The Deal

Fatima didn't know what to make of this situation. She was able to recall the dream she'd had the night before, and stood before her now, in her tent, were the same two people appearing in it.

If that wasn't ominous enough, there was one more thing that kept her a little anxious.

Her eyes traveled to the teenage boy standing a bit behind the man who seemed to be his older version; who she assumed to be his father. For some unknown reason, Fatima felt as if the boy's presence couldn't be that of an average person. There was something about him that gave off a stronger vibe than even the army generals she'd met in the past. Call it woman's intuition, but it was as if he held great powers beyond her scope of understanding, but chose to conceal them behind the easy-going way he carried himself.

His eyes were the thing that especially stood out. And not just because of their different colors. They looked as if they could see right through you and made you feel naked. Like he knew exactly what you were feeling and thinking, and he wouldn't hesitate on using it to his advantage. In fact, whenever her eyes met his, it gave her shivers. The occasional smile he offered her just made it even worse. However, every time he looked at his father, his eyes softened, as if pulling back whatever it was that made him seem somewhat intimidating.

Fatima took a deep breath, her hands clasped on the desk. "So, let me get this straight. You want us to demand a 'fee' from the rescued civilians in exchange for helping us clean up the streets? And this 'fee' is supposed to be…?"

"Of course, it's food, ma'am," answered Markus in the friendliest tone he could pull off. "We have scoured nearby grocery stores, and I'll have to say, it is certainly disheartening to see all the empty shelves. Not even a single piece of cereal left for us to scrape off the floor. Many people have scrambled to the stores like it was a black friday sale and spared us late-goers nothing at all. They have hoarded everything!

"We know the military will provide us with daily ration soon, ma'am. But we would like it if we could get a more nutritious supply if we could help it. And unlike those selfish hoarders, we're not going to receive them for free. We are willing to work for it." Markus ended his pitch with a more serious look, as if he wanted to let the woman know that he wasn't lying nor planning a scam.

If she had to be honest, Fatima had a bit of misgiving about this. The two had just suddenly turned up at the camp and demanded to meet her. Well, they didn't specifically say her name; they just wanted to meet anyone in charge. At first she thought they were those from the other camp, wanting to make a special request. Normally, she would've dismissed their demand to meet her in person, and just ordered one of her subordinates to relay their request.

However, before she could even get a word out, the image from her dream popped up in her mind. Two males, both civilians, asking to meet her. What were the odds?

After asking her subordinate what they looked like, she bit her lips. Their description matched the ones she'd seen in her dream.

So here they were, in her tent, trying to strike a deal. It sounded hilarious at first; because what could they possibly do to help the army kill the monsters? Even if they were affiliated with a big gang of gun-toting men, how were they going to be more useful than the soldiers who carried all the fine gears at their disposal, with years of training under their belt?

That was, until she recalled the dream again. In it, she saw a group of civilians performing…magic? Which would've been strange if not for the fact that humans were now truly capable of wielding this fantasy-like energy. The dream showed these people wiping out monsters by casting colorful magic spells. And due to their contribution, the rest of the civilians who were still stuck in their homes were safely evacuated sooner. This also allowed her to deploy less soldiers to the streets and allocate more manpower to protect and organize the still-disorderly camp.

Still, Fatima needed to confirm it from their own mouths. "And what makes you think you can do better than us?"

Markus smiled. "I think you misunderstood me, ma'am. We're not trying to one-up your soldiers. I think they are doing plenty enough to help the civilians, and we are grateful for that. However, we can offer you something that can definitely help you protect the people. Something…different.

"I'm sure you're already aware of the existence of magic. It has only been a few days since the earthquake and people awakening their potential for magic. Most people have yet to reach a proper understanding regarding this subject, but we have. We are able to…" Markus suddenly vanished from Fatima's sight before reappearing next to her. "...use magic."

The two soldiers behind her—one of them was Trevor Cain—acted fast and pointed their rifles at Markus. However, he soon disappeared again before returning to his original position. During all that, his smile never let up. "We have the power to defeat those monsters, ma'am. And we are willing to put it to use to earn our keep."

Seeing the complicated expression on Fatima's face, Magnus smirked internally. He was able to feel her apprehensiveness. In fact, he could tell that every time her trained mindset wanted to dismiss their request and stick to the original procedure, her mind would always travel back to the 'vision' she'd had.

After witnessing Victoria's victory against Patrick that morning, Magnus informed his father about his plan.

