Chương 20: Duty

Ray was currently analyzing his chances of retreat, only to be immediately spotted and engaged. A handful of the Recruits approached him and bombarded him with questions.

"You're Ray, right?" one of the Recruits asked.

"Recruit 001 and Recruit 01, could you make it any more obvious?" another asked.

"I mean, seriously. Why wouldn't you want everyone to know who you are?" The voices all blended together and Ray felt a hand grab his wrist as he was pulled away from the area. He nearly activated Bolt before seeing a head of red hair in front of him.

"Jerome?" Ray asked.

"Keep walking," Jerome said. Ray didn't argue as Jerome pulled him through the crowd. More Recruits began to notice him as they passed.

"Recruit 001!" someone yelled.

"Ray!" another called.

"Hey, what was that black lightning?" someone asked. Ray walked faster.

'This is horrible,' he thought. Jerome looked back at him and laughed.

"You look terrified," Jerome said.

"I am," Ray replied.

"You fought a Killworm," Jerome said.

"The Killworm asked fewer questions," Ray replied. Jerome laughed harder as they rounded a corner, only to nearly run into someone standing directly in their path. Frangle was breathing heavily as he looked at them.

"There you are," Frangle said. Ray stared at him.

"Why are you out of breath?" Ray asked.

"I ran here," Frangle replied.

"Why?" Ray asked. Frangle looked offended by the question.

"Because you're Recruit 01," Frangle said. Ray paused for a moment before shaking his head.

"No," Ray replied. Jerome stopped walking and looked at him. Frangle stared at Ray in disbelief.

"Seriously?" Frangle asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ray replied.

"You're still denying it?" Frangle asked.

"Yes." Frangle pointed behind them as half a dozen Recruits appeared around the corner.

"There he is!" one of them yelled. Ray immediately turned back toward Jerome.

"Move," Ray said. Frangle moved instantly. Jerome didn't. Ray grabbed the back of Jerome's shirt and dragged him along.

"Hey!" Jerome yelled.

"Run," Ray said. They did. The three of them quickly entered an elevator and Ray repeatedly pressed the button to close the doors. Ray watched the doors close in front of the Recruits before letting out a breath. Silence filled the elevator. Jerome started laughing again. Ray glared at him.

"This is your fault," Ray said.

"How?" Jerome asked.

"You knew."

"So?"

"You could've warned me," Ray said. Jerome snorted.

"I wanted to see what happened." Frangle looked between the two of them, a smile on his face. The elevator began moving and Ray leaned against the wall, eyeing multiple incoming System messages. [Connection Requests: 84] Ray stared at the number before closing the notification.

'Nope,' he thought. Frangle leaned closer.

"How many?" Frangle asked.

"None," Ray replied. Jerome focused on his own System.

"You're already all over the Recruit forums," Jerome said. Ray looked at him.

"Forums? What are they saying?" Jerome smiled. Ray immediately regretted asking.

"Recruit 001 secretly entered the Nexus to test the strongest Recruits," Jerome read.

"No," Ray replied.

"Recruit 001 defeated a Stage 3 Beast alone," Jerome continued.

"That one's old," Ray said.

"Recruit 001 is being personally trained by an Admiral." Ray frowned. Jerome continued scrolling through the forum.

"Recruit 001 possesses an unknown Lightning Ability," Jerome read. Ray's expression changed slightly. The black lightning. He had forgotten how visible it had been. Frangle seemed to notice the change in Ray's expression.

"What was it?" Frangle asked.

"Was it an Ability?" Jerome added.

"No," Ray replied.

"A Tech?" Jerome asked. Ray hesitated.

"Yes." Silence. The elevator doors opened. Phora was standing outside. She looked at Jerome and Frangle before her eyes settled on Ray.

"You're an idiot," Phora said. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Ray stepped out of the elevator.

"I didn't do anything," Ray replied.

"You named yourself Recruit 01."

"That was anonymous." Phora stared at him.

"Your number is Recruit 001."

