Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

Eternity is a real world.

"How did these watches appear in the first place? This phenomenon alone is very strange."

But the system gave no answer; it would seem that for this information too, its authorization level was insufficient.

As he wiped down a glass and pondered the implications of this truth, a group of uniformed men entered the already packed bar.

They wore military insignia, modest ranks for the most part, but their imposing aura immediately drew attention.

What was strange was that, in addition to their military rank, they also wore a small bronze star-shaped insignia on their uniforms.

Only one of them, seemingly their leader despite his small build, wore a silver star.

Maxime nodded quickly to Hugo, motioning for him to take charge.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. What can I get you?" asked Maxime with a professional smile.

One of the soldiers, tall and square, stared at him for a moment before replying:

"Five espressos, please."

"All right, I'll get that ready and be there in a moment."

Maxime busied himself behind the counter. But his instincts were on alert. He sensed that these men were no ordinary customers.

There seemed to be a kind of tension in them, as if they were carrying an invisible weight.

And above all, he could smell a peculiar odor on their bodies, or rather an aura they unwittingly radiated.

"These men must have already killed, and not just one person to accumulate so much murderous momentum."

As he placed the coffees on the table, the youngest soldier murmured something to his superior. Maxime reflexively put his ear to the ground.

With his physical appearance, it wasn't difficult to hear the conversations in this bar.

"Chief, I've received a report that an anomaly is about to occur."

The superior nodded and replied in a low voice:

"I already know about it, keep it to yourself. Civilians aren't ready for this level of information."

Maxime felt a shiver run down his spine. What did they mean by "anomalies"?

As he returned behind the counter, the system manifested itself again.

Ding!

[A major Eternity-related event is being activated in the real world. The host, fulfilling one of the conditions to participate thanks to his level 2 authorization, is invited to prepare himself].

Maxime felt his heart quicken.

"Preparing for what, exactly?" he murmured, but there was no answer.

He couldn't help glancing at the soldiers. One of them, the oldest, was now meeting his gaze intently, as if he'd guessed something.

"Something tells me my day's going to be more eventful than expected..." Maxime thought calmly as he returned to cleaning the counter.

[The dimensional battlefield N°32, danger level yellow, is ready. Duration of battlefield: 7 days].

[Would you like to join?]

[Yes/no.]

"No, but you can't throw this kind of news in my face when I don't know anything about it," Maxime murmured while continuing to clean glasses.

"Everything okay, Maxime?" asked Hugo with a curious look.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but I could be better." Maxime replied quietly.

"I thought I heard the boss yelling a bit?"

Hugo asked without much conviction; it was more a case of starting the day in a good mood.

If he could help his colleague feel better, it would be better for him too.

Because mistakes happen when you're not concentrating at work, and since Maxime was his colleague, if he made a mistake, he had to suffer the consequences too.

"Inevitably, the boss is always on the lookout. He sees everything even if his vision is negative with both eyes," replied Maxime sarcastically.

The two bartenders laughed together.

"Afterwards, the boss is nice, and it's very rare for you to arrive late, so he won't hold it against you." reassured Hugo with a smile.

It was what Hugo had wanted to say all along to improve Maxime's morale.

And now that he'd said it, he wasn't going to continue the conversation.

Maxime also wanted more information from the system, so he simply nodded in response.

"Okay, system, explain to me what's going on." Maxime murmured.

[Dimensional battlefields are high-reward interstellar war zones].

[That is, by killing enemies you can accumulate Eternity Coins, which can allow you to obtain new talents, improve them, obtain techniques or even technology.]

"It sounds like a scam, how could such beautiful things suddenly fall from the sky. This dimensional battlefield must be terribly dangerous." Maxime thought.

"But who are the enemies?" asked Maxime discreetly of the system.

In his opinion, extraterrestrial races didn't have a watch, and therefore logically no access to these worlds.

And even if they did, they'd have no interest in going there, since they couldn't get Eternity coins.

[These are the alien races from other universes].

"Excuse me?"

As soon as he discovered something, even more shocking mysteries were added to the news.

This news meant that the Battle of the Gods, particularly the one in which Nox and Viviana had taken part, wasn't over.

It was just continuing in another form.

"So if I join this battlefield, I'll be fighting alongside the humans but also alongside the races of my universe?"

