Chapter 19
The Request
Part 3B
Manuhunter Empire, in the royal court, in a large, secluded room serving as a private meeting room, one of the many rooms made for the same purpose, six men were sitting together; the silence was so thick and ominous; dread was visible on all their faces; no one was saying anything; and no one was looking at the other one. If you listened carefully, you could hear their breathing rhythm, even their heartbeat.
The one who was sitting on the largest seat at the table while he was in the same situation as the rest of them. He couldn’t bear the silence any more, asking the person sitting on the opposite seat of him with a harsh tone and saying, “You said you could handle it, and it will not take time; why didn’t you get any reports until now?" The man was apparently shaking with fear and stress, thinking to himself that he may have bitten more than he could chew. "It's too early to tell; we have to wait. We will get the update as soon as there is any news," he said, saying that from his mouth while in his heart he was doubting to get any good news that is in his favor, “I have sent my best men to the mission; unless there is a miracle, the mission will be successful".
As soon as he fished what he was saying, he heard a knocking on the door. All their attention was directed towards the door. There were only a few selected personnel that were aware of their meeting in this room. Every one of the six men had anxiety appearing on their faces. The head of the meeting or the leader of the group said, “Come in.” The door opened, and a tall, strong man came in to the room, heading straight to the man who was just speaking with what seemed like complete confidence and whispering something in his ear. It took only a few seconds for what he said to appear on the face of the man who was listening without hearing a single word.
The fear was obvious on his face, and it was contagious because the same thing appeared on all five remaining men. Nothing needed to be said about what changed the man's face to become that dark; it was without a doubt the news of the failure of the mission. As soon as the man who came in left the room, one of the remaining four that hadn’t said anything so far said, “What now?” He didn’t even ask what happened or what the man who came told him. Everyone assumed the failure of the mission, and they didn’t have the urge to know any details because it was only one shot that they had. If that was missed, then there was another chance to come back from their life, which was on the line, and they knew it very well.
The only question that was worth asking was, was what the man number three asked “What now?” Everyone was looking at man number one, and his eyes were blank like all life had left him the moment he saw man number two's face, who was himself in another world trying to digest the information that he received, and his brain was working overtime to come up with a countermeasure to what he heard. Mostly thinking of what to tell the five other men sitting with him in the room, after a few minutes that were longer for everyone than years, he opened his mouth and said, “I think we still have time; the report I just received said that they didn’t find him yet” He paused for a second and added “And we lost communication with three teams, each with a minimum of six elite soldiers.".
That was more shocking than anything that they could have heard of or expected to hear. Man number three couldn’t help but ask, with his mouth wide open and his jaw almost dropping to the floor, "How is that possible?” At the beginning, they expected the news that changed his face, that the target escaped, but what he said was something ridiculous. Before anyone could answer him, there was another knocking on the door, and this time without waiting for an invitation, the man entered and wanted to whisper to his superior man number two. When everyone shouted at the same time in one voice, “Say what you have NOW” the man looked around, shaking with fear, and said, “We lost contact with two more teams, and the only communication we received was We are under attack; we need re-enforcement”.
….…………………
While all that was happening in several different locations, in each location something that never happened before was happening for the first time. A lot of connected people, by the invisible strings of faith, were moving to their predetermined destiny, whether it was by design or by choice. Nobody can tell because simply there are forces behind the shadow trying to force the hands of destiny and make everything go to their desired outcome. But the question is, is there anyone who can control his or her faith or manipulate the destiny of someone else, let alone his own? In several different locations on this planet and in several other unknown locations, there were thousands of beings doing things beyond their imaginations to reach one simple goal, and that is to survive. They tried everything to survive.
With all the meticulous planning they came up with, it took decades to plan, decades to implement, and decades to monitor, with much more time and effort put into it, but the question was: were they really in control? The pieces they collected, prepared, and manipulated were all coming together for the final showdown of the thing they called Phase Two, which has started, and that will be the factor in their failure or success in the coming weeks.Chapter 20The Request Part 4AAmran's point of view"Then, let's go." Ajbadan said that and started to move: "Raco, keep the rearguard for now, and remember, our first priority is to protect our guests, we will not attack unless we are attacked first. Is that clear?" It was the same formation that we have been doing so far, and nothing changed. Heading towards danger to collect information was the best option we had at the time, although whether it was wrong or correct, I didn’t object to it and didn’t see a reason to. Maybe for a second, I thought to ask Ajbadan to go and check by himself since we don't know the level of danger we may face. Still, I didn’t worry much or feel any fear or something like that at that time, believing that with this strange system, I would be able to handle most of what we may encounter.The distance was not that far to reach wherever we were going to maybe a few more minutes and we will be there, and I will be able to see my first fight in this world.
