Adam walked into the busy military office. Everyone inside was smartly dressed in uniforms and they were moving around like crazy to get their work done. Near the entrance was a desk that Adam approached. Behind the desk was a receptionist who appeared to be just about as busy as everyone else. Normally there wouldn't be anyone that he had to greet so the receptionist was helping out with some of the filing work for various papers and forms. The receptionist curiously peered up from his work as Adam approached. Adam was dressed in his blue armor that formerly denoted him as a member of the Silver Saviors. While the receptionist was confused as to why Adam was wearing a blindfold, Silber easily caught his attention with his vibrant colors and made the man speechless. The receptionist then pulled himself together and asked: “Are you here to apply for a captain-ship?”

Adam shook his head: “No, I want to negotiate a freelance contract!”

The receptionist was a little surprised. They rarely got people who would try to get a captain-ship and someone who wanted to negotiate for a freelance contract was even more rare! “Do you have a recommendation?” he asked.

Adam pulled the Medallion of Meritorious Service from his pocket and placed it on the desk, while saying: “I have this.”

The receptionist was once again surprised. This young man in front of him was truly unique. “Let me go talk me go talk to Capt. Erde, he is the only one here who can negotiate a contract.”

The receptionist left and a few minutes later came back to Adam. He led Adam and Silber up to the third story of the building and into a large luxurious office. The office was a bit of a mess with stacks of paper everywhere and a tired looking man in a black uniform sat behind a desk. This man, who must be Capt. Erde, had his head bent down as he was signing various papers after giving them a quick look through. The receptionist cleared his throat and said: “I have brought them, sir.”

Capt. Erde didn't even look up from his work as he said: “Great, Adam why don't you have a seat in one of those chairs and we can talk!”

Adam was surprised at being addressed by his name since he had not told the receptionist who he was! Still, he walked forward and sat on one of the chairs that were in front of the desk. After he sat down, Capt. Erde continued to talk with his head bent down over the papers that he was constantly signing. “So you are Adam, eh? I heard that you were consequential in defeating the dragon that Luxom woke up, thank you! Now, what exactly are you hoping for with this freelance contract?”

Getting right to the crux of the matter, Adam said: “I hope to be sent to a place where my meager skills could be of some help to end the war faster! However, I can only presently join the war for a maximum of three months, due to a family matter.”

Capt. Erde replied with a simple: “Let me think for a few minutes.”

Capt. Erde continued on signing those papers, seemingly not paying attention to the world. Even though he looked like this, he was thinking deeply on this matter. Adam was well known due to him helping to defeat the dragon. He had a simple profile in every military office as he was a person of importance. Given, not extreme importance, but Adam was a budding spiritualist that the military wished to rope in. They wanted everyone to be respectful and show him the best of the military to make Adam have a good opinion of them. Capt. Erde was racking his brain as he tried to figure out a way to meet Adam's conditions. There was simply no easy way! Adam wanted to be of use so simply putting him up as a guard at some base behind the front lines was likely not what Adam was looking for. In addition, it had to be somewhere where he could easily leave after three months of duty! Many options came up in Capt. Erde's mind, but none of them met both of Adam's criteria. Adam had put forth very simple terms and to try and compromise on either one of them might lead Adam to have a poor opinion of the military so Capt. Erde was thinking of everything he could to avoid that! Suddenly, he thought of a piece of information he had recently received and thought it was perfect!

For the first time since Adam entered, Capt. Erde looked up from his papers and looked at him. “I just thought of a perfect match for your conditions! There is a spiritualist named Emery who will be departing on a mission in just two days! You can join the men who will be guarding him. Emery will be heading to the front lines to complete his mission. From here to the front lines and then completing Emery's mission, it should take somewhere around a month. When the mission is completed, you can decide to return with Emery or try to find a commander on the field who might use your help. It would be more difficult to get back home, though, if you don't come back with Emery.”

Adam thought about it for a moment. While it was not quite like what he was thinking, he truly did not know how he could best be of help to the war effort. Emery would be heading to the front lines so Adam would actually be able to see what was truly going on and if he could help anywhere. If not, he could just follow Emery home. It was actually perfect! Adam nodded his head as he said “It sounds good to me.”

“Good, now as to your payment... how about twenty-four silver to see Emery's mission through and if you find a commander to help, have them write out a document that confirms that you stayed with them and you will receive an addition twelve silver.”

These terms were actually pretty good. While they were not equivalent to the most lucrative jobs a mercenary could get, it was pretty much twelve silver a month. That was a pretty good payment for a mercenary. With no qualms coming from Adam, Capt. Erde wrote out a few documents for Adam. There was one explaining things to Emery's guard, one for Emery himself, and one that Adam could show various commanders in hopes that they would accept his help. With that, everything was set for Adam to join the unit guarding Emery. Adam was allowed to go home and inform his family of his acceptance and was expected to report back no later than the next morning.

