14 Joining the Army

"Answer me, boy! What does Rina mean to you?"

Arthur is shocked, he didn't expect the general to react so aggressively to his simple question.

The calming presence that he once gave suddenly changed to a crushing one.

Arthur felt every bone of his body bend.

He shakes uncontrollably and sweats pour down his face.

But in the end, he endured.

He answered the general without wavering and full of conviction.

"I owe her my life, sir."

Seeing sincerity in his action, the general can't help but praised him inwardly. 'What a good kid'.

What he appreciates the most is not a talented man but someone who has a strong conviction to not abandon his comrade when the situation gets tough.

'It will be a pity to lose a young talent like this just because he decided to poked his nose somewhere it didn't belong'.

"Sergeant Rina is decommissioned. There is no reason for you to concern yourself with her any further. Starting today you all be assigned to your new squad."

Arthur started to worry. "With all due respect sir, can we at least know if she's okay "

"We'd also like to know sir" Emmanuel also voices his concern so does Aleria.

Seeing that everyone wants to continue pushing the hornet nest, the general increases the pressure making Arthur, Aleria, and Emmanuel fall to their knees.

"A good soldier should listen to what they're told!" The General roar.

"Thud!"

Arthur doesn't want things to end this way. He needed to know if his boo is okay, pushing himself to the limit he managed to stand up.

Breathing heavily he said "But sir, someone who can abandon his comrade doesn't deserve to be called a soldier"

Hearing Arthur's response the general laughed and retract his aura "Hahahahahaha, well said, very well said but still I cannot answer your answer."

Arthur breathes a sigh of relief, any longer and he would pass out again.

"Can you at least tell us why, sir?"

"The situation surrounding Rina is strictly classified. For your own good just treat her as if she didn't exist"

Hearing the general, Arthur gritted his teeth.'As he suspected those bastards power even reach [Virtual World].'

His heart eases a little, at least now he knows his boo is safe.

'Just wait boo I'll get you out of there'

Unlike Arthur however, Emmanuel is still worried about Sergeant Rina and continues to bug the general. "We only want to know if she's ok sir"

Seeing no end to this the General decided to take a little step back. "Don't worry she is safe, but if you want to know more than that you have to be at least a general to be qualified."

Arthur now knows what he needed to do. If he ever wants to be with his wife again having power would not be enough, he also needs to have authority.

Those bastards that have his wife have plenty of those. He even suspects that the man from before is just one of their lackeys.

Right now he was nothing more than a reserve troop, a militia with a good name. If he wants to gain power and position, he needs to officially join the army. "Can I join the army, sir?"

The general smile. "I want no more than to have a talented young land like you under my command.

He then looked at Emmanuel and Aleria checking if they also want to join the army.

"You two, do you also want to join?"

Emmanuel hesitated. He didn't really want to be here at all. If he would tell the truth, he wanted nothing more than to return to his happy and peaceful life together with his brothers.

But he did owe his life to his squad and he needed to pay them back.

He was torn he didn't know what to do but in the end, He decided to say yes.

He would not abandon Arthur; he at least owes him that much. He saw that there is something he needed to accomplish by joining the army and he will help him as much as he can. He knows that his brothers will understand.

He also decided to help the family of his squad that died. He knew that it would be impossible if he was working as a busboy.

Unlike Emmanuel who is conflicted with emotion, Aleria remains the same and just nodded to the general's question.

"Great! You'll now be assigned to a different squad as part of the army main force." The general is static; he gains two tiers 1 and high-level tier 0.

"General I have a request," Arthur said.

The general expression suddenly changed. 'This kid got guts, he just joined but he's already making requests.'

"It's just a simple request, sir. We'd just like to be on the same squad, We'd already been through a life and death situation before so we're already familiar with each other."

Arthur doesn't know how deep those bastard hands are inside the military or if they already notice him but either way he needed someone who would have his back.

He looked at Emmanuel 'Even though this guy is stupid he at least proves himself competent'.

"Do you two also want the same thing?" The general both asked Emmanuel and Aleria.

"Yes sir"

The general contemplated for a bit. "Okay I'll approve your request and I'll also promote you, Arthur, as a sergeant although you just entered the army you're already a tier 1, a lot stronger than most of the veteran.

"Thank you, sir."

The General then looked at Aleria "I'd also want to promote you as a sergeant but it seems that you don't really like to talk and will probably just turn me down".

Hearing it, Aleria didn't protest but just nodded her head.

"You are now dismissed, follow lieutenant Jeffrey, he will now be your commanding officer." After the general finished speaking a black man walked in.

"Follow me."