#Field Force Management System
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
thepresence360 · 9 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
0 notes
easapp00 · 1 year ago
Text
Tumblr media
If you are looking for an employee attendance tracker, field force management system. EAS, are designed to meet the evolving needs of modern businesses 
1 note · View note
salesmagna · 1 month ago
Text
Why SalesMagna Is the Best Field Force Automation Software to Transform Your Sales Operations
Managing a field sales team with manual methods like spreadsheets and paper forms is no longer feasible for fast-growing FMCG companies and businesses with complex sales channels. As companies scale, the need for smarter, automated sales solutions becomes critical. This is where Field Force Automation Software steps in — revolutionizing how sales teams operate and report from the field.
Among all available options, SalesMagna stands out as the best Field Force Automation Software for companies aiming to boost sales productivity, accuracy, and visibility across their field force.
What Is Field Force Automation Software and Why Does Your Business Need It?
Field Force Automation (FFA) Software is a comprehensive digital platform designed to automate and optimize the daily activities of field sales, FFA focuses heavily on empowering your on-ground team with real-time data capture, order management, attendance tracking, and route optimization - all critical for FMCG and distribution-intensive businesses.
Traditional manual sales processes, such as:
Filling out paper forms,
Reporting sales data via spreadsheets,
Managing attendance and outlet visits manually,
are error-prone, slow, and difficult to monitor at scale. This results in lost sales opportunities, inaccurate reporting, and lower accountability.
With the right Field Force Automation Software, your sales force can digitally capture orders, report visits, and update inventory status in real-time, providing managers instant visibility into sales performance and field activities.
How SalesMagna Excels as the Leading Field Force Automation Software
SalesMagna has been crafted specifically for FMCG, Pharma, and Consumer Durables companies that need a reliable, easy-to-use platform for field sales automation. Here are key features that make SalesMagna the best choice for your field force:
1. Real-Time Sales Data Capture & Reporting
With SalesMagna, every sales visit, order, and payment update is recorded instantly through the mobile app, eliminating delays and human errors common in manual reporting. This real-time sales data empowers managers to track performance live and make informed decisions quickly.
2. Advanced Location Tracking & Geo-Fencing
Geo-fencing technology ensures your sales reps visit assigned outlets within defined areas, enhancing route compliance and accountability. Sales managers get automated alerts if visits are missed or outside designated zones, improving overall field coverage.
3. Powerful Distributor Management System (DMS) Integration
SalesMagna includes an integrated Distributor Management System that automates order processing, stock monitoring, claims management, and payment follow-ups. This reduces bottlenecks in your supply chain and streamlines distributor operations.
4. Offline Functionality for Uninterrupted Sales Workflows
Field sales teams often work in areas with poor network connectivity. SalesMagna’s offline mode allows reps to capture orders and update data without an internet connection, syncing automatically when they regain access.
5. AI-Powered Sales Insights & Automation
Artificial intelligence in SalesMagna analyzes sales trends, predicts demand, and suggests optimized sales routes — helping your team focus on high-value activities that drive revenue growth.
6. Multi-Channel Ordering through Retailer App & WhatsApp Integration
Empower retailers to place orders easily through the SalesMagna Retailer App or via WhatsApp, simplifying communication and speeding up order confirmations.
7. Cloud-Based Security & Scalability
SalesMagna is a secure, cloud-based solution that grows with your business, offering seamless updates and remote accessibility for managers and sales reps.
The Benefits of Adopting Sales Force Automation with SalesMagna
Sales Force Automation (SFA) is a vital component of overall field force automation, focusing on digitizing the sales process from lead management to closing deals. Here's how SalesMagna's Sales Force Automation capabilities help your sales team excel:
Increase Sales Productivity: By automating repetitive tasks like order entry and reporting, your sales reps spend more time selling.
Improve Data Accuracy: Real-time updates reduce errors and ensure everyone works from the same reliable data source.
Enhance Customer Engagement: Automated reminders, route planning, and customer visit histories help sales reps build stronger relationships.
Boost Transparency & Accountability: Managers gain full visibility into daily activities, allowing for performance tracking and coaching.
Why SalesMagna Is the Best Choice for Your Field Force Automation Software Needs
Choosing the right Field Force Automation Software is critical for driving operational efficiency and sales growth. Here's why SalesMagna should be your top pick:
Tailored for FMCG & Distribution: SalesMagna understands the complexities of fast-moving industries and provides specialized features.
User-Friendly Mobile App: Sales teams can easily adapt SalesMagna with an intuitive app interface, reducing training time.
Comprehensive Analytics: Gain actionable insights with customizable dashboards and reports.
Scalable & Secure: Cloud architecture ensures business continuity and data safety.
Multi-Role Access: From field reps to distributors and managers, everyone gets appropriate access to perform their roles efficiently.
Start Your Digital Sales Transformation Today
If you're ready to replace manual sales reporting and outdated processes with a smart, powerful Field Force Automation Software, then look no further than SalesMagna.
Experience how SalesMagna can streamline your sales operations, improve field team productivity, and unlock new business growth opportunities.Visit SalesMagna.com now to request a free demo and take the first step toward transforming your field force.
0 notes
fieldez · 2 months ago
Text
Business Efficiency with Field Service Management Software by FieldEZ Technologies
In today’s fast-paced, customer-centric environment, businesses with field operations need agile, intelligent solutions to stay competitive. From telecom and utilities to healthcare and retail, organizations require streamlined systems to manage their workforce, schedule tasks, and deliver services on time. This is where FieldEZ Technologies steps in with its comprehensive suite of field service management software designed to optimize every aspect of field operations.
What Is Field Service Management Software?
Field service management software (FSM) helps businesses coordinate field operations through a centralized platform. It includes tools for scheduling, dispatching, tracking, and reporting field activities. FSM ensures the right person is assigned the right task at the right time — improving productivity and reducing downtime.
With rising customer expectations, the importance of service management software has become undeniable. Businesses need to respond faster, offer real-time updates, and resolve issues efficiently. FieldEZ’s FSM solutions are built to meet these demands with intelligent workflow automation and intuitive user experiences.
FieldEZ Technologies- Transforming Field Service Through Innovation:
FieldEZ Technologies is a leader in field service automation, delivering scalable software solutions tailored for diverse industries. Their product suite includes:
ServiceEZ — A full-featured service management software to handle installation, maintenance, repair, and customer support tasks with real-time visibility and resource planning.
SalesEZ — A specialized tool for salesforce automation, streamlining lead management, order processing, and customer engagement, especially useful for on-field sales teams.
RetailEZ — Focused on retail execution, this solution supports retail audits, merchandising, inventory tracking, and campaign monitoring across multiple locations.
Each product integrates seamlessly to create an ecosystem that boosts operational transparency, employee accountability, and customer satisfaction.
Why Choose FieldEZ for Field Service Management?
Comprehensive Maintenance Management Systems — Maintenance is at the core of many field service operations. FieldEZ’s software allows companies to implement preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance protocols through digital tracking and analytics. These maintenance management systems help businesses reduce equipment downtime and extend asset life.
Intelligent Workflow Automation — Manual workflows are prone to error and inefficiency. FieldEZ enables workflow automation by digitizing and optimizing work orders, approvals, notifications, and escalations. Whether it’s assigning tasks or capturing customer feedback, automation ensures speed and accuracy.
Real-Time Visibility and Analytics — Managers can monitor field activities in real-time using GPS tracking and automated reporting features. This visibility helps with better decision-making and resource allocation, leading to higher customer satisfaction and operational cost savings.
Customizable and Scalable Solutions — Whether you’re a startup or a large enterprise, FieldEZ’s solutions are designed to grow with your business. Custom modules, integrations, and white-labeled apps provide flexibility without compromising performance.
Mobile-First Experience — Field personnel can access job details, update task status, collect digital signatures, and communicate with team members using mobile devices. This enhances productivity and reduces paperwork significantly.
Industries Benefiting from FieldEZ:
From HVAC and home services to IT support and retail audits, FieldEZ has successfully empowered clients across various domains. Its solutions are especially useful for:
Telecom & Infrastructure
Medical Equipment Servicing
Facilities Management
Consumer Electronics
BFSI & Insurance
Retail Chains
Final Thoughts:
In a competitive business environment where time, accuracy, and customer satisfaction are critical, adopting a robust field service management software can make all the difference. FieldEZ Technologies delivers value with its advanced service management software, smart maintenance management systems, and end-to-end workflow automation capabilities.
By choosing FieldEZ, businesses can enhance efficiency, reduce operational costs, and offer seamless field experiences that drive loyalty and growth. If you’re looking to transform your service delivery, FieldEZ has the tools and technology to lead your field operations into the future.
0 notes
astiinfotech1 · 3 months ago
Text
Smart Field Force Management for Banks & Financial FirmsAsti Infotech offers cutting-edge field force management solutions tailored for banks and financial institutions. Our platform ensures complete visibility, real-time tracking, and seamless task management for field agents, helping your organization stay compliant, efficient, and customer-focused. With rising regulatory requirements and increasing customer expectations, banks and NBFCs need smart tools to streamline operations and reduce risks. Our solution helps financial organizations monitor employee movement, schedule and assign tasks, verify visit authenticity through GPS and timestamp data, and generate insightful reports to optimize performance. Whether it’s loan collections, field verifications, or sales visits, our system supports secure, trackable, and automated workflows—reducing manual errors and improving accountability. Asti’s platform is scalable, cloud-based, and easy to integrate with your existing systems. Empower your team with a mobile app for on-the-go task updates, attendance marking, geo-fencing, and instant communication. Enhance customer trust with faster response times and verified interactions. Choose Asti Infotech to bring greater transparency, operational excellence, and cost-efficiency to your banking field operations. Perfect for banks, NBFCs, microfinance institutions, and fintech service providers.
0 notes
digitalsolutionsfortelecos · 6 months ago
Text
Smart Field Force Management: A Guide to Achieve the Best Field Force Efficiency
Managing field operations efficiently is essential for keeping things running smoothly, ensuring customers are satisfied, and helping the business grow. But when the workforce is large and spread out, it’s easy for problems to arise. Miscommunication, delays, and inefficiencies can disrupt workflows and slow everything down. To deal with these challenges, businesses need tools that can adapt to their needs. A field force management platform helps by bringing clarity and structure to field operations.
These platforms use technology to handle routine tasks, keep track of performance, and ensure that field activities align with the company’s objectives. In the telecom industry, such platforms are often a part of larger telecom sales systems. They are built to make fieldwork easier, reduce waste of time, and help teams accomplish their goals more effectively.
Why Field Force Efficiency Matters?
For telecom businesses, improving the efficiency of field operations is a key step toward better service and smoother workflows. When processes aren’t organized, delays happen, customers become frustrated, and resources go to waste. By focusing on field force optimization, companies can build a stronger workforce, improve revenue, and gain customer trust:
1. Minimizing Operational Bottlenecks 
Businesses will be wasting a lot of time and resources with insignificant or no room for other activities if operations are not conducted ideally. A telecom field force management system allows experts to point out the exact problem areas and offers instantaneous solutions to avoid any delay. 
2. Elevating Customer Experience 
Customers today expect services that are not only quick but also efficient. Using the best tools such as field force management platforms can improve how they manage tasks, reduce waiting time and delivery of the service, and establish good customer relationships. 
3. Enhancing Resource Utilization 
Ensuring that the field team has the proper equipment as well as proper guidance for working effectively is a requirement. As a result, the field force management software has enabled businesses to properly manage tasks as well as provide the necessary support that is required to enhance productivity. 
4. Cutting Costs by Simplifying Workflows 
By the time delays and inefficiencies set in, costs would have rapidly skyrocketed, and the ripple effect is also going to be uncontrollable. Telecom sales and distribution platforms are key to business efficiency. It enables them to use less time and energy hence, saving money. 
5. Making Better Decisions with Data 
The smart field force management platformmanagers receive the right information to assist them in their decision-making process. This new tool is an enabler as it allows them to analyze the successful completion of a task. They can also change subjects when they see a problem and this aids in better performance. 
6. Boosting Revenue Growth 
A telecom sales and marketing platform is responsible for providing good services to customers that will lead to enhancing sales and revenue. Comprehensive operation is the main driver of business growth when expressed in terms of productivity of turnarounds, as well as satisfied customers. Indeed, once a sales and distribution solution for the telecom industry is installed, the companies can be able to provide services more efficiently and there has been a high probability of an increment in revenues.
7. Boosting User Engagement
In order to achieve their peak performance, an employee should be given clear assignments and a supportive system. When work processes are well arranged and team members are provided with effective tools, their confidence is further boosted, hence increasing commitment to the team is possible.
A Comprehensive Guide to Smart Field Force Management
A smart field force management that encompasses a collection of customized features that relieve the operator's complexity and scale up efficiency as well as implementing the field force management platform can be a game-changer for telecom companies in the ever-digitizing market and will provide them with sustainability whilst retaining the edge for competitive advantages. Here is a detailed guide to smart field force management for beginners:
1. Enable Real-Time Tracking
Real-time tracking, certainly, is a necessary management tool that keeps them well abreast of their staff's progress, as well as their current location. The telecom field force management system gives real-time notifications for updates in such a way that there is no delay in the process and there is accountability for each team member.
