A pounding pain was starting to grow in Aectaeon's head.
He couldn't fathom the purpose of the mission, unlike the others that came before it. While gritting his teeth, he slowly closed his eyes out of frustration. No, it was more like he had no outlet for his anger, so he had no choice but to store it in his body.
'What is this? Is the system trying to turn me into a masochist? Or maybe, a sadist?' Aectaeon asked himself.
But before he could fall further down his pit of worries, he immediately realized that he was still surrounded by his subordinates. He relaxed his muscles forthwith and took a deep, deep breath. Once he opened his eyes, he noticed that the calzone wasn't in his hand anymore.
It fell directly inside the medicine box, the fillings of the calzone pooling at the bottom little by little.
Unfortunately for Aectaeon, his struggles were only about to get more arduous.
{{ Mission }}
{{ Find Out the Identity of 2 Unnamed Soldiers Before the Time Limit Ends }}
{{ Time Limit: 00 D ; 02 H ; 16 M ; 00 S }}
{{ Mission Objectives }}
{{ A: Locate Clue Arrows Within the Base }}
{{ B: Locate 2 Name Parchments Within the Base }}
{{ C: Write Soldier #1's Name on the White Parchment }}
{{ D: Write Soldier #2's Name on the Black Parchment }}
{{ E: Burn the Parchments in a Forest Fire }}
{{ Rewards }}
{{ A: Game Title Letter Revelation x 3 }}
{{ B: Commander's Pardon }}
{{ Penalties }}
{{ A: 06 D ; 00 H ; 00 M ; 00 S will be deducted from player's 'Return Countdown' }}
{{ B: Immediate Return to the Obelisk }}
Aectaeon didn't know what was the right timing for him to complain.
Was it from the emergence of a second mission?
Was it from the moment he remarked the difficulty of the mission?
Or should he have complained about the prior mission first?
He snorted, and soon, Aectaeon was laughing. He couldn't control himself. He couldn't even feel the dullest of pain from his wounds. The soldiers and the medics looked at him strangely, but he couldn't be bothered to stop.
Nothing but his laughter could be heard in the room, since the others tried their best to hold their breaths. Rather than thinking that he found something amusing, they all assumed that he was furious at their disturbance.
To their relief, but obvious bewilderment, Aectaeon ceased from his hysterics all of a sudden. His face was instantly back to its emotionless state. Even stranger was his eyes that turned hostile.
The medics flinched, lowering their heads thereafter. They quickly fixed their equipment and stood up, sticking their backs on the barren wall. Meanwhile, the soldiers hurriedly took their place beside the footrest of the bed.
As for Aectaeon, he went over the details of the two missions again since the two panels had yet to vanish.
'So, a mission with a time limit of two hours will be my ultimatum. Fantastic! I can't ask for anything more than this wonderful opportunity-- my a*s! Do you think a human will be able to accomplish this, huh?!'
Aectaeon then slammed his fists on the mattress. Twice, thrice, and more repeatedly.
'I can't even appreciate the rewards with that hell of a penalty! Why?! Just why is this system picking on me?!'
He continued screaming in his head for a while more
Regrettably, he didn't feel the slightest of satisfaction from it. If he wanted to relieve his anger, he ought to scream in actuality, like a lion roaring on top of a mountain.
The man, for the uncountable instance in a row, sighed deeply to help calm himself down. Time was running, and it wouldn't turn back just to allow him to gather his resolve.
"How long will the meeting last?" Aectaeon queried without giving the soldiers a look.
"The Commander didn't say anything specific, but I believe that it's an important meeting. All of the officers were ordered to participate, so the subject matter should concern the entire island."
"You didn't answer my question."
The soldier gulped at Aectaeon's retort. He glanced at his comrade, trying to seek help. As evident as it was, they were intimidated at Aectaeon. The man's build alone was fearsome, even within a base filled with brawny soldiers.
"A-- Ah, that is… Uhm…"
Unable to think of an answer, the soldier bowed, pulling his comrade with him.
"We apologize, Lieutenant! We're only lower-ranking soldiers! We don't know how meetings work!"
At that point, Aectaeon stood up and began to make his way towards the soldiers. Every step that he took forward, the soldiers took a step backwards. They closed their eyes and their shoulders stiffened, fearing that they would be hit.
Aectaeon raised both of his arms, letting them hover above the heads of the soldiers. As he was lowering his hands, the soldiers shouted in unison.
"Please don't hit us!"
As opposed to a painful blow, the soldiers solely felt a light tap. Both of them slowly opened their eyes and saw that Aectaeon had patted their heads.
"Thank you for your honesty. Now," Aectaeon went on to face the medics, "Are you done replacing the bandages?"
"Yes, Lieutenant!" One of the medics answered, still unable to look Aectaeon in the eye.
"Alright, thank you. How many days should I recuperate?"
Right then, the leader of the three medics stepped up.
"Lieutenant, may I suggest that you pay the dispensary a visit. We haven't removed a single bullet yet. I don't even know how you are able to stand without screaming in pain."
"What you're saying is, I shouldn't be moving around even at this moment?"
"Frankly speaking, yes. I really can't fathom why you look more lively than us."
Aectaeon didn't give a word of reply. He simply walked towards the door and grabbed a hold of the handle. Before he took his first step outside, he gave one last look at the people inside his room.
"Thank you for your services. Please tell your supervisors that I'm alive and kicking. Don't mention the fact about my injuries."
He proceeded to put a small smile on his countenance.
"Well then, I'll see you all around."