Chapter 21The RequestPart 4BThe moment the middle-aged man said the word “I have a request,” the interface popped up once more, but this time there were a few more details that I was not expecting.Name: Amran Age: 12 Race: Human Rank: A Level: 5 Occupation: Strategist Status: healthy Skills: six skillsObserve Skill Level: Level 1 {Nothing can skip your eyes or ears; this skill helps you to understand the hidden information of whatever or whomever you are observing at the time.} Skill Duration: one minute, two seconds Skill Cool Down: No cool down required {Skill can be upgraded by continuing usage}.Analyze Skill Level: Level 1 {Upon activation, the skill enables you to analyze any situation or condition from all aspects, presenting to you all possible inputs with positive and negative outcomes. Therefore, you will be able to make the best decision regarding your situation or the condition you need to solve.} Skill Duration: one minute, two seconds Skill
The First EncounterPart 1AI had been hearing gunshots for a while now, but finally I was facing one pointed towards me, not me in particular but in my direction. That made us hesitate and stop all of us, except the emporer, who, on the contrary, increased his speed towards them. The rest of us, we stood in our place and didn’t move. The boy with the rifle was looking at us, still pointing the gun at us.Although he saw the old man, I mean the emporer, coming towards them, his expression softened a little bit, but still he was pointing the rifle towards us like he was waiting for a signal to start shooting at us. The distance between us was about a hundred meters give or take, and he reached them within a few seconds, then immediately bent down and stared, hugging the two kids and the woman who was holding them while the other three women gave them a space by moving back while standing each in a side, like they were keeping some type of formation.After less than a minute, the empore
The First EncounterPart 1B"I have a request for all of you. I need you to assist me to keep my family safe until I get a way to take back my county." That was the emporer request. Looking around me, I was thinking, What was the reason behind asking a group of odd people gathered in a forest, among them women and children? Also, those people were totally strangers, so was it normal in this world to ask favors from strangers? I don't know why that didn't make any sense to me. At the same time, I was looking around and checking the faces of the people around me and their reactions. The faces of the ladies I was with were without any expressions, except for the surprise of the identity of the man who was talking, and the new group was strangely standing apart, which made me come to the conclusion that they are not together or else they would have stood together.The same thing I was doing, the emperor was doing it also, looking at the faces of the people around him. Although nobody reac
Chapter 23 The First Encounter Part 2A Since I made up my mind and decided to tell half of the truth, at least at the moment, the pressure left my shoulder. Still, I intended to tell the emperor the truth when the time was right. I don’t know if he would be able to help me with my situation or not, but all I can do is try, since all I can do at the moment is to go forward. There are no set goals a head of me that I am aspiring to or want to fulfill at the moment. Except that thing deep in my hearth looking for some one or something that I don't know who or what it is, at that one of the ladies started talking and introducing herself; the one with two swords started speaking and said, “Your Highness, my name is Amun; I was in a city called Andoradiya when I left an office building. I found myself in this forest suddenly, although that was not the most strange thing that happened to me but definitely the strangest.”. I thought to myself apparently that what she said was true, for som
Chapter 24 The First Encounter Part 2B I guess while I was distracted with the girl, everyone came to where we were standing. The next thing I heard was the man in a uniform saying, “The question is, where in this forest can be considered safe?” Although I have no idea what dangerous animals or beasts are roaming around this forest, or any other beings I am not aware of, regardless of the armed men that we have been fighting for a while now, the real question is: where in this forest can it be safe for us to rest and plan for our next step? Personally, I don’t have any answer for that, and I don’t think anyone has the answer to that. At that time, the Statues Panel interface appeared in front of me, like it was giving me the answer that I was looking for, but the full menu appeared this time, so I had to figure out what was new this time by myself: Name: Aden Age: 16 Race: Human Rank: A (Officer) Level: 6 Status: healthy Skills: five skills gained 1- Skill Name: Flash Skil
