Shadowfall Kingdom
Vincent
Kaijuu Ryu’s Laboratory
06:35
I clap my hands once.
“Let’s begin.”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Commander Shizuku—how did you deliver a report dated one month ago when it takes three months by carriage to reach the East Empire?”
“Sir, a single agent can make the journey in one month. We maintain rest stations along the route with fresh horses.”
“I see.”
She steps forward again.
“If I may, Sir.”
“Continue.”
She unfolds a map while Mary holds it steady before me.
“The most likely point of first contact will be here.”
She taps a stretch of barren land.
“Terrain?”
“Mostly flat plains, Sir.”
“How long for our forces to reach it?”
“Two months at full mobilization.”
I nod.
“Commander Lindy.”
“Sir.”
“You have five months. Acquire as many shovels and as much salt as possible. We will march early and establish a forward base in—”
My eyes scan the map.
“—Mayburry.”
“Understood, Sir.”
“Bring every supply you can manage. Also begin manufacturing water manipulation boards and hardened magic rods.”
She hesitates.
“If I may ask, Sir… what are they for?”
“You’ll see. Can I rely on you?”
“Sir, yes Sir!”
I turn the page on my clipboard.
“Former Vice General Richard.”
“Sir.”
“You are now Commander of Cavalry. Select a vice commander from your ranks. Before battle, you will serve as forward scouts. During engagement, your unit will coordinate with the Covert Corps to relay commands to ground divisions.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Dismissed.”
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They salute and depart.
I turn to Shanon and Wilfred.
“Send word throughout the army. I am recruiting volunteers for my personal unit. Volunteers only. Compile a list.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Inform David Karkovsky and the two hundred who arrived with him—they will be the first class. Cap it at three hundred trainees. You two will observe me and replicate what I do. Questions are to be asked privately—not in front of the troops.”
They nod.
“Each training cycle lasts one month. Graduates will assist in training subsequent classes. Once stable, you may return to overseeing the army. We begin in one week.”
“Yes, Sir.”
---
I visited King Raymond next. He had already set aside land for training and erected tents.
The site could house and supply one thousand soldiers comfortably.
Good.
Afterward, I commissioned a blacksmith to forge a large iron bell with a stand.
And so, Monday at 06:00, the first class began.
We weighed every recruit and had them create stone slabs equal to their body weight. Strong rope handles were embedded in two corners before the slabs were left to cure.
Training ran from 06:00 to 18:00 daily—mirroring basic training—but unlike before, they remained on-site overnight.
The remaining ninety positions were filled by the earliest volunteers. Their names, signatures, and registration times were recorded.
Saturday afternoons and all of Sunday were granted as rest.
---
I returned home.
“Honeys, I’m home.”
“Welcome back!”
“Roka, progress?”
“Still unstable. But I discovered something else. I’ll explain tomorrow.”
She isn’t looking at me.
She’s staring at Felmina, who sits unusually quiet.
“Felmina, what’s wrong?”
She lifts her eyes.
“I want to fight. I never told you about my mother, did I?”
I take her hand and lead her to the bedroom, closing the door behind us.
“Tell me.”
“She was a slave once. She escaped over the Misty Mountains. I don’t want that to happen to us again. I won’t be powerless.”
I study her.
“I want to keep you safe.”
“I know. But…”
She straightens.
“What if I complete your elite training? Will you allow me to fight then?”
I pace.
Then stop.
“Fine. But you don’t rely on your gravity suit. Not during training. You cut your hair—it will hinder you in combat. You won’t join the current class. You enter the next one. I will not be your instructor. If you quit, you’re done. Understood?”
“Yes!”
She throws herself at me, arms around my neck, kissing me fiercely.
We return to the main room.
---
Before training began, I had David demonstrate the drug production method.
Magic cores are soaked in a solution: one part SP potion, one part MP potion. Once dried and crushed, they produce the green powder.
I tasked Roka with stabilizing it—removing or reducing the MP drain.
Instead, she discovered something else.
She soaked cores in a mixture of MP, SP, and HP potions.
The result never hardened. It remained sponge-like.
When it contacted her arm—while she wore her gravity suit—it fractured the bone beneath.
Further testing revealed it supercharged magic circles—but the circles burned out afterward, their lines fading as though consumed.
I ordered mass production before departure.
This would accelerate my plans considerably.
---
“Felmina. Come with me.”
It was still early Saturday afternoon.
We made our way to the Beastmen encampment.
Eighteen thousand soldiers trained in organized chaos—bunny ears, wolf tails, feline eyes, and creatures I once fought as monsters now standing as allies.
“I’m looking for Commander Gary.”
“I’ll fetch him, Sir.”
I raise a hand.
“No. Take us to him.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Gary approaches, shifting out of his transformed state as we near.
“Yes, Sir.”
We walk away from the main formation.
“Are these all your troops?”
“No, Sir. Only the purebloods—those capable of full transformation.”
“Numbers?”
“Six thousand five hundred, Sir.”
If that’s 6,500…
And the division totals 18,000…
And I command 90,000 overall…
My head spins.
Felmina steadies me before I walk straight past them.
I recover.
“I have a request. You may refuse.”
Gary waits.
“If Felmina completes elite training, I want her fighting alongside your division.”
His ears twitch.
“One condition. She survives. If she dies, you die. I will accept your refusal.”
He does not flinch.
“I understand, Sir. I will give you my answer next week.”
“Dismissed.”
“Yes, Sir.”
---
On our way back, Felmina speaks quietly.
“What if he refuses?”
“Then you serve in support. But first, survive training.”
She looks uncertain.
“Come Thursday evening. Observe the current class. Next week will test minds more than bodies. If that doesn’t scare you, prove it—cut your hair.”
She nods.
“I understand.”
I stop walking and look at her directly.
“During your second week—around Wednesday or Thursday—you’ll ask yourself why you’re here when you could be anywhere else.”
She swallows.
“You’d better have an answer ready.”
