Supreme Magus novel Chapter 368

Regharos city’s region Boot Camp

The Cadet’s graduation ceremony was an event celebrated not only by the new members of the Griffon Kingdom’s army, but also by their commanding officers.

Finding diamonds in the rough and helping promising recruits to overcome their limitations was one of the most common ways for a Drill Sergeant to rack up merits. The success or failure of their Cadets could change their careers.

Trion Proudstar was still recovering from his clash with Phloria Ernas. She had kept her word. Neither she nor her family had made a move against him, but the army wasn’t as forgiving.

Phloria was considered one of the most outstanding young officers. She had yet to fail an important mission and most of the soldiers she trained had become members of elite units.

Back when she was still a Cadet, Trion had done everything he could to make her flunk.

Now that their roles were reversed, every success Phloria achieved made him the object of harsh reprimands and contemptuous looks. To his superiors, Trion had failed to recognize her value. The more she rose in the ranks, the bigger the stain on his personal file became.

Trion’s only source of relief was the camaraderie from his fellow Sergeants. They knew about his brother and understood his grief. Most of them came from messed up families and each had their own burden.

Making a stupid mistake wasn’t an issue. As long as Trion was willing to learn from it, he would have their full support. The end of the semester also meant that they could finally relax and enjoy a slow meal.

The mess hall was filled with voices telling the most ridiculous anecdotes about their own Cadets. Spring recruits were considered the worst batch, since it usually consisted of nobles or lazy youths that had no idea what to do with their lives.

"This Cadet I had, Revkin, he was really a piece of work." Trion was bantering about his latest success. "Rough and undisciplined, but a real soldier to the core. The harder you taught him the faster he learned..."

He was about to tell his friends about how he had recommended Revkin for the rank of Lance Corporal, when an eerie feeling crawled up his skin. It was almost the end of the summer, so the climate was still hot, yet Trion felt a knot in his stomach.

It was a sensation he had never forgotten, like the cold drafts that plagued his room during winter when he was still a kid.

"Why suddenly so silent?" Asked Beligros, one of Trion’s closest friends when he saw him anxiously look at the Mess Hall’s entrance.

The answer walked through the door just a few seconds later, donning the deep green of the Rangers and the rank of First Lieutenant on his sleeves.

"By the Great Mother." More than one voice said while he passed in front of their tables. Most Drill Sergeants checked Lith out, envying whoever had been lucky enough to be his commanding officer.

Everything about how he moved and wore the uniform told them he had just graduated. Cooking up an officer right off a Cadet was usually a career-maker event. Some of the female Sergeants checked him out for less noble reasons.

It had taken Lith quite an effort to find Trion in the myriad of Boot Camps across the whole Griffon Kingdom. To get access to the right one without an official reason had cost him owing some favors. There wasn’t much his connections could do.

Lith’s influence outside the Distar Marquisate was almost none, yet it was a price he was happy to pay for his mother’s sake. He had never realized how much suffering Trion’s absence had caused Elina, otherwise he would have hunted his brother down years ago.