"How many casualties?"
"30 dead, 28 injured, 2 captured. In total, we have lost around 32 soldiers while the other 28 need immediate medical attention."
"Fuck."
"Hey, on the bright side, we have 6 healers on us and several healing items that our cadets packed before entering the VR."
"That's not what I'm worried about."
"Then what is it?"
"We lost. They defeated us."
"No they didn't? We escaped before they could."
"Well, yeah, but they almost did, didn't they? If it wasn't for Lucas then…."
"...Yeah."
Back in their base, Nero slumped on a couch, wearing nothing but black pants, his well-toned athletic body bare for the world to see.
Wounds and bruises covered his chest and abdomen while two girls sat surrounding him. Both of them were healers, with silver hair, green eyes, and other strikingly similar features that suggested they were twins.
One sat on the ground near his crushed leg and the other one sat beside him, attending to the injuries on his upper body.
They both had their hands extended forward as shimmering flecks of green light rained down on Nero's injuries, gradually mending them with each passing moment.
Healing magic is an implication of the Light element. It is, in nature, the opposite to decay magic that stems from the Dark element.
Before Nero, there stood a teenage girl in her late teens with striking green eyes and black hair. Her alluring face which hid a sense of mature beauty was adorned with worry and concern right now.
Nero noticed Amelia's worried expression and reassured her, "Don't worry, Amelia."
Amelia looked at Nero's injured leg and replied, "But it looks really bad."
The girl who was tending to Nero's leg overheard Amelia and chimed in, "Don't worry, Aria will fix it in no time."
Despite her own name being Aria, she referred to herself in the third person like a child. Her identical twin sister, Anya, also did the same.
"Yes, Anya trusts Aria's abilities," she said.
Nero felt like pointing out their speech pattern but ultimately refrained from doing so.
"So, what should we do now?" Amelia asked, a bit of hesitation present in her voice.
"Well, on the bright side, we managed to acquire some rations at least so we won't be dying of starvation," Nero answered, rubbing his chin, still unsure of how to advance from here on out.
"We can try and attack them on our terms this time after our troops eat and get refreshed," Amelia suggested, to which Nero calmly nodded.
"Yeah, we can do that," he said. "How did he do that, by the way? You were present there with him, so you should know, right?"
Even though that question was very vague, Amelia understood what Nero was asking.
"If you're talking about Lucas coming up with a strategy and leading all the soldiers so efficiently, then even I don't know," she admitted whilst shaking her head. "He told me that he had been observing everyone for the last couple of weeks so he knows how everyone thinks and fights."
Although Amelia said that, she herself couldn't believe those words. Observing someone and analyzing their fighting style and thought process, and then being able to move them in a way that would put them in a favorable position on a chaotic battlefield so easily, is beyond crazy! In such a short time on top of that! What kind of genius one has to be in order to be able to do that?
But if that wasn't enough, he also mentioned how he predicted the enemy's movement a few times long before it happened. It really was like he could see the future.
Shaking her head, Amelia shook herself out of those thoughts. No, she can't manage to get sidetracked right now.
"I see," Nero muttered to himself. "Where is he now?"
"Oh, he said he was going out for a stroll."
†
Have I ever mentioned my admiration for the scent of freshly spilled blood? Not to sound like a psychopath or anything, but there's something exhilarating about the taste of iron that lingers in the back of your throat when you inhale its fragrance.
But blood is not just fascinating for its scent. Its striking crimson hue and thick, textured consistency make it a stunningly beautiful substance in every way~!
Yet, what's truly captivating is how it bleeds down a person's neck when you slice it open, slowly draining their life away.
Blood is the essence of life and the sign signifying that one has a weakness.
So, anyway, this virtual world did a pretty good job replicating it. All around me, I could see people tending to their injuries as the thick scent of blood filled the air.
Savoring that fragrance, I strolled along casually, without a care in the world. Soon enough, I spotted the person I had been seeking.
In the distance, I spotted an elven boy with tousled blue hair and matching eyes seated on the fender of a wrecked car. He was tending to a deep wound on his shoulder, struggling to wrap bandages around it on his own.
Approaching him, I flashed a friendly smile and offered, "Do you need a hand? That's a pretty nasty wound."
