Walking inside the small meeting room, Soren glanced at Seth briefing the other members at the front and found an empty chair in the back to sit. They were not alone, so he didn’t ask Seth anything about their current situation. For now, he was a new squad member and was taking part in the meeting.

…….

The meeting ended, and the members exited the room. A few in pairs, some alone. The squad system allowed the Initiators to finish any mission together. Or to request help from their fellow squad members. None of this was compulsory though. Members could reject it without any negative consequences. This was what the ‘relative freedom’ meant. But if Soren signed the contract with the royal family, this would become compulsory. He wouldn’t be able to deny such missions or any call for help. While it would raise his status and increase his profit, he preferred his freedom more. The benefits, his plan for obtaining those was still continuing.

“We’ll meet tonight. In the bar.”

As Soren stood up, he received a message from Seth. Transmitted in his ears. It was the same sound transmission method that he’d practiced and mastered back in Bellfalls. Nodding, he went out of the room.

He didn’t want to take part in the squad mission. For today, he only wanted to go on a small hunt. Merc-Initiators were free to join the battlefield anytime they wanted to after all. Of course, he wasn’t going to go all out on his first day. Scouting the area, getting used to the atmosphere, earn some contribution points. This was his purpose.

And so, he took out his communicator and went through some details as he walked towards the main gate.

Showing his Hunter I.D to the soldier stationed at the gate, he went out of the town and hitched a ride. To the command center out in the fields.

………

Recording his entry with his Hunter I.D in the command center, Soren finally saw what a true battlefield filled with death looked like. Stepping on an elevated area outside the fence protecting the command center, he observed the whole situation on the Non-Initiators’ side first.

It was utter chaos.

He thought before that since this world had already developed guns, it would be the dominant weapon of the war. That it would determine the type of warfare. But he was wrong.

Melee warfare engulfed the entire battlefield. Although soldiers still used hot weapons, they were more of a last resort.

This was a world where individual power could overcome anything after all. And not only this world, but every Major, Minor, and even some Barren Worlds were the same. Initiators dominated the universe; this fact stood true since eternity. Based on that, it was predictable that the idea of hot weapons could not flourish. Once an Initiator got strong enough, the bullets would not be able to even scratch their skin. Their every part ingrained with that truth, no one in their right mind would spend their precious resources to develop such a thing. Let alone mass-produce it for the war. It was more likely the ‘Traveler’ who invented these hot weapons in this world had also given up on this idea after realizing this fact.

It was possible to develop a hot weapon that could hurt a high-ranking Initiator. Yet the cost of creating something like that would be immense. It was better to create good Enhancement Artifacts from those instead. Given that, it was likely that the weak handguns were the limit of such development.

From all this, Soren thought of his homeworld. In his broken memories, the hot weapons were already thriving. They were the weapons that dominated the war. But those hot weapons didn’t use Mana as their fuel. This proved to him that his world was a Barren World. This, in turn, meant that the chances of his world having Initiators were scant.

………

Done with scouting the Non-Initiators’ battlefield, Soren moved on to the Initiators’ side. Although both battlefields were on the plains right before the Langmar Mountain Range, a long extension of the jungle divided them. If the Langmar Mountains were the front, the Non-Initiators’ battlefield was on the left side. And the Initiators’ one was on the right side of that extension. The command center Soren was in right now also existed in that dense jungle; behind the two battlefields. Moreover, the extension of the jungle was long enough that Asadiens were able to reach the command center from Dalhurst without having to go through any of the battlefields.

Gazing at the Initiators’ battlefield from a distance, Soren could tell how different the situation there was from the other one. Contrasting the Non-Initiators’ battlefield, this side was much more organized in comparison. In the central part, the squads of the Initiators followed the basic strategy. With the Melee types in front and the Ranged types in back. And they defended. Although this was a very simple formation, it worked well in this situation. Not because the enemies were stupid, but because the soldiers were Initiators. Each of them possessed extraordinary prowess.

Though this only included the Initiators who worked for the royal family. They signed the contract. Only those Initiators formed this basic defensive formation in the center. Merc-Initiators like Soren, they fought on the two sides of this battlefield. These Initiators on the sides only had one job to do — move around and kill their enemies.

From above, the battlefield on the Stuteron Kingdom side was a shield in the center and two spears on both sides.

While this situation made it seem like the decision-makers of the Stuteron Kingdom were relying on these mercenaries to fight off the enemy, it was actually another way of preserving their real strength. The defensive form in the center made the death count of those Initiators affiliated with the royal family much lower than the mercenaries. From one look, Soren could tell that these people were only trying to hold on to this position without any intention of moving forward.

Either they were biding their time, waiting for something to happen. Either the high-ranking Initiators were finding a peaceful method out of this situation. Or they had something else planned. Soren didn’t know and neither did he care. For him, nothing mattered as long as he got what he wanted from this war.

