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  After the chaos of Kaiju Studies class, Wednesday afternoon's Strategy and Tactics class was positively mundane.

  Overall, Mikayla found it to be the most boring of the classes they'd had so far - well, no, that wasn't true. It was at the very least more educational than the etiquette course of Political Studies on Monday had been. Their teacher, an aged yaoguai who had introduced himself as Professor Grota, had spent three hours giving a lecture on the tactics and characters involved in a war that had happened fifteen years ago and lasted for only six months, between the city-state of Chanchen on the western edge of Guili and the Municipality of Ferrocity, the easternmost vassal state of the beastmen nations to the west.

  Grota's account had been very dry, and included painfully in-depth recounts of the various generals' thought processes and strategies, as well as what had and had not worked and why.

  If nothing else, Mikayla could appreciate the intent behind the lesson, and the historian in her found it to be a fascinating glimpse at how warfare worked in the age of the Armour Core. One of the most interesting aspects, that seemed to be taken for granted, was how useful the magical mechas were in creating earthworks; an hour's work could reshape a battlefield, creating hills and walls with waves of one's hand.

  She was also amazed by the anti-Armour Core technologies that had been developed - it seemed that there was a particular kind of Core that was essentially a single-shot satellite cannon, which flew into the air and fired an obscenely powerful blast of magical energy, before coming back down to be recharged. Sadly, the System had seen fit to translate the name of these flying siege weapons into English as 'UFO Cores', which was inaccurate and frustrating enough that she had already sent a message to Asika asking for a patch. Maybe 'Satellite Cannon Core' would be more accurate.

  The class had been close enough to history to keep her interested, with clear overlap into the strategic use of new technologies. But, looking around at her classmates, Mikayla could tell that she was in the minority and most of her group ranged from bored to mentally exhausted. The only other of her class who'd been keeping up was Irin. Mikayla had watched her furiously scribble down comprehensive notes on everything Professor Grota had said.

  "You got all that, right?" Keldryn checked.

  "Oh, yeah! Did you hear that thing about the earthworks concealing Ballista Cores underground? It's -"

  "Good, I'm counting on you for our exams. I'll never remember any of that," Keldryn asserted. "Let's go get dinner already,"

  Considering that, and glancing at him and Nya, Mikayla had a sudden, horrifying realisation. "Oh no. Am I the Hermione Granger of my social circle? This is exactly what I was trying to avoid!"

  "Perhaps we could put some strategy into practice? Would anyone care for a quick game of Cuju after we've eaten?" Nya appealed to the class while Mikayla was having her moment of panic.

  Seizing the opportunity despite having no idea what Nya was suggesting, Mikayla nodded. "Yeah! Absolutely! I'm game!"

  "Are you challenging me? I suppose I can oblige," Geum grinned. "Sekki?"

  "Yes, yes, I'll come," Sekki nodded.

  "I'll pass. I need a nap," Keldryn complained.

  "I'm always up for Cuju!" Banki beamed. "Sendo, you in?"

  "Only if I'm on the opposing team to Han," the other Yevgenia primly asserted.

  "If you two are playing, no way I'm skipping out," Irin barged into the conversation. "Right, Lydia?"

  "Oh, uh, sure, I'll play too," Lydia's omnipresent cloak rippled as she nodded, and Mikayla squinted at it suspiciously. She was growing more and more suspicious that there was something hiding underneath that cloak.

  <=====}—o

  After dinner, Mikayla found herself following Nya into a phenomenally large open field. Not far away, she could see a huge semicircular arch made from curved and trimmed tree trunks, and in the distance there was another one. "So, I probably should have asked before, but what's Cuju?"

  "You don't - right, Stranded. My apologies," Nya interrupted herself.

  "Has the great Han been negligent in her tutoring duty?" Sendo simpered.

  "Put your tail in a Kaiju's mouth at your earliest convenience," Nya sniped right back.

  Taking pity on her, Sekki intervened. "Cuju's a simple game. Two teams, each protecting one of those arches, and a ball. The goal is to get the ball past the opposing team and into the arch, that scores a point,"

  Mikayla's eyebrows shot upwards. "So, it's soccer?"

  "Is that what it's called in your world?"

  "Depending on what the ball's shaped like, it might be football," Mikayla's eyebrows hesitated. "So, where is the ball?"

  A titanic footstep shook the earth, and she span. They saw a towering figure woven from grey and sand-coloured light, with a thick cloak hanging from its shoulders and skeletal limbs that ended in dextrous, bird-like claws. Its helmet was carved into what looked like a tribal mask, with faux plumage running from it in strips. A quick Identify told her what she was looking at.

  [LYDIA - ARMOUR CORE: MARAUDER]

  Mikayla frowned. She'd used the normal style of Identify, not bothering to reach for her phone, but usually even that would tell her a person's surname. She considered taking a picture to get the full readout of Lydia, but decided she didn't have time.

  Because the most important detail was that Marauder was carrying a sphere of woven Kaiju leather that was approximately the size of a car.

  "Oh. Okay. I see where this is going,"

  Flashes of multicoloured light around her confirmed her suspicions; her classmates were manifesting their Armour Cores and spreading out as they gigantified themselves.

  "Mikayla, we shall take the far goal. Size up and come along!" Nya commanded.

  "Time for soccer with giant robots, huh? Only in Raibalie,"

  "Cuju!" Nocturnus sounded excited as soon as he noticed the ball. "It has been decades! Er, centuries,"

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Got any pointers?" Mikayla subvocalised.

  "Do not be afraid to use violence,"

  . . well, at least she had her Armour on.

