Tucker felt the wind brush against his face as he stood in the empty courtyard. There was a subtle change in the atmosphere around the city, one that pulled down on the hearts of every soldier. The Empire’s army was marching towards them, drawing closer with each passing day. The watchmen, his brothers and sisters, were fighting behind enemy lines, doing their best to stall the enemy’s army for as many days as possible, but there was only so much they could do.

  They had done their duty and bought as much time as possible. The past few weeks of peace they had were because of the watchmen’s grueling victories. Yet there was a limit to how many battles they could win. He couldn’t bring himself to ask the others how they felt, knowing that their comrades were fighting desperately in the shadows of the Empire. But to him, it was insufferable.

  With the little free time he had, Tucker knew he needed to train. To prepare for the worst-case scenario, because if they fell here, then many more lives would be in danger. However, in his hands was a small black envelope with a silver owl hovering below a golden crown. The scholar’s seal pressed the wax onto the letter, leaving behind an imprint of a linen-wrapped closed book on the crimson surface.

  Parts of him wanted to read the letter from Charles, but now wasn’t the time. The thirty-first platoon was resting, and with the Empire’s army drawing near, he had to use every minute he could. Unlike others who wrote countless letters to their loved ones, he believed it was better to use each fleeting moment, no matter how faint, to train so they could return home.

  He carefully unbuckled the strap, keeping his leather pouch closed, and gently placed the envelope inside. In his free time, he had created an area of effect attack while training against his men’s shieldwall, but after many exchanges, he realized there was a crucial flaw. It covered a large area. However, the attack lacked the punch to deal a decisive blow.

  The technique of severing the thread into thin needles and tightening them to increase their sharpness and durability was great at first. That was until the soldiers grew accustomed to his attacks and strengthened their aura with Benjamin’s guidance. Now it hardly made a dent in their defenses, which spoke volumes as to how effective it would be in the upcoming battles. If a group of individuals could endure his attack after a few weeks of training, then the Empire’s forces wouldn’t even bat an eye.

  It was better to overestimate one’s enemy and win a swift victory than to be underprepared and suffer a crushing defeat.

  That was the philosophy Tucker had adopted and one he ingrained into the mindset of his men. Yet in the darkest corners of his mind, there was a doubt that had taken form.

  What if it wasn’t enough?

  What if it was all pointless in the end?

  His stomach churned at the thoughts that plagued his mind. He saw the young faces of the thirty-first, young men like him that had yet to see the world. They had overcome everyone’s expectations, and maybe with just a little more time, the soldiers under his command would grow beyond leaps and bounds. But now their training would have to be put on hold.

  Tucker stared at the moon until a soft tapping noise entered his ears. He faced the direction the sound came from, observing Benjamin approach him while curling the end of his mustache. The old man’s gaze was pure and held a light as old as time. It was hard to understand what Luka meant when he said Benjamin’s memory was ailing, but after watching the knight slayer, Tucker slowly pieced together the puzzle.

  Benjamin struggled with simple tasks, yet was remarkable when it came to battle. If Tucker had a say, he would suggest that the knight slayer retire from the field. But such a thing wasn’t possible. He didn’t have the right to voice his thoughts when they needed every last ounce of manpower.

  “Ohohoh, Captain! I didn’t expect to see you here at this time and this place!” Benjamin’s lips rose to where they met his eyes. “It’s a pleasure to see you in good health, sir.” The old man brought his hand to his forehead and gave a simple salute, which Tucker returned.

  “It’s good to see you too, knight slayer. How are things with the militia?” Tucker asked.

  “The who now?” Benjamin raised a brow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

  “Ah, I mean, how are the kids doing?”

  The old man hit the palm of his hand with his fist. “Yes, yes, I remember now! They’re doing fine swinging their swords and such. I would say they’ll be great watchmen one day.” As Benjamin finished his sentence, he subtly glanced to the left and right before leaning in closer to Tucker. He kept an open hand to the side of his mouth as Tucker hunched over to listen. “But I do say… has the standard of our Order dropped so much? Back in my days, we used to scale mountains with our bare hands and had mages bombard our positions.”

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  “It was the same during my time as well… but you know how it is. We’re tight on resources, which is why we have to do our best with what we have, knight slayer.”

  “Alas, those bastards from the Empire didn’t learn their lesson!” Benjamin spat on the ground and stomped on the dirt. “We should’ve chased those pillaging bastards all the way to their capital. I knew they were bad folks the moment they poisoned their wells.”

  Tucker slowly furrowed his brows. “What? Weren’t we the ones that did that?”

  “Were we?” Benjamin asked, tilting his head. “I don’t know, I don’t remember, to be honest.”

  Tucker slowly exhaled and patted the old man’s shoulders. This was what Luka meant. “Besides that, I believe you said that you would help me with my training. Do you have any advice as to what I can improve?”

