Solar System, Pluto, HQ Headquarters:
Oliver was in a room full of people with many screens in front of her. She was dressed in a typical general uniform with medals. However, she did not wear it appropriately, showing her neck. Strangely, she had a bunch of green veins that looked like worms under her beautiful skin.
"Commander, we received a notice of surrender from the Naga Race in the Blue Water System."
"Send an envoy to accept their surrender. Make sure there is no problem, diplomatic-wise, and clean up the undead there," Olivier replied. After saying these words, she closed one of the dozens of screens to concentrate on something else.
Each screen consisted of a live confrontation of the war, and she needed to pay close attention. Suddenly, one of her screens went dark. She immediately contacted the battalion responsible for that particular battlefield.
"Commander, we have lost Point Star System, so I ordered a retreat," said Captain Tanaka. "I request reinforcement before trying again."
"Send me the casualty report," said Oliver calmly. She then reviewed the report. Captain Tanaka led a medium fleet of more than 100 ships, but half of them were destroyed by one of an undead squadron, killing countless soldiers and Arcanists.
"There is no need for reinforcement. We will abandon Point Star System for now."
"Commander, as long as I have a few more ships, I guarantee to reverse the situation."
"I do not doubt your capability, Captain Tanaka. After all, the enemy had at least three times the number of ships, and your order of retreat was correct. However, Point Star System is not a priority at the current stage, so there is no point in losing more manpower to acquire it."
"I see," replied Tanaka while secretly clenching his hand. He knew with how competitive the military was currently, his defeat would derail his career. And without the opportunity to undo this shame, he also could not live with himself. After all, his men counted on him.
Nevertheless, he obeyed his command.
After closing the communication, Olivier focused on another screen that needed her attention.
"Commander, we have detected two First Generals," said an officer.
Olivier quickly checked the location. First General meant that a Tier 8 Undead had appeared, so she needed to act soon.
'Leaf Tree Star System and Red Number Star System.'
"We will send troops to Red Number Star System as soon as possible."
"What about Leaf Tree?"
"That's the elf's territory. Let them deal with it," Oliver replied calmly. Red Number Star was very close to the Empire's border, less than 3000 light-years from a Star System recently conquered.
"As you wish, commander. But, there is still a problem: we are short on Tier 7 Arcanists."
Olivier did not waste time and pulled a screen with a list of civilian Tier 7 Arcanists. She looked through the screen while the information of all these people appeared in her mind. Then, she picked up someone and contacted him.
"Who the hell is disturbing my research…Your majesty, sorry for my rudeness; I was distracted," said a young man in his early 30s with brown hair. Oddly, he also had the same veins on his neck as Olivier, except his were not as prominent.
"It doesn't matter. John Carter, you've been officially recruited for a mission. Prepare to mobilize."
"Your majesty, According to War Time Mobilization Act, section 134b, I would like to pay Arcane Points for compensation to be excused of my duty," replied John.
"I'm invoking Section 6D as this is a special circumstance."
A look of displeasure appeared on John's face after hearing this. However, Olivier did not care.
"If you wish, you can head to the Mobilization Safety Department. Nevertheless, you have five minutes to head to the designated area and be deployed."
Then, Olivier cut off the communication.
John cursed out loud for a few seconds before thinking about his next step. He did not dare not obey a deployment order as he knew the consequences. He had seen the fate of some Tier 7 Arcansists who thought they were now too powerful for the Empire to control.
He was just considering whether to go to the Safety Department. However, he did not think for too long before deciding; he did not want to die.
So, he exited his Demiplane before apparating to the nearest government Warp Portal. He showed his identification as a newly deployed soldier, allowing him to skip the line and also granting him access to teleport to the Mobilization Safety Department.
After the teleportation, he saw a middle age woman with a severe look waiting for him.
"Are you John Carter?" she asked.
"Yes," replied John with some timidity in his voice. He could sense numerous powerful weapons pointed at him now. And he knew if he did something out of line, he would be instantly obliterated.
Then, she took a device that scanned John's body, mana signature, soul, fingerprints, and even DNA.
"You're indeed you," she said in a monotone voice. "Sign this."
A hologram appeared before he and John signed it. The latter did not say anything else as a magic circle appeared underneath the two, and they teleported to a room full of machines.
"Lie down on the machine. This will hurt a little."
John knew time was of the essence, so he did not attempt small chats. He laid on the metal bunch and a bunched of runes appeared around him. Then, he felt intense pain; he wanted to curse the woman for saying it would only hurt a little.
A few seconds later, diamond with something inside appeared floating above his head.
'Is that my soul? How beautiful?' thought John.
"This piece of your soul will be stored in a special location. In case of your untimely death, it will be used for your revival," said the latter as some golems walked into the room to take the diamond away.
"I'm aware of this," replied John.
The stern lady nodded her head before continuing: "You should also understand this method is not absolute. If you die by the Death God's {Death Authority], you have a 50% chance of permanent death."
"50%? That seems a little high."
"You should be glad you have a chance at all," replied the lady. Only in the Empire where people could survive True Death Spell from a Death God. "Now, do you want other means of resurrection for assurance?"
"What other method is there?"
"We can copy your memories and transfer them to a clone."
"No, thank you," John quickly replied. He did not want to turn into a clone with a different soul. To him, such a revival is not revival at all but turning into a completely different person.
"As you wish. Do you have any questions?"
"Do I have to pay for the resurrection?"
"No. The Empire will pay for it."
"What about the resources to return to Tier 7?"
"The Empire will pay 30% of it."
"That's fair. What about my soul? What's going to happen to it?"
"After your deployment, you can choose to do with it as you please."
John sighed in relief after hearing this. One of the reasons he hesitated to come here was that he feared the Empire possessed a piece of his soul. Even then, after getting it back, he will not immediately fuse with it but see some of his friends who are Soul Magic experts to check for any problems.
"Since you don't have anything else to ask, proceed to your next destination."
John then used the Safet Department's Warp Portal to teleport to a military based in Saturn. And as soon as he arrived, he saw two men waiting for him.
John looked at the muscular man with tattoos on his pale skin.
'A Viking? Based on his leak and slightly uncontrollable mana, he just reached Tier 6.'
He then focused on the other person: he had dark skin as beautiful as the night, but his eyes were reptilian.
'Dragon Bloodline?'
"My name is John Carter, Tier 7 Arcanist focusing on Illusion Magic. It's a pleasure to meet all of you," said John as he went for a handshake. Then, he remembered he was conversing with military men, so he did a military salute by placing his left arm behind his back and his right hand on his left shoulder.
"You can call me Gorm, Tier 6 Physical Arcansist, sub-category Viking Warrior."
"The name is Abiodun Ngozi, Tier 6 Bloodline Arcanist and a Dragon Knight."
John was slightly surprised after hearing Abiodun's introduction. To have a draconian bloodline and be a Dragon Knight was a great accomplishment.
"The Vikings and the Dragon Knights are the Empire's most elite forces. With you two, this mission should be easier."
"On the contrary," said Gorm. "The fact we are being deployed means that the threat of the enemy is not something to underestimate."
John's face became ugly for a moment before controlling himself.
"Indeed. Alright, let's deploy."
He wanted to complete this mission as quickly as possible and return to his laboratory.
