Chapter 187: Changing Professions
Drai readied himself for the next clash, but unexpectedly, Alancho reverted to his original form instead. The general then took a deep breath, and all his wounds rapidly healed.
Walking to the puzzled Drai, Alancho—now looking unscathed—took off his tattered upper garb and tossed it to Drai.
"Please cover yourself. I don’t want my daughter to get nightmares—or improper thoughts," he said with a rather awkward expression.
Drai complied and tied the garb around his waist, covering his nearly bare crotch. He then asked, "We’re not continuing?"
Alancho shook his head. "No, there’s no point. However, I do have some questions to ask you before we wrap up here."
Hearing this, Drai immediately deactivated his skills, but before he could inquire further, Alancho loudly announced, "I’m sorry, ladies, but show’s over. And Tom, give us some privacy, please."
After a brief silence, Tom’s voice was heard again.
Arena audio feed is now off. Switching to power-saving mode.
Shortly after, most of the lights turned off, and the ones that were still on had dimmed greatly, leaving the two standing in the gloom.
"Before we move on, are you fine, Drai? Don’t your burns hurt?" Alancho asked.
"I’m okay—these barely sting."
"I see. Then for starters, tell me about your background."
"Huh?" Drai blurted, not expecting such a query.
"You see, due to some reasons, I don’t really converse with Natalia that much, especially since she started living in her campus," Alancho began explaining. "That’s why I barely know anything about her friends aside from Auri, whom I’ve known for long since I often correspond with her family due to my position. And although I could just ask my men to fetch me your dossier, I’d rather hear it from you directly since you’re already here."
After processing Alancho’s words, Drai couldn’t help but ask, "But why are you suddenly interested about this? Is it because of our fight?"
"Yes, but also because I’m considering something that absolutely requires taking your background into consideration."
Drai didn’t know what this questioning entailed, but he figured there was no harm in finding out, so he said, "Alright. What exactly do you want to know, Uncle?"
"Your entire life, starting with your birth."
These words baffled Drai, but he quickly regained his bearings and proceeded to recount his life story.
Drai’s life prior to his awakening was mostly uneventful, so it didn’t take long for him to reach that point. From there, he had to tread his words carefully, making sure to hide, gloss over, or vaguely describe the more sensitive details. After all, regardless of Alancho being his long-time idol, Natalia’s father, and the great protector of his nation, Drai had just met the man today and only had a superficial understanding of him.
Upon reaching his disappearance a few months ago, Drai once again swapped the truth with an overly glossed-over tale, albeit completely omitting Max’s presence since Drai was unsure if the Velles was still keeping his return a secret.
But when Drai mentioned the first few settlements he stumbled upon after escaping from the wilderness, Alancho suddenly said, "I didn’t realize Shadowfen Caverns stretched that far."
The sudden remark caused Drai to freeze, but luckily for him, the dim lighting helped hide his ashen face.
"H-have you gone there, Uncle?" Drai asked, his voice slightly faltering.
"Once in a few years we conduct a training camp for our best soldiers there, but we’ve always entered through the northern entrance in Kemper, which I think is more than a hundred kilometers away from the towns you’ve just mentioned. Oh—you know what? If you could just point us to the vicinity of your exit spot, we might be able to secure a closer entrance to those caverns from the capital."
Having lied this far, Drai was forced to say, "O-okay... But actually, my memory isn’t that good, so maybe you should ask Max instead. He should know—"
Drai instantly covered his mouth upon realizing he had blundered. Unfortunately, the name hadn’t escaped Alancho’s notice.
"Max? Who is that?" he asked while scrutinizing Drai, who was panicking.
"Uhm... Uncle, could we pretend I didn’t say that??" Drai muttered.
"We could, but you’d have to forgo the photo and autograph."
Drai felt like crying. Ever since he heard the offer, an image of a jumbo-sized poster print of him standing next to Alancho, complete with an autograph and personal message, had been stuck in his mind. He had planned to print a lot of them and keep them in his dimensional storage so he could put up a fresh one every time he moved lodgings. Furthermore, Drai had also figured that if he ever managed to find a proper-sized and really exquisite frame, he might as well turn one of these posters into a family heirloom.
Eventually, Drai gave in. After mentioning that the information should be kept a secret, Drai proceeded to tell Alancho about Max’s return, including how he and Max met in Shadowfen Caverns and camped together for weeks before escaping.
