Aectaeon ran and ran until his legs felt like they were about to give up.
Well, the pain was not enough to make him stop.
After all, he was not in the position to be dainty with regards to how he ought to play the game. The system decided the route for him. It was his job to take that route whatever necessary means he had to take.
'To accomplish the first mission, I probably have to escape the surveillance while waiting for the meeting to end. As for the second mission…'
The man then heard several footsteps quickly approaching the spot he was at. He turned around and tried to look for a place to hide. However, there was nothing big enough to conceal his entire figure. So, instead of attempting to hide, he decided to pretend as if he was exercising.
It was common to see soldiers doing their own training when there's no gathering. Aectaeon just had to hide the fact that he was a Lieutenant to avoid attention. So, he turned his back against the opening of the alley and began doing jumping jacks.
As he was exercising, he took note of the crowd that passed by behind him. He stopped what he was doing when they were out of his earshot.
'Now, where should I head next? This is one of the most unvisited parts of the camp, so I better think thoroughly while I'm here.' Aectaeon said, beginning to pace back and forth.
He proceeded to stand beside a broken barrel, leaning his back on the wall. Aectaeon looked at the 'Countdown for the Return' panel and sighed. His gaze then fell on the panel containing the time limit for the second mission.
'One hour and fifty minutes to go. How can I make use of that time efficiently?'
Aectaeon was aware that he's already wasting time by doing nothing while contemplating. However, he had to have, at the least, a vague plan to follow.
'Aish, this kind of covert mission isn't something I'm familiar with. I'd prefer having an entire camp run after me rather than do this.'
At that point, Aectaeon's mouth went agape. He narrowed his gaze as he looked at the two panels of time once more.
"There's only a one minute difference between the first Guessing Opportunity and the end of the time limit for the second mission. What's more, the mission's time limit will come first."
Out of the bewilderment that suddenly assaulted him, Aectaeon couldn't help but blurt out his findings. He clicked his tongue, over and over again, concurrently hitting his forehead with his palm.
Even if he had realized the game system's scheme, the fact that the game would end if he didn't accomplish the second mission wouldn't change.
But Aectaeon's motivation just went ablaze.
He crumpled his right fist, tightly until his knuckles and fingers were beginning to turn white. Aectaeon then punched the wall in front of him, gritting his teeth as a new wave of pain hit him.
"Alright, if you want to look at me suffer this much, I'll show you. However," Aectaeon announced as he was gritting his teeth, "I'll accomplish this pity forsaken mission."
When he was done complaining, Aectaeon raised his head and looked at how gloomy the sky was. He snorted, thinking that the heavens shouldn't have the knack to sympathize with his mood.
Out of the blue, he caught something sparkling from the corner of his left eye. He hurriedly inspected it, his eyes widening soon after.
"Isn't that… is that what I think it is?"
Aectaeon couldn't exactly make out the shape of the object since it was too far up. There was only one way for him to resolve that problem.
"Use Vityaz-SN"
{{ Vityaz-SN In Use }}
"Lock on"
Once his vision became that of a scope, Aectaeon zoomed in on the object. A smile, so wide that he almost looked like a madman, appeared on his countenance.
"Bull's eye, it's an arrow."
Subsequent to his display of merriment, Aectaeon mentally noted the details he would need for his search. He couldn't just run around with a gun in his hand, so he couldn't make use of the scope ability all throughout the mission.
'Let's see, it's on the eleventh floor of this dormitory building. There are a lot of soldiers walking about at this time of the day. The meeting is to start within fifty minutes or so. I can still enter a building without fear of being summoned.'
Looking at the two missions, it was obvious that the second mission should be Aectaeon's priority.
The first mission was an endurance mission that would probably last for several hours. Meanwhile, the second mission only had a time limit of two hours. It was clear what the system wanted to do.
To keep Aectaeon from being in the right state of mind during the first Guessing Opportunity.
Granting the fact that he managed to accomplish the second mission, Aectaeon still had to be on his toes to fulfil the objective of the first mission.
'It's better to hide myself much earlier than the start of the meeting. In that way, they won't be able to track where I've been. Well, I have no choice.'
"Store Vityaz-SN"
Thereafter, Aectaeon positioned himself right at the end of the alley. He waited for a soldier to come by, and to his luck, a lonely soldier found himself wandering around the area.
He held his breath as he abided for the soldier to nigh him. Once the soldier was only a step away from seeing Aectaeon, the man grabbed him by his collar and pulled him to the middle of the alley.
"What are you-- Let go of me! What do you think you're doing?!" The soldier shouted as he attempted to escape Aectaeon's clutch, but he couldn't.
Aectaeon immediately covered the soldier's mouth with his right hand, putting his left on the poor soldier's shoulder at the same time. He went on to push the soldier down to the ground, then crouched in front of him.
"Be quiet. I mean you no harm."
Of course, the shoulder didn't believe him. However, when the soldier saw his badge, they shut their mouth forthwith.
"Very good. Now," Aectaeon grinned maliciously, "Strip off your clothes."