Gunpowder Plate Armor and the Magic Revolution

Hoffman nodded. "Very good. Cisse is much more capable than you think. Learn from him, don't let him down, and don't let your own talent go to waste."

He paused, then added, "Also, don't neglect your physical fitness and swordsmanship. Lyman mentioned it to me yesterday. You're a bit clever, knowing how to use magic on your sword. It's good to apply what you've learned, but don't expect to conquer the world with magic alone. The key is to complement each other. In the end, it's still your sword that matters on the battlefield."

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel! I understand!"

Nozer immediately responded.

"Well, if you really succeed in your studies, I can give you a gift. You'll definitely need it. Work hard and don't let me down."

Hoffman kept everyone in suspense, speaking mysteriously before refusing to say anything more, not even giving Norder a chance to ask, and turned to walk into the teaching building with the documents in his arms.

Watching Hoffman's figure disappear at the top of the stairs, Lucas finally spoke, "Now Lieutenant Colonel Hoffman and Captain Lyman are both keeping an eye on you. From now on, you'll be quite a celebrity in the infantry department of this military academy."

Noze shook his head with a wry smile, but he didn't feel any resistance; in fact, he was even more curious about the "gift."

Whether it was Hoffman or Lyman, their strictness towards him stemmed from a genuine desire to make him stronger. In a world where war could break out at any moment, becoming stronger was the only way to survive.

"By the way, did you copy the notes for the tactics class this afternoon?"

Lucas suddenly remembered something and looked at him with a gloating expression. "Old man Brandon said there will be a quiz next week, which will count towards the grade."

Nozer's face fell instantly.

Major Brandon's tactical theory class was not only boring, but the assessments were also ridiculously strict. It consisted entirely of campaign analysis and tactical simulations of the Thirty Years' War, and the failure rate consistently ranked among the top three in the entire school.

Almost no one gets an A in this course, and Norzer doesn't think he'll be one of the ones to stand out... but he still has to put on an act.

"No way..."

Nozer groaned, "You copied it? Let me copy it?"

"Of course not."

"Then what's so funny about you?"

"Ugh, you're going to fail Brandon's class whether you take notes or not, unless you memorize every single word. We should be grateful if we don't fail."

As the two walked and chatted, they saw a familiar figure practicing pull-ups in the horizontal bar area next to the training ground.

It's Andrew Hart.

He had changed into a training uniform. His pale face was flushed slightly from exertion, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his light golden hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his forehead.

His movements were precise, steady and rhythmic, and he didn't slacken his pace even when his arms were trembling.

Students passing by in twos and threes would only glance at the scene from afar, whisper among themselves, and then quickly leave.

Andrew seemed not to hear at all, continuing to do pull-ups as if he were the only person left in the entire training field.

Noze paused in his steps.

Lucas followed his gaze and tugged at his arm. "Stop looking. You know he's like this every day."

Nozer didn't move. He looked at the figure training alone in the corner and remembered what Raymond and Lucas had said that morning.

Perhaps they felt that people who work so hard shouldn't be treated this way?

Perhaps they feel that others are deliberately distancing themselves from them simply because of that damned herd mentality?

Perhaps he just wanted to make friends with this mage who was proficient in elemental magic?

Regardless of what Norze's considerations were, or whether he was simply out of his mind, he did not leave as Lucas suggested. Instead, he turned and walked towards the rest area next to him, where there were two large tanks of lightly salted water and a public water jug.

Where are you going?

Lucas looked puzzled.

"Get me a few bottles of water."

Noze casually replied, scooped three jugs of water from the salt water tank, tossed one jug to Lucas, and then turned and walked towards the horizontal bar area with the remaining two jugs in his hand.

Lucas stood there, watching Nozer's retreating figure, scratching his head helplessly, but he didn't follow. He just stood at a distance, just in case.

After completing another set of pull-ups, Andrew jumped off the horizontal bar, holding his knees and panting heavily, sweating profusely. The muscles in his arms were trembling slightly due to excessive exertion and electrolyte loss.

Just then, a pot of water was suddenly handed to him.

Andrew instinctively took two steps back, then suddenly looked up and saw Nozer standing in front of him. His eyes instantly changed from wary to puzzled.

"Just finished practicing, have some water."

Noze handed the water to him again, his tone natural, without any condescending sympathy or condescension, just like an ordinary friend.

Andrew looked at the water bottle in his hand, then looked up at Norze's face. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

He had received too many unwarranted alienations and malicious mockery, even though he had done nothing wrong.

He rarely receives such unsolicited kindness, even when he has done nothing wrong.

There has never been even a conditional act of goodwill.

For Andrew, friendship was something so false yet so real that he could only pretend not to care until he believed he truly did not care.

After all, people who are naturally emotionally detached are a minority. As social animals, humans still need to socialize.

Therefore, many people believe that discriminating against someone means going to great lengths to bully them and using violence to express their disgust.

But the biggest form of discrimination is actually ignoring. It's not just about ignoring someone; it's about being able to see them clearly but pretending to be indifferent while deliberately keeping your distance.

The surrounding chatter immediately subsided, and all eyes were focused on this side.

Noze seemed completely oblivious to the stares, still holding the water bottle and waving it around. "Here, I just got it. What? Afraid I'll poison you?"

Andrew was silent for a few seconds before finally extending his slightly trembling hand to take the bottle of water. His fingertips accidentally touched Norze's hand, and he quickly withdrew them.

He looked down at the water bottle in his hand, his voice barely audible, almost drowned out by the noise of the training ground, "...Thank you."

His tone was unnatural, most likely because he hadn't spoken to anyone like that in a long time.

"You're welcome."

Norze leaned against the horizontal bar next to him, unscrewed another bottle of water in his hand, took a sip, and casually said, "Your magical knowledge is really extensive. I remember that you always ranked at the top in your tests. It's really remarkable, especially in terms of elemental magic."

"At least he's much better than me."

Andrew looked up, his astonishment deepening.

He didn't understand why Norze was suddenly telling him all this. All he knew was that everyone only remembered him as the "traitor" from Kurt, and no one would remember his achievements or his efforts.

"You're very capable and talented."

Andrew paused for a few seconds before speaking, his voice serious, "Lieutenant Colonel Hoffman speaks highly of you, as does Captain Lyman."

Noze smiled but didn't reply; he simply took another sip of water.

Another gust of wind blew from the end of the training field, ruffling the two men's slightly long hair.