Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Something

“Congratulations. Your Auras are sharper than ever. Now you just need to learn how to do that Vigor blade thing.”

“I’ve been working on that for years.”

Feiden mumbled, picking at the plate of food in front of him.

We had gathered in the cafeteria after an entire day of sleep. Any injuries they suffered during our training had completely healed, making me far less sympathetic to their complaints.

If I could eat bullets like that, I wouldn’t mind getting shot every day.

Well, not that what I had in mind for them was much different.

None of us had the time to repeat last time’s training session, but I could still throw a bullet in their direction every so often throughout the day. I hadn’t started yet, but as soon as they were done eating, they would be in for a nasty surprise.

Besides, I had to train too.

I glanced between Feiden and Vetsmon.

“You two should keep dueling. Find each other’s weaknesses and exploit them. Get down and dirty if you have to. Just do what you need to do to get better. Maybe even Tana can join in.”

“You say that like I couldn’t hold my own against them.”

Tana quipped from the side, for which I gave her some side-eye.

“Can you?”

“Probably!”

“Well, your Aura is certainly better, but that only helps with survival at your current level.”

“You know, I’ve been wondering about that myself. How come you’re so good? You make it seem so damn easy. Where’d you even learn?”

“Experience.”

I answered while taking a bite out of some bread.

“Umara knows this, and Vetsmon does too, so I find it easy to tell you that my job is dangerous. I don’t work much anymore, but when I did, I was fighting for my life every damn day. In that kind of situation, you either get better or die. I suggest you treat this situation the same.”

“Your job as a delivery man, you mean? How is that dangerous?”

“Powerful people want me to move valuable cargo. Plenty of people want it but don’t want to pay for it. I’m the only one standing in their way, so they take it out on me. The more I deliver and defend myself, the worse the people become. I’ve had to dip my toes into some pretty deep waters back at the capitol and made some pretty big waves. I don’t regret it, but it certainly doesn’t make my life any easier.”

“...Which means...”

Tana narrowed her eyes, her brain chugging along to a conclusion she couldn’t seem to find.

I sighed.

“I work in the black market, you dingus.”

“...I knew that.”

“Uh-huh. Anyway, I’ve got plenty of experience and am more than qualified to tell you that you still have a lot to work on. All of you do. The enemies we have to worry about are no longer just animals. They’re smart, and if you aren’t capable of sensing the danger before it comes, then we won’t even have time to be sorry. So please, heed my warnings and focus on training. I’ll do what I can for myself, but I’m not the only person I have to worry about anymore. I’ve got a squad to watch over and I’m certainly not going to lose anybody just because I was negligent.”

“Come on, you don’t think we’re incapable of pushing ourselves, do you?”

Vetsmon smiled before his tone became serious.

“Besides, how can we leave watching over the squad to one person? We’re all responsible for each other and ourselves. At the very least, I’ll be damned if I’m complacent. No matter what enemies we’re facing, it’s our job to make sure we can at least survive. You’re not the only one who needs to step up. We also need to watch over you. If I can’t protect my summoner then I wouldn’t be much of a knight now, would I?”

“Hm.”

I shrugged with a smile, causing him to chuckle and tap his fist against my shoulder.

It kind of hurt.

“Don’t worry John. We’ve all been furiously training since we were kids. That hasn’t stopped after we entered the Magisterium. These fourth-year trips are what everybody works towards. We’ve had the Puppet Master’s training and the tutelage of our parents and teachers. There’s a reason no Elite has ever died, and trust me when I say that you’re not the first the Royals have tried to kill.”

Feiden gave his spiel, to which I pondered for a second before refuting.

“Would I be the first summoner?”

“...Maybe. I’ve never heard of one quite like you before, and it’s extremely rare for one to be in the Elites anyway. I think that one other summoner who was on it with you just recently dropped to the bottom of the list…”

“The point is that we’re capable and you shouldn’t worry so much.”

Umara suddenly chimed in, striking down my refute.

“You need to worry more about yourself since you’re the one being targeted.”

“Believe me, I wish I could just relax since I’m doing pretty well right now. But it never feels like enough.”

I let out a long breath, the suffocating stress my Aura never let me ignore washing over me in a moment of distraction.

But then I shook my head and zoned in.

“Nevermind. Just focus on training and we’ll be good. Speaking of, I have an advancement formation to work on.”

