The lieutenant did not dismiss me immediately after mentioning the princess, which was fortunate. Otherwise, I might have lost myself in thoughts of everything Princess Aurora had achieved, and in the unsettling possibility that she, like me, carried memories from another world.

  Compared to her, I felt insignificant. In both lives.

  My initial fear that some noble might capture me for my knowledge was almost unnecessary, because I hardly knew anything that could make a significant difference. I was only an engineering student who had just begun studying, and in a world of magic crystals and runes, concepts like engines and mechanisms held little value, especially in the army. I was not some ingenious thinker who had memorized forgotten technologies or historical knowledge. In my previous life, I was just a normal college student, nothing more.

  Despite that, talking with the lieutenant and discussing the mission plan, the things I could ask for, and the preparation I needed to do before leaving allowed me to refocus on the mission. And maybe it was my need to prove that I would not remain that same in this life, or maybe it was just mission anxiety, but I was able to come up with a plan that could give my squad a significant advantage and improve the whole squad’s efficiency.

  And that is why I was making my way to the Longhall, even though it was already evening and my squad was currently off duty.

  As I approached, I saw Garran, Varric, Kael, and Barry sitting by the fire, while the new members were sitting off to the side, laughing with far too much energy. It looked like after I left them, they had not trained properly. But it was not like I could control every moment of their time. Hopefully, the first mission would show them why I was forcing them to train so much, especially to train together.

  As they noticed me, the laughter of the new members died down. The two brothers, Rokan and Daren, straightened up when they saw me. I took this as a good sign. They had started to respect me, which was an improvement from their first day.

  “Barry,” I said as I made my way toward him. “Come with me.”

  Barry frowned but stood up. We started making our way toward the sergeant training yard. It had mana lamps and was a perfect place for experimenting with my plan.

  “I need your help. It is related to our new mission,” I said as we walked.

  “What do you want?” Barry asked.

  “I want you to show me your skill, [Silent Step (UC)], and help me create a new rune,” I said.

  This was my plan. I had always wanted to experiment with his skill. If I could expand its effect over a wider area, it would give our squad much-needed stealth in the forest, making it easier to sneak up on some of our targets.

  He smiled. “Look, I like you, Edward, especially with how hard you are trying. It is kind of cute, like a kid getting a new toy. But even so, I have no reason to help you. Any success you get on this mission is not going to help me, so why should I help you?” he said, stopping in the middle as if the conversation was over.

  I matched his smile. “Oh, when I said help, I was just being polite,” I said.

  I covered him with my mana, but this time I did not stop there. I activated my oath badge, causing him a brief flash of pain and wiping the smile from his face. His hand shot up, clutching his chest, and a look of surprise crossed his eyes. It looked like he had not expected me to use the badge without any warning.

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  “I have already told you that squad safety and mission success are my top priorities. Do not keep testing my limits. Next time you plan on turning me down, remember that I will not stop at this small amount of pain.”

  I had to be heavy-handed. Refusing a sergeant’s request, especially when it was mission-related, could get a private punished, let alone someone with Barry’s background. But now that I had shown him my seriousness, it was time to give him some real motivation.

  “Here,” I said, tossing him a rune-reinforced dagger. Barry’s love for small knives was well known. I could almost see stars in his eyes. When I had first given him twenty daggers to train his team. I was sure a new rune-reinforced dagger would do the trick.

  “And if you need more motivation, here are the mission details,” I continued, starting to list the locations and beasts we would encounter. “I will share this information with the team tomorrow, but you can go ahead and tell them. We have two days to prepare, and I think by now you should understand why I am asking for your skill.”

  “Oh, you should have just told me all this earlier,” he said, his tone completely changing. “All my skills are yours. Just tell me what you want.”

  I sighed. Getting Barry to cooperate was difficult, more difficult than dealing with Varric, in some ways. Hopefully, my use of the Mana Oath would spread through the squad and make things easier for me in the future.

  We made our way to the sergeant’s yard.

  I activated my analysis and mana skills: [Operational Cognition (A)], [Perceptive Instinct (UC)], and [Rune Analysis (UC)], to observe exactly what was happening.

  “Start using your skill. Go slowly. Start by walking,” I ordered.

  He began using his skill, and as I observed the mana’s effect and movement in the wind, a small smile formed on my face. The skill worked exactly as I had assumed. He formed a thin film of wind directly around and under his feet. It absorbed nearby vibrations and cushioned the impact, eliminating most of the sound near his steps.

  But the reason I was happy was not just because I understood how his skill worked. It was because I did not need to create something revolutionary. I only needed to reengineer an existing rune: the Aegis Array used on the fort to defend against flying beasts.

  My idea was to create small runes on the boots of the entire squad, allowing them to play a role similar to the role the tower runes play in the Aegis Array for fort defense. Now I needed to figure out how to maintain the connection while in motion, and whether to compress the wind over a small area beneath the feet or over a wider area. Covering a wider area would be easier but would consume far more mana. Compressing the effect beneath each person’s feet would be more efficient but harder to achieve.

  For this experiment, resource cost was not a major concern. The lieutenant had already given me a wind-element crystal and promised more if I succeeded. Still, in the field, being mana-efficient was always better.

  Even with a reference to work from, I had never learned the complete Aegis Array. That was why this experiment with Barry was so useful. I had him walk at different speeds and simulate different terrain, carefully observing mana movement and its effects.

  I noted everything down on a parchment. Once I had recorded all the mana patterns, I dismissed Barry.

  Now came the rune work.

  I activated [Rune Analysis (UC)] and [Operational Cognition (A)], recalling all the rune symbols and their nuances. I knew my starting point would be the wind resonance symbol. This symbol formed the base of the Aegis Array, using wind mana to link the different symbols within the array even when they were separated by distance, and now I needed to see how effective it would be when reduced in size.

  Another idea suddenly crossed my mind. What if I could link multiple shields to create a mobile Aegis Array?

  I shook my head and discarded the thought.

  There was a reason [Silent Step] was my starting point. First, creating a full shield from an Aegis Array was extremely mana-intensive. Even the fort only used it during a Grand Beast Tide. Second, maintaining such a rune would require complete focus from its controller, and that role would fall on me. While I could focus on maintaining the rune while sneaking, as a sergeant, I could not afford to be distracted during active combat.

  Still, if this worked in the future, it would open many possibilities. With enough time, I could even train Private Peter to maintain the array, freeing me to command the squad.

  I took a deep breath and focused back on the small resonance symbol I had drawn on the parchment. Satisfied, I picked up my boots.

  Before I started carving the symbol onto them, I looked up at the night sky, filled with stars.

  It looked like I was about to have a few more sleepless nights.