初女破初的娇喘

\'All because I was playing with a big three-headed puppy.\' Cedric huffed despite himself, \'Yeah, sounds about right...\'

He\'s probably the only one in his batch who could shrug off this kind of abuse. Thank god for the mysterious healer fixing him up every time he\'s injured or else, he would\'ve died already. As he is right now, he\'s definitely not the Cerberus\' enemy...a playmate, more like, but definitely not an enemy.

Cedric then looked at his squad members and saw that all of them were on the ground; beaten, and exhausted. They have no energy to even move a muscle. If breathing wasn\'t necessary, they probably wouldn\'t be doing that either.

\'...I said I wasn\'t going to babysit anybody here, but look at me.\' Cedric inwardly shook his head as he recalled the words of advice he imparted to them earlier.

\'Well, I\'m tasked to do that anyway. Not explicitly, but it\'s the same thing. And I accepted the responsibility. Besides, their performance will reflect on my mission rating so I might as well do it properly.\'

Cedric already dismissed the puppies. The training yard fell into a strange quiet since nobody except Cedric had the energy to even speak.

Most of them stared at the dark and gloomy skies above. The absence of the sun and light really creates a depressing mood. Add the fact that they are still wary of their surroundings because only that 1000-foot wall was separating them from the real hell...

Really, if Cedric wasn\'t a good motivator, they would most likely quit already. Screw being called a genius and graduating at the most prestigious institute ever!

As for Cedric, he subtly glanced at a certain distance.

About 5 kilometers away from where the apartment complex was, on the 5th floor of a building, he sensed a presence watching over them earlier, though he ignored him since he wasn\'t close anyway.

But as he continued observing that person like he was doing with them, Cedric sensed his motive for doing so...

\'Most likely a scout and sent by Captain Silverwing to monitor us.\' He mused to himself.

He didn\'t need to face the direction where the man was because of how his field of senses works, so no awkward eye contact here.

\'But I am certain he knew that I found him. I could swear he grinned at me when he discovered it. Meh, whatever. One day, I\'ll hone my senses to the point that nobody can sense it.\'

Cedric then stood up and dusted himself. He then approached his exhausted teammates and asked:

"Tired?"

A cacophony of whines and grunts were the replies he received. He fought the urge to smirk at their misery.

"Well, the day\'s far from over folks so stand up and walk it off. I\'m giving you three hours of rest. Do whatever you wanna do during that time but three hours later, I\'ll be calling you back. There are still things for us to discuss, formations to practice, and strategies to memorize. So up! Don\'t sleep there."

His squadmates winced at the mention of more work. Some even glared at him. However, all of them did find sufficient energy to at least stand up and return to their rooms. All things considered, they are glad to be given time to rest. Lord knows they need it.

Cedric watched them go inside. Once they were gone, he turned around and wasn\'t surprised to see someone standing not too far from him.

It was the same man who was monitoring their performance.

"Good work, Squad Leader. Here, a little incentive from Cap."

He threw a card at Cedric who inspected it a bit. It\'s a supply coupon. One he could use to exchange for rations, water, and other needs of their squad. The card says that it\'s good for one week. This was exactly what they\'re lacking right now considering their current situation.

Cedric bowed slightly at the man but was stopped before he could do so.

"None of that, Kid." He said, "We\'re all in the same boat here. My position isn\'t much different from yours. Reserve that for the Captains and above."

Cedric nodded upon hearing that.

"Anyway, continue with the good job. Captain Silverwing wouldn\'t be stingy with the rewards. And before I leave, let me tell you this: wherever you are, whatever you do, know that the Captain is always watching you. That\'s all."

After saying his piece, he promptly disappeared from where he was. Cedric could follow him for the most part but he did something to lose him, he\'s also still too fast so that was normal.

Sighing to himself, Cedric didn\'t even bother going inside to change. He left the complex and went to the Resource Exchange Center nearby to use the ticket he received.

The documents he received from Silverwing included the locations of important places, and Cedric had them all memorized by now so he knew where he was going.

Upon arriving there, he approached the window and the worker there saw him,

"Hello, how can I help you?" She asked in a gentle and welcoming voice.

"I\'d like to use this, please," Cedric said before showing her the resource ticket.

The woman nodded in understanding. She fetched a large backpack and a similarly large jug before saying:

"They\'re bigger inside so don\'t be fooled. Not \'Inventory\'-like big, and definitely doesn\'t pose a danger. It\'s safe to use around here, though they can\'t be brought outside for safety purposes."

She\'s probably aware that he\'s new here so she took her time to explain things. Cedric appreciated it.

"These contain a week\'s worth of food and water. You could also pick a few things on this list to add but don\'t go overboard since you can only have a week\'s worth of supplies after all. Choose wisely though, and tell me after you made your pick."

Cedric was already reading through the list as she talked. He even made several picks already before she finished talking.

He already guessed it earlier; things like electricity supply, gas, and other miscellaneous things also cost merit points here even though it\'s supposed to be given for free. He reserved whatever he wanted to say though since he\'s not really in a position to say anything.

Before he told her his choices, he asked: "Are we allowed to exchange Demon Souls for Merit Points?"

"Absolutely!" She replied cheerfully, "But I do recall your System being sealed so how are you going to do that?"

"Bank." Cedric replied flatly, causing the lady to blink owlishly at him.

She then chuckled and said: "Clever. I\'ll only accept T4 Demon Souls though. And the ratio of exchange is 5:1. How much will you exchange."

"1000 for now. Here\'s my choice, by the way."

The lady retrieved the list and saw his choices. Inwardly, she\'s surprised. Not because of his choices...he\'s practical on that part and that\'s to be expected, though she\'s a bit puzzled why he didn\'t ask for an electricity supply, that\'s none of her business.

What she\'s surprised about is the fact that Cedric\'s choices, including the excess that can\'t be covered by the ticket, exactly amounted to 1000 Merit Points. Right at the dot.

How he calculated that while there\'s barely a pause in their conversation eludes her, but again, that\'s none of her business.

"Let me fetch these for you. Meanwhile, enter your bank account here and get yourself verified. You can also do the exchange yourself, that machine\'s beginner-friendly anyway."

She didn\'t even wait for his reply before leaving. Cedric merely shrugged at this and did what she said.

Yeah, she\'s right. The machine was beginner-friendly. Even a simpleton could use it well. Probably made the Lifestyle Guild exclusively for the army.

\'Thank god I have a good foresight to deposit some of my wealth into a bank. Otherwise, even with this supposed 1 week\'s worth of supplies, we\'d still have to consume them sparingly.\'

Cedric does not have qualms about spending his own money to provide for his squad. Demon Souls are something he had in spades. He has so much that he doesn\'t even know how to spend it, so this much wasn\'t a problem for him. He didn\'t even feel the pinch at all.

After doing the exchange himself, the lady returned with the stuff he ordered.

She helped him pack it all. She also gave her the rest of the things he ordered like; gas for the stove, more cleaning materials (because the ones back there are old), a second set of uniforms for the whole team, toiletries, etc.

Once he was good to go, he concluded the exchange and marched back to the complex.

Upon arriving, he saw some of his squadmates in the living room. They saw him return with stuff and were immediately interested.

"What\'re those?" #5 asked.

"A week\'s worth of supplies." He replied before starting to take out the supplies from the bag. "Help me with these, we\'ll divide them equally amongst ourselves."

Excited at the prospect of eating real and warm food, those who were available unhesitatingly stood up to help him sort out the supplies.