Time moved quickly, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Jun ate a lot of meat to gain more muscle and thus have a body perfectly suited for combat.
All day long, whenever he wanted to think or when his thoughts tormented him, he swung a wooden sword over and over again, day after day.
He did it on land, in water, and even practiced in the wind the different attack forms that Levi had taught him.
During this half year, he had more than five hundred practice fights with experienced fighters, who were delighted to help him.
Throughout all this time, he exhausted his mind with plans for developing military power and focused on exhausting his body.
Even so, despite training with the mindset of facing numerous enemies in case he was attacked, Gale felt strangely alone.
The weight he had placed on his shoulders had worn him down, as if somehow he could not find much meaning in this life.
Was it really worth exhausting himself so much to change the future? Did he value life that much, or did he believe he owed something to all these people?
Despite all the logical answers he could find about life, the most honest one was that in this world, he would never find the most passionate way to dedicate his life.
Gale was a simple boy; he did not desire a throne or an enviable title—what he wanted was to feel at peace with himself.
Kael gave him a purpose to change people's lives, and the people he met on the farm gave him the desire to use science so that no one would ever suffer hardships again.
But deep down, Gale was not a killer. He used the environment around him to become more savage.
In this world, you either bit or were killed.
Gale preferred to be the one who bit—the one who would always stand at the front.
"Are you still thinking that things could have been different?" asked a man in a military uniform.
"You are Vasili Arkhipov, the man who prevented a total nuclear war… What would you have done if you had been wrong?" Gale asked as he looked at the man who had appeared in his dreams.
"Nothing." Vasili Arkhipov remained indifferent as he drank and smoked.
"What?" Gale looked confused.
"I would be remembered as the man who tried to prevent a total nuclear war, not as the one who started it all." Vasili Arkhipov set his cigarette aside and said, "In our situations, it doesn't matter what happens—either outcome could be fatal for this world, but we can be the means."
"The means…"
Vasili Arkhipov nodded and said, "You will have the same choice I had when I was alive. Total war or not—regardless of what you choose, think about the consequences."
Every action has a reaction. By initiating total war, Gale would condemn the entire world, but he might also hold in his hands a small chance to calm wars and alter history.
Right now, he did not have the power to negotiate, but in the future, he certainly would have that opportunity.
"You are a man—you will surely find a way. And let me give you some advice: don't live only for war. Enjoy life a little; it is short."
"Yes… I suppose you're right." Gale felt extremely worn out, and his young body was not enduring the burden. He assumed that after securing this island, he would take a rest.
To live life…
Gale had never thought about it so seriously.