Chapter 151: the mysterious mask

In less than 2 minutes, Clark quickly navigated his way to the military-strategic planning hall of the main ship. As he came very early, he met only 2 soldiers that were already there.

On seeing him, Sergeant Scott immediately came forward to welcome him. As a fervent and loyal fan of the magician, his mood changed immediately on seeing him.

Clark already got accustomed to this guy’s constant presence, so he didn’t avoid it as he was led to the seat beside that of their Captain. The other Sergeant in the room saluted him before quickly turning silent, not everyone was familiar with the 2nd in command of their ship.

On seeing the way Scott kept on babbling cheerfully and no other soldier was coming at the moment, he sighed before deciding to indulge this boy.

They engaged in small talks to spend the time as soldiers steadily came into the hall. Some minutes later, Captain Oxford finally came into the large hall to meet his soldiers.

On seeing him, Clark ended the conversation as he quickly stood up to greet and salute his Captain. The other soldiers followed his lead, as they also stood up to welcome the Captain.

Captain Oxford did not change much because of the battle that almost led to his death. The only obvious change, was his more refined and unfathomable aura, befitting of a 4th rank high-grade soldier.

He did not engage in any side conversations with his soldiers on coming, he went straight to the point as he quickly started the meeting.

Though he already guessed most of what happened after he left his soldiers to Clark, he was still shocked at how much this soldier was able to do in his absence.

Rescuing almost all the soldiers during such a chaotic battle situation, retrieving the lost research data back, all these were accomplishments that were astonishing and worth rewarding.

He was so much impressed by this 2nd in command of his fleet. His plan to save him by giving up his life initially was not without merit after all.

After quickly going through the initial stages of his soldiers’ escape, his face grew grave when they mentioned that a fleet of the Seafarers alliance came after to restrain the exobeast.

He was even more disappointed when he learned that they did not know the current status of Drakonous, if he escaped, was captured, or was killed. Well, them escaping safely with the fleet was already commendable to him.

His originally grave face morphed into a smile when the total amount of calculated loots was finally displayed before him. After swimming in his happiness for minutes, he finally turned back to face his soldiers.

“Clark, I really commend what you did in my absence. Without you, the mission would not have been as complete. I promise you that the Spartan republic will not overlook your contributions”.

After spicing his praise with more sweet words of encouragement, he finally turned to address his other high-grade soldiers.

“Soldiers, I’m also impressed by what you all did during this mission. Be rest assured that the republic will not put you aside. From this one mission result alone, you’re all now the head, you’re no longer the tail”.

“Expect some really good rewards, when we get back home. Also, I’m sorry for the loss of so many comrades in one mission. I feel bad for having missed their farewell ceremony”.

“As Clark already said, be rest assured that their families will be appropriately compensated”.

After heaping praises on those who deserved it, and encouraging those that lost their friends in the battle, he finally proceeded to read the current military protocols of the fleet.

After making sure that everything was in order, he finally dismissed the gathering in a satisfied mood.

The fleet would enter the Sparta republic in 2 days maximum. They still had a lot of things to prepare before docking, so dismissing early was for the best.

…

After the meeting, Clark went back straight to his apartment on the ship. He had a lot currently going on in his mind, but he was trying to narrow them down to the ones with the highest priority.

After more than 3 years of staying in the sea, he will finally get back to land in most likely 2 days. He felt weird, as he already grew accustomed to staying in the sea. Well, he just had to adapt again when the time came.

The main thing that occupied his mind, was how he would surprise Leo, Benny, and most especially Sonia.

Though it was not up to 5 years yet, he was ready to get a girlfriend now. He made the decision to wait for 5 years, and he could also decide to cut the time down.

He could not wait to see her cute and smiling face, the thought was already leaving flying butterflies in his stomach. As he thought of this, his mind could not help but go to Emily’s.

He would be a fool if he still couldn’t notice the feelings that she had for him. This was a situation that he had never been trapped in before, so he always felt weird when around her.

Unlike the way she probably felt, he honestly took her as a very good and honest friend.

Staying around her helped a lot in him being able to remain sane. It was doubtful if he would have still been rational, if he stayed alone, fighting gladiator battles in the sea without any friend.

He appreciated her presence a lot, but not in the other sense. He only had an honest agape love for her, as a genuine friend should.

“Oh, Clark you’re back?”

