Chapter 98: Malia's time at the academy
The Hasker family is considered as a pure military family. In its long line, there were never court officials that appeared in their house.
The noble houses not just serve as lords of the land. Their members serve in both military and political systems of the kingdom. There are some houses that were well suited for military, while some were suited for court politcs.
The Hasker family belongs to the military and they were not alone in that way. Even the Frostwolf family belongs to this category. Magnus's siblings are now serving in the military after they completed their five-year course at the academy.
There are some schemers in the Frostwolf family but they are nothing. If one thinks that the elders of the Frostwolf family are playing chess, they should go to the court and see what real chess playing is. In front of those court officials, these elders would falter within three moves.
Some families are best left for those politics and soem were left alone for military. This was something many accepted. Even if one member of the family tries to do the opposite, there would be no problem. They can do so but there is no way for them to go further into the core circle.
These seats would always belong to the families that are in their circle.
For a commoner, military would be more welcoming than the court. In those mind games, those commoners would lose 99.9%. There was a little chance of success but the achievements would be very much lower than they could in the military.
In the military, as long as you have strength, you would be accepted. There was no other criteria needed.
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To Malia who grew up hearing tales of their heroic family ancestors, the best way to serve the nation was by being able to reach the top. The more people could reach the top ranks, the better it is for the kingdom. She like her family aims to serve in the military and to do so one has to be powerful.
There are always deaths when it comes to the military. They have to secure the borders of the kingdom, not only from the border kingdoms but also from the monsters that roam the lands.
Every once in a while there would be some monsters which would inevitably run into human habitats. The military has to clear them.
Though there are adventurers who usually hunt these monsters around towns and cities, most of these adventurers are not strong enough to hunt powerflll monsters. WHat they can clean are cannon fodder and nothing else.
Moreover, adventurers act alone most of the time. There are a few teams but that doesn't create cohesion between them while fighting. In large scale battles, team co-operation is very much needed.
So whenever there was a monster tide or traces of possible monster tide to appear, military would come and clean the surroundings.
Unlike the adventurers, who can retreat whenever they wanted to, the military can't. They have to make a stand because once they lose, a lot of humans would be buried forever forgotten.
However, if the military falters, it would cause unrest in the kingdom. It was one thing to fail and die but faltering is another thing. They would stand till the last man, when there is danger and people lives are at stake.
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When she attempted the entrance exam for the academy, she was so sure that she would be the top rank among the newcomers but she was wrong. There was someone stronger than her. She could only settle for the second rank.
She didn't accept the result, but she was not a bitch who would try to destroy her opponent in other ways. No, for her having an opponent in the academy is the best-case scenario rather than being at the first rank.
Now she would have a target to reach, otherwise, it would be a boring five years for her. This was perfect for her. She made her academy goal to defeat the top ranker, Magnus Frostwolf.
As the academy monthly exams were held, the more exited she became. Magnus was able to retain his frst rank everytime. No matter who the opponent was, he was able to defeat everyone.
If anyone has thought that the entrance exam rank was by luck, then he has proven that that was not the case and he gained that rank because he was powerful.
This was further cemented his position as the top ranker. The first two tests may be unavailable to watch but the third part of the half-year test, Duel was open to all to watch.
They all saw how Magnus easily handled Dorian, who was alos from class 1-A. They all saw how strong Dorian was with the occassional fights he would have with the nobles from every class. He was not weak but infront of Magnus, he was an ant that can easily be crushed.
Not everyone would have observed the match. Magnus didn't attack for teh first few minutes. He only evaded all those strikes from Dorian. The staff should have saw but the students wouldn't properly see what exactly Magnus did.
He gave the first chance to Dorian on purpose. It was not just the first chance but a few chances to hit him but Dorian failed. After that Dorian was taken down in two strikes.
Many would have thought that Magnus stood a long time against Dorian and defeated him but only a few saw that Magnus could have defeated Dorian in seconds but didn't do so.
In the entire first year, there are no rivals for him. Maybe even many of the second years may falter before him.
Malia didn't get disappointed, rather the fire in her eyes burned brighter. She saw a milestone that she has a to reach while looking at Magnus.