2. Add Task Automation 
Writing down what the tasks are and then passing them through different stages is likely to waste time as well as making mistakes that have to be corrected. Assigning tasks to be done with automation through the field force management software will ensure that workers are assigned to the job depending on their skills, availability, and the location of the worksite.
3. Employ Data Analytics for Decision-Making
Data from a smart field force management platform will be used to spot the areas that cause the most trouble as well as allow the optimization of the current operations. Managers can take advantage of the information gathered to back up marketing tactics and boost the company’s overall performance.
4. Enhancing Phrasing Between Teams
Effective and reliable communication is the key to successful cooperation. By integrating telecom sales and distribution platforms, companies can make sure the teams have the necessary information to complete their work correctly and promptly.
5. Train and Develop Field Teams
Proper training of the teams will help them to get familiar with the tools and technology the company provided them with. The employees who are regularly upskilled will be able to work more efficiently, both individually and as a team.
6. Ensure Scalability with Flexible Systems
Operations and the complexity of the business grow as the company expands. A scalable smart field force management platform is one that can adapt to these changes; hence, it will be continuously performing highly even during the expansion of a business.
7. Monitor and Optimize Regularly
Continuous examination of field operations is necessary to ensure that they are always in the right direction. Regularly analyzing data and refining workflows helps businesses stay ahead in an evolving telecom industry.
FAQs
1. How does a smart field force management platform improve efficiency?
It offers such attributes as automatic work allocation, real-time monitoring, and data analysis to a more efficient and easier way to bring patients to the doctor faster.
2. What role does a telecom field force management system play in customer satisfaction?
It is the key to excellent customer service. The system ensures fast work completion and cost-effective resource allocation, which leads to faster and more reliable delivery service.
3. Why is data analytics important in field force management?
One word: analytics. That is why. Field force analytics offer useful insights into worker efficiency. Consequently, supervisors are able to adapt the schedule according to the workers' capabilities.
4. How does field force management software benefit telecom companies?
It works in harmony with the telecom operations and, thus, cheerleads for your company by creating the most effective workflows and securing higher efficiency and bigger revenue potential.
5. What sets a smart field force management platform apart from traditional methods?
The application of technology is far superior to traditional methods. Automation makes the field work much easier while traceability manages the work process. Work is more predictable, and the greatest efficiency is achieved with three principal components.
Conclusion: Maximizing Field Force Efficiency with Smart Management
Field force capability is extremely important for operational improvement hence the automation of such industries. The field force management software platform guarantees that you are out in the field streamlining, resources are used optimally, and the customer is always happy. Your strategy should include the smart field force management platform implementation of 6D Technologies. It is a personalized version of Ventas, a telecom sales and marketing platform that is designed for your requirements. If you want to investigate it further, please visit the following URL https://www.6dtechnologies.com/sales-mgt/field-force-management/
0 notes
thepsmsblog · 1 year ago
Text
Best lead management software
Are you looking for the best lead management software for your company? No look where else we are providing the best lead management software and services in Ahmedabad, India.
You can contact us at: 9978763071 /82000 27918.
Send us email on: [email protected]
0 notes
elumish · 6 months ago
Text
One thing I don't see show up as a consideration in worldbuilding a lot is what things are professionalized.
By that I mean how (and whether) certain activities or focuses are conducted in an organized, professional manner or treated as a career path or industry (often with set standards or training involved) rather than those that are treated primarily as hobbies or conducted in an ad hoc manner.
Standing armies, for example, are professionalized in a way that temporary armies or militias aren't. Being in the military is a profession that is organized and has specific standards and training and that clearly distinguishes between people who are or are not in the military. If we look at a lot of past wars, though, as well as many militias, being in the military was not a career for most people (especially most enlisted) and the time and effort between deciding to join and being on a battlefield was significantly smaller.
A professionalized military will generally be a stronger, more cohesive, more effective military--but it is also far more expensive to maintain, because as it is a profession the military servicemembers pull their salary from the military on a regular basis, and it takes away hands from other tasks such as manufacturing and farming.
Over the last few hundred years a lot of countries have seen (to varying degrees) professionalization of fields like firefighting, policing, pharmacology, emergency response, and search and rescue. In these cases, it reflects 1) a recognized need for a standing trained force that can respond quickly; 2) a recognized need for standards and credentialing; 3) the ability societally to have individuals who might otherwise be contributing to manufacturing or food production not do that indefinitely; 4) a dedicated ongoing effort to maintain standards, trainings, etc.; and 5) organizations (generally governments) that can pay for these services.
We also see the professionalization of other things, like youth sports--the push to treat youth sports as either primarily a system to develop professional athletes or a career on its own.
When you're doing worldbuilding, consider what roles would be treated in this professionalized manner, rather than those that would be viewed as temporary positions or conducted on an ad hoc basis.
Is there a standing professional military? How does the professionalization differ between officers and enlisted?
Is emergency preparedness, response, or recovery a professionalized field? Is the focus of that profession on planning? On search and rescue, triage, or other immediate response activities or coordination? On rebuilding following disasters? On managing grants, tax relief, or other monetary aspects of rebuilding?
Is pharmacology a regulated industry that requires training or credentialing? Is medicine?
Is firefighting generally conducted by individuals in the neighborhood? By private industry? By unpaid volunteers managed by a governmental or non-governmental organization? By full-time paid staff?
Are these positions generally a full-time job or an ad hoc/as needed job that can be called on? If it is an ad hoc position, what are the credentialing requirements to be put on the roster?
901 notes · View notes
thepresence360 · 10 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
0 notes
poolseason · 2 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
more Ninjagelion AU
Setup: In the aftermath of a cataclysmic event on the Dark Island where humans accidentally awakened an entity known as the [OVERLORD] the world was plunged into eternal chaos. 20 years later, Ninjago has managed to rebuild. Now in New Ninjago City, a bustling and lively hub at the heart of Ninjago, has been under attack by monsters- onis, dragons, serpents, unexplainable beasts,- creatures made from the [OVERLORD]'s darkness. Luckily the Special Division ELEMENTS is here to protect the realm from these monstrous threats, with the NINJA mechs. This cant be possible without some valuable members of the team!
Characters, lore, and more ↓
Characters:
Pixal: In this au she's a human scientist, and probably the one person who knows the most about how the NINJA mechs are created. She's in charge of the technical division, and head of research and development. During a monster battle, her order's are second to Cole's. Her highest priority is the integrity of the mechs, to the point she might be a bit negligent of the safety of their pilots. Pixal is deeply involved in some suspicious agendas involving the secret entities hidden under the base, and while she's the most knowledgeable person in the force, she's not the most trustworthy. Pixal is Zane's personal "doctor" and knows more about his schematics than anyone else. She created the Nindroid plugs (aka the Dummy system, an autopilot of sorts) with his personality data. Pixal is also one of the few people who know what happened to the original Dr. Julien and Echo.
Jay: For a little history on him, Jay is on the younger side, have graduated from college a couple of years ago. He originally interned here as an electrical engineer in the Weapons Deparment, but Pixal saw his skill and ingenuity and gave him an unrefusable return offer in the R&D department as her right hand. Jay's parents, Ed and Edna Walker were colleagues of Cyrus Borg and were involved in the engineering and design of the Geofront and NNC's civilian safety infrastructure, so Jay's always been somewhat interested in ELEMENT's work. It was kind of a dream come true when the Pixal Borg hired him. During monster attacks, Jay's in charge of making sure the NINJA mechs operate properly, have access to their weapons and gear, and making sure the NNC fortress moves as needed. Jay's always seen with his goggles and he almost never follows uniform protocol.
Jay is also one of the few Technicians who personally work with the Pilots, he's one of the first people Lloyd warmed up to at ELEMENTS, and he becomes kind of a big brother figure to him after one particularly crazy mission when he has to personally go out onto the field with Lloyd in Unit-01. When Nya arrives the pair work together a lot outside of pilot training, but Nya definitely likes him and he... needs to figure some things out. whoops!
Skylor: Having grown up in the aftermath of the 2nd (Overlord) Impact, Skylor's seen a lot of destruction and cruelty, even first hand from her own father who lead a doomsday cult that wreaked havoc on innocent communities trying to survive in the near apocalyptic event. Vowing to protect the world from similar chaos, she joined the NINJA program's tactical division. When the monster attacks began, she's in-charge of monitoring the enemy's health, pilot life signs, and mapping.
Dareth: His last name is Presley bc of the Elvis hair and inspiration lmao. He's not really a high ranking member of the organization but Cole and the others seem to really trust him, despite his mess ups. Dareth normally handles ferrying radio messages between ground teams and mission control. Dareth is a relaxed guy who values a positive work environment, even if that kind of makes him a bad employee. He's a very good uncle figure to a lot of members of ELEMENTS
MORE Cole: Cole is the leader of the tactical division. He was drafted into the military when he was only a young teenager in the aftermath of the [OVERLORD] but he was recognized by Wu and not long after he completed college and grad school he was quickly hired by ELEMENTS to oversee the tactical division. He's vengeful towards the Overlord's darkness monsters because his mother Lily was the captain of the disastrous expedition to the Dark Island 20 years ago. The dog tags he wears are his own and his mother's.
Lloyd and Zane, on neural headsets: As pilots of a NINJA mech they have a lot of pressure on them, obviously this can cause a lot of mental turmoil and stress. In order to pilot a mech they must synchronize their own mind to their mech's soul*, so stress isn't really a good thing for a pilot to have. Zane was programmed to not experience such emotions, but over the course of the series, its proven that he grows to feel quite strongly and become more human. Despite his programming, the lack of emotion early on was actually a detriment to his ability to pilot, since the NINJA soul wouldn't be able to synchronize it's feelings with an entity that feels nothing. Sometimes its necessary for pilots to wear more complicated neural headsets and spinal connections for more controlled sync testing. During the cross-sync experiment when Zane and Lloyd traded units, they were stuck wearing extra uncomfortable test suits -- too many wires and junk! The only downside to extra connection is that the mech could overload and go berserk. (which big surprise, happened!), so usually Lloyd, the designated Unstable Pilottm, only needs the barebones neural interface in most situations.
360 notes · View notes
thezombieprostitute · 2 months ago
Text
Cherry Bomb
Tumblr media
Summary: Mob Boss Steve's life gets a much needed dose of excitement when you move into his neighborhood.
A/N: Written for @darkficsyouneveraskedfor's Mafia Bingo AU. Dedicated to @biteofcherry.
A/N2: Reader is female, on the shorter side. No other physical descriptors used.
Word Count: ~4.5k (new record!)
Warnings: Power imbalance, Smut, Violence (comedic, if that helps). Please let me know if I missed any!
Tumblr media
The Mob life isn't all high stakes meetings and shootouts like it's portrayed as in the movies. In fact, as Steve can attest, most days are pretty boring. At least once you've established yourself like he has.
The businesses in his territory paid protection fees. He and his men kept the people safe. It was a good deal, in his eyes at least. His Family actually looked after their community, unlike many others in the surrounding territories. Ones that just took money and fed their power trips with fear.
But he has to admit, he's bored. He almost misses the early days where he always had to be on alert. When there was a fight every other day. When he still had to work for what he now has.
Expansion has been tempting, but he doesn't have the manpower to do so and keep his current territory secure. He might be profiting from the situation but he does take the security and well-being of his territory seriously.
His boredom was such that, when he learned a new business was opening, a gardening store and nursery, he was tempted to introduce the owner to the safety payment system himself. But it wouldn't be a good look for the man in charge to do the work of foot soldiers. Instead he sent Jake and Curtis who had almost mastered the carrot/stick approach.
To say he was surprised when they returned empty handed and injured would be an understatement.
"What the hell happened to you?" he exclaims.
"New store owner is a fucking firecracker," Curtis grunts as his arm gets stitched up.
"We told her why we there and she just exploded on us," Jake said through sniffles. "There was so much pollen! I still can't breathe through my nose."
"Tried to use force and next thing I know I'm keeping my face from getting hit by a trowel," Curtis added. "She was just smacking me with it, but those corners caught me in a few places."
"We opted for a tactical retreat," Jake continues after blowing his nose into another tissue.
Bucky snorts. "She kicked your asses."
"She had the element of surprise," Curtis argues.
"Well now she doesn't," Steve interjects. "Curtis and Jake, you're out so you can heal up, maybe get some antihistamines. Bucky, since you're so eager to insult these two, you go and show them how it's done."
"Not a problem," Bucky smirks.
Tumblr media
Less than an hour later Bucky storms in, smirk gone, scratches along his face, favoring his right leg.
"She got you, too," Curtis snorted.
"How did she get you?" Steve asks, aghast that his best man was so hurt and yet empty handed.
"Cherry bomb," Bucky grunts. "Played so sweet and soft but the second I got close, she exploded. Kicked my shin while wearing steel toe boots. I managed not to lose my footing but I dropped my face just low enough that she SMACKED ME WITH A CACTUS! REPEATEDLY!"
