Cross Conviction

Question #7: With the benefit of hindsight, in what way would you have changed your approach to this engagement? Explain your answer.

Answer: I would have remained adamant that we not split the group. Had we not split off, the combined forces of the Third Hunter Team and Recovery Team might have eliminated Lieutenant Keil's armor puppet sooner, thus allowing us to conserve energy for later challenges.

Question #8: Do you feel that being separated from your weapons had a major impact on your performance? If so, what actions, if any, did you take to remedy this problem?

Answer: Yes, being disarmed negatively impacted my abilities. However, I was able to maintain moderate combat effectiveness thanks to the last two weeks spent training while unarmed. I acquired a suitable weapon as soon as one became available.

Question #9: Which opponent provided the most difficult challenge? Explain your reasoning.

Sturm paused in momentary contemplation. Though Sergeant Grizzler had undoubtedly been their more powerful adversary, Captain Scharf struck when the team was already significantly weakened. Because of this, the battle against Scharf was incredibly difficult. Ultimately, it was Scharf who incapacitated Max, Gustavo, and Magnolia. Additionally, upon deeper reflection, Sturm recalled that Lieutenant Keil's puppet was only defeated after being struck by Whirlwind's autocannon barrage; a one-off attack with destructive capabilities far exceeding anything else available to the knight candidates at that time. Had Whirlwind missed, there was a strong possibility that Keil would have defeated him and Sturm alike.

With what initially seemed to be a simple question proving to be anything but, Sturm consulted his comrades for their own opinions.

"What did you guys answer for number nine?" he asked.

"You serious?" Max inquired in disbelief, "Obviously the Grizzler. He made an earthquake, man."

True as that was, Max's observations were bound to be surface-level at best. Generating tectonic activity was an incredible feat, but Sturm couldn't shake the feeling that the academy staff would be looking for a more nuanced response that considered all factors.

Remaining on the top bunk, Gustavo sat up and looked down at his exam. "This might sound bizarre, but I wrote down Ms. Pauritsch."

An unexpected answer, indeed. Sturm had neglected to weigh Pauritsch against the other instructors, as she wasn't directly present for most of the trial- at least as far as he was aware. Her muddy creations were a persistent hazard, but the swordsman himself had little in the way of direct confrontations with them. Sturm was aware of the group's ambush at the hands of the monsters in the foyer, but surely even that wouldn't have been enough to rate the witch as a greater threat than Grizzler. There had to be more to Gustavo's reasoning.

"That's interesting," said Sturm, perking up slightly. "Why Ms. Pauritsch?"

"Well to start, we never beat her."

Sturm's eyes lit up in realization. Gustavo was absolutely correct. Strenuous as their clashes against the other instructors were, they had technically managed to defeat both Grizzler and Scharf, albeit at a high cost. As could be expected, however, Max was not so easily convinced.

"Nah, that's bullshit," said the boy, shooing the ethereal notion away with a wave of his hand. "It's asking about enemies we actually took on, right? We never fought Ms. Pauritsch, just her shitty goons."

Perhaps this wasn't a bad point, either. After all, if battling Pauritsch's earthen henchmen was to be considered combat against the witch herself, then the same could easily be said of Keil and his armor puppet.

Shaking his head, Gustavo further elaborated on his position. "That isn't true. Sturm said that she trapped him with mud after he defeated the captain, remember?"

"I-I guess," Max stammered, "But now you're getting into a bunch of weird technicalities, or whatever. I'm not gonna try and say my hardest fight was against fake Sturm just 'cause I fucked up and got stabbed. The hardest fight was obviously still the guy who slammed me into a crater and threw Whirlwind away like... well, like the piece of trash he is."

"Speaking of which..." Sturm spoke up once more, "How's that holding up? It looked pretty bad when you started bleeding earlier."

Max scratched his head and leaned back against the desk. He then lifted his shirt with a triumphant grin, putting his bandage-wrapped lower torso on display. To Sturm, it was immediately obvious that the gauze was free of bloodstains, suggesting that the wound was already well on its way to healing. This was not unexpected, as most exceptionals benefitted from some level of expedited healing.

"I'm fine," Max reassured his friend, "They said it'll be closed up in a couple days, so long as I don't work too hard. The nurse told Captain Scharf I gotta take it easy."

"Lucky you," replied Sturm. "You get to relax for a while."

Slamming his chair back down onto four legs, Max leaned toward his friend with exaggerated aggression. "Lucky? No way! I'm all psyched up after this morning! I wanna keep kicking ass!"

"Well, there's no ass to kick right now, so you'd best calm down and finish the test," said Gustavo.

"Man, I already told you to lay off!" Max protested. "I finished like a half hour ago. Shit's easy."

With disbelief plastered across his face, Gustavo glared down at Max through narrow eyes. "Did you, now? Then what did you answer for question ten?"

"Which one was ten?"

"The last one, Max..." Gustavo groaned, unamused. "Where you every instance where you were killed or permanently incapacitated during the course of the examination."

Max raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you stupid, man? Obviously, I didn't put anything because I didn't fuckin die. The hell did you write?"

"It's hypothetical," explained Gustavo, his patience wearing thin. "The instructors were holding back, so you're supposed to list every time you would have died or been defeated if they hadn't been. At the very least, Captain Scharf took you down at the end of the trial."