Adam did just that, he went home and informed Helen and Vivienne of his departure. The woman who Adam had brought back was named Reilly. Reilly and Alan had come to know of Adam's own past and Reilly no longer felt the trepidation she first had when Adam invited her to his home. He simply had too much empathy with their situation and there was no way he could just turn away as though they didn't exist.

Dinner that evening was much more lively than other days. Many of Adam's friends came over with worried expressions when they heard he was going to join the war. A few tried to persuade Adam to stay while others wished him luck. A few of them stayed for a farewell dinner for Adam, that was hastily put together. Early the next morning Adam woke up so he could arrive at the place the unit he was joining was staying at. Helen woke up very early too, in order to prepare a breakfast for Adam before he left.

Before Adam left, he gave Helen a kiss and then gave her a meaningful look as he said: “I will come back, I promise.”

Adam then left with Silber to head to a military outpost near the center of Hessler. It was at this outpost that Emery and his guard were preparing to leave. It was mid morning by the time Adam finally arrived at the outpost. It was a large sprawling complex with luxurious adornments. This outpost was more typically reserved for higher rank personnel, such as a captain, a spiritualist or a martial artist. The only purpose this outpost served was as a gathering point for various commanders and officers to relax and socialize. While it was not a strategic command post, it served its duty well by increasing the integrity and trust among the leaders of the military. That being said, this was still not the place where the highest echelons of the military gathered. That was in the much more luxurious castle in the center of Hessler.

Adam and Silber approached some guardsman who were standing at the gate of the outpost. The guards gave a few frowns as Adam approached. With Adam's attire, especially his blindfold, he did not appear to be a member of the military. With Silber glowing white like some sort of exotic animal, some of guards thought Adam was an eccentric Nobel who thought he could go anywhere he wanted. When Adam got close, one of the guards asked: “What business do you have here? This place is not open to the public!”

Adam had noticed the confused and almost disdainful thoughts the guards were having. While Adam could understand the confusion, he thought the disdain was a little much. Silber on the other hand didn't comment, as he was busy sniffing the unique air of the place. Adam fished out the document Capt. Erde had given him. “I have come to join spiritualist Emery's guard.”

One of the guards took the letter to give it a look over. He had seen enough documents to know that this one was genuine. He gave a surprised look at Adam. “How did a kid like you manage to get a gig like this?”

While Adam was now an adult and looked the part of a young man, he was still young. For a few years yet, those older than him would still treat him like an adolescent kid at first glance. Another of the guards butted in: “If the document is real, just lead him over there already!”

Adam and Silber were then led by one of the guards to a building in the outpost. Inside where around twenty robust men. Most were simply elite soldiers, but Adam could tell that a few of them had to be martial artists. The guard left Adam to make his own introduction. Adam and Silber walked into the building and the vast room they entered was a luxurious dining hall. Emery's guard had nothing else to do until they left and were currently passing time here. Adam and Silber's entrance garnered the attention of everyone present. They clearly stuck out with Adam not wearing a military uniform and Silber's glowing fur. One of the men spoke up: “What are you here for kid? I think you are in the wrong place.”

Silber finally made a comment of his own: “Why is everyone referring to Beta as a kid? Let's see them fight a dragon and come out the other side as the victor!”

Ignoring Silber, Adam spoke with confidence: “I am here under orders to join Emery's guard!”

The men all looked baffled and dumbfounded. While Silber was special, this blindfolded kid looked like nothing more than a wet behind the ears amateur. Why would he be assigned the task to guard Emery with them? One of the men stood up and approached Adam: “I imagine you would have some sort of document to prove this?”

Adam once again pulled the letter out and handed it to this man. He gave it a quick look over and nodded. He turned to the others: “It's true, Adam here is to join us!”

There was a small commotion as the others heard this. Someone spoke up: “Why do we have to babysit a kid like him while also guarding Emery!?”

The man before Adam laughed: “Don't you remember a few months ago there was that dragon that was killed by a mercenary band? Adam here was among their numbers and in fact was very important to their victory over it! As you all should be able to tell, even his hound here is a guardian beast!”

The man then turned to Adam and said with a smile: “You will have to regale that particular story to us sometime. You can call me Defoy, I am the commander of this unit! You should have another document for Emery right? Follow me and I will lead you to him. ”

Adam instantly had a good impression of Defoy. At the very least, he had not verbally called Adam a kid and welcomed him more than the others had. Defoy led Adam and Silber to a building that was in the far corner of the outpost. As Adam approached, he could feel a kind of sinister and foreboding presence where they were headed. Even Silber started feeling uncomfortable as they continued forward. Using his elemental sight, Adam could see what was in the building ahead. There was only a single man there whose soul was almost entirely covered by blackness! This black could only be death spirit essence but if that much inhabited one's soul, they should not even be alive! Even as a person dies under normal circumstances, the amount of death essence present is so small it mostly goes unnoticed. Having this much together in one spot was truly incredible. Adam figured that the man who was inhabited by all this death essence could only be Emery!

