Frail Fighter Squad

"Haha....don't make me laugh kid, what kind of idiotic question is that?" The military recruiter stared at Aker like he was looking at an idiot.

After Leland finished registering it was Aker's turn to sign up for the military. As Aker had been talking to Leland, he was still considering in the back of his mind the option to try and forgo the "errand boy" status and become a fighter right away. The more Aker thought about it the more he came to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt anything to ask about it.

If the military recruiter told him it was impossible, he would just need to spend his time as a puer nuntius like everyone else, no harm no foul in asking.

As each person signed up for the military at this particular recruiting center they were called into a small room, so Aker wasn't able to see the recruiter before stepping in. As Aker cleared the corner and walked in now that Leland was done, he was startled by the man sitting before him. Aker had thought that all people who were in the military would be killing machines, they would carry an aura of death and destruction and be in fantastic battle shape.

The man before Aker was extremely overweight and he carried the aura of a miser and weasel. His eyes were shifty, his lips were crooked and if Aker stared close enough, he could almost swear there were imprints in the desk from the man holding his hands out and accepting bribes.

As Aker walked up the man looked Aker over and instantly observed Aker's cheap clothes as well as his aura that screamed "I've never seen money!" and immediately decided Aker wasn't someone worth paying attention to.

"ID" the overweight and greedy recruiter called out not even bothering to look at Aker while talking to him. He was clearly irritated as he waited for Aker to drop his ID down.

'What are the odds that I would have two back to back street beggar's worth nothing. If you don't have the money you should steal it before coming in here. Don't they know the way this works? How do they think people get assigned to those famous divisions as a puer nuntius, do they think it's just through random luck? That last kid even had the audacity to ask about getting assigned to the Kill Kings division. Which puer nuntius wouldn't pay exorbitantly to serve that group? Not to mention what they would earn and learn, just their future in the military when they join the Kill Kings would already be paved.' The recruiter would leave the best slots for the puer nuntius open to those kids who had the money to afford joining the best military groups.

Aker who had tossed down his ID and was waiting for the military recruiter who seemed to be distracted decided now would be a good time to ask about bypassing the puer nuntius and joining the fighting right away.

"Senior, I would like to know if there is any way to join the military now as a fighter instead of having to spend my time as a puer nuntius?" Aker who was neither humble nor disrespectful asked the military recruiter.

The military recruiter didn't bother looking up as he continued to fill out the paper work. Aker waited a moment and decided to try a different approach, "Senior, if there is a test or some other way that I can prove my capability I would be willing to submit to it, is there truly no way to not join the battle right away?"

After the second time Aker asked the question the recruiter was obviously irritated as he mocked Aker laughing while calling his question idiotic.

"So does that mean there isn't a way?" Aker seemed to ignore the irritation of the military recruiter as well as the fact that he had called Aker's question idiotic. As far as Aker was concerned, he didn't say "no" yet.

"Whether there is or isn't it has nothing to do with you. For a beggar from the streets there is only one place you can go, The Frail Fighter squad. Based on your background you should fit right in with that group. Now leave, I have other appointments to take care of and I've already spent too much time on you." The overweight recruiter slid the documents over to Aker without looking up. In fact, the entire time Aker was in the room the recruiter only looked up the single time.

"What's your name?" Aker's cold voice surprised the man. The entire time Aker had been talking prior to this he had seemed affable, but suddenly the overweight recruiter felt a chill, 'how could a snot nose brat give off such a feeling?' he couldn't help but wonder to himself.

Since the first time after Aker walked into the office the recruiter raised his head and his eyes met Aker's who was glaring down at him. Suddenly the military recruiter felt tiny, as though he was a small ship in a vast ocean of stars.

This overweight recruiter was well known in certain circles as the man who could get the right kids into the right military squads. He was the go-to man for those affluent families who don't have the right background, in essence their family had the money but they don't have the right connections. For the kids of these types of family's this recruiter could get them into the competitive squads that would allow them to make the right connections for their future.

As this type of man, he detested the military in general and was a coward who would sell out his own wife and kids if he was in any danger. He was the type who liked to flaunt his connections and influence to threaten others but could not be threatened.

That's why when he heard Aker's question and his cold and bone chilling voice, he suddenly felt ashamed that he would be scared of some street kid.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Do you understand the difference between you and me? How dare some street trash ask for my name and try and intimidate me? Do you think I'm scared of you? Boy, it's you who should be afraid of me, if you understood my connections and the power I wielded you would be running out of here with your tail between your legs begging me to forgive you!" The overweight and weaselly recruiter yelled at Aker, his face turned red as he pointed and wagged his finger. As the words were coming out of his mouth, he tried to take an intimidating stance of standing while talking.

"You still haven't given me your name." Aker calmly pointed out, his eyes still trained on the military recruiter, the icy cold glare hadn't changed in the slightest throughout the recruiters attempt at intimidation.

"Edgar Davidson, let's see what you do with that, now get out of here." Edgar would remember this kid and if in the future he had an opportunity to make his life miserable he would certainly take advantage of it.

Aker having received the name of this recruiter turned and walked away without saying another word. Aker had anticipated that there would be no way for him to bypass the puer nuntius two years and as such it would have been no issue if the recruiter responded as such. There was simply no harm and no trouble in asking, however this recruiter ignored him, told him that it didn't matter if there was a way to bypass puer nuntius, called his question idiotic and tossed him out of the office without bothering to answer a simple question that would affect Aker for the next two years.

As Aker walked out of the office and was distracted by his thoughts of Edgar, he heard someone calling out "Aker".

As Aker looked up, he saw Leland standing off to the side, it was clear he was waiting for him. As Aker approached Leland the anticipation was evident, he could barely contain himself "Which squad did you get assigned to?" Leland finally blurted out.