At the sound of my voice, Kent lifted his head, and upon recognizing me, he beamed his trademark goofy smile and exclaimed, "Right?! I finally got a battle scar!"
"First of all," I interjected, "with today's medical technology, wounds can heal without leaving a scar. And secondly, you're in virtual reality so your physical body hasn't sustained injuries like this."
"Aww man," Kent heaved a disappointed sigh. "Sometimes you make me sound like a dum dum!"
"You are a dum dum, Kent," chuckling, I took the roll of bandage from his hand and started unwrapping what little of it he had applied before.
"What are you doing?" he asked, curiosity in his voice.
"I have a healing potion," I replied, summoning a glass bottle filled with green liquid from my smart bracelet. "Let me apply it and you'll be fine in no time."
"A healing potion? How did you get it?" Kent inquired.
During our first month in Academy City, everything was free for students. However, now that we were in our second month, we had to use Merits to purchase anything we needed.
Luckily, our Unit had earned a significant amount of Merits during the Unit Test and for killing the Steel Winged Eagle, placing us first in the rankings.
However, even low-grade potions like healing potions were incredibly expensive.
First-year students who hadn't even started their first semester could only afford a few healing pills or medicinal herbs at best.
Naturally, Kent was surprised to see me with a low-grade healing potion.
"I have a few connections," I replied while carefully applying the potion onto his wounds.
After a brief pause of hesitation, Kent couldn't help but ask: "But are you alright using it on me? Shouldn't Nero be more suited for something as expensive as this?"
"Eh?! Why would I ever waste my valuable items on someone who's not even my paw– friend!!"
"Awww! So you do consider me your best friend, you big tsundere!"
"...Whatever."
I can't outright call you my pawn, of course.
"By the way, did you get what I asked you to?" gazing into his eyes, I gave Kent a meaningful look.
"That? Yeah," Kent immediately nodded his head. He dug his hands into his pant's back pocket and took out a small paper pouch. "I don't know what you need it for, though."
I took the paper pouch from Kent's hand and quickly slipped it into my side pocket without a word.
I didn't reply to Kent instantly. Instead, I looked around and spotted a black-haired man with an expressionless face, looking at the people tending to their injuries.
It was Quinn.
I could swear I saw a faint smile on his lips for a moment. That bastard likes seeing people get hurt. He feels satisfaction in the suffering of others.
Well, it's not like I can judge him since I'm not any better.
"Heh," a smirk spread across my face as I thought of something– something that had yet to happen.
"I'll tell you what I used this for after the mock war," I responded to Kent's query, my mind elsewhere.
"Oh-Kay," shrugging casually, Kent stood up. "Oh, by the way, Lucas—"
Beep—!
He was about to ask me something else when suddenly my smart bracelet beeped and buzzed.
[Amelia Black is calling
Pick/Decline]
Hmm? Why is she calling me now? Thinking to myself, I absentmindedly picked up the call.
-[Where the hell are you?]
"With Kent. Why?"
-[Come up. We'll discuss our battle plan from here on out.]
"Ahh, sure. We'll come up in a minute."
Beep—!
Saying what I had to say, I cut the cut and started walking, asking Kent to follow, "Come."
"Wait!"
Before I could walk even a step further, Kent grabbed my left arm, making me halt my steps.
"Kent," I calmly called out to him. "Let go of my hand."
"I was right!" Kent exclaimed. "Your hand! It's healed!"
My left hand was still covered in bandages from the injuries I sustained during the Unit Test while heroically saving Amelia.
For everyone else, my hand was supposed to heal in a week or two. But in truth, I had already healed my hand as soon as I came here.
"Why are you hiding this fact? Is it because you don't want to fight?" Kent asked in a hushed tone.
"No you dummy," I replied, jerking my hand off his grip. "I'm a strategist. I wouldn't be forced to fight anyway."
"Then why?"
"Haaa," letting out a deep sigh, I shook my head. "I'll tell you that by the day after tomorrow."
"Why? What's the day after tomorrow?"
"The mock war…" the calculating smirk returned to my face as I heard Kent's question. "The mock will end the day after tomorrow."
