Following the summons, Numa walked towards Captain Elric's tent. Apart from the two guards standing in front of the entrance and the red roof, Captain Elric's tent was no different than the tents of regular soldiers. So it was fairly easy to spot.
Before Numa entered the tent, he stopped for a minute. Took a deep breath, fixed his clothes, his hair, and even tightened his boots. This was the first time he had ever met directly with someone like Captain Elric, so he tried to relax his mind and body, as best as he could.
One of the guards had been patiently watching Numa's strange behavior for a while now. He finally decided to ask, "What are you doing, soldier?"
"Uh...Captain Elric summoned me," answered Numa.
"What's your name?"
"Numa, sir."
"Wait here," said the guard sternly as he opened the entrance and headed inside. Less than a minute later, the guard came back and said, "Come in. The Captain has been expecting you."
"Okay. Here we go," said Numa to himself as he entered the tent.
Captain Elric was working behind a fairly large table, with a stack of papers scattered around its surface. The fact that Captain Elric had slain the leader of the Beastmen's troops earlier, and now he was stuck with a bunch of paperwork, was quite amusing to Numa.
"Captain, Legionnaire Numa reporting as ordered," said Numa as he straightened his back and placed his right fist to his left chest.
"At ease, soldier," said Captain Elric without looking up from his paperwork. "I've heard from several soldiers that you did something remarkable in today's battle, didn't you, Numa?"
"Just trying to survive as best as I could out there, sir."
"There's no need to be humble with me, kid. You played a huge role in subjugating two powerful beastmen, didn't you?" asked Captain Elric. This time, he looked Numa straight in the eyes.
"..."
"Unfortunately for you, or maybe it's fortunate depending on how you see it," said Captain Elric, smiling, "you attracted the attention of one of the Magick Knights."
"I was indeed saved by a Magick Knight today, sir," said Numa, remembering the terrifying yet impressive events that unfolded during the battle today. "But I don't know the name of that Magick Knight. Is he the one that you talked about?"
"His name is Jules. He is....an annoying fellow. But as you said, he is indeed strong. Too strong for his own good." Captain Elric appeared to be finished with his paperwork. He shoved the papers to the side and was now ready to talk face-to-face with Numa. "By the way, he was not just any other Magick Knight. He is a Spellblade. Do you know what a Spellblade is, kid?"
"No, sir. I'm not familiar with the ranks within the Magick Knights Corps."
"Spellblade is two ranks above a regular Magick Knight. Right below a Captain. That means he is not only strong, but he also holds quite a bit of authority within the Magick Knight Corps."
"You seem to be familiar with Sir Jules, sir."
"He and I go way back. But even though my rank is higher than his, he is still as impertinent as ever," explained Captain Elric with a tad higher voice than before. "Take a look at this request, for example. The audacity of that man."
"A request, sir?" asked Numa.
Captain Elric let out an audible sigh. "He wants to recruit you into the Magick Knight Corps."
"Me? sir? Why?"
"He said he was impressed with how you fought earlier. And by the way, I read through your military application form. You never mentioned anything about the ability to use magic here," said Captain Elric while pointing his finger at the only piece of paper in front of him. "Why? Do you want to hide it or something?"
"No, sir. That was not my intention," answered Numa as he avoided Elric's piercing gaze. "My magic is not that impressive. It's just a simple body-strengthening magic that I often used to help me do chores around the farm."
"Well, Jules clearly thought otherwise."
As if he had been waiting for somebody to mention his name, Sir Jules, the esteemed Spellblade of the Magick Knight Corps, entered the tent with a shout. "HEY ELRIC, WHERE'S THE KID THAT I TALKED TO YOU ABOUT EARLIER? ARE YOU TRYING TO HIDE HIM FROM ME?"
"LOWER YOUR VOICE, YOU BRUTE!" shouted Captain Elric back to Sir Jules. This was the first time Numa ever saw the charismatic Captain losing his composure and yelling at someone. It was quite amusing to see.
"A brute? Me? Hah. That's rich coming from somebody who recklessly soloed a damn Gorilla this morning," said Sir Jules while exaggerating his facial expression. He clearly enjoyed getting a rise out of Captain Elric.
