“Have you heard about Stick’s exploits? The poor girl was desperately begging for mercy, but our fellow’s heart didn’t even soften in the slightest… same as his rod. I must say, your call name, Rob, truly represents your character from all sides, including protruding one!” such proclamation from Wolf was met with a laugh, while Robert tried to think about the clever answer.
It was indeed a pleasant surprise to find out that adaptation ability refreshes exhaustion… all exhaustion… and doesn’t use that much mana at all. At least I can beat locals in something. Now if it was the end of the world with the main threat in the form of extinction, it could help me to survive, but on the battlefield… I wonder if there is a world with amazons, who hunger for men?
“Don’t be jealous, Wolf. I heard yours was roleplaying the innocent sheep by your demand,” Valenzo casually mentioned, while lying on his bed in an attempt to rest. It was next day after day off, and not all future soldiers went to the brothel. The bigger part used their salary in taverns, spending eveything for alcoholic oblivion. However, that led to poor performance during training, and Sergeant Daniel didn’t make any concessions about their reasons.
“I am not jealous at all. I had a great time and paid for it! And women like my body hair – never heard any complaints!” Lawrence defended himself, trying to look confident.
“Maybe because you paid for it?” asked Robert with a smile, but after noticing the angry expression on Wolf’s face, he quickly added: “Of course, not all your women got money from you, so there is definitely truth in your words! Moreover, everyone has different tastes and sometimes they can be VERY special…”
“Exactly! I am special and that is true! At least I didn’t give all my money to the local church.”
“My flesh can be happy for one evening, but instead I exchange it for a long-lasting feeling of being helpful to those who are in real need,” answered Monk with a calm smile.
“Or to satisfy the need to quench priest’s thirst in nearest tavern… I saw that guy’s belly – it could fit the damn pig! I bet you can’t eat that much without moistening your throat with ale,” Wolf roared again with a laugh, almost jumping from the ground.
“That would be his guilt before God, not mine,” Paul shook his head.
“I hope your God will help you on the battlefield because a lot of rumors are telling the same thing – the war this time will be big,” noticed Lawrence.
“Indeed. I asked around and found out that our Baron, Sebastian Highmoon, had already sent half of his personal guards and knights. Moreover, he wasn’t the only one – all barons, counts and even marquises under Duke Wintershadow did that. Right now there are dozens of such camps like ours, training future army, while experienced soldiers are already fighting and not by usual rules, as far as I heard,” Valenzo continued to keep his eyes closed while telling this as if this was nothing.
“Crap. I knew it would be big, but not so big. Even tavern keepers and girls in the brothel didn’t know it,” Wolf cursed with a frown.
“Are you sure, Beaver? Because it looks like the army will amount to tens of thousands in such a case,” someone asked from behind. Valenzo finally opened his eyes before looking at the tensed faces of his squad mates.
“Unfortunately, yes. I have my means to get truthful info. They are trying to keep it low right now as it is just a conflict between counts, but the real scale is much bigger. Our lives will depend on each other, so train harder. And don’t speak about it… If I hear someone is spreading this information, there will be consequences… unpleasant consequences.”
“We got it, Valenzo,” voices of confirmation followed, but the light mood was already gone.
“Do you know the reasons for conflict?” Robert broke the heavy silence with a question. He didn’t know how Gods could influence the situation that would lead to the end of the world, but even a big-scale war with medieval weapons couldn’t make such a result. At most, it could spread some diseases, like the plague. However, if it was not connected to it, such bad timing could easily destroy any chances for locals to protect themselves.
“It must be money in some way – humans always fight for resources, even if they can easily share it,” commented Paul, “Why don’t people don’t want to listen to the words of our God – Gaokeren.”
“Indeed, there was a report from a few mage's towers about a huge mine of spirit hearts exactly on the border of two duchies,” nodded Valenzo, creating a loud wave of curses. Seeing the serious faces of everyone, Robert recalled information about the need for this special stone to create a knight. For this world, such a place meant almost the same as some uranium enrichment stations together with its deposits. The place, which could lead to military power, easily overthrowing the current balance. Moreover, it could push other dukes to step in, increasing the scale of war.
“How long do you think we have?” Rob didn’t notice who asked the question, but a similar thought was wandering in his mind.