Curtis nods. "She's got a hell of an arm."
Bucky glares at Curtis. "The bitch smacked my ass with the damn thing!"
Curtis starts laughing and Steve steps between the two men to prevent a fight.
"You go get patched up," he orders. "Make sure you're not going to get an infection or something from a cactus needle. I'll go ahead and take care of this myself."
"Sure you're up for it?" Jake asks, nose mostly still stuffed from the pollen. "You haven't been in the field for a while."
"That's what will make it even more impressive when I get my payment," Steve asserts, fixing his tie, before heading out.
Tumblr media
You let out a frustrated sigh as you clean up the mess from the last asshole trying to get "protection money". You'd hoped you were done with that when you got out of Rumlow's territory. You'd heard things were better here. Well, given how easily you were able to fight off those men, maybe it was better for those who could fight. And you weren't one to give in easy.
The bell above the door rings and you look up, disappointed to see another suit instead of a customer. At least the guy makes the suit look good. He's a lot bigger than the other guys, his golden hair and beard giving him an almost lion like mane. His demeanor isn't cocky like the last guy. His movements are smoother than the first two, like he's got better control over his every muscle. And you can imagine there's quite a bit of muscle under that suit. It's a shame you'll have to ruin that suit and scratch up that handsome face.
"Hi there," he says with a smile. "I'm Steve Rogers, the man in charge of this neighborhood."
That comment makes you roll your eyes. "From where I'm standing, you're not in charge of anything." You expect rage, but instead, he laughs.
"I want to thank you. Less than a week and you've already caused more disruptions than we've had in over a year."
"I caused nothing," you counter, hoping to hide how weak-kneed his voice makes you. "You and yours caused it by demanding money for nothing. They should count themselves lucky I didn't spray them with repellent."
"It isn't nothing," he claims. "We actually do help our people."
You snort. "Sure, that's what all you mob wannabes say. Keeping us safe from actually bad people who'd bring in drugs and guns. Blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile you're stealing my money that would be better spent on protecting my plants from spider-mites and sciaridare."
"How much are you spending?" You tell him the amount and his eyebrows rise as he considers. Pulling out his phone he dials a number, "Jensen, I need you to get in touch with Turner. See if he's willing to share some of his pesticides and whatnot from his nursery."
He hangs up the phone and looks at you. "You'd be paying a lot less for the stuff."
"But I'd still be paying you," you grumble. "How does that save me money?"
"I'm not charging you the difference," he replies.
"I'm still not interested in paying you anything. You can get me a small discount on the good stuff? That's not enough for me." You cross your arms and turn your nose up at him.
"It'll also help the community you've set yourself up in," he shrugs. "The parks? The food bank? You'll be helping out the people around you as well."
"That's what taxes are for!"
"That's what they're supposed to be for," he argues. "But we know that isn't how it tends to work."
You huff and he steps closer to you. He somehow manages to be intimidating while also not invading your personal space. Your mind, again, goes to the image of the muscles he's likely working with under that suit.
"I still don't think I should have to pay so you can wear expensive suits and eat at fancy restaurants," you gripe. "You're profiting off of everyone in the area and telling us we're helping each other out!"
"So your saying if I was wearing say, a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants you'd be more willing to work with me?" Steve smirks as he sees your eyes go soft and you almost biting your lip at the mental image he gave you.
He's still smirking when you shake your head and glare at him. The fact that you're obviously attracted to him and he's toying with you throws you into a rage.
"Get out of my store!" you yell, grabbing the nearest object and throwing it at him.
He dodges it easily, but his smirk drops and he closes the gap between you. "Do you really wanna do this, Cherry Bomb?" he almost growls as he firmly grips your chin.
Instead of answering him, you break from his grasp and move to bite his fingers but, again, he's able to dodge. You go for a kick and he moves out of the way while pulling on you so you almost fall on your ass. He catches you before you hit the cement flooring, but you're thrown off kilter.
Using his size advantage he pushes your back against a nearby table and pins your hands down at your sides.
"You can either agree to pay, or bad things will happen to---"
In your desperation for an opening, you try to surprise him with a kiss. Instead of him being shocked and loosening his grip like you expected, he returns the kiss with a passion. You can't help the stop the small moan you let out and he takes the opportunity to shove his tongue into your mouth. When was the last time you'd been kissed with such fire?
He pulls away and you whine. He's still got a firm grip on your arms, keeping you pinned.
"You taste like cherry," he growls, licking his lips. You try to keep fighting but he's too strong. "Haven't had a kiss like that in ages."
"It wasn't that good," you snipe.
"I was talking about myself, but I guess it's been a while for you, too," he chuckles.
Heat rushes to your face at your slip up and you move to kick him, headbutt him, anything. Instead, he does similar to before where he uses your own force against you. And, again, he's the only think that keeps you from face planting onto the cement floor. He ends up getting you into a hold from behind, one of his thick arms around your torso, the other around your neck, pushing your head into his chest. He's got you close to a wall so you can't get enough force to really kick him. You try kicking and pushing off the wall but he stays stead.
"That's it," he coos. "Get it out of your system so we can talk like mature adults and not a tantrum throwing brat."
"The second you let me go I'm biting your face off!"
"Then I guess I'm never letting you go," he chuckles. "But I don't think you mind being held like this."
You respond with a growl but it's only half-hearted. Your estimation of what he's hiding under his suit feels accurate now that you're pressed up against him. His arms are holding you so tight you can't break free. He's steady enough on his feet you can't even use leverage from the wall against him. If you'd met him in a different way you'd be incredibly turned on.
Not to say you aren't turned on now. Your body is betraying you; nipples hard, pussy wet. It's not fair! Why does he have to be everything you've been craving?
Slowly you're able to get yourself under control. Steve feels your body relax in his hold and he knows he should let go but part of him doesn't want to. Well, a few parts of him don't want to. Your body feels so good pressed against him. Your fiery nature is exactly the kick he's been craving. But he's not one to take a woman against her will and he needs to talk business with you so he slowly, warily loosens his hold.
"Shall we go to your office? Somewhere with a lot fewer sharp objects within arm's reach?" he suggests, only half joking.
You stomp in the direction of your office with a huff while Steve follows. You eye some of the sharper utensils, some of the repellents you can use instead of pepper spray but you know he's watching you. So far he's been able to thwart your every move. But your office is small enough his larger size could be a disadvantage. You'll wait for the right moment.
Once inside the office, you promptly sit down in your comfy chair, forcing Steve to sit on the much smaller one. To your frustration, he makes no indication as to being bothered by it.
"So, you wanna talk like adults?" you snip at him.
"Best way to do business, don't you think?" He smirks at you and it only grows when he sees the frustration written all over your face.
"Extortion isn't a business," you argue.
"And yet, here we are."
"I still don't see the point of this. There's nothing you could give me that I can't do on my own."
"We're keeping Rumlow's men from following you." Your eyes widen a bit at that. "My men caught some of his foot soldiers monitoring the place. Turns out, Rumlow didn't take to kindly to the goodbye message you left for him. Personally, i think the fertilizer dumped all over his car to hide the sugar in the gas tank wasn't a bad idea. Well timed on your part, too."
"Yeah, well, I doubt your men can actually handle his. I fought off three of them alone today!"
"That's because they're under strict orders to not hurt the residents. Not without permission from me, anyways. Rumlow's men they're more than happy to hurt."
"I still have my doubts. Especially about the price of the protection."
"Protection comes with many benefits," Steve assures. "Not just the pesticide pricing, either."
"Such as?"
"Actually getting customers." Steve grinned as you were unable to hide your frustration at his words. "People in our territory support each other. You're not supported by us? You're not supported by them."
"You bastard! I'm trying to run a business and you're charging me to even get a customer?!"
"I don't tell people where to do their shopping," he objects. "It's just that the people around here prefer to buy from others under our protection."
"This is such a scam!"
"And yet, you moved here because this territory is the safest, the nicest and best for business." You cross your arms and try not to make eye contact. You know he's right, but that doesn't mean you have to be happy about it.
"So how much are we talking?" He says the amount and you give him a confused look. "You mean per week or something, right?"
"Per month," he assures. "I might be making a profit, able to wear fancy suits, but that's because I'm good with money. Not because I try to squeeze blood from a stone."
"Well I still think I can get a better deal!" you insist, not believing yourself.
He raises an eyebrow, "do tell."
"Fine, I just want a better deal where I don't have to pay you a dime!"
He considers you for a minute, slowly licking his lips. "I suppose I might be open to alternative forms of payment."
"Perv!"
"Says the woman who's been eye-fucking me since I walked in. I bet you enjoyed being manhandled, being pinned against me." He leans forward so his elbows are on the desk. "I bet your wet at the thought of me using you like a whore."
"Do you offer 'such a deal' with all the business owners in your territory?" you sneer.
"Just the ones that attract me. So just you."
That gets your attention. "Must be a long time since you've gotten laid if you're going after me."
He shrugs. "It has been a while. But it's also been even longer since I met someone so interesting."
"You want to break me," you accuse.
Steve's face turns serious at that. "I admire that fire in you. I'll never try to snuff it out. I've been craving that kind of energy so I'm inclined to encourage it, not cut it off or use it up."
"And how do you know I'm not just getting you to lower your guard so I can stab you?"
"I don't. That's half the fun." He backs away from you and stands up. "But if you're not interested, you're not interested. You don't want the protection? You don't get the customers. Maybe some of Rumlow's men make it to you."
"You're not giving me a real choice, here!"
"Pay up, and you don't have to worry about any of that. Plus, other benefits. How you pay is up to you."
"I'd be better off just giving you money," you snipe. "You're probably a two-pump chump, anyways."
He considers you for a moment, not giving you the rage filled response you were hoping for. "Either way," he replies nonchalantly before turning to head out of your office.
"Get that gorgeous ass back here!" you shout as you get up from your chair. He turns back towards you and lets you pull his tie to bring his face down to your level. You want to bite, smack, kick, anything. Instead you kiss him again.
Again, he returns the kiss with fervor, pushing you back against your desk. Your on your back and he's pinned your hands against the desk. But instead of continuing like you want him to, he breaks the kiss, making you whine and try to kick.
"Use your words, Cherry Bomb," he growls. "I need to hear you say it, or else I'm walking out of here."
"Fuck me," you mutter under your breath.
"What was that?" he teases.
"Fuck me like you mean it!"
His lips return to yours and you melt into him. One of his feet pushes your legs apart and his hips meet yours. You start trying to grind against him, desperate for release after all of the teasing he's put you through. One of his hands is all he needs to keep your arms pinned above your head. His other hand goes for the buttons of your jeans. Without breaking the kiss he's got you unbuttoned. He pulls his hips away just enough to start pushing his hand under your panties.
He smiles when he feels how wet you are already. "I guess I was right about you."
"Don't flatter yours---" your snipe cut off by another kiss.
You start rolling your hips against his hand but he pulls it away. He breaks the kiss and shoves his fingers into your mouth.
"Suck my fingers," he orders. He's barely gotten the words out before your obeying. "Good girl."
When he's satisfied with your work he lifts you off the desk and lifts up your shirt and bra, exposing your breasts. You're then forced back onto your back and he alternates sucking and biting one nipple while his fingers play with the other one. If you thought his kisses were good, it's clear he knows how to use his tongue in other ways. He switches breasts and you start rolling your hips and moaning.
"Already so worked up," he teases. "And I've barely gotten started."
"Just get to the good stuff already," you gripe.
Steve stops and wraps one of his hands around your neck. "Does my little brat just need some good, hard dick? I was going to be nice and make sure you cum at least once, make it easier to take my cock. But now I'm not so sure."
Just like with your shirt, he pulls you up, pushes down your jeans and panties, and has you back on the desk before you've fully registered what happened.
He shoves two fingers inside your pussy and you squeal from the sensation.
"This pussy is so tight. I'm gonna enjoy wrecking you," he taunts.
"Big words," you spit back at him. "Bet you can't back them up."
"Well if you're going to continue being a brat, I'm going to have to treat you like one."
Steve pulls you up as he sits down on the little chair. He throws you across his lap and shoves the fingers that were in your pussy into your mouth.
"You're going to keep sucking on those fingers until I tell you to stop," he orders.
You're tempted to call his bluff but then his other hand comes down hard on your ass. Your eyes widen in pain and pleasure. Your tongue starts working his fingers as if possessed. He spanks you again and you moan around his fingers. He starts pushing his fingers further into your mouth before pulling back a little, then pushing in again. You keep your tongue moving, breathing through your nose. He brings his other hand down again and again, your moans getting louder.
You lose track of how many times he smacks your ass. You're no longer trying to fight him. All of your brain power is just focused on rolling your hips, whining around his fingers, begging him to give you what you need.
"Is my little Cherry Bomb ready to behave?" he coos, pulling his fingers out of your mouth.
"Please...Please fuck my pussy, Sir. Please, I need it!" you gasp.
He grips your chin and turns your face towards him. "How can I possibly say no to such a polite request?"
His hand goes from your chin to your throat as he stands you up and moves you back to the desk. He gets you on the desk and moves your legs so your ankles are up by his face.
