The food on every table vanished in the first half an hour of the refreshment. Yet, everyone used that chance to drink longer since the night was still far away.
Eventually, soldiers started to leave, and that trend continued until only Khan and Caspar remained in the cafeteria. The two mostly exchanged polite lines that Khan had mastered during his political dinners, but relevant information occasionally flew.
Once the Captains felt that the time was right, they left the cafeteria and dealt with the issues that the hours before the night allowed them to solve. Khan gained the highest clearance level available, and Caspar also accompanied him to the biggest office that side of the building had to offer.
"Your desk has a direct line with mine," Caspar explained, waving his hand from the office's entrance. "Your quarters are past that door, and a team will always be nearby to handle your every need."
"Thank you, Captain," Khan replied, inspecting the area. "I'll make myself at home."
"Of course," Caspar stated, stepping out of the room. "Nighttime is still four hours away, but I wish to remind you that your attendance isn't mandatory."
"I'll be there," Khan declared, nodding at the Captain. "Call me when you are about to head outside."
"Certainly," Caspar uttered. "I hope you enjoy your stay, Captain."
Khan wore a fake smile that disappeared as soon as he closed the door. The area's solitude brought out his true colors, but he didn't fall prey to them yet.
A quick inspection of the area unfolded. Khan checked the office, going through its large desk, comfortable chair, and couch before moving to his quarters. The latter consisted of a simple bedroom with a bathroom attached to it, but Khan didn't feel the need to complain.
Even after getting used to the Harbor's luxury, Khan remained a citizen of the Slums. He had learned to appreciate high-class environments, but his tastes were still humble. The only aspect that had slightly changed involved Monica's clothes, but she wasn't there to pamper him.
Khan connected his phone to the interactive desk once his inspection was over, and the device downloaded the last bits of information Caspar didn't have the time to share during the refreshment.
Meanwhile, Khan activated the desk's menus to compare the report in his mind to what the building contained. The study was short since the soldiers couldn't access much information. Khan actually felt surprised by how little the scientists shared.
'I learned more from Cirvags' report,' Khan cursed, leaning on the back of his seat. 'I guess Caspar made a few interesting points too.'
After fusing the knowledge from the report and Caspar, Khan found himself before a troublesome picture. Cegnore's overall state was still a mystery, and the same went for the Nak-related topics, but a first goal had already taken form.
'I need to get myself involved with the Thilku,' Khan concluded.
The goal would be impossible for an ordinary soldier. Even low-level Ambassadors would have problems solving that issue, especially if they had no history with the Thilku.
Khan wasn't an Ambassador, but Lord Exr knew about his presence on Cegnore. He had welcomed him through one of his soldiers, which had to mean something.
'[Blue hair],' Khan thought in the Thilku language. 'There might be rumors about me here already.'
The Thilku would never let a human team get in their trenches. Still, making an exception for Khan was possible. Creating that opportunity was the only issue.
'I'm getting ahead of myself,' Khan sighed, shaking his head to disperse his loud desires. 'I should see how I do against these Tainted animals first.'
Khan pressed on the desk to bring out the hologram of the Tainted animal seen with Mister Cirvags. He had learned more about those creatures since his arrival in Cegnore, and part of that wasn't reassuring, at least for him.
Pressing on another label added details to the picture. Cegnore had never seen a Tainted animal as strong as a fourth-level warrior, but their base stats were surprisingly high. Moreover, they could see in the darkness, which explained why they attacked at night and added scary clues.
'Evidence suggests these creatures' attacks aren't random,' Khan read on the holograms. 'However, even when intelligent specimens appear, they show no connection with the monstrous troops.'
Those vague words had a clear meaning for Khan. The mutated Thilku or Cegnore's natives had to be in charge of the Tainted animals, but their location remained unknown, especially to the human side.
'Dammit,' Khan cursed as some restlessness appeared. 'I hope we get some leftovers tonight.'
Since the night was still hours away, Khan alternated study with meditation to keep himself busy and kill time. Caspar's call eventually arrived, and Khan didn't bother to change before heading outside.
Khan had read the building's safety measures and general arrangements, but taking the lead on his first day wasn't ideal. He didn't want that role for now, so he followed Caspar's directives and let him handle that process.
The human trench could only fit a platoon, but the Thilku's leftovers hardly required half of that. The humans had adapted to that trend, dividing Cegnore's troops into four huge teams that alternated themselves.
Twenty-five soldiers occupied a series of vehicles and headed for the huge gate to form an orderly line. The attendants handed pills and checked them with scanners one by one before allowing them to leave.
That thorough safety measure slowed the departure, and the gate worsened the process. That huge passage had two layers, which could never open at the same time. The door could only fit three vehicles, which forced everyone in line to wait.
Khan and Caspar were in the same jeep at the end of the line, and the safety measures delayed their turn at the gate by ten whole minutes. Khan wasn't in a waiting mood, but Caspar and his surroundings distracted him long enough to keep his enthusiasm in check.