[Not exactly, each race in your universe has its own strongholds in dimensional battlefields so instances of you fighting alongside races from your universe are very rare].

[What's more, dimensional battlefields are divided into several levels of danger, and at the yellow level there's only the human race and one race from another universe].

"And how are the danger levels of each battlefield divided?"

[Answer to the host, it starts with the yellow level, then black, earth and finally sky for a total of 4 levels of danger].

Maxime was starting to get a headache with all this information.

Should he go, or was it too dangerous?

"What happens if I or my mercenaries die on this battlefield?"

[If you die on the dimensional battlefield, you die permanently. As for your men, they can't be resurrected until the dimensional battlefield closes. Also note that you can't leave a dimensional battlefield until it closes or a side is completely eradicated].

Hearing that his life was really being gambled away, and especially hearing the words "a camp completely eradicated", Maxime was slightly frightened.

It wasn't just a few years' life expectancy that was at stake, but his whole life.

In this world he still had a mother and a brother, he couldn't die while he had people who loved him in this world.

But the rewards were very tempting, even too tempting, and that excited Maxime.

It was as if he'd been born for war; he couldn't refuse to go into battle out of fear.

If he really did one day, it was because he had other battles to fight.

"Perhaps it was via this method that the gods became gods?"

"If I rely on the talents of the gods to become stronger, I'll meet their expectations but not my own."

"I want to become stronger than the gods."

"And when I do, I'll be able to know the whole truth and history of this universe and the mysteries that surround it."

As Maxime's conviction grew stronger, so did his desire to become stronger.

"Have me join this dimensional battlefield, I'm going to go knock out some aliens."

[Host, prepare for dimensional transfer].

Shortly afterwards, the ground began to tremble. A dull vibration gradually built up, until the walls of the bar were shaking.

But strangely enough, not a single customer in the bar reacted, even Hugo continued to take tickets and prepare drinks for customers.

"What the hell's going on here?" muttered Maxime.

The more he learned about Eternity, the more complex the world seemed to become.

He didn't even have time to make coffee before Eternity caught up with him.

Even the military didn't particularly react.

They quietly finished their coffee.

"It's time to get ready, guys," ordered the military leader, rising to his feet.

Maxime heard him clearly and looked at the soldiers with strange eyes.

The few soldiers accompanying him also stood up.

Suddenly, a blinding light invaded the room.

Maxime felt his body literally dematerialize.

First his legs disappeared, then his torso, his hands and finally his head.

A feeling of vertigo enveloped him as his surroundings disappeared, replaced by an unfathomable blackness.

Then, suddenly, he felt his feet hit hard, cold ground.

As the light faded, Maxime opened his eyes.

He was standing on the ramparts of a gigantic fortress, a blend of ancient stone and futuristic technology.

As far as the eye could see, the ramparts were equipped with energy cannons and automated firing points.

In the central courtyard, an army of people were busy: soldiers in tactical armor, mechanics repairing vehicles and people resembling knights from the world of Eternity. The air vibrated with palpable energy. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Maxime could even see men dressed as doctors rushing to set up medical posts within the fortress.@@novelbin@@

Clearly this fortress was not equipped with all the essential facilities, only the defense had been reinforced to an unimaginable degree.

And that alone was truly frightening, not to mention the men who now occupied it.

"Without a doubt, the power inside this fortress could strike down the entire Kingdom of the Frost Eagle."

Maxime felt particularly small within this immense fortress equipped with state-of-the-art technology, filled with well-equipped soldiers and powerful Eternity players.

Or at least, with his current physique and the strength of his men, he looked very ordinary here.

"Besides, my physique always seems to be compressed by the limitation here too," Maxime observed spitefully, but that was also to his advantage.

At least there shouldn't be anyone much more physically powerful than him here.

[Welcome to dimensional battlefield N°32, danger level yellow].

A voice different from the system's echoed in the air, clear and impassive.

Maxime observed the faces around him, but most seemed very calm, already knowing what to do.

It seems that new recruits here are rather rare.

[Eliminate alien races and you'll get Eternity coins. With these coins, you can buy talents, techniques, potions or even technology].

[If you succeed in conquering an enemy fort, a mysterious reward will be distributed according to your contribution].

[You also make contributions to the Western Federation, enabling it to better equip its forts on dimensional battlefields].

"So this means that all these cannons and vehicles have been purchased by the Western Federation?"