With that, I brought out the second layer of my advancement formation. All that talk of training made me eager to do so. I felt restless when I wasn’t making progress, so I decided I didn’t need any more food and needed more studying.

……

…

Four more days passed, filled with nothing but constant training. I practically had my face buried in that formation layer while the others worked on their own.

Vetsmon and Feiden were in constant battle, duking it out on the sparring grounds every chance they had. It seemed they had taken me seriously and were more than driven enough to follow through with my suggestions.

It proved to be a great burden off my back. I was still worried, but their effort meant that I wasn’t more so. Umara did the same, working through the booklet I had written with my knowledge of natural sciences.

My only moments of relaxation were when I shot at the knights. It was especially fun during their spars, where I could simultaneously test my aim on Feiden to see if I could actually hit the jittery bastard.

With every new understanding, I was able to unveil another step in the process and push the ocean of my mind to move with stronger currents. This accumulated more Psyka and made it much easier to move through the spirit dimension.

With each day, I could tell that I was getting closer to something.

It was one particular spirit, and it was powerful, that much I could tell. I could detect where it was with surprising accuracy, but still lacked the raw strength to project deeper inside.

It was still good to know that there was something in there waiting for me that would undoubtedly help me. Perhaps it was another modified weapon, or even something special.

At least my dreams were helping massively. I felt like I was making leaps in comprehension nightly. My dreams were far more vivid than even a mere few weeks ago, making for a much more powerful tool.

My gains were starting to compound, and for once, I felt like I could blaze a trail and exceed Maxwell’s predictions.

It was rather stressful since I was compelled to work even harder, but my excitement far outstripped any pressure.

…

The Puppet Master called us at midnight four days later with another mission. We were called to an impromptu meeting in a building beside Headquarters.

We groggily filed in, worn out from training, finding some unfamiliar faces already waiting for us.

A few officers and some higher-ranking soldiers were standing around some tables, already geared up.

Once we arrived, the commanding officer, Commander Karlson who I recognized from the last mission, started.

“We’ve just received intelligence on another encampment. It has a small but formidable force consisting of two Authority 7 Scouts and their escorts. There’s also a small force of other beasts and the possibility of Royals.”

“Our strike force will be covert but equivalent. We’ll strike with surprise and take out their observational capabilities to start. Our Warlock will proceed with a bombardment while our knight forces pincer them. Entry points and the lay of the land are marked on this map…”

I started listening attentively once I realized that this was not just an informal briefing, but a full mission rundown.

We were moving with a significant force. In fact, in this operation, I would just be the trigger. I was just to sit on my vantage point and kill as many HVTs as I could before being exposed.

It was a four-pronged attack utilizing two layers of surprise attacks. Even if there were Royals, they would pose little to no threat. We would be able to eradicate the camp without issue.

But that was only if we could approach undetected. I was only confident because they’d definitely run operations like this one before, and were still alive to tell the tale.

I would even have some guards. They were treating me rather nicely.

“Make sure we all keep an eye on the clock. As soon as we arrive at the first checkpoint, we’ll split and move into setup positions. After 10 minutes, we all move from secondary positions into primary positions for the battle. 5 minutes later, John will start, killing what he can, before the Warlocks launch the bombardment. John, how many shots should we expect before moving in?”

I perked up when my name was mentioned, the attention in the room instantly focusing on me.

“They’ll be alerted on the first shot by an explosive sound. Is it better to begin the bombardment sooner or later?”

“Sooner.”

“Then three shots. They’ll be alerted but won’t yet have reacted.”

“Three shots, potentially three kills. Alright, everyone here knows that those three explosions will be the signal. You won’t miss them, believe me. John’s priority targets will be the Authority 7 scouts. He will be afforded a minute or so to acquire them and kill one. He’s done so before, so I have no doubt he’ll be able to do it again. Be patient and stay hidden until it’s time. You all have an hour to prepare. Dismissed.”

Everyone rose with those words, including my squad.

On the way out, I met the Puppet Master, who pulled me to the side.

“I know there are some scouts there, but I don’t suggest trying anything. For one, you won’t be able to get anything unless you steal it. It’s military property. Second, you shouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the mission. Aim for the head, and kill them. Worry about preserving the lives of those you’re working with.”

“I know, Puppet Master. Don’t worry about me. I’m more concerned about preserving my own life in the first place. I wasn’t able to sleep much.”

