Knights & Magic Vol 1 Prologue

It is already evening, the glaring sun is slowly setting beyond the horizon, the dark shadows expand its territory. The roads absorb lots of heat in the day, and is releasing it back into the air now. This will be another night that is too warm to sleep comfortably.

This is K city K district, a city where the above scene is commonplace.

The city station is surrounded by skyscrapers, hosting a myriad of companies. 'K software' situated on the 4th floor is a mid size software development company.

In the cool air-conditioned office, several men stares silently at their monitor screens. The atmosphere is intense. They are the employees of K software. For a mid size company, their daily workload is heavy, but the load today is extremely tedious today.

"We have 3 days left to complete it..."

A man sitting at one end of the office mumbles with a hint of despair. He is currently battling with a bomb that is moving towards explosion with every second, also known as a deadline. With the downturn of the national economy, the anxious sales team accepted the case grudgingly, even though the demands are unreasonable. Even during the planning stage, the project managed by him has few rooms for error. Repeated failures makes it even more perilous, the situation can only be described as 'hellish'. And there are even more pressing issues.

"Nakai section chief, Sato is down! He's not reacting even when we splash him with water!"

"Nakai section chief, we won't make it in time if we don't finish the program today."

"...Nakai-san, Takeda's desk has an resignation letter on it..."

"Ah-- Shut up! How can we meet the deadline with things like this--!"

The man who was pressed into a corner-- section chief Nakai received a string of bad news, finally breaking down. He hug his head and rest it on his table.

He knows there is no time to waste, but he can't finish the task and is short on manpower... The deadline is looming, but he can't find any solutions, pushing his psyche to the boiling point.

"Nakai-san."

"What is it now!?"

He raised his head after hearing someone address him, a man with a gentle smile appears before his eyes.

"I have finished the case on my side, and is ready to assist you."

"Oh... Kurata... Are you fine joining in?"

The pain on Nakai's face was swept away, like a man who saw a ray of light in the midst of despair.

"I browsed through the specification manual and has gotten the gist of the situation. Can you let me handle the progress management?"

"Of... Of course, I might as well give you my password, you can flip through the management folders too. Take care of all that please."

"Eh, Nakai-san, I can't manage all that... Erm, the programming parts is holding back progress, let me settle this..."

The man speaking with Nakai-- Kurata Tsubasa, sat down on the chair prepared by a colleague and started working immediately. He type in codes on a word processer, read the progress reports while flipping through the specification manual as he gave instructions to the colleagues around him.

"Ensure the testing machine is operational, test analyst take this opportunity to rest. Erm, we will begin intensive testing after 12. For coding... Tatsu-san, can you complete 2 modules? Yes, I will do the other 10. Kiba, there are some weird parts in the specification manual, please amend it and resume testing."

He is 28 years old, considered the younger generation within the workplace, but no one is questioning his instructions. This is because of the track records he have built up after joining this company. After his recruitment, he instills life into the half dead workers who carry out his instructions quickly. Kurata has a unique nickname, since he is on the case, it means the ending of the job is in sight. Humans are realistic creatures, if they can see the ending, they can endure it no matter how tough it is.

"Alright, that should do it. I will start coding."

"Hey, Kurata, will you be fine? 10 modules... This is no laughing matter."

"Nakai-san, did you forgot? My actual duty is being a software engineer."

Kurata with his eyes half closed gives a fearless smile on his gentle face. He put his fingers on the keyboard, and all 10 fingers dance at a frightening speed. He type in codes on several word processors that is open on his screen, going through the data like a torrent. The matured man sitting opposite him -- Tatsu, throw himself into his work when he hear the amazing typing sound.

"As expected of the last line of defense for the company, he has been handling all the troubling cases so far... I have to keep up."

Everyone put their heart into their work, the sluggish battle improves dramatically.


The radio broadcast announce the time. The clock on the wall indicates it is 5:15pm -- time to get off work. According to company policy, working hours have ended, but Kurata simply stretch his back and rotate his tired shoulders.

He have been salvaging the case for 3 days. Today is the dreaded deadline, but the atmosphere is no longer dead like it was 3 days prior. The case was thought to be hopeless by everyone before, but it was rescued under his expert hands.

Thanks to him finishing the programming in one day, and the team members testing and recoding without rest, they managed to barely finish the product before the deadline. Although Kurata finished so much work in such a short amount of time, but he managed each part perfectly, a miraculous talent beyond comprehension. Sadly, his skills was outstanding because he was always handed the troubling cases.

After a series of battles, empty cans of coffee and energy drinks piled up like gravestones on his desk. Looking to his sides, he can see the warriors (test analyst) who finished the hard battle smiling peacefully, collapsing on the beds made out of chairs. Kurata has compressed his sleeping hours to the minimum, and he feels that it is time to rest up.

