NOVPUBIn Eden, the Military could start recruiting from a young age, perhaps as early 12 years old. However, they naturally weren't sent to wars or anything like that. Rather, there was a military academy they would attend.
It'd teach the normal subjects through high school, but also dedicate a lot of units to military subjects like combat basics, physical conditioning, strategy, logistics management, and so on.
Anyway, compared to normal high school, the students' lives pretty much revolved around the school. There were also a few years wherein they'd be required to use the dormitory even if their houses were nearby.
That said, all military personnel in Eden were guaranteed decent lives. They'd have food, shelter, salary, and pension. At the time, his impression was that he could be paid for fighting, which he was in a sense.
He remembered Captain back then. He was the most hardworking and talented guy Eagle had ever met. He would finish up everything he had to do within the week so he could be allowed to go home during weekends.
Eagle, who was an immature, arrogant brat back then, had tried to get on the man's nerves and maybe bullet him a little.
Of course, that ended with him being beaten up and calling the other one Captain even when they were both barely junior cadets…
Interestingly, it was when he befriended Garan that his sharp edges softened up (his attitude, not his face—that was still sharp) and he became the calmer dude he was today.
He no longer had much to prove, at least not in that way. He learned how to focus on just improving himself to become the best he could be.
Chris was similar. Chris was younger than they were, but he was no less hardworking. His specializations were different though, but somehow he entered their circle and never left.
Now… he hoped that guy was alright…
Eagle snuck deeper inside the Lord's house, using his ability to be practically weightless. It was another one of the reasons why he and Chris, both wind elementalists with scouting abilities, had been assigned for this mission.
When he saw some guards returning, he told the others via aether letter to make some more noise outside. When some still remained, Eagle had no choice but to use the last sleeping bomb he had on him.
He went from room to room until he found the ground-floor warehouse, which was just a small room. However, one glimpse and he could already see a handful of magic tools.
They were all familiar—naturally so, as they had connected to cities already. He saw things like a couple of aether letters, weapons, equipment, and the like.
Now that the Golds were out of the City, their access to a couple of tools was gone. Everything they could get a hand on would be great. Eagle didn't think twice and placed everything in his pretty good space.
He continued to look at every room, but didn't dare kidnap another guard because he only had a small dose of Truth Potion left, which would only be useful for a weaker guard.
He feared Chris was tortured badly by now. He didn't worry about him leaking anything, he just worried about his friend's state.
He continued going room to room until he reached the so-called upper 'treasure' room, and he froze at what he saw.
There were several Young boys. They seemed to range from 12 years old to about 8. He felt a pit in his stomach, and to be honest, he wanted to barf.
They were all pitiful and their attires were ripped in most parts. As someone who grew up on the streets, let alone he had worked in his field for more than a decade, he had too clear of an idea about what went on in here.
"Shit…"
He wanted to curse louder, but he was afraid of scaring the little boys.
That damned Lord died too easily!! Whether or not he was the one to 'use' these kids, he was definitely an accomplice to their suffering!
They should've divided his dick 10 times in front of him!
He opened the door wide. "Get out!" he said, "You're free, you can get out of here whenever you want.
"But if you want to stay, it's up to you. Just don't ruin it for others."
He also left a few bottles of water and food. "You can go to the Eastern wall, I have people there who will help you go over the walls," he said. "And don't make noise. If you get captured, I won't rescue you."
Eagle wanted to do more, but the war wasn't over and he couldn't risk the people in his team for now—not when he wasn't certain if these kids even wanted to be rescued by them.
More importantly, there were still no signs of Chris so far!
This 'palace' was damned huge and he feared he'd get found out before he could get a clue of him!
It was around this time that he felt his aether letter heat up. For the most part, he was expecting it to be the others outside.
The lettering was shaky, and the thickness of the lines was not consistent. "Lord. Basme" and the last letter extended awkwardly into a scribble.
'Lord' was self-explanatory. What was the other word?
"Basme?"
Eagle stared at it for a while, pondering.
…basement?
This place had a basement? They didn't get any information about that, and that useless outer guard didn't seem aware of it either.
A secret basement where a spy was taken—
He turned pale, immediately rushing in a direction.
"CHRIS!"
…
Eagle sprinted, using his skill to avoid more guards heading his way. There were plenty of close calls, but luckily, they were stretched thin and stressed to notice the subtle clues that there was a trespasser near them.
He threw another dancing firecracker where he was to create more distractions, heading in another direction and using his wind as he jumped down to the nearest tree, avoiding detection from the others.
Now… where is that damned basement?!