The enthusiasm both increased and decreased after getting outside. Khan could relax since the annoying part of the trip was over, but the trench was coming, which inevitably gave birth to excitement.
The cars' tires left deep marks on the brittle ground as they accelerated through the plain, creating brownish clouds. The vehicles were fast and had powerful scanners, so Khan soon saw the approaching trench.
The place was simple but decent. The trench was longer than Khan had expected, and metal reinforcements covered the side facing the potential battlefield. Four manual turrets also peeked out of it, creating a good defensive line that could handle most threats.
'Twenty-five soldiers are probably too much,' Khan couldn't help but think, especially when he considered the few specimens getting to that trench.
"Do you ever get big assaults?" Khan asked as Caspar parked the jeep behind the trench.
"Here?" Caspar asked. "Never. We bring rifles and magazines just in case, but the Thilku never let too many specimens slip by."
Khan looked outside the window to avoid showing any disappointment, but everyone eventually finished parking and left their vehicles. The soldiers followed Caspar's lead, jumping inside the trench and taking their assigned position, and Khan was among them.
"Activate the scanners!" Caspar ordered once everyone was in position. "I don't want anything to go wrong!"
The soldiers tapped on the metal reinforcement, bringing out menus that depicted scenes far in the distance. The place had scanners, and Khan didn't miss that detail.
'The Thilku will have something similar,' Khan thought, glancing at the dark sky. 'Maybe if I fly high enough.'
"Lights!" Caspar continued, and the vehicle's headlights lit up to illuminate all the areas past the trench. That glow was blinding, but the channel offered some protection.
"Alright!" Caspar shouted again. "We have a long night ahead of us, and you know the punishment if I catch you napping."
A series of "Yes, sir" resounded, but Khan couldn't hold back his curiosity. "What's the punishment?"
"I lower their pay," Caspar snickered, pointing at the center of the trench. "Those are our spots. They are the only clean ones."
The metal reinforcement in the spot pointed out by Caspar stretched to the trench's floor, dividing it from the ground. Moreover, all the images from the scanners converged there, and the two Captains took their position behind them.
"Fourteen hours to go," Khan exclaimed, sitting on the metal floor while pretending to focus on the scanners.
"Indeed," Caspar sighed, joining Khan on the floor. "Cegnore's long days give us enough time to sleep, but a fourteen-hour shift is still taxing."
"Do you come out here every night?" Khan wondered.
"I take one day off every week," Caspar explained. "Two Lieutenants replace me."
"Well," Khan joked. "You can take a nap tonight since I'm here."
"I wouldn't dare," Caspar smiled, shaking his head. "This is my chance to leave a lasting impression."
"Give me a week before starting with politics," Khan chuckled.
"I apologize," Caspar laughed. "My family's training is hard to ignore."
"That speaks for your family's value," Khan praised. "Do you mind if I meditate to kill time?"
"Not at all," Caspar gasped, slightly disappointed he couldn't spend the night deepening his relationship with Khan. "I'll tell the soldiers to be silent."
"No need," Khan stated, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. "Just warn me if the scanners pick up something."
"You can count on me, Captain," Caspar promised, and a newfound resolve filled him as he glared at the menus. He was almost hoping he could get the chance to warn Khan.
Khan shared that hope, but the symphony told a far different story. He couldn't sense anything at all. There was no trace of those Tainted animals.
Of course, the night was still young, so Khan didn't despair yet. He tried his best to focus on meditating, even if a lot of the situation went against him. He didn't only want to keep track of the area. Khan also had the odd sensation to try to ignore.
As time passed, boredom fell on the trench. The job forced the soldiers to stare at the empty plain for hours, and the presence of two Captains prevented casual conversations. Even Caspar started to feel affected by that mood, but no complaints came out of his mouth.
Khan was no stranger to boredom, but far stronger emotions pushed it into the backline and filled his mind with proactive ideas. He wasn't completely powerless. In theory, he could do more than wait for the Tainted animals. Yet, Khan managed to hold back for now.
The complete stillness didn't last forever. Something faint and barely noticeable reached Khan's senses, and his eyes snapped open. He suddenly stood up, and Caspar's worried questions turned into background noise as he focused on the dark horizon.
The plain looked empty. The vehicles' headlights illuminated a good chunk of the area, and the soldiers before them created shadows that stretched into that white glow. Darkness still existed in the distance, but no figures moved inside it.
Ordinary soldiers would only see an environment split between black and white, but far different colors filled Khan's eyes. The symphony shone on its own, and a faint tremor ran through those shades but was too distant to reveal any clue.
The tremor grew closer, eventually showing its colors. Purple-red shades joined the symphony, revealing their source and part of their power. The natural mana's behavior slightly changed under that influence, and Khan lowered his head to check the images on the metal surface.
Caspar still asked questions while his eyes moved between Khan and the horizon. However, Khan's gesture made him look at the screens, and answers eventually arrived.
"There," Khan said, pointing at one of the screens.
Caspar promptly tapped on the image to expand it and zoomed in to see whether the scanners picked up something. That camera was pointing at the darkness, and a barely noticeable movement suddenly happened inside it, triggering a few menus.