He unzips and lets out a little sigh of relief. "Don't know how hard I've been this whole time, Cherry Bomb." He pulls his erection out of his pants and your eyes widen a little. "You've been working me up all this time and I've had to hold back." He starts rubbing his cock against your clit, making you whine. "All those pretty noises, that fiery attitude, that gorgeous body. A man can only take so much."
He picks up speed and you try to spread your legs a little more, giving him better access to your clit. Instead he grabs your legs and stops moving, making you let out a "no!"
"You will keep these legs where I put them," he orders. Your eyes flash in anger and frustration but you obey, making him grin. "Good girl."
He lines his erection up with your entrance and pushes into you. He wants to sheath himself in one quick thrust but he knows he can be a lot so he opts for a slower push. Besides, watching your facial expressions as you adjust to him, as you realize he's not all the way in yet, is so much fun. The noises you make as your body isn't sure if it should be feeling pleasure or pain are music to his ears. He could easily get addicted to you.
When he's fully inside you, he lets out a groan. Your pussy is clenching him like a vise and he doesn't want to cum so quickly. Definitely not before he's got you screaming his name in pleasure.
"You feel so good," he praises. He reaches his hand down to your pearl. "Let's get you creaming around my cock like a good slut."
He sets a rapid pace for playing with your clit as he slowly rolls his hips. The juxtaposition makes you want to squirm but remembering his orders about keeping your legs where he put them, you instead whimper. Frustration building as it feels like your orgasm wants to build but can't.
"What's the matter, beautiful?" he purrs.
"N-n-need more," you sniffle.
"More what?"
"M-more!"
"Use your words."
"Faster! More! Just fuck me like I need it, please!"
"I'm going to need you to tell me now, do you want me to cum inside you or pull out?" He hisses as he feels you clench around him at the thought of him cumming inside you.
"Inside! Please, Sir! Please!"
He chuckles darkly as he moves your legs so they're pushed against your chest. "I knew you were going to be good for me," he whispers with gentle kisses to your knees.
Steve pulls out of you and lines himself up again. This time he fulfills his desire and quickly thrusts himself fully inside of you, making you keen. He pistons into you at a furious pace and you find yourself writhing in pleasure.
"This pussy feels like heaven," he whispers hoarsely. "And you want me to fill you up like my own personal cum slut, don't you?"
"Y-yes!"
"Yes, what?" His hand moves between your bodies and finds your clit.
"Yes, Sir! Yes! I'm your personal cum slut!" you screech. "Please! Please fill me up, Sir!"
The pressure finally snaps and you feel like you're drowning in pleasure, unable to even tell which way is up. Your eyes roll back and you miss seeing Steve grimace as he tries to control his own orgasm while enjoying the way your pussy spasms around his erection. He praises you as you start coming down, but his pace doesn't slow.
"Give me another, beautiful," he orders.
"I-I can't!"
"I think you can," he argues. "You just need some more."
That's all the warning you get before he pulls out of you and flips you onto your stomach. He lifts your hips and impales you onto his cock. You cry out as the new position makes you feel, somehow, even more full than before. He wraps a hand around your throat and brings your torso up so you're pressed against him. He rolls his hips tentatively and you let out a gasp as he hits a particularly sensitive spot.
"Oh, you like that?" he teases, rolling his hips again, making you whimper. "My beautiful cum slut just needed the right motivation to cum again."
With that he picks up his pace, repeatedly brushing up against that same spot making you writhe in his arms, chanting "please, please, please".
"I'm going to cum inside you and mark this beautiful pussy as mine," he growls in your ear. "You're going to cum again, get those pussy juices all over these fancy clothes, and everyone will know your my slut."
Between his dirty, possessive words and hitting all the right spots, you come apart. You cry out as your orgasm hits you, tears pouring down your face. You feel Steve stiffen as he cums with a groan and push your hips back into him, wanting to catch every drop.
You collapse into Steve and he guides you so that he's holding you in your office chair. He gently pats your head, praising you, giving you small kisses. Your curl into his touch and he holds you tight for a few minutes.
"Should get you cleaned up," he whispers.
"Bathroom over there," you mumble, gesturing in the general direction of the unisex bathroom. Steve picks you up and carries you there, looking around to make sure the two of you were alone.
He gets you cleaned up, being very gentle with you.
"What else do you need, Cherry Bomb?"
"Can you hold me for a while more?"
"Gladly." He picks you up and carries you back to your office, helping you get dressed again, before returning to your chair for snuggles. You nuzzle against him and soon fall asleep.
Tumblr media
While you slept, Steve texted to his people that the two of you had come to an agreement and you were to be considered paid up. There were going to be some long conversations with his men after this, he knew. But when he looked at you, he knew you'd be worth it. He leaned down and kissed your forehead, his smile growing when you gave a little happy murmur.
Tumblr media
Tagging: @alicedopey; @darsynia; @delicatebarness; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @irishhappiness; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory; @kmc1989; @lokislady82; @peaches1958; @ronearoundblindly; @thiquefunlover63
195 notes · View notes
trackolap · 3 months ago
Text
How can Field Force Tracking App Tackle EduTech Industry Challenges?
EduTech companies struggle to manage on-field operations efficiently. Challenges like field representative monitoring, providing timely student support and real-time communication can lead to inefficiencies and delays. With complete visibility, managing field employees can become complex and affect your service quality. Hence, it is essential to implement a field force tracking app to streamline operations with automation. 
A field sales rep tracking software provides a game-changing solution by offering real-time live tracking , automated task management and instant data-driven report generation. These capabilities enable EduTech companies to maximize field operations and ensure representatives are in the right place—improved communication and employee accountability leads to improved performance and quicker issue resolution.
EduTech companies can optimize their resources and enhance service delivery through enhanced transparency and data-driven decision-making with the help of an employee location tracker. The software will enhance workforce efficiency and enhance student engagement and operational efficiency to fuel long-term business growth.
Top 10 Challenges Faced by EduTech Companies in 2025
In 2025, EduTech businesses faces numerous challenges ranging from embracing changing digital learning trends to dealing with dispersed field teams. Challenges like student retention, intense market competition demanding strategic solutions, and more. Additionally, monitoring field activities, managing client relationships, and ensuring seamless communication between teams remain essential pain points that hinder business growth. 
A field force tracking app offers real-time movement tracking, automated reporting and AI-enabled data analytics. This application will assist your EduTech companies in optimizing field operations and enhancing lead management and decision-making with data-based insights. By optimizing field sales efforts, businesses can boost productivity, strengthen client engagement and gain a competitive advantage effectively. 
1. Lack of Instant Visibility into Team’s Movements
EduTech companies struggle to monitor their sales representatives’ locations and activities in real-time. Without comprehensive visibility, it can become challenging to make sure whether field sales reps are attending meetings, visiting to potential clients or following the sales route. This absence of supervision can lead to inefficiencies, lost opportunities and complexity in performance measurement. Additionally, managers who depend on manual reporting might not be accurate, and result in defective decision-making.
Solution: A field sales rep tracking software offers real-time GPS tracking, w hich enables managers to track exact locations of their team members. This approach provides a central dashboard displaying sales routes, meetings attended and overall idle time. Automated check-ins and geofencing assist in validating visits to ensure the sales team follows their respective schedules. This level of visibility improves efficiency and provides the sales team with the most out of their working hours. 
2. Inefficient Sales Route Management
The EduTech field states teams cover vast areas, which makes territory management a significant challenge. Without complete planning, multiple sales reps may overlap in the same places, leading to inefficiencies, conflicts, and wasting time on the same task. At the same time, some areas remain underserved due to poor sales allocation, which leads to lost business operations. 
Solution: With the automated territory management feature, an employee location tracking system assigns sales reps to specific locations based on business demand, existing clients and potential leads. It ensures optimal distribution of sales efforts, minimizing overlaps and maximizing market coverage. Dynamic reallocation capabilities of this system allows managers to adjust territories in real-time based on the performance metrics and new opportunities. 
3. Difficulty in Monitoring Sales Performance Metrics
EduTech organizations find getting accurate insights into the sales team’s performance challenging. Relying on self-reported data can result into misrepresentation and inaccurate forecasting. Without having precise performance metrics, managers can struggle to evaluate sales efficiency, identify underperformers and reward top performers efficiently. 
Solution: The field force tracking app offers detailed data analytics on each sales representative's daily activities, overall conversions, meeting durations and follow-ups. Dynamic dashboards offer views into key performance metrics (KPIs) such as meeting duration, field time and lead conversions. The strategy eventually helps managers to assess individual and team performance, make sound decisions, and implement measures to increase the efficiency of sales.
4. High Level of Sales Rep Turnover
Field sales team members of the EduTech sector tend to experience high turnover rates, which makes onboarding and training a continuous challenge. When the sales team joins, they struggle to determine their assigned regions, the existing client base and sales strategies. Lack of structured onboarding procedures leads to extended le arning curves and lost sales opportunities. 
Solution: Employee location tracker includes features like optimized sales routes, client history, track record of historical data-driven reports, and more. It ensures new hires have access to adequate information on the mobile devices, minimizing the time required to adopt their roles. Managers can offer feedback by tracking real-time employee movements and collaborating seamlessly. 
5. Poor Lead Management
In the EduTech industry, lead management is essential to seal deals with schools, universities and institutions. Salespeople are unable to monitor potential leads, resulting in missed follow-ups, slow responses and lost sales. In the absence of an organized lead management answer, field teams may waste time on low-priority leads instead of working on high-conversion viewpoints.
Solution: The employee location tracking system integrates with the CRM system to allow sales reps to log leads, set follow-up reminders and categorize prospects based on urgency. Automated notifications ensure no follow-up is missed and enhance the likelihood of converting a prospect. By optimizing lead management, EduTech companies can improve sales efficiency and maximize revenue potential. 
6. Lack of Route Optimization
EduTech sales representatives spend excessive time commuting between meetings due to inefficient route planning. Poor route optimizations often lead to longer travel times, increased fuel costs and reduced meeting slots, which impacts business productivity. Without complete route optimization, sales reps may visit fewer clients in a day than potentially could. 
Solution: The employee location tracking system offers automated route planning based on location data, reducing travel time and maximizing client visits. It suggests the shortest and efficient routes, considering traffic conditions. By streamlining daily routes, field team members can conduct more meetings with potential students and their guardians, educators and even institutions, enhance client interactions and improve sales outcomes. 
7. Inaccurate Expense Management
Expenses associated with travel, client visits and lodging are a challenge for an EduTech firm. Without adequate documentation, sales reps struggle to report expenses, leading to late reimbursements and potential accounting errors Managing expenses creates an administrative workload for sales reps and finance teams.
Solution: An automated expense management platform allows teams to upload electronic receipts, and managers can classify expenses and review total expenses through data-driven reports - all in one place. Automated approval workflows make sure timely reimbursements, and finance teams can gain better visibility into expense patterns which helps in streamlining budget allocations. 
8. Lower Client Engagement
EduTech companies rely heavily on strong relationships with institutions and educators. However, teams may struggle to maintain consistent communication without a complete engagement tracking solution, resulting in dissatisfied clients. Unresolved queries, inconsistent follow-ups and lack of personalized service can minimize client retention. 
Solution: A field sales rep tracking software offers structured follow-ups, reminders for check-ins, client meetings, and feedback collection. It allows sales reps to record client preferences, past discussions, ensuring a personalized experience for each interaction. EduTech companies can seamlessly build stronger relationships and enhance client satisfaction by improving client management. 
9. Compliance & Documentation Challenges
Educational institutions need sales reps to adhere to substantial regulations and provide documents for contracts, pricing information and overall compliance reports. Handling the documents manually proves to be challenging, which leads to miscommunication, lost documents and overall compliance risks.
Solution: A field force tracking app offers a centralized dashboard where all contract, pricing structure-related information can be stored easily. This application lets Sales representatives quickly access and share information with clients directly. Additionally, automated compliance reminders also help sales teams keep themselves current with regulatory needs, lowering legal risks.
10. Lack of Integration with Existing EduTech Platforms
EduTech companies use multiple software for CRM sales management and other activities. However, when these systems do not communicate efficiently, sales reps tend to waste time switching between tools, resulting to inefficiencies and data silos. 
Solution: A field sales rep tracking software integrates easily with your existing CRM platforms and other EduTech tools. This approach ensures smooth data flow across platforms, enabling teams to access client details, learning preferences and sales history in one place. EduTech companies can optimize operations and drive higher conversion rates by minimising manual data entry and enhancing workflow efficiency. 
Final Thoughts
EduTech organizations suffer from issues like ineffective workforce management, no real-time updates, etc. Field force tracking app streamlines activities by providing real-time location tracking, instant reports, and insights based on data. This model increases productivity and ensures transparency and accountability among teams.
By implementing an intelligent tracking solution, EduTech firms can enhance workforce efficiency, reduce operational gaps and enhance overall performance. Investing in the proper platform makes workforce management easier, fuels improved engagement with clients, enables making the right decisions quicker, and fuels long-term business growth. Are you ready to streamline field operations with better efficiency? Connect with our team today !