……..

The basic information about the battlefield and the army gathered, it was time to enter the left spear. To kill some enemy Initiators, to gain contribution points. Before going in, he supplied his Mana to the white ring. It was supposed to make him a glaring beacon inside his allies’ sensing spells. This was another feature of the ring the Initiators could use to distinguish between their allies and the enemies. The beacons in their sensing spells were their allies and the ones who were not were their enemies.

Of course, the Initiators on the Atucan Empire side also had the same ring with the same functions.

Maybe it was possible to use their ring. Soren thought and took out his staff, ‘Moonshard’.

Entering the left spear, Soren located a peak Rank 0 Initiator lurking on the outskirts. He was either tired and was taking a rest or was looking for an opportunity to strike. It didn’t matter to Soren. With his movement skill, he closed in on him in a blink of an eye. Not leaving him any time to react, he grabbed his hand and took off the ring.

The design and the color of this ring were the same as the one that the Stuteron Kingdom had provided them with. Except for the emblem printed on it. Given the advantages he could get if he was able to use this ring, Soren tried it. Although the chances of this working were very slim, he still wanted to give it a try.

Seeping his Mana in the ring, he started erasing the mark left on it by its previous owner. He was careful in doing so. He also enveloped the ring with his and checked its internal spell formation for any reaction. Everything went well in the beginning. But as his Mana was about to remove the last part of that mark, the ring shattered with a small blast.

Sigh….

A defeated sigh and he threw all the remaining shards in his hand. As he’d thought, it was unfeasible to remove the owner’s mark from this ring.

At least I was able to confirm it.

With that thought, Soren finally removed all the ideas he had about the Atucan Empire’s ring and once again focused on the battlefield in front of him. Installing two fresh Middle-Grade Mana Crystals in the ‘Mana Touch’ gloves’ slots, he went ahead. To look for other preys.

As for the previous owner of the ring, he was already a dead frozen statue the moment Soren touched him.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Status: Healthy

Rank 1: Layer 1 [CP - 0%]

Name: Soren Farrow

Species: Human

Attribute: Darkness & Ice

Health: 100%

Stamina: 100%

Mana: 99%

Strength: 7.93

Agility: 9.70 (+1.90)

Vitality: 17.69

Intelligence: 21.22 (+7.20)

Spirit: 20.24 (+8.45)

Resistance: 9.10 (+2.35)

Spells:

Spell Vessels: 3/10

Innate Spells: 18

Innate Skills/Bloodline Talents: 7

Water Bubbles [7/7] – Level 8/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Snow Blades [5/5] – Level 9/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Ice Chakra [6/6] – Level 6/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Create Undead: Low Tier Ⅱ – Level 7/15. Mana Cost – Average. [Rank 1]

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Dark Raven – Level 8/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Ice Barrage – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Dead Rising – Level 7/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Acid Needles – Level 5/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Shadow Prison – Level 6/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Frost Domain – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Elemental Sense – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Dark Gravity – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Low. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Withering Wood – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Ice Spikes – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Soul Search – Level 6/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Rank 1]

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Ice Wall – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Waterball – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Rainfall – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Spark – Level 10/10. Mana cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Fireball – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Space Snatcher – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Rank 0]

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Mana Manipulation – Level 7/15

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Potioneering [Rank 1] – Level 1/15.

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Powered Vision – Level --/--

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Vornea: Basic Form – Level --/--

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Devour: First Evolution – Level --/--

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Second Intelligence – Level --/--

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Shadow Steps – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Equipment: Common Clothes; Magic Staff – Moonshard; Spirit-Pendant; Snake-Earring; Spirit-Ring; Resistance-Ring; Caster’s Bracelet; Agility-Boots; Dagger; Mana Touch – Gloves; White Ring [War Accessory].

Storage Pearl: Common Clothes; Hunter I.D; Mask; Multiple Unfocused Cultivation Techniques – Low Grade; Focused Cultivation Technique – Middle Grade; Egg – Crystal Albarose; Various Ingredients; Automatons x3; Beast Cores[Rank 0] x184; Beast Cores[Rank 1] x114; Rank 1 Potion Recipe – Sun’s Afterglow; Rank 1 Potion Recipe – Soul Recovery; Cultivation Technique – Turtle’s Life; Cultivation Technique – Flaming Hair; Various Skills – Memory Spheres; Empty Memory Spheres; Books and Compendiums; Rank 0 Common Potions[Middle-Grade] x0; Rank 0 Common Potions[High-Grade] x0; Rank 0 Common Potions[Top-Grade] x0; Rank 1 Potion – Soul Recovery[Lowest-Grade] x2.

Mana Crystals: 676 [Middle-Grade]; 202 [Low-Grade]; Myriad Items—Card [Value-000]; Six Mana Cards.