To Ageris Den

Chapter 23

Two months ..... that was the time that had passed since the incident that happened in the assignment zone.

During this period, Regis and the three other cadets who had been attacked by the five berserk 'carriers' had kept quite about the incident. The authorities had strictly ordered them against letting out anything about the incident, even making no disclosure agreements using mystical means to ensure that they didn't let the word out.

Luckily, the instructor had finished the carriers within a few minutes of calling off the assignment. When Regis reached the exit of the assignment zone, there were a few other cadets who were still coming out of the exit. So, neither od Alex or Avner felt anything amiss about Regis' late arrival.

But there were some things that could not be silenced completely. Two cadets had been fatally injured during the assignment while there were five others who were never seen again after the assignment. Coincidentally, the missing five cadets happened to be the ones who had been interrogated by Captain Olewer regarding their persistent efforts to find intel on the first battle that took place on Planet Cerberus.

"What is the progress?" Major Arbrit asked the lieutenant who had brought in the report.

"We have verified the accuracy of the previous scan. Those five cadets were not carrying the nanoarmour bots inside their bodies when they had been brought in for the interrogation by Captain Olewer. Also, the autopsy of the corpses or what remained of them suggests that they were used as sleeper cells and the bots inside their bodies were unstable before they were planted inside the carriers."

"Over the last two months, we have tried to find the traces of the mastermind who instigated the cadets into being sleeper cells, but there were no leads to work on. Three squads had been sent to investigate the reason behind the desperate attempts of those five carriers to find intel on the war, but it just turned out to be a vicious chain of superiors or business partners pressuring their associates who had family members in the Camp to find information on the war."

The lieutenant summarized the results of the investigations.

"Have you checked these people who were pressurizing the families of the carriers?" Klesen asked while skimming through the reports.

"Yes sir. Most of these people were businessmen who have a history of investing into military technology, the kind people who are trying to seek gains and make profit out of the ongoing war against Asceptus."

"From what I read in this report, the investigation has already reached a saturation point and there is no need to invest any further manpower in this. Relay this to Captain Olewer that he can hand in the investigation and all necessary reports to the Military Consultant Police. They will take care of any further investigations." Klesen dismissed the lieutenant. From the report, he knew that any further progress in the investigation would require a large amount of effort and ground work, so it was better to hand over the matter to the department that oversaw such matters rather than wasting manpower.

'The cadets under Dantes will be finishing their trainings today. Some among them are quite decent. Maybe they will be helpful in the future.' Klesen focussed at the eyes shining from the screen of his mirror.

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"This marks the end of training for the ninth batch of cadets. All your comrades who had managed to awaken more than a month ago have already been assigned their posts, some here on Camp Cerberus while others outside. The second group, the cadets who have awakened during the last thirty days were asked to stay behind as all of you will be assigned your posts in the mass recruitment next week."

"As for the third group, the cadets who haven't awakened yet or are on the verge of it. You will also be assigned your post together with the second group, but you are to stay at the camp till your awakening. You will be reporting to your assigned posts only once you awaken. All the training facilities of the camp will be assessable to you till the day of your posting. That will be all. Goodbye." The instructor ended his last session with a casual goodbye.

All the cadets dispersed after the speech. Regis was among the third group of cadets. He had an indescribable feeling that he was close to awakening and it would take him only a few days.

"Do you have any specific battalion or department that you want to join?" Regis asked to the person who was approaching him.

"I wanted to ask the you the same question. But now that I think of it, I do have a specific department that I want to join, but Camp Cerberus does not have any active Cosmic convergence zones, so I will most likely be leaving the camp next week." Alex replied. "BTW, do you think that you will be able to awaken before the next week? If you do, we can both get the same posting. I know that you don't have any preference in this matter, so it would be nice to have a friend around."

"I feel that I can awaken before the next week." Regis wasn't against the idea either.

"Great! Do you want to see my first spell? Maybe it will give you some inspiration for your first spell." Alex asked in a jovial tone.

"No, it's alright. That's just a baseless rumor anyway." Regis knew that it was just an excuse for Alex to act smug before him. He had seen Alex's spell more than once and didn't feel any sort of inspiration from it previously.

"Your mystical element has a human mutation while mine is a sub beast."

"You're right. Try your best. I hope that you awaken before the next week." Alex sent off Regis.

"I will." Regis replied. It wasn't just to assure Alex either. He knew that he would awaken today or tomorrow at latest.

<Name: Regis Kleeve>

<Race: Subhuman Mutant>

<Mutation: Sub beast Mana type>

<Evolutionary stage: 1 (___)>

<Age: 16>

<Stats:>

<Strength: 4.6> <Agility: 4.8>

<Endurance: 5.2> <Mana capacity: 1.4>

<Reaction speed: 3.01 milliseconds>

His endurance had already crossed the threshold of five points, providing the necessary condition for awakening. Similarly, both his strength and agility were nearing five points and it was only a matter of training.

During his time at the camp, Regis had learned a lot about mystical elements and spells from his personal AI assistant as well as the military database that he could access. 'Sub beast mana type' was supposed to be the mystical element that was modelled after beasts that were proficient with the use of mana. The method of creating these mystical elements was very mysterious and only few people knew how to do that.

Even those people could only model the mystical elements and ascertain the type of mystical elements. It was theorized that these mystical elements worked as catalysts in awakening the hidden genetic memories inside the human genes, so the outcome of the awakening was different based on the person it fused with. The resonance with the external mana was also something that played a defining role in the process, an uncontrolled variable.

'Since my mystical element is more inclined towards the manipulation of mana, there may be a drastic increase in my mana capacity after awakening.' Regis entered his room and took a meditating position.

'I might be able to solve the mystery of Ageris den this time.'

Regis focussed his mind on the thought of entering the Ageris den. When he was completely focussed on the thought, Regis felt a change in the air flowing around him and opened his eyes. He was now standing on the exact spot that he appeared on everyday and everything remained unchanged. The target was the window/gate emitting a bright light.

With practiced movements, Regis started moving towards the source of the light.