Moreover, he had figured out how to kill him.
Vex continued talking nervously as they arrived at the medical tent. The medics examined Atlas's arm, applied ointment to the wound, bandaged it, and sent him on his way. Atlas had been excited, thinking they were going to perform magic, but his hopes were dashed by the mundane treatment.
Atlas took the rest of the day off. He went to his tent and got a good night's sleep. The next day, he performed his morning routine duties as usual. His arm had completely healed. The morning routine was much harder, of course, but he managed to get through it.
Before roll call, Captain Heissen and Instructor Krios took him aside and asked if he had any complaints about Orion. Atlas firmly stated that he had no complaints. He had even gone to Orion and apologized for the incident, playing the bigger person.
Naturally, he had earned the instructors' appreciation for his maturity.
A few days passed. Atlas continued his normal life. What had happened during training was largely forgotten by the others. The only difference was that no one wanted to spar with Atlas in martial arts training anymore. Naturally, Atlas had to pair up with Mira.
This made Orion extra angry.
Atlas didn't hesitate to show off his skills with Mira, even deliberately teaching her close-contact wrestling tactics like the suplex just to provoke Orion. Even though Mira didn't understand most of the moves or the intent behind them, it was incredibly embarrassing and infuriating for Orion to watch.
“What's wrong, buddy?”
Orion's partner, Maurice Reid, noticed his knuckles turning white and warned him.
“I can't stand seeing that son of a bitch touching her,” Orion said, glaring daggers at Atlas.
At that moment, Atlas was "sincerely" teaching Mira the proper grip for a suplex.
“Atlas?” asked Maurice. “Do you want us to visit him tonight?”
“No, we'll attract too much attention,” said Orion through gritted teeth. He wanted to tear Atlas apart, but he had already crossed the line once. He couldn't take that risk again so soon. He had been on toilet cleaning duty for three days as punishment. “I have a better idea.”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Training continued as usual.
By midnight, everyone had turned off the lights in their tents and gone to sleep. A group of shadows slipped silently through the tent flap. Their entry woke a couple of people, but upon seeing who had entered, they squeezed their eyes shut and turned away, feigning sleep.
Maurice took a piece of cloth out of his pocket and walked over to the bunk in the corner of the room. He looked at the peaceful face of the young man lying there and smirked at his ignorance. He turned his head to those behind him and signaled.
Maurice gently pried the young man's jaw open and stuffed the cloth into his mouth. The young man's eyes flew open in panic as he tried to struggle. But Maurice pulled him down from the bunk and pinned him to the floor. He tied his hands and feet with a rope in seconds.
Then he stepped back.
Orion shook the stone he had put in a sock and brought it down hard on the young man's back.
Vex's scream turned into a muffled groan behind the gag. Orion looked into his terror-filled eyes and smiled.
The second blow landed on the middle of his pinky finger. Crack! The bone was crushed. The third blow crushed his ring finger. Tears streamed from Vex's eyes, turning the dust on the ground to mud, but his moans went unheard.
“Hey, didn't I tell you not to leave any visible marks?” grumbled Maurice. “Focus on places that won't show through their clothes.”
“From now on, I'll be your nightmare, Vex,” whispered Orion, leaning close to his ear. “You'll help me relieve my stress every night. Just like your sister used to take on other people's stress, you'll take on mine.”
Vex's muffled screams were heard by no one.
“From now on, you'll be my personal training partner.”
The next day was no different from the previous one. The only thing that changed was Orion's sparring partner. Vex had become the target of Orion's anger.
For Atlas, nothing seemed to have changed. Instead, he was getting closer to Mira, making his intentions clear. The instructors and even the students were paying attention to him. He had tried to talk to Orion publicly, but his attempts were always rebuffed.
What caught his attention most, however, was the lifeless expression on Vex's face. He neither spoke nor showed any sign of life. He was mentally broken. Atlas felt the rage inside him growing exponentially, but he knew he had to wait. It was still too early.
He read a few books he had taken from the library during study hall. Then he glanced at his profile.
NAME: Atlas Sinclair
AGE: 18
TITLE: 4th Heir, Apprentice Dimension Assassin
LEVEL: 2
CLASS: Marksman (Beginner)
EXPERIENCE: 450/1300 XP (850 XP more needed to reach Level 3)
MAIN STATS:
STRENGTH: 12/100
STAMINA: 15/100
SPEED: 17/100
INTELLIGENCE: 20/100
INTUITION: 18/100
LUCK: 13/100
Unused Stat Points: 6
HEALTH: 150/150 HP
STAMINA: 100/100 SP
MANA: 120/120 MP
SKILLS:
[Passive] Firearms Expert (Level 1): +5% damage with all firearm attacks
[Passive] Quick Reflexes: +10% chance to dodge surprise attacks
[Passive] Sensitivity: A basic skill that increases the archer's visual perception and focus ability.
INVENTORY:
.50 Caliber Pistol (Damage: 25-35, Range: Medium, Durability: 92/100)
Ammo x11
Basic First Aid Kit (Restores 50 HP) x1
Dimension Transfer Device (Charge: 1/1)
Sinclair Family Seal (Grants access to the Succession System)
MISSIONS:
[Ongoing]: Silent Storm
[Daily Repeatable Mission]: Morning Routine
If things continued like this for a while longer, he could advance to the third level. After completing the mission, he thought he could jump directly to the fourth level
“Now it's time for the real big problem.” Atlas checked his watch. It was 11:05 p.m. Even those in the tent weren't asleep yet.
Still, he had to take the risk.
After putting on his training clothes, he got ready to leave the tent.
“Atlas, where are you going?”
One of the young men lying on the bunk near the tent entrance opened his eyes and looked at Atlas suspiciously.
“I'm going to jerk off.”
Hearing this, the young man's suspicion vanished instantly, replaced by a look of disgust.
“You idiot.”
He turned around and lay back down, pulling the blanket over his head.
Where Have I Been?
