Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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About 200,000 miles northeast of civilization and pretty deep into the Black Lands, that's where Cedric and Team Elric were right now.

The nearest outpost is about 50,000 miles south of this camp; aside from that, everything else was demonic territory. The expedition team can't expect any rescue or reinforcements here because they operated secretly. That's why they have to be careful about each move they make.

The interior of Chrissy's tent wasn't so bad, considering their current location and lack of supplies. It's functional and works pretty well as a shelter.

In there, Chrissy and Erica asked him if he truly wanted to come here, and Cedric confirmed that to them. In the end, they can only accept their decision despite their unwillingness, since once Cedric does something, he doesn't stop until it's done.

The girls briefed him about everything he needed to know: how the team operates, the call signs, the protocols, formations, things to look out for, mission directives, etc. They made sure that he knew his stuff so that, when the need arose, Cedric wouldn't fumble.

Beyond this, Cedric could tell that the girls were really worried about the overall situation. The fact that the army was drafting people to join the war effort just added more pressure on them.

He could tell that not only the girls but the entire team, even those whom he did not recognize, were deeply exhausted. Cedric could say that all of them hadn't had a good rest for days, either because this place was just not good enough or because they were too busy.

Cedric's heart ached for the girls. He doesn't like seeing them like this, but this was included in their responsibilities. They knew what they were signing up for, and they accepted it nonetheless.

Fortunately, it seems that his presence put them at ease; they actually fell asleep shortly after briefing him, and they shared the same sleeping bag that Chrissy brought with her.

Cedric stayed quiet and allowed them to slumber away. Mentally, he was reviewing the information he got from them as he kept watch. mvle|mp-yr chapter

The girls told him that they'd be on the move later. Their task was to investigate the demonic activity nearby. The task was to only observe, not to engage. It sounds like a simple task, but the girls already warned him not to underestimate this.

If this were any other day, sure, this would be a simple task. However, due to the tensions around, the alertness of the Demons was dialed up to 11. Even a simple mission like this could end in a fierce fight against demons.

After making the report, it will be up to the HQ if their team will be called to return or not. Usually, they wouldn't, since there are a lot of things that need to be done here.

A few hours later, Cedric went out of the tent and met with Elric, who was about to check in on them.

"Oh, good. I was about to call you." Elric then peeked at the tent and asked, "Are they sleeping?"

"Yeah. Do they need to be awake right now?"

"No, no." Elric shook his head. "Actually, it's good that they're asleep. They haven't slept for a week now due to stress. We've been trying to force them, but it's not working. I assume that your presence helped them feel at ease."

"I wish." Cedric smiled fondly before asking, "The girls already briefed me about the possible scenarios and the information I need to know once we're out in the field. I'm just wondering what exactly my responsibilities are as a new member of the team."

"Well, as I said earlier, I'm not that strict on my team. We can't be too rigid in a place like this because anything goes out here," Elric replied as he began walking. Cedric followed him, of course. "Personally, I'd like to know what you're capable of before giving you suggestions."

Cedric knew that Elric was taking this conversation somewhere else, so he deliberately waited until they entered another tent before replying.

"Well, my abilities are pretty well-rounded," Cedric replied after they both entered the tent. "I'm a swordsman, and I've reached the elementary stage of my sword laws and fire laws. I'm obviously geared towards melee combat, but I have pretty decent ranged skills too. And, I'm pretty sure that you guys already know this, but my senses are fairly sharp.

I can also work as a secondary scout if it's needed."

"It's really difficult to believe that you're only in your sophomore year." Elric smiled wryly after hearing him. "At least half of my batchmates couldn't even achieve half of what you did with more time. It's also hard to believe that it's barely been a year since you've come in contact with Concept Laws, but you already came this far."

"I'm just fortunate, that's all," Cedric humbly replied. "Ah, I also dabbled in a few sub-classes, just to let you know."

"Oh!?" Elric seemed to be pleasantly surprised by that. "You say a few? What are they?"

"I'm a Scribe, Smith, Alchemist, Tamer, Engineer, and currently, an educator," Cedric replied. "I've mastered all except the last one."

Elric gaped at him. He searched for any traces of a lie on Cedric's face but found none, which means that he was completely serious about his claims. But that just made this even more ridiculous. If this were true, then Elric stands to be corrected; none of the senior students in his batch could do half of the things that Cedric has done.

"Are you shitting me?" Elric asked, still unable to believe the ridiculous claims.

Instead of replying with words, Cedric just took out the Master Badges that the Lifestyle Guild only bestows on those who pass their examination. These were more than enough proof that Cedric was, in fact, not lying.

"Damn!" Elric swore after inspecting the badges, finding them legit. "Holy crap, you are insane. How did you even have enough time to handle all of this without slowing down your progress?"

"Uh, I learn very fast," Cedric replied hesitantly.

He really didn't want to lie too much, but he also couldn't tell him everything. That's why he thought that it would be better to give Elric some vague replies for now. Besides, his reply wasn't a complete lie or vague; it's the truth, and he does learn very fast.

"Okay, now I'm starting to understand why everyone's calling you an anomaly; no offense, by the way." Elric sighed and smiled weakly.

"None taken."

Elric then went quiet for a bit. Cedric knew that the captain was now deliberating what role to give him for the duration of their mission here.

"To be honest, your lifestyle skills could really help us right now." Elric stated, "As you can see, the situation on our base is pretty bad. It is a temporary one, but considering that we don't know how long we're going to stay here, we're going to need more than, well, this."

"For that matter, I'd like to put you in charge of making improvements on our base. If you have any ideas, do run them by me. Of course, I'd understand that this might be challenging for you since this is your first time here and there isn't really much to work with here. I'd appreciate any ideas you may have, but please consult me first before doing anything."

"Also, I'll take you on the offer of becoming a secondary Scout. God knows we need more of those. How does that sound to you?"

"If that's what the team needs, I'm up for it. Do I begin now?" Cedric readily replied and asked.

"Begin with what? Scouting or base improvements?"

"The latter first," Cedric replied as he sat down.

He took out a pen and paper from his knapsack and began writing a series of symbols before Elric's watchful gaze.

The captain was astonished because he couldn't recognize the rune Cedric created. He dabbled in symbols a bit in the past so he could recognize the components of the rune, but as for the rune itself, he had no idea what it was.

"It isn't anything special, but this rune should be pretty useful," Cedric stated before introducing the rune. "I call this the 'Latern Rune'; it's a small light and heat source that doesn't require energy or materials to work. Instead, it uses raw Demonic Corruption to supply itself. This is the first one I suggested since it's cold and dark out here.

I figured that the base could really use something like this."

Elric was stunned. He stared long and hard at the rune, his mind reeling at how useful this could be if Cedric could truly create something like this. But beyond that, he couldn't believe that he had never heard of this before, and Elric has been in this gig for years now. Which could only mean that this isn't something that's readily available; this must be something that Cedric invented himself!

"Would you like to see how it works?" Cedric asked.

"Yes, absolutely! What do you need to make this?"

"It's fine, I have all the materials needed. Just give me a minute," Cedric said as he began taking out the necessary materials to build the rune.