Volume 1, Chapter 7 – The List
I turned to the Soldier. I looked at his chest, where the sun's rays were falling.
"Is there any food and somewhere to sleep?" I said quietly.
"Yes, sir. MREs, a cook, MSS are present," he reported monotonously and didn't move an inch.
I looked at the fort wall. (What's MSS, and what's MRE? And where is it? I need to read, I guess. I doubt "War for Dummies" will help with this. I need something more everyday.)
I sighed tiredly. (The Soldier speaks their language fluently, and I can't even say "thank you." I need to learn the language too...)
"In simple terms. What are they?" I said over my shoulder and continued looking at the fort.
"MRE — Meal, Ready-to-Eat. MSS — sleeping bag," the Soldier said monotonously, still standing and not moving.
"Well, bring that MRE," I waved my hand and followed him inside the fort, passing by the Soldier-guard.
The Soldier entered the warehouse and with a quick motion opened a large box labeled "Meal, Ready-to-Eat."
—
I poured a little water into it, and the package suddenly began to hiss aggressively, inflate, and emit hot steam with a faint smell of plastic and chemicals.
It was an unusual meal. Tasty, but the chemical preparation process made me a little uneasy. Still, I ate and now felt full and tired.
The Soldier pulled out the MSS. It turned out to be an ordinary sleeping bag. Though "ordinary" was a stretch — three layers of fabric, like you could sleep in it during a hurricane or in Antarctica.
I climbed into the sleeping bag and stared at the fort's ceiling — made of fresh trees, earth, and tarpaulin.
Only one Soldier remained in the fort, with a rifle on his chest. He stared at one point, guarding the entrance.
(I hope nothing happens during the night in this unknown world. Maybe meteorites fall here every night? Or some deadly fog rises? Alon probably would've mentioned if something like that existed, or he'd assume I should know it as a resident of this world.)
Silence.
The generators are off, the Soldier isn't moving. If you didn't know he was "alive," you'd think he was a statue.
I rolled onto my side and stared at the HESCO wall.
(I've been here a whole day. Feels like a month. I'm more exhausted from these hours than from my entire normal life.)
I yawned. (Maybe I should try a different life? I'm a man with an army now.)
—
—
The next morning.
I got up from the sleeping bag. I immediately smelled the freshness of the morning, and goosebumps ran down my body. The same fort — nothing had changed overnight. So this world isn't as deadly as I thought last night.
Rubbing my eyes, I headed to the fort's exit. And there stood the same faceless Soldier — hadn't even moved from his spot, staring somewhere into the distance, greeting the dawn.
I looked away.
(Yes, he's creepy. But... He's my Soldier. What am I afraid of?)
"Hey you..." I addressed him. "Will you do anything I say?"
The Soldier clicked his boots, straightened up, and put his hands at his sides.
"Yes, sir!" he saluted. "Everything that is within my capabilities will be carried out," he finished monotonously.
I flinched at his sharpness, but quickly grabbed my heart, calming it.
(He can do anything... Interesting. What if I order him to kill me? Would he do it?)
"Uh..." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "What if I order you... to kill me?"
"No, sir. Killing Seraphim is impossible," he cut off monotonously.
(Good. That's reassuring and calming.)
(But I still can't get used to that black void under his helmet. But I have to — it's my power, I shouldn't be afraid of it!)
I forced myself to lift my gaze and looked.
A black void that seemed to be pulling me in. My entire field of vision narrowed to that single blackness, and I began to feel that I was no longer here on earth, but somewhere... in the void. There, somewhere deep inside this Soldier-function, where the sun never reaches, where there is no memory of the world's beauty, where there is only one Soldier. Who has only one task — to carry out everything I command.
I didn't even notice how my hand was already touching that void — my fingers went inside up to the knuckle and hit something solid. I jerked my hand back, surprised at how mesmerized I'd been by that void.
I quickly shook my head, trying to break the trance, while my hand tingled slightly.
"And if you die, is it like with the equipment?" I tried to distract myself, examining the hand that had just been in the blackness.
"A Soldier-function not tied to equipment is a replenishable resource once a week," the Soldier answered emotionlessly, not even moving.
(Good. So he considers himself expendable. I need to get used to calling him a function.)
"And another question: do you have any translation devices?" I asked, so I wouldn't be completely dependent on them. (Learning a language from scratch, especially one so complex in writing, is impossible for me.)
"There is an earpiece that translates foreign languages. Permission to offer it," the Soldier replied mechanically.
(An earpiece. So I'll be able to hear but not respond. It makes communication easier, but only halfway. What does he want to offer me?)
"Offer it."
"You can offer the same earpiece to your interlocutors," he held out two earpieces.
I took them and put one in my ear. It fit comfortably, a little cold, but that passed quickly.
"Say something in the local language," I asked.
"Say something in the local language," he said in an unknown dialect, in a dead tone. A mechanical translation immediately sounded in the earpiece.
(Seems like I've figured everything out. For now.)
The sun had already risen, and there was no one around. Underfoot, tracks from equipment and boots — all the grass in this clearing had been destroyed. Nearby, the pumps stood with the Eurocubes, basking in the sun. And I just stood there, talking to my Soldier.
(I need to decide what I'm going to do in this life. If I have this opportunity, I don't think I need to become an artist again — this is a world of magic and... swords? I need to figure out what I want and go toward it, using everything I have.)
With these thoughts, I paced circles around the clearing.
"I've got it!" I stopped abruptly.
I'll make a list of everything I wanted in my past life and add to it as I live in this world.
"Can you give me a tablet?" I walked up to the Soldier.
The Soldier took a tablet from his chest pocket and handed it to me.
(Wow, it's all in French. They really did it.)
I opened the notes and started typing:
— Get into sports.
— Learn to shoot a weapon.
— Buy or build my own house.
— Start some kind of business.
— Find a partner.
— Plant a tree.
— Learn a new craft.
— Go skydiving.
From this world:
— Try to learn magic.
(I'll try to do all of this. I can start with shooting.)
I glanced at the Soldier.