Chapter 4: Wrister City, Strombus Nebula

"Dad, you must get revenge for me." Carrak bolted into a room and shouted, expressing his anger.

"Who's the enemy?" A calm and collected voice resounded as a man peeked over a stack of books.

"Rael Rukh!" Carrak gritted his teeth, saying.

"…" His father frowned, unable to recall who that was, turning around to gaze at the figure of his wife seated nearby.

Sporting an expression of annoyance, she whispered, "It's that sick classmate of his."

"Ah!" He nodded, controlling his urge to facepalm, 'Such tantrum for a sick child.'

He sighed in disappointment, glaring at Carrak, "What has a sick child done to you now?"

"He stabbed me!" Carrak shouted, showing his hand that had a tiny, insignificant injury, only realising now that he seemed like an idiot for saying so.

"You know better than to do that," His father berated him, "Rael Rukh hails from a background that's many times inferior to you. He doesn't have the resources you have but still exceeds your score in every single exam. And, he's even sick to boot and has to miss a lot of classes."

"Instead of improving yourself, all you're trying is to do is take revenge on such a hard-working child?" His voice turned into a shout, in the end, causing the surroundings to tremble as Carrak kneeled on the ground in fear, sweating as the temperature in the room spiked all of a sudden, making him feel as if he had been thrown in the middle of a desert.

As Carrak trembled in fear, his dad continued to speak, "I've seen what you've done. While he was sick, you've tried to hinder his recuperation, especially in our hospital, not to mention threaten a nurse there. If word of this goes out, our credibility would fall and we'll face huge financial losses. All for what? You wanted to intimidate someone to cover for your sense of inferiority?"

"Dear, it's fine." His wife patted him, calming him, "You have an important board meeting next. Let me handle our son."

She then dragged Carrak out, bringing him to a nearby room before making him take a seat, expressing mild annoyance, "What did I tell you?"

"Sorry, mom." Carrak bowed in apology, "I didn't realise how stupid my actions sounded until now."

"It's good that you've understood it." She sighed, patting his shoulder, "Besides, if you get riled up for something insignificant like this, you won't become a leader in the future. You'll have to face humiliation from countless Garracks after becoming a soldier. So, just consider everything as a trial run for the main picture."

"I understand," Carrak nodded, sighing as he recovered his mood, "I just turn into an emotional idiot whenever I see Rael. It feels hard to stomach the fact that he's better than me in every subject despite missing so many classes."

"People like Rael are rare," His mother said all of a sudden, "I've seen him when he was young once. His parents are accomplished researchers. And, he has his circumstances to worry about. You, on the other hand…"

She made eye contact, "Are blessed with everything you need. Currently, your inability to attain the first rank in school might mean a lot, but in truth, it doesn't matter. A double-digit Garrack only needs to land on our planet. Everyone would be doomed."

She sighed with a tone of melancholy, "In the end, strength matters the most. Besides, Rael has abandoned school. He's joined the military."

"What? But why?" Carrak was shocked, "What the heck would he do with his sick body? He won't even survive their screening test!"

"But he seems determined." She said, gazing at him, "What would you do? They'll depart at noon."

"I'll join too," He firmed himself, "If he has the guts to do it, so do I."

"Spoken like a true warrior!" She smirked, ruffling his hand, hugging him, "Just remember the basics you've practiced all along. You'll also undergo a month's training in their facility. So, use the time to its fullest and absorb everything they teach. And finally…"

She kissed his forehead, "Survive, and reign victorious."

…

"Aunt, I want to buy some books." Rael said upon returning home, "Can you give me some money?"

"Now?" Molla shook her head immediately, "No, the doctor told you to rest. Whatever you need, I'll buy it for you."

"I need to distract myself," Rael smiled wryly, "I won't be able to bear it otherwise."

"Fine," She handed him a card, "I've put enough money for your books in it."

"Thanks," Saying so, Rael entered his room and looked around, searching for the coin, "System?"

He started from the place he was sleeping at, looking around before switching on a flashlight that he flashed under the bed, frowning at the dust that had accumulated there, 'I have to clean it one of these days.'

He then noticed the coin, using the wire to pull it out. A lot of times, he had dropped items that had slid underneath it. So, he had the handy wire with him to yank them out.

The moment he touched the coin, a sound resounded in his ears.

<Ding!>

He frowned, retracting his hand as he talked, asking it something, seeing that there was no reply. He then touched it when the System gave him a reply, "Is communication only possible when there is physical contact between us?"

[Yes]

Came the reply from the System, continuing forth the explanation.

[That's only because I'm still incomplete. In theory, the objective was to fuse me into a human's body, thereby making me something that could be inherited through birth by future generations. Alas, we hadn't reached that stage of research yet]

"What happens if someone else touches you?" He asked.

[Nothing will happen. They won't even sense anything about me. Though, if it's a Garrack at Type—99 and above, they should be able to probe through my secrets easily. The moment I fall in their hands, humanity is doomed]

"Why do you say that?" Upon hearing his question, the System paused for a good five seconds before stating with a change in tone.