0 notes
astiinfotech1 · 3 months ago
Text
Enhancing Healthcare Services with Imprint – A Smart Field Force Management SolutionAsti Infotech’s healthcare-focused solution, Imprint, is a comprehensive field force management system designed to meet the unique needs of the healthcare industry. It ensures seamless coordination, real-time monitoring, and efficient task allocation for healthcare professionals working in the field. Whether it's home healthcare providers, diagnostic service teams, nursing staff, or hospice caregivers, Imprint helps streamline operations and improve service quality. With features like live tracking, automated attendance, route optimization, and real-time reporting, Imprint empowers healthcare organizations to enhance productivity while ensuring timely patient care. Managers can assign tasks based on location and availability, reducing delays and improving response time. The system also ensures transparency and accountability with detailed logs and activity records. Imprint not only reduces operational inefficiencies but also boosts patient satisfaction by ensuring reliable and prompt care delivery. The solution is mobile-friendly and easy to use, making it ideal for healthcare staff constantly on the move. By leveraging Imprint, healthcare providers can focus more on patient outcomes while the system handles workforce logistics. It’s a powerful tool for organizations aiming to scale their services and maintain high-quality standards across their operations.
0 notes
invisibleicewands · 1 year ago
Text
Please come and see me because I’ll be dead soon’: how Michael Sheen got sucked into a forever chemicals exposé
An opera-loving member of high society turned eco-activist who was forced into police protection with a panic button round his neck. A Hollywood actor who recorded said activist’s life story as he was dying from exposure to the very chemicals he was investigating. Throw in two investigative journalists who realise not everything is as it seems, then uncover some startling truths, and you have “podcasting’s strangest team” on Buried: The Last Witness.
On their award-winning 2023 podcast Buried, the husband and wife duo Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor dug into illegal toxic waste dumping in the UK and its links to organised crime. This time, they focus on “forever chemicals”, specifically polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and set out to discover whether one whistleblower may have been decades ahead of his time in reporting on their harmful impact.
“It’s amazing how big the scale of this story is,” says Ashby, as we sit backstage at the Crucible theatre, where they are doing a live discussion as part of Sheffield DocFest. “With this series, we don’t just want it to make your blood turn cold, we want it to make you question your own blood itself.”
It all started when Taylor and Ashby were sent a lead about the work of former farmer’s representative Douglas Gowan. In 1967, he discovered a deformed calf in a field and began to investigate strange goings on with animals close to the Brofiscin and Maendy quarries in south Wales. He linked them to the dumping of waste by companies including the nearby Monsanto chemical plant, which was producing PCBs.
PCBs were used in products such as paint and paper to act as a fire retardant, but they were discovered to be harmful and have been banned since 1981 in the UK. However, due to their inability to break down – hence the term forever chemical – Gowan predicted their legacy would be a troubling one. “I expect there to be a raft of chronic illness,” he said. He even claimed that his own exposure to PCBs (a result of years of testing polluted grounds) led his pancreas and immune system to stop working. “I’m a mess and I think it can all be attributed to PCBs,” he said.
However, Gowan wasn’t a typical environmentalist. “A blue-blood high-society Tory and a trained lawyer who could out-Mozart anyone,” is how Taylor describes him in the series. He would even borrow helicopters from friends in high places to travel to investigate farmers’ fields. Gowan died in 2018 but the pair managed to get hold of his life’s work – confidential reports, testing and years of evidence. “I’m interested in environmental heroes that aren’t cliche,” says Ashby. “So I was fascinated by him. But then we started to see his flaws and really had to weigh them up. My goodness it’s a murky world we went into.”
The reason they were able to delve even deeper into this murky world is because of the award-winning actor Michael Sheen who, in 2017, came across Gowan’s work in a story he read. He was so blown away by it, and the lack of broader coverage, that he tracked him down. “I got a message back from him saying: ‘Please come and see me because I’ll be dead soon,’” says Sheen. “I took a camera with me and spent a couple of days with him and just heard this extraordinary story.”
What Gowan had been trying to prove for years gained some traction in 2007, with pieces in the Ecologist and a Guardian article exploring how “Monsanto helped to create one of the most contaminated sites in Britain”. One was described as smelling “of sick when it rains and the small brook that flows from it gushes a vivid orange.” But then momentum stalled.
Years later, in 2023, Ashby and Taylor stumbled on a recording of Sheen giving the 2017 Raymond Williams memorial lecture, which referenced Gowan and his work. Before they knew it, they were in the actor’s kitchen drinking tea and learning he had conducted a life-spanning seven-hour interview with Gowan before his death. So they joined forces. Sheen isn’t just a token celebrity name added for clout on this podcast; he is invested. For him, it’s personal as well as political. “Once you dig into it, you realise there’s a pattern,” he says. “All the places where this seems to have happened are poor working-class areas. There’s a sense that areas like the one I come from are being exploited.”
Sheen even goes to visit some contaminated sites in the series, coming away from one feeling sick. “That made it very real,” he says. “To be looking into a field and going: ‘Well, I’m pretty sure that’s toxic waste.’” Sheen was living a double life of sorts. “I went to rehearsals for a play on Monday and people were like, ‘What did you do this weekend?’” he says. “‘Oh, I went to the most contaminated area in the UK and I think I may be poisoned.’ People thought I was joking.” Sheen ended up being OK, but did have some temporary headaches and nausea, which was a worry. “We literally had to work out if we had poisoned Michael Sheen,” says Ashby, who also ponders in the series: “Have I just killed a national treasure?”
The story gets even knottier. Gowan’s findings turn out to be accurate and prescient, but the narrative around his journey gets muddy. As a character with a flair for drama, he turned his investigation into a juicy, riveting story filled with action, which could not always be corroborated. “If he hadn’t done that, and if he’d been a nerdy, analytical, detail-oriented person who just presented the scientific reports and kept them neatly filed, would we have made this podcast?” asks Taylor, which is a fascinating question that runs through this excellent and gripping series.
Ashby feels that Gowan understood how vital storytelling is when it comes to cutting through the noise. “We have so much science proving the scale of these problems we face and yet we don’t seem to have the stories,” he says. “I think Douglas got that. Fundamentally, he understood that stories motivate human beings to act. But then he went too far.”
However, this is not purely about Gowan’s story – it’s about evidence. The Last Witness doubles up as a groundbreaking investigation into the long-lasting impact of PCBs. “We threw the kitchen sink at this,” says Ashby. “The breakthrough for us is that the Royal Society of Chemistry came on board and funded incredibly expensive testing. So we have this commitment to go after the truth in a way that is hardly ever done.”
From shop-bought fish so toxic that it breaches official health advice to off-the-scale levels of banned chemicals found in British soil, the results are staggering. “The scientist almost fell off his chair,” says Ashby. “That reading is the highest he has ever recorded in soil – in the world. That was the moment we knew Douglas was right and we are now realising the scale of this problem. The public doesn’t realise that even a chemical that has been banned for 40 years is still really present in our environment.”
To go even deeper into just how far PCBs have got into our environment and food chain, Ashby and Taylor had their own blood tested. When Taylor found 80 different types of toxic PCB chemicals in her blood it was a sobering moment. “I was genuinely emotional because it’s so personal,” she says. “It was the thought of this thing being in me that was banned before I was even born and the thought of passing that on to my children.” Ashby adds: “We’ve managed physical risk in our life as journalists in Tanzania and with organised crime, but more scary than a gangster is this invisible threat to our health.”
In order to gauge the magnitude of what overexposure to PCBs can do, they headed to Anniston, Alabama, once home to a Monsanto factory. “As a journalist, you have an inbuilt scepticism and think it can’t be that bad,” says Ashby. “But when I got there I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I hate to use words like dystopian, but it was. There is a whole massive school that can’t be used. There’s illnesses in children and cancers. It truly was the most powerful vignette of the worst-case example of these chemicals.”
It’s bleak stuff but instilling fear and panic is not the intention. “Obviously, we’re really concerned about it,” says Ashby. “And although the environmental crises we face do feel overwhelming, it is incredible how a movement has formed and how individuals are taking action in communities. The lesson to take from Douglas is that the response doesn’t have to be resignation. It can be agency.”
771 notes · View notes
thepsmsblog · 1 year ago
Text
The Art of Sales Tracking App Management and Success Strategies
Tumblr media
In the ever-evolving world of sales, mastering the art of sales tracking app management is crucial. These innovative tools are transforming how businesses monitor sales activities, offering real-time insights and analytics. Understanding these applications can significantly enhance sales strategies and outcomes.
1. Understanding the Core Challenges in Sales Tracking
Explore sales tracking in-depth, it becomes evident that several core challenges lie at the heart of this field. Addressing these challenges is essential for businesses to fully harness the potential of sales tracking apps, turning potential obstacles into opportunities for growth and success.
Accurate Data Collection and Integrity
One of the most significant challenges in sales tracking is ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the data collected. Sales tracking apps offer a solution by automating data collection, but it's vital to understand how to effectively implement and utilize these features.
Ensuring Data Consistency: Consistent data input methods across the team are crucial. Establishing standard operating procedures for data entry can help maintain the quality and reliability of the information collected.
Regular Data Audits:Conducting periodic audits of the data helps in identifying and correcting discrepancies, thereby maintaining the integrity of the data.
Training and Awareness:Educating the sales team on the importance of accurate data collection and providing training on how to use the tracking tools effectively can significantly improve data quality.
Real-Time Analysis and Agile Response
The ability to analyze data in real-time and respond swiftly to market changes is another critical aspect of sales tracking. Sales tracking apps provide valuable insights, but they require a strategic approach to be fully effective.
Leveraging Dashboard and Analytics: Utilizing the dashboard and analytics features of the app to monitor key performance indicators and sales trends in real time.
Adapting to Market Dynamics: Being agile in response to the insights gained from the app, adjusting sales strategies quickly to align with market changes.
Predictive Analysis: Using historical data to predict future sales trends and prepare proactively for upcoming market shifts.
Enhancing Sales Team Productivity
Balancing the productivity of the sales team with maintaining high-quality customer interactions is a delicate task. Sales tracking apps provide insights into both performance metrics and customer engagement, which need to be managed effectively.
Customized Performance Metrics: Setting individual and team performance metrics in the app to track progress and identify areas for improvement.
Incentivizing High Performance: Using the data from the app to recognize and reward high-performing team members, fostering a culture of excellence and motivation.
Balancing Automation with Personalization: While automation enhances efficiency, personalizing customer interactions based on insights from the app can significantly boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
By tackling these core challenges, businesses can optimize the use of sales tracking apps, leading to improved sales strategies, enhanced team productivity, and ultimately, greater business success.
2. Maximizing Efficiency with Sales Force Tracking Software
Following the understanding of core challenges, the next crucial step is maximizing efficiency through the strategic use of sales force tracking software. This software can be a game-changer in optimizing sales processes and enhancing team performance.
Streamlining Sales Processes
The primary advantage of sales force tracking software is its ability to streamline sales processes. This efficiency is achieved through various features that simplify and automate tasks.
Automated Task Allocation: The software can automatically assign tasks to sales representatives based on their location, availability, or expertise, ensuring efficient use of resources.
Scheduling and Reminder Systems: Integration of scheduling tools and reminder systems helps in keeping track of meetings, follow-ups, and deadlines, reducing the chances of missed opportunities.
Sales Route Optimization: For field sales teams, route optimization features can significantly reduce travel time and costs, increasing the time spent with clients and prospects.
Enhancing Team Collaboration and Communication
Effective use of sales force tracking software also enhances team collaboration and communication, which are crucial for a cohesive sales strategy.
Real-Time Updates and Alerts:Team members can receive real-time updates and alerts about client interactions and sales developments, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
Collaborative Tools:Features like shared calendars, document sharing, and communication platforms within the software encourage teamwork and seamless information flow.
Feedback and Reporting Mechanisms:Regular feedback through the software’s reporting mechanisms allows for continuous improvement and adaptation of sales strategies.
Identifying Sales Opportunities: Analyzing past sales data to predict future trends and identify potential sales opportunities.
Customer Segmentation: Using data to segment customers based on buying patterns, preferences, and behaviors, allowing for targeted sales strategies.
Market Trend Analysis: Keeping a pulse on market trends through data analysis to adapt sales tactics accordingly.
Personalized Marketing and Sales Approaches:Using customer data to personalize marketing messages and sales approaches, increasing the effectiveness of these efforts.
Customer Feedback Integration: Incorporating customer feedback into sales strategies to improve products, services, and customer interactions.
Dynamic Pricing Strategies: Implementing dynamic pricing based on market demand and customer willingness to pay, as indicated by the data.
Regular Performance Reviews:Using customer data to personalize marketing messages and sales approaches, increasing the effectiveness of these efforts.Utilizing the app’s data for regular performance reviews, identifying areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.
Goal Setting and Tracking: Setting clear, measurable goals within the app and tracking progress against these goals.
Training and Development: Based on the data collected, identifying training needs for the sales team and implementing targeted development programs.