"I'm talking to him right now, Jules. Be patient. I haven't even explained to him about your transfer request yet?"
"What is there to talk about? Being a Magick Knight is the greatest honor a soldier could ever hope for." Sir Jules looked to the side for the first time since he barged into the Captain's tent, and finally noticed Numa standing there, silent. "Ah, there you are, kid. Come on, we need to go to the Magick Knight HQ right away."
"No, sir, I'm sorry I-"
"I disagree with this decision, Sir Jules," said another Magick Knight who had been standing quietly behind Sir Jules all this time. He looked at Numa deeply, judging the young man with his scornful eyes. "I don't understand what makes you so impressed with this soldier, Sir. I heard he only knows a body-strengthening magic. That magic is the epitome of averageness. Somebody like him does not deserve to wear the proud crimson armor of a Magick Knight. I'm sure he was just lucky with the Beasts."
Sir Jules listened to his junior attentively. He then glanced at Captain Elric and noticed the same doubt gleaming in his eyes. "I see both of you are still unsure about my decision regarding this young man." Sir Jules looked at them both back and forth and let out a little smirk. "You just haven't seen him in action as I did. Bah! I don't like explaining things with words. So I'll just let you see what I saw."
After saying that, Sir Jules's body immediately glowed a faint red light. He looked at Numa, smiled, and then unleashed a powerful punch with his left arm. The target of his fist was none other than the young man who had been the topic of conversation in that camp.
Numa couldn't see Sir Jules' movements at all. He was not even sure that he was the target of the Spellblade's attack. However, he instinctively raised his guards, as he did during the Bear attack, and activated the spell that he had been using since he was a child.
"Avara!"
A loud boom filled the tent, followed by a gust of wind that lifted every speck of dust in the room, creating a thin layer of fog that obscured the visions of the people inside. Even the two guards outside decided to peek through the small gap at the entrance, wondering what the commotion was all about.
Before anyone could say anything, a sword swiftly penetrated the fog and landed inches away from Sir Jules' neck. "What the fuck was that?" There was an unmistakable gleam of anger in the Captain's eyes. "Why would you do that? We've known each other for a long time, but I swear to the Gods if you just injured a promising soldier on impulse, you won't walk away unscathed."
"BAHAHAHAHA," the Spellblade was still in a cheery mood, not even caring about Elric's sword that was ready to slice his neck. "Will you relax, Captain Reckless? Look at the kid. He's fine! Besides, I didn't even hit him with half of my power. Not even close." Sir Jules also pulled his doubtful junior to his side and pointed in Numa's direction. "You too, Myre, look at the kid!"
Once the dust settled, the three could finally see Numa clearly. The young man was still in a full guard position. His body emanated a faint blue light. The impact of the punch knocked him back quite a bit, leaving a noticeable trail where his feet met the dirt. But other than that, there was not a scratch on his body.
There was a mix of awe and surprise in the air, particularly from the wide-eyed Elric and Myre. Jules, however, had a full-blown smug smile on his face.
"That was a remarkable reaction speed, wasn't it?" said Jules as he looked at Numa with pride. "Sure, his magic is not that impressive, at least not at first glance, but he has an immaculate reaction speed. With proper training, he would be able to harness that magic to enhance his combat ability. I'm sure he would become a beneficial addition to the Magick Knight Corps."
"I hate to admit it, but I agree with Jules. Good job, kid," said Elric as he pulled his sword away from Jules' neck and unsheathed it.
Myre couldn't say a word. On one hand, he disliked the idea of letting a random low-level soldier join the Magick Knight Corps, but on the other hand, he couldn't refute what he just saw. He knew very well how devastating Sir Jules' punch could be. Withstanding that attack without a scratch was an impressive feat indeed.
"Alright, now that we've settled that issue. Let's go, kid. Off we go to the Magick Knight HQ," said Jules happily to Numa.
"I-I'm sorry, sir. I'm really flattered that you think so highly of me, but I don't think I could join the Magick Knight Corps," said Numa with a concerned look on his face.