"He has spent the last 4 days adopting a lavishly extravagant lifestyle that would make high-class patrons jealous with envy. That's the enormity of points he had when compared to other people. But all good things come to an end, it is said, and his days are well-numbered; he is currently aware of it.
He is currently on his way to the base to report to his duty reliever, remembering what Major Shaw had already told him. He directly walks towards the reliever's office on the west side of the base, which is on the 3rd floor.
He entered the office and saw a tall officer sitting on a chair like his. The difference was that the officer's table was filled with files, while he never kept any on his desk but stored them in drawers for better sleep. His thought process was broken by the officer getting up from his chair and going towards a cabinet on the right side of the office, which had several more files as he asked him for his name.
He replied, and the officer began searching for his file in the stack. He took the chair placed opposite to the desk and waited. The officer looked at the file and wondered why someone would retire this early, as Raghu was quite young, and he always had people who were aged coming here. But there were always exceptions to everything, so he kept his mouth shut and just started the process.
After about 30 minutes of talking, he informed him that his military service is done, and he'll receive his final payment by this evening at the latest. He also told him to meet Major Shaw again before leaving.
After leaving the office, he thought about what Shaw wanted to discuss. However, following orders, he went to Shaw's office, knocked twice on the closed door, and entered. This time, Shaw is alone and, as he looks at Raghu, he isn't surprised by his appearance. If it were anyone else, he would have reprimanded him on his getup, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything to Raghu. So he did the only thing he could. His face turned amiable, relaxing his overall cold stature, and spoke in a slow and steady voice, "Raghu, you have served the base well. Most people here don't even know what you have done in this region. I will remember you as the one who should have been on the silver starboard, but you never cared for glory, and the base had the credit for it. But now that you are about to leave, I have 3 pieces of advice for you, and do not interrupt me or question back as I will not reply to them. Listen well, boy, as your life will depend on this."
"Irrespective of where you end up, don't run towards the most obvious." Second, "take the weapons like a bow or knife with you, whichever you prefer, just makes sure it has no technology component in it," and the final one, "when you board the train, make sure you board the last compartment." All of it made no sense to Raghu; he was about to question back, but that's when Shaw walked towards his cabinet located on his left side towards the window and pressed a button. There was a sudden noise, and the sound of wooden panes moving was heard. It was a hidden door leading to another room. He could see it leading downwards towards another room, but the passage was narrow. He followed him there, through a passageway that was dimly lit by low light bulbs, watching his back and steps lightly so as not to stumble in this narrow passageway.
He arrived in the small room, barely half the size of the previous room. There was a circular table in the room, and it had several cabinets that looked filled with scrolls. Now why would there be scrolls in this age of paper and files thought Raghu wanted to interject him but he kept his mouth shut remembering Shaw's words before. He took out three scrolls from the cabinet and placed them on the table. He noticed the table was carved on the top, and it seemed like parts of the picture drawn on the table were taken out and missing. Then went back towards the other cabinets to get an old rusty-looking wooden box placed on top of one of the cabinets there. And gathering several more things, he looked at Raghu and spoke, showing him a map by opening one of the scrolls.
The map had details of the continent, and he could observe that it was weirdly drawn. The world map he knew and that was taught in the academy was completely different from this. The only same thing was the number of continents, which were labeled as blocks from 1 to 12. He couldn't identify the 11th in this map. He looked at Shaw probing him to continue, but Shaw said nothing and opened several more scrolls and started placing them on the circular table. It was then that he noticed that it was completing the incomplete picture on the table. The picture once completed looked something like an ever-larger version of the map he just saw Shaw open.
It was then that Shaw pressed another button located at the bottom of the table, and it lit up. The light allowed him to picture the whole landmass. He now understood that the part of the world map taught at the academy is only 1/10 of the whole landmass, and this is the real-world map, indicating his lack of knowledge about his own world. He pointed at the map and said to memorize it. Stay here as long as you need to read the other scrolls and make sure what you read here stays with you. This is not a favor from me but my duty as your commanding officer.
You may believe that you being chosen as a sacrifice and for the reaping ceremony is a misfortune, but know this: every difficult situation teaches you something, and if you prevail, you learn something more profound from it. Yes, the danger you will be in now will be enormous, but if you could survive and find the opportunity, then your potential will be massive. Other than that, I also have one last thing to give to you."
He took out another scroll and handed it to Raghu, telling him that it's for someone else and he will have to find a person named Sam. He just needs to keep it secured until he finds him, and it would give him immense benefits if he managed to deliver it. When he was about to ask how he will identify him, Shaw moved towards the cabinet to take out another box, opened the same, and handed him a photograph. To his extreme surprise, he looked almost like Shaw himself, but there was one difference: he had a tattooed left hand. A tattoo that had a striking resemblance to the symbol of Enbo Trade Emporium.
He had many questions that he wanted to ask, but Shaw walked towards the door, telling him before leaving that he has a maximum of 2 days here. Utilize it well or else the faith I put in you will be for naught 'phantom death.' Press that button when you are done. You will directly arrive near the base camp. This is goodbye then; I wish you succeed in what many failed before you." He saluted him one last time, and he closed the door.
Now, he's a bit frustrated, wondering why Shaw didn't explain all this earlier. It would have allowed him more time to read and ask questions. He has so many questions that he needs answers to but has no one who could answer them for him. So doing the only thing someone rational would do, he took the scrolls and started reading through them one by one. He has a lot of reading to do, and the time left is not much. He is now somewhat cursing him as for why he couldn't tell him all this before; it would have given him more time to read and question him. Understanding the need to study now and curse later, he immersed himself in the knowledge of the world that was elusive to him."