After showering, I started to remember a certain thing that I had forgotten since I was too engrossed with the experiment.

The messenger hadn’t been here. While sending Vassil into the village, I offhandedly asked him to check with the messenger as the schedule the messenger would make around was today but he came back saying that he did wait but the messenger was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps there was a disruption with the transportation network? In Eoum, they have nothing like horses for long distance traveling as they actually use boats on the artificial network of rivers that was connected with several land roads.

There’s nothing I can do except to wonder. After finished showering, I went and had dinner alone.

It tasted good. Katarinova far from her rough and simple image, made something this good with our limited ingredients.

After dinner, I spent about two dot of ethka checking the details of preparation for battle and then went straight to bed after I finished as I was exempted from night-watch as I had spent the whole day with the bloody experiment.

--

Under the sweltering heat of the midday, I was overseeing the makeshift construction of a bunker of a sort. This was one of the many bunkers that we’re building in the coming of the storm as earlier in the morning, they only needed my approval after I read the reports so everything had already been work out.

Beside me was Katarinova who had volunteered to accompany me. This was unexpected as usually Kiefy or Vassil would do that and even more, instead of sparring with the two, she approached me and wanted me to instruct her further in the art of Eomancy again today.

“Everything is going well it seems.”

She surveyed the surrounding, looking at the builders. All the builders were using Eomancy to manipulate the surrounding. I nodded without looking at her.

“This won’t last though. They’re likely to come like a stampede. The bunkers are just to stop them temporarily like a single rock stopping a river but if there are many rocks along the way, it would mitigate the force of the flow.”

“Why not build walls just like a dam to completely stop the river?”

After I told her that, she asked as such. I turned around and looked at her.

“That’s like building a dam that completely stops the flow of the river. If that happen, it will only let it grow wider and then it would spill on both side of the dam. So that’s out of question.”

Well there was that Great Wall of China but we don’t have years to do that… In fact, I think it would still be ineffectual in the faces of these Mal’eurs as the Great Wall of China were a symbol of power which are meant to keep out those death-fearing northern barbarians which is unlike the Mal’eurs here and also the Natives would have long ago built such enclosing wall from the incursion if it had any effect.

“We only need to slow down the momentum of the stampede and have a ground to defend ourselves. If it persists for too long, it would fatigue our force for that, I’ve prepared the countermeasure.”

After looking at the steady progress of the nearly built bunker, we decided to move on to another one near.

Kiefy and Vassil were also checking on the bunkers nearby separately.

“I have to ask but when I saw the map detailing the placement of the bunkers, there seem to be a pattern on top of each bunker, what are those?”

As we walked, Katarinova asked me with a curious tone from behind.

Instead of answering her as I was feeling a little bit playful, I only glanced at her with an enigmatic smile. There is a pattern and it was just a part of my plan resulted from the many experiments with my special ability, [Synikorvus].

After I turned my head forward, I heard an unsatisfied snort from behind.

“Well, you’ll see it during the battle.”

I muttered.

We then walked in silence to another bunker construction site. As the sight of our destination was seen, ahead of us there was a lone figure running towards us.

It was a young, gallant looking man with a short, spiky red hair with a square jawed symmetrical face brimming with confident. He had a slightly medium body frame and a built that inched out to form a perfect body for a soldier.

But the face that I am making of is a frown as the man was someone quite familiar even though he was impossibly younger.

He stopped in front of us while grinning.

“So, Vassil, have you finished checking on all the sites on your side?”

“Yup, since all four of me had gone and checked every assigned site, everything is clear!”

The young Vassil exclaimed cheerfully.

I was quite baffled when I’d seen his special ability for the first time. He called it [Multiplication]. As the name suggested, he can multiplied himself to about three excluding himself but each time he multiply by one, the physical appearance became younger so by the time he reached the limit, all three would look like in his early twenty. Even though it almost the same as Vefal [Shadow], the three are fleshly being and are very vulnerable to any attacks unlike [Shadow] which can bear a lot of damages and are capable of storing items inside it although in a quite sufficient limit. Also, [Shadow] can actually breakdown into an actual shadow and materialized back. It can sneak behind the enemies or entered any places as long as there are opening cracks or holes.

Well, the first time he used it in front of us; he did caused some troubles in the village on our first week.

But apparently there is an exception today.

“So, why did you use [Multiplication]?”

“Heh! It is because today, all four of us are united in our pure, heartfelt yearning!”

Then he shouted ‘hurrah!!’ and on some directions around me, I heard echoes of similar word. Must be that the clones had synced in their shouting.

“Anyway, last night, a woman of fine complex and strong allure had pleasantly received my compliment while I was visiting the village and we had a friendly banter! One Ethka from now, I had promised her for a lunch together!”

What’s with his archaic speech… but more importantly what poor, oblivious woman had tangled herself with this pitiable man?

“That’s… just like you to be motivated enough to use your special ability even though it is a silly reason.”

“Aye, anyway, each site that we visited is going well and soon we will finish with our tasks shortly!”

Before he sprinted out, he gave a meaningful look towards Katarinova and they were exchanging glances like it was some sort of a communication.

Then we parted.

“What was that?”

“It was a personal matter.”

She continued her walk with a discernible expression. I followed behind, shrugging it off.

--

After two Ethka had passed, we had checked all the sites that we had been assigned and was currently going to the village to buy supplies. All the ingredients for cooking were running low.

“Maybe we should have a lunch in the village too for today?”

Katarinova lightly said that as she walked beside me.

I paused a while because I realized that the air were slightly different around us. It’s almost like she’s…

“Are you sure? I’m cooking today for you, Kiefy and me and well now we exclude Vassil though.”

“But it should be fine if both of us had eaten and we can take-away for Kiefy too.”

That’s quite reasonable although I don’t understand why she’s quite insisting on this.

Am I dense? No, I just don’t want to jump into a wrong conclusion.

I’d been observing her occasionally and I realized she had a subdued demeanour unlike before. It was like she was silently ascertaining me.

Nothing how many times I’d observed her, I don’t know what is running inside her head. Someone once told me women are complicated creatures and no man alive can boast that he can understand one completely.

“I… I supposed that would be fine but we’re gonna have to spare a few Quilens.”

“Don’t worry; I think I’ve brought enough.”

She checked her right pocket and took a few marble-like jewels or formally known as Quilen.

“Yes, these would be enough.”

She put them right back inside again.

I nodded a few times after a glance.

After a few moments, we arrived at the village. At this hour, it was bustling with people living here and the people from the regiment. The place that we were heading was designated as a canteen that provided foods and ingredients but everyone had a quota so if we were to take extra foods or ingredients, we need to give out a few Quilens.

We arrived at the entrance of the canteen. As expected, it was crowded as most of the seats were filled but for us summoned, we have a special room made just for us. I sometime find that these exclusive privileges are too much but one man’s opinion doesn’t mean a thing in the face of hundreds of years of tradition.

We opened the door to the room but stopped at the entrance of the door as we found it to be used by none other than the Play-boy.

“Woah, knock first will you and what are you two doing here!?”

There were a bewildered Vassil and a beautiful looking girl was sitting on his right side sharing one meal on the table.

The girl’s reaction was to hide behind Vassil like she got caught in a tryst. She’s probably like that because we had met her a few days ago. I didn’t know Amila would fancy someone like him.

Without replying to Vassil, Katarinova and I went inside, closed the door and promptly took the seats, facing opposite of the two.

They were surprised as we seem nonchalant about this but Vassil looked like as though he was caught by his parent.

“I thought you were joking around when you told us you got a date but I can’t refute a physical fact.”

While looking at Amila beside him, I sheepishly smiled after I said that.