Chapter 273: Surprise

The sunlight shone on the partially barren plains near the frontlines. The dark metal of the moving camp glowed under that yellow radiance, and the same happened to the small habitations placed next to the structure.

The sounds of steps on the metallic floor awakened Khan from his nightmare. He was sleeping in the open with his back on the camp's wall, and the melody played by the mana around him quickly replaced his faint drowsiness.

The assault team had completed the inspection of the four labs in the underground structure and found nothing. After that, Lieutenant Leville had brought everyone in the nearest camp behind the allied trenches, where they had settled to wait for HQ's orders.

The moving camp already had its platoon, but it also contained a series of metal bags that could transform into small habitations. They were similar to the tents that Yeza and the Niqols had deployed before the tragic attack on the valley, except that they relied entirely on technology.

The camp didn't have enough tents for the entire assault team, so many soldiers had decided to share the small habitations or set up beds in the crowded dormitory. Khan hated the idea of being in hot environments, and his training schedule was tight, so he had decided to remain in the open. He entered the main structure only to shower or eat.

The assault team had been on the camp for three entire days, but HQ had yet to announce its decision on the matter related to the anti-mana project. Lieutenant Leville and the others didn't mind that wait. They already felt quite satisfied with the resources stolen from the Stal, and Khan also liked to have the time to focus on his training. 

The soldiers in the camp respected the assault team due to its unique mission and conquest of the trench. Lieutenant Leville and her underlings had saved them from the dangers of the frontlines. Also, all the members of her group had become somewhat famous due to the secrecy of their task.

Even more fame fell on Khan since his young age only added value to everything he had accomplished. The soldiers in the camp naturally wanted to get closer to him, and that wasn't limited to the female side, but his dismissive character quickly made them give up on the task.

Khan's mood was strange. His desperation continued to be a lingering feeling that he couldn't disperse nor suppress, but he could ignore it when he lost himself in the mana. 

His focus had moved away from the simple study of the mana. Its behavior felt almost obvious after the weeks spent listening to it. His approach had shifted to something deeper, more personal. Khan wanted to understand his nature to compare it to the chaos element.

Normally, the soldiers would develop elements that suited their bodies and characters. The mana had deep connections to every aspect of a person, but Khan was an exception due to his mutations.

That left Khan with questions that he seemed unable to answer. Where did he end? Where did the Nak start? What would have become of him without the mutations? Was his current character the result of the chaos element? Did the mutations affect his personality to suit the nature of his energy?

Khan didn't know how to find answers to those questions. The mutations had probably hidden them forever, but his doubts remained, especially now that he was growing closer to the mana. Something told him that he needed to understand himself to move his abilities to the next step.

Time had flown quickly during the mission in the underground structure. The longing that occupied an important part of Khan's mind intensified whenever he realized how far Nitis had gotten.

His second year in the academy had already reached the fifth month. The time spent on Nitis would soon drown among his other experiences. Right now, the long period on that dark planet occupied a long part of his life, but that statement would slowly lose value as time passed.

Khan could sense that he was starting to feel better. He wasn't happy nor ready to open his heart again, but he was getting used to his new state. The same had happened after the events with the Kred, but that only scared him.

His first kill had been a tragic experience, but he had learnt how to ignore the awful nature of that action. Khan didn't want the same to happen with his time on Nitis. He preferred endless sadness over treating that intense love as nothing more than a happy memory.

Lieutenant Dyester's teachings often resounded in his mind whenever those thoughts became too loud. That was one of the main reasons behind his introspection. Khan wanted to understand who he was before deciding what he wanted to be.

'I could turn into a monster,' Khan thought as the sunlight shone on his face. 'Everything would be easier if I just stopped caring. I could spend my life killing on the battlefield and earning ranks until I find the Nak. I can always unlock my feelings afterward.'

Khan immediately mocked those thoughts. Could he even relearn how to feel after spending so long as a mere pawn of the Global Army? Besides, he didn't want to stop feeling. Khan had made that decision even before Nitis.

'I can't experience the happiness if I don't accept the sadness,' Khan sighed while bumping the back of his head on the metal surface of the camp. 'I couldn't have gotten Liiza otherwise, and she is the best thing that has happened in my life.'

Khan bumped his head on the metal again as if the action helped him disperse his doubts. He had already explored those doubts countless times. Turning into a puppet simply wasn't for him.

'At least I know what I don't want to become,' Khan laughed internally. 'Now I have to understand what I want.'

Khan already had the answer to that. Liiza, Snow, and the other Niqols appeared in his mind. Even George was among them. He wanted to be with his friends, away from the Global Army and politics. Still, there was another figure among those familiar faces. The glowing azure head of a Nak stood proudly behind everyone.