"Alright, the client acknowledge receipt of the product! We are done! Great news everyone, now we can rest easy!"

Kurata woke from his half asleep state and saw the elated Nakai in a victory pose. He thought about going home to rest, but decided to nap for a while. When he was ready to go home, it was already time for the last train.

Several days after the death march, the end of the month is here. Speaking of end of the month, people will think of -- that's right, the gospel of all working adults, payday.

Kurata turned off the computer and prepared to leave in a hurry. He was not alone. His colleagues also started to leave. Following popular trends, companies have cut down the working hours of office workers. Especially on payday, the company have the obligation to let their staff leave on time. Although it is an obligation, this rule is often overlooked when things get hectic. But compared to the hellish time they had just a few days before, it is much more relaxed now.

Today is a happy Friday. Some are rushing to meet their family, others are gathering with their friends, getting ready to splurge their salary. There are some who just want to rest at home, everybody is different, but for those getting their salary, the day they look forward to coinciding with the weekend makes them happy.

Kurata is the same too. Several colleagues who went through the death march gathered at his side.

"Kurata, want to get a drink? You were a big help, the first one is on me."

Nakai made a drinking gesture, with people related to the case such as Tatsu and Kiba stood behind him. Kurata was about to join them, but he remembered his planned schedule and hesitated.

"Ah-- Sorry Nakai-san, I have an engagement, maybe next time."

"Nakai-san, today is the day, Kurata's hobby..."

"Oh... That. Can't be helped, don't skip out next time."

"Okay."

Kurata watched the group leave, and heads toward his destination as well. The young, talented man known as the last line of defense, depended on by everyone in the company. His unique hobby was well known within the company.

On this weekend, the streets are humid in the summer heat, crowded with office workers knocking off work. The way to the station is jammed with people. After walking some distance away, the traffic gets smoother.

"Over. Time. Pay! Get!"

A man --which is Kurata yelled in front of the ATM. If he did that in front of a manned counter, he would probably be reported to the police for acting suspiciously.

His emotion stemmed from the cold figures displayed on the ATM screen. The case he handled are usually red alert and dangerous, his efforts are paid off in the form of overtime pay, so his savings increase steadily.

Kurata can't stop smiling, withdrew some cash and hurried towards his destination. His movement has no hesitation, a sign that he has gone through this route many times. A building appears in front of him shortly. That is a major electronics shopping center near the train station. On the 3rd floor is a huge toys department-- his goal.


A few hours later, a man left the toys department with the music that plays when the store is closing.

"As expected of the month end sale. This is great."

The man carried 2 full bags in each hand, doubled layered to prevent it from tearing. His backpack is also stuffed into a strange shape. His bags are filled with plastic models, in other words, he is a 'model nerd'.

"Cement, paint, tools have been resupplied... the modeling festival shall begin..."

For his hectic lifestyle, the shopping spree on payday and the modeling festival are his biggest joy. Maybe the dull and normal lifestyle is taking a toll on him, the amount of models he purchased are increasing every year. It finally became a monthly habit, he is totally addicted.

He wears his silly smile, walking home with his bags happily. The apartment he stays in is some distance away from the company, the station is between his residence and the company. He needs to make a detour when he visits the electronics shopping center, but it is not a big deal since he got what he is after. Kurata makes his way past the quiet residential zone, humming joyfully. The traffic is very light at this hour.

He heard the sound of an engine breaking the silence, the oncoming headlights restricting his vision. The lights from the distance blinded him, and he hurried to the side of the road. The road is relatively wide, but it will be bad if it breaks the bag. Kurata frowns at the usage of high beams while driving in the residential area, but he pay it no mind and continued walking.

The dazzling head lights made his reaction fatally slow. The car went straight at him with no sign of slowing and shows no intention in avoiding him. Before he realized, it was too close for him to avoid it.

"Hey, wait..."

The roar of the engine reverberate in his ears, his vision was drown out by the lights. He felt a chill down his back.

He can't get out of the way and collided with the car while hugging his bag. At the moment of impact, he heard his body made a frightening sound. As his body flew through the air, the moment before he lost conscious because of the immense pain, all sorts of emotion flash through his mind. But he did not see his life flash before his eyes, or cursing his luck in meeting this accident.

(Ah, I can't make the models I just brought and the series of models that will be release next month, such a shame...!)

In his mind was the passion he had for the models he can't assemble anymore.

"-- this just in.

Around 10pm tonight, a man collided with a car in K city S district. The victim was an office worker residing in the area, Kurata Tsubasa(28). An ambulance was dispatched after a resident made a report, but they failed to resuscitate the victim. According to the police investigation, the suspect was driving under the influence--"


End


Doesn't seems to be popular, will just do this prologue for others to have an idea what the story will be like.