Following his first day of work as a volunteering production tech super that produced 20% enhanced H9 ammunition, Avec had earned a grand total of 12 000 FCP, having done 2 five-hours sessions before retiring for the day, bringing his reserve of FCP for the military at 12 800.

Backed by the knowledge that the 20% enhancement he had realized on average was, in fact, far from representing his true knowledge level, he stopped thinking about how he could possibly grind FCP faster.

Rival, his mentor who had planned for him an extremely complete path, knew what he knew, and probably also knew what he didn’t know yet, so he trusted him and slept early while reading one of the books he had to read.

…

The next day, after properly resting for 6 hours, Aven was ready to start his first 4 five-hours sessions day, or 4-sessions day to make it more simple.

According to how long he could keep the H9 production line running with all the machines being infused, he had a clear schedule to follow that he hadn’t even needed anyone to help him create.

He wanted to do volunteering, he wanted to farm FCP, he wanted to progress, and he didn’t need anyone’s help to know what was the best way for him to progress, he already knew it, and he had already used it back at EMATE.

It was to be diligent and dedicated.

So, with ambition and enthusiasm motivating him, he wrote a special schedule for himself that alternated between 4-sessions days and 3-sessions days.

With his session time being 5 hours, it roughly meant that without accounting for the regeneration time between every session that nearly fully expended his available energy, he had planned 20-hours and 15-hours long days for himself.

One day of full tech-production dedication, one lightened but still full day.

One day of hard repetitive application, one day of intellectual focus.

Having brought with him large stocks of snacks and drinks like peach ice tea, he truly made the meeting room his before heating up all the H9 production line machines and infusing each as carefully as he could.

Increasing the efficiency of his energy was a sure way of proving he was progressing on his knowledge application with the added benefit of optimizing its consumption. It was a win-win situation.

Once he had done his best without giving in to his perfectionist self that had asked him to keep on focusing on 1 ore refiner for a few hours to make sure he could reach the limit of his knowledge application, he activated the different machines and soon enough the sound of industry appeared.

Retreating to the meeting room without doubting that everything was going to explode behind him, he finished his night's sleep by closing his eyes and entering a meditative state that bordered on sleeping.

This knowledge of how to properly meditate that he had gained back at EMATE was finding a much more important use than he had thought it would.

After half an hour, he interrupted his resting meditation and regenerative energy cycling to go clear the energy upkeep of all the machines in the next hall.

Not forgetting to take a sample of what his previous infusion had resulted in, he speedily finished his tour and returned to the meeting room to continue to “meditate”.

By the end of the day, with him finally taking the final 10 H9 samples of the 4th session to the shooting testing range, he couldn’t deny that he was maybe a quick learner as his enhancement had averaged at 20.5%.

And so, on his 2nd day…

Faction Contribution Quest: Nation of Eland Military

Volunteering: Contribute to the stability of your faction without asking for anything in return. The more time spent and the harder the tasks, the greater the contribution.

Reward: 24 600 FCP

He earned himself an additional 24 600 FCP, bringing his total to 37 400 FCP.

He had no reason to be unhappy with that result as he had shown clear progress in his knowledge application that brought a 0.5% enhancement in average, so he went back to his quarters happy despite having not seen the White at all that day.

…

With his next day being a 3-sessions one, Aven slept for as long as his body asked him to and the moment he woke up, he didn’t bother refreshing himself and directly exited his quarters to ride back to his workplace.

Thoughts of living inside his workplace had of course passed through his mind, but with him having become a grade 2, his bike could now be enhanced to the point that he could travel between his quarters and this place in only a few minutes, so he didn’t go on with it.

When he arrived, the White had already risen, and to his surprise, he saw Commander accompanied by someone else already inside.

After asking them what they were doing, he understood that it was only a fortunate timing encounter as the 2 were only there to set up the transportation of the ammunition he had produced until now and would in the future.

Taking the chance while he was at it, Commander went to the shooting range to see his progress and was utterly satisfied, saying that 20% was good enough for him to receive his first promotion if they really pushed for it.

With that out of the way, Aven ignored the 2 and started the H9 production line again in the same way he had yesterday, not trying to put on a show about his capabilities as what he was missing wasn’t something that could be acquired in such a short time.

For the rest of the day, no one else showed up, and apart from finally finishing the 1st book Rival had given him and spending 2 hours at the shooting range, nothing else impactful happened.

Faction Contribution Quest: Nation of Eland Military

Volunteering: Contribute to the stability of your faction without asking for anything in return. The more time spent and the harder the tasks, the greater the contribution.

Reward: 18 900 FCP

Well, nothing impactful if he excluded his total FCP reaching 56 300 and his average tech-produced H9 ammunition enhancement reaching 21%.

…

The following day, with already 2 days of work under his belt, Aven felt comfortable enough with the 30-minutes routine alarm calls to not be bothered by them anymore and go on with his day as if they didn’t exist.

What he was volunteering was only his energy, not his will, and unlike what he had expected, once he started really delving into the tech supers literature, he began enjoying himself.

He understood the technicalities, he was a tech super himself, and his inner confidence and ambition were big, all in all, he could relate so much to what some of the books were about, as much to the personal life of the writer than in the technological content, that he found himself really enjoying this new entertainment.

