The Extra denied a system

"You know, when I was young my grand-dad once told me, 'War is hell'" Expressed an orange-haired man in a livid tone. 

'...?' 

Alex remained silent during the orange-haired man's banter.

He had long since given up fruitlessly attempting to tell the guy to 'shut up'.

Several hours passed like this, but I was helpless. 

Alex had only wished for the man's downfall and total silence. 

Glaring from behind the black mask on my face, my perception is not obscured from its shell. 

 "For the nth time can you leave," Alex said in a cold tone contrasting the orange-haired man's own. 

Tiling his head from confusion the man mused. 

"Why should I?" 

Resisting the urge boiling within me to yell from the man's sly comment, I slowly spoke in a forcibly calm tone.

"Can you not read the room?"

"As a collective, we are being transported to our designated battle zones,"

"Hence I want to sleep in silence as I am transported," Alex spoke chilled tone. 

Nodding his head, the orange-haired man seemed to daze for several seconds. 

"Fair, I may seem inconsiderate from your point of view, but I'm merely trying to cope, you know." The man retorted

"As a fellow comrade heading to the H-Rank battle zone, should we not better know one another?"

Scrutinizing the details of the man's complexion I sigh. 

"Now, now, how do you know I'm a fellow heading for the H-ranked battle zones?"

"For all you know, I could hail to the I-ranked." 

Leaning further back into his seat's cushion the man spoke. 

"Well, judging from your demeanor I can tell." 

'...?" confused by the response Alex replied 

"My demeanor, how so?"

"You lack the traits to be called experienced, yet you also lack such lofty fear and timidness most newbies tend to have," 

"Just centered of sorts, neither good nor bad, so I just deduced you were headed to the H-rank." the man spoke with a slight chuckle. 

Bemused by the man's response I couldn't help but feel slightly dumbstruck by his observation.

"Just from that, you deduced as much…" Alex poised 

"Of course, it's not exactly difficult really." the man said with a nonchalant shrug. 

As if the man gained a sudden thin glimmer of enlightenment turned and questioned me. 

"How dumb of me, I bloody forgot to ask for your name." the man said, palming his head while simultaneously shaking his head as if such a question was the most obvious one to start with. 

"Rel" I shortly reply 

"And yours?" Alex questioned 

"Leo," the man said with a slightly proud tone.

Feeling the urge to ask I poise a question 

"If I may?"

"Sure go ahead," 

Casting the man a fleeting glimpse over his entirety, I view his attire. 

Leo, cladded a similar set of metallic covering, from the structure of his face I assumed he was roughly around 27-8. 

Still full of vitality, yet the process of aging was subtly showing its effects through small curvature. 

"I wonder, do you practice with cold weapons, firearms, or others?" Alex said in a tone that slightly hinted at curiosity. 

Providing Rel a curious gaze, Leo's eyes slightly curved into the shape of crescent moons before responding. 

"I mainly use cold weapons, they're useful," Leo said

"But for bloody sake, I lack the talent for any other type of weapon, It's like I'm impaired" 

Mustering up more words Leo spoke in an earnest tone. 

"With cold weapons, Swords are honestly the second easiest to master just under the spear" 

"And you?"

Giving a slight nod In acknowledgment I spoke. 

"Well similar to but different, I am a practitioner of the trident," Alex said with a natural tone, rather than the cold distancing one used earlier finally accepting the newcomer's presence. 

"Isn't the trident used for catching fish though?" 

'...what the hell's this bastard's problem?' 

"..Well the trident is a sub-variant of the spear," Alex said slightly snapping back. 

"Well I reckon that's true," Leo replied 

 Shifting my gaze from Leo, I looked towards the seat in front of me. 

Its black canvas hindered my view from seeing forward. 

The windows were blackened, preventing a view of the outside. 

The seat I perched on bore little cushioning.

Leo was oddly jubilant, annoyingly so…

Yet nevertheless, his gaze was unfazed though death hid so near. 

Blocking out Leo's nonsensical ripostes from perception I continued to count each blemish presented on the seat's back. 

After several hours of continuous journey within the black cubi, I begin to feel the itch. 

Boredom,

Relenting myself from my idle mind, I finally forced myself to find a stimulus to keep my boredom at bay. 

Fortunately, Leo existed, as such in my state of boredom I posed a question. 

"Leo,"

"Yep," replied Leo in a tone that made it seem as if the two were long-term friends 

"Do you not fear death?" I questioned 

"Why do you ask?" Leo mused 

Lazily looking towards Leo, I reply 

"Your attitude were begin sent to war and yet you are seen to pay it little heed,"

"Why is that?" 

"..." Giving the question a thought Leo replied after several minutes of internal deliberation.

"It's not that I don't fear death, but rather… I have just accepted it." 

"May you elaborate," Alex pushed, furrowing his brows behind the mask. 

"I've been at peak-fledging rank for several years now, and well since my progress stifled... I was drafted into the Empire's military." Leo said with an annoyed sigh

"And well after always being so close to death, I've well grown used to it" Leo shrugged with little care. 

"So you still feel the inkling of death.., but that feeling has grown numb with experience?" Alex mused more towards himself than Leo. 

"Well I guess you can say that," Leo said scratching the back of his head. 

'[Talent]… such a fucking annoying bound, for us dullards' I sigh 

'Anyway, we should be arriving soon?'

Author: four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the eve...