CHAPTER 34: ANCIENT MEMOIR
A week passed by since the meeting he had with Elizabeth. After learning about what could be the prelude to an impending disaster, Hermes propelled himself into nonstop training. Elizabeth's abilities may be able to tell what could happen in the future to a certain extent, but she cannot give exact time frames when an event is fated to occur.
Because of this, both of them were in a constant state of anxiety for the past week. They decided it was best to research all avenues that could become catalysts for a catastrophe that was supposed to impact everyone in the city. Hermes had agreed to meet up with her every night in the library to discuss their findings.
During his one week of training, he had constantly over-exerted himself to the point of almost having his body breakdown multiple times. He would constantly have to deal with Angelica lecturing him about his reckless behavior. Every time his body would come close to the brink of failing, he would be sent to the Nano-bionic machine for immediate care.
Hermes knew this would occur. He was purposefully making his body go to extremes, hoping that the machine could help propel his training further. Surprisingly, he received no complaints about his constant need to use them. In fact, Arthur never even mentioned the cost of the Serum to him.
This, however, could not last forever. Consistently using the machine would not only eventually allow his body to form defects, but there are even cases where the curing effects of the machine no longer work. After a week-long grueling training, he began slowing down his pace to give time for his body to relax.
Hermes wiped the sweat off his face and placed Dawnbreaker on his shoulder. After constantly practicing with it using [Martial-Study] and [Augmented-Comprehension], he had already gotten used to wielding it normally.
Not only that, but he had even figured out the most optimal stances to take when using it. Of course, there was still a lot of work to be done. During the one week of training, he never touched the gun shells Dorian provided him and focused entirely on allowing his body to swing the weapon naturally.
After taking out his old phone from his pocket, Hermes checked the time. It read 11:46 AM. 'I guess it's time to head back…'
A few days prior, Hermes had visited Dorian with a request. He wanted him to create a charging cable for his old device. It came as a shock for him when he inspected it. It was so ancient that he began laughing at its crudeness, much to the embarrassment of Hermes.
Not only was he able to finish the task in less than a day, but He had even delved into the programming of the phone and updated its system software for it to function with some of the apps the Guardians utilize. Other features were also included inside the device like providing ASCII support for Luminaric and even a fully fledged keyboard that worked wonderfully with the new symbols.
Because the phone's code was written in English, Dorian wasn't able to understand it and therefore spent the time simply recreating a replica of the codebase in Luminaric. This meant that many of the old features and apps the phone had did not work anymore. Hermes was not sad about this, however; he had only wanted to keep it to preserve his precious memories with his family.
The best feature in Hermes' opinion, however, had to be the inclusion of a Mars Local Time zone in the phone's settings. This allowed him to read the time easily with his old phone instead of having to check his watch.
Throwing it back into his pocket, Hermes packed his stuff and left Training Facility B. After returning to his dorm room, he took a shower and donned the usual military uniform. At the cafeteria, he ate a light breakfast before heading out into the courtyard. It was time for the cadets to be tested on their knowledge of handling their secondary weapons.
During the training period, Hermes did not slack off at all in his studies. He had routinely spent time not only studying in the library but also learning all the ins and outs of the Valkyrie MH-350. Every day, he practiced shooting at the range to improve his accuracy.
Other than his usual routine, he had also spent a period of time hanging out with Kevin, who apparently was only a few dorm rooms across from him. He had learned about his situation back at home with his 3 siblings. As the oldest, Kevin was responsible for their well-being. Becoming a Guardian would allow him to send back a lot of Sanctum to help fund their living.
The stories he told Hermes about how the poor lived truly broke his heart. This motivated him to continue putting more effort into improving himself in order to have the power to help out. Elizabeth's reading of the future was bleak; Hermes had no idea if the strings of fate could be changed, but he had to try.
After meeting up with Elizabeth and Kevin, Hermes made his way into the formation in the courtyard. The cadets awaited their commanding officer, who would issue the instructions on beginning the exam.
They were going to be tested on gun assembly speed, aim/accuracy, as well as general knowledge about the weapon they picked a week ago.
Soon, the officers arrived. Much to his dismay, it was not Leonardo. At the time, Leonardo only gave him a subtle greeting before leaving again. It had been a week since then and he had still not seen him. Hermes was not surprised, however. The development with the Mutants, paired with his knowledge of the strings of fate, painted a grim picture in his mind.
He also personally viewed the situation better that way. They would meet eventually once Hermes begins embarking on missions as an official Guardian. Meeting an executive officer regularly and a noble one at that may draw a lot of unnecessary attention.
Soon the test began. All the cadets were timed using a stopwatch on their speed to disassemble their weapon and then reassemble it.
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Upon receiving the instructor's signal to commence, Hermes swiftly delved into the task, promptly extracting the shells nestled within the cylinder. Employing a deft hand with a screwdriver, he meticulously disassembled the stocks, grip, frame, trigger, hammer spur, and barrel, laying out each component with a refined sense of order on the table.
Methodically breaking down the firearm into its individual parts, Hermes then showcased his ability to swiftly put it back together. His finesse when handling the weapon did not escape the proctor's gaze, who was notably impressed by Hermes' abilities, which were only honed in a mere week.
As soon as Hermes completed the task, the officer swiftly pressed the stopwatch to the clock in the time.
"1 minute and 23 seconds."
Although faster records have been done in the past, the majority of them were completed by experienced military personnel with years of experience in handling firearms. Hermes' performance shocked the rest of the cadets and the officers in charge of the exam.