Chapter 25The First EncounterPart 3AIt took several minutes for the two young ladies to calm down the young girl who was screaming in terror, that give a little bit more time to contemplate on the issues of how do I present the items I have in my inventory and also the gifts that I have, I had a pretty good idea about the skills and attributes but this gifts I had no idea how it works, but assuming that it works just as the skills and attributes I concentrated on the mystery map, without any difficulties a map appeared on my interface covering all the space in front of my face, previously the interface screen was like a 14” screen but now it was almost 30” screen, and the whole screen was filled with trees, it was like I was watching a life TV in front of me and not looking at a map.{You have activated the mystery map.}{You can zoom in and zoom out by either using your hand gesture or by concentrating on the location you want and giving the order verbally}{Markers are indicated
Chapter 26The First EncounterPart 3BJulian Point of ViewFor the last hour, I have been in a state that has affected me physically and emotionally. For one thing, I have never walked or run approximately all my life. The one I did today was meeting the famous emperor in this forest, then again meeting this other group of people. Some of them look suspicious to me, though I can't figure out the reason. I was trying my best to keep calm, and stay away from the sight of the people, and not to get the attention of any of them. I don’t know why?. I am here, but when I saw the emperor and heard his story later, I got a little excited. I felt like I was on an adventure, but that excitement quickly changed to anxiety, which overtook me completely when we came to the place where we were supposed to rest. I was tired and hungry at the same time, although usually I don’t mind the hunger that much since I usually eat less than anyone else that I know of, and the small meals that I have, which
Chapter 39Beginning of the Invasion Part 2B Rohonda appeared to be listening to a report from some type of recorded device when the countdown started; although her attention was directed to what she was listening to, she didn’t miss the quietness of the place with hundreds of people being silent at once. She put the device that she was listening to and collected another one from her desk drawer and started recording a message: “This recording is from Section One; the time is 17.00 hours, and today is the first day that officially Project Zero One started finally. I hope we have enough time to implement all the security measures that we have been working on." Without a second thought, she pressed the send button and returned the device to the same drawer. With a sigh, she rested her back on the chair she was sitting in and said, “I wonder if this was all a perdition or planned, I don’t know what they are thinking, fighting an alien invasion with abducted aliens.” a
Chapter 38Beginning of the Invasion Part 2A"Captain Birman, I would like to mobilize the National Guard to help with the city security if you don't mind." "And Ayuma, Please call the head of the council, Mr. Enigma, and tell him to meet me here as soon as possible." At that time she heard a sound similar to thunder, or maybe it was thunder, but usably the lightning and thunder come for the sky with a storm or rain but not in a confide or an open space near the ground; the circle was actually above the ground and was almost two and a half meters above ground. From this distance, nobody was able to guess the size of it, but since it was almost three kilometers outside of the city and was visible that much from that distance, it was obvious that it was huge; everyone was able to see it was palpitating like a heart from that distance. The movement of the muddy cloud inside the circle was so ominous that everyone who was still standing there felt the chill in their bones, and whoever di
Chapter 37Beginning of the Invasion Part 1BEmika’s point of viewThis was the worst nightmare I have been seeing, and I really wished it was just a nightmare, but it was not; it was a reality, a fact in front of my eyes. The thing I was referring to as a portal was forming in the same location I have been seeing it in my dreams, or, to say it correctly, my nightmares. And the reason I am referring to it as a portal is because I knew it was, because I saw it with my own closed eyes at that time, the monsters coming out of it, which indicates that it was a portal of some kind. I have been afraid my dreams would come true, and I didn’t wish for it, but somehow I had the feeling that whatever I saw would happen, but I hoped it would be in a different day and time; a time when I was better prepared for it and was able to take some kind of countermeasure for it.I have no idea what kind of countermeasure I could have been able to take. But anything is better than being taken by surprise
Chapter 38Beginning of the Invasion Part 2A"Captain Birman, I would like to mobilize the National Guard to help with the city security if you don't mind." "And Ayuma, Please call the head of the council, Mr. Enigma, and tell him to meet me here as soon as possible." At that time she heard a sound similar to thunder, or maybe it was thunder, but usably the lightning and thunder come for the sky with a storm or rain but not in a confide or an open space near the ground; the circle was actually above the ground and was almost two and a half meters above ground. From this distance, nobody was able to guess the size of it, but since it was almost three kilometers outside of the city and was visible that much from that distance, it was obvious that it was huge; everyone was able to see it was palpitating like a heart from that distance. The movement of the muddy cloud inside the circle was so ominous that everyone who was still standing there felt the chill in their bones, and whoever di
