An hour later...
"Status," Frizz said, trailing behind the group as per Hei's suggestion.
[System]
Name: New Name.
Level: 43.
Experience: 819/18000
Health: 135/135 (+23) [SL+4] [IF+9] [HM✬+12] [RF+2]
Mana: 132/132 (+2) [SL+4]
Fatigue: 16/100 (nigh-peak)
Class: [Fighter]
Subclass: [White Knight]*
⬬ [Prowess Minimized] … >>
⬬ [Perks Minimized] … >>
⬬ [Talents Minimized] … >>
With a satisfied smile, Frizz then thought about the new perks and skills he acquired. The fact that he was slowly reaching the level fifty threshold was filling him with excitement.
([Lucky Ricochet], I hope this perk that I picked earlier will be of use. A slight chance to reflect physical and magical projectiles to the attacker seems OP, especially if I upgrade this one.)
(
Frizz paused for a moment, clearing his thoughts, taking in the environment.
The oppressive chirps of the cicadas surround the dense forest as the sun's rays pierce through the tall trees while a small stream was up ahead. The scene was serene and nostalgic, reminding Frizz of his sweet childhood.
A small smile appeared on his face, remembering the times when he used to hike everywhere during the summer with some of the neighborhood kids.
*Wham!*
A tree fell over, punched by Rylai Capones, whose face was filled with surprise while breathing heavily.
"A spider. It was a big one. It was brown and shaped like a tarantula, but it had a big butt. It was my first time seeing that kind of spider. Spiders that are shaped like that are usually small. Why was it so big!?"
Rylai Capones said, huffing.
"You took down a tree for a spider?" Divine Hesoyam Rosa said, wiping away her sweat.
"I was leaning against th - "
"We're here. Pipe down." Hei de la Roxas said, narrowing his eyes. "We're going to wait here for the Fox Team. In the meantime, gather your strengths." Hei said, pulling out two boxes of energy drinks.
Ten minutes later...
"Like I said, something doesn't add up." Nathaniel Macaraeg said, conversing with Divine. "We're told to capture communist guerrillas planning to disrupt the election process."
"But the election is mostly over. They've mostly counted the votes, and it's already clear who the winner is. Why can't they just announce who won and THEN deal with these commies?" Nathaniel continued, scratching his hair.
"I'm not really the thinking type but, yeah it is strange. The current president even declared martial law in our city." Divine added, gulping down two energy drinks..
"Our city is not that important. Why is it getting national attention? It's the corrupt that wins anyway." Nathaniel said, clicking his tongue due to his conflicting emotions. He trusted Hei, but doubted his motivations.
Frizz listened to the conversation from a distance. He sighed while looking around; everyone was anxious. The group periodically glared at Hei, their doubt evident.
"We've never properly talked before. Are you okay?" Rylai asked, breaking Frizz from his thoughts..
"Yeah." Frizz straightened his posture. "Things are just moving too fast." He replied, politely smiling.
"Listen, about - "
*Crack!* All of them snapped their heads to the distant yet audible noise, tensing up. However, they've quickly relaxed, sensing that it was a team of soldiers.
"They're all slow, are they trying to ambush us?" Divine said, gulping down another energy drink.
"I easily spotted them twenty minutes ago." Justing Hang said with shut eyes, half-asleep.
"You didn't tell us? I thought you were napping!"" Rylai scoffed.
After a few minutes, several soldiers revealed themselves from the bushes.
The soldier wearing a beret stepped forward, scanning the Status Quo group. His eyes revealed decades of combat experience; everyone in the group recognized that this was a man hardened by battle and combat.
"Do you people not even know how to set up a proper camp and guard?" The captain said, holstering his submachine gun with scorn, dissatisfied with the lack of military professionalism.
"We could've eliminated you ten times over." A soldier holding a sniper rifle said with a smug tone.
"And we could've eliminated you a hundred times over. I saw you cross that ridge." Hei said, waving his hand and revealing several floating eyeballs above the soldiers.
The soldiers were surprised, shocked beyond disbelief upon seeing the big floating eyeballs for the first time.The captain's eye twitched, but he maintained a neutral expression..
"The ridge? That was over forty minutes ago." The captain said with a frustrated sigh. The eyeballs were similar to drones, but they're invisible.
"If magic is the future of warfare, I don't know what my future is." The captain then stepped forward and held out a hand.
"Captain Wendell, I assume you're Hei de la Roxas." The two quickly shook hands.
"Let's get this over with then." Captain Wendell said, motioning for everyone to huddle.
Thirteen minutes later...
Captain Wendell explained the plan, that the group will mainly be a huge distraction for the enemy forces while his team will slowly sneak inside the compound and gather key intel and capture the communist insurgent's regional leader.
"I don't get it. This seems like an operation that the military can handle. Why do you need us?" Rylai Capones spoke out, and everyone's attention was turned to her.
"I asked the same thing to my superiors." Captain Wendell remarked before standing up and sighing. "But we all have our orders."
"We should make a move now, our enemies are currently distracted by a performance," Hei said, his eyes slightly glowing, peering from the distant eyeball that was currently spying on the compound.
"A performance? How'd you know?" The soldier with a sniper rifle asked; the insignia on his uniform designated that he was a scout.
"I have eyes everywhere." Hei said, gesturing to his floating eyeballs. The soldier could only scoff in return, albeit slightly impressed.
"We're losing daylight, let's move." Captain Wendell ordered.