Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

"Very pleasant." replied Maxime sincerely.

Without a doubt, no man can get enough of a view like this.

Leïla let out a soft laugh, before taking a shower.

Meanwhile, Maxime watched the soldiers visible through the window as they bustled about the fortress.

"I wonder what time it is?

"And are we really on a battlefield? This is paradise right now," Maxime thought, reflecting on the previous evening.

Half an hour later, Leïla opened the bathroom door and said:

"You can use the shower while I do my hair if you like."

Maxime nodded, and joined Leïla in the bathroom.

The room was relatively narrow, but the two had shared such intimacy the day before that neither of them minded.

From time to time, Leïla cast a few mischievous glances at Maxime's well-proportioned body.

Many soldiers had beautiful bodies, but Maxime's, being young and especially reaching 4 points by the standards of the world of Eternity, was particularly pleasing to the eye.

It was literally a body packed with explosive power, and it showed in his musculature.

Leïla also noticed a few scars, mainly from bladed weapons but also from firearms.

But she didn't comment; she'd noticed that this young man was extraordinary the previous evening, or she wouldn't have come to see him.

Especially the scene of Maxime easily beating a veteran like Warrick.

She could easily guess that this young man had significant fighting experience, and not just in the world of Eternity, otherwise he wouldn't have been so calm when he fought.

She knew that most of the time, those who spent their time fighting in Eternity but had no combat experience in the real world, acted differently.

Indeed, unlike in Eternity, the slightest mistake could mean death in the real world.

So their mentality was different.

Soon the two finished getting ready and went to eat in the fortress canteen, under the curious, questioning gazes of many soldiers.

"Am I dreaming where the Shibuya captain is having lunch with a young man?"

"Maybe it's her son?"

"Given the mood between them, I doubt it."

"Was the Shibuya goddess conquered last night?"

The broken hearts of many men seemed to be audible in the cafeteria.

Maxime obviously picked up a few words in the room, and looked at Leïla with strange eyes.

The latter quietly sipped her coffee while looking at him with charming eyes, in spite of herself.

"Any questions?" she asked softly.

But Maxime shook his head.

He didn't want to know about Shibuya or anything else, because he felt it would spoil their relationship if he did.

So the two simply ate their lunch, exchanging just a few words now and then.

But the atmosphere was not heavy; on the contrary, both found it very pleasant.

They weren't questioning each other, just enjoying their time together.

After twenty minutes, the two finished lunch.

"I guess it's time to go." said Leïla with a sad look on her face.

"Go where?" asked Maxime curiously.

"Oh, don't you know? How cute." replied Leïla, first surprised, then smiling teasingly.

"You'll understand when we get there," she continued.

The two left the canteen together, and as they chatted, she took her to an administrative room where everyone went to get a sheet of paper and a pencil from one of the available desks, next to a soldier.

The two of them queued up together.

After only about thirty seconds, it was their turn.

"Hello, I know madame is the Shibuya captain, but monsieur is?" asked the administrative staff, who glanced questioningly at Maxime.

"Maxime Valdreuve." he replied, still not understanding what he was doing here.

"The man at reception entered some information into his computer, then printed out two sheets of paper.@@novelbin@@

"You're registered. Here are the two sheets with your names and two pencils," he said, handing them the items mentioned.

"Next."

Maxime looked at the sheet, then saw roughly marked on it:

"Testament Maxime Valdreuve."

He was slightly confused when he saw this, and above all it was a stark reminder that he was on a battlefield.

"Surprised?" asked Leïla with a sad smile.

"A little, I didn't imagine I'd be writing a will any time soon," replied Maxime, shaking his head.

The idea of formalizing one's last will and testament wasn't totally foreign to his life - battlefields imposed a certain awareness of mortality - but it seemed more solemn in this context.

Here, everything was real, and any mistake or misstep could mean the end.

Leïla sat down at a nearby table, her expression oscillating between serenity and gravity. She began to fill in her own sheet, her closed features betraying a certain familiarity with the task.

Maxime, for his part, bent over his sheet, pencil in hand.

For a moment he didn't know what to write, or rather where to start.

But in the end it was relatively simple, since all he had in his life were his brother and his mother.

So he wrote a few lines about them, about what he would bequeath to them, but above all about the words they would want to pass on to them if he really did die.

Soon Leila finished, and raised her head, watching Maxime in silence. The young man was writing with concentration, his expression marked by an unexpected maturity for his age.

For her part, it was something she'd done many times before, so it was pretty quick.

When Maxime finished writing, he put down the pencil and exhaled slowly, as if to free himself of a weight.

"I didn't think I'd write more than 2,000 words at once, I had so much to tell them..." he thought a little sadly.

He felt he hadn't been spending enough time with his family lately, especially given the time he was spending in Eternity.

He told them about his goals in life, particularly the fact that he wanted to become strong enough to protect them from any threat in this world, and that if he died here, he would regret nothing because he would have died for a noble cause: the protection of mankind.

Of course, he didn't mention the gods or his talent, although he was eager to confide in his mother, even if it was via a sheet of paper she might never see.

Who knows if a curious eye would want to read his will when he wasn't dead yet?

Watching Maxime finish, Leïla gave a sympathetic smile.

"It always feels that way the first time." she said softly.

"But believe me, it brings you a strange kind of peace."

Maxime stared at her, trying to understand her words. She continued:

"Knowing that everything is settled, that your thoughts, your legacy, however minute, are in order. It frees you. You can concentrate on the present and the battles to come."

"Well, it's true that's pretty important for morale."

Maxime agreed completely with Leila.

He couldn't say that if he died, he'd die without regret, but at least part of his burden would have been eased by writing this will.

Then the two of them got up and went to place their wills on the desk of the staff who had welcomed them.

As they left the room, a different atmosphere reigned in the corridors. The light atmosphere of the previous day had given way to palpable tension. Soldiers were getting ready, adjusting their equipment and checking their weapons.

Shots rang out here and there in the fortress, testing weapons.

Leïla beckoned Maxime to follow her into a large strategic meeting room reserved for the top brass.

Maxime was a little hesitant, but finally followed her.

Here, he was still a little lost without Varek.

In no time at all, they arrived and entered the room.

"Hello everyone!" exclaimed Leïla with a big smile.

All eyes instantly turned to Leïla, but especially to Maxime who was accompanying her.

The room was vast and well-lit, adorned with the latest communications equipment and detailed maps of the surrounding area.

These maps had been drawn the day before by the reconnaissance teams.

In the center of the room was a table around which all 9 battalion commanders were seated.

They were all very important men, and together they commanded the fortress's 10,000 soldiers, not counting the mercenaries who could be summoned.

At the end of the table was a young man whom Maxime had seen before.

He was Kavasta, the fortress commander. Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire

"Leïla, always late." commented Kavasta with a slightly furious look.

"What's that? You want my fist in your face Kavasta?"

When he heard Leïna speak like that, Maxime was shocked.

He felt as if he'd discovered a whole new person.

"Maybe it'll relax your anus." she continued with a mocking look.

A heavy silence suddenly settled over the room, broken only by the noise of nearby electronics.

"Settle down Leïla, please." the first battalion commander said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Of course."

At the same time, Maxime naturally followed her and found himself around the table alongside the battalion chiefs.

At the same time, he thought:

"So she's a battalion commander? But didn't it seem so? Why else would others call her the Shibuya captain?"

"Normally military units don't have names."

Simultaneously everyone looked at him with suspicious glances.

Maxime after being lost in thought for a moment, felt the glances on him and raised his head with a smile.

"Hello."