[Because, every single piece of data collected by the Federation is within my database. And, as they continue to collect information, my database would be updated in real-time]

"This…" Rael was shocked before asking, "What can you do? Or rather, what do you want me to do?"

[Grow stronger, and complete Project System. You'll receive benefits from me accordingly, dictated by the algorithm they installed in me]

"Then, will I get any special power?" Rael asked, curious, mildly excited.

[Yes, look at something and think of the word 'Appraise']

Rael picked up a nearby book and thought of the words 'Appraise' in his mind, immediately noticing a sheet of data appear before him.

[Title: Introduction to Particle Mass in Space-Time Continuum]

[Price: 8.99 Dollars]

[Author: Mater Echlogia]

[Publication Date: 6th Union January 2186]

[Description: An introductory book that delves into the concept of space and time and briefly introduces the concept of wormholes and warp mechanisms.]

This was just the first page of information. Rael noticed that the contents of the entire book were attached to the hovering screen, allowing him to browse through it whenever necessary, "How is this possible?"

[All this data have already been fed into my database. If it's an unknown object that no human has even documented, then I won't know about it too.]

Replied the System, causing him to think before he picked a glass of water, appraising it next.

[Glass of Water]

[Glass: Manufactured by Bicom Industrial Works. A basic utensil available in every household]

[Price: 2 Dollars]

[Water: Filtered by the Wrister City Water Treatment Plant, sourced from the Whister River]

[Price: 1 Dollar/10 Litres]

[Safe for human consumption]

There was even more information that followed it, detailing the material composition of the glass, the manufacturing methods used in its creation, the minerals present in the water, etc.

"Everything is in here." He muttered, sighing in amazement, asking, "What else can you do, System?"

[There is another part of the System that User Rael has access to now. Look at the mirror and think of the word 'Appraise']

Rael did as told, surprised at the information that appeared.

[Name: Rael Rukh]

[Origin: Wrister City (Planet: Strombus Nebula)]

[Age: 15 Union Years]

[Race: Human]

[Might: 6]

[Toughness: 5]

[Mobility: 7]

[Endurance: 3]

[Plasma: 0]

[Rank: Unranked]

"My attributes?" Rael was surprised, "We don't need an attribute detector for this?"

[An attribute Detector's functions are condensed within me]

Hearing the System's reply, he was shocked, to be honest. Because, an attribute detector was a piece of equipment that was as big as a room and scanned the human body for an hour before all the results were announced.

As for the System, it was the size of a coin and had shown the results in an instant, "Just how high is your processing speed?"

[The highest in Federation to date]

The value of attributes didn't state much.

Just like how the values for Kilogram, Metre, Litre, etc. were decided, the Federation also came up with a scale to measure a human body's growth in power. And, the value of 10 was the average among those that weren't soldiers.

So, his physique was pretty weak in comparison. Upon gazing at the line indicating his 'Plasma', Rael asked excitedly, "System, can you awaken my Plasma?"

[No, I can't]

Came the reply, deflating his excitement. He then controlled himself, slinging on a shoulder bag that had his letter of acceptance from the military, his identity certificate, and the consent letter, exiting the house, quickly making a trip to the nearby jewellers to buy a choker.

And in the place of its pendant, he inserted the coin, triple checking to ensure that it remained in contact with his skin while not falling off. He had thought about using a necklace first, but it had its share of risks, especially when he was running.

It would jump around, not maintaining contact with his body consistently.

Most of the money he brought was used on the choker as he bought a fairly high-quality one to ensure it wasn't damaged easily. He then booked a cab and headed towards the nearby military base.

It was situated at the outskirts of Wrister City, a massive metropolitan city that covered an area of 5000 square kilometres. So, it took him a couple of hours of travel before he reached his destination.

There was a small building built before the military base, serving as a multipurpose office. As he wasn't a soldier, he couldn't enter the military base, taking a step within the small building as he approached the reception.

"Excuse me, ma'am." He called out, handing over his letter of acceptance.

The lady behind the counter took the letter and scanned it, verifying it before asking, "Where's your consent letter and identity certificate?"

"Here," Rael handed both over, noticing his heart thump in response.

The lady behind the counter didn't seem to mind his expression, casually reading through it as she filed the documents, tapping on the computer when a machine nearby whirred into life and ejected an identity card.

"This is all you need for the duration of the screening test. All the best." Saying so, she handed him the identity card and motioned for him to head inside.

"Thank you." His heart skipped a beat as he held the card, feeling his heart rate accelerate in tension as he headed inside, shuddering for a moment as many sharp gazes landed on him.

There were people his age and older, arriving from all walks of life. And a lot of them possessed a sharp countenance, looking ready as soldiers.

Unwilling to draw any attention to himself, he took a seat in a random corner, looking around, surprised to see Carrak seated five rows before him.

Just as he wondered what was up, the Union Clock struck, signalling that it was noon. A man briskly walked into the room, gazed at everyone, and nodded, "Alright, you cannot whine anymore. Get moving, now."

"We're heading into space."