A few days later, someone arrived at the Raymon household. It was a government official. He knocked on the door several times, but no answer came from within. But, just as the person turned around to leave, the door opened.
“Mmh? Who..” A sleepy Eloise opened the door.
“Does Mrs.Raymon live here?”
“Grandma? Uh, yeah she does live here. Please come in.” Eloise, now looking closely at the clothes of the person, became wide awake and understood the situation somewhat.
After a few minutes, Borna entered the living room.
“Oh, Mr.Burkley. Been a while. What brings you here?”
Burkey, the chairman of the Defense Organization came to meet Borna personally. On top of that, he arrived at their house with no bodyguards. It was an unthinkable sight for the chairman.
Burkley’s body language indicated that he felt apprehensive. His fingers constantly fidgeted, he was constantly readjusting his seating position and trembled slightly.
“Uhm..it’s just that…I don’t think you’d accept this, but it’s my duty and obligation to ask you anyway.”
“Mrs.Raymon, please command the ‘Gray Order’.”
Not ‘will’ but ‘please’. Burkley was desperate.
Borna let out a long, meaningful sigh before opening her mouth. “You already know this Mr.Burkley. I left the military thirty years ago. You know the reason for that.”
“Yes. I know ma’am. You retired from the military because it was too constricting for you and you wanted flexibility.”
“Exactly. Now, even if I came back to serving the military. I can’t just sit around waiting for orders from the higher ups while my companions die right in front of my eyes.”
“That won’t be an issue now ma’am because unlike earlier, now you won’t be just a personnel but rather the commander of an elite unit.”
“But, I used to be the commander of The Frontline Forces. Nothing would change.”
“But, the Defense Organization is different! It only focuses on the lives of the people.”
This prompted Borna to think deeply for some time. A loud silence enveloped the room, but before it got too heavy, Borna finally gave her final answer. “..Fine, I’ll think about it.”
Burkley’s eyes lit up as a result of her words. “Really?! Ahem, excuse me. I forgot my manners there for a moment.” Burkley stood up and exclaimed like a child who got his favorite toy for his birthday. He paused for a moment and in a formal tone, he spoke again, “If you would, please come to the Defense Headquarters.”
Borna nodded lightly.
The Defense Headquarters.
It was the headquarters for the Defense Organization. The Defense Organization was an independent organization from the state. While the state manages the common national military employed in defending the country from any foreign nation, the Defense Organization manages matters linked with the Mutant Goblins.
Almost every country world-wide has this organization set up for aid during the time of apocalypse. Now one may think, why do these countries have different sections of Defense and why not have a single unified defense. But, humans are such a type of being. They would continue waging wars and fighting among themselves even during the time of apocalypse.
A country would be greatly weakened during the time of apocalypse. And, when a country is in a weakened state, other countries may use it as an opportunity for conquest. To prevent this, there are two separate defense organizations set up in a country.
Now, the Defense Organization has many elite units. But, the ‘Gray Order’ is the crème de la crème. Borna was chosen to command that very unit. It was necessary to have a capable commander and Borna was a perfect fit for the job. It is safe to say, she is the strongest fighter in the country.
“Woah, this is awesome!”, said Eloise excitedly.
Borna arrived at the Defense Headquarters just as requested. She brought Elias and Eloise along with her.
The headquarters was huge. It had about four floors, each of them serving its own purpose. They had to go to the top-most floor which is the fourth.
The elevator’s walls were made of see-through glass. Only the outside can be seen however, the inside can’t be seen from the outside. The interior’s careful selection of design could be seen. The architectural marvel was enough to even make a critic’s jaw drop.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Soon enough, they reached the reception area on the fourth floor. Borna signed the Contract of Fealty. Now if she betrayed or went against orders, her system would restrain her, or in the worst case, might self-destruct.
“Please move on to the training grounds ma’am.”
Borna nodded with a dignified expression. It had been a long time since she felt this way. She felt like her sense of pride had returned once again.
When they reached the training ground, they were greeted with something extraordinary.
Soldiers lined up in numerous rows, began to stand at attention. They saluted their new commander.
“Ahem.” Borna cleared her throat before speaking. It also served as a signal to maintain silence. “To those of you gathered here, I present my greetings. I am Borna Raymon, the new commander of the ‘Gray Order’.”
She then proceeded to explain her history in serving the state military and how she is now going to begin her service in the Defense Organization’s elite unit. The soldiers listened carefully and maintained complete silence.
Then, after she was done, she asked in a serious, resounding tone, “Now, are you all willing to stay with me until the end?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Are you all willing to obey my orders unconditionally?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Are you all willing to sacrifice yourselves for the greater good?”
“Yes ma’am!”
Before asking the next question, she deepened her voice and in a firm, resolute tone, she asked her final question, “If it came down to it, are you willing to betray the higher ups to save the citizens?”
Murmurