Chapter 24- Cultivating Soldiers (Part 1)
Rein walked to the barricades where the battle was still ongoing. Even though he had dragged most of the horde away, some were far too close, so they didn't aggro toward him. After all, Rein was a single person, and it was already a miracle he was able to drag hundreds of monsters to chase him instead of attacking the base.
'It seems my Life Essence is very attractive to them, or they wouldn't prefer it over an entire base of average humans. That's good information. The stronger I become, the more attractive I become to monsters. That would make me a target in almost all situations. Perfect.' He thought to himself as he climbed over the barricades and looked at the situation.
Corpses riddled the entire road outside the base with guns still firing. However, the number of Undead has diminished quite a bit, and only a few remain.
Looking to the side, Rein saw a soldier aiming his gun at the undead.
"Aim for the head." He said coldly.
"Huh?"
"That's their weak point. The brain." Rein said.
"..." The soldier looked at him, confused. "And why do you kn-"
"Just give me this." Rein sighed at how slow the man was as he yanked the gun from his hand and aimed it at an approaching Undead.
*BANG*
Without taking any time to aim, he shot, hitting it square in the forehead, killing it on the spot.
[You have killed a Level 1 Undead.]
"See? It died. No need to waste bullets on other body parts. Those things don't feel pain." Rein explained to the stunned man.
'He… He shot it from 100 yards in the forehead without even aiming properly… Who the hell is this guy?' The man asked himself, feeling completely stunned.
"Got it? Stay with me." Rein snapped his fingers next to his ear.
"Y-Yes…" The man replied.
"Good. Tell your comrades that." He said before he turned around and jumped down.
Then, Rein headed back to the tent where the general was. The moment he walked in, Victor jumped out of his seat as he rushed toward him.
"You! How did you do that?! I never… I…" The man seemed so enthralled and confused that he didn't know what to say. "Dragging all those things away… How?"
"Does that really matter, general? Well, we are safe for now, and that's what matters." Rein explained casually as he pushed the man away. "How many Undead did your soldiers kill? Especially those who awakened."
"... I don't know exactly."
"Actually, I want them all to be summoned back here. The situation should be under control now. I need to talk to them."
"Understood." The man nodded as he signaled for one of his men. The latter rushed outside to call for them.
"Tell me, Mr…"
"You can call me X," Rein replied as he crossed his arms.
"X? That name isn't unfamiliar… Wait, X?" Almost as if he realized something. "Are you that infamous Agent X?"
"..."
"That… I can't believe it. That's you? You look so much younger than I expected."
"I will take that as a compliment."
"No, that… That explains how you're so ridiculously strong and fast. This awakening thing, it is really something of magic. It has made you completely different."
"That is why you need to take it seriously, General. Forget about guns and grenades. If you really want to have a chance at survival, you need to take all the awakened and focus on them. Make them stronger, and they should be able to fight and survive."
"But how… I'm still completely behind in terms of-"
"Sir! I have called for every awakened person. There are 15 in total!" The subordinate arrived, and behind him, several soldiers who didn't look that much different from the rest.
Rein eyed each and every one of them, etching their faces into his mind.
"Sir!" They greeted the General when they saw him.
"Good work, boys. I have heard what you told me about the weird floating boxes you saw earlier. You can still see them, right?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Well, the gentleman over here seems to be very knowledgeable about them, so he will explain to you what's happening," Victor said as he signaled for Rein.
The soldiers stared at him, a bit suspicious and yet also intrigued.
"Well, it's very simple. That thing you see is called the system, and what happened to you is that you awakened after you killed one of those Undead. I still don't know how or why this happened, but what I know is that this tool is your way for survival."
"... Our way for survival?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm sure when you killed Undead, you saw the notifications that told you that you gained stat points. Those boost your physical powers and make you faster, stronger, smarter, and more tenacious. Each kill makes you stronger, and each monster you slay, you gain more and more supernatural powers."
"..."
The soldiers stared at him for a second before they looked at one another.
"So, that's why I felt a lot better when I killed that monster… I thought I was just hallucinating."
"Supernatural abilities? Like in movies?"
"This is insane…"
Some seemed dumbfounded, while others looked quite excited.
"Now, don't get too ahead of yourself. Gaining power doesn't make you invincible. You are still very much susceptible to dying a horrible death. So, what you should do now is one thing and one thing only… Kill as many Undead and mutated monsters as you can. The more you kill, the better." Rein said.
"Kill…"
"Did any of you gain a Skill or an Item Rune?" Rein asked, ignoring the confused looks. However, nobody replied as they stared at him silently.
'Tsk, teaching these idiots will be so arduous.' He thought to himself inwardly. 'It seems the system agrees with me too, not even bothering to give them a skill or an item.'
"Ok, that shouldn't be a problem. For now, I want you to go out there and clean the entire area of the Undead who didn't leave. I want you to kill every single one. But, don't go too far from the base since the horde could sense you."
"... That's it?"
"Yeah, that should be it. Kill those Undead, and get stronger, and then come back to me. I will tell you what to do." Rein explained.
"You heard him. Go. Stay in contact with me and try to clean the area. There aren't that many left around."
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers didn't seem fully convinced, but they still abided as they turned around and left.
"What about the rest, Mr. X? Why only those 15 awakened?"
"It doesn't seem to be something that everyone gets. I still didn't figure out the picking system it uses. But, for now, let those 15 get stronger and then perhaps more of your soldiers will awaken in the right circumstances."
'Not that many of them will survive anyway.' He thought to himself as he sighed inwardly. "Anyway, I'm going to leave this in your hands. If there is a problem, I'm going to be in a tent nearby. Just call me."
"Yes, and… Thank you very much for saving our lives. We all owe you a great deal."
"I didn't do it for you, General," Rein replied as he looked over his shoulder. "I did it for myself."