Visit site
Contact us at: 9978763071 /82000 27918
Email us at: [email protected]
0 notes
themissinghand · 2 months ago
Text
Solo Leveling Fire and Ice, That's Pretty Nice
Summary: In which opposites attract and the shadow army gets a terrifying mother figure. 
Or more of Jinwoo’s shadow army shenanigans.
Pairing: Igris x Ice Elf Queen Reader!
Note: Self indulgent because I can basically count all the solo leveling female characters on one hand. 
Also I like Igris >.<
This is longer than most of my other works at (7.5k words x.x)
Warnings: Violence and mother’s rage. Kind of long introduction.
★・・・・・・★
Jinwoo stood over the lifeless body of the Ice Elf King, his black blade dripping with blood. 
He tightened his grip on Kasaka's Venom Fang and exhaled, his breath turning to frost. 
"I couldn’t turn him into one of my shadows." Jinwoo muttered, almost disappointed. 3 tries, and all of them were a failure.
Ha. A wasted opportunity.
Then, he felt it.
A tremor.
The sound of countless footsteps on the snow. 
He turned to face the open field, his eyes narrowing as he summoned his shadows. 
Ha. 
An army of Ice Elves. Dozens, no, hundreds. Their blue-tinted skin and ice weapons glinted like shards of glass in the pale light.
"Backup?" Jinwoo said under his breath, his heartbeat quickening in excitement. 
"Bring it on."
But then, the temperature plummeted.
It wasn't just the cold.
It was her.
The elves parted, bowing in reverence as the figure approached. Armor forged of pure ice clung to a tall, commanding form. Frost spread from each of your steps, the ground itself cracking and freezing beneath your weight.
You carried no weapon, for you were the weapon, an entity born of vengeance and ice.
Jinwoo's instincts screamed at him. 
Danger.
Then, the ding of a system message appeared before his eyes:
[System Alert: New Enemy] [Danger! Hidden Boss] [Defeat the Ice Elf Queen]
The Ice Elf King had been impressive, but compared to you, he seemed like nothing more than a footnote in the hierarchy of this dungeon.
You stopped several paces away from Jinwoo, your piercing gaze locking onto his. Frost coated your silver lashes, and your voice carried like the howl of a blizzard.
"You killed my children," you said, the words cutting deeper than the ice of your domain.
Jinwoo froze, just for a moment. Children?
And then he understood. The Ice Elf King was not merely your ruler. The elites he had fought. the ones who had fallen at his hand, had been your offspring.
"You'll regret that," you hissed, lifting a gauntleted hand. A bitter wind howled, and shards of ice erupted from the walls, the floor, and the ceiling, spires that sought to impale the intruder who dared stain your legacy.
Jinwoo barely managed to sidestep the first barrage, his speed saving him from certain death. His eyes gleamed with mana as his black armor manifested around him.
"So, you're the real boss of this place," he said, grinning. 
"Then let's get started."
The battlefield exploded. 
You were relentless. For every shadow Jinwoo summoned, your frost overwhelmed it. Spears of ice shot from the ground, forcing Jinwoo to stay on the move, his agility tested like never before. 
Jinwoo darted forward, closing the distance in an instant. He swung Kasaka's Venom Fang with lethal precision, aiming for the gap between your ice-plated joints. But the moment the blade connected, your armor regenerated, spreading frost across his weapon like a virus.
"What?"
You seized the opportunity. Raising both hands, you summoned a swirling blizzard around him. The gale shrieked as jagged shards of ice formed mid-air, each one honed to kill.
The storm closed in.
For a moment, there was nothing but cold.
But then, amidst the storm, Jinwoo's voice cut through, calm and deadly.
"Shadow Exchange."
A dark ripple pulsed across the battlefield, and Jinwoo vanished, only to reappear behind you.
Ruler's Authority!
Your head snapped around just as the force of Jinwoo's telekinetic grip slammed into your back, sending you skidding across the ice. You caught yourself, frost blooming from your fingertips as you snarled in rage.
Jinwoo landed lightly, black smoke coiling around his feet like serpents.
"You're strong," he admitted, his voice laced with excitement. 
"But I've fought worse."
Your eyes glowed brighter, your voice now a roar of grief and fury. 
"Then you've never fought a mother."
The world trembled. Ice surged from the ground, forming massive constructs, golems of frozen wrath that towered above Jinwoo's shadows. The air grew thick with frost, suffocating and relentless.
Jinwoo grinned, though he felt the chill in his bones.
"Good," he said, raising his hand. "I was just starting to get bored."
"ARISE."
From the shadows of the fallen elves, soldiers of death began to rise.
The Ice Queen, you stood amidst the blizzard you had summoned, your piercing gaze burning with icy wrath. Each of your attacks carried not just strength, but emotion. 
Grief. Fury. Vengeance.
Jinwoo had fought countless enemies, monsters, bosses, and even beings beyond comprehension. But none had ever felt quite like this. You weren’t just a beast.
You were a mother.
"Why…?" Jinwoo muttered, dodging another spear of ice that shattered against the wall behind him. He leapt toward you, his shadowed blade swinging to strike, but your hand rose faster.
With a chilling whisper, frost erupted around your palm, and you caught his sword mid-swing. The force of it cracked the ground beneath your feet, yet you held firm, your armor regenerating instantly where the black blade had scraped through.
"Why?" you echoed, your voice trembling between grief and rage. "Because you stole them from me!"
A pulse of mana erupted from you, blasting Jinwoo back. He skidded across the ice, his boots digging into the frozen ground to stop himself. A headache throbbed in his temple, and he realized, his mana was draining.
Quickly.
What?
He glanced at his status bar, disbelief flickering across his face. His mana pool, vast as it was, had dropped significantly. When did this start?
Then he looked at you. The frost spreading beneath your feet was no longer just physical ice, it shimmered with a dark, consuming energy.
"You’re absorbing it," he murmured, realization dawning.
You advanced slowly, frost blooming with every step. The air grew impossibly heavy, laced with sorrow that hung like a weight on his shoulders.
"You are no different than the others who came before. Slaughtering for sport, for power. My children were not monsters. They were mine. My blood. My heart."
Jinwoo’s heart skipped a beat. He had heard curses and cries from his enemies before, pleas for mercy, hatred, or blind rage. But this was different.
Your grief wasn’t just a programmed reaction. It felt real.
For the first time, as he looked into the burning blue of your eyes, Jinwoo hesitated.
"Your children attacked me," he said carefully, his voice lower, steadier than before. "They were strong. Dangerous."
“And did they ask to be born here, to fight in this cold, forgotten prison?” you shot back, ice crackling at the edges of your words.
“Did they choose to face someone like you?”
Your anger was consuming the air, turning it into frost itself, and now it was consuming him. His mana continued to bleed away into the frost-covered ground beneath his feet. The realization struck him hard, this wasn’t a simple boss battle anymore. 
You weren’t just regenerating. You were feeding on his mana, absorbing his strength to sustain your fury.
His mind raced. She’s not just strong. She’s unstoppable at this rate.
You lunged, faster than before, your form a blur. Jinwoo barely managed to deflect the strike, but the force of it sent shockwaves rippling up his arms.
Think. Think.
His shadows flickered around him, faltering under your draining aura. His mana bar continued to drop, and for the first time in a long while, Jinwoo felt something unfamiliar.
Pressure.
This was no mindless monster. You were a mother with nothing left to lose.
Jinwoo grit his teeth, his mind racing as he struggled to regain control. The cold was unrelenting, his mana still bleeding away into the frost-laden ground. You stood tall before him, your ice-forged armor glimmering with an unnatural, otherworldly beauty, your fury as eternal as the chill in the air.
He readied himself to charge, but before he could, a shadow moved, an unmistakable figure leapt forward.
"Igris?" Jinwoo muttered in disbelief.
The red knight stood between you and his master, his massive sword lowered but steady. The flames of his crimson armor flared against the oppressive cold, his presence a stark contrast to the glacial frost you commanded.
What happened next shocked Jinwoo.
Igris, who had always been silent, spoke.
"Ice Queen," the knight said, his voice deep and reverberating like the echoes of an ancient cathedral. For a moment, the frost stilled, and the blizzard paused as you regarded him.
“I am Igris, a knight.”
Igris took a step forward, his burning crimson gaze locking with yours. 
“You know me,” he said, his voice steady, firm. “Or at least… you knew me, once. Another time. Another world.”
Your expression faltered, just for a second, as though an old memory had scraped against your consciousness. The ice around your fingers trembled.
“Lies,” you hissed, but there was a faint tremor in your voice, one you could not suppress.
“No,” Igris said, his tone calm but unyielding. “You know it as truth.” He raised his blade and pointed it toward Jinwoo, though the gesture was not hostile. 
“He is my liege, the king I currently serve. Your children’s suffering has ended, and under his dominion, they will not suffer again. They will rise, reborn under a new master. Under his shadow, they will be safe.”
Safe.
The word pierced through the storm raging within you. Your frost cracked, spreading hairline fractures through the ice coating your domain.
“Lies!” you roared, your voice breaking with fury and grief. “They are dead! Their souls are gone, and you dare speak of safety?”
Igris lowered his sword slightly, the flames along his armor flickering. “Your grief is not unfounded,” he said, quieter this time. “But you know this truth already, buried beneath your rage. You feel it even now.”
Your breathing hitched as his words struck deeper, clawing at the wall you had built around yourself. There was something haunting about the way Igris spoke, something familiar.
“Who are you?” you demanded, your voice wavering.
Igris straightened, his form tall and unwavering against the storm. “A knight,” he replied. “A loyal servant. And in another time, another life… we knew each other’s names.”
The ice around you splintered further, your vision blurring with conflicting emotions. Memories you couldn’t place flitted at the edges of your mind, too faint to grasp, too powerful to ignore.
“I will not allow you to manipulate me!” you shouted, your frost lashing out again, cracking the earth beneath you.
Jinwoo, who had been watching in silence, stepped forward then, his voice cutting through the tension. 
“I don’t know what you two were,” he said firmly, his black armor darkening against the pale frost. 
“But Igris isn’t wrong. I don’t kill for sport, and I don’t take it without purpose. Your children are mine now, yes, but under my command, they will rise stronger, safer than before.”
Your eyes snapped to Jinwoo, blazing with mistrust and fury. 
“And why should I believe you? The man who stole everything from me?”
“Because I know what it’s like to lose everything.” His voice was calm but heavy, filled with a weight that gave you pause.
“And I won’t let that happen again. Not to my shadows. Not to them.”
Igris turned his gaze back to you, his voice softening.
“Do you truly believe your vengeance will bring them back? Or will you let their souls find purpose under a king who knows the weight of life and death?”
You staggered, your ice-cold heart trembling for the first time in centuries. The frost beneath you crackled and broke as you faltered.
“No,” you whispered, shaking your head. “No… I won’t… I can’t…”
The blizzard around you howled, raging with the last vestiges of your denial.
Jinwoo raised his sword once more, but this time, there was no mockery or cruelty in his stance. Only resolve.
“Then I’ll prove it to you,” he said, his voice echoing across the frozen cavern. “Come at me with everything you have.”
And you did.
Jinwoo stood before you now, a dark silhouette against the shattered blizzard. His breathing was heavy, his armor battered, but his resolve remained unbroken. Your knees hit the fractured ice, cracks spidering out beneath your weight as the last of your strength bled away.
“It’s over,” he said softly, lowering his sword. Shadows stirred behind him, coiling and whispering like sentient beings.
“Kill me,” you hissed, your voice ragged and weak. 
“Take my soul as you took my children’s.”
But Jinwoo didn’t move to strike. Instead, he reached out, his mana surging as shadows spilled forth and wrapped around the battlefield. Before you could protest or summon your magic, a dark aura pulsed through the field, gentle but commanding.
“What…are you doing?” you choked, trembling as you felt it, the unmistakable presence of life returning.
The shadows moved, forming shapes that you knew too well. Small figures emerged from the darkness, their translucent forms taking on flesh and light. Your breath caught as you saw them, your children.
One by one, they stood before you, no longer bound by cold and suffering. Their faces were radiant, their frostbitten forms replaced by vitality and warmth, though their bodies bore a faint shadowy sheen, a mark of this man’s power. 
They were alive. Reborn.
You dropped your sword, the clang echoing like the toll of a bell.
Jinwoo stood silent as your other children, now shadows, gathered around, their roars echoing through the forest. Shadows danced in their footsteps, but there was no malice.
“They… they are happy,” you whispered, staring at Jinwoo with wide, disbelieving eyes. “How is this possible?”
Jinwoo’s gaze was steady, his voice low and certain.
“I gave them a new purpose. Under me, they are free from pain and death. Immortal in my shadow. I promised they wouldn’t suffer again…and I keep my promises.”
You turned back to your children, watching them roar with expressions you hadn’t seen in centuries. The rage that had burned so fiercely within you began to fade, replaced by an ache so deep it left you breathless.
But when you looked again, you noticed someone missing. 
“Where…where is my king?” Jinwoo’s expression hardened. 
“Your king has passed before I could turn him into my shadow.” 