'I have two curses now,' Khan shook his head. 'I can't pursue peace because of the nightmares, and I can't accept love because I've already experienced the best version of that feeling. Dammit, I'm spending too long inside my mind.'

Khan decided to silence the mess inside his mind to have something to eat. Soldiers appeared in his vision when the camp's entrance slid open, and they limited themselves to polite nods when he walked past them. He replied to those gestures with fake smiles and nods of his own, but he never exchanged words with them.

The same happened in the canteen. Khan found an isolated spot where to sit, eat, and read some of the books on his phone. He was getting better at the "enhanced reading", but he still struggled to perform it without committing mistakes. Yet, his current expertise was enough to memorize a few pages during his meals.

Khan had obviously tested the "simulated mental battle" before and after his mission with the assault team, but the technique remained too demanding for now. Gaining access to the specific part of his brain and flooding it with mana was doable, even if tiring, but what came after required a level of concentration that he couldn't achieve yet.

"You are early as always," Moses exclaimed in a voice full of energy as he approached Khan's seat.

"We don't know when we'll be stuck inside those tunnels again," Khan justified himself while putting away his phone. "Also, you are pretty early too."

"I have a reputation to defend here," Moses explained through a sigh. "And I have to gain points over my cousin. She is better than me in negotiations and other stuff. I need to compensate with hard work."

"Your family can't be so small," Khan declared. "I'm sure you can find a role that suits your character."

"Tell that to my father," Moses joked as a tray came out of the table. "I'm sure Lord Kilwood can't wait to hear your opinion."

"You are grumpy as usual in the morning," Khan chuckled.

"This wait is starting to annoy me," Moses revealed. "It's fun to get all this admiration, really fun, but I can't add a failure to my profile. Our only gains can't even enter the official records."

"They can't put the failure on us," Khan responded. "We went down there and found nothing."

"Khan, you know that I have no intention to offend you when I say this," Moses replied. "You have nothing to lose. Your merits are also enough to obtain forgiveness for a major crime. You don't have to fight against your older brothers, sisters, and cousins, and whatever to get a bit of recognition inside your family."

"Being rich must be hard," Khan mocked.

"Shut up," Moses grinned before focusing on his food.

Similar scenes had happened in the previous days on the camp. Khan had been mostly lost during the mission, but he had still behaved perfectly, and some soldiers had eventually learnt to ignore his dismissive personality. They even felt surprised when they understood that Khan could joke around easily.

More soldiers from the assault team arrived after Moses. Peggy and other familiar faces gathered around his table and ate their breakfast quickly, exchanging a few words and jokes from time to time. The men and women in the platoon stationed there inspected their table with desire and admiration. Khan and his companions basically were the cool kids of the camp.

An unusual event ruined the morning routine before many soldiers could reach the canteen. Lieutenant Leville's loud voice abruptly pierced the chatters inside the moving camp and made everyone fall silent. Khan and the others couldn't hear the first part of her phrase clearly, but they couldn't miss what followed it.

"What crazy bullshit is this?" Lieutenant Leville shouted as she ran past the canteen's entrance while keeping her phone near her ear. "We would have already conquered it if we had enough troops. I thought that the whole point of the trenches was to preserve the status quo."

Lieutenant Leville became impossible to hear after she left the moving camp to make the conversation private, and chatters inevitably resumed when the metal door slid close. Of course, everyone guessed that HQ had finally given new orders.

"Do you want to bet?" Peggy asked while moving her eyes among her companions.

"Not at all," Moses refused. "You always win when it comes to political stuff."

"I'm broke," Khan stated.

"Only if I can copy your bet," A soldier exclaimed.

"I'm in too if I can have the same bet," A second soldier added.

"What's the point of a bet then?" Peggy scoffed before moving his eyes in the direction where the Lieutenant had left. "Though it must be something bad. Lieutenant Leville usually is quite restrained."

"What can even happen?" A soldier asked. "We are already at war."

"And we already explored the underground structure," Moses added.

"We didn't explore all of it," Khan reminded.

"We couldn't proceed forward," Moses responded. "We had allied platoons on one side and the depths of the enemy territory on the other. Continuing the mission with a bit more than thirty soldiers was simply stupid."

"That's why HQ has decided to send the whole battalion," Lieutenant Webburn announced as he entered the canteen. "We have orders to take the entire quadrant. Captain Clayman is already notifying all the platoons under him."

A series of surprised gasps and loud "what" resounded in the canteen. They didn't come only from the assault team. Even the other soldiers who didn't join the special mission felt stunned in front of that announcement.

"Sir, with all due respect, we struggle to take trenches," Moses exclaimed. "How can we even consider the idea of seizing an entire quadrant?"

"The details of the plan are still unclear," Lieutenant Webburn revealed. "However, HQ seems willing to send every resource in the hands of the thirty-seventh battalion on the frontlines. We might even have air support."