This was now the morning after yesterday's exciting revelations. Today more instructions would be provided to them by Mr. Hans. Among other things, of course, exercise was still a part of their daily regiment. After that, they went on to more advanced lessons, tactics and whatnot, but more than that they are now up against Mr. Hans himself.
The first task that they were assigned was on how they could counter him as non-magic users.
Of course, try as they may, they of course couldn't. Their instructors wanted them to feel the reality of things in their world. People with magic are always going to be superior in most cases.
It doesn't matter what Hans told them yesterday about them being able to win. That only applies in the most extreme cases.
Sergeant Vorik stood before them as they assembled in the training yard. "Yesterday you learned about magic. Today you'll learn what it's like to face it. Mr. Hans has graciously agreed to serve as your opponent. Your objective is simple. Land one hit on him. Just one. Use any tactic you can think of. Work together, work alone, I don't care. But understand this: you will fail. And that's the point."
The recruits exchanged glances. Just one hit? That didn't sound so hard.
They were wrong.
The first team to try was Alina Team One. They charged in with textbook formation, shields up, spears ready. Hans simply raised his hand, and a wall of water rose from the ground, solid as stone. The recruits crashed into it, their momentum completely stopped. Then the wall became a wave, sweeping them all off their feet and dumping them in a soaking heap ten feet away.
Total time elapsed: fifteen seconds.
Brina watched with wide eyes. That was Himdal's team. The best fighters among the recruits. And they hadn't even gotten close.
Bretta Team One tried next. They attempted a pincer movement, attacking from two sides simultaneously. Hans created two smaller water shields, one for each direction, then sent tendrils of water snaking out to wrap around their ankles and yank them down. Some of the recruits tried to dodge, but the water moved faster than they could react.
Total time: twenty seconds.
"Your turn, Bretta Two," Sergeant Vorik called.
Brina's team gathered in a circle, whispering urgently.
"We need a strategy," Sarah, their team leader, said. "Something he won't expect."
(Sarah was the former team leader of this Bretta 2 which was then replaced by Michael Buurg, who won the coin toss. But now Sarah was put in charge of Bretta 2 again. Michael was just not fit to lead and the recruits in Platoon Bretta Team 2 had complained.)
"He's a water mage," Brina said, thinking out loud. "Mr. Hans told us yesterday that water mages need water to work with. There's not much water here in the training yard. Maybe we can use that."
"How?" Mira asked.
Brina thought about it. "He makes water appear from nowhere, but he said it's actually pulling moisture from the air and ground. What if we distract him with one attack while hitting him with something that works against water?"
"Like what?" Elena asked.
"Earth and fire," Brina said. "Dirt to absorb some of his water, making it harder for him to control. And fire to evaporate it."
The team looked at each other. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was something.
They gathered what they could. Handfuls of dirt in their pouches, arrows with cloth wrapped around the tips that they could set on fire. It looked pathetic, but they had to try.
"Ready?" Sarah asked.
They nodded and spread out.
The attack began with half the team throwing dirt at Hans. He looked almost amused as he raised a water shield, but Brina noticed something. The dirt that hit the water made it murky, harder to see through. That was something, at least.
The other half launched their fire arrows. The flaming projectiles flew through the air, but as they neared Hans, the water shield simply absorbed them. The arrows slowed, the flames sputtered and died, and they dropped harmlessly to the ground.
Brina gritted her teeth. It wasn't working. But at least they'd learned something. The water shield was strong, but it wasn't perfect. It had slowed the arrows down rather than stopping them instantly.
While the others kept up the ranged assault, Brina made a decision. She charged forward, wooden practice sword in hand. If magic was superior at range, maybe at close quarters it was different.
She was wrong about that too.
Hans didn't even look worried as she approached. With a casual gesture, water rose from the ground and wrapped around her legs, stopping her cold. She tried to break free, pushing forward with all her strength, but it was like being trapped in solid ice.
"Good effort, recruit," Hans said calmly. Then the water yanked her off her feet and set her down gently but firmly on her rear.
The rest of her team rushed in, trying to capitalize on her distraction, but Hans was ready for them too. Water tentacles, shields, waves. He controlled the battlefield completely, and within a minute, all of Bretta Team Two was on the ground, soaking wet and defeated.
But there are indeed loopholes to such madness, especially against humans with weaker understanding in mana. They could most definitely overpower them with numbers, as long as they played it smart.
The instructors called this tactic exhausting your enemy with tenacity and human endurance, in short human wave tactic!
Over the next few days, the exercises continued. The recruits tried every strategy they could think of. Attacking from multiple angles. Feinting. Ambushes. Using the terrain. Nothing worked. Hans adapted to everything they threw at him.
But Brina started to notice things. Small things, but important.
When all four teams attacked at once, totaling over a hundred recruits, Hans actually struggled. Not much, but his movements became less fluid. His breathing got heavier. Sweat appeared on his brow. He was being pushed to his limits, even if he wasn't admitting it.
"He's holding back," Brina said to Elena one evening as they nursed their bruises. "He could probably kill us all if he wanted to, but he's pulling his punches. That means there's a limit. If we were stronger, if we had better weapons, if we coordinated better..."
"We still probably wouldn't win," Elena finished. "But we could make him work for it."
"Exactly."
The training was brutal, but educational. They learned that water shields could be overwhelmed with enough force applied at once. They learned that Hans needed to see them to target them effectively. They learned that he couldn't maintain multiple complex spells simultaneously without losing some control.
They learned that even magic had limits.
Though it was, as they say, highly unlikely that they would come across many Arkanians in the island, as the only ones here, at least legally known, are hired by the kingdom and its settlements.