“At most several months, but more likely around a few dozen days – Duke will not want to lose initiative.”
Beaver didn’t sound very sure about his prediction as if guessing. However, it was enough to make the effect of exploding a bomb in the tent. Whispers and discussion emerged from every corner, while emotions in voices ranged from total tranquility and even humility from Monk to noticeable fear on the verge of hysteria from Taurus. The latter was a fat guy with a child face and the same level of naivety, who signed in only because his parents made him.
Twenty to thirty days… Don’t think it is enough for me to match other's levels with the same intensity of training. Guess I need to work harder like Aspen. That monster is still training… Real freak. Oh, well, sleeping is overrated…
Standing up with a sigh, Robert hastily took his armor and axe from the ground before heading outside. He still felt some strain inside from repeatable restoration, but he could handle it. For him, the lack of tasty food was a harder obstacle to overcome. Defense bunkers had a good portion of various frozen rations, including pizzas and hamburgers. And one of the marines liked to cook, but his experiments didn't always end with anything remotely tasty. However, here Rob’s diet consisted of three types of porridge with meat. They were nutritional and tasted not that bad, but it was still the very same food each other day. He was literally fed up with them.
“Where are going, Stick? To pick your friend from the training field?” Wolf’s question caught him almost near the exit.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Quite the opposite – will join him in training. With such optimistic news, I better train more. Also, I advise you to do the same – on the last running I almost got you.”
“You have half of my weight, boy!” resented Wolf, but was interrupted by Robert.
“Of course, of course. And your body hair under armor creates additional windage, making it harder for you to run, I understand it. I am out!”
Without turning back, Rob waved his hand, ignoring the angry roar behind, and went outside. He stopped for a moment, getting used to darker surroundings, but in a second, he rushed forward. Two local moons made enough light to observe an empty camp. Local guards, stationed on towers, rarely used torches because of that. Robert felt only very cloudy weather could cover the world in real darkness, but he had never seen it personally.
At first, Rob even thought this world was almost a copy of his Earth, just with small changes, like a longer duration of the day. He never had a problem with using accustomed metrics and only once almost got into a fight when his gesture “three” turned out to be the equivalent of a middle finger. All curses and established expressions of his Envoy ability translated with ease, never making any difficulties in understanding everyone. However, soon he began to notice the differences. They were not that big, but together they created somewhat similar and on the other hand completely different pictures. Not only climate, animals, and magic – distinction were in other things too.
According to Monk’s stories, this world had only around eight hundred years of recorded history from the first sign of sapient beings. Paul believed that humans were all summoned by his God to replace previous failed attempts to create a proper life. What was interesting, a local version of Flood was fifty years of complete darkness that wiped out all life. That’s why they had now two moons – to prevent the same outcome again.
Another thing, that caught Robert’s attention, was the technological progress. The latter was made during the first few centuries, but then everything froze. There were changes in customs, mages' revolt, and even more freedom to the lower class, of course, but it led to minor progress. This static situation felt very artificial. He knew that knights had held their power tight, but stillness in inventions over so many centuries made no sense. What surprised Robert more was that the single church of Gaokeren, God of Nature, Life, and Death, didn’t have any real power. This God’s name sounded very similar to Wepwakor in Robert’s mind because of how strange they were, but Rob was not even sure if it was the real name of the ruler.
I guess, not all Gods want to create a cult about themselves, but they have a huge influence on all life processes to a huge extent. Though not sure if this understanding can help me during crown wars… I need to be at least on par with locals in terms of physique. My ability to survive and recover from wounds will give dramatic help in survival in most cases, but not in all. Need to push myself harder to increase my chances… easier to tell than to do. I am not such a freak as Apsen. It is refreshing to train my body and combat skills after years in the bunker, but ten hours per day is already over the top… Maybe in books, it is easier for main heroes, but in real life, most people can’t even make themselves make 30-minute runs several times per week… Fuck… Robert, stop complaining and move your ass!
The place where Rob trained with Aspen was located in the corner of the camp on the far side from most tents where metal clashing wouldn’t disturb everyone's sleep. It wasn’t hidden, but it still could provide some privacy because of a row of training dummies. Maybe that was the reason why Robert didn’t notice until the last moment that William wasn’t alone. That and his absorption in his own thoughts. Moreover, seeing how two figures were fully engaged in the fight, made Rob stop in his tracks, hiding himself after recognizing a fully equipped knight in one of them.
