Despite her questionable behavior as a branch leader, Izroth knew that the woman before him was not simple. The number of named NPCs that he had come across in RML that had their rank and level hidden were few and far between. Izroth did not know why such an individual would be a minor commander for the General Support Unit; however, if what Tenze said about the branch's relaxed atmosphere was authentic, Izroth had a good idea behind Seraphina's presence there.
After a few moments passed, Seraphina noticed that Izroth was still not moving away. He just stood there with a carefree smile on his face.
This was not the first time Izroth had dealt with someone like Seraphina. The more words one used with someone like her, the further away they'd drift from their initial purpose. Therefore, the best response was silence.
"Tch…" Seraphina clicked her tongue and looked off to the side.
She then released a long sigh as she rubbed the back of her head and said, "You're persistent, you know? Fine, I got it. I got it already! I'll register you. Go stand in front of the window and place your hand on it." Seraphina covered her mouth as she yawned and pointed to the window right next to the General Support Unit's information counter.
Izroth followed Seraphina's instructions and approached the window that had a mirror, which displayed his reflection. Soon, Izroth's image disappeared as a blinking red orb in the form of a handprint emerged at the mirror's center.
"Place your hand on it and confirm that you want to join the General Support Unit. After that—well, just do whatever you want. Ah, my sweet precious sleep… I was having such a good dream too…" Seraphina stated as she put her head back down on the information counter and closed her eyes.
At the same time, Izroth placed his hand on the handprint as a surge of energy briefly spread throughout his body before quickly dispersing. A few seconds later, a robotic voice rang out that came directly from the mirror in front of him.
"Player recognized as Izroth. Event recognized as War of the Titans. War Branch is currently unassigned. Do you wish to be assigned to the General Support Unit?" The robot voice echoed.
"Yes," Izroth confirmed.
"One moment, please… Error. Player's recorded value exceeds that of the General Support Unit's maximum criteria. Player is unable to be assigned to the General Support Unit. War Brigade is highly recommended."
Exceeded value? Unable to be assigned? Izroth inwardly furrowed his brows. He did not know that there was a maximum criterion that the General Support Unit had set. The voice had also recommended to him which branch he should join! Wasn't this practically forcing him to choose the War Brigade?!
Seraphina's ears twitched when she overheard the voice from the registration system as she slowly sat up straight. This was the first time she heard of the registration system rejecting someone and redirecting them to a different branch.
"You haven't even joined the General Support Unit, and you're already making me do more work than usual, you know?" Seraphina grumbled as she stood to her feet and gently rubbed her sleepy eyes.
Seraphina walked straight forward, and when she came into contact with the information counter, she phased right through it as if nothing was there! When Izroth witnessed this, he immediately thought that it was spatial magic. However, if that were the case, Izroth would have seen signs of it from the ripples in space due to his Spatial Awareness skill. But, there was not so much as a single fluctuation. He was also confident that the information counter was as solid as could be. Unless there was some hidden magic inscription in place, Seraphina's real strength might be even more terrifying than he initially imagined.
'Could it be… Matter manipulation magic? I read a bit about it, but it's an extreme rarity because of the difficulty it requires to master even the basics. This person is not an ordinary commander.'
If what Izroth speculated about Seraphina was accurate, he found it hard to believe that she would deliberately be assigned as a commander. After all, Amaharpe was a strong kingdom; but, it was not powerful to the point that it could afford to overlook someone of Seraphina's nature.
"Hey, stupid thing, why is this the first I hear of any criteria?" Seraphina said as she stood next to Izroth before the mirror.
'Will it even respond to being called-'
"Applicant's fame in Amaharpe is too high. Applicant identified to hold the title Protector of Amaharpe." Against Izroth's expectations, the mirror responded!
Meanwhile, Seraphina seemed momentarily surprised by the mirror's response. But it only lasted for a short moment. However, she had to say that she did not expect someone with the title of Protector of Amaharpe to join the General Support Unit willingly. To acquire that title was not easy by any means. Nevertheless…
"Are you messing with me, stupid thing? How is that enough to be denied entry into my prestigious General Support Unit? Huh? You picking a fight with me or something? Do you think I won't take you apart here and now?" Seraphina scowled as she placed both her hands on the mirror as if she were arguing with an actual person.
"Violence is never the answer to-" The robotic voice spoke out; however, midway through, Seraphina's hands started to phase through and sink into the mirror as a smug grin appeared on her face.
"Applicant is in possession of a Golden Lustrum Imperial Token." The robotic voice quickly stated. After she received her answer, Seraphina removed her hands from the mirror.
'This woman… Did she just threaten an automated system?'
As this thought passed through Izroth's head, Seraphina spoke in a monotone voice with a dead expression in her eyes as she said, "Why does the owner of a Golden Lustrum Imperial Token want to join the General Support Unit?"
Who did not know of the prestige brought about by owning one of those tokens?! Individuals who held onto a Golden Lustrum Imperial Token would represent the Mortal Realm in the upcoming Lustrum Imperial Bout. Since they acted as representatives for the entire realm, they were naturally treated as heroes by the various kingdoms and deserved a great deal of respect. After all, surviving that brutal selection process was one thing, but placing within the top ten was a whole other story.
"I will tell you now; you are better off joining the War Brigade as this thing recommended. Do you know about war ranks?" Seraphina asked.
"I know a thing or two about them. However, some parts remain unanswered." Izroth responded.