"There is an extra zero," Ray replied not even convincing himself. Jerome covered his mouth while Frangle turned away. Phora's eye twitched slightly.

"That does not make it anonymous." Ray continued walking.

"It almost worked."

"For what, three seconds?" Phora asked.

"Everyone knows."

"That's not my fault," Ray said.

"It is completely your fault," she said. Ray stopped walking.

"Why does everyone care?" Ray asked. The others went quiet. Ray looked between the three of them.

"What?" Ray asked. Jerome answered first.

"You really don't know?"

"No?"

"You're Recruit 001," Jerome said. Ray waited for him to continue. Jerome sighed.

"You woke up before everyone else."

"So?" Ray asked.

"You're Captain of one of the strongest teams," Jerome continued. Ray frowned.

"We've done one mission."

"You killed a Stage 3 Killworm."

"No, we did."

"You were visited by Admiral Chronos," Jerome continued. Ray's expression changed slightly at the mention of Chronos. Phora seemed to notice, but she didn't say anything.

"And now you entered the Nexus and started beating ranked Recruits while hiding your name," Jerome finished.

"I fought two people."

"You climbed into the top ten," Jerome said.

"So did all of you," Ray replied. Phora folded her arms.

"Most people already know who we are". Ray looked at her.

"That sounds worse."

"It usually is," she said. Ray considered that for a moment. He hadn't really thought about it from their perspective. His System flashed. [Connection Request] Ray dismissed it. Another appeared. He dismissed that one as well. Then another. Ray sighed.

"I hate this." Frangle grinned.

"I think it's great," Frangle said.

"You're famous!" Ray opened his mouth to respond when his System flashed again. He almost dismissed the notification before noticing that it was different. [Priority Message] Ray stopped walking. The others noticed.

"What?" Phora asked. Ray opened the message. [User: Raymond Foley] [Report to Commander Burgen.] - Apparently, news traveled quickly. Ray reached Burgen's office a few minutes after receiving the message and knocked at the door.

"Come in," Burgen called. Ray entered and found Burgen sitting behind his desk. The Commander glanced up before returning his attention to the monitor in front of him. Burgen finished whatever he was doing before looking at him.

"So, Recruit 01?" Burgen asked. Ray's expression fell.

"You know too?"

"Everyone knows," Burgen said with a grin.

"There was an extra zero," Ray muttered. Burgen stared at him for several seconds before speaking.

"Sit down." Ray sat. He had expected Burgen to be angry about the Nexus, but the Commander seemed more amused than anything.

"Am I in trouble?" Ray asked.

"For fighting other Recruits in a training environment designed for fighting other Recruits?" Burgen asked.

"No." Ray relaxed slightly.

"Your attempt at anonymity was idiotic, but that's your problem." Burgen leaned back in his chair.

"The black lightning." Ray's shoulders tensed.

"What did you do? I've seen Bolt. That was something else. Was it Coalescence?" Burgen's expression darkened.

"Explain." Ray described the fight with the Killworm and how he had forced Dark Mana into Bolt. The golden lightning had condensed until it turned black, becoming considerably stronger than anything Bolt had produced before. Burgen had seen the Tech in Ray's file, but hearing about it was still surprising.

"Can you do it again?" Burgen asked.

"I haven't tried," Ray replied meekly.

"Good. Don't experiment with something you don't understand in the middle of your room. Especially when the last time you used it, you destroyed someone's chest." Ray couldn't really argue with that. Burgen folded his hands together.

"Do you know how Tech are created?" he asked. Ray thought back to Mana Circuit before answering.

"You make something the System recognizes."

"Technically correct and almost completely false," Burgen replied.

"Tech aren't like Abilities. An Essence gives you an Ability, and the System provides the information needed to use it. Tech are created by the user." Ray remained quiet.

"Most Tech begin with a problem," Burgen continued.

"A Soldier needs their Mana to move differently. They need an Ability to behave differently. Their body can't accomplish what they're trying to make it do. Sometimes they spend years deliberately solving that problem."