  Benjamin tilted his head from side to side, swaying his body left and right. After a short ponder, he opened his mouth. “Have you trained your sight?”

  “My sight? I can see perfectly fine.”

  “Hm… yes, that is true, but not exactly what I mean. What have you learned from your mentors?” Benjamin asked.

  The Captain scratched the back of his head. “If anything, I learned not to make unnecessary movements and mind games in swordplay.”

  “I see, I see.” Benjamin nodded. “Then you haven’t trained your sight at all.”

  Tucker’s eyes followed the knight slayer’s movements as the old man reached for his sword. The silver luster glowed in the dim moonlight, and in the courtyard's vastness, a chill ran down his back. Something had changed about the old man. His goofy and kind demeanor had vanished. Even the warmth from his eyes faded into darkness.

  The young watchman’s hand reached for his sword, but right as he touched the iron hilt, a clean cut had severed his hand from his wrist. Tucker’s heart pounded like a hammer striking a wall, and for an instant, it seemed like darkness had engulfed the moon. Yet as he remained frozen, the surroundings slowly shifted back to normal, and his hand was still there. Resting on the hilt of his blade. Tucker blinked, and the racing pain in his body faded. There was no blood, no wound, just the ghost of a strike that was never there to begin with.

  What just happened? Was it an illusion?

  Tucker released his grip and stared at his once severed hand as the numbing sensation faded. His gaze fell on Benjamin, who returned to his carefree self.

  “Hohoho, it seems you saw that for an instance, so maybe your sight isn’t that bad after all,” said Benjamin.

  “What was that?” Tucker asked.

  “It’s intent,” Benjamin replied with a smile, swinging his sword to the side. “When a person draws their weapon and attacks someone else, there is a purpose in their moves. You can see it in how their muscles react. Some people react as if an attack is coming to them, but to see is to realize the intent before they swing.”

  “So… like killing intent?” Tucker asked, but soon felt a slight pain in his left arm. His gaze shifted to the small cut that was just below his shoulders.

  “No, no, killing intent is vastly different compared to this.” Benjamin lowered his stance and pulled back the arm holding his sword, with the other held out front.

  At a glance, Tucker could see that Benjamin planned to stab him, but the question was where? He scanned all the possible angles of attack, his eyes widening in surprise as a series of blade marks appeared on his body, all from different directions. It wasn’t possible to block all the attacks at once. Even if he used his aura, Benjamin’s was far more refined. The only option was to retreat, but would the old man let him do such a thing?

  The answer never came as Benjamin returned to his normal stance while sheathing his sword. He grinned and said, “To see is to understand what the other person is trying to accomplish in their attacks. If you ran, I would have chased you down like a starving beast. Forcing you into a position where you have nowhere to run.”

  “Then what should I have done?” Tucker asked.

  “Find the line, the path that my sword will move in.”

  “I don’t get what you mean. Isn’t that what I did when I saw your blade marks aimed at my body?”

  Benjamin shook his head. “That’s just noise. I only have one sword, so I can only hit one location at a time. It just seemed like I would land that many hits, but those are just mind games on drugs.” He waved his hand to the side and waddled past Tucker. “I have to go train the kiddos now, but think about what I just said. You’re a smart Captain, so you’ll figure it out.”

  “Thanks,” Tucker spoke with the utmost respect as the old man wandered in the wrong direction. Parts of him wanted to direct Benjamin in the right way to meet the soldiers of the thirty-first, but seeing the veteran merrily make his way through the barracks made him drop the thought.

  He scratched the back of his head, rustling his wavy brown hair and letting out a deep sigh. Thinking back to their exchange, Tucker couldn’t help but try to interpret Benjamin’s words. What did Benjamin mean when he told him to find the line? How would he even distinguish the path his opponent would take? There were so many more questions piling on top of what was already on his mind.

  Yet, a trace of excitement flashed through his eyes. It was a new concept that he had not learned. One that could prove useful when he least expected it. After solidifying his third star, he needed to begin preparations for forming his fourth star. Unlike forming magic circles by gathering mana within one’s mind. Aura required a different approach, one that many had yet to fully understand.

  His third star had solidified after his last mission with Alex and Blaire, but when it came to his fourth star, Tucker didn’t know what would give it shape. All he knew was that it increased one’s aura reserves and made the individuals stronger. There was the occasion where aura users would go beyond that and add a unique property to their aura, but that was something he had heard rumors about.

  He closed his eyes and visualized the three stars within his body.

  It wasn’t like the magic circles that resided in his mind or the spirit essence that rested in his heart. Instead, they drifted within the vessel freely. However, something unexpected had happened. Something else was in his body besides the three stars, another fragment of aura far weaker than the rest.

  It caught him off guard, but after a moment, Tucker knew exactly what it was. The fragment was the start of his fourth star. A glimmer of hope in his sea of doubts.