“Yes, I apologize for the late wake-up call. But sometimes these special missions demand that of valuable soldiers.”

“That’s not why I didn’t get sleep, but thanks anyway.”

I smiled before walking off with my squad.

“Wish us luck.”

……

Before long, everyone was gathered within a few trucks. It didn’t take long to speed out of the base under the cover of darkness.

My leg kept twitching as I sat next to Umara. I couldn’t help but keep clenching my jaw from adrenaline.

I wasn’t feeling good.

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know. This mission is either going to go well or not so well. Fuck, I need to work. How long until we get there?”

“2 hours. Why?”

“...”

I didn’t respond, thinking before suddenly closing my eyes.

“Tell me when we’re at the first checkpoint.”

With those words, I suddenly dove into my 4th dimension and started Projecting.

I poured my energy into my little Psyka drone, pushing it deeper into the dimension with reckless abandon.

My Aura was overactive. I wasn’t sure if I felt horrible about this mission or if I was just that paranoid. There was no solid indication yet that I was going to be in danger, but the feeling in the back of my head had grown to the point that I couldn’t think of anything else.

I needed to get somewhere, to get something. Right now, my instincts were telling me to dive into my dimension in search of that weapon, so that’s what I did.

There was a lot of nothing, but I had made a lot of progress and the weapon wasn’t that far anymore. I just didn’t think a mission like this would happen now of all times, so I had thought I could put it off for later. I was still tired from the previous day’s training, and even now I didn’t have my full Psyka reserves.

But all this stress had me thinking that I no longer had a choice.

I pushed forward, feeding the drone’s ever-growing need for Psyka. I didn’t care much about saving what I had, much less passive recovery.

I devoted the whole power of my mind and Spark to that drone, seeking out the best path and making the best use of my Psyka. Everything else faded away. I could barely even feel the rough terrain underneath rattling the vehicle.

In a way, it was almost like I fell asleep. The Projection Dimension felt much like a dream, only not restful but tiring.

And because of that, time flew by a lot faster than I liked.

…

“Hm?”

I zoned back in when I felt a tapping on my shoulder.

“We’re here.”

“Shit…”

I cursed and surveyed the dimension.

It felt close, whatever weapon it was. I had used over half of my reserves in the process, but it would only take a little more to communicate with the spirit.

Unfortunately, it was time to work.

There were five other vehicles. One stayed behind with us while the others split off to their setup positions.

We did the same, moving toward the vantage point.

That took about 5 minutes, which I used to push the drone just a bit further.

We disembarked and moved to the vantage point on foot.

In addition to my normal squad, two Authority 7 Knights and an Authority 6 Warlock accompanied us.

We were all silent as we stealthily made our way to our primary position. It was a subtle spot with a small outcropping that was elevated above the camp. The only issue was that it was also almost 400 meters away from the camp.

I didn’t even speak to the others before crawling over and setting my Springfield, looking through the scope to see a bunch of little beasts walking around the camp.

It was too late to change positions; I could only make do.

“And it's in the dark. They’re thinking too highly of me.”

I mumbled while looking around, straining my sight as much as I could to identify the beasts.

There were plenty of escorts roaming around, some reminiscent of tigers and bears, others more alien in shape. Dozens of scouts were also scattered around, fleshy bulbs that indicated eyes shut tight from sleep.

But there were supposed to be two Cyclops Scouts, which I needed to focus on. Those were the most dangerous enemies.

I felt antsy just laying there, but I directed the energy to focus on the beasts and found one.

It was late at night, so most of the beasts were sleeping. The only Cyclops Scout I found was lying against the large belly of a bear escort. It had one large fleshy bump on its face, conveniently illuminated by the faint moonlight. I marked the location in my mind and looked around a bit more with no success.

Returning my scope to my initial target, I let out a long sigh.

“Umara.”

“Mm.”

When I called, Umara deployed her sound barrier, the surroundings going completely silent.

I blocked out everything else myself. Only the Scout, my gun, and the cool night air registered.

It was a shame I couldn’t find the second scout, but I only needed to kill one to successfully do my job.

There was nothing else to say or do. I lifted my Aerial and stared at the clock, watching as the seconds ticked closer to T-0.

Time to begin. Everyone was in position and waiting on my mark. I had guards to watch my back and everyone else would take care of the camp. I just had to fire three times and I would be done.

So why did I keep feeling like something was going to happen?