Those that aren't though are probably Arkanians with a nefarious background.
But mostly they are training to counter and fight beasts who have magic.
One afternoon, Sergeant Vorik gathered them for a tactical discussion.
"You've all been fighting Mr. Hans for days now," he said. "And you've all failed. But I want you to think about what you've learned. What weaknesses did you observe? What strategies showed promise, even if they didn't succeed?"
Himdal spoke up first. "He struggles when we attack from multiple directions simultaneously. His water shields can't cover everything at once."
"Good," Vorik said. "What else?"
"He needs concentration," Sarah added. "When we forced him to defend against ranged attacks while also dealing with close combat, he made mistakes. Small ones, but they were there."
"Also good. Feldwyn, you've been quiet. What did you notice?"
Brina thought about it. "He gets tired. Not as fast as we do, but when all of us attacked together, I could see it. His magic isn't unlimited. If we could wear him down, exhaust his mana reserves, he'd become more vulnerable."
Vorik nodded. "All correct observations. Now here's the reality. In the field, you will likely never face a magic user alone. They're rare, at least here on the island, they're valuable, and they're usually protected. If you encounter one, it will probably be a beast with natural magical abilities. Those beasts don't have Hans's intelligence or tactical thinking, but they also don't hold back. They will try to kill you."
He let that sink in.
"The tactics you're developing here, the coordination, the understanding of magical limitations, these will save your lives. Remember: magic users are powerful, but they're not invincible. They too would tire eventually. They too can make mistakes. They can also be overwhelmed. Your job is to survive long enough to exploit those weaknesses."
After the discussion, they went back to fighting Hans. This time, with their new understanding, they did slightly better. They still didn't land a hit, but they lasted longer. Forced him to work harder. Made him sweat more.
Hans, for his part, seemed pleased with their progress. After one particularly brutal session where all four teams attacked in coordinated waves, he called for a break.
"You're learning," he said, breathing heavily. "I'm impressed. When you all first started, you lasted seconds. Now you're lasting minutes. That might not sound like much, but in real combat, every second counts."
He paused, looking at them seriously. "Let me tell you something. Out there, beyond this island, there are mages and warriors far more powerful and more capable than me. Archmages who could level this entire town with a thought. Sorcerers who've mastered multiple elements. Wizards who are so specialized in their field that they've transcended normal limitations."
The recruits shifted uncomfortably.
"But even they have weaknesses. Even they can be killed. I've seen it happen. A group of skilled warriors, working together, understanding magic's limitations, they brought down a sorcerer who'd been terrorizing a region for years. It wasn't easy. Many of them died, tens of thousands in the process. But they succeeded because they were smart, they were coordinated, and they never gave up."
He looked around at all of them. "That's what I'm trying to teach you. Not that you'll win every fight. But you can fight. That you have a chance, if you're willing to work for it no matter how slim victory could be."
This would continue for a few more days, with every single recruit not even managing to touch Mr. Hans one bit. All of them failed and realized how far the gap really was, how unfair the world is in some sense.
Hans, although he was struggling to keep up with the numbers, was actually pretty decent. He learned something about himself and how he really shouldn't underestimate people, no matter how weak they were. He could see it in the recruits' eyes. They were burning with the desire to hit him even once. The thought itself was pretty scary indeed.
He wondered how he would fare if this was an actual fight and these weren't just mere recruits but veteran specialized warriors armed with magical infused and enhanced weapons and armor.
Thankfully, this place doesn't have such people, but they do indeed have veterans who could definitely give him some trouble, like the instructors here. He could see it from their bearing and vibe. He would likely lose an arm or two if he fought them.
And he might die if the whole town's guard came after him.
Well, those were just some of his thoughts. He had much to improve in himself. Beyond this island was a continent full of people like him who could use mana, and there are truly people you could call monsters among men out there. Not to mention there are other races more powerful than normal human beings. Humanoids and Demi-Humans.
Thankfully, those beings aren't as united, with only a small pocket having legitimate kingdoms. Imagine if these beings united under a single banner. Most kingdoms would perish. Maybe even the Empire of Elms-Arkanus would struggle, though they have very powerful individuals there. Not to mention the Emperor, his dukes, and his army are the cream of the crop among the human race.
Thankfully, these recruits here are far away enough not to worry about such problems. This island was secure for the most part, with the mainland's influence slow in reaching here, the island doesn't have much to offer at least in most leaders perspectives.
Back to Brina's perspective, all she could say was wow and what the hell. Even with all four teams, they didn't manage to land a single hit. And it seems every time they fight, Mr. Hans would evolve, but it must be because of his experience or he could just be that good.
On the final day of the exercise, Mr. Hans gathered them all together.
"You've all done well," he said. "Better than I expected, honestly. You haven't landed a hit on me, but that was never really the goal. The goal was to learn. To understand. To adapt. And you've done that."
He smiled. "In a few years, if we meet again, who knows? Maybe one of you will actually tag me."
Brina found herself smiling too. She might never have magic. She might never be as powerful as an Arkanian. But she could learn. She could improve. She could become strong in her own way.
That was enough for now.
"Thank you, Mr. Hans," she called out.
He nodded to her. "Thank you, recruit. You've reminded me why I should never underestimate anyone, regardless of their power level."
As they dispersed for the day, Elena nudged Brina. "Think we'll ever actually beat someone with magic?"
Brina thought about it. "Maybe not alone. But together? With the right strategy, the right timing, the right teamwork? Yeah. I think we could."
"That's the spirit."
Phase Two continued with new lessons, new challenges, new growth. But the lesson they learned from Hans stayed with them.
Magic was powerful. But so was determination, intelligence, and unity.
And those were things no spell could take away.