CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43 – FAVORS

Chapter 43 – Favors

"We are students from Blue Pearl High. We are the ones responsible for dragging that horde of Undead away from the walls of the base," Jack replied coldly. "We have saved your lives, and we ask that you let us in kindly."

"..."

The voice didn’t reply for a few seconds, almost as if they were rendered speechless by Jack’s words. After all, who would believe that a bunch of kids somehow saved a military base singlehandedly?

"What nonsense are you spouting? That was not your doing," the voice replied, very hesitantly and confusedly.

"You saw those arrows that descended from the sky, didn’t you? That was the doing of this girl in my arms. She has supernatural abilities, as we all do. I’m quite certain all of you are aware of these mysterious powers already. We are capable of using them with far higher efficiency than you."

Jack chose to be honest and clear for one reason and one reason only — he wanted these military generals and soldiers to look at them a certain way. And that certain way was with respect and fear. He wanted them to understand that they couldn’t try to force anything on them or even dare to offend them.

He wanted them to realize that he and his group could destroy this base if they wished, and that killing them would take far more than just a few guns and a bunch of experienced soldiers.

He needed that fear to be established early on so he could work peacefully. At this point, Jack realized that staying in this base might be better than continuing out of the city searching for another spot.

’If the city is this infested, then I don’t even want to see what the forests and vast plains are like. It won’t be easy for them,’ he mused as he looked over his shoulder at his group. They looked tired, bloody, and afraid. Even if they were already learning how to kill and survive, he didn’t forget that, merely a few hours ago, they had been normal students going about their day.

Nobody could just accept such a change as if it were nothing — well, everyone except him. So they needed time to rest, recover, and accept this new reality.

’Sigh, this is the best option at the moment.’ He rubbed the back of his head. ’Now, what will these idiots say? They’ve been silent for a while.’

"Did you get bitten or scratched by the monsters?" the voice finally spoke after a while.

"No, we are completely fine. This blood isn’t ours. It’s the blood of our enemies."

"We will have to check you personally to confirm. Two soldiers will be coming out to inspect you before letting you in."

"Yes!"

"We actually did it..."

Alex and Emi celebrated quietly as they high-fived. Meanwhile, Evan exhaled a sigh of relief and stared at his unconscious friend. ’You can finally get some rest, Luna. You earned it.’

Just a mere glance at her face made his expression soften visibly, his eyes flashing with a deep glint of care and love.

"We accept," Jack replied.

A few moments later, they heard the gates open and saw two silhouettes emerge, holding guns as they pointed them at the group.

"Don’t move, or we will shoot immediately."

"You do not need those weapons," Jack replied coldly. "Do you really think those toys would work in your favor?"

"..."

"D-Don’t move, I said! We will inspect you first."

"Sigh..." Jack shook his head and looked at his group. "Go ahead, we won’t do anything."

The two soldiers nodded before one of them stepped forward while the other kept his gun aimed at them, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice. Jack also noticed several snipers on the walls, ready to blow their heads off if they moved... or at least, that was what they thought would happen.

The soldier reached Jack and the unconscious Luna.

"What happened to her?"

"She’s just exhausted. She used a lot of Aether, summoning those arrows that you saw."

"So, it wasn’t divine intervention after all..." the soldier replied, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Divine intervention?" Jack raised an eyebrow before scoffing. "You might as well think of it as such. The divine sent us to save your lives."

"..."

’What is wrong with this kid... Something is so off about him.’ Just a mere glance at Jack made the soldier feel a deep sense of fear and discomfort. It was as if he were standing before someone completely superior to him in every way. A sense of inferiority overwhelmed his body.

But he still forced that feeling down his throat and started gently inspecting Jack’s body. After a few moments, he nodded and moved to the next one, then the next.

Eventually, the entire group was inspected, and he turned around, giving the OK to everyone.

"They can come in. We apologize for this."

"Let’s go."

Jack ignored their apology and stepped into the base. The entrance was a wide open field that stretched for dozens of meters, mainly made of dirt and patches of greenery here and there.

The base itself stood in the middle — quite big and imposing. Standing at the gates was the person Jack assumed to be the general.

He stood with a group of men, waiting for Jack and the others with dark expressions. As the kids stepped onto the stairs, the man adjusted his hat and stared calmly at Jack. However, subtle shifts in his expression betrayed his true thoughts.

’What a scary-looking kid...’

"So, you’re the ones who saved us from that horde?" he said.

"Indeed, we are."

"How were you able to do that?"

"Is that information really necessary, General Hermann?" Jack asked as he stepped before the man. "What’s important is that we saved this base, and I hope you’re aware of that now."

"... Yes, I am very much aware. I came here personally to express my deepest gratitude to you and your friends for saving our base. There are many innocent people taking shelter inside, and it would’ve been a tragedy if they had broken through... We’ve had enough of those for the day."

"..."

"What are your names, gentlemen?"

"I’m Jack, this is Luna, that’s Emi, Evan, and Alex," he said.

"Nice to meet you all. I assume you came here to take shelter, too."

"More or less."

"That’s great. We couldn’t be happier to take in the heroes who saved us. Your help is something we need desperately."

"If you don’t mind, my friends here need rest. We can discuss other things later. They need a place to sleep," Jack replied.

"Oh, absolutely," the man said as he looked over his shoulder. One of his men nodded and rushed inside. "We’ll provide beds for resting immediately."

"Go in, guys. I’ll come after you in a second."

"... Ok."

"Be careful, Jack."

"Yeah, don’t worry. Go ahead."

A bit hesitantly, the trio walked in while Jack remained outside, Luna still in his arms.

"I don’t know what you kids did to gain such immense power, but we would really appreciate it if you taught us what you’ve learned. We still don’t fully comprehend this mysterious power you gain by killing monsters."

"We can teach you — but on one condition," Jack replied, almost as if he had expected that request.