Nah, I don’t want any problem with possible nobles…
For a moment, Robert wanted to turn away and leave, but the speed and skills that were shown before his eyes made him mesmerized. He never saw William fighting with full dedication, especially using a longsword, which typically only knights used. Despite having less protection on the body, Aspen skillfully avoided most of the hits, while his opponent wasn’t so lucky. They distanced themselves keeping their guard up, before rushing on each other again. Despite Robert’s ability to see their movement, he was sure he couldn’t react to any of them. Moreover, he would need not only to react in time, but react properly.
The unknown knight started with a thrust, aiming at William’s face. The latter tilted his head to the side, before pushing away the opponent’s blade and shortening the distance. On the other hand, the knight didn’t pause at all. Lowering his stance and bending his arms at the elbows, he pulled his sword to himself before making another thrust simultaneously stepping forward. Aspen countered with ease, catching the blade on the guard and hitting his shoulder into the opponent’s helmet. However, the unknown barely managed to avoid the hit sidestepping. In the next moment, the knight’s left fist was already flying into Aspen’s chest. The hit wasn’t strong, but it still managed to push William away, so the knight could follow with another attack.
This time wide swing was parried by Aspen’s sword, which immediately turned into an attempt to riposte. The next few exchanges went by the same pattern, when both deflected the opponent’s blade with their own, making it slide off to the side and going for their own attack without pause. However, that was broken when William suddenly shortened the distance between them again. The unknown didn’t manage to react in time and had to block an attack from the unstable position, which led to the moment of small hitch. The hitch, which was capitalized by William. A strong hit to the back side of the knee knocked the knight down. Not giving any chance to turn the situation around, Aspen almost jumped over the fallen opponent. His sword was aimed at the throat while his left hand pulled off the knight’s helmet in one swift motion.
Hehe… I think my suspicions about William can be confirmed now…
The latter told something to the knight with a smile, but, because of the distance, Robert couldn’t hear anything. However, the next deed of squad mate left his eyes wide open, when William bent down and kissed the knight.
Oh, fuck, I had OTHER suspicious! Damn, it is quite surprising… but no judgment… it’s his obvious right to choose the lover. Hmm, maybe this is the reason why he is here in the militia. He definitely was raised by a knight at least, taking into account his combat skills. To be on par with a physique boosted by magic is a huge accomplishment as far as I can understand. Forbidden love? Does he want to prove his capability? Wait, is it forbidden here? Is some kind of law against it?
In the next moment, part of Rob’s theory was thrown away together with William’s body. The knight jumped to his feet, before finally showing his face. Red from anger or blush, it clearly belonged to a girl. She had shoulder-length black hair, and pale skin and was overall quite pretty. Robert didn’t manage to catch all the details before she grabbed her helmet and sword and stormed away. Rob waited for a minute, before finally coming out from his hidden spot. William was still lying on the ground with a stupid grin and closed eyes. Therefore, he silently sat near his friend, looking into the dark sky above them.
“Thank you, Rob, for not interrupting us. I really appreciate it,” Aspen was first to speak.
“Forget it… I see you have quite a goal. I bet she is noble, and I never heard that Baron Highmoon had any daughter.”
“She is from the marquise family,” agreed William with ease, making Robert whistle from surprise.
“Ambitious. I see. Guess, she is a childhood friend, and you were raised together or near each other. Had fallen in love. To prove yourself, you didn’t ask her father about granting you the title of knight, but decided to get with your own efforts… At least I can see it like that,” Rob commented, using all his knowledge from cliché stories.
“Simplifying, yes. And you are not ordinary too… I remember your words about secrets. Moreover, as you could notice my skills, which, I need to clarify, I had never tried to hide, I also saw your strange ability to recover from your fatigue. One moment you can’t even move, and the next you are as good as new. Together with your manner of speech, which you show from time to time, and thought process, I would say you belonged to a mage tower but escaped before serious training started and you were branded as a mage, permanently marking you for every knight. That could explain your ignorance and poor physique while having huge growth potential,” William spoke with a light smile, finally opening his eyes.