Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

"Perhaps. But for that, he'll have to stay alive."

"He'll stay alive I'm sure, the guy's really strong despite his age." smiled Varek.

Then he left Karad and caught up with Maxime, saying:

"Now that we've finished our tour of the armory, collected your package and tested you, I'm going to take you to where you'll be resting for the next 7 days."

Maxime nodded, and they then headed for a building more modest in comparison to the armory.

A rusty sign read "Recruits' Quarters".

Inside, the smell of sweat and unkempt weaponry wafted through the air. Bunk beds lined a large common room, while soldiers cleaned their weapons or talked in hushed tones.

"This is your home for now." declared Varek with a wry smile.

"Not very glamorous, is it? But you'll soon learn that comfort is for the dead."

Maxime nodded, noting the palpable tension in the air. The eyes of some of the soldiers turned to him, silently sizing up this newcomer.

"Will my mercenaries be able to stay here too?" asked Maxime of the captain.

"Do you have mercenaries?" asked Varek, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Yeah, I've got quite a few." Maxime replied simply.

In the army, it wasn't actually that rare for soldiers to have men from Eternity under their command, but at such a young age it was very rare indeed.

"Well, you haven't finished surprising me..."

The captain was about to run out of words when he saw Maxime.

The many recruits in the vicinity also looked at Maxime with stunned eyes.

"Is it that surprising?" asked Maxime.

"Yes, I've presented fortresses to so many recruits that I couldn't even give you a number, but none of them surprised me as much as you did," explained Varek.

"But yes your mercenaries will be able to stay here since once summoned they can't leave until they're dead or the battlefield is over." he continued.

"But will there be enough beds?"

Varek shook his head.

"Not for the first day, but don't worry, places will open up as we go along."

Maxime immediately understood the implication.

His mercenaries would take the place of those who died.

"Well, generally speaking, in the first few days, it's mostly mercenaries and summoned soldiers from Eternity who die. It's only in the last few days that it's generally dangerous."

Maxime nodded in understanding, and that was rather logical.

Soldiers and mercenaries from Eternity obeyed at the drop of a hat, had no fear of death and could be resurrected.

Thanks to these particularities, they could easily save the fortress soldiers by blocking the enemy with their bodies, or go themselves to reconnoiter dangerous territory.

It was only when they had died in sufficiently large numbers that dangerous tasks were carried out by soldiers from the fortress.

In the recruits' quarters, despite its rudimentary appearance, there were high-tech security lockers where you could store your weapons, armor and tablet.

So Maxime quickly found a bed and an unoccupied locker and deposited his equipment in the high-tech security locker.

[Please identify yourself].

A voice came from the locker, startling Maxime.

"Don't worry, you just need to set up facial and fingerprint recognition, otherwise anyone could access your stuff," Varak reassured him.

Maxime nodded and followed the machine's instructions.

[Retinal scan of right eye in progress...]

[Completed]

[DNA scan of Maxime Valdreuve...]@@novelbin@@

[Completed.]

[Locking of locker in progress...]

[Completed.]

"Now that we've got that out of the way, let's move on to the relaxation part." Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

Maxime raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Varek gave him an enigmatic smile before leading him out of the recruits' quarters, then guided him through a long, dimly lit corridor, its steel walls echoing beneath their footsteps.

They passed through several security doors guarded by soldiers armed to the teeth.

"Where are we going?" Maxime finally asked.

Varek continued to give him a mysterious smile.

"You'll see. Here, we don't just fight. We know how to have fun too." he said, dropping a little hint.

Eventually, they emerged into a vast hall, in stark contrast to the austere corridors of the fortress.

Upon entering, Maxime was struck by an explosion of sound, light and energy.

The room was bathed in moving, colored light, projected by laser beams that seemed to dance to the rhythm of pulsating electronic music. Giant screens showed futuristic animations, while a crowd of soldiers, in uniform or casual dress, mingled with the atmosphere.

Tables and benches surrounded a dance floor where soldiers laughed, drank and gesticulated to the beat of the music. Not far away, dancers performed graceful, hypnotic movements on neon-lit vertical bars.

"Welcome to the Army's relaxation area!" announced Varek with a big smile.

"Here, we let go, relax... before going back out to risk our lives."