The words struck like a shard of ice, and for a moment, you felt the grief resurface. But as you looked back at your children, free, you realized the truth, your king’s ambition had led you here.
To war. To loss.
The sword you had carried for so long, the weight of vengeance and pain, slipped from your hand entirely, sinking into the ice.
Your voice trembled as you looked at Jinwoo, no longer with hate, but with reluctant acceptance. 
You rose to your feet slowly, your frost-forged armor shimmering as it began to melt away, replaced by a lighter form. The magic still swirled around you, but it was no longer violent. 
You had been a queen. A mother. A warrior. But now, you could be something else.
“I am a swordsman,” you said softly, staring at Jinwoo with renewed purpose. “And a mage. My strength has been forged in both ice and war. You have taken everything from me…but you have also given back what I thought was lost forever.”
Jinwoo regarded you carefully as you knelt before him, frost blooming beneath you like flowers in the snow.
“I will serve,” you said quietly, “not because I must, but because I choose to. For them. For my children.”
The shadows around Jinwoo swirled with approval, and Igris, who had watched the scene unfold, nodded once, his crimson armor glowing faintly.
Jinwoo extended his hand toward you, and for the first time in centuries, you felt something other than cold.
Hope.
With one final look at your children, who danced in the shadows, you took Jinwoo’s hand. A new bond was forged, one of loyalty, of purpose, and of peace.
The Ice Queen was no more.
But you, a magic swordsman, would rise again under Jinwoo’s command.
Serving your liege had been an adjustment, to say the least. 
The battlefield, once your home of ice and grief, had transformed into something else entirely, shadows and death. Yet, to your surprise, this place felt more alive than your frozen kingdom ever had.
Your children thrived here. They trained, played, and walked among the shadows without fear. You watched them grow stronger, their once-frozen faces now glowing with laughter as they hung out with other species. 
It brought peace to your heart, something you hadn’t thought possible for centuries.
Of course, your presence brought a new dynamic to Jinwoo’s overwhelmingly male army.
The soldiers, stoic and loyal as they were, had never been quite sure what to do with you. 
They knew strength and they respected power. 
And you, the former Ice Elf Queen, exuded both. But you also had a softer side, one you didn’t show on the battlefield. When Jinwoo began adding more female shadows to the ranks, they naturally gravitated toward you.
It wasn’t long before you became their unspoken leader, a mother, a guide, and an aunt, as some of the more playful ones had teased. You listened to their concerns, encouraged their strength, and ensured they were seen. 
You were fierce, yes, but you were also nurturing. It was a role you had forgotten you could play.
Even Jinwoo noticed the change. 
“You’ve turned my army into a family.” You had simply stared ahead. 
“An army is stronger when it has a heart.”
Jinwoo didn’t argue.
But there was one member of the Shadow Army who had become an unexpected complication.
Igris.
You first noticed it on the battlefield. Igris was always nearby, close enough to intercept any attack that came your way, his crimson armor a stark contrast to your icy form. It wasn’t unusual for soldiers to protect one another, but Igris seemed overly diligent.
Then it started happening outside of battle.
You would train with your frost magic and swordplay, and Igris would be there, watching silently. You’d turn around, and he’d be standing at the edge of the clearing, his massive sword resting at his side. At first, you assumed it was a coincidence.
It wasn’t.
Whenever you walked the shadow realm, Igris wasn’t far behind. He hovered like a lost puppy, a very tall, very intimidating puppy, his crimson flames flickering softly, as if unsure whether to step forward or hold back.
It reached a point where even Jinwoo noticed.
“Igris,” Jinwoo said one day, arms crossed as he observed the red knight following you into yet another training session. 
“Why are you always following her?”
Igris paused, the glowing slits of his helmet turning toward Jinwoo. 
For a moment, it seemed like he might deny it, but instead, he simply said, “I am ensuring her safety.”
Jinwoo arched a brow. 
“Her safety? She nearly killed me, and she’s stronger than half the army.”
Igris didn’t flinch. 
“It is… a habit. I do not understand why, perhaps it is due to memories from another life.”
Another life? Jinwoo remembered that you and Igris did seem to share some connection. Even then, they must have been a long time ago. 
You, listening to this conversation with your sword planted firmly in the ground, narrowed your eyes. 
“Igris.”
The knight turned to you instantly, as if awaiting an order. Jinwoo took a step back to exclude himself from the conversation.
“Are you following me?” you asked flatly.
There was a pause, brief but telling. Then, with that same unwavering voice, he replied, “Yes.”
“Why?”
Igris hesitated for the first time since you had met him. His sword shifted in his grip as if the flames themselves were unsure. 
“Because… I remember.”
The words froze you in place.
You stared at him, memories flickering at the edges of your mind, ones you couldn’t quite place but felt deep in your soul. Another time. Another life.
“You remember what?” you demanded softly.
“I remember you,” he said, his voice quieter than before. “From before. From a life long gone.”
Your heart skipped a beat, though you didn’t know why. 
“And what was I to you?”
Igris straightened, the flames of his armor burning brighter. 
“I am…uncertain. However, you were…important.”
Jinwoo, watching this exchange with no small amount of amusement, muttered under his breath, “This is getting interesting.”
Igris's words lingered in the air, heavy and unspoken, and you couldn’t help but feel a strange warmth beneath the ice that had once been your heart.
“Fine,” you said finally, turning your back on him as you picked up your sword. “While I do not remember as well as you may, you can follow me if you wish, but don’t get in my way.”
Igris bowed his head slightly, as if you’d just granted him a gift. 
“As you command.”
And so, the red knight continued to shadow your steps, silent but steadfast, his presence both a mystery and a comfort you didn’t dare admit.
Your liege, for his part, had to fight back a smirk every time he saw the two of you together. “Interesting indeed,” he’d mutter, much to your exasperation.
Managing the shadow army turned out to be far more chaotic than you ever anticipated.
At first, you assumed your liege, having reached such incredible strength and commanding an entire shadow legion, had a handle on things. 
You were wrong.
His form of “management” seemed to consist of standing silently with his arms crossed while the shadows interpreted his silence however they pleased. It was fine on the battlefield, his sheer presence was enough to unite and terrify, but outside of combat?
It was a mess.
Resting areas were haphazardly chosen, shadows sprawled out like abandoned weapons until it was time to fight again. Training consisted of brutal sparring with no structure or goals. And let’s not even discuss living quarters, shadows didn’t need sleep or comfort, so he’d never thought of such things.
But you had.
So, in the absence of leadership outside of war, you stepped in.
You oversaw the construction of a proper base, a castle, as the shadows began calling it. Walls rose high, forged of dark stone and reinforced with your frost magic. 
Resting areas were organized, equipped with blackened banners, training grounds, and even kitchens (even if Jinwoo’s shadows didn’t eat, you insisted on adding them for dignity’s sake).
Jinwoo watched all of this unfold with mild amusement. 
“I didn’t think they needed this.”
“An army isn’t just swords and numbers,” you replied matter-of-factly, arms crossed as you oversaw the placement of a fountain. 
“They need purpose. Structure. Pride.”
To your surprise, Jinwoo didn’t argue. Instead, he simply muttered, “You’re better at this than me.”
You didn’t deny it.
But it wasn’t long before you encountered an entirely different issue, the shadow army was obsessed with him.
It started small.
The first time you noticed it, a group of shadows had gathered in a circle, whispering with surprising energy. Curiosity piqued, you approached, only to stop dead in your tracks when you saw it:
A statue of your liege.
It was crude, clearly carved with brute force rather than finesse, but it was unmistakably him.
“What…is this?” you asked slowly, arching an eyebrow.
The shadows flinched, clearly caught red-handed. 
“A tribute to our liege.” You sighed. 
“Fine. One statue is acceptable.”
But it didn’t stop there.
Days later, as you surveyed the newly completed courtyard, you found another one. This one was bigger. Shinier. Better.
“Another tribute,” one shadow explained proudly.
The following week, statues started cropping up everywhere, lining the training grounds, looming over the entrances, even decorating the castle halls.
Some depicted your liege in dramatic combat poses; others made him look regal, arms crossed and cape billowing as if he stood atop the world. You found one shadow carefully polishing a statue of your liege's face, its glowing eyes full of reverence.
It was absurd.
You cornered your liege about it one evening, after stumbling upon yet another statue, this one holding a disproportionately large sword.
“Do you know what the shadows are doing?” you demanded, arms crossed.
Jinwoo blinked at you. 
“Training?”
“No.” You jabbed a finger toward the nearest statue. 
“They’re turning this entire castle into a shrine dedicated to you.” Jinwoo glanced at the statue and tilted his head. 
“Huh. That’s new.”
“This isn’t new, my liege! It’s everywhere.” He stared for a long moment, then shrugged. 
“Let them do what they want. It’s harmless.” You gave him an incredulous look. 
“You’ll regret this when you can’t see the sky because of all the statues.” Jinwoo’s lips twitched into something resembling a smirk. 
“I think you’re exaggerating.”
You weren’t.
The next day, you found a group of shadows trying to carve Jinwoo’s face into a mountain.
You glared up at the giant, incomplete mural, pinching the bridge of your nose. 
“Of course,” you muttered under your breath, “they take after him.”
“Isn’t it grand, my lady?” one of the shadows asked eagerly.
You sighed, looking at their hopeful, flickering forms. In truth, you couldn’t find it in yourself to scold them. They were loyal. Fiercely so. And if building statues of their liege brought them joy, then who were you to stop them?
Still, there had to be limits.
“Fine,” you said, hands on your hips. “You can have three statues in the courtyard. No more. And stay away from the mountain.”
The shadows grumbled but reluctantly agreed. You knew they’d push the boundary again eventually, but for now, you’d won this battle.
Later that night, you found Igris standing silently near one of the more polished Jinwoo statues.
“Don’t tell me you approve of this,” Igris turned his helmet toward you. 
“I find it… excessive.” You nod. 
“Good. At least someone has sense around here.”
“…But it is well-crafted.”
Silence, then a sigh. You did admit at least the craftsmanship improved over time. You dragged a hand down your face as Igris tilted his head ever so slightly, his version of amusement.
Jinwoo, watching the entire exchange from the castle steps, simply chuckled. 
“You really have your hands full, don’t you?”
“My liege, you could help.”
“I could,” he replied, turning back toward his ever-growing army. “But you’re doing such a good job.”
You swore you heard Igris laugh softly under his breath as you stalked off, vowing to tear down at least one statue before the day ended.
Boys would be boys, indeed.
It started with small, almost negligible details, at least to everyone except Jinwoo.
At first, he didn’t think much of it. 
Igris was Igris: noble, stoic, and unwaveringly loyal. But recently, something had changed, and Jinwoo couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
It began when you sparred with Igris one afternoon. Your icy blade clashed with his crimson greatsword, magic flaring, and shadows gathering to watch the spectacle. The spar had been long and hard-fought, ending in a draw that left you both panting but satisfied.
“That was impressive,” Jinwoo said afterward as he approached.
Igris remained quiet, his gaze lingering just a moment too long on you as you restored your blade to your sheath with a graceful flourish.
“…Igris?” Jinwoo prompted.
The knight stiffened and turned sharply.
“Yes, my liege?”
Jinwoo frowned. Weird.
Then there were the moments when Jinwoo would notice Igris standing near you, closer than necessary, his crimson armor seemingly shining brighter whenever you were around. 
And there was that one time he caught Igris subtly handing you an ice-forged rose that one of your children had made, claiming it was “on behalf of the Shadow Army.”
You accepted it with mild amusement. 
“Tell them their craftsmanship is improving.”
Igris’ helm dipped slightly, as though he was pleased with himself.
Jinwoo, watching this from the corner of the room, blinked slowly. 
Wait a second…
The final confirmation came when Beru, as excitable and nosy as ever, suddenly burst into Jinwoo’s quarters with the energy of a gossiping whirlwind.
“My liege!” Beru hissed dramatically, clawed hands wringing together. 
“You won’t believe what I’ve discovered!” Jinwoo raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. 
“Is this another complaint about shadow formations?”
“No, no!” Beru waved him off frantically. 
“It’s about Sir Igris!”
That got Jinwoo’s attention. 
“What about him?” Beru leaned in, voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. 
“He has a crush.”
Jinwoo blinked, then stared blankly. 
“A what?”
“A crush! On the Ice Queen!” Beru practically cackled. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes! He follows her like a lost puppy! He watches her sparring matches with an intensity I’ve never seen before! And when she talks, my liege, he listens.”
Jinwoo leaned back in his chair, processing this information. At first, the thought seemed ridiculous, this was Igris, his most loyal knight, the epitome of calm and collected authority. But the more Jinwoo thought about it…the more the pieces started to fit.
“Oh no,” Jinwoo muttered to himself, realizing the truth.
“Igris does have a crush.”
And just as Jinwoo said it, the doors opened, and in walked Igris, calm, composed, and completely oblivious to the whispers and stares from Beru and Jinwoo.
“My liege,” Igris said with his usual gravitas. “You called for me?”
Jinwoo stared at his knight for a long moment, a smirk creeping onto his face. This is going to be interesting.