Chapter 36Beginning of the Invasion Part 1AThe girls had a large tent and they were struggling with it, Since Ajbadan said he will help them, he decided to go to the boy Still, he was wondering why didn’t dismantle his tent? Or at least why? if he is not doing anything, why did he help the girls? Aren’t they his companions? At least they have been together more the rest of them, Regardless of their meeting in the forest, as they said, Murad shook his head like he was dropping the questions that filled it and went to the boy. Aden stood up when he saw Murad approaching him and smiled while saying, “It’s embarrassing to say that, seeing you came to help me, but I am actually leaving the tent here that way I didn’t dismantle it.” Murad was not expecting to hear that at all While the surprise was showing on his face, he asked, “Can I ask you why?” Aden didn’t expect to be asked that question either, so he hesitated for a second and said while scratching his head with a small laugh, ”ha
Chapter 35The First EncounterPart 6BGoosebumps ran down his spine when he saw what he saw when he used the skill. He was staring at a black portal that was enormous, over four meters tall and ten meters wide, with a black square shape instead of the typical gateway portals seen on this planet. It was both smokey and liquid-like at the same time, and he was unable to determine what material it was composed of. It was moving like a live entity with a pulsating heart, but it was not changing shape. In a matter of seconds, it gained shape and materialized in front of him at the location the youngster had indicated. He felt a terrible sensation throughout his body. This is what the young man was talking about. He told himself, "So it's all true then," confirming the first thing the boys had mentioned. "The time was the next thing he confirmed, and it was true too." He had the chance to glance at the clock now that it was getting to be the time of sunset, but he didn't think of it. He fe
Chapter 34The First EncounterPart 6A“If you don’t believe me, use your Predict skill, and you will see it.” That was it. I had to let him go and step back a couple steps. He knows two of my skills not just one but two. That is ridiculous. I have been shocked. In a manner I never had before, if it were anybody else in front of me telling me that, the first reaction that would accrue to me would have been to cut his head immediately, without even getting the opportunity to get questioned about where he got the information. But fortunately or unfortunately, the one who said that was a child, although the expression on my face changed and my hand was on the gun and the sword in my waist, a complete involuntary reaction from my side.It took me nearly a minute to gather myself and regain my composure. During this time, I came to the realization that someone else must have informed him about my skills. Therefore, I felt compelled to find out who that person was. At that moment, the only
Chapter 33The First EncounterPart 5B“We need to move from here; the monsters are coming; he is coming, he is coming; and we are all going to be dead." That was the only word that came out of his mouth, and then all he did was stare at the man standing beside him, although his body was shaking, like somebody who is scared or feeling cold, but his eyes were totally blank, like a blind guy who is just looking but not seeing anything. From the blank way he was looking at him, the emperor noticed that the boy was looking at something else, and most probably he also got, “The lost art.” As one of the few humans on this planet who has knowledge of “the lost art” and has learned a few of its skills, he can tell that this boy has it. This is his first encounter with not one but two unexpected individuals in an expected situation with unexpected knowledge. While Juian was talking to the emperor, the skill foresight was activated, and he was not actually looking at or talking to the emperor,
Chapter 32Intermission Jack’s side story Part 1Anther's note:This is Jack’s story recap as I told it in the first volume, but I will now add the missing parts that were not known to anyone in the first volume or the second volume until now, or what was his connection to the storey line? So far, all we knew in the first volume was that he was looking for his wife, and that was all he was looking for. Where was he imprisoned? What for? There were a lot of questions that no one asked and nobody answered, and no one will unless someone dares ask the correct question.Also, I edited the previous chapter, its not just a copy of the same chapter of the first volume to go along with the current retelling of the story without changing much from the original story as a recap because of the importance of the story line. I remember one reader asking me if I was just filling in the characters for the sake of my book, and he was specifically talking about Jack :) I hope now he got the answer.