Chapter 14 Chapter 14
Kael woke to the sound of Adrian arguing with a cat.
At first, he assumed he was dreaming.
Then he opened his eyes.
However, the argument was real.
“You stole my breakfast.” The cat stared at Adrian. “I saw you do it.”
The cat continued staring.
“That silence sounds suspicious.”
Kael slowly sat up.
Beside the campfire, Gareth was already awake. The old hunter sipped from a wooden cup.
“You should stop him.”
“Why?”
“The cat is winning.”
Gareth nodded.
A familiar mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside Kael’s mind.
“New Mission Available.”
His attention sharpened immediately.
Another notification appeared.
“Recruit Your First Named Follower.”
Kael froze, then a second notification appeared.
“Target Requirement Identified.”
He didn’t need the System to tell him who the target was. His eyes slowly moved toward Adrian.
The teenager was currently losing an argument to poultry. The System had questionable judgment.
Still……
A named follower was different.
In his previous life, commanders who successfully recruited talented subordinates received rewards that could alter entire campaigns.
This mission mattered.
The problem was Adrian.
More specifically……
The problem was explaining any of this without sounding insane.
Several hours later they continued their journey down the mountain.
Kael spent most of the walk preparing what he considered a reasonable recruitment speech.
A leader needed followers. Followers needed trust and trust required communication.
The logic was sound but the execution was not.
Eventually he cleared his throat.
“Adrian.”
The teenager brightened immediately.
“You’re finally admitting we’re friends.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It was implied.”
“It wasn’t.”
Adrian ignored him. “What do you need?”
Kael took a breath.
"I want you to join me."
Adrian stopped walking.
"Wait..... what? You're recruiting people?"
"Yes."
Adrian looked impressed.
"I've never been recruited before."
"Most people haven't."
"Is it a secret organization?"
"No."
"A cult?"
"No."
"A criminal empire?"
"Why is that your third guess?"
“A treasure hunting club?”
Before Kael could answer, Gareth immediately nodded.
“Yes.”
Kael slowly turned, the old hunter looked completely serious. “What are you doing?”
“Helping.”
“You are not helping.”
Adrian’s eyes lit up.
“A treasure hunting club sounds amazing.”
“It isn’t a treasure hunting club.”
Gareth shrugged.
“Too late.”
The teenager extended his hand.
“I accept.” Kael stared. “That was far too easy.”
“I know.”
Adrian looked proud of himself. The conversation should have ended there instead, it became worse.
“What exactly do members do?”
Kael thought carefully.
"Train."
Adrian nodded.
"Reasonable."
"Fight."
"Less reasonable."
"Possibly save the world."
Adrian stopped walking.
"I'm sorry, what was that last one?"
“Nothing.”
“That sounded important.”
“It wasn’t.”
“It definitely was.”
Kael immediately changed the subject. The rest of the day passed surprisingly peacefully.
For once, nobody triggered ancient traps. Nobody accidentally activated hidden mechanisms and nobody fought wildlife.
That evening they made camp beside a small river. The fire crackled softly while darkness settled across the forest.
For the first time since meeting Adrian, conversation became quieter.
The teenager stared into the flames.
"I never really belonged anywhere." He poked at the fire. "My parents died when I was young."
He shrugged.
"After that, it was mostly just me."
The smile remained on his face but something behind it changed.
“I spent most of my life moving from village to village.” The firelight danced across his features. “Sometimes I worked at farms.”
He smiled.
“Sometimes I carried supplies.” The smile weakened slightly. “Sometimes I slept outside because nobody needed extra workers.”
The silence that followed felt heavier than expected.
Kael listened and Gareth listened too.
“I got used to it.” Adrian tossed a small stick into the fire. “People always leave eventually.”
The words were casual. As though he had repeated them often enough to believe them.
For some reason, Kael didn’t like hearing that. Maybe because he understood loneliness better than most people.
Maybe because he remembered the corpse lying in that ruined village.
Or maybe because Adrian was trying too hard to pretend those experiences didn’t matter.
The teenager laughed suddenly.
“On the bright side, I became really good at getting lost.”
Gareth snorted. “That wasn’t a skill.”
“It absolutely is, it helped me find a hidden ruin.”
“You were running from a boar.”
For the first time all evening, Gareth smiled.
The old hunter looked toward Adrian, then away before his gaze drifted back again, and for a brief moment something softened in his expression as though he had seen a piece of his younger self or remembered a part of his past, causing some of the hostility to fade even if it didn’t disappear completely.
"You survived by yourself?"
Adrian shrugged.
"Mostly."
Gareth grunted.
"That's a stupid way to grow up."
A few moments later, Gareth suddenly frowned.
His gaze settled on Adrian.
Specifically…..
On the place where the silver crystal had reacted.
The old hunter’s expression changed. Only for a moment but Kael noticed.
The reaction was too familiar.
“What is it?” Kael asked.
Gareth immediately looked away.
“Nothing.”
The answer came too quickly.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
Adrian looked between them.
"Should I be concerned?"
"Probably."
Adrian looked at Kael.
"Why does nobody ever answer that question properly?"
The old hunter ignored him.
For several seconds, Gareth continued staring into the fire.
Thinking and remembering. Then whatever thought crossed his mind disappeared behind his usual grumpy expression.
Kael noticed and stored the reaction away for later.
Because something about Adrian’s interaction with the artifact had reminded Gareth of something he clearly didn’t want to discuss.
The mystery lingered long after the conversation ended.
Hours later, after Adrian finally fell asleep, Kael remained awake.
The forest was silent. The stars shone overhead then the familiar mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
“Mission Complete.”
Kael sat upright.
Golden light appeared before his eyes and another notification followed.
“First Named Follower Successfully Recruited.”
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
The mission had succeeded. Then a second notification appeared.
“Reward Granted.”
Silver light gathered in front of him.
The energy condensed, solidified and finally transformed into a small metallic token engraved with ancient runes.
Kael’s pulse quickened.
A Recruitment Token.
