42 CH40: RETAINERS

This is a passion work. So, I would really appreciate it if you leave behind a review when you're done reading.

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CH40: RETAINERS

Lagos, Nigeria.

Korede got out of the airport. He stretched his body especially his legs before taking a long deep breath.

"It's good to be home" He said.

He hailed a taxi and headed for the Dodan Barracks Military Base. He alighted at the Base entrance because the taxi couldn't get onto the base. He submitted his credentials at the guard gate to gain entrance.

"Welcome, Sergeant Balogun. You have orders to report to Colonel Balogun's office once you have your affairs in order." The guard soldier said.

'Sergeant? Since when did I become a Sergeant?' Korede thought, confused. Seeing the soldier waiting for a response, he replied, "Alright. I'll report there after I make a trip to the hospital."

As Korede walked into the Base, the soldier picked up the intercom to relay Korede's message. Korede headed to the hospital on the base. He soon arrived at his teammates' ward. The nurses still remembered him so it was easy for him to gain access into the ward after filling a visitor's log.

In the wardroom, nothing seemed to have changed. His teammates were still lying there the same way he left them almost six months ago.

"I'm back, guys. It's time for you to wake up from your slumber." Korede murmured. He asked Aon, 'What should I do?'

[You have to impose your Will on the room. Feel and find our soul threads in your teammates with it, then pull them out.]

'Hey, I don't think my Will strength is enough to cover the room.'

[Don't worry, just spread it as much as you can. The soul threads will be attracted toward it like metal to a magnetic field.]

After more than a decade, the relationship between Korede and Aon had reached the level where simple sentences were enough for them to understand each other's intentions. If it wasn't for the idle banter between the two, Korede might have gone mad being alone in the {Training Space} for such a long time.

Korede followed Aon's instructions and imposed his Will on the room with as much spread as he could, barely covering the area around his teammates. Masters… even Grandmasters wouldn't do this because it's a wasteful use of Will strength. Aside from releasing a threatening or isolating field around the user, it had no other obvious use while it consumed Will strength rapidly. Just doing this for one hour was enough for a Grandmaster to be so tired that he can't use his Will again until half a day later.

After covering over his teammates, Korede felt his Will 'pull' on five spots. He quickly focused his Will field on those five spots, significantly reducing the consumption of his Will strength. His Will pulled on these spots until suddenly the situation was reversed and his Will was pulled instead.

Fearing to harm his teammates, Korede didn't resist the pull and his Will was 'sucked in'. Soon, his consciousness followed and was pulled into a void space. He found himself in form of a virtual body. In front of him, five virtual bodies with an obvious resemblance to his teammates. All five were bound together by a rope. It was clear that the virtual bodies are his team's consciousness.

Korede stretched forth his hands. An end of the rope loosened and flew into it. He started to pull and the rope loosened around the five figures. Eventually, all that was left was the other end of the rope which had split into five and stabbed into the 'heart' of each figure. He was about to pull it out when a golden waterfall appeared and pour down on the rope.

Korede instantly felt a connection between the rope and the scripts in his mindspace. When he tugged on the rope, he felt the scripts pull from their positions. He quickly understood what was going on.

"So if I want to pull out the threads, I will have to sacrifice my Will Tactics" He deduced. "The world is fair and balance, huh? Everything has a price."

Once he figured this out, Korede didn't even hesitate and pulled out the Soul threads from his teammates. At the same moment, Five rune scripts flew out of his mindspace and floated above his teammates. The golden waterfall appeared above them. As the scripts were watered, ring after ring started appearing until each rune had five golden rings each. The runes released a golden glow before entering into their bodies. A small rune mark appeared on their foreheads and a pulse was released.

"Will!!" [Will!!] Korede and Aon exclaimed at the same time in shock. Korede couldn't believe his teammates had awakened their Will just like that.

The soul threads or rope Korede pulled out, wound around his right arm and he was kicked out of the space. Korede regained his bearings and quickly examined his mindspace.

'Aon, what just happened?' Korede asked.

[It looks like the Laws of Time has marked your teammate as the 'Retainers of the Childe of Time'. They will never betray you in this life even if their lives are on the line. However, a price had to be paid, so it took a tactic for each person from you.] Aon replied as it looked at the rune scripts floating in Korede's mindspace. Five of them have become grey with black shackles around them.

[It seems you can still use the Tactics but they will be weak. You also may never be able to improve them again.]

'I can live with that. They aren't the Tactics I'm most familiar with anyway. So what about my team?'

[They should be fine. The tactics they got have become their Will manifestation it seems.]

'That's good, right?'

[I've never heard of such a thing before. So, I don't know but it shouldn't be bad. Since their Will was awoken unconventionally, they probably wouldn't get a manifestation which is why the Tactic had to become it. Unfortunately, since each person only has one chance to open their mindspace for a Tactics Origin Rune to enter, they'll probably not be able to undergo a Tactic Affinity test nor get a Will Tactic again in their lives.]

Korede frowned when he heard this. That would mean it would be difficult for them to train their Will.

[Don't worry. It might not be as bad as you think. As you know, Will Tactics is easier to train and has lesser limitations than Will Techniques and Manifestation. Only that they are harder to improve. Their progress in Will training might not be as slow as you think.]

'Let's hope so.'

Korede had a nagging feeling that things were not as simple as he and Aon thought. He even had a suspicion about what was going on. As he mused these things in his mind, Korede suddenly heard some grunts that quickly pulled back his attention. He saw the eyelids and fingers of his teammates twitch.

"They're waking up." He said excitedly.

One by one, the Bravo team members opened their eyes and saw Korede standing in front of them with a smile on his face.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Korede said.

"We didn't die?" Mary asked.

