Ch 44: Agreed deals [pt2]

Just as General Mei had asked Alex, she had also asked the other members of his team to participate in her team.

The only one who had declined was Kalidus and for obvious reasons. He could not leave Merry alone and he could also not risk his life because of Merry right now.

So, in the end, only Alex and Kurina ended up joining General Mei right now. She the general was personally giving them a tour of their main facility. They were currently heading toward the training rooms where some soldiers were already running the drills.

“These are our specialized training halls. From what I can see, both of you have a decent skill level and you have also faced tough fights before. You both can try out our level difficulty magazine to know where you fall on our skill tree and what your specializations can be.”

General Mei took them to a chamber-like thing and asked them to enter one of the doors.

Alex was a little suspicious of her intentions but he chose to follow the given instructions for now. Kurina also entered the adjacent door and it closed behind him.

Once he was alone, Alex tried to contact the goddess who often spoke to him. But she had been gone for the past few days now. She often disappeared at lengths but this was the first time she had been gone for this long.

Not that Alex knew much about her or something. But he still could not help but feel a little worried.

Alex did not get to worry about things a lot because the screen the goddess had bestowed him popped up in front of him.

[Unknown entity with Code X-109 is trying to connect with your consciousness and collect your data. Enter protection mode?]

The system screen asked and Alex had no idea what it was asking for.

But after a brief read of what this mode meant, Alex pressed ‘yes’ and felt the violet energy surrounding him. It tried to enter his body but was not able to.

It gave up soon and prompted Alex to do some basic tasks like jumping around and controlling his energy. The tests felt easy enough and Alex completed them as they came.

It felt like it took a whole for the chamber to open once more and both him and Kurina exited at the same time.

General Mei seemed to be waiting for them right outside and she had an excited look on her face.

“You both did great and the results of your tests are out. Kurina, you are more of a physical type so the field team would suit you…Alex, you are a mixed bag but your control over energy is better than your physical stat so you are better suited to the research team.”

Alex was surprised by these words. He did not think that his control over his energy was that great. But maybe he was underestimating himself too much.

“So, what now? Do we just join your army? Don’t tell me that you expect me to believe such things without any explanation.”

Kurina asked and Alex could tell that everyone turned toward them in shock. Everyone except General looked shocked at the audacity of this newcomer.

“Don’t worry. You conveyed your intentions to me clearly and I promised to help you achieve your goals. As soon as we get news of your other companions, I will let you know.”

Kurina seemed satisfied with the deal she had been offered. Alex was just surprised at her daringness to ask for something like this. Their conversation was also quiet enough to not be heard by other people around them.

Alex felt better after he heard Kurina’s terms of the deal. It helped them track down Baron Luke and force him to undo their curse as soon as possible. 7 out of 15 days had already passed by this point and that left them with no time.

Even now, Alex could feel the presence of the curse moving through his body if he concentrated hard enough.

“It is enough spacing around. For now, all of you would benefit from paying attention to me. We will be launching our next expedition soon. Our target would be the den of Isle. I hope you all will be prepared.”

General Mei’s words were met with enthusiasm. People were ready to help her out with whatever she wanted.

But neither Alex nor Kurina knew what Den of Isle meant so they could not participate in the enthusiasm.

“Commander Berry, I want you to do me a favour. You see this kid here? Take him with you and introduce him to the research team. I am sure he will be a big help to you.”

General Mei gestured toward Alex and called forth a young man. Even if Alex had not seen this man, he was sure he would be able to pinpoint him in a room full of people.

The man had striking blond hair and red eyes that pierced Alex. When they looked at him, Alex felt rather exposed.

Or maybe it was because of the golden aura that surrounded this man. It was barely bright enough, but it did confirm that this man had the potential to awaken his powers in the future and get a blessing.

“General, did you pick potential citizens for our team again? And where did you get them from this time? The north side of the town? You know we cannot do that. Citizens have a right to freedom as well.”

The rest of the soldiers tensed as soon as they heard Commander Berry speak. General Mei was an intimidating figure and everyone respected her and feared her at the same time.

But Commander Berry was an exception. He was willing to do what the others were not and that was why he was well-respected.

That was also why General Mei kept him around and gave him such a high position as well.

“I am afraid that this is not the case this time, Commander Berry. These people are here because they want to be here. If you are not sure, then you can just ask them yourself.”

Mei gestured toward Alex and Kurina but Commander Berry had no intention of asking them outright. It was obvious that these kids would not say anything in front of General Mei.

These kids were just the right age to be influenced and be dragged into the Generals’ messed-up plans.

‘Well, I will get to spend some time with the boy so I will ask him later. I am sure he would be much more willing to share his thoughts once we are alone with each other.’

“I understand. I will take the recruit to our research station and get him familiarized with how things work here.”

Commander Berry agreed and he watched the boy follow him slowly. Commander Berry instantly liked the cautious young body.

“So, I heard that you joined the General’s squad out of your willingness. There is no need for you to be shy now. Tell me if you are being forced to be here. The General is not the most…. understanding people so I can understand why you were not able to say ‘no’ to her.”

Berry gave Alex an option to back out of their team. He did not want to have an unwilling kid working for him.

But contrary to his belief, Alex only blinked back at him and his face had a frown.

“I am not here because I am being forced to be here. General Mei gave us all a choice and I chose to accept it. Besides, I am not a citizen of your city so I do need this job to keep me going.”

Alex explained all this and Berry was smart enough to figure out what he was not saying to him.

Unlike most normal people, Berry was privy to the information on the tower and its floors. He had extensively studied the tower and its safety. He had also talked with a lot of travelers so he knew that this was only the second floor.

“Ah, so you are not a local. In that case, would you mind answering my questions? It is rare for us to get outside visitors who are friendly to use so I want to gather as much data as I can.”

Commander Berry asked and Alex agreed.

But before they could continue their conversation, the alarm rang and Commander Berry quickly ran toward his station.

“This is not good. Someone is trying to break into the main power supply of the city and trying to bring us down. We need to hurry up and check the system before the whole city’s power supply goes down.”

Commander Berry slammed the main frame door open where the intruder likely was. The room had no source of light so it was difficult to tell who was the culprit of this break-in.

But the feeling Alex had in his chest and the way his cure reacted to this person let Alex know exactly who was in front of him.

‘Ah, I expected to have to work hard to find Baron Luke. But it seemed as if he just made my work so much easier for me.’

On the other side, Kurina seemed to have run into Ashura as well. And their confrontation was not nearly as peaceful as Alex’s had been.