Seed of Titan-Chapter 198: The First - of a Soldier’s Life

Drai’s weirded look was telling enough, so Danny hurriedly added, "I’m not that loaded, but I can take out a huge loan to match your asking price. Furthermore, if you’re really looking for useful connections, I can introduce you to some pretty impressive dudes. If it’s women you want, I also know a lot of gorgeous ladies in the capital who dig young men. And as a bonus, I’ll also be your guardian angel here. If anyone bullies you, just tell me—I’ll teach them a lesson. And if you get into some trouble like you did in the testing area, I’ll cover you."

Most of what Danny was offering didn’t entice Drai at all. However, his last offer interested him a bit.

Catching the faint glint in Drai’s eyes, Danny proudly smirked. "Awesome deal, right? Surely you won’t refuse this. By the way, from how you looked at The Flipper earlier, I don’t think you cherish it that much. So selling it to me makes total sense, right? You get a lot of credits and all the benefits I mentioned, while I get an awesome weapon that I can bring the best out of."

Drai thought of it for a few seconds before saying, "I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll sell it no matter what you offer."

"C’mon man, think again. Surely there are things you really want, right? Just tell me and I’ll add them to my offer," Danny worriedly pressed.

’There sure are, but I don’t think you can help me with those things,’ Drai silently remarked as the matter concerning his parents and Ravi crossed his mind.

Drai then shook his head, much to Danny’s disappointment.

"Don’t push it, Daniel," Frost said from the side.

"I know, I know," Danny murmured before saying to Drai, "I’ll eventually find something that’ll move your heart, Drai. Until then, you can hold on to The Flipper."

After saying this, Danny finally walked away.

Watching his slightly hunched back, Drai silently wished for his words to come true.

"Nas," Frost called.

Immediately, the invisible man whispered to Drai, "Friend, sell your bracelet to me."

"Eh? My dimensional storage? No way," Drai firmly replied.

After a brief pause, Ghost whispered again, "Don’t tell the others—I’ll trade it for five assassination commissions."

A bewildered look instantly took over Drai’s face, causing the others to wonder what Ghost had just said to him.

Hearing no response, Ghost whispered, "Not enough? How about ten?"

"Dude, stop it. You’re scaring me," Drai warily whispered back.

"Fifteen?"

Drai shook his head.

"Last offer, twenty."

"Please, I’m not selling," Drai implored.

Hearing this, Ghost quietly slipped away.

Seeing that the faint visual distortion at his side was finally gone, Drai heaved a sigh of relief. This short exchange had left an unsettling impression on him, a suspicion that Ghost was secretly engaging in a sinister side gig.

’But maybe he’s just messing with me. I doubt this kind of stuff could fly under the military’s radar,’ Drai thought.

"Alright, since everybody’s done, go clean up before dinner, and try not to bother Drai too much," Frost instructed before turning to Drai. "Drai, meet me in my room after dinner. I’ll brief you on our rules, the squad’s routine, and your duties."

Following this, the squad dispersed and returned to their own rooms except for Drai, who opted to wait on the living room sofa.

Around twenty minutes later, one of the first floor doors opened.

Drai paused the video he was watching and saw that it was Cubes, who was walking straight to him. Her red hair was now untied, still damp.

"Can you cook?" she asked upon arriving.

"Yeah. I cooked a lot when I was living in the wilderness."

"Then can you help me prepare dinner?"

"Sure."

Closing his video, Drai then followed Cubes to the kitchen which was at the back of the house, right after the dining room.

After instructing Drai to fetch some cookware from the cabinets, Cubes began preparing the ingredients.

Moments later, a pot of poultry stew was boiling on one stove, while some veggies were being stir-fried by Cubes on the other.

"Sorry for earlier," she suddenly apologized, startling Drai who had been quietly watching her from the side.

"Don’t worry about it. I took nothing to heart," he replied.

There was a brief silence before Cubes spoke again.

"You know... I used to be an aspiring engineer—a real one, not just an army mechanic."

Drai raised a brow, wondering where this talk was going.