"I think he called it the Frail Fighter squad" Aker was still fuming over how unreasonable Edgar was so as he answered Leland's question he had a hint of frustration in his voice.

Leland who heard the frustration immediately correlated Aker's frustration to being assigned to the Frail Fighters squad. If he knew that Aker was upset due to a confrontation with the recruiter, he would be beside himself as picking a fight with someone like that could only result in misery.

"It's not a big deal whether were assigned to the King Kill squad or the Frail Fighter squad, essentially our duties will be the same either way. I'm also assigned to the Frail Fighter squad so I'm excited to be in the same squad with you. If you do a good enough job you'll be recognized and have the opportunity to work for the commander of the Frail Fighter squad or maybe even higher just the same. I was upset at first too but as I thought about it, being assigned to this group should be good too, at least we won't have to compete with all of those kids with the backgrounds."

Aker who realized that Leland was excited about being in the same squad thought to himself 'There is no sense in getting angry about this right now. There is nothing I can do now except for focus on advancing and remembering him in the future.'

Aker who after dealing with the pressure and the inability to get revenge on the people who ran The Pit for so many years was able to put down this small conflict. Unknown to Aker, his ability to stay calm and recover his mind is a mindset that many from the older generation work hard to create. Not that he didn't still get upset, obviously he was just upset by that recruiter. The goal is not to become emotionless; the goal is to be able to control those emotions and let them go without letting them ruin you.

As Aker and Leland walked towards their new squad, they both talked about their backgrounds and why they were joining the military. No one had provided Aker with a story so he arbitrarily made it up as they walked. He described growing up on earth, however he twisted some of the details. He used the knowledge he had of how the universe worked and replaced the simple, quiet and peaceful life on earth with a few stories of suffering and loss using his time in The Pit as a reference so it wouldn't be a lie.

Hearing the story Leland nodded his head in understanding, as Aker spoke Leland looked to Aker as if he was looking at a kindred spirit.

After Aker finished talking about his background Leland described how his parents were killed in a raid by the Nefarious Four five years ago. Leland was moved from his remote city on a remote planet to here to be raised by his uncle. Unfortunately, after living with his uncle for only a year his uncle got sick and passed away. After his uncle passed away people swooped in and took all of his possessions and the small house they lived in. As Leland didn't have any other relatives to live with, he was forced out onto the streets to fend for himself.

"Really the reason I want to join the military so badly though is so that I can meet the young master from Venicular Planet Lance Vilmore who killed the Nefarious Four. The Nefarious Four killed my family and destroyed my life causing me to live like a dog, if I can just shake the hand of the person who killed them, I would be eternally grateful." The determination in Leland's voice could be felt and it was no lesser than Aker's determination as he spoke about getting revenge on the people from The Pit.

"How does joining the military help you meet the young master from the Venicular Planet?"

"I heard that after the impossible feat of defeating the Nefarious Four he was offered a commission in the war. He agreed to join the military if he was made a General and given his own Division to command. Ever since news spread that he had formed his own Division it has become one of the most famous and sought-after Divisions in the entire military. There are countless people whose lives were destroyed by the Nefarious Four and as such having the opportunity to serve the man who brought them their justice would be their highest honor. I'll work hard and earn merits and hopefully in the future I can join his Division and get an opportunity to thank him in person."

As Aker heard the story, he didn't think anything of the Nefarious Four that Leland was describing. Aker was unaware that the four pirates he killed while defending Vance was the Nefarious Four that Leland was describing. To Aker the four pirates he killed were just disgusting pirates that deserved to die, he never asked any questions about them and no one bothered to explain to Aker who the pirate group was.

Since that was the case Aker looked to Leland as a person who could understand his struggle and hopes and replied back "Then let's do what we have to do to get what we both want!"

Aker and Leland were transported over to the the military compound via a shuttle, a trip that took almost a full day. After getting out of the shuttle they were greeted by the murderous eyes of the installation guards, the guards watched them closely as they approached. The guards had to be cognizant of their surroundings as this installation was at the front lines of the war for this planet and the people from the Fenlon Empire would attack the gate from time to time. The guards upon seeing their paperwork only snickered to themselves especially when they saw who had assigned them to the squad.

"Head that way, when you see the buildings that are barely standing, you'll know you made it to the right area." One of the guards instructed the two of them as he shook his head.

Both Aker and Leland were impressed by the military compound they saw as they walked in the direction the guard pointed out. Aker couldn't help but be ecstatic as he walked along, everywhere he looked he could see countless fighters practicing with each other, it got his blood boiling.

After spending seven months in daily fighting practice with Vance and Cap Aker began to look forward to that time. Even this morning he was lamenting that he didn't get to have his morning battle with Vance before heading off to the recruitment center.

Leland didn't seem to care about the fighters at all, he was more interested in how nice the buildings were. Everywhere Leland looked the fighters were wearing similar robes, he didn't see a single person out of place or single person with worn down and tattered clothing.

Aker couldn't help but remark at how well organized it all was, every building and every facility seemed to be symmetrical and with purpose. For Aker this was his first time seeing an entire area so well thought out.

After walking for nearly an hour they noticed that the buildings began resembling shacks more than they did the buildings they had seen earlier.

The environment appeared dead, whereas earlier it was overflowing with greenery, vitality, and the flowers and trees gave off a feeling of strength and life. As Aker stared out at the current scene, he couldn't see a single blade of grass or a single green bush, only dust blew in the air.

If Aker had to bet, he would gamble that the world had turned its back on this specific plot of land so that it could focus on the rest of the world. This plot of land that became the sacrifice for all other land...This plot of land would be his new home.