Seed of Titan-Chapter 196: Clearing Things Up

While Drai was stunned from hearing his latest "accomplishments", most of his squadmates gave him a weird look. They also couldn’t help but glance at Danny, thinking that even the "Menace" was relatively docile and didn’t make much trouble during his first few weeks here.

However, unlike the others, Danny’s eyes were beaming as he looked at their fascinating newbie. If his mouth hadn’t been sealed, he likely would’ve been laughing in delight.

"That’s all we have on the dossier," Frost said before signaling the others to remain silent once more. "Now, before you all make a ruckus..."

Frost turned to Drai, who scratched his head awkwardly.

"Do you have anything to say about this, Drai?" the sergeant calmly asked.

Drai immediately bowed, saying, "I’m sorry, everyone. What happened at the testing area were just accidents. I wasn’t playing around during the last one like it said—I was actually trying to train."

Instead of replying, Frost swiftly walked to Drai and straightened him up.

"Don’t apologize. Accident or not, nobody here will blame you for what you did prior to joining us," he said, much to Drai’s relief. "And you seem to have misunderstood my question, so let me rephrase it—have you found any discrepancies in the details I mentioned? You just said the part about ’playing around’ wasn’t true, so is there anything else the staff had gotten wrong?"

"Ah, okay. Then let me think for a minute," Drai said before recalling the info the military had on him.

The others waited in suspense, wondering whether there were a lot of exaggerations in the dossier.

After a short wait, Drai finally said, "First, I don’t think I’m affiliated with the Demos Faction."

"What do you know about the faction?" Frost asked.

"Not much, really. I only know that it’s a major faction that supports our nation’s current governance. It’s Unc—General Alancho’s faction, isn’t it?" Drai answered, echoing what Natalia had once told him.

"It is. Well, you might not be officially affiliated with them yet, but since you’ve been recommended by the General himself, you’re bound to support their cause, just like his other special recruits." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Drai found this notion rather overreaching, but he chose not to voice his thoughts, worried that it might not sit well with a few or even all of his squadmates. After all, this whole base was practically Alancho’s turf, so any of these people could be staunch supporters of their famed general. Therefore, Drai simply moved on.

"The next one is about the list of my notable close associates. How do the ones compiling this decide who’s worth featuring?"

"I’m not sure, but it’s probably related to how prominent or important an individual is," Frost surmised.

"If that’s true, then I can’t think of a reason why three of my seniors were mentioned. Also, I don’t think Zar can be considered my close associate because I had never even talked to him before the invasion. For the rest of the names, I kind of get why they’re included in the list, though I’m also not that close with the General," Drai explained.

As Frost scrolled the dossier to look at the list again, he remarked, "If you’re close enough to call the General ’Uncle’, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be included in the list."

"Oh—Yeah, you’re right..." Drai muttered in realization. Although he wasn’t sure if this fact was actually included in his dossier or if Frost had inferred this from his slip-up earlier, he understood that anyone who found out about this would most likely assume the two of them were pretty close.

Glancing at his squadmates, Drai thought, ’I hope they don’t think badly of me because of this—the last thing I want is getting alienated because of nepotism. But honestly, I can’t really say that I got here without personal connections. Uncle Alancho is Nat’s father after all.’

Looking at the list, Frost asked, "Which ones are the three seniors you meant?"

"Bismar, Halo, and Muzie. I’m actually unfamiliar with their full names, but no one else I personally know matches those first names better."

Scanning the list, Frost nodded in understanding and said, "It’s not strange to see their names here. Those three can be considered relatively important people, mostly due to their families."

"Really? None of their surnames sound familiar to me..." Drai muttered.

"That means you should read more. Anyway, do you want me to clear this up for you?"

Drai nodded, eager to know how those three were deemed notable by the military.

"Very well," Frost said before turning to the others. "All of you pay attention too. If you encounter people with these surnames, don’t mess with them too much unless you’re actually looking to challenge their families."

The squad collectively nodded, still refusing to speak due to the threat of their leader’s spell.

Turning back to Drai, Frost began explaining, "First, Haloeiva Astra. The Astra Family is a renowned household of mages, similar to the Velles Family though not as prominent or influential. But unlike the Velles who tend to become company executives, the Astra prefer fieldwork, with most of them working in the security sector as guards or bodyguards, in the resource sector as expedition personnel, and in mercenary groups. There are also those who joined the police, the army, or various other institutions, but they’re a minority. From what I know, most Astras seem to value personal freedom quite highly, so perhaps the pattern of their occupational choices reflects this."

Frost then paused, allowing his squad to take in his explanation. Shortly after, he continued.

