Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

--

Cedric wasn't surprised that Fiona knew about him being this generation's Sage. If anything, he thought that it should be normal for her to know.

What he didn't expect was her not knowing this before she sent him out here. Even more, here she was now, personally apologizing for unintentionally slighting his status, which was kept private for a reason.

Of course, he's also aware of the incredulous stare that Elric was giving him, but he pointedly ignored that for now.

"It's okay, I don't mind," Cedric replied to Fiona. "It's not like I go around parading my status, anyway. It's kept private for a reason. I'm not saying that I have a problem with you knowing about it, which goes the same for everybody in this tent, or this base for that matter. I'm just not ready to reveal my status to the public yet, so, really, it's fine. I think it's better that way for now."

Fiona released a sigh of relief after hearing his reply. She initially expected for him to make things difficult for her to teach her a lesson despite the obvious seniority here, and she was prepared to take it because, even with her status, offending a Sage was something she couldn't afford to do.

His reply went against her expectations, though. Cedric remained humble and polite. She could hear the respect in his voice, and that made her look at him in a more favorable light.

"See, like I said, you're worried for nothing." Lissandra nudged Fiona, using her shoulders. "Our young Sage is easy to talk to, so relax, will you?"

Cedric blinked at that. Was Fiona expecting him to make things difficult for her? Well, even if he wanted to do that, Cedric wouldn't dare. Fiona's absurdly strong; she must be at least in the late stages of the Planar Traveler Realm. She could just slap him to nihility if he dares to be arrogant, so why would he do that?

"Anyways, shall we move on to the real reason why we're here?" Lissandra stated to diffuse the awkwardness.

This made Cedric attentive since he too was curious as to why they're here.

"See, you're Captain over here," Lissandra gestured to Elric, who's wearing a guilty expression. "I have sent reports about your shocking activities ever since arriving here."

"Modifying the base's formation, making a functional bathroom with consistent water supply and waste management functions, purifying corrupted resources, applying this to demons as well to secure food supply too, in addition to not only flushing the dense corruption within the base but also using that same element to create a heat and light source as well as a mist that could misdirect low-tier demons, just to name a few," Fiona continued.

Cedric nodded his head, confirming the things they'd said that way.

"Do take it easy on your captain, son," Archbishop Gabriel kindly stated on the side. "It's his sworn duty to report these things to us. I hope you don't blame him for doing this."

"Oh, no. Of course, not!" Cedric exclaimed. He then clarified himself by saying: "I know that he will do that even before I take action. Like I told Madam Fiona over here before I was assigned to this team, I know what I'm getting myself into.

I'm aware that my activities will be reported to our superiors; this isn't something that I plan to hide since I know that it might prove useful for our army, especially with how things are going currently."

Elric looked relieved upon hearing him say that. Truthfully, he was at a loss for what to do first since he doesn't have a good grasp of Cedric's temperament, which was normal since it hasn't even been a week since he joined the team. He could've asked, but Cedric was always busy doing something productive, and Elric felt like interrupting him would be a mistake. That's why he's hesitant to do it.

That said, Elric was bound by duty. His credibility as a team captain was on the line here, and honestly, the things that Cedric could do would immensely help the war efforts. So, in the end, he made a firm decision to be honest with his reports, even if it meant offending Cedric somehow.

Fortunately, Cedric didn't mind.

"...'might prove useful' he says." Fiona wryly smiled as she said this. "The army would be hounding us by now if they knew about this. Seriously, don't underestimate their need for the things you've created out here."

"Which directs us to the real point of our visit," Lissandra interjected. "We're here to discuss if you could somehow permit us to learn your methods so that we can contribute to our war efforts. If you have any demands, please don't hesitate to tell us. We will do our best to give you a satisfying deal."

'...as expected.' Cedric muttered to himself.

He already guessed that this was the point of their visit, even before this meeting began. It was only an educated guess, though, and he could be wrong, so he still listened anyway. But in the end, he was right.

"I can work with that. As for the compensation, let me talk to the team first before deciding. Shall we begin now?" Cedric asked.

"If it's alright with you," Lissandra replied.

Cedric nodded and began explaining how his runic arrays and formations worked.

Elric excused himself in the middle of the discussion because, frankly, he couldn't keep up. He felt his head throbbing from all the calculations those four were doing. He initially thought that he had a good grasp of how symbols worked, but being exposed to the discussion of real experts humbled him real quick.

So, instead of staying there to listen to something he couldn't understand, he might as well make wise use of his time and inform the team of what's going on. Cedric wouldn't mind that since he already sees himself as part of the team anyway.

Meanwhile, Fiona, Lissandra, and Gabriel couldn't help but be awed at the sheer ingenuity of Cedric's mastery of his professions. They were made aware of the mahy licenses he had and initially thought that he's an achievement hoarder, but the truth couldn't be any further than that.

They will wholeheartedly admit that they're inferior when it comes to professional mastery compared to Cedric. Because not only was Cedric able to invent useful things, his vision was so broad that he paid attention to the little things that most people neglected. And it's these little things that led to his discovery of these things.

Lissandra thought to herself, 'Oh, Tech God, you'd be so damn jealous of me right now. Even you might have to bow your head toward this boy in terms of ingenuity.'

"Incredible." Gabriel, as usual, didn't shy away from expressing his admiration for their Holy Son. "...to think that it could be simplified like this and none of us even thought about it."

"You're like, 22 years old? How did you have enough time to discover all these?" Fiona asked, feeling slightly light-headed with all of the surprise she received.

"I had a lot of practice in Purgatory," Cedric answered. "Well, I actually had to fool the stalkers for a bit before I could start, but I managed in the end."

"Fool the stalkers? What do you mean?" Gabriel asked.

"I heard it's normal for demons to spy on humanity's genuises, and if they could, they would assassinate them to prevent them from becoming problems in the future," Cedric replied, causing the three Elders' expressions to turn solemn. "It has happened before and will continue happening, I think, and I'll admit I got a little scared when I learned of it since I wasn't ready to die just yet."

"Since Acala's constantly raising the challenge to keep us sharp, my task had to be done successfully twice in a row to clear my monthly service," Cedric stated. "Demon doesn't know that, so I used it to my advantage."

Cedric's face then shifted, exposing his alter ego, Derrek, who openly displayed his skills as a Sage.

"When I'm using this face, I'm called Derrek." Even his voice changed. "Derrek is the Sun Sage, and he serves to pull their attention away from Cedric, who's purposefully pretending to be weaker and weaker as time goes on until he can barely complete his task. That's the long con I planned."

Dispelling the disguise, he continued: "Since I was being spied a lot, I've developed a fair sense of when, where, and how it's happening. Derrek was always being watched while Cedric faded into obscurity in the enemy's eyes."

"That gave me a lot of time to perform experiments in the Purgatory, and since the Purgatory was a mimicry of the Outer World, I figured that the things I managed to do there should also apply to the real world. Things just developed since then."

"I also know that I'd be sent on the frontlines, one way or another. I never planned on hiding behind the walls. Being this generation's Sage, I have responsibilities, and I'm not running away from them. I just feel like my preparations aren't sufficient enough to expose myself just yet; that's why I'm keeping a low profile for now."

The Elders were stunned upon hearing how far ahead the Young Sage planned for the future.