Slavery.

Ralph slowly regained consciousness, his eyes slowly opened.

He felt his body a little sore, and there were some bandages on his body and in his ear, it should be the work of the military.

Looking around, Ralph realized he was in a dark, closed room. His arms were chained, and so were his legs. There was only one table and two chairs in the room, Ralph was sitting at one.

Ralph can't help but smile bitterly and shake his head.

-I must have really gone crazy after all this ... I would never do something so stupid before.

Ralph thought but did not feel sorry.

Ralph knew he was being watched, so he kept his composure.

After a few minutes, the door to the room opened, and a person familiar to Ralph entered.

"Matheus?" Ralph was surprised to see the lieutenant in that place, but at the same time he was a little relieved.

Matheus sat on a chair across the table.

Matheus had a solemn expression and asked while holding a notepad and pen:

"Who are you?"

Ralph frowned but replied:

"... Ralph Karman, I think you can confirm that."

Matheus did not seem to mind the comment and asked another question:

"How did you infiltrate the base?"

"... I used my ability, I can create illusions." Ralph replied in a tired tone.

Matheus wrote everything down and asked again:

"What is your goal in infiltrating the base?"

At that point, Ralph's expression cannot help but be slightly distorted.

"... Well, I was tired of following the game that you guys were playing with us, the Walkers."

Matheus wrote it down and asked again:

"How did you infiltrate the base?"

Ralph frowned but pondered before answering:

"Near where we were fighting a jaguar-like beast, there was a conflict between some soldiers and another beast. I got in the truck ..." Ralph started to explain the infiltration step by step, and Matheus copied everything.

"What is your goal of infiltrating the base?" Matheus asked again.

Ralph sighed and tried to explain in several ways.

"Who are you?" Matheus asked without any change in expression.

Before Ralph could answer 'Ralph Karman' however, Matheus continued:

"If your ability is illusion, how can I be sure that I am talking to the real Ralph Karman? How can I be sure that you were not trying to deceive us from the start?"

Ralph twisted the corners of his mouth and tried to explain:

"I remember an old man ... He seemed to be able to see me, I think you can check with his help."

Matheus shook his head and looked into Ralph's eyes.

Ralph rolled his eyes as he thought about something, and then said:

"If you don't believe me, you can talk to Commander José. I still clearly remember the conversation I had with him, and he can confirm this for me... There is also Sergeant Jorge, I can recite all the questions I asked him while he introduced me to the military base... If that's not enough, you can just take a sample of my blood and check my DNA, or do you believe that I can maintain an illusion at this level of complexity even if you transport the sample to another place?"

Matheus did not change the solemn expression but he also did not write anything in the notebook.

"I believe you." He spoke slowly.

Ralph frowned and asked the reason for the whole hoax.

"We had already checked everything while you were unconscious. That was just ... following protocol." Matheus said and then unchained Ralph, who was visibly irritated by the scam.

"Protocol ... Bah !!" Ralph scoffed.

"Hehe, it looks like you still don't know the trouble you're in." Matheus spoke with a smile.

"And what would these old men do to me? Kill me? Arrest? I have much more value living and free." Ralph sneered.

Matheus laughed and didn't disagree, few Walkers are able to infiltrate a military base so tightly guarded so easily.

"Even so, there will certainly be disciplinary punishment, so don't be chanting victory." Matheus advised.

"So, what does the protocol urge after I am interrogated?" Ralph asked.

"You will not be released ... Not yet, first it will be necessary for the punishment to be decided, to maintain order you know, that kind of thing." Matheus spoke while tapping Ralph on the shoulder.

"Oh yeah, I think that disqualifies me from training ... It's a shame but I think it was worth it." Ralph spoke with a bitter smile.

"Worth it?" Matheus asked surprised.

Ralph smiled but didn't explain.

"Do I remember finding one, sword? Can you explain what that was?" Ralph asked.

Matheus shook his head and said:

"This is confidential information."

Ralph clicked his tongue but did not insist.

"You will need to stay here, and I hope you don't try to do anything out of the ordinary. Behind that wall is the old man you mentioned, he can easily see through your illusion." Matheus spoke and said goodbye.

Ralph sat on the chair with a bored expression.

There was nothing in the room, so Ralph started to practice with his skill. He had been at level 2 for quite a while, and synchronization had taken big steps in the past few days, maybe he just needed a spur to get going.

He did not bother to be watched by that old man, on the contrary, he felt relieved, since that freed him from greater suspicion.

The biggest problem encountered by Ralph is to divide attention between image, sounds and thermal sensations. He needs to keep the two perfectly in sync, but he has only managed to bring the image and the sound together so far.

Whenever he tried to divert attention to the temperature, the other two were imperfect. This was a clear sign of mental limitation.

Ralph speculates that the reason he has advanced so much in the past few days is that he has improved his intelligence stat.

-Maybe if I get another point or two ... Maybe then I will reach level 3.

Ralph thought and clicked his tongue, it's not like it's easy to find and kill a beast.

After practicing for a while, Ralph heard the sound of the door opening.

Seeing who was the person who had entered, Ralph smiled weakly and said:

"Commander, to what do I owe the honor of your honorable visit?"

José looked at Ralph with a sharp look and a solemn expression.

"... Boy, and thinking that you would do something like that. I thought you had a brain in your head. Maybe all this quarantined time made it disappear?"

(Quarantine = Time when the recruit is interned in a military institution.)

