The Eldrim Cards Legacy

Chapter 65: Political tool

Nero woke up feeling quite refreshed. He felt the strangely soft yet hard when squeezed mattress underneath him, the thin yet rough woollen blanket covering him and the distinct smell of disinfectant.

He was waking up in the hospital again. He almost expected to see his father sitting right beside him when he opened his eyes, ready to crack some joke at his expense.

But when he opened his eyes it was not the warm, relaxed face of his father that was waiting for him. Instead, it was the anxious and irritated mug of a thoroughly pissed off redhead.

Gabriel, despite using crutches, was pacing around the room with a deep frown on his, muttering something to himself.

His memories came rushing in, or at least, a part of them. He recalled the vine invasion in his hostel, and fighting them and...

"Glad to see you're okay," Nero said, his voice oddly hoarse. He didn't remember screaming, so it was odd that there was something wrong with his voice. Maybe the exertion gave him a sore throat, or maybe one of the vines had choked him towards the end.

"Okay?" Gabriel said, turning to look at Nero. Instead of relieved at him waking up, he looked like he was on the verge of exploding.

"I am not okay. In fact, we are not okay! We're thoroughly fucked!"

Gabriel kicked a chair that was beside him, but that nearly made him trip because he couldn't balance on the crutches properly, which only made him curse again.

"Language!" Nero said, surprised at how irritated his roommate was. Although, to be fair, the guy had literal vines growing in his leg, so it's fair that he's a little emotional.

"No, you don't understand!" Gabriel said with frustration on his face. "This is exactly why I left. I hate it when this happens! We're being used! I... I don't know what you did, but your face is all over the news. They're calling you the voice of Kolari dissatisfaction.

Someone is using you as a political tool."

"I... what? What do you mean? What did I do?" Nero asked, confused. The last thing he recalled was jumping out the window with Isa. No, wait, he crashed through a window.

"Here, look at this. If you don't remember, then you better recall what you did quickly. The situation in Aetherpeak is about to change drastically, and you've made yourself into a big target for anyone looking to get some quick recognition."

Nero frowned, as he tried to recall the incident in the newspaper. For some reason, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember it at all.

"Are we sure this actually even happened? I don't remember it at all."

"Oh yes, it definitely happened. In front of hundreds of eye witnesses no less. I'm not blaming you for this, if that's what you're thinking. Between you and me, I would not doubt it at all if this was all perfectly orchestrated. Your confrontation of the Sage, I mean. Not the vine attack, although who am I to guess how far back this thing goes?

After all, it shouldn't be so easy to walk up to a Sage and just yell at him. But, you did it. And you're even getting an award for it."

Gabriel suddenly began muttering to himself again, grumbling about politics and how much he hated it, cursing from time to time. Nero wasn't too thrilled to learn that he had been used either, but he did not dwell on it.

He opened the newspaper and went through the news once more, looking for anything he missed. His situation was precarious, obviously, but there was no reason he couldn't benefit from it either. He was not one to just stand and wait for his doom.

"What's this? A recruitment... tournament?" Nero asked as he noticed something in the inner pages.

But his question only caused Gabriel to groan in agony, as if he had been kicked.

"What is it? Stop being a baby. We're in this situation so let's deal with it."

"It was an announcement made a short while ago. The army officially announced and acknowledged the prescience of the Eldrim ruins, and stated the need for Neophytes to enter the ruins, for whatever reason.

"But, the entire army is designed to strengthen its soldiers as much and as quickly as possible, so the number of Neophytes in the entire army may not even be a couple of thousand, out of which maybe only a handful are field operatives. To make up for this shortage, the announcement for the KMA recruitment has been brought forward, and to an extent, made somewhat easier. But there's a catch.

"There will be a tournament, and all top 500 entrants will be treated as potential candidates for KMA this year. But to solidify the position, all 500 will have to participate in a military operation within the ruins that specifically requires Neophytes. If you take part, and succeed, then your position in KMA is confirmed!"

"Why the hell is something like this in the back pages?" Nero exclaimed as he suddenly pulled the article out and began reading.

"Obviously because the spots are more or less already confirmed. Do you think just any random people can get in? I bet all 500 participants come from various great families. By the way, since both your parents are Arcanist, you can also be considered a member of a minor great family, I guess."