Seraphina sighed with a bothered appearance on her face. Five minutes—if this guy came five minutes later, then she would not have had to go through all of this and do so much unnecessary work! But, since he possessed a Golden Lustrum Imperial Token, Seraphina could already feel a headache coming on from "certain people" if she just shooed him away.
"Listen carefully as I'll only explain it once…" Seraphina went on to reveal to Izroth how war ranks worked.
'Interesting. Simple, but overall efficient.'
According to Seraphina, there were a total of ten war ranks. The lowest and most common, which made up the vast majority of the fighting force, were Soldiers. All Soldiers started at the rank of 10th class and could work their way up to 1st class. After reaching 1st class, there was a chance for them to be promoted to a 5-Man Squad Leader. Just as its name stated, that person would be in charge of a 5-man group that would consist of Soldiers. Next was the 10-Man Squad Leader. This individual would command and oversee two 5-Man Squad Leaders, as well as the Soldiers under them, all of who would have to report to the 10-Man Squad Leader. This command structure continued in this way to the very top with those of a lower rank being directly supervised by someone who was a rank above them.
The rest of the war ranks after the 10-Man Squad Leader, from lowest to highest went Lieutenant, Captain, Commander, General, High General, Warlord, and lastly, Warmaster.
There was only one Warmaster per kingdom, and they were the supreme commanders who held the final word over war-related matters. For example, this time around, the Warmaster of the Proximus kingdom was the one who made the war declaration, King Zenrou Proximus.
In the end, the command structure for every war rank looked something as followed:
[Warmaster: 1][Commands: 2 Warlords \u0026 180,000+ Troops]
[Warlords:2 ][Commands: 3 High Generals \u0026 90,000+ Troops]
[High Generals: 6][Commands: 5 Generals \u0026 15,000+ Troops]
[Generals: 30][Commands: 5 Commanders \u0026 3,000+ Troops]
[Commanders: 150][Commands: 8 Captains \u0026 1,200+ Troops]
[Captains: 1,200][Commands: 3 Lieutenants \u0026 150+ Troops]
[Lieutenants: 3,600][Commands: 5 10-Man Squad Leaders \u0026 50+ Troops]
[10-Man Squad Leaders(Soldier 1st Class): *[1]18,000][Commands: 2 5-Man Squad Leaders \u0026 10 Troops]
[5-Man Squad Leaders(Soldier 1st Class): *36,000][Commands: 5 Soldiers \u0026 *5 Troops]
[Soldiers 1st-10th Class: 175,000+][Commands: None \u0026 0 Troops]
Since all Squad Leaders were technically Soldiers 1st Class, their numbers were naturally included along with normal Soldiers. However, with players joining the branches, these numbers would surely change over time.
While Amaharpe, Proximus, and their various allies' armies were tied together, one still had to respect the set command structure. This meant that if a High General from Proximus wanted to give an order to a General from Amaharpe, unless instructed otherwise by their own superior, they would have to carry out that order. This type of situation, however, usually only occurred in the middle of a chaotic battle. Of course, the exception to this rule was the General Support Unit since they acted independently for the most part.
"I will be upfront—no matter how much you struggle, the highest war rank you can acquire in the General Support Unit is Captain. Ah, but even if you do get Captain, the troops are busy doing my portion of work-…" Seraphina quickly cleared her throat.
She then continued, "…Our numbers are stretched too thin. So, don't think that I can afford to give you 150 people to command. Of course, if you can gather your own people, then I won't complain. Even knowing this, do you still want to join the General Support Unit?" Seraphina asked.
"I only need to know one thing. Will you restrict my movement?" Izroth questioned.
Commanding numerous unknown individuals? War ranks? Were such things necessary? Izroth's primary purpose when it came to selecting a branch was only one thing—to move freely without restriction!
"Ha? Why would I bother doing something so tiresome? Are you alright in the head? Were you dropped as a child? I-I know healing magic." Seraphina slightly trembled with a fearful look in her eyes as if the mere mention of work was enough to frighten her.
Izroth inwardly shook his head. Was this person truly that against doing work?
"As long as you don't restrict my movement, then the war rank does not matter to me," Izroth stated. The reward system was based on contribution points, not war rank. Therefore, Izroth was not too concerned about this part.
"So persistent… Fine, let's get this over with so I can go back to sleep." Seraphina said as she smacked the mirror.
She then leaned in close and whispered to the mirror, "Stupid thing, remove that restriction and accept this guy for me, or else I'll…" Seraphina murmured a few more choice words as the mirror soon sounded off.
"Manual Override complete. Player Izroth has been assigned to the General Support Unit. War Rank assigned, Lieutenant." The robotic voice announced.
"Lieutenant? That's too troublesome. He seems to like work, so just give him Captain. He has a token, right? It should be fine." Seraphina said in a careless tone as she tapped on the mirror.
"General Support Unit does not possess enough active members for an additional Captain to-" But, before the robotic voice could give a complete statement, Seraphina gave it an annoyed stare.
"Player Izroth's War Rank has been promoted to Captain." The robotic voice declared.
Right after the robotic voice finished its sentence, a system alert went off. But, it was not just any system alert; it was a world alert!
'It's starting.'
〈World Alert: The event «War of the Titans» has begun!〉
〈World Alert: Event Interface is now unlocked for all participating players!〉
The world event, War of the Titans, was finally here!
[1] * in this usage means that the numbers mentioned are not counted separately from the total.
