Chapter 14: Forming action plans
Eryndor felt refreshed after the short nap just now, it felt like his fatigue had been washed out.
I didn't feel tired from the journey whatsoever. Is it because I used my ability at such intensity that I felt fatigued?
It checks out I guess, energy of Consciousness huh. So if I happen to completely drain it while using my abilities, will I be knocked unconscious?
He made a mental note of this point and headed towards the living room of their booked apartment.
The two women were already present, chatting softly when their eyes caught Eryndor leaving his room.
"As always, it's Drakarion who is late again."
Paulina giggled while speaking, glancing at Valentina before continuing.
"Alright, I won the bet. You owe me a meal."
Valentina had a helpless smile on her face while agreeing to it.
They waited for a while before Drakarion finally joined them.
"So? How are we proceeding?"
Eryndor looked around before posing a question.
"We'll need information."
Valentina replied, to which Paulina added.
"We'll need to gather information from all the residents of the town first to have an estimate of exactly how many animals were infected."
"Alright, information first then. But we can directly head towards the town's mayor for information.
"We can ask him to notify every member of the town to upload the number of infected animals they've seen, preferably with a proof.
"I'll make a basic form where they can upload the data and a document which will record all of it."
Eryndor added his own points. He worked in the IT department before he awakened, so this was just one of the many small skills he had.
"What next?"
Drakarion asked while eating from his bag of chips.
"Then we will first target infected animals which are likely to stay alone.
Possibly the smaller, weaker ones so we get an idea of how exactly the infected ones act."
Eryndor suggested.
Valentina advised modifying the plan a bit.
"Maybe we can also gather information on people who were attacked by these infected animals?
"It would be better still if we know how the infected animals behave before dealing personally with them."
Eryndor jotted down the points before glancing up back at them.
Drakarion crumpled the now empty bag of chips and spoke.
"I'll fight first. Y'all can watch me. We'll have no problems. Mission finished."
Eryndor chuckled helplessly, inwardly feeling that what Drakarion said was not completely wrong.
There was indeed a possibility that Drakarion alone was strong enough to handle all the infected animals.
"Alright then, today we'll focus on information gathering, we'll start capturing the animals from tomorrow."
It took Eryndor barely ten minutes to get the form and document ready.
The four of them then moved out, eager to approach the town's mayor. It was a good thing that the Mayor's office wasn't located in the red circle mentioned in the information package.
Along the way, they learned from various people that the town's mayor this year barely won the election.
His position was so shaky and that it could have been uprooted by the opposition anytime.
But a few weeks ago, one of the leaders of the opposition died from a heart attack, one went missing and one had fallen sick.
Everyone was suspicious about the mayor but there was no evidence connecting him to the murders.
The Human Federation also didn't have the leisure to involve itself in petty squabbles over power in every other city or town, so the mayor was still sitting firmly in his position.
The four of them reached the mayor's office within twenty minutes, and immediately secured an appointment once they displayed their Academy's badge.
As they sat in the guest room, a middle aged man who looked to be on the younger side—probably in early thirties—entered the room.
He had dark brown hair along with pitch black eyes, pairing it with his average stature, he had a rather ordinary look.
Eryndor stood up and extended his hand as soon as the man entered the room.
"Eryndor here, we are students sent from the Academy to resolve an issue in the town."
"My name is John Altreck. I was informed of your visit. Is there any way I can be of any help to you?"
"We'll need your urgent help regarding information about the infected animals."
Eryndor explained to him about what he expected of the Mayor, and he was very open to coordination if it helped the town.
He promised to send patrols all over the town to inform people to fill up the form at the earliest.
Eryndor was tempted to use cognitive scrying as the matter of the mayor's opposition dying and falling sick were too suspicious, but ultimately abided by his principles.
He had recently been pondering over the issue, and had a rather far fetched guess.
He knew that he awakened when he genuinely doubted his identity as a human for the first time.
He might very well be an Eldritch Entity before he was sealed, but he had no memories of it.
Eryndor therefore had very little attachment to his life before being sealed.
If anything, he was simply curious about his past, a few important specifics such as who sealed him, and a hunger to unlock the power locked away within him.
The hunger for power was related to protecting his and his closed ones' lives rather than a selfish desire.
A part of what made him human were his memories, emotions, principles and morals.
If he let go of his principles, it might be a threat to his identity. Uncontrollable changes might take place.
What if he lost all memories if the seal completely broke apart? Reverting him to his Eldritch form?
He would be destroying the Earth where his parents and friends lived.
He had read in several fantasy books about how truly powerful beings had no personality or a sense of identity. Just actions based on the concept they represented or embodied.
What if something similar happened to him?
Eryndor didn't want to take any risks.
He simply narrowed his eyes at the mayor before leaving the room.
Their team would soon have information on all the infected animals along with the experience of people dealing with them by the night.
Tomorrow would be the day they would set out to capture them.
Eryndor was looking forward to it.