Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

"So that means all these guns and vehicles were bought by the Western Federation?"

Maxime was shocked.

It meant that there were people who had the power to manage a flow of money from the dimensional battlefields and who were responsible for equipping each and every one of them.

Just thinking about the fact that there were people who had to calculate all day long where to invest so as not to lose the fortresses on all the dimensional battlefields gave him a headache.@@novelbin@@

Next to that, the Piran invasion of Nansoy was child's play.

"Why are there even wars between us and the Pirans when our universe is at war with another universe?"

"Shouldn't we stick together to repel the invaders?"

But Maxime didn't really want to think about it, as he was still missing many pieces of the puzzle to know the truth, or rather the truths.

Simultaneously, the voice of his own system rang out.

[At first, these fortresses were little more than villages. It's only thanks to the sweat and blood of your predecessors that yellow-level battlefield fortresses have reached this stage].

[To wit, higher-level battlefields are far better equipped than this for a variety of reasons].

"Can you explain these reasons to me?"

[Your authority and strength level are insufficient at the moment, host]

"I suppose that's to be expected; it's already pretty good to know so much when you get here."

Clearly, he was enjoying privileged treatment thanks to his level of authorization.

Maxime was still contemplating the immensity of the fortress when a group of soldiers approached.

One of them, a man with a scarred face and wearing black tactical armor with a silver badge on his shoulder, addressed him.

"So, new guy, are we lost?" he exclaimed with a smile.

Maxime turned back to them.

He immediately noticed the man's silver badge and those of the soldiers following him; they were exactly the same as the badges worn by the soldiers in the bar where he worked.

But he'd ask the system his questions later, it wasn't the right time.

And above all, he already guessed that these star-shaped badges must represent some kind of status in the fortress.

Maxime raised an eyebrow but kept his composure.

"Possible, yeah. I suppose you're here to explain how it all works?"

The soldier burst out laughing, a low, husky sound that echoed off the ramparts.

"Pretty arrogant for a rookie."

"Oh for fuck's sake, how old are you? You look so young!" he continued, his tone slightly exaggerated by Maxime's appearance.

The two recruits behind looked at Maxime curiously, the latter were over 20 at the time, and he could clearly feel that the young man in front of them was much younger than they were.

"Does being older mean you can survive longer on the battlefield?" asked Maxime with a smile.

At the same time, he let slip a hint of murderous intent.

The chief soldier was immediately taken aback, while the recruits immediately changed the way they looked at Maxime.

"Good answer!" he exclaimed, laughing.

"You've already learned one rule here: the strong command and the weak obey!"

"I'm Captain Varek, and Peter asked me to give you a tour of the fortress and at the same time give you some advice."

"Peter?" asked Maxime curiously.

"Oh yes, I've already overlooked this detail, it may not be obvious, but the system guiding us through the dimensional battlefields and the one managing Eternity are not the same."

"It's very obvious to me how to tell the difference," Maxime thought silently.

When his authorization level had been raised to level 2, his system seemed much less robotic and spoke almost as a human would.

So for him, the difference between the two was obvious, but he wasn't going to say so.

He supposed that level 2 clearance was very rare and best left unexposed.

"And Peter is the cute name the humans gave to the system that spoke to you when you arrived on the dimensional battlefield," Captain Varak explained with a smile.

"Now follow me, we don't have much time so I'll show you the most important facilities very quickly."

Despite his appearance, which might frighten children, Captain Varak appeared to be a very sociable and cheerful person.

At least that was Maxime's opinion.

"Okay, thanks for the visit Captain," Maxime replied with a smile.

He didn't yet know his own strength here and his chances of survival, so it was best to be polite and kind to everyone.

Who knows, maybe it would save his life.

"You two are dismissed; I'll take care of this mission alone."

"Aye, Captain."

Maxime watched as the two soldiers left, then followed Varek.

On the way, the captain pointed to various installations.

"There's the heart of our fortress," he said, pointing to a massive structure in the center of the fortress courtyard.

"As long as it's unharmed, we're in the clear. But if the enemies manage to destroy it, it's checkmate."

"You'll be left with nothing but your legs to run on, as all the facilities in the fortress will self-destruct."

"So it's also an extremely well-protected structure. Don't get too close if you don't want to end up vaporized by an automatic defense cannon."

Maxime nodded, noting that numerous cannons were pointed in their direction.

It would seem that at the slightest dangerous movement, he could indeed be killed on the spot.

They then passed through a doorway, corridors and stairs until they reached a very spacious room.

It was a command post where holograms floated in the air, showing animated maps and troop movements.

Officers barked orders while drones moved silently, carrying crates of ammunition.

"Here, we plan offensives and defenses," Varek continued.

"But don't dream too much, you're not about to set foot in here. Strategies are for those who've lived a long time on dimensional battlefields. Do you know why?" asked Varek.

Maxime shook his head.

He knew absolutely nothing, since he was just a high-school student in real life. All these things he couldn't even imagine in his wildest dreams.

"Because enemy races are very numerous and diverse. It's only by facing them personally on the battlefield that you can know their horror but also their weak points."

"Of course, there are a few noble children who can skip these steps by learning everything from a manual written by their ancestors and then going to a good school." explained the captain while shaking his head.

At the same time, Maxime noticed that there were indeed some very young people in the room.

In particular, he stared at a figure standing in the center of the room, sending out orders with the skill of an orchestra conductor.

This person was very young, yet seemed to be in command of everything here.

Noticing his gaze, the captain introduced him with a smile.

"This is Kavasta, a genius from our Western Federation. They say he went to the Ouyang military academy and graduated as valedictorian."

"Many people here admire him, as he possesses real leadership ability not to mention his personal strength, which is truly frightening."

"How scary?" asked Maxime curiously.

"Scary, that's all you need to know. A commander's strength is a military secret," replied Varek simply.

They didn't stay long and left the command room.

Maxime continued to follow Varek, intrigued by all he was discovering. The fortress was overflowing with activity, and every corner seemed designed with meticulous precision to maximize efficiency in this fortress where any mistake could be fatal and lead to its destruction.

Varek stopped the group in a particular room of the fortress, adorned with luminous runes.

"This is the energy generator for our entire fortress," he explained, pointing to the runes.

"These inscriptions power a large part of the automatic defenses. Without them, nothing would work."

Maxime squinted, trying to understand. He could almost feel a vibration emanating from the runes, an energy both mystical and technological.

"These inscriptions were created by Peter after paying a hefty sum. Don't try too hard to understand them, even the best scientists in the world have trouble deciphering them," Varek explained, almost reading his mind.

"And believe me, it cost a lot of guys their lives so we could appropriate this stuff."

"Impressive." murmured Maxime, genuinely fascinated.

"It's more than impressive, these inscriptions directly determine the limit of functionality we can install in this fortress."

"The better and more numerous the inscriptions, the more useful things we can make work, especially the defense turrets and the command room."

"By the way, while I'm on the subject, a little rule of survival: save your Eternity coins when you have them. Some newcomers spend it all on useless gadgets and end up with nothing when they really need it."

Maxime nodded, and at the same time a question popped into his head.

"By the way, what does the enemy fortress look like?" he asked.

"Every enemy fort has a different architecture, adapted to their species," replied the captain.

"Some are labyrinths, others gigantic moving machines or even biological bodies. But they all have a weakness." Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Varek patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry too much about that for now, it's very rare for a fortress to be destroyed. Your priority is to stay alive. Ah, we're on our way to the armory."