14. An Increase In Difficulty

Hours had passed since Nathanial’s training with the Watchmen ended with bitterness. Besides Richard, who tackled each task like a foe worthy of being defeated, Nathanial and Fredrick had reached an impasse. An obstacle halting their very growth. Even after John returned with the crimson vials to repair the fibers of their muscles, Nathanial knew John had struck a nerve with Fredrick.

And ever since then, his childhood friend had not said a word. Not even a witty joke, like his usual demeanor. Instead, he focused purely on their training and completed it at his own pace. The sharp turn in composure caught Nathanial off guard, but the fact that his friend had locked in meant that he was finally serious.

He breathed out a sigh of relief while sitting on the linen bed. The soft creak of the wooden frame filled the large white tent that used to house five members of their platoon. Now only three remained.

From what he had heard, the other two had died in the next encounter. After Nathanial’s group had returned battered and bruised from their patrol, led by their runt of a leader, Chris. The commander of the encampment assigned the other two members of their group to scout the perimeter in a separate squad. After clashing directly with the Empire’s forces, none of them returned alive.

It was a tragedy to see those who shared a meal return home as empty caskets.

But there was nothing they could do. The Empire’s forces wouldn’t let them recover the bodies of the fallen without more unnecessary bloodshed.

Nathanial’s eyes drifted to the neatly folded beds. Their belongings were still there, and the reality that it could have been them sank deeper into his bones. He stared at his calloused hands.

I need to work harder.

Yet as he said this, a faint hum entered his ears. He looked up at the translucent golden screen.

“What is it that you want?”

[ Nothing in particular, just checking up on you. ]

“You’re a nosy fella, aren’t you?”

[ Perhaps, but it is in the job description to ensure that the contractor is always in a stable condition. ]

Nathanial softly chuckled. “Don’t you already know that? I figured you could see the future after you warned me that Fredrick would die if I left him.”

[ Hm? ]

The golden screen was slightly tilted.

[ It seems like there is a misunderstanding. I don’t truly know if your friend will die. ]

“What…?” Nathanial frowned. “But you said that if I didn’t get him to train with me… then he would die.”

[ That was merely a conclusion I, the messenger, had reached. It is not a prophecy like the ones delivered from the Souldom. And anyone with a brain cell or two would logically arrive at that same assumption after witnessing the same events that transpired. ]

Nathanial slowly clenched his fists while his deep blue eyes gazed at the empty beds. “Then those two that died—couldn’t you have gotten me to convince them to train as well?”

The screen seemed to dim for a moment, but soon manifested characters one after another.

[ No, it is not within your limits to save everyone. I only figured it was worth advising you to bring your friend because the likelihood of him agreeing was higher than a coin flip. Well, that and your odds of survival would increase with another capable ally. ]

Nathanial scoffed lightly. “If you cared about my survival, then you would’ve given me a way to reduce the amount of pain I feel.”

[ I can. ]

His eyes widened. “You can?”

[ That’s correct, I could. I could invoke my one right to grant you a skill that would allow you to endure the burden in exchange for a price. ]

“What would that price be?”

[ Leave behind your friend, Fredrick. ]

“You’re out of your mind if you think I’ll ever do that.”

[ Even if it was necessary? What if he became a monster? ]

“Not while I’m around.” Nathanial swatted the screen with his hand. “I’m not interested in your offers. Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re a blessing or a devil in disguise.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[ Maybe a bit of both. ]

The screen seemed to be amused at itself before fading from existence, and Nathanial couldn’t help but feel a surge of annoyance.

The young man took a deep breath while running his fingers through his white strands of hair. He looked at his clean clothes, a simple shirt and dark blue trousers, then at pieces of iron armor he had set aside, just within arm’s reach in case of an emergency.

His iron sword remained in its dark brown scabbard and under his pillow so that he could draw it in an instant. A side effect of the ambush that nearly took their lives, and as Nathanial grabbed onto it, he slowly understood what the system truly wanted.

It didn’t care about the lives around him.

All it cared about was driving him forward through whatever hurdles appeared, and the surrounding people were nothing more than variables that increased his odds of survival.

Nathanial felt disgust fill his heart.

How could there be an existence that was this cold-hearted?

He tapped the scabbard of his sword while falling deep into thought. Right now, he needed to figure out his next step, and according to Luka, the difficulty of their training would increase once more. Yet, as Nathanial was about to lie down on his bed, the sound of footsteps drew near from several feet outside the tent.

His fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade, eyes fixated on the entrance. The steps drew closer until the soft crunch of dirt reached him. He could see the shadow beneath the fabric move closer, and a hand pulled the fabric flap over as Fredrick stepped in.

“Yo.” Fredrick looked over at him with a troubled expression, causing Nathanial to raise a brow.