“Igris,” Jinwoo began innocently, “how do you feel about the Ice Queen?”
For the first time Jinwoo could remember, Igris paused. It wasn’t a noticeable pause, just a momentary stiffness in his stance, a subtle hesitation. But Jinwoo caught it, and so did Beru, who was practically vibrating with glee beside him.
“She is an exceptional warrior,” Igris replied after a beat, his tone measured but somehow…off.
“Her leadership skills have greatly benefited the Shadow Army.”
“And?” Jinwoo pressed, feigning innocence. Igris’ helm tilted slightly. 
“…And she is a valuable ally.”
“And?”
“My liege,” Igris said firmly, clearly aware he was being cornered, “is there a point to this line of questioning?”
Before Jinwoo could answer, Beru burst out, “Just admit it, Sir Igris! You like her! You admire her ice powers! You think she’s graceful and strong!”
Igris’ head turned slowly toward Beru, the kind of slow turn that suggested death was imminent. 
“I suggest you choose your next words carefully.” But Beru wasn’t done.
“Don’t worry, Sir Igris! Everyone thinks you two would make a perfect match!”
Jinwoo covered his face with a hand, trying to stifle his laughter as Igris stood there, every ounce of his dignity being stripped away. 
The knight’s silence spoke volumes.
“Run.”
Beru flew out the door. 
Later that day, you found Jinwoo observing the training grounds with an odd little smirk. You didn’t question it until you spotted Igris in the corner, supervising recruits with an intensity that could only be described as aggressively focused.
You frowned, sensing something was off. 
“My liege, what’s wrong with Igris today?” Jinwoo shrugged, his smirk widening. 
“Oh, nothing. He’s just… dealing with some feelings.”
“Feelings?”
“You’ll figure it out.”
You narrowed your eyes, suspicion brewing, but you didn’t press further. 
And in the shadows, Beru lurked with giddy delight, ready to share his next piece of gossip with anyone willing to listen.
It didn’t take long for the rest of the Shadow Army to catch wind of Igris’ crush. Beru, being the ultimate gossip enthusiast, made sure of that.
It started with whispers, hushed conversations in the halls of the shadow castle, smirks exchanged between troops, and subtle glances whenever Igris and you crossed paths.
Tank was the first to approach Igris alone.
The massive shadow bear lumbered up to the knight during a sparring session, his size making him impossible to ignore. Igris turned, his crimson greatsword in hand, only to find Tank staring down at him with an unreadable expression.
“…What is it, Tank?” Igris asked coolly, though he already sensed trouble.
Tank tilted his enormous head. 
“Sir Igris.”
“Yes?”
“Have you…mated with the Ice Queen yet?” Igris froze, his blade still mid-swing. 
“WHAT.”
“Tank, you absolute imbecile!” came Beru’s screech from a nearby shadow. “You’re not supposed to ask him that directly!”
Tank shrugged with a rumbling growl. 
“But Beru said-”
“I said implied!”
Igris turned his helm toward the two of them, a palpable aura of murderous intent swirling around him. 
“What. Are. You. Talking. About?”
Beru cackled and immediately scampered away, leaving Tank to deal with the consequences.
“Tank, run!” Beru’s voice echoed from the distance.
Iron, who lacked any and all social tact, decided to take a much more direct approach.
One afternoon, you were overseeing recruits sparring when Iron stomped up to you, his hulking form casting a shadow over everyone present.
“Ice Queen!” Iron’s booming voice startled even you, though you quickly straightened.
“Yes, Iron?” you replied with a raised brow.
“Igris likes you!”
The training grounds fell deathly silent. The recruits froze mid-swing, staring wide-eyed as the words echoed through the air. You blinked once, your stoic mask cracking slightly.
“…Excuse me?”
“Igris! He likes you! He looks at you like Tank looks at honey!” Iron repeated proudly, as if he’d uncovered the world’s greatest secret.
From across the field, Igris appeared out of nowhere, slamming his sword into the ground with such force the ground shook. 
“IRON!” Iron flinched. 
“Oh. Was that supposed to be a secret?”
You slowly turned to Igris, curiosity lighting up your expression as he stomped toward Iron with an air of absolute murder.
“Iron, you fool,” Igris growled through gritted teeth.
“Oh, don’t be mad!” Iron said, cheerfully unbothered. “The Ice Queen is strong! You’d make good mates!”
“Silence!”
You crossed your arms, watching with mild amusement as Igris all but dragged Iron away, his dignity shredded once again.
That night, as you stood at the edge of the shadow castle overlooking the vast plains, Igris approached you silently.
“You asked for me?” you asked without turning, sensing his presence.
Igris hesitated, just for a second, before he spoke. 
“I…wished to apologize.”
“For what?”
“For the… behavior of the others,” he replied stiffly. 
“Their gossip is uncalled for.”
You smirked faintly, turning fully to face him. 
“Let them talk. I don’t concern myself with rumors.”
Igris stood taller at your words, though something about his posture softened. You stepped closer, your gaze steady. 
“But perhaps you should tell me, do they speak the truth?”
For the first time, Igris faltered. His helm tilted downward, his silence louder than words.
You studied him for a moment longer before turning back to the plains, an unreadable smile on your lips. 
“Goodnight, Igris.”
As you walked away, Igris remained rooted to the spot, the chill of the night air doing little to mask the warmth lingering in his chest.
From the shadows, Jinwoo and Beru watched the exchange, the latter barely containing his squeals of delight.
“Did you see that, my liege?!” Beru whispered excitedly.
“Oh, I saw it. Poor Igris doesn’t stand a chance.”
Who knew watching his subordinate's love story could be so fun?
Igris had faced dragons, commanders, kings, and hordes of enemies without faltering. His blade had clashed against unbeatable odds, his will unwavering against death itself. 
But now, the once-mighty knight stood in a shadowy corridor, frozen in place, gripped by the strangest and most insurmountable enemy of all, his feelings.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“I know! I know! Sir Igris must confess his undying love!”
The voice of Beru shattered whatever composure Igris had left. The insectoid shadow stepped out of a dark corner, his glowing eyes alight with glee.
“…Beru.” Igris groaned, instinctively gripping the hilt of his sword. “This is none of your concern.”
“Oh, but it is!” Beru exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement. “As the Shadow Army’s most socially attuned being-”
“Hardly.”
“-I am here to assist you! I have gathered extensive knowledge from hours of observing human courtship rituals.”
“…Human courtship rituals?” Igris echoed skeptically.
“Yes! Lady Jinah has been watching these K-Dramas! And I, being a shadow of excellent taste, have memorized their methods for confession!”
Igris turned slowly toward him, dread pooling in his core. 
“I don’t want to know.”
“Step one!” Beru ignored him entirely. 
“The Grand Gesture.”
And so, an hour later, you stood in the training grounds watching with a mix of amusement and confusion as Igris, in full armor, dramatically knelt before you.
“What…are you doing?” you asked, raising an eyebrow as the crimson knight extended a single glowing flower made of mana.
Igris said nothing for several moments, clearly at war with himself. Finally, his deep voice rumbled, “This is… for you.”
Before you could respond, Beru leaped out from behind a pillar. 
“SPEAK YOUR HEART!”
“Beru—!” Igris snapped, his mana flaring in irritation.
“SPEAK IT!”
Igris, utterly flustered now, turned back to you stiffly. “I… appreciate your strength and…” He paused, clearly struggling. “…you’re very… capable.”
You stared at him, blinking. 
“Capable?”
“Like a soaring falcon!” Beru added unhelpfully.
“…Right.”
Before you could respond, Igris stood abruptly, tossing the flower onto the ground like it offended him.
“Forget this ever happened.”
And with that, he stormed away, leaving Beru screeching, “Wait, you didn’t finish the confession scene!”
You watched the chaos unfold, shaking your head with a quiet laugh.
At least it was cute.
Two failed grand gestures later (including an unfortunate rain-soaked poetry recital Beru insisted on), Igris had all but given up. He found himself back in the training grounds, gripping his sword far tighter than necessary.
You approached him, clearly done with whatever weird behavior he had been exhibiting for days now. 
“Sir Igris.”
He stilled.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or are we going to keep pretending you haven’t been acting strange?”
“I am not-”
“Pick up your sword,” you interrupted.
“What?” Igris blinked behind his helm.
“You’re clearly distracted. Spar me. If you win, I’ll stop asking.”
The knight hesitated, then nodded. Sparring was straightforward, something he understood.
Or so he thought.
Ten minutes later, Igris found himself flat on his back, his blade knocked clean from his grip as you stood over him, your own weapon pointed at his chest.
“You’re distracted,” you said simply, though there was a glint of satisfaction in your eyes. “And you’re terrible at hiding it.”
Igris groaned inwardly, his pride in tatters.
“This… is difficult for me.”
“What is?”
He hesitated, then finally, finally, spoke.
“You.”
“…Me?”
“I…” He sighed, clearly abandoning every complicated plan Beru had forced on him. “I admire you. Your strength, your leadership…You have earned my trust.”
“That’s what’s been bothering you?” you asked, a brow raised.
Igris slowly sat up, his crimson helm turned toward you. 
“…It is not just trust. I…adore you”
A long pause stretched between you before you smirked faintly.
“You could’ve just been direct about it, you know.”
Igris stared at your offered hand for a moment, then took it, allowing you to pull him up. 
“Being direct was… not part of Beru’s advice.” You snorted. 
“Beru? You took advice from Beru?”
“Unfortunately.”
“…No wonder you were acting weird.” You turned, sheathing your weapon. “Next time, just say what’s on your mind.”
As you walked away, Igris stood rooted in place, feeling something unfamiliar settle in his chest, relief.
From the shadows, Beru and Jinwoo watched once again.
“Well, that could’ve gone smoother,” Beru chirped, pouting.
Jinwoo laughed under his breath. “You’re banned from giving advice.”
“No! Give me another chance, my liege!”
“Not happening.”
“Humans are confusing creatures.”
“No, you’re just terrible at romance. And shadows are not humans.”
As for Igris, he silently vowed to never listen to Beru again, unless he wanted another existential crisis.
After weeks of awkward interactions, failed grand gestures, and silent brooding, Igris had finally decided to end his suffering.
And so there he stood, outside the castle training grounds, holding a bouquet of rare, frost-kissed flowers he had painstakingly gathered from dungeons. His usually stoic demeanor was betrayed by the faint tension in his posture, his grip on the bouquet just a little too tight.
When you walked out and caught sight of him, you paused, raising an eyebrow. 
“Sir Igris?”
He stepped forward, the crimson armor reflecting the soft glow of the fading sun. Slowly, he extended the bouquet toward you, the flowers shimmering in an ethereal light. 
“These are… for you.” You blinked at the sight. 
“Flowers? You brought me flowers?”
“I…” Igris faltered for the briefest of moments, his voice lower now. “I wished to offer you something…as a sign of what I feel.”
“What you feel?” you echoed, amusement tugging at your lips.
“Yes.” He stood straighter, his deep voice unwavering despite the hint of nervousness beneath it. 
“I have admired you since the day we crossed swords. Your strength, your resolve… you. I care for you. I love you.”
The confession hung in the air, thick with weight. Igris, who had faced countless foes without flinching, now stood in front of you, awaiting your response like a man facing judgment.
You stared at him for a beat, then smiled softly, shaking your head. 
“About time.” Igris blinked. 
“…What?”
“I knew, Igris,” you said, taking the bouquet from his armored hands with a smile. “You’re not exactly subtle. The weird grand gestures? The brooding? Beru’s antics? I figured it out weeks ago.”
He stiffened. 
“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I wanted you to say it yourself,” you replied, smirking. “A knight should be direct, don’t you think?”
Igris remained silent for a moment, processing your words, before the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease.
“You… are maddening.”
“And you’re dramatic, but I love you too,” you shot back playfully, while Igris froze on the spot, speechless. 
“Thanks for the flowers, they’re beautiful.”
Not as beautiful as you.
A faint glow emanated from Igris’s crimson armor, almost as if he were embarrassed. 
“I…am glad you like them.”
From a nearby shadow, Beru’s voice suddenly chirped, “FINALLY!”
Both of you turned sharply to see Beru, Jinwoo, and the rest of the shadow army peeking out from behind pillars and walls, clearly eavesdropping.
Jinwoo crossed his arms, grinning. 
“Took you long enough, Igris.” Beru buzzed with excitement. 
“Now kiss her! That’s what happens in the dramas!”
“Beru,” Igris growled warningly, mana flaring around him.
You couldn’t help but laugh, shaking your head as you turned to Igris. “I guess we’ll never live this down, will we?”
“…Perhaps not,” he muttered, though the hint of fondness in his voice was unmistakable.
“Well,” you said, tucking one of the frost-kissed flowers into your hair. “Let’s give them something to talk about, shall we?”
And for the first time, the unshakable knight seemed utterly stunned as you leaned up to press a kiss against the side of his crimson helm.
The resulting cheers from the shadows echoed across the entire territory.
Jinwoo let out a relieved sigh.
Who would've thought his shadows would get a relationship quicker than him?
Jinah is going to love this.
153 notes · View notes