"Next, Muzianne Westwind. I find this one a bit questionable, since based on my knowledge, the Westwind Family has been declining steadily in recent decades. But maybe the higher-ups know something I don’t. Anyway, the Westwind used to be a business dynasty, similar to the Velles. Their surge to wealth happened in the previous century, when they created numerous franchises, brands, and IPs1, including the first battle arena broadcast in Rivideria, Clash of Carnage."

The show’s name got Drai’s attention. He was familiar with it, since it was often mentioned by many arena fighters in various interviews. He recalled that the show was a great success, though it eventually got canceled because it was deemed too violent, even for adults. Still, it had paved the way for the genre, causing similar shows to pop up, each with their own twist.

’That means I owe Muzie’s ancestors for all the fighting shows I’ve watched...’ Drai mused.

"That’s all I can tell you about the Westwind family," Frost said. "Like I said, I don’t really know how they’re doing or what they’re even involved in nowadays. It’s been a few years since I last heard news of them, which was when their latest sports brand bombed. Anyway, regarding the last person, Bismar Soltine, I’m sure all of you are well aware of what his surname signifies."

To Drai’s surprise, every one of his squadmates nodded, even the manic Danny and the aloof Gramps.

’Am I actually the dumbest person in this room?’ Drai couldn’t help but wonder.

Noticing Drai’s expression, Frost said, "Don’t let this surprise you. If these guys fail to recognize your senior’s surname, they should just resign from the army, since one of our nation’s top generals has the same surname—General Magnus Soltine."

Frost then looked up the web through his comm before adding, "And apparently this senior of yours is his youngest son."

Drai was now even more surprised since he never realized his club’s president was a son of such an important person. If he weren’t close friends with Natalia already, he probably would’ve been way more astounded by this revelation.

With a slightly gentler tone, Frost asked, "And do you know all three of them are now missing?"

"Yeah... They’ve been abducted," Drai replied without much of an expression. He was already past the point of mourning now, not that it would help with the situation.

"Right..." Frost mumbled while inspecting Drai. He then continued, "Anyway, regarding Zar Augra, if you really hardly ever interacted with him, then it’s worth questioning his inclusion in this list. Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer for that. So, let’s move on. Any more questions or discrepancies?"

"There’s a few more, actually. First, the body enlargement skill—I can’t do that anymore."

For the first time, Frost’s expression shifted. He looked half-intrigued, half-upset when he asked, "Why?"

"The skill changed when I got my second class. Now I just get stronger without changing size."

"Hmm... Honestly, that’s quite a shame. I had already envisioned many situations in which that ability would come in handy. Well, so be it. Thanks for the information, I’ll mention this later to the staff for revision. Alright, what’s next?"

"Uhm, can you tell me what EFK is and why it’s mentioned?"

Back with his calm expression, Frost said, "I figured you’d ask. EFK is a standard term here—it stands for ’Experienced First Kill’. I’m sure I don’t need to explain further."

With a look of understanding, Drai silently nodded.

"Don’t worry, I won’t pry into this since you’ve already been cleared by Captain Ailem. But I can’t say the same for these guys, so it’s best to mentally prepare yourself for their inquiries."

Glancing at the others, Drai saw most of their eyes were gleaming with anticipation, as if they’d immediately confront him about this matter the moment Frost finally lifted the talking ban.

"Anything else?"

"My dimensional storage—am I allowed to keep it with me?"

"Oh, that. I was instructed to act on my discretion regarding that particular item, so for now, I’ll allow you to keep it. But if I ever catch you misusing it, I’ll confiscate it right away."

"Thanks!" Drai blurted. He was so happy about this that he even kissed his bracelet in celebration, earning him mixed glares from his squadmates.

"Is that all? If so, I’ll let these guys talk."

"There’s one last thing. It says there that I don’t use any weapon, but actually, I recently received a weapon, and I’m still trying to get used to it. I wonder if this is supposed to be mentioned in my dossier."

"It depends—how proficient are you with this new weapon? Can you make good use of it during missions? Is it a major asset or merely auxiliary? Does it complement our squad?" Frost questioned in rapid succession.

"Uh... To be honest, I can barely wield it, and I don’t think it’s better than my fists, so it might not be mission-ready," Drai admitted. "I’m also not sure if it’s a main or auxiliary weapon."

"Do you have it with you? If you do, let me see it," Frost said.

Drai’s hand swiped the air, and the silver Cryoforge Talon instantly came to view.

"Please have a look," Drai said, offering the weapon to Frost. But before Frost could take it from him, a tall figure slammed into Drai, causing him to tumble backward.

Danny, now sitting on top of a sprawling Drai, was so eager to speak that his jaw forcefully broke off the ice clamping it, freeing his mouth at last.

"N-no way..." Danny muttered as his hands reached out to the weird-shaped weapon. And upon touching the cold metal, his face turned ecstatic.

"THE FLIPPEEERRR!!!"