"Just, where are Terry and Piedro? Why aren't they here?"
A brief silence settled among the rcenaries, broken by whispers and wry smiles.
Ernest raised an amused eyebrow.
"Let's just say they celebrated their victory until the wee hours. Maybe they're still sleeping in a pile of straw sowhere."
Maxi closed his eyes for a second, torn between amusent and annoyance.
"Good. Can soone go and wake them up so they can co here?"
Maxi's words made everyone feel a cold draught pass over them.
No one had yet dared miss a briefing from Maxi, and they all wondered what would happen if two of their own ventured to do so.
Despite the tension, a mischievous smile appeared on several faces; Terry and Piedro would surely regret their absence.
Laura, smirking, stepped forward.
"Leave it to , boss."
"I'm counting on you."
She turned and headed for the barn, humming lightly, aware that waking Terry and Piedro would not be an easy task, but it should be rather fun.
When she reached the spot where the two n were slumped, she indeed found Terry, sunken in a pile of hay, a blissful smile on his lips, and Piedro, snoring loudly, his arm passed around an empty barrel.
She gave them a friendly kick to shake them off.
"Co on, get up, champions! The briefing's already started and Maxi's in no mood to wait."
Terry opened one eye, struggling against the morning light that seed to be attacking his retinas. He grunted, trying to sit up, then brought a hand to his head, obviously in the grip of a powerful headache.
Piedro opened one eye in turn, a vague smile on his lips.
"Just five minutes... just..." then let out a snore.
Laura, unwilling to let the two rcenaries laze around any longer, grabbed a bucket of water lying nearby and poured it over the two n without hesitation.
Terry let out a cry of surprise, leaping to his feet, while Piedro, shaken, tried to right himself to no avail.
"It's okay, it's okay! We're awake, no need to drown us!" protested Terry, shaking himself like a wet dog.
"You really fucking dared Laura!" shouted Piedro angrily.
"As far as I know, the barrel you're hugging isn't a woman, and believe , a bucket of water on your head is better than keeping Maxi waiting."
Gradually, Terry and Piedro understood the gravity of their situation.
"Damn it..." murmured Terry, as they hurriedly gathered up their belongings to join the rest of the group.
Under the mocking glances of their comrades, they found Maxi, who was waiting for them, arms crossed with a stern look, although his eyes betrayed a hint of amusent.
"Ah, here co the latecors at last."
Maxi stared at them for a mont before declaring in a solemn tone:
"As punishnt, you will wash the entire group's clothes by this afternoon. Make sure they're dry by evening."
Terry and Piedro sighed, relieved at the lightness of the punishnt.
"Yes, Chief!" they replied, visibly embarrassed, while their comrades tried not to smile.
Maxi then turned to his entire group.
"Make sure you're ready this afternoon for tomorrow's departure. Check your weapons, restock your bags and be ready at dawn. This won't be an easy mission, so the slightest distraction could be fatal."
The rcenaries nodded, regaining their seriousness.
Each of them knew that the next few days would bear no resemblance to the festive atmosphere that surrounded them the day before.
Once the instructions had been given, the rcenaries dispersed into the village to prepare their belongings and enjoy the last few hours of peace and quiet.
A few villagers helped the rcenaries gather provisions for the road, exchanging a few more laughs and self-defense tips with those they had trained the night before.
In the late afternoon, Maxi found himself alone for a mont, watching the sunset tint the sky with reddish hues, like a silent on.
Suddenly, a noise was heard behind him.
He turned and saw a dozen villagers staring at him with awe and respect.
Among them were Garen and Lira, looking rather uncomfortable.
Maxi stared at them in silence, intrigued by their unusual presence.
Garen took a deep breath before stepping forward, his gaze determined despite a certain hesitation.
"Maxi, we've co to see you and join your rcenary group."
Maxi remained silent for a mont, pondering the outcos of integrating them into the group.
"If I make you co with us, you're going to die fighting orcs, that's almost a certainty."
A villager nad Jean stepped forward, his face firm and full of resolution.
"Those of us who are here have already lost everything."
"We've lost our parents, our siblings and our children for those who had them."
Maxi knew that by the ti they had arrived, the orcs had already killed many people, especially whole families since they either lived together or in close proximity to each other.
But he had no idea that so many people would end up alone.
Garen nodded, his eyes shining with an indomitable fla.
"We must fight, not for revenge, but to prevent this from happening to others."
But Maxi still disagreed.
"Then why not join Baron Edrin's soldiers? You'll be safer there than following us."
Lira intervened, scornfully:
"Because they're useless. They arrived days after the attack began. You can't trust soone who's not even aware of what's happening on their land."
"And I don't think a baron is unaware of the situation in his territory to such an extent."
Maxi sighed, finally convinced.
These n and won seed determined, courageous and morally sound.
It remained to be seen whether they possessed any real combat potential, but he had few expectations.
"I'd like to make it clear that you won't be paid until we get back to the north, where most of our rcenaries are."
"We've always worked to survive, not to make money," Garen replied with conviction.
This answer lifted the last weight holding Maxi back.
"Either way, you're officially joining the saber-toothed tigers, which is the na of our rcenary group."
Ding!
[12 villagers have expressed a wish to join your rcenary group. Would you like to accept them?]
"Yes." he replied ntally.
Ding!
[Recruitnt condition t!]
[All 12 villagers are now rcenaries].
Maxi ignored the notifications floating before him, and began to inspect the talents of these new rcenaries.
Garen: Three-star potential. Berserker talent. Physique: 1.2
Lira: Three-star potential. Affinity with shadows. Physical: 0.9
Jean: Two-star potential. Blessing of the wind. Physique 1.
Katarina: Two-star potential. Physics: 0.8
Reta: Two-star potential. Physics: 1.1
Yvan: Two star potential. Physical: 0.9
...
"Incredible..."
"So many powerful and different talents, if I wasn't here most of these talents would remain hidden within them until they died."
"Then if I wasn't here, would this world exist?"
But he shook his head before developing his ideas further, everything was mysterious about Eternity and the monsters.
He concentrated on the pleasant surprise of having recruited such good recruits by complete chance.
Garen and Lira might beco stronger than Andrew in the future, while Jean might have a strength similar to that of Rodrigo and Romuald.
But he kept this information to himself, so as not to hinder the training motivation of the weaker mbers.
For he knew that even the weakest mbers of the group could beco very powerful in the future as his talent gradually improved.
Simultaneously, the 12 new rcenaries felt profound changes in their bodies, but they didn't know exactly what they were.
"Don't worry, it's my talent acting on your body."
Garen, Lira, Jean and the rest of the newbies were surprised.
"aning your talent?" asked Lira curiously.
"I have a talent that allows my n to improve their potential by one level as well as improve their training speed," Maxi replied simply as usual.
But this simple answer excited the villagers, who began to dream of a better life where they could truly protect those they wished to.
"Don't daydream too much and start packing your things, we plan to leave tomorrow at dawn for Lapi."
"If you don't have any weapons, we can lend you a few that we originally used as reserves."
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