Markus was immediately onboard. The man understood that the plan would be like killing two birds with one stone. Not only would they be able to store up more supplies in their Inventory, they would also be able to gain XP by killing monsters. Although they were not yet short on supplies as of the moment, they would be in the next few days. It would be great if they could get more of them sooner rather than later. Besides, they didn't have to worry about expiry dates, as Inventory prevented food from spoiling.

For Magnus, it wouldn't even be just killing two birds, but three. The plan would also allow him to finally get TJ his own sword. The guy had been sharpening his swordsmanship skill without having an actual sword, which was kinda ironic. Since Magnus had decided to revive the Objective menu, he would also be gaining DP after TJ successfully completed the weapon-retrieving mission.

But not before asking for TJ's consent, of course. Assigning an Objective forced the Protagonist's mindset to complete it one way or another. It was an Author's command, after all. No matter how long it took, and what means they would use to fulfill it, the Objective must be completed at all costs. Otherwise it would always haunt the Protagonist's mind.

It was still a form of mental manipulation. So Magnus would only give out an Objective after explaining to his Protagonist what it was about and giving them an option to take it or not.

In fact, he had already done exactly that earlier this morning. He'd told the system to bring back the Objective menu, adding a little box under each Protagonist's Status Window. After getting TJ's consent, Magnus 2.0 then typed 'Protect everyone while I'm gone' in the box—like writing a memo. However, after he was finished, the system changed the word 'I' to 'Your Author'.

TJ immediately received a notification and his own Objective window, with only one line written on it.

Sometimes, the gods would also write additional notes like how many Supporting Characters the Protagonist could involve. And of course, they'd tease the Protagonist with some rewards. And they could also employ an assisting tool like a mini map showing a general direction of the target—not their exact location, since the system didn't possess such a function. However, Magnus didn't need to use that right now, and TJ had told him that he had nothing he could offer as a reward. The guy considered the occasional stat boosts he enjoyed as something Magnus was naturally supposed to do; it shouldn't count as a reward.

To which Magnus protested. "Hey! Who do you think I am? Your personal stat points vending machine?"

And so, after assigning TJ his first—technically second—Objective, Magnus headed for the military camp with his father.

And right now, there was a tense silence inside the tent as Fatima was truly considering her options. He could also feel her starting to suspect who they really were and how come they were able to learn how to use magic so fast. He was able to guess what she was going to say next.

"I can grant your request after I add another clause to my condition," she finally said, her eyes starting to regain their clarity.

"And what's that, ma'am?" Markus asked.

"Teach us how to practice magic."

Yup, Magnus had seen this coming. It seemed the woman's 'vision of the future' had worked wonders. In her mind, she must be replaying the last scene of civilians arriving safely at the camp again and again. This, and the fact that the same two people she'd seen in her dream had been confirmed to be able to use magic, already convinced her that things would work well for her if she agreed with the deal.

But not before adding one more condition. Why must she settle with watching other people perform magic if she and her soldiers could learn how to use it themselves? This would speed up the empowering of her battalion and would further guarantee the people's safety.

Markus was silent for a moment. In truth, he was just sending Magnus a message through the Team messaging system. 'What do you think, son? Are you willing to teach these soldiers a skill or two? Personally, I think it's a good idea. I'd feel bad if we had the power to do something but chose not to. It's your call.'

Magnus immediately replied. 'I'm okay with it, dad. However, I'll only be teaching a few people a couple of basic skills. Don't tell her this, but it's because I don't want anyone here to grow powerful too fast. I'd be glad to contribute in reducing casualties when the big guys finally arrive, but I don't want those whom I've taught to become a future risk.'

'You mean, those you call 'disposable Protagonists'?'

'That, yes.'

'By the way, what do you mean by 'the big guys'?'

'Oh, you don't have to worry about it for now, dad.'

Markus reined in his curiosity and told Fatima he agreed with her condition.

Much to the latter's satisfaction. "I'll order my men to collect supplies from those who seem to be hoarding too much. At the same time, I expect you to be ready to go out this evening." After concluding the deal, she smiled and got up from her seat. She offered Markus a handshake.

The scene felt like Deja Vu to her.

After seeing the two men out, Fatima looked to her adviser. "What do you think, Cain? You also had the same vision, didn't you?"

Trevor Cain nodded. "I think this is going to be interesting," he said, a faint smirk forming on his lips.