Defoy had also been tensing up the closer they got to the building. Finally, Defoy opened the door and led Adam into the building. Just inside was Emery who appeared to be doing some type of research. He looked extremely pale, almost sickly. Despite everything, Emery showed a pleasant expressions when he saw Defoy enter: “Who have you brought, Defoy?”

“This is Adam, he has been ordered to join the guard!”

As Defoy said this, Adam presented the document that was for Emery. After quickly glancing at it, Emery gave a smile to Adam: “So you are a spiritualist as well?”

Adam nodded with a slightly embarrassed look. After meeting Emery, Adam was not as much on guard from the the foreboding sensation he got from the collected death essence that existed in Emery. Still, he was not entirely comfortable as that sensation would not go away. Adam said: “Yes. My path is extremely unorthodox, though. While I am working on my path, my skills as a warrior are currently better than my ability as a spiritualist.”

This statement Adam gave was very interesting to Emery. For most people who were similar to Adam's case, wherein they were not entirely proficient with spirit essence but very proficient with weapons, they would become a martial artist. Emery was not sure that he had ever heard of a spiritualist who was better as a warrior, than actually being a spiritualist. Still, Emery gave Adam a warm smile: “It's all good. Who knows, maybe I can help you in some way. I am envious that you managed to acquire such a lovely guardian beast, though.”

Emery and Adam hit it off well. There were more than a few topics that they could talk about together that Emery would never have the chance to discuss with any of his guard. Emery talked in length about death essence with Adam when he asked about why Emery had such a large collection of it in his soul. Death spirit essence was one of the least understood types. Most of what was known was simply evil things about death, decay, and curses. Many spiritualists who follow this path end up becoming corrupted by it and turn to wantonly killing others! Emery's guard not only existed to protect him, but to protect others from him! If Emery ever became corrupted by his path and turned evil, it was Defoy and the others' job to kill him! Emery was seeking out other applications that death essence could be used for. He was hoping his path could be used for something good, rather than nefarious. Most spiritualists who attained a path with death essence were severely controlled, not only because of their potential danger but because they could be used as a great weapon in war. To utilize various types of death formations to bring the enemy army to its knees! Spiritualists who control death essence could directly bring death or decay to their enemies, however it came with a price. Due to the high collection of death essence they have to gather in order to improve their abilities and proceed along their path, spiritualists who follow the path of death have extremely short lives! Emery was already twenty and he would be lucky if he made it to be fifty years old! Even after a spiritualist who follows the path of death essence dies, there is a small chance that the death essence will actually somehow corrupt the dead body and turn it into a demonic beast! This path was truly one that could be considered one of the most powerful, but its consequences were extremely severe!

Adam was extremely shocked by everything Emery had to say regarding death essence. He was intrigued, though. After talking all the way until night fell, they finally had to go to bed to rest up. Everything was already prepared by others for their departure tomorrow. The next morning, Adam joined the others who were finishing up preparations on a carriage for Emery. After everything was ready, they headed out to join a caravan that was preparing to leave Hessler. This caravan held many military supplies and additional troops to protect them. This was the safest way to get Emery to the front lines since Luxom would probably send assassins if they knew he was coming.

During the trip, Emery insisted on Adam staying in the carriage with him. There was noway for Emery to continue his research on the road and Adam provided him with the best entertainment in topics of conversation. Adam would also often play his flute, which Emery also enjoyed. Throughout the journey to the front lines and getting to know Emery, Adam was simply surprised at how good natured he was. This was a spiritualist who followed the path of death, after all!

Adam explained his path to Emery and showed him how he was currently working on figuring out the wind formation he had created when fighting the dragon. Emery tried everything he could to further help Adam, but there was nothing he could actually do.

After traveling for three weeks, they finally reached their destination. This part of the border was the closest to Hessler, compared to any other part. In this particular area, Heider was pushing into Luxom. In front of the caravan stood a grand army of Heider besieging a city of Luxom. Emery stuck his head out the window to get a brief look at the situation. He muttered: “They still have not breached the wall... they are behind schedule.”

Silber also perked up as he could hear the faint sounds of war. “Finally! I was getting bored of doing nothing for almost a month!”

[AN: Some of you are kind of anticipating what is coming next. I hope that what happens by the end of Adam's little excursion into war will be a surprise for everyone =D]