"For obvious reasons, I really wanted to study in the Viridian Technocracy, but my family’s finances didn’t allow it. So, I settled for the next best but feasible place, ZITA."

"What’s that?" Drai interjected.

"Zenith Institution of Technological Arts—it’s right next door in Gerdatti. Of course it’s not at the same level as the ones in the Viridian Technocracy, but many consider it the best engineering school in the mid-east region."

Cubes put away the finished stir fry on a large plate and refilled the pan with the next batch of veggies.

"I was doing pretty well there," she continued while seasoning the dish, "but it all changed after I caught the ire of a well-connected person."

Still watching her quietly, Drai now realized why Cubes had brought this up.

"Since then, my student days turned miserable. Not only was I constantly harassed by him and his cronies, the few friends I had also distanced themselves from me. I tried reporting it to the staff and professors, but they all turned a blind eye, all because one of my avid harassers was our rector’s grandson."

A burnt smell caused Drai to realize that Cubes’ hands had stopped moving, so he quickly took over the pan.

While Drai was trying his best to save the food, Cubes continued her story.

"Despite all that, I managed to hold on, thinking that all my suffering would be worth it if I could graduate with at least decent grades."

After saying this, Cubes suddenly chuckled, causing Drai to glance at her worriedly. But just as he started suspecting that this redhead was losing her mind, she spoke again.

"Who was I kidding? Of course that son of a bitch wouldn’t let me do that."

"Did he pressure you to drop out?" Drai guessed.

"Worse—he and his friends fabricated a scandal that led to my expulsion."

Hearing this, Drai’s hands slowed down as he tried picturing what kind of bastards would resort to something like that.

"And to make matters worse, I found out afterward that I had been blacklisted from most universities in our region. So, with nowhere to properly continue my study, I ended up enlisting."

Not knowing what else to say, Drai simply remarked, "Sorry to hear that."

"It’s just a bitter tale from the past that I’ve long since forgotten," she replied. "Honestly, I wouldn’t have been reminded of it had you not joined us. Although you’ve probably realized it by now, the reason I told you about this is to excuse my earlier accusations."

Plating the steaming veggies that he somehow managed to salvage, Drai said, "You didn’t have to. Like I said, there were no hard feelings."

"Well, let’s just say that I did it for my own peace of mind."

Looking at the petite lady that was smiling for the first time ever since he met her, Drai was somehow reminded of Flo, which in turn, reminded him of his gang.

’I hope they’re all doing well...’ he sincerely prayed.

***

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, the squad walked together to the main training ground in their training gears. The paved road was full of similar looking groups, all heading in the same direction.

Drai wasn’t used to going out this early, let alone fully showered and outfitted. Combined with the fact that he went to sleep pretty late, he had been quite in a daze this entire time and didn’t talk much.

What made him stay late was Frost’s briefing, which was certainly not brief. Not only did the sergeant list all the rules, group routines, and personal duties, he also brought up a squad mission that was due in two weeks or so, which resulted in their brainstorming Drai’s role for the mission and what should be done to compensate his lack of experience and formal training.

Despite not achieving a satisfactory result from the discussion, Frost eventually dismissed Drai due to the time, but not before requesting a detailed list of Drai’s relevant skills, including their usual applications, limitations, and potential uses.

So when Danny and Beachball playfully teased him along the way, he was in no condition to respond—just as he didn’t react to the murmurs from the other squads.

Arriving at the large training ground, the two hundred or so soldiers lined up for a brief assembly before they began their physical training. A bearded lieutenant Drai wasn’t familiar with was in charge of the whole company, while the squad leaders were responsible for their own squads.

Despite his lack of clarity, Drai managed to follow the training pretty well, since it mostly involved the basics, such as running, leaping, and calisthenics.

Around an hour later, the soldiers separated into their own platoons, each consisting of two or three squads. However, instead of merging with other squads like the rest, Drai’s group was led by Frost to a much smaller training ground a distance away.

Noticing Drai’s expression, Cubes mentioned, "We’re different from them."

"Yeah!" Danny beamingly exclaimed. "We’re the cursed squad!"