The Mahika Rental Stall

Merlin tried his best to console Alab, mentioning that he hadn't even started writing on paper or solving a mystery yet. Alab stared at him in silence, then sighed and said, "Okay, let's continue..."

"He moves on quickly," Merlin thought, surprised.

Alab grabbed a book from the stall and browsed the list of magic that could be rented. They were categorized into low, medium, and high-level magic.

"It's quite troublesome to browse this one by one when I'm in a rush," he joked. "Can't this book be changed into a screen with an instant search mechanism?"

"Actually, improvements like that are possible through something called Continuing Thesis Projects, but they also require Information Points," Merlin replied.

Although there was no confirmation, Alab continued browsing the book. The magic was categorized by level and arranged alphabetically, with the number of Information Points and rental duration listed next to each spell. He chose three spells:

* Information Points: 400

* Widen Vision (50): Spans the vision by 4 meters and gains an extra 15 degrees of peripheral view for each eye (1 day rental)

* Speed Boost (50): Equips you with Boots of Travel, allowing you to move faster (1 day rental)

The war was nearing its end, with only two more days to go. Alab intended to use these spells during that time to protect himself, adding an extra day as a precaution, a habit he'd developed from his time as a surgeon. As a principle, he always needed to cut an extra cm or mm around a cancer lesion to ensure its complete removal and prevent recurrence.

* Information Points: 100

* Arm Power: Doubles your current bilateral arm strength (1 day rental)

"I'm going to avail these for 2 days, Merlin," Alab said.

With two minutes left before the portal closed, he initiated a conversation with Merlin.

"Hey Merlin! I thought librarians were only on the sidelines? Why send me into the middle of the battlefield?"

"Mozza chose that as your first destination. I don't know anything about it myself," Merlin replied.

"Anytime, I could be dead by putting me, someone with a baby's knowledge, into this war," Alab grumbled.

"You don't have to be alone," Merlin reassured him. "In any situation, as long as you find the right people, you'll be able to tackle all obstacles."

Alab asked if there was a device to track his earned Information Points. Merlin explained that there was one, but it could only be accessed by librarians and the secrets of Mozza couldn't be revealed to outsiders.

With seconds left on the clock, Alab tried to ask another question, "I obtained the memories of a dead person after touching him. What do you know about it?"

Flashes of light appeared, accompanied by a hissing sound, and Merlin's words were lost. Alab woke up on his bed, back in his role as a bannerman. He felt tired but also lighter, his movements quicker than before.

After breakfast, he tested his new abilities by arm wrestling with some of his platoon members and easily won. He could also clearly see the surroundings using his [Widen Vision], although it caused a slight strain on his eyes.

With a few minutes before the battle, Alab's thoughts drifted. 'If I was not able to be who I wanted on Earth, maybe it's a good thing I'm here. After all, I never had the chance to be a soldier in my previous life. But what assurance is there that I'll find what I want if I die here? I need to stay smart and stay alive!'

The fourth day of the battle commenced. Alab joined the Dragoon Platoon, stationed on Atop Hill, slightly removed from the actual battlefield, along with other bannermen. They waited for orders from the strategist.

"I think this strategy is not practical," Alab muttered to himself. "Why not use horns or another kind of communication?"

A man with a banner approached him. "This new method is actually proving to be effective," he explained.

The new strategy had been proposed by the strategist Kuma, one of the 14 strategists on the field. It was designed for areas that might be difficult to reach with traditional communication. The banners used different colors to signal instructions. Alab's team had two colors: red for "charge" and blue for "support," with support being the more vital one. When an area was losing, the bannerman ordered by the strategist would rush to the back of that area, wave their flag, and then retreat to a safe point.

Bannermen were also trained as spear users, so they could defend themselves if attacked. Several bannermen were dispatched before Alab was ordered to go to the left flank of the army. He was accompanied by a squad of Dragoon Platoon soldiers.

'I see, so that's why I was alone yesterday,' Alab realized. The previous platoon had been annihilated.

After waving his flag, he was ordered to return to the safe point, Atop Hill. On his way back, he saw another bannerman, also retreating, get stabbed by an enemy soldier. Startled, he instinctively swung his pole horizontally, knocking the enemy back. He realized he had used his [Arm Power], but he couldn't bring himself to kill the enemy.

He approached the injured bannerman, the same man he had spoken to earlier. "I waved my flag for quite a while, but no one came," the man said.

The new strategy had its flaws. With a late retreat, a bannerman could be killed. And if the nearby soldiers were preoccupied, only those from the back would respond. It was up to the strategists and the commander to send reinforcements, but sometimes, none were sent.

Alab knew he needed to be quick on his retreat. As he retreated, he used his pole to knock back enemies, and he saw the Dragoon Platoon being annihilated. Using his [Widen Vision] and [Speed Boost], he managed to avoid being captured.

On his way back, Alab tripped over the body of a large man from his army. He moved the body and then experienced an extreme headache, along with a flood of images. He saw a military man who had lost his wife and daughter. The pain was intense, and he lost consciousness.

When Alab regained consciousness, his vision was still blurry, but he could hear the voices of men fighting. He saw a sword piercing towards his face and moved his head, avoiding the blow. He saw two enemies approaching and swung his pole towards them, knocking them back. He retreated and looked behind him to see if they were following but they seemed to be still recuperating. From that glimpse he also saw the corpse of the large man whose memories he had obtained.

Surrounding the man's body were several enemy corpses, about 30-40 in total. Alab imagined that man fighting all those enemies, but for now, those thoughts were insignificant. He still felt a lingering pain in his head.

Upon reaching the safe point, he was ordered to rally in a certain area. He quickly retreated, using his [Speed Boost] to avoid being caught. After five successful rallies, Alab felt exhausted. He could now only see two bannermen on foot back at the safe point, out of the original fifteen. Only a few soldiers remained on the safe point.

Gazing at the battlefield, Alab saw that they were already pushing back the enemies, but some enemies had escaped and were approaching their position.

"Kill those men with flags!" shouted the enemy leader.

The two other bannermen and the strategists were already preparing to retreat, but Alab waved his flag at Atop Hill. Normally, safe points were abandoned when they became unsafe, but Alab knew that their path was blocked and there was no way around it.

At the headquarters, strategist Kuma saw Alab's flag. Although unusual, he understood the message. "That safe point has proven vital for winning today's battle," Kuma said to the commander, Raphael. "From his message, he doesn't want to retreat, and I'd like to maintain it. I suggest sending three platoons to that area."

Raphael agreed. The Lion, Snow, and Tulip Platoons, who had just finished pushing back their enemies, were sent to reinforce Atop Hill.