A Chapter 14 Preparations(9)

  Within the massive tent in the army camp outside Mazi in the East.

  Luthor Dugavu(POV)

  I observed them moving around, taking stock of everything I had prepared. At first, I had been tempted to just give a demonstrations with the weapons and various tactical gear, but upon chatting with Maxwell, it had turned into this... An exhibition of sorts. The idea had been approved because it would show these people how the future of their States would change when these technologies were shared. There were few technologies outside the battle system on display, but, that would change after this exhibition. Maybe, such an exhibition could be held yearly, and not in the military base, but a public space. Even the other States could showcase their new inventions. After the expedition to Kisol, I could propose it!

  Any other person would have probably decided to keep this level of technology for their own State, or demanded exorbitant prices to trade them away, but I wasn't such a shallow person. I wanted this world to develop, to grow fast enough to the point that even if we lagged behind in our genes, technology could atleast keep up with the strength of the beasts. If we became developed enough... And for some reason, the way to absorb spiritual energy into our bodies still eluded me, then, technology will make sure that the loss of human life, should we ever enter another large scale conflict, would be minimal.

  Though, it was a pity that the majority of the items on exhibition had some relation to battle. We hadn't yet developed enough household technologies, but many were in the pipeline. Hopefully, in the coming months and years, they would make it into people's homes and workplaces.

  It was awkward, standing in place while the others explored with the starry eyed gaze of a teenager who had just fallen in love at first sight, but I endured it. I was only here to keep order, and be a cache for information. Unless I was needed somewhere, I had to stay on my feet, keeping everyone in my gaze for any sign of trouble, or being called upon to offer an explanation.

  My eyes traveled to Ril Milena. She was a plain girl with a sharp mind. She had embarrassed herself, a sign of inexperience within the political circle, but, I approved of her actions. She was just a teenager, a budding young woman who was supposed to be impulsive and prone to emotional upheavals. If she had been politically savy like her mother, then I don't think I would have loved to interact with her. People like that tended to have a singular mind obsessed with how to grasp enough benefits into their hands.

  My lips curved upwards at her first choice of exhibit. The frequencies were the core technologies in this place. It should have been the start of their exploration, but the others had been dazzled by the other items on display. Their choices weren't wrong, or bad... Just that Ril deserved to be praised because her mind had understood that the fulcrum of everything here, was the spiritual particle frequencies. Maybe I should put in an effort to bring us closer. People with minds like hers, and mine, were in short supply.

  Lost in my thoughts, a hand snuck up on me, settling upon my shoulder. My heart skipped a beat even as my eyes snapped over to my side, a breath of relief flooding me on noticing that it was a familiar face. My heart, on the other hand, would take a while to have its monstrous waves settle.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I glared at the culprit with a gaze infused with all the rage and malice I was feeling, compelling him into loosening his hand from my shoulder, with an awkward chuckle escaping his lips soon after.

  "Come on! It was just a prank! It is very rare to catch you so immersed in something that you forget your surroundings, outside of the lab of course. I just couldn't let such an opportunity pass by." he said, his gaze swimming away from mine.

  I took in a deep stabilizing breath before letting it out slowly. "I thought you were too busy to appear here." I commented idly, my eyes back to roaming among the others.

  "I wasn't so busy that I would miss the exhibition. Besides, we will be gone for a while. It would be better I take this time to disengage my mind from research and relax. Also, It would be better if I atleast met my travel companions, right?" Maxwell shrugged.

  Before the conversation could continue, I picked up on a subtle physical gesture summoning me over to a particular table, one where David was located. The man's presence already gave me an inkling of what I was about to face upon making my way over. David was a walking problem that always had to get solved. Clearly, he thrived in chaos!

  "Come on, men! Just a little touch! I ain't going to be firing these off! I just want to get a feel of how they would acclimate to my hands!" his words entered my ears when I got close enough. He was bending over the table, trying to pick up the armaments resting upon it, but the two soldiers behind were preventing that by arresting his hands.

  "No! If you need a demonstration, one of us will give it to you!" the young soldier facing off with David didn't let up. His face was filled with the impatience of someone trying to reason with a child, just shy of gaining victory with a slap to the face.

  "What seems to be the problem here?" I asked even though I had already understood the gist of the matter. It was better to acquire a more thorough understanding of the situation.

  "Sir! He wants to test the weapons himself." the soldier reported, with David turning to face me with a grin. Though, it came off ugly since his face had been warped by his injuries.

  I gazed down at the weapons in question. They were a pair of pistols, crimson in color, with their sleek lines glinting in the soft white light released by the bulb above, near the top of the tent. They could fire attributed spiritual energy projectiles, ones whose spiritual energy had been transmuted to the flame frequency. When one bullet was consumed, the gun's magazine could gather the ambient spiritual energy to replenish itself, an action that took a minute. The magazine could hold up to six bullets, and the temperature of the flames making up each, surpassed laser weaponry. Even beasts with the toughest of hides would be penetrated with a single shot, provided they hadn't elevated themselves to the first threshold.

  "So... Dear leader, would you allow me to wield these two. I have fallen in love with them and would love to equip them for our coming expedition. As you know, getting familiar with weapons has to be done away from the danger, so could you please allow me to test their mettle?" asked David with a fake puppy eyed gaze.

  My eyes narrowed as I glared into his crimson pupils."That is not allowed. They will be provided to you tomorrow upon reaching our destination." I shot him down.

  "What if they fail at the most critical of moments? What if they are defective? Or, what if I die because I was wielding an unfamiliar weapon?"

  "Then you will just have to blame yourself!" I spat back instantly in irritation.

  "Mr. Luthor, we do appreciate your hospitality, but please, don't undermine us! My son only wants to get a feel of the weapons. You, and everyone here knows the importance of weapon familiarity to a warrior. Distributing these weapons on Kisol would only increase our risk of death. Imagine me firing an unfamiliar gun when a beast's charging me and the recoil causes me to miss. How would you feel if one of us got mauled to death? If my son were to die because of such a reason... Imagine what I could do to you." Chief Lutalo appeared, his words calm and logical, yet also not veiling his threat.

  I narrowed my eyes at the man, who was now standing beside his son, pretending to admire the crimson weapons on the table.

  "I don't trust both of you with my weapons." I said.

  "And you would trust us with them out there in the wild, without your army?"

  That was most certainly a true dilemma. David and his father were unhinged beings. It was good when all of their true nature was unleashed towards the beasts, but when it came to humans...

  "I too, would love my daughter to get familiar with the new weapons. Besides, some of those that are tagging along aren't combat personnel. Maybe they could also take a shot at mastering the use of those shields?" Ravena entered the conversation, having metaphorically glided over in her blue denim pants, plus white sandals.