The morning sun spilled soft golden light over the polished stone of the Mirdia Military Headquarters. In the central yard, newly recruited Heroes stood in disciplined rows, their status bracelets glinting in the sun. Dozens of them, all from different walks of life—beastfolk, elves, dwarves, and humans—now gathered with a single purpose.
Arriel adjusted the cloth tied over his bracelet. Lira stood silently beside him, hood up as usual. Despite the warm sun, the air felt heavy with tension.
Commander Elle, her gray-striped tail flicking slightly behind her armored legs, stood atop a short platform. Her feline eyes scanned the rows before she began speaking—direct, firm, and without ceremony.
"You are no longer adventurers. You are Heroes of Mirdia—living weapons."
She paused, letting the words sink in.
"Your level is not just a number. A Level 5 can overpower five normal humans. A Level 20 can crush reinforced wood with a single blow. A Level 30 can punch through steel plating."
The crowd murmured. Arriel glanced around—some Heroes looked proud, others stunned.
"Your strength can save lives. Or ruin them. Learn control. You will train as you fight. Effectively. Precisely. And without destroying your allies or the nation you protect."
No one dared to speak. Elle nodded once, then pointed toward the courtyard gates.
"Load up."
Six large military hover trucks hummed to life nearby—slab-sided, armor-plated vehicles with enchantments engraved along their engines. Each had a flat platform with guard rails where Heroes could stand during transit.
Arriel, Lira, and a group of others climbed aboard one of them. The hover trucks moved slowly, floating just above the road, occasionally jolting from their weight. Arriel held the rail tightly as trees and open fields passed them by.
"Feels weird," he muttered.
Lira, seated near the rear, looked up. "What does?"
"This. Being transported like cargo."
She looked forward, then gave a small nod. "Weapons are stored. Delivered. Used."
They said no more.
After an hour, the convoy came to a halt. Beyond a line of crystal obelisks, a vast training ground opened up—wide enough for battlefield simulations. Natural hills ringed the edges, and above them, faintly shimmering magical barriers stood to contain stray spells and shockwaves.
The Heroes disembarked. Scattered across the field were human-sized steel golems, humanoid in shape but clearly artificial—jointed limbs, plated torsos, and glowing cores in their chests. Some already began to move, responding to nearby Heroes with basic combat programming.
Commander Elle pointed to the field and shouted only two words:
"Begin training!"
Immediately, chaos erupted. Fireballs soared, weapons clanged, and golems charged into melee with the eager Heroes.
Some Heroes summoned ice spikes, others raised stone walls, while a few began aerial combat using flight-enhancing spells.
Arriel and Lira stepped away from the center, toward a quieter edge with a single golem slowly pacing. Lira raised her staff. "Start small. Focus on control, not force."
The golem lunged at them. Arriel stepped aside, sweat beading at his forehead. He held his hand out, focusing on the spell Lira taught him earlier.
"Stun!" he shouted.
A flicker of mana surged, and a weak ripple hit the golem. It staggered, briefly halting its steps. Lira nodded. "Again."
They rotated targets—go to golem. Each time, Arriel improved. He learned to throw out Paralyze, Sleep, and Bind spells in rapid succession. Lira, faster and more efficient, demonstrated how to chain spells together with minimal movement.
They didn't aim to destroy, but to neutralize.
Their methods stood in contrast to the others nearby. A tall beastfolk man slammed a golem with a flaming axe, splitting it in half. A dwarf Hero hurled boulders conjured from thin air using magic. Explosions echoed across the field.
Yet amidst the noise, Arriel and Lira kept to their pace—precision over power.
As the sun began to dip, Arriel crouched, exhausted, beside a disabled golem. Its steel limbs twitched slightly, held in place by glowing magical chains.
He looked up to see two Level 30 Heroes obliterate a massive golem using a combined lightning-and-earth assault. The golem exploded into molten shards, shaking the ground beneath them.
Arriel stared, breathing hard. "If that was a person…"
"They'd be gone in an instant," Lira said. She lowered her staff. "Heroes like that… they're terrifying."
Arriel looked at her, then at his own hands.
"Do you think we're just delaying the inevitable? That we'll have to fight like that one day?"
Lira took a long breath. "Maybe. But I'll delay it for as long as I can. We're still us, Arriel. And that has to matter."
Commander Elle's voice echoed again across the grounds, calling all Heroes back to the hover trucks.
Training was done. But something else had begun to settle into Arriel's mind.
Power wasn't just strength.
It was choice.