Chapter 305: Low-key (2)
"I\'m always in good form," he smiled, then turned to Jason. "I thought you\'d return with the emergency gone, or have you enlisted yourself to deal with demonic creatures?"
Jason smiled warily. "You remember I mentioned I hadn\'t completed the compulsory military service?" Discover hidden stories at mvl
"They roped you in for it?"
"I decided to join," Jason said.
"Technically, you are yet to join," Jessica pinched in. "And I\'ll continue to advise against it. You should just aim for being a guild master if you do not want to take father\'s position."
"Why are you so against it?" her younger brother asked, making a face. "I feel like this is the type of thing you\'d encourage me for. Say stuff like this will build character and all."
"If you want to build character, I can suggest ten better things for you to do," Jessica said, while Gale watched the back and forth between siblings.
"I have four months of compulsory duty left," Jason said. "I shouldn\'t cut corners if I don\'t want to live in our father\'s shadow. Isn\'t that right?"
Jason turned to him, leaving him no choice but to say something. "If you feel like this is something you need to do," Gale said, "because you\'re your own man, then be my guest. But if it\'s just about not enjoying the privilege your family paid for, I\'d suggest thinking hard about it before deciding."
Jason frowned at his unexpected suggestion.
"You haven\'t completed your service for a reason," Gale continued. "It may be because it\'s hard work, or your family believes it\'s not the best use of your time. Whatever it is, you need to understand that enlisting in the military will only go one way."
"Which is?"
"You\'ll have to carry out whatever orders or commands your superior officers give you," Gale said, instantly seeing the shift in Jason\'s expression.
"That\'s the worst part about it," Jason said.
"But you can\'t argue it\'s the only reason the establishment is running," Gale said. "You may hate it. Well, I hate losing my autonomy. So in the end, it all depends on what you are willing to sacrifice for it."
Jason thought deeply about it for several seconds and let out a heavy breath. "I feel like I need to do this," he said. "Also, I want to enter the trials of the inheritance ground, and do it on my own ability. No under-the-table deal from father or you."
Jessica sighed audibly. "Can I ask you to wait a few months before you decide to join?" she asked.
"Why? What difference would a few months make?"
She released a breath, exchanging glances between the two of them. "I shouldn\'t be telling you this, but I guess I\'m unlikely to get into trouble for this. You were both present when the subspace merged with the frontline, so you probably noticed some disturbance…"
"What are you getting at, sis?"
"Is this about the dimension laws acting wacky?" Gale asked. Previously, the dimension law around the subspace was wacky, to begin with, but taking away the god-killing sceptre had made it fragile.
Jessica nodded. "The revelation of the subspace into the frontline has caused the dimension barrier between the different zones to weaken," she said. "There are people still researching it, or how to reinforce it, but the number of holes in it continues to grow as time passes."
"What does that mean?" Jason asked.
"It means the barrier may continue to deteriorate and disappear for good," Gale said, realisation dawning on him. "You can already guess what that would entail."
Jason sucked in a deep breath.
"Thankfully, it\'s a barrier between the second and third zones," Jessica said. "The main camp won\'t feel most of the brunt, but the higher-ups are already on track to establish another permanent base around the inheritance ground. Although what they found are crumbs of past glory, it has come to their great notice, especially the trial grounds."
A frown crept to Gale\'s brows. "I thought the trials weren\'t running anymore."
Jason answered, "Apparently, the trial gates only lack the power to work again. Somehow, the merging process has dried the natural essence vein of the subspace. The higher-ups are proceeding with plans to replenish that."
"It will be a tall order to fix that," Jessica added. "But I guess they already have help…"
"Still, it should take some time, right?" Gale asked.
"Definitely," Jessica agreed. "I think the process is easy, just that the sheer amount of essence it will require would be staggering. There will be a lot of back and forth between various powers and their allies until they finally pile their resources together to make it work."
"Shouldn\'t the empire have enough to take care of it on their own?" Jason asked.
"They should," his sister said.
"Then why do they need to beat around with other powers to make it work?"
Jessica was about to explain but paused to stare at her brother\'s exterior. "This should be easy for you to understand," she said. "Did you forget all the classes we had on politics?"
Jason groaned. "Unfortunately, I did not, even if I tried to."
"Then show me what you can come up with," Jessica challenged.
Jason scratched his head. "It\'s because the inheritance ground already garnered the interest of various powers?"
"And?"
"And the empire wants to cut their losses," Jason\'s eyes lit up. "After all, if they make the inheritance groundwork again, all the powers would try to gain something out of it, eventually. So why not keep them involved in the first place?"
"See? You\'re not dumb," Jessica grinned, patting her brother\'s shoulder. "You just don\'t use your head all the time."
Even Gale was impressed.
Jason snorted. "If that\'s a compliment, keep it to yourself."