class released the sound-proofing Spell. As the tip of another Mage’s Staff struck the heart of the Berserker fallen on the floor, the Berserker, who was already screaming in pain, raised its voice even louder. Around the time the Berserker’s movements gradually subsided, Mecklenburg took out the signal device and said.

“Terminated. We are returning.”

A question asking if they were still at the initial location came from the artifact. If answered yes, New Humans trained in post-processing would come to collect the Vitriol and write down a list of facilities to be repaired.

[…Sending a cleanup team to the coordinates. You may return.]

The Mage receiving the contact ended the conversation in a tone that seemed to have no particular thought. Naturally, regarding the 98th class A team’s berserk report, there was no word that a medical team would be sent. After all, they ended it by killing in most cases. They must have heard it from the Ministry of Defense as well.

Mecklenburg quietly looked at the blood and Vitriol flowing on the floor and said.

“Please send a medical team as well. We must transport to the hospital.”

[Underst… Yes?]

The opponent, quite flustered, answered only after a while that they would do so. This side didn’t know what instructions the Imperial Family had given. Mecklenburg expressionlessly hit the artifact to cut off contact and approached the Berserker. Just until he took out the signal device, blood was gushing from the right thigh, but thanks to the Vitriol cauterizing the wound, there was no need to worry about dying from excessive bleeding. Mecklenburg felt the Vitriol Magic Power disappearing from the Berserker’s heart and said.

“It’s a decent method.”

Unlike the other four with satisfied faces, one of the team members who alone had an uncomfortable expression opened his mouth.

“…We might be able to increase the rate of transport to the hospital, but…. If we do this, well, I’m not saying it will happen unconditionally, but.”

Mecklenburg exercised patience and looked at him silently. He continued carefully.

“…Wouldn’t they have to amputate the leg with a high probability like this?”

“His Majesty ordered to increase the survival rate.”

“…….”

The team member understood the meaning and shut his mouth. Mecklenburg looked into his eyes and thought.

If statistics to counter Bavaria’s public stability policy are needed, we just need to make them. Since it is His Majesty’s will, naturally, we must do so. There is no reason not to use efficient methods in that process.

“Even if we take a Grade 2 Berserker to the hospital, they almost always die. Even if they survive, do you think they can return to daily life?”

Not a guess, but the reality is that they mostly cannot return. Spending the rest of their life in a hospital or having to receive life-sustaining treatment for decades… This seemed unreasonable in Mecklenburg’s own view. It might not be for him to judge. However, it is my job to subdue Berserkers using the most efficient method within the allowed line. Since this fact hasn’t changed, there was no particular reason to be reluctant.

Mecklenburg took out an elixir from his clutch and drank it.

Fortunately, although it was Grade 2, it wasn’t burdensome. It was thanks to saving strength by using firearms. Unlike the 101st class who received some accommodation because they had only encountered low-risk Berserkers in actual combat so far, from today, the 98th class A to C teams had to cover up to Grade 2 Berserkers.

Medical personnel began to arrive at the berserk scene. Mecklenburg acknowledged them with a nod and said to his team members.

“Let’s go back.”

***

As soon as we returned to the headquarters main office, we encountered the 98th class A team. Albert Mecklenburg smiled and greeted us. On the first day, he diligently looked for corners to nitpick, but now he didn’t seem particularly inclined to do so.

As they passed, Narce standing next to me cast a sound-proofing Spell and said.

“As expected, they used it this time too.”

“…….”

“This time… they didn’t intend to kill, nor did they kill.”

It’s as expected.

Whether it’s law, order, or policy, digging into its boundaries. Isn’t that the virtue of a politician?

Just as I told Ulrike, I didn’t believe they would honestly stop using firearms from today. Why? Because as long as they don’t send them back dead, they are satisfying His Imperial Majesty’s instructions. That’s why I said it was the beginning of the beginning, and why I had to make the second proposal to Abraham.

‘I want to change the present if I could…. The problem is that realistically we cannot keep taking on the 98th class A team’s report cases, and they won’t allow us to take them on either.’

Therefore, I must move quickly to the next action.

