BXBX NOVEL Chapter 153: Natural Sensor?
What they saw and heard today made them feel like their entire life was a lie. And they couldn't be blamed for being out of it. This is also why the words 'sheltered and catered to' cut deeper since, as much as they hated to believe it, it was the truth.
They truly have no idea how terrible the current state of Humanity was. Compared to the real world, their battles within the Human Territory were nothing but mere children's fights - irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
Sure it made them tougher, made them stronger, and taught them how to stand up and fight, but in the face of a real war? That's just a little bit better than being useless. And being slapped awake to that reality hurts bad.
Cedric was probably the least affected by all of this, mostly because he had been desensitized before.
He was no stranger to hardships and unfairness, considering that he literally spent a good chunk of his life trapped in the RMC. Additionally, he received a Lv.8 System Authority which allowed him to learn about these early on.
Cedric already knew that the sun within the Human Territory was artificially created by the 'House of Light'. Hell, the entire reason why he chose the "Aspect of the Sun" as his Sage Aspect was because of this. He wants to play a role that's much bigger than himself, rather than being human, to prove himself worthy of the gifts he received.
Cedric already discovered that the Acala System only works fine within Human Territory. He even prepared for that before coming here.
He also knew that the sun disappeared but not about it being devoured by a Demon King. That was news for him. Also, he didn't know that the moon was shattered as well. Orion didn't give any details about that but that's fine. It's not that relevant to the current him anyway.
Overall, since he already learned most of the stuff that Orion revealed to him, the impact of his words was cushioned, so he's not as affected as the rest.
The most important factor here is that Cedric knew that the situation of Humanity sounds too good to be true considering that demons are literally always looking for a way to breach Purgatory to finish what they started.
This was one of the things he discovered as soon as he arrived at the Black Thread City, freshly out of the RMC. He had never forgotten about this sensation and had always doubted it. His recent discoveries only proved that his instincts were, once again, right.
The freshman students were divided into quarters. Boys and girls are separated. There were more men in this batch than women so the boys' quarters were bigger.
They weren't given individual rooms, only a single one filled with bunk beds. There are enough supplies for everyone to use, not a lot, just enough. There's a communal bathroom and at least three comfort rooms here as well.
Surprisingly, Cedric was the only one using the bunk bed. The rest shared with each other yet they seem to be avoiding him somehow, and Cedric don't quite know why. He's not complaining though, he just hoped that this wouldn't become a problem here because he didn't want to leave a bad impression on their first day.
Orion told them that someone would fetch them once they were needed. Maybe an officer or something else? Who knows? The time hasn't been specified though so just to be safe, Cedric kept alert at all times.
He was actually tempted to roam around and learn more about this camp.
From what he discovered so far, at least in the nearby area where they're stationed, there are at least 20 military camps, not counting the entire battalion stationed here. All were built in a giant cluster close to the entrance of the Eastern Great Wall. The people who were stationed here were the first line of defense if any Demons breached this side of the wall somehow.
The walls are designed to forcefully funnel them here so that they will receive a direct bombardment of extreme prejudice should they dare encroach upon Humanity's territory.
Aside from this though, as well as the facilities they passed through to arrive at the men's quarters, he knew nothing else.
He was really tempted to just unfold his field of senses here to spy on everything but he recalled Orion's words.
There are people here who are probably Planar Travellers and above, maybe even a Star Traveller. These people would likely sense his probe and reprimand him for spying. Again, Cedric didn't want to leave a bad impression so he held that desire within.
In his boredom, he carefully, like really carefully, probed his System. Trying to see if it's still online and could be used.
He wasn't surprised when he discovered that, although it is working, there's a noticeable lag with the System. It wasn't performing as swiftly and as smoothly as it was back in the civilization.
Noticing this, Cedric didn't even bother opening his Inventory. Even though Orion hasn't told them about it, Cedric could theorize that using it would be risky here. After all, if there's already a noticeable lag in the System, then it was highly possible that the Inventory, being one of its functions, would be at risk too.
As he rested and waited to be called out for the briefing, Cedric suddenly felt a probe sweeping through the room which alerted him.
He raised a brow but didn't move. He closed his eyes and attempted to track the source of that probe because he was certain that it didn't belong to any of his batchmates or Orion.
Cedric followed the trail through his senses and it led him to its source, which was a man who wore a military outfit, wearing a silver badge with the symbol of a hawk on his left breast pocket.
To his surprise, he saw the man lifting his gaze suddenly and he could've sworn that he was looking at him. The guy even smiled playfully and mouthed:
'Not bad, Kid. Not bad at all.'
To his surprise, Cedric retrieved his probe and limited it to a mere 5 meters around him.
'See that, self? Your senses aren't that special. Learn to tone down your curiosity next time.' He admonished himself, feeling a bit apprehensive because he might've just offended someone before the mission even began.
**
"Ha! What a naughty kid!"
The same man who sensed Cedric's probe guffawed after sensing Cedric's retreat. He could tell that the kid probably got scared or intimidated. Couldn't blame him, after all, they were in unfamiliar territory.
"What's the matter, Captain?" Orion asked, seemingly surprised by his sudden outburst.
"You brought a good Kid with you, Sir Orion." The man shrugged before sitting down next to his colleagues.
"Kid...you mean my students? Who caught your eye?"
"The kid with the golden hair and eyes. Pretty strong for a Tier 4 too." The Captain replied. "I probed their location and the kid sensed it. Followed my trail all the way here and saw me."
"I mean, I was being careless since they're just a bunch of kids but I'm still experienced in my sensory skills. The fact that the kid noticed me right away...ha! He's interesting."
Orion thought for a bit and said: "Ah, you must be talking about Cedric Stormrider, the 1st ranked of this batch. He's the only blonde I know who is quite sensitive to his surroundings. He's a curious one. I'm terribly sorry if he offended you."
"No, no, no!" The captain shook his head. "Not offended at all. In fact, I am impressed. It's been a while since I saw a natural sensor. He has the foundations of a Scoutmaster."
Orion, as well as the rest of the captain's colleagues, were fairly surprised by his remark.
'A Natural Sensor.' Orion ruminated the words in his mind. 'Of course, he is! How did we miss this?'
Natural Sensors are a type of talent that is fairly rare even among geniuses. The term refers to people whose senses far surpass what their supposed limits should be in Tiers and Levels.
Recalling Cedric's performance so far, Orion almost wanted to smack his face for completely forgetting about this. Had he known, they could've probably had a better position in this meeting.
Natural Sensors are highly valued in the army. Common people would most likely be disdainful of someone who had a sensitive tongue, but in the army, that person would be a treasure.
Having a sharp sense of taste could bring numerous advantages to certain activities that the army does. And in the grand scheme of things, they are at the bottom of the ranks of Natural Sensors.
A sharp sense of smell, skin sensitive to energy fluctuations and vibrations, ears that could listen to everything within a 1-kilometer radius, and eyes that could make out the size of a horde before everybody else saw them. These talents receive far more importance in the army because of their practical uses.
"Let's talk about the kid later." The captain said, "Right now, let's focus on the matter at hand, the patrol..."