If it could even still be called entertainment.

His inquisitive spirit was maybe at play there, but even after analyzing its description, Aven could neither confirm nor deny this possibility.

Inquisitive Spirit: Your spirit naturally seeks understanding of what you don’t understand while your curiosity cannot be satisfied by merely simple observations. This allows you to understand anything you’re curious about slightly more quickly.

Thus, he went on with this 3rd day of work which was a 4-sessions day uninterrupted, reading a bit there, refining his shooting skills when he felt like it, and trying to push his knowledge application as much as he could every 30 minutes when he still had energy.

Faction Contribution Quest: Nation of Eland Military

Volunteering: Contribute to the stability of your faction without asking for anything in return. The more time spent and the harder the tasks, the greater the contribution.

Reward: 25 800 FCP

As if in a linear progression, his average tech-produced H9 ammunition enhancement reached 21.5% by the end of the day, and his “pay” for the day brought his total to 82 100 FCP, more than a third of the way to his first target knowledge.

It meant that if he maintained his current rhythm, he would reach it in 6 days.

…

The next day, in the middle of his 2nd session, Aven received the visit of Rival in his humble abode.

He was of course not there to see to his well-being, he was there to see to the “good progression of his investment”, or at least that’s what he had said.

And to make sure of this good progression, he personally went through every machine Aven had infused to point out things that would help him once he could properly apply all the knowledge he had.

At the end of the day…

Faction Contribution Quest: Nation of Eland Military

Volunteering: Contribute to the stability of your faction without asking for anything in return. The more time spent and the harder the tasks, the greater the contribution.

Reward: 19 800 FCP

His total amount of FCP rose to 101 900, close to half of the amount he needed and wanted, and his average tech-produced H9 ammunition enhancement reached 22%.

And he still had knowledge to spare from his understanding, probably enough for a few more weeks of linear increase.

…

His 6th day started before dawn as it was scheduled to be a 4-sessions day.

If any other production tech engineer was to be as diligent and dedicated as him, Aven was sure that even a lack of capabilities wouldn’t keep the military from helping him climb the rank slightly faster than he should.

But for someone who was at the same time exemplary and capable? Now that was another story.

One he would unfortunately never see as his promotion speed had already been discussed and arranged by his 2 mentors, and he had ended up pretty much exiled from the whole traditional engineer honorific military rank system from what he had understood.

Which wasn’t a shame when he thought about it, it meant he would attract a lot less attention after all. It gave him temporary protection that protected him against… Things Rival had been pretty clear about he wasn’t ready to face yet.

Hence, with his first session ending with a “sleeping meditation” and the rest of this day all being about keeping his effort on increasing his knowledge application on his energy infusion, he surpassed half his required FCP to buy his first advanced knowledge while pushing his average tech-produced H9 ammunition enhancement to 22.5%.

Faction Contribution Quest: Nation of Eland Military

Volunteering: Contribute to the stability of your faction without asking for anything in return. The more time spent and the harder the tasks, the greater the contribution.

Reward: 27 000 FCP

That was, with 1 350 FCP per hour for 20 hours, 128 900 FCP.

…

Afterward, with his routine firmly established and not tired at all of the schedule he had established for himself, Aven kept chaining days that would appear to be extremely similar for others, but that weren’t for the concerned person living through them.

Faction Contribution Quest: Nation of Eland Military

Volunteering: Contribute to the stability of your faction without asking for anything in return. The more time spent and the harder the tasks, the greater the contribution.

Reward: 20 700 FCP

On his 7th day, his stock of faction contribution points for the military reached 149 600.

He also brought his average tech-produced H9 ammunition enhancement to 23%, not derogating to the linear increase associated with his increasing knowledge application skill he had kept showing.

…

Faction Contribution Quest: Nation of Eland Military

Volunteering: Contribute to the stability of your faction without asking for anything in return. The more time spent and the harder the tasks, the greater the contribution.

Reward: 28 200 FCP

On his 8th day, he reached 177 800 total FCP and averaged 23.5% enhancement on his tech-produced H9 ammunition.

…

Faction Contribution Quest: Nation of Eland Military

Volunteering: Contribute to the stability of your faction without asking for anything in return. The more time spent and the harder the tasks, the greater the contribution.

Reward: 21 600 FCP

At the end of his 9th day, he became the proud owner of 199 400 faction contribution points while pushing his average tech-produced H9 ammunition enhancement to 24%.

When he tried to sleep that day, it was a bit harder than usual.

…

“I’m claiming,” announcing what he was doing to his 2 mentors, Aven mentally pushed for claiming the FCP reward for the 15 hours of volunteering quest he had done on this 10th day, the decisive day.

Faction Contribution Quest: Nation of Eland Military

Volunteering: Contribute to the stability of your faction without asking for anything in return. The more time spent and the harder the tasks, the greater the contribution.

Reward: 22 050 FCP

Directly after, he brought up his faction contribution shop and only focused on the one and only knowledge he needed.