"Like Mana Circuit," Ray said.

"Exactly. You experimented until you created a repeatable process the System recognized. Other Tech aren't created that way. High-intensity situations have produced some of the Empire's most unusual Tech. Combat, fear, desperation, anger. Anything strong enough to force someone beyond the way they've been taught to use Mana."

"So Coalescence happened because I was angry?" Ray asked.

"Not exactly," Burgen said.

"If anger created Tech, every Soldier in the Empire would have hundreds." Ray nodded.

"You were facing something you couldn't beat," Burgen continued.

"Your team was in danger, your normal methods weren't enough, and you tried something you probably wouldn't have attempted in a training room. Whatever you understood in that moment was enough for the System to recognize Coalescence." Ray remembered the Killworm bearing down on them. He hadn't been thinking about creating a Tech. He had only wanted more power.

"So the System knows what Coalescence does?" Ray asked.

"The System recognizes that you've created a repeatable application of Mana. That doesn't mean it understands every possible use better than you do," Burgen corrected. Burgen smiled slightly.

"It's your Tech, Ray. Figure it out." Ray sighed.

"I was hoping you would," he complained. Ray leaned back. At least he understood why Coalescence had appeared when it did. The black lightning was still another problem entirely. Burgen watched him for a moment before speaking.

"You're progressing quickly." Ray looked up.

"That sounded like a compliment." Burgen shook his head.

"Oh."

"Progressing quickly means we will expect more from you quickly," Burgen continued. Ray's expression became more serious. Burgen had been one of the people pushing him since he arrived at the GLMB. Even after Ray learned why he had originally been chosen, that hadn't changed.

"Why?" Burgen raised an eyebrow.

"Why what?" he asked.

"Why do you care how strong I get?" Burgen's expression didn't change, but he took a moment before answering.

"Because the Empire needs Soldiers." He stood and walked toward the window.

"I've spent most of my life serving the Empire. I've seen what happens outside its walls, and I've seen what happens when there aren't enough strong people standing between the Beasts and everyone else."

'Emperor Strom is dying,' Ray thought. The Empire needed someone capable of replacing him.

"I don't need to believe you're destined for greatness," Burgen continued.

"I don't even need to believe you'll reach Stage 10. I need to know that if you have the potential to become a better Soldier, I did everything within my authority to make that happen. Your strength isn't only useful to you. Every Stage you climb means another Beast you can kill. Another Soldier you can protect. Another person behind the walls who doesn't have to fight." Ray looked down at his hands. Strength had never felt like that to him. It was his. Something he had earned.

Something nobody could take away from him. He thought of Frangle in the cavern and Kiara raising her wards while the Killworm tore through them. He thought of how close all of them had come to dying. Burgen's point was annoyingly hard to dismiss when Ray could already put faces to the people his strength was supposed to protect.

"You don't have to think like me yet," Burgen said.

"You're barely eighteen. I'd be concerned if you did b ut if you intend to become a Soldier, eventually you'll have to decide what you're becoming strong for." Ray didn't have an answer. Burgen didn't seem to expect one. Instead, he changed his tone.

"Which brings us to the actual reason I called you." Ray stared at him.

"That wasn't the reason?" he asked.

"No," Burgen said with a smile before continuing.

"In ten days, your team will be leaving the GLMB on another mission. You'll receive the full briefing later. You won't be going alone. We are pairing your team with the other highest-performing Recruit team." Ray's excitement dimmed slightly.

"Why?" he asked. Burgen's expression became serious again.

"Because being individually powerful isn't enough. Higher-ups want to see whether either team can function like actual Soldiers when they're forced to work with people they didn't choose." Ray thought about his team. Then about another group of Recruits trying to give him orders. He already disliked this mission. Burgen leaned back in his chair.

"You have ten days to prepare, Captain." Ray's System flashed. [Mission assigned:] [Joint Recruit Deployment] Ray stared at the message. Ten days.

'This should be interesting,' he thought.