Their shock, however, would be dwarfed when they finally were able to find out his results in the other two portions of the test. Not only did Hermes hit all his shots, but over 90% of them were bullseye. His knowledge of the weapon's history, engineering, and maintenance was also extremely detailed; he was able to land full marks in that portion.
Rather than being happy with his result however, Hermes was furious with himself. He had expected to complete the Gun Assembly portion in less than a minute, but the dust had gotten in his eyes due to the breeze slowing down his progress. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
After everyone took the exam, their results were announced publicly. This is one of the policies that the Guardians take to motivate competition between the cadets.
"First Place: Hermes Wilson - 1:23s,"
"Second Place: Elizabeth Lysange - 1:39s,"
'Her score still surprises me. I knew she had a certain passion for revolvers like I do, but I didn't think that it reflected her skill as well. It seems she has put countless hours into practice…'
The officer continued to announce the results.
"Third Place: Noah Césaire - 1:39s,"
'Huh? He was able to tie against Elizabeth? His name sounds familiar to me…'
Suddenly, his thoughts drifted back to the origins of the name. It was when the exam results had been announced during his brief period in his temporary apartment. Other than him scoring second place in the Guardian Regiment Recruitment Examinations, the man's name he just heard was also on the placement leaderboard. He was the 4th place holder during that exam.
During the past week, even though he was technically one of the most skilled in his generation, Hermes had still not formed any relationships with the others. They had all avoided him like the plague, except for Elizabeth and Kevin.
The same thing happened with Charles. After the humiliation he put him through, he began to avoid Hermes at every turn. Hermes liked it that way; he did not want to deal with any of his stupidity.
However, due to these anti-social behaviors, he had still not grasped the names of many of the people in his class. This was especially so for Noah. For a supposed 4th placeholder, it was as if he was a ghost. Hermes had never spotted him anywhere at all.
Even now, Hermes was not able to identify him within the formation. Not only did his position within the formation in the back make it hard for him to spot anyone, but he had also never seen how Noah looked before, making it impossible for him to recognize him at all.
Although he was curious about his abilities, he decided to return his focus to himself. Due to the military academy's school work and his training with the gunblade, he was not able to have any free time during his reading sessions. All the time he spent in the library was used up to study for his classes on War Theory, which he had no clue about, and Sanctuary City's politics and economics to figure out any clues about the catastrophe Elizabeth had predicted.
Because of Leonardo's information on how the Mutants have been getting stronger, Hermes felt like it was no coincidence that this drastic change had occurred at the same time as the changes seen on the strings of fate. He felt like the two events were connected. He had tried to obtain information on Mutants in the library, but most of it was locked behind security clearances that Hermes' rank did not afford him.
After leaving the courtyard, he headed back to finish his studies in the military academy. Completing all his duties as a cadet, Hermes was finally free to leave. He immediately headed home to change and went to the library, this time to gain more knowledge about the topics that he had been curious about for a long time.
Visiting the history section, Hermes sat down on the familiar carpet and leaned his back against the bookshelf. In his hand was an old book covered in brown leather. The smell of old, matured paper mixed with a weird nasal sensation of ginger. It reminded him of his grandmother's nursing home, which he used to visit as a kid. Hermes peeked at the cover and read the gilded Luminaric words.
"The Marcia Empire…"
Hermes opened the book and flipped to the first page. On it stood a single paragraph; An author's note to the reader.
'The splendor of olden days is no more; it now lies in ruin. But such is the fate of mankind; always entwined in this tale of woe and misery. In the tapestry of time, every golden age begets a period marked in shadow, swallowing the joy of those who tread in its wake. So I humbly beseech the Monarch, the one highest in order, the starry god who is more dazzling than any other, wisest of them all. What lies beneath this mortal veil? What compels us all to seek transient peace? Is life itself a precious jewel, or must we toil without purpose until a fated event resets our course?'
- From the Memoirs of Historian Diodorus Lysange, Year 9,255 A.C
Hermes was left speechless. This was a note from a person who lived roughly 17,400 years ago in Earth Orbits! During his study periods with Elizabeth, she had taught him many things. One of those involved the creation of the current calendar they use. Other than their interpretation of time being based on Mars, they had kept the tradition of counting the years since the descent of the Monarch of Wisdom roughly 18,464 years ago.
From that perspective, one can say that the current year in Mars Orbits is 9821 A.C. The only thing that confused him however was the meaning of A.C. When he inquired about it, Elizabeth simply shrugged and said that it stood for "After Cataclysm". She told him that no one knew why it was called that because all the books that held information before 816 A.C were lost.
Hermes, however, almost stood up from his desk in shock when heard it. He had seen the murals inside the mausoleum when he awoke from his slumber and rightfully tied it back to the apocalyptic scene it depicted.
This caused him to be confused about the placement in history. How can the date of the apocalypse also be the date for the Monarch of Wisdom's descent to Earth? Where did Elgacia's calculation of him being put to sleep around the same time as his descent fit into this narrative? He had no idea whatsoever.
Shifting his eyes back to the text, the markings of a complicated expression became apparent. He began to ponder the words left behind by this distant ancestor of humanity.
'Diodorus… What events did you live through that made you write such a chronicle? What made you lose this much hope in humanity's existence?...'
Driven by an insatiable curiosity, he eagerly turned the page, poised to delve into the profound depths of humanity's most obscure and haunting historical chapters.
End of Chapter