Faction Contribution Shop: Nation of Eland Military

Faction Authority: Second Lieutenant

Faction Contribution Points: 221 450

…

Knowledge: Advanced Ammunition Engineering (215 400 FCP)

“I have enough,” he said as he closed the floating screen and looked at Commander and Rival.

“Claim it then, we’ll take care of your body for you,” bluntly telling him what to do, Rival was sternly looking at him, waiting for the ultimate proof that what he had invested his time in was really worth it.

“I think I’m a bit too heavy for rotting grandpas like you,” not taking it personally, Aven joked as he began claiming this first advanced knowledge ever.

“The maximum knowledge price back at EMATE was 80 000, and it was only classified as an intermediate one,” he supplied this bit of information he didn’t remember writing anywhere, “This one is at 215 400, and classified as an advanced one, so… My brain could potentially explode?”

“Never seen something like that happen, but it would certainly be an interesting new sight for my rotting eyes,” sarcastically and morbidly pursuing the joke, Commander then pointed at the meeting room, “Go collapse there, we’ll use that opportunity to see if danger can force you to wake up.”

“Okay~” Not minding anything as long as it was said by his 2 mentors which he trusted and was morally indebted to, he entered the meeting room and laid down on the only sofa large enough for him to feel comfortable comatizing slash sleeping on.

Having been farsighted when he was so excited this morning, he had specially brought a pillow and a duvet for this precise situation, not knowing whether he would be brought somewhere or not.

“I’m going then?” He hesitatingly bid goodbye, finding the situation ridiculous enough to run out of appropriate jokes to spontaneously make.

And his 2 mentors just watched him silently, one nodding sternly, the other smiling caringly.

“You’re not creepy at all…” Leaving behind this lone statement, he finished claiming his first advanced knowledge.

Knowledge: Advanced Ammunition Engineering (Claim?)

‘Claim.’

Familiar darkness took him the moment he claimed his new item.

It didn’t feel different from any other darkness he had endured when claiming intermediate and basic knowledge.

…

In the hazy, inactivity, and comfort of darkness, Aven couldn't know or think of anything.

Apart from slight pulses of pain that sometimes rose his spirit a little, he was completely lost in a coma-like state that didn’t allow for dreams or anything of the sort.

When what appeared to be a long-time, even for an unthinking spirit, had passed, a slight shift happened, and whatever was keeping him from waking was finally being absorbed much more rapidly than before.

Slight innate comprehension about the situation passed through the subconscious of his spirit, but in the end, it didn’t matter as nothing was holding him back anymore.

…

Aven's eyes fluttered open, they were unfocused and confused.

Looking a bit around instinctively, he realized that he was still in the meeting room he had claimed his first advanced knowledge in. And Commander and Rival were both still here, standing not far from him. One was reading a book, and one was typing on a laptop.

Thinking about the knowledge he had claimed, a vague headache formed, it wasn’t an acute one, just a general one.

‘Advanced knowledge… Advanced knowledge…?’

As he started accessing his new knowledge, a knowledge that was now a part of him, one that was engraved in his spirit and brain, a phenomenon that had never happened to him before in his entire life actually started.

His nose started bleeding.

He was having a nosebleed.

“Ho… Ah…?” He didn’t have the time to worry about this completely new phenomenon, however, as it seemed to him as if his brain had just caught on fire.

The headache grew from general to acute, but it was acute everywhere, a sting of pain like the legendary migraine that could ruin a person’s day or traumatize them.

“Finally awake?” First to notice he had woken up was Rival, he was the one typing on a laptop and he was installed opposite to him, so it was rational for him to see with his peripheral vision that he had opened his eyes.

“Probably?” Massaging his two temples to try and relieve a bit of his migraine-level headache, not that he knew if it could come close to it considering he never had one before, he answered.

“What are GEF9, M-TAAPS, and XVA76?” From the side and not letting him breathe, Commander asked a question that the Aven from a few hours ago would have never been able to answer.

And nearly instinctively, accompanied by a pulse of pain in his head, the young man having a nosebleed answered as if those terms were completely familiar, “Fragmentation grenades incorporating a much higher than necessary explosive charge, mixed anti-armor and personal tank shells, and… Experimental ammunition specially designed to work against… Abomination flesh?”

Speaking of a term he had only very rarely seen in the history book or heard when the forbidden continent was talked about, he blinked repeatedly in confusion as his knowledge only told him that it was ammunition designed to hurt abomination flesh but without anything more.

“I don’t know what abomination flesh is though,” tilting his head and bringing a finger to his chin, he took on a cute pose as he admitted his ignorance with a smile.

Or at least it would have been somewhat cute if not for the trickle of blood departing from his nose and dripping on his white uniform and duvet, completely warping the situation into an extremely funny one.

Even Rival couldn’t stop a very ugly smirk from appearing on his face, making his facade as an emotionless and stern old man crumble. Not even talking about Commander.

“Do something about your nosebleed! Don’t just leave it alone like that!” Erupting, Rival picked a towel from somewhere and threw it at him.

Mobilizing his energy, he stopped the towel in mid-air and softly brought it to his hand, feeling like a superhero as he did that, “I’ve never had a nosebleed in my life before, how the hell would I know how to deal with it?”