Standing up in a hurry, Max shuffled to the middle of the room and put his arms behind his neck for a hearty stretch. "Yeah, well, I don't think they got me," he yawned.

"Scharf knocked you out, no?" asked Gustavo, clenching his jaw slightly.

"Well... yeah, but-"

"Then write it down," snapped Gustavo.

Max scoffed in defiance but eventually relented. After making his way back to the desk, he frustratedly clutched his pencil and made the addendum to his final answer.

Tossing the pencil into the drawer, he sarcastically inquired, "There, ya happy now?"

As Max plopped down on the edge of the bed with a sigh, Sturm turned to Gustavo with intrigue. "You seem especially invested in the test," said the young swordsman, placing his clipboard on his lap.

"I am," said Gustavo. "I've always done well on written exams and..."

The boy suddenly stopped short. Something was on his mind but he was visibly struggling to find the right words.

After a brief pause, he continued. "I don't mean to be rude, Max. I just want to do well on the written portion because it is a chance to highlight my skillset. I can only do so much in a head-on battle, but information-gathering is a major part of being an Iron Knight. Even more so for a member of a hunter team that specializes in eliminating enemy exceptionals."

Max tilted his and tugged at the corner of his mouth. Though he didn't like being ordered around, he understood his teammate's concern. "It's all good, man. I was being a pain in the ass, I get it. I just hate all this written stuff. We're supposed to be training or hunting down scumbags, right?"

Returning a nod, Gustavo climbed down and sat on the lower bunk opposite Max. "Yes, I know what you mean. Still, as I said, being able to gather information about your enemies is the first step to defeating them. I have a strong suspicion that the instructors will be looking for such affinity when they grade this test."

"Yeah, yeah..." Max replied, obviously disinterested in such a prospect. "I just want to sink my claws into the guys in that folder the captain gave us. Especially that 'Zech' loser."

Hugo Zech; the pyromancer outlined in the dossier Scharf had gathered over the last week and a half. Since the documents were handed off to Sturm for study that morning, Max had indeed confirmed that Zech was the scoundrel whom he had an altercation with prior to his encounter with the Third Hunter Team. While this run-in certainly left Max with a distaste for the scrappy Communist rebel, his hatred now ran far deeper.

If Ida Weber and the other girls were truly murdered by a pyromancer, then it was no surprise that a murderous terrorist would be considered the prime suspect.

Aggressive banging suddenly drew the three boys' focus to the hallway door. Max, slipping into a heroic fantasy of tracking down and dispatching the killer, was shocked back to reality. In a panic, he leaped from the bed as his claws tore forth from his sleeves. This, in turn, surprised Sturm, who quickly reached for his scimitar.

"I have your damned package, open this door or I'll leave it to get stolen!"

Now more confused than worried, Sturm dropped his guard and gave Max a bewildered look. "What could that be?" the swordsman inquired.

After some hesitation, Gustavo made his way to the door and began to open it slowly. There, in the hallway, was a tired-looking corporal with dark bags around his eyes. In the soldier's arms was a large, paper-wrapped package tied with several lengths of red twine. The box was tall enough that its deliverer had to stretch his neck around it to see forward.

"Tell Captain Scharf that next time he insists on holding equipment for this long, he can keep it at his own house! The enlisted quarters is not a storage depot!"

At a loss for words, Gustavo took the heavy package from the corporal and carried it inside.

Holding equipment? Sturm thought to himself. Was the captain intentionally holding out on us?

With a nervous chuckle, Max replied, "Uh y-yeah, we'll totally do that! Have a nice day, buddy!" before closing the door with his elbow in haste.

"What is it?" asked Sturm, eyeing the monstrosity of a container.

Max had no interest in waiting, instead opting to immediately tear the package- paper wrapping, box, and all open with a swift slash of his claws. The packaging materials flew aside, revealing a sheathed saber, as well as a black leather case.

"Wow, you're gonna love this, man!" exclaimed Max as he reached down and tossed the sword to Sturm.

As if moved by pure instinct, the young knight candidate immediately unsheathed the weapon and basked in its brilliant gleam. "It's perfect," Sturm said with a smile.

The weapon was a standard non-commissioned officer's saber, with its brass guard cut short and leather-bound grip length doubled to accommodate Sturm's preferred two-handed style. While subtle scratches suggested that the sword wasn't completely new, it had nevertheless been recently cleaned and polished. It wasn't exactly like the saber he had lost in his skirmish with Max, but it was similar enough that just holding it was enough to bring about a familiar feeling for Sturm.

"So what's in the case, you think?" pondered Max, placing a finger to his chin. "Wanna find out?"

"No," Gustavo piped in. "It's a violin case. Give it to Magnolia."

"Ha!" Max laughed aloud, pivoting around before flopping back onto the bed behind him. "All you, Sturm!"

Looking up from his new blade, Sturm glanced toward the violin case and then to the connecting door. "I... think we should probably let her have some time to herself."

"Aw, come on!" said Max, fidgeting his way across the edge of the bed before striking his friend in the hip. "It'll definitely cheer the 'queen' up to not be deadweight again!"

With a pained sigh, Sturm stood up from the bed, leaned his saber against the frame, and grabbed the violin case from the shredded package. "Alright, I guess someone should go talk to her, anyway..."