Speak of the devil, it seems the person he was even soliloquizing about was outside, waiting for him.

She prepared 2 chairs and a table on top of his apartment roof, facing the calm sky as she enjoyed herself. Seeing her, he diverted, taking the corner staircase, before scaling to the roof to meet her.

“Clark, I’ll go back to my country after your fleet docks. I prepared this special meal to thank you for all the care and hospitality throughout the journey, I really appreciate it”.

She greeted him with this. She didn’t need to point it out, as Clark could already see what she made on the table.

He subconsciously licked his lips, while his eyes twitched a bit as the faint aroma of the food wafted across his nose tantalizingly. He forcibly controlled himself despite the impulse to devour the food immediately, as he directed a questioning gaze at her.

This was his best meal, and it was a local specialty of Vatican City. How did this girl know this? And most especially, how was she able to make it?

Seeing his questioning gaze, she giggled a bit as she gestured for him to sit down first. After he sat down, she finally explained.

“Do you think I’ve not noticed it when you frequently visit the ship’s local Spartan food cook specialist to get this? I just asked curiously, and I learned it, it’s no big deal”.

“Oh, that explains it”. He finally nodded in understanding, before digging into the food unceremoniously.

“Clark, are you sure that you want to escort me home?” She cautiously asked again, after he finished eating.

“Emily, I told you that I already made up my mind. Your country is not that far from mine also, so the journey won’t take too long for me”. He answered lazily, as he leaned back into the chair to take in the full glow of the morning sun.

He already noticed something fishy, when her fellow countrymen refused to take her in back in the outer headquarters of the Seafarers alliance.

Though he didn’t have any solid conclusions yet, that was clearly not normal. As a friend, he would make sure to guarantee her safety before leaving her alone. She came for protection under him, and that is what he would give her.

After finalizing their talks, they kept quiet as they enjoyed the faint sea breeze blowing. The tingling sensation of the breeze against their skin was so satisfying, that Emily fell asleep shortly after.

After noticing this, he didn’t disturb her as he enjoyed it for some more before standing up to go down to his apartment. He still had some unfinished business to take care of.

After the meeting, before coming back he went to meet Captain Oxford for help. After listening to his request, the Captain was benevolent, as he lent him his detection device without much fuss.

He wanted to perform a last elaborate probe, to see if he could know the usefulness of the strange mask that he got during his escape from the military research base.

This strange mask that he got has proved during the last 2 weeks to be extremely valuable. Despite lending and using all the detection devices in the fleet’s armory, he was still not able to know its use nor its grade either.

This showed that it was too advanced for its internals to be detected by regular detection devices. He already checked it, and no camouflage device was activated. This indicated that he probably got hit a jackpot in this mission.

If it was not just bluffing; if this thing was as useful as he thought. Then, he was sure that he would be the one who benefited the most from this mission.

After entering his apartment, he went straight to his room before activating his jamming devices to keep any prying eyes at bay. He finally bent down, as he brought the hidden mask from under his bed.

He stored it in a small exotic safe, that was covered with a jamming device, paired with a camouflage device. He was very careful in how he safeguarded this loot; he did not want to hear stories that touch.

Click!! After inputting the code, the exotic safe opened with a click sound, before he carefully brought the mask out.

After doing this, he finally brought the new borrowed detection device closer, to enable it to perform its work. It started reading the mask, as a detection scan was constantly on, trying to penetrate this mysterious mask.

Unlike the other detection devices that just scanned for seconds before announcing their verdict, this one took its time. On seeing it take so long, his hopes gradually became ignited as he stared at it without blinking attentively.

[Beep!! Beep!! Sorry…, the mask’s properties could not be detected. Upgrade to a better detection scanner, to have a better chance of penetrating your equipment].

On seeing these elaborate bittersweet words just to tell him sorry, his lips twitched fiercely as he restrained the urge to punch the detection device.

He was disappointed and at the same time relieved. He was disappointed because he could not detect what it was now, but he was relieved because this meant that this mask was as valuable as he thought.

He comforted himself with this thought, as he kept it back before lying down on his bed to rest.

Sweet traveling music gradually started blazing out of the sound amplifiers, as the sweet melody slowly led him into the path of sleep. He slept with a smile consistently kept on his face, showing that he was a happy man.

[Thank you for reading this chapter, I really appreciate it. If you love this book, please leave your power stones behind to support it.]