"... Maybe. But what really scares me is the fact that I don't regret doing it, even though I know how stupid that was." Ralph spoke with a dark laugh.

José sighed and sat down.

"From the reports I received, I thought you had great talent in the area of ​​management. Your behavior and personality were great, and your disposition was calm. What made you change? No, maybe you were like this before ..."

Ralph was silent.

"When I received the report saying that you had disappeared from the area where the training was taking place, I thought you had been killed by a beast or something. But I don't know if I am relieved or disappointed now that I know it didn't." José continued talking while looking directly at Ralph.

Ralph didn't avoid Jose's eyes, but he was a little confused by himself. How had he changed so much in such a short time? He had thought about it several times, and he came to several types of conclusions. But whenever he thinks about it again, he doesn't feel so confident with the explanation itself, and it made him even more confused.

José sighed and said:

"Enough ... I think that's enough. We're not going to get anywhere talking about it."

Ralph agreed and nodded.

"First, you must know that you will be punished, that you MUST be punished."

Ralph nodded

"Your luck is your status as a Walker, but that's not all. Your skill is remarkable, and you had our attention even at the beginning of basic training. Training in the woods only confirmed this potential. And now, you have managed to infiltrate without be caught on a heavily guarded and secret base. " José seemed to praise Ralph, but it was not so simple.

"If you were just a Walker with a common ability as elemental control, you would suffer very severe punishment. But luck is with you." José then put a paper in front of Ralph.

Ralph frowned and asked:

"What is it?"

"Why don't you read it?" José asked back.

Ralph took the paper and started reading.

As he read, Ralph's expression fluctuated extremely and after reading everything he started to laugh weakly.

This looked like a contract, but Ralph saw a slavery contract. If Ralph agreed, he would have to serve his country until death.

The first term implies implanting a tracker in Ralph's body. The terrible thing about this tracker is the fact that if Ralph tried to remove it or if it stopped working, a toxin would be released into Ralph's body, and only the Brazilian armed forces had an antidote.

The second term implies that Ralph should follow direct orders from the top echelon of the armed forces, more specifically from army general José Santos, who is in charge of special battalion 00, which is mainly composed of Walkers, all Brazilians.

The third term is that Ralph should serve the armed forces indefinitely or until his skills are not needed.

Ralph sighed deeply and looked coldly at José.

"This is not just a punishment, this is a death sentence. What life will I have if I agree to this? If I have the option to agree."

José said nothing and waited for Ralph's decision. He knew this was hard for Ralph, a young man with many prospects. But that wouldn't have been necessary if Ralph hadn't done that.

Ralph then looked at the fourth and final term.

Ralph would receive special attention from the armed forces and live a life as comfortable as possible. This is also true for his family, who would receive special protection. He would receive the same salary as an ordinary Walker and would receive the rank of Master Sergeant.

That was the only term that was a little favorable for Ralph.

Ralph started tapping his fingers on the table. He knew he had no right to refuse this, and if he tried it was likely that his situation would get worse.

Then he remembered something and said:

"Since I have no choice, I agree. But I want something ..." Ralph then explained to José, who frowned.

"This is a secret project, and the information is confidential."

"Bah! If it was so important, why would it be so unprotected? I just want one of these, it's not like it's really going to be missed by you." Ralph continued to speak.

José was silent for a moment and nodded, but Ralph already knew the old man's tricks and said:

"I want you to speak. Tell me that you will guarantee one of those for me."

José clicked his tongue and spoke.

Ralph nodded and asked:

"So what? When are you going to implant this tracker on me?"

José didn't respond and gave Ralph a light slap on the abdomen.

At the same time Ralph felt a slight pain in the spot and lifted the shirt he was wearing.

There was a clear cut mark on the abdominal region, although small.

Ralph twitched the corners of his mouth, the bastards had already implanted while he was sleeping. How careful!

Ralph sighed and smiled bitterly.

"One question, is anyone watching over these walls?" Ralph asked.

José frowned and replied:

"There is no reason to do that, since the tracker is inside your body."

Ralph then understood that Matheus lied before to prevent Ralph from doing something wrong.

"How do you feel, are you angry?" José asked slowly.

Ralph looked deeply into José's eyes and smiled like a madman.

"Why would I be?" He then signed the contract with a pen that Joseph had given him, even knowing he didn't have to.

José shook his head and sighed.

"Your disposition is certainly just an ember of what it once was. I will recommend a psychologist to you." Joseph then continued:

"You are free to go home to spend time with your family. In addition, you have been added to a social network group with the other Walkers in the battalion, stay tuned." José got up and left.

Soon after, Matheus entered the room and looked at Ralph strangely.

"You don't look like someone who has lost own private freedom. How do you feel?"

Ralph smiled darkly and said:

"It's not like it's impossible to get rid of this tracker in the future ... The world is changing and don't be surprised if someone gets a skill that can do something like instant surgery."

Matheus felt a chill in his spine when he heard this and said:

"Are you crazy !?"

"... Haven't you noticed that yet? The whole world is crazy." Ralph sighed, leaving Matheus in awe.

"Forget it ... Follow me, I'll take you to your temporary quarters." Matheus said and started to guide Ralph.

"Really, what happened to the other Walkers?" Ralph remembered.

"... They passed and are now going home." Matheus spoke briefly.

"How was the ending? What were you guys planning after all?" Ralph tried to extract information.

"Hmph, who told you to leave? Now you're going to have to wonder." Matheus scoffed.

"Tsk ..." Ralph clicked his tongue.