Mikajia was wondering around Oak, not really paying attention to anything in particular, his mind elsewhere as he simply strolled along. Eventually he found himself wandering near the old Castle Phantasm, belonging to the prominent Phantasm family. Though he had spent a good deal of time in Oak and the surrounding areas, he hadn’t really had the chance to visit this castle yet, which was a popular tourist destination. As he looked up and took in the spectacle, his attention was drawn to a rather shady looking man. Albeit a well-dressed one.


He didn’t need to wonder for too long who the man was. As soon as he caught a glimpse of Mikajia, he cocked his head to one side before asking Mikajia exactly who he was. Once the man knew Mikajia was a mage, his demeanor changed. Though, Mikajia wouldn’t call him happy, just more like pleased at the turn of events. He mentioned that the guards they had stationed all around the castle seemed to be getting a bit lax in their duties and training. This man, Sirius Phantasm, the eldest Phantasm child, wasn’t one to typically deal well with lay-abouts. Once he knew of Mikajia’s skills and experience, he asked Mikajia if he would like to do a simple job for him.


He explained that what he wanted was for Mikajia to put their guards through the ringer with some training to get them back on track. And he honestly didn’t care if they managed to get injured in the process. As far as he was concerned, any potential injury they suffered would be their own fault, for not taking their training seriously. And thanks to that their castle had very nearly been the victim of a raid. As such, he was kicking things into high gear.


WC = 300/1,000

Once Mikajia agreed, he led him into the castle grounds, taking him to the guard’s quarters and calling all of the guards over to explain what was about to happen. A few minutes later, there were roughly a dozen guards gathered in the small training yard outside of the building set up next to the castle. Sirius Phantasm told the guards in no elaborate terms, that they were about to endure some hellish training. He also went as far as to tell them, any injuries they may, and most likely would receive were not to interfere with their work after this.


The guards seemed to become a bit antsy while he was talking, clearly not liking what they were hearing. However, they seemed to perk up a bit when they realized that Mikajia would be their training instructor. They almost seemed to take this as a joke. Apparently viewing Mikajia as non-threatening or something, just because he wasn’t wearing a full suit of armor like them. This honestly pissed him off, and he began to look forward to making the next few hours of their lives a living hell.


Once Sirius was finished explaining that they would be doing some sparring for their training, Mikajia told the men to pair up. They kind of grumbled as they shuffled along. Mikajia watched Sirius head over to a small gazebo nearby, ordering one of the maids to bring him something to eat. Mikajia turned back to the guards, they had all paired up, and were demonstrating exactly why Sirius had requested Mikajia’s assistance with this. Absolutely none of them were taking this seriously. That was about to change.


He walked up to one of the pair and stopped roughly ten feet from them. The two men stopped and stared at him for a couple seconds, their brows arching in question as to what he wanted. Mikajia simply lifted his hands to his sides, and waved at both of them to attack him at once. His eyes not showing the slightest apprehension. The guards seemed to think Mikajia was arrogant for challenging two of them at once; all the other guards appeared to continue sparring, but were obviously trying to see what was about to happen with their new instructor.


A second later, the two guards he’d challenged sprung into action. However, it was clear they were no match for Mikajia. Their movements were slow and bulky, though that wasn’t really surprising considering they were wearing plate armor. Mikajia nimbly side-stepped the first attack, then quickly parried the second, grabbing ahold of the wrist of the man and stepping forward. He snapped his arm closed and planted a heavy blow on the man’s jaw with his elbow.


WC = 754/1,000

He kicked the man’s feet out from underneath him as he struck the man’s nose with the back of his fist, sending him crashing to the ground. The second man rushed at him once more. Mikajia stepped to the side and grabbed the man’s wrist, holding it tight and twisting, pulling the arm back and making the man bend halfway over, unable to move his arm as Mikajia had it in a joint lock. The man screamed as Mikajia bent his wrist hard enough to break it, then smashed his knee in the man’s face. As he let the man slump to the ground, groaning and barely mumbling through the blood dripping from his nose, all the other men now looked at Mikajia with fear.


After thoroughly injuring a few more of the guards Mikajia took a little break, wandering over to sit down with Sirius for a small snack. The man asked Mikajia what he thought about the guards. He told him that although their level of fighting skill was sub-par at best, and they were far too arrogant when he got there, he could at least marginally respect the fact that they hadn’t tried to run away yet, even knowing they were at such a disadvantage against him.


Sirius made no comment. They simply sat there for a few more minutes before Mikajia got back to terrorizing the guards through training. By the time Sirius came back over and told Mikajia the training was over, he had managed to give every single guard at least one broken bone as a memento for enduring his training. He did try to make sure that he didn’t break anything too important, so that way they could in fact continue doing their work. Wasn’t he nice?


With the training over, Sirius handed Mikajia his payment. Mikajia nodded and told him to call on him any time he needed something in the future, then made his way out of the castle grounds.


WC = 1,083/1,000