"So that’s how it is..." Alancho mumbled before pondering. Drai half expected him to dwell on the matter, but when Alancho opened his mouth again, he asked, "Aside from the matter with Maximillian, is the rest of your story true?"
"Yes," Drai answered without hesitation, as he considered the fake wilderness story the core of Max’s matter, for it was his situation that truly prompted such fabrications in the first place in order to avoid the mysterious organization’s suspicion.
After briefly scrutinizing Drai, Alancho said, "That means your heart is with Rivideria."
Drai had an urge to blurt out that he wouldn’t put it that way since he was far from a nationalist, but he quickly reined in his thoughts, feeling that the statement wouldn’t sit well with the general.
"What do you think of our current government?" Alancho suddenly asked. "Do you think the status quo is fine, or should renowned or powerful groups be bestowed with a higher social class with entailing privileges, separating them from the ’less useful’ mass?"
Scratching his head, Drai helplessly admitted, "Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never been interested in politics, so I never really gave such issues much thought."
Still eyeing Drai closely, Alancho nodded and said, "Considering your life story and the way you carry yourself, that seems to be the case. Very well, I think your background and character are adequate enough. Moving on, you should still be eighteen years old, right?"
"Yes."
"Then what’s your level?"
Drai paused in hesitation, prompting Alancho to solemnly add, "I swear by my late wife that I will never misuse your personal information or divulge it needlessly."
The mention of Alancho’s wife triggered the resurfacing of a young lady’s gentle face in Drai’s mind. Recalling Natalia’s childhood photo, Drai felt that Alancho wouldn’t mention his late wife in vain, so he replied, "I’m level ten, though I’ll probably level up again soon."
Drai’s answer silenced Alancho, who was actually half suspecting Drai to be a much higher stager who was extremely youthful or had an excellent camouflage skill.
’If he’s acting, surely there are way more reasonable lies than this nonsense,’ Alancho silently mused. ’Does he really expect me to believe that an early second-stager can compete with me in raw strength? Is the boy really that dumb, or is he actually telling the truth, or at least what he believes to be the truth?’
Alancho peered deeper into Drai’s eyes, and he sensed no deception nor malice. They were unusually clear—childlike even.
"Uncle Alancho?" Drai called upon seeing that Alancho was seemingly in a daze.
’...Oh, well. Even with my recommendation, he still has to go through an interview. Cyclops will find out if he’s lying about his identity or disguising himself,’ Alancho inwardly concluded before saying, "Sorry, my mind was drifting. Anyway, if your words are true, you’re not merely a centennial talent but a millennial phenomenon, which makes your enlistment even more crucial. We must not lose someone like you to another nation, or worse, a rival one.
"So, the question is... would you be willing to join the army, Drai?"
"Huh? Join the army?"
"Yes, you’ll join under my banner. You don’t even have to go through the troublesome application procedures—I’ll just write you a recommendation letter. What do you say?"
Despite Alancho’s stern yet eager gaze, Drai muttered, "I don’t know, Uncle... I still want to find out what happened to my missing parents, and as you might’ve known already, there’s also Professor Ravi from the academy who’s been abducted by the Crimson Order. I owe him a lot, so I want to search for clues to locate and perhaps rescue him. That’s why I’m not sure staying with the army is the best way to go, since I’ll lose a lot of freedom."
"Hmm... What if I mobilize my people and resources to handle those matters?" Alancho asked.
Drai furrowed his brows and fell silent, deliberating Alancho’s offer. After a short while, he finally replied, "That’s certainly more effective than doing it on my own. But are you even allowed to do that? Wouldn’t you be misappropriating our military’s manpower and resources?"
For the first time since their duel ended, Alancho grinned. "Don’t worry, I have my ways, though a person as apolitical as you probably isn’t interested in the details. Moreover, not everything at my disposal is nation-owned. My faction members aren’t limited to those in service—there are plenty of civilians as well. If you agree with this arrangement, I’ll make sure to keep you updated on any notable findings or tangible results the operation yields."
Drai was finally convinced, especially upon recalling his tentative, questionable plans upon leaving the Velles estate.
’Besides, I should get paid too, right? If I go on my own without having a job, I’ll probably empty my account before long. And it’s not like I can forage or hunt for food in cities.’
Having made up his mind, Drai said, "Alright, I’ll join the army."
"Excellent. Now, let’s return—I’ll have to start dealing with your paperwork. Expect to report to your barracks in three days at the earliest. I’ll also send you the necessary contact IDs through Natalia later."
Following this, the two changed to their original clothes and finally departed from the arena.
***