  It only took a couple of minutes before the Black Knight was standing beneath the massive goal, with two Moonlight Roses and Marauder flanking it. On the far side was Geum's Great Gilded Joust, Sekki in his Masquerade Armour Core, Sendo in her own Moonlight Rose, and Banki in a clown-like technicolor monstrosity that Identified as Suoyou Deng.

  Given the only other time an Armour Core's name hadn't translated for her was Asika's Kagura-no-Shibu, Mikayla suspected a faerie had tampered with the Core's name. But that wasn't relevant.

  The ball was placed at the centre of the pitch, both teams glaring at each other. Or so Mikayla assumed. None of the Armour Cores had expressive faces.

  "Now, our strategy is -" Nya started, only to be interrupted by Banki.

  "Three two one go!" the tigerkin shrieked and lunged for the ball.

  "Hey! We didn't get time to strategise!" Nya complained.

  "Strategy is for losers!" Sendo shouted as Banki threw the ball to her - only for Geum to snatch it out of the air and charge towards their team's goal.

  Okay, so holding the ball in one's hands was allowed. Not soccer after all.

  "Mikayla, defend!" Nya snapped, rushing forward to intercept, only for Geum to shoulder check her aside.

  She could see the logic; the Black Knight was the only Armour on their team that could match the bulky and golden Great Gilded Joust on its own terms. And, really, Geum deserved a bit of brutalisation. So Mikayla had no compunctions about tackling him, leveraging the full might of her spiky bulk, and forcing him to the ground.

  The ball slipped from Geum's hands, and Irin grabbed it, already starting to run for the far end of the pitch.

  A recovered Nya waved. "Pass it to me!"

  Irin ignored her, which proved to be their downfall. Sekki ghosted forwards with phenomenal agility, twisting his Armour Core and casually plucking the ball from Irin's grip and throwing it down the length of the pitch. Banki caught it and rushed towards the goal.

  Seeing her coming, Mikayla tried to get up and block her, but Geum forced her right back down to the ground. "Not on my watch, human!"

  "Get the hell off me, you Game of Thrones wannabe!" Mikayla hissed, extricating herself by elbowing him in the helmet and throwing out a massive black arm to catch Banki's ankles.

  The tigerkin tripped, but jettisoned the ball from her hands and sent it flying through the goal. "Point to us! Whoo!"

  Geum laughed in triumph as he picked himself up. "You are going to pay for striking me like so," he accused Mikayla.

  Grinning despite herself, Mikayla took up position for another round. "Bring it on, but don't complain if your fancy armour has a few new dents afterwards!"

  <=====}—o

  The class they'd just had put Keldryn in an introspective mood. Perhaps it was time to reevaluate his own strategy.

  His ultimate goal was, as it had ever been, to slay the Cityvore. The Fourth Monster King, the strongest Kaiju in the world. The roaming beast that had slaughtered his family and destroyed his home when he was a child.

  At first, his plan had been quite simple. He'd simply intended to obtain the Black Knight Armour Core, the one that didn't have the size limit safeguard. It would be his trump card, it would give him the power to grow to such a huge size that he could crush even the Cityvore under its boot. For a while, it had seemed like it would be easy; Asika would reopen the rift to Mikayla's home, then he'd just have to persuade Mikayla to gift him the Black Knight before she returned to her nice, safe home.

  If that had happened, it would have been perfect. He wouldn't have to worry about that sweet, innocent girl, ever, because she'd have been safely back in her world. Nocturnus would take Keldryn as his new apprentice, and they could work together to grow strong enough to defeat the Cityvore.

  But the rift had dissipated, and Mikayla was Stranded here with him.

  She would never give up the Black Knight now. Nocturnus had come to mean too much to her, and even if he hadn't it would leave her defenceless. She had chosen the path of a Guardsman. He didn't have the right to deny her that.

  So that plan had gone out the window, but he could see a new way forward.

  The Perfect Rainbow Blessing of Teamwork.

  He'd been part of the merged warrior that Mikayla had titled Black Knight Triplex. For one glorious battle, he'd fought with the power of a Level 79.

  What would happen if he could help Mikayla assemble a whole team of full-fledged Guardsmen, all Level 60 or higher, and then applied the Blessing of Teamwork to them? They could reach impossible heights, perhaps the likes of Level 300. Against power like that, surely not even the Cityvore could stand a chance.

  The only question remaining was, how could Mikayla be convinced to aid him in hunting down the Cityvore? She was determined to find a way back to her world. It would be no small feat to convince her to put aside that mission and help him with his revenge.

  ". . There's no use in micromanaging," Keldryn murmured. He wasn't even Level 30 yet. It would be a long time, perhaps decades, before he and Mikayla reached Level 60 and higher. All kinds of things could happen in that time.

  Really, the only thing he could do was the same thing he'd been doing his whole life; put his plans aside until he was strong enough to carry them out. But it wasn't just about him anymore. Mikayla needed to live. Needed to grow strong enough that he could rely on her to carry out his plan.

  Which meant he had to protect her. At all costs.

  Had it really only been a month since they'd met in the shadow of Astralia's Spear? Time certainly raged onwards like a river. Things had changed so much since then. Yet, somehow, Keldryn's resolve was firmer than ever. His plan may have changed, but his vengeance was closer and more realistic than ever before. He just had to live long enough to get a chance to see it through.

  A voice that was growing more and more familiar interrupted his brooding strategy session. "Ripples on the pond's surface might betray a leviathan hiding in the depths," Kaizen sat down nearby and scrutinised Keldryn's face. "Stormclouds may refuse to break, no matter how heavy with rain they grow, but they cannot bear infinite weight. Trying to merely makes the eventual downpour all the more horrendous,"

  ". . Okay, now say that in a way I can understand?"