CH 287 – It’s All Fun and War Games (Part 7)

“Here, come in! Come in!” Aegus said, pushing me into the large circular tent. “This is my personal tent.”

I glanced back as I stepped inside. Augustus waved for me to go ahead; he was already preoccupied in conversation with none other than the red-haired fire mage, Professor Brennan.

Then the tent flap fell shut behind me, and the view of the outside chaos disappeared.

Despite the grimy exterior, the interior could have passed for some fancy hunting excursion arranged by an outdoor-loving noble. The cloth walls and ceiling were a deep crimson shade, with gold-embedded lightstones fixed along the walls, providing ample light, as little of the outside light peered in. Several openings led into connected tents—or rooms, as Aegus called them. The floor was covered with intricate rugs laid atop one another, thick enough to soften our footsteps and pretend, rather poorly, that we were not standing in the middle of a ruined city.

Of course, this was no excursion.

There was little nature remaining in the debris-filled world outside, and Aegus looked nothing like a noble enjoying himself on holiday.

His navy uniform’s collar was soaked with sweat. His face lacked color, and his eyes were wide and alert, darting every so often toward the tent flap whenever a distant boom sounded.

“You only just arrived… so you missed it,” Aegus muttered as he led me deeper inside. “I was here right at dawn. Too eager. Should have just taken my time…”

I gazed around.

There didn’t appear to be any noise-canceling runes in place. Not right now, at least. The shouts from outside bled through the fabric walls. So did the metallic clatter of equipment, the snap of portals opening and closing, and the occasional scream that cut through everything else before fading off.

I sniffed the air. There was a faint scent of expensive incense drifting through the tent, likely meant to mask the outside air—there were notes of lemon and coriander softened by warm hay and something milky. It did a fairly decent job.

“I’ve been through some shit—or so I thought—but this…” Aegus swallowed. His whole body notably shivered. “This was something else.”

It wasn’t only the physical signs that were different about him; there were quite a few changes to his demeanor. Aside from his unsettlingly cheerful reaction to my arrival, the easy, crude confidence I had grown used to since first meeting him was gone from his voice. It was hoarse and thin. Like he was trying to convince himself that everything was fine.

He stopped inside the fourth tent and waved over a servant. Two goblets of wine were immediately filled.

“I don’t know how much you’ve seen already,” Aegus said, taking one goblet, “but you probably will need this too.”

He offered me the other cup.

I winced and shook my hand.

“You sure?” Aegus looked genuinely surprised. “They don’t really care about age here. It’s not the academy. And it’s not regular wine—it has medicinal qualities to mend the mind.”

“Yes, I’m certain,” I replied.

I didn’t need to explore that dark well.

I blinked, realizing something I had somehow failed to properly consider until now. I didn’t know if there was an age when alcohol was considered socially appropriate in this realm and kingdom, but given what Aegus had just said, it seemed there was. And that he was under it.

“How old are you, Aegus?” I asked, looking my roommate over properly for the first time.

His wavy brown hair was damp with sweat and messy—not the engineered sort. His skin, as pale as it was, lacked a single wrinkle. He was of decent height and average build, but his sharp uniform could not hide the obvious. Aegus was many years away from adulthood.

“Me?” He blinked, then slowly grinned. “I turned seventeen last month. Surprised? I’ve always been told I looked mature for my age. And I’ve skipped two grades.”

I let out a deep sigh, out of my mouth.

Mature my ass… I had been feuding with a bloody child. Someone practically a decade younger than me, if I only went by the age I had been when I originally died before I became a Player. I had wrongly assumed he was at least nineteen, or maybe older, given he was placed as my roommate.

I pressed my palms up against my eyes, replaying all my interactions with Aegus to date.

He wasn’t exactly the epitome of goodness. He was arrogant and flawed, but he was young.

"Well, more for me.”

I heard Aegus down both his wine and the cup I had refused.

I lowered my hands from my face.

His eyes were fixed blankly on one of the crimson-cloth walls, the empty cups loosely held in each hand.

I knew that look.

I had seen it plenty of times before. On soldiers after their first battle. And on the faces of civilians caught in the crossfire.

Though I wasn’t certain how much of this was my fault, and how much belonged to whatever he had seen here.

“Why are you here?” I asked. “I heard you were in the mental ward.”

Aegus chuckled dryly. “I was cleared to be of sound enough mind. My therapist is staying with me.”

I felt anger surge up inside me. It was an emotion I never thought I’d feel on my roommate's behalf. And yet, the circumstances demanded it.

These damned people had not only sent me here, but had evidently decided to have their cake and eat it too by sending Aegus to the front lines as well. A seventeen-year-old who had barely recovered from losing his elemental—if I was to trust the clearance the therapist provided, which I did not.