"I feel like I've slept for centuries." Temitope said.

"I can't move" Champion complained.

"My body feels heavy." Fatima said.

"I think I was hit by a truck." Abdul-Lateef said.

Hearing the first things they said, Korede couldn't help himself and he burst into laughter.

"Alright, everyone. Settle down." Korede said, bringing their attention back to him. "We survived the explosion but we fell into a coma. You guys have been in a coma for a year."

"What?!!" The team was shocked. It took them a while to accept the harsh reality.

"Wait." Temitope said, looking at Korede's luggage bag behind him. "If we were all in a coma, why does it look like you just got back from a trip?"

"Well, unlike you sleeping beauties, yours truly woke up six months ago. The army sent me on a trip for some Rest and Relaxation (R&R). I just got back from the trip and decided to come check-up on you before my next mission." Korede answered.

"Yeah right. Army sent you on a trip my foot." Temitope said in disdain.

"Still, how is it possible that you woke up before all of us? You were the closest to the bomb!" Champion argued.

"What can I say? I'm just that fit. You guys need to work on your Cardio. You also need to get out more and be more active. Why else would you sleep for a such long time." Korede said jokingly.

The team rolled their eyes at him before they all started laughing.

'It's good to have you guys back." Korede said in a voice that carried a lot of emotion.

Before they could continue their conversation, they heard hurried footsteps at the door. Dr. Makinde and a group of nurses walked into the room. The sound of their laughter had alerted the nurses who called the good doctor.

"It's time for me to leave. Duty calls. I should be back within ten days. If I'm successful, you will find out what I'm doing in the news. Probably." Korede said. He gestured to the people at the door to enter. "You might notice strange things happening to you in the short future. Don't worry about it, I'll explain when I get back."

With that said, he carried his things and went out of the ward, making way for the doctor and nurses to do their work after greeting them. He walked out of the hospital and looked at the sun/sky. He recalled everything that just happened in the ward and a smile found its way to his lips. 'The tactic that went to each person was perfect for them.'

{Life communication} went to the linguist, Fatima.

{Existence} to the flamboyant, Mary.

{Mindhunter} to the Psychologist, Temitope.

{Sense Boost} to the marksman, Abdul-Lateef.

{Non-Life Communication} to the programmer/hacker, Champion.

Korede released a breath and made his way to Colonel Balogun's office.

He soon arrived at the Eagle squad's camp. He entered and made his way to the Commander's office. When he arrived, he knocked on the door before he entered. He made a military salute and awaited further instructions.

Colonel Kola Balogun looked up from the files he was reading and said, "At ease soldier, this is a social call."

"Alright, Bro" Korede replied.

Korede went to the visitor's chair and sat down. Kola looked at the luggage by his feet and asked, "Are you not going home first?"

"Yes, I'm not. When you called two days ago, you said the Op against the NDz had been approved. I want to get this over with before I go back home. I don't want to go home, then leave again immediately after just returning from a six months trip," Korede replied.

"Fair enough." Kola nodded in understanding. "Before we talk about the mission, the Family asked me to inform you that you'll be made an Elder soon."

"Elder? No, no, no. I'm too young for that." Korede rejected.

"Being an Elder of the Family has nothing to do with age and you know it. As a Master, you now hold the same level of strength as the Clan's Warrior Leaders. You know as well as I do that any Warrior Leader is highly honoured in the Family, irrespective of age, gender, or status. Hence why they want to make you an Elder. Besides, it will be of help to you."

"What do you mean?'

"Do you think it was easy for me to reserve this mission for you? You, who only has one mission in his military carrier?

I had to use up a lot of my favours and influence as well as the Family's influence to get this for you. Do you think the Family would have agreed to this if I didn't tell them you're now a Warrior Leader?

Remember that just because the Family takes care of its own, doesn't mean it will use its influence to help those unworthy of it. You being an Elder will open a lot of doors for you."

"Bro, will this lessen our family's burden?" Korede asked.

Kola was caught off guard by the question. He stared at his brother seriously before saying, (1)

"I know what you are thinking, Kid. Know that myself, father, and mother had never considered your matters a burden." He sighed and reclined on his seat. "However, you being an Elder will make things easier for us as well as vindicates all our past actions. And as I said, it will also make things easier for you."

"Alright, I accept." Korede said immediately.

"Good choice." Kola said nodding his head.

He rummaged through the files on his desk and picked out a sealed official document labelled F.Y.E (For Your Eyes only) and passed it to Korede.

"Knowing you, you probably want to start the mission immediately. A Helo is waiting out back to take you to the AO. When you get there, give the document to the NDI agent on-site to commence the mission. The agent will give you the mission briefing."

Korede nodded his head. He stood up and saluted before walking to the door. He suddenly stopped and turned around before asking, "Since when did I become a Sergeant?"

Kola shook his head. He said, "Family pride. We can't have our Elder being a Private, right? The Family made moves to fast-track your promotion to Sergeant. The downside is that you won't be promoted for a while."

Korede shrugged and was about to walk out when Kola said.

"Don't forget, Kid. A lot of eyes are on you right now. Take this seriously. Most importantly, be careful and be safe."

Korede didn't say anything. Nothing needed to be said. He walked out of the office. Kola shook his head and looked out the window.

"Welcome to the real world, little brother. How will you handle it?"

Korede made his way to the helipad behind the camp. A pilot walked up to him and shook his hands, "You must be Sergeant Korede Balogun. My orders are to get you to Onitsha."

"Roger." Korede responded.

The two got into the light helicopter and it took off, headed east.

[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion matters to me.]

AUTHOR'S NOTE/RAMBLINGS

1 Family= Extended Balogun Family. family= Nuclear Balogun family.

[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion matters to me.]