You might think I could just ask Abraham to handle it properly instead of going the hard way around, but she is a negotiator and a businessperson, and she does nothing unless a reasonable profit returns. Just before parting, I brought up Maria, but perhaps thinking the main point was over, she left immediately. Yesterday too, today’s result could come out because I created an environment where she had no choice but to act, not because Abraham was generous and helped me.

“I have something to tell Lukas, so I’ll go over there first.”

Leo said looking back at our friends. I followed him and stopped in front of the strategic training room. The list we were looking for was attached.

“It’s here.”

[A-Klasse] [91st A: Albertina Hohenzollern]

It was a long list starting with that. The second proposal I mentioned to Abraham was to reorganize the training system limited to Mages in charge of Berserker disposal.

‘It’s not like there’s anything special just because it’s called system reorganization.’

Maintaining the various training originally scheduled as is, and creating a new grade limited to those training results is all. I proposed a new evaluation system that makes it easy to categorize and visualize all our abilities. That is the N-Klasse currently before my eyes.

There was something important here.

I said I used the fact that we are in an ambiguous state of being neither soldiers nor officers. While the 91st and 98th classes came here truly wearing officer tags, we are still in a position borrowed by the authority of the Imperial Mages’ Association. In this ambiguous situation, with the state of emergency declared, I could have rather asked to just commission us as officers too. Why? If I dislike being disciplined according to the class system and wish for a reversal in power, wouldn’t becoming an officer be a path where I can compete more rationally?

‘Easier said than done.’

Since there is a problem of the minimum service period required for promotion, no matter how well I do, it is impossible to beat the 98th class by rank right now. Those 98th class people satisfied the period requirement for promotion to lieutenant, and actually, due to the preferential practice of the Imperial Mages’ Association, all of them would have become so. No matter what we do now, we can’t even be the same rank.

Decisively, since performance evaluation systems exist everywhere, we must not be commissioned for this system’s meaning not to fade. Among officers where rank itself is a partial proof of ability, this proposal cannot shine, and the effect I want can only occur when the class system, which cannot prove ability by itself, and the ability evaluation system are combined.

Appropriately, Abraham has not yet established the conditions to forcibly commission us. I asked Leo when the agreement between the Prussian Army and the Kingdom of Bavaria seemed to be finalized, and heard the answer that there was no intention to finalize it immediately.

‘So, if you ask which class we are in….’

I slowly lowered my gaze from A-Klasse. By the time I discovered my name, a hollow laugh came out naturally.

[D-Klasse] [101st: Lukas Askanian]

‘Hmm….’

Not only me, but the phrase ‘D-Klasse’ is attached in front of all 101st class names. 91st is A, 98th is B.

I smirked and said.

“It’s by seniority.”

“It must be because there is no skill data usable here.”

Leo answered as if he knew it would be so. I looked at the training schedule written next to the name and said.

“It’s a bit troublesome. It seems D-Class isn’t even properly included in training right away.”

“We do go in to do chores.”

Leo smirked soullessly seeing the short word ‘Sub’ written in the 101st schedule column. The joint training today was an anti-Pleroma strategy game that didn’t really seem like training, and only the 91st and 98th classes participate as main.

Strategy game literally refers to a game like chess, but here it refers to a game where military instructions are given alternately with the enemy, one move at a time. Mages who grew up in a militaristic society like Prussia would have played it often since childhood, and recently, because Mimesis is used, it is widely used for training beyond games in various institutions.

For now, we are sub-players as written. As far as I know, this is roughly the role of a knight placing stones on a real Go board when AlphaGo plays Go.

‘…Hmm…. I should try not to think like this in front of Narce….’

Although I already did a lot. Anyway, it’s a bit funny that they organized the system so loosely, whether they didn’t understand the Imperial Family’s training start instruction properly or had no intention of training strongly from the adaptation period. Although it’s not completely detached given the name. Leo stroked his chin, turned his head toward me, and asked.

“What are you going to do? The opportunity isn’t coming as early as expected.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

Anyway, this is not a matter of becoming Klasse A or not. That is natural, and secondary.

The real purpose of proposing this system is solely to create an atmosphere. Changing the flow of the air is my goal. One must clearly know this subtle difference. In that sense, the opportunity has already come.

I nodded appropriately and answered.

“Not bad for a start.”

“…….”

Leo scoffed with a face asking where on earth is not bad.

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