I blinked, as another detail struck me.

No, they had already planned to send him here. Aegus had been meant for the front lines before any of this happened. Before the duel. Before Void. Before, the academy board needed a convenient explanation for why I was being sent in his place.

I looked at Aegus with pity.

What in the world did he do to get sent here?

But I didn’t bother asking. The answer was inconsequential. If it was anything like me, it was nothing that deserved it.

I looked back, toward the flap in the tent leading to the outside.

“If they are willing to put teenagers and life-term criminals on the front lines,” I spoke to Apophis using Illusion Magic, “that can only mean one thing: desperation.”

~Yes, my thoughts precisely. Apophis hissed from my shoulder. This war has clearly hit a wall. And the kingdom is quite literally willing to do anything in order to break through.

The snake hissed in delight.

~But Master, this also means that this is truly the ideal conditions for you to train and learn under. Your realm’s war is also considered unbeatable, after all.

I nodded.

Despite my anger at the decisions of those up top, I had come to the same realization.

{{ Mama? Grandpa? Where are we? Are we in the south? }}

The shadow beneath my feet twitched.

{{ ~Yes, we’ve just arrived. }} Apophis was kind enough to answer Void.

“Ah…!” Aegus reeled back, dropping the two cups. He was holding his right mechanical arm protectively, the flame jumping wildly.

But his expression was weird.

He was… excited? Aegus was actually slightly smiling.

Damn it.

I felt a strange sense of guilt all over again.

This guy is clearly not of sound mind at all. He shouldn’t be out here.

“Hello,” Aegus waved his left hand as he made two steps toward me, his eyes staring down at my shadow. Void had shifted into his usual form, with two crescent-shaped eyes and a smiling mouth; his typical deceptively cute appearance.

“I wasn’t able to say it properly back then, but I’m really sorry about what happened to Azar,” I said sincerely. “It truly was an accident.”

“Water under the bridge,” Aegus replied, waving his left hand.

His eyes met mine. “I underestimated Void. But out here, your elemental will be able to move without restraint.”

His gaze lowered, and he pointed at my neck and wrists.

“And I see your cuffs were removed. With a mana core the size of yours, you should be able to control him if he ever loses control again.” Aegus gave a faint smile. “It’s a miracle he contracted with you, of all people.”

Hah.

I had very little confidence in my ability to forcibly restrain Void through magical means.

My mana core had expanded multiple times thanks to the technique Augustus taught me, but it was still nowhere near the thousand belden everyone believed it to be. No, even compared to most people here, my mana core remained disproportionately small.

Thus, the idea that Void would now be better controlled because my cuffs were removed was terribly inaccurate.

My best, and only real, method of controlling Void was to rely on every toddler-related technique I had memorized. Praise, incentives, distraction, and a calm but firm voice. Words were the only tools truly at my disposal.

Perhaps my Charisma stat would finally increase?

I didn’t have access to my stats in this realm, given that my settings were still the same as when I left my own world. Thus, I could only guess where each stat currently sat.

However, bargaining with and convincing a powerful being like Void had to count for something.

“Void,” I said gently, looking toward my shadow, “do you have something to say to Azar?”

{{ Yes. I’m sorry about last time, Azar. I won’t do it again. }}

For a moment, Aegus’s expression froze.

Then Azar flashed over his outstretched metal arm, warm orange flames curling along the glinting metal and runes. A shape emerged within the fire.

{{ …All is forgiven. }} Azar’s voice came in reply.

The two elementals continued to talk, with Void excitedly asking questions with the enthusiasm of a child, and Azar answering each question like a tired, middle-aged man.

Listening to speech at this frequency was peculiar. If I had to describe it, Azar’s voice was low, deep, and rather intimidating, while Void had the pitch of a three-year-old child.

The other peculiarity was that the frequencies differed. There were levels to them, allowing for both public and private communication. Public speech was the easiest to tune into and the loudest frequency, while catching more private frequencies was apparently considered an art useful for spying, negotiations, and battle.

Not that I was particularly worried about being overheard.

Apophis, Void, and I spoke the language of my home realm. Unless there was another other-realmer from my home nearby, one who also happened to understand elemental speech and tune into the same frequency, I was unlikely to be exposed.

I frowned.

No. That wasn’t quite right. I had already been exposed. Eclipse had already placed a target on my back.

I glanced back at the tent flap.

Luckily I had Augustus' backing. He had provided me with training and reassurance. Though, I had a strange feeling tickling the back of my mind that trouble was going to find me much sooner than either of us planned.

A blast thundered across the camp. The tent shook violently, and dust fell from the crimson ceiling.

I looked up.

Then again, I was already standing on the front lines of trouble.