Maxime stood still for a moment, taking in the atmosphere. The contrast with the rigid military environment was striking.

Varek led him towards the bar, a long metal counter lit by LED strips. Behind the bar, a humanoid automaton served colorful cocktails and glasses of raw alcohol at a frantic pace.

"Come on, drink something." Varek patted Maxime on the shoulder before ordering two glasses of a translucent liquid that gave off a slight smoke.

Maxime accepted the glass, lifting it cautiously to his lips. The drink was potent, burning the throat pleasantly.

"Well?" asked Varek with a mischievous smile.

"It wakes you up, but how is something like this allowed? Aren't you afraid of being attacked?" admitted Maxime.

"The first day is usually a day of peace, whether it's us or our opponents, everyone must first organize the defenses of their fortress, organize their men, explore the terrain outside, prepare plans of attack and defense...as well as write our wills to deposit in our lockers."

"These lockers will survive even if the base is destroyed, they're really quite sturdy."

"After everyone has deposited their wills we celebrate, of course in moderation, just in case."

"It helps you de-stress and experience war better, you'll understand in time and you'll be less afraid of coming to dimensional battlefields thanks to these rituals."

"Some of them are even happy to go, because the party's always great!"

All around them, the soldiers seemed in their element. Some were playing holographic card games projected on tables, others were laughing loudly as they recounted battle anecdotes, and a few were dancing without restraint in the center of the room.

Maxime noticed a platform where soldiers, obviously in friendly competition, were engaged in simulated duels with holographic weapons. Spectators were cheering loudly from all around.

Varek elbowed him.

"You should try it, Maxime. Nobody knows you yet, so you might give them a nice surprise."

Maxime smiled.

"It's tempting, but I'd rather observe for now."

A woman in a tight-fitting uniform, with short silver hair, approached the duo, holding a glass in her hand.

"Varek, who's the new guy?" she asked, eyeing Maxime with a mixture of interest and suspicion.

"Maxime Valdreuve. A new recruit who blew up a training robot in less than three minutes."

She raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"Interesting. You should come and introduce yourself to my squad. We could use someone like you."

Maxime nodded slightly, preferring to remain reserved.

For his part, Varek laughed aloud.

"Lena, if you want to let this kid join your squad in the3rd Battalion, you should show him some sincerity and give up your place as squad captain."

"Is he really that strong?" asked Lena curiously, but not refuting.

"I don't know how strong, but he's definitely strong. He just likes to play the mystery guy." replied Varek, gently teasing.

"I'm not playing the mystery guy, it's just that the war hasn't started yet, how do you expect me to show you anything?" explained Maxime with some dismay.

...

The 3 of them chatted for a while, then, as one glass followed another, Maxime began to feel like enjoying himself too.

He placed his empty glass on the counter and looked around.

A loud cheer drew his attention. On the central stage, two soldiers were engaged in a holographic duel of spectacular intensity.

Swords of light crackled as they clashed, projecting shimmering flashes all around.

"So you're going back on your original decision?" asked Varek impatiently, really wanting to see Maxime in action.

Lena, though curious, didn't expect much from Maxime. As far as they were concerned, men all had big mouths, and boasted easily.

But she introduced the game anyway, assuming Maxime didn't know it:

"It's a game called Spectral Duel. It's perfect for sharpening your reflexes and impressing the gallery. Would you like to give it a try?"

Maxime hesitated for a moment. It wasn't necessarily his intention to draw more attention to himself, but he couldn't deny that he was intrigued.

And, above all, in this atmosphere, he was bound to be a little excited and wanted to have some fun.

Without thinking too much, he got up from his stool and headed for the stairs to the stage, climbing them one by one.

At present, the stage was empty, and many people in the vicinity were waiting to see the next duelists.

When a young man took to the stage, conversation gradually died down as the audience turned to him.

A soldier with a face marked by several scars also took to the stage, his smile exuding confidence tinged with arrogance.

"So, kiddo, do you want to take a crack at the army veterans?"

Laughter could be heard all around, as all the soldiers nearby seemed to be watching a show with a smile on their faces.

Maxime smiled calmly.

"Yeah, I thought army veterans looked pretty weak, so I came to see if my guesses were true."