"Incoming!" Caspar shouted, lifting his head to glare at both sides of the trench. "Battle stations!"
Many soldiers had noticed Khan's odd behavior, so they had already snapped out of their boredom. Caspar's shout confirmed their suspicions, making them pull out their rifles to bind them to the trench's metal reinforcement.
"Hold your fire," Khan calmly muttered, jumping out of the trench and landing on the metal reinforcement.
Caspar opened his mouth in surprise, but Khan had given an order, and he didn't dare to reject it. He also knew his role, so another shout resounded through the trench. "Hold your fire!"
The soldiers didn't need to question Caspar's orders since Khan soon became impossible to miss. He was the only figure walking through the illuminated area, and his knife fell into his grasp as he advanced toward the darkness.
Khan was in no hurry to reach the threat, but his mana had other ideas. His senses worked overtime to gather as much information as possible, and the process accelerated once a big figure peeked into the illuminated area.
Holograms were nothing compared to real-life experiences. The creature Khan had seen with Mister Cirvags stepped into the light, running at full speed toward the human trench and filling his senses with information.
The beast was hideous, and its azure fur didn't make Khan miss its odd proportions. The wolf-like creature was three meters long and four tall, and its bloated belly didn't match its slender legs. Yet, its mouth remained its strangest feature, causing disgust in anyone looking at it.
Saliva drooled out of the longer upper part of the monster's mouth. Its tongue was also in the open, moving left and right and matching that mad charge's rhythm. The Tainted animal seemed to be in a hungry frenzy, and the intensity of its urges left deep marks on the symphony.
'It's mindless,' Khan concluded, tightening his grip on his knife only to relax it right afterward. 'I need to test stuff first.'
The Tainted animal clearly carried the chaos element. Except for the Nak's hand, that would be Khan's first time facing an opponent that shared his mana's qualities. However, he couldn't take the incoming battle seriously since the monster was only as strong as a second-level warrior.
Khan advanced in a straight line toward the incoming beast, doing his best to suppress his wildest sides. He wanted to kill the monster on the spot. His desperation begged him to do that, but focusing on the long game required sacrifices.
The Tainted animal looked uncomfortable in its body. Its charge showed no balance but remained oddly fast. It didn't take long before Khan entered the creature's range, and its deformed mouth opened to turn its leap into a deadly attack.
Nevertheless, the monster ended up slamming headfirst into the ground. Its teeth stabbed the soil, and its mouth closed to bite a good chunk of it.
The creature gulped, uncaring of the pain of the impact and the dirt in its throat. It didn't even mind that its attack had failed. Only hunger occupied its simple mind, and the figures visible in the white light quickly attracted its attention.
However, a cracking noise suddenly resounded among the silent plain, and pain followed. The wolf howled at the dark sky before releasing a hoarse angry growl. It turned, and its fury converged on the figure touching its butt's fur.
Khan let sensations invade his mind as his palm ruffled that thick fur. It was different from his hair, but he still found similarities. Yet, the wolf's butt eventually escaped his reach.
The Tainted animal began to turn but suddenly lost its balance, crashing to the ground. It tried to stand up, only to fall once again. One of its rear legs had bent backward since Khan had crushed its knee, and the wolf didn't have the clarity to notice the injury.
The wolf's hunger made it disregard any notion of pain. That beast existed only to bite and eat, and Khan was in its range. Standing up wasn't an option, so it stomped its working legs to leap in his direction.
Unfortunately for the beast, Khan disappeared before the leap could risk reaching him. The wolf crashed on the ground and ravaged that brittle surface. It ate the soil as if worried Khan would escape if it didn't. The creature didn't even bother to check whether he was there in the first place.
Khan felt a bit lost watching the wolf feasting on soil, but his legs promptly moved to reattract its attention. He had moved on the creature's back again, which left its last intact rear limb exposed.
Another painful howl filled the plain as Khan shattered the wolf's knee. The creature tried to turn, but its broken rear legs left it stuck on the ground. It still tried to crawl, but Khan instantly reached its head and pressed it down.
The Tainted animal grew excited since Khan was so close. An abnormal amount of saliva escaped its mouth, creating a puddle on the ground. Its working legs also shook left and right, trying to reach for Khan. Yet, their odd proportions worked against it.
'Its aggression is scary,' Khan thought, his foot sealed on the wolf's head, 'But even third-level warriors won't be a problem if that's all they can do.'
Khan immediately found a flaw in that reasoning. He was strong, but the Thilku couldn't be underestimated. They would have never struggled against such creatures, and the wolf didn't hesitate to answer his doubts.
Khan's eyes widened when mana accumulated inside the wolf. He knew that pattern. He had mastered it long ago, so his legs promptly sent him into the sky and away from the Tainted animal.
Purple-red light followed that accumulation of mana. A bright sphere expanded from the wolf and dug through the ground, destroying anything in its path.
Khan watched everything from a safe position in the air, but his surprise was hard to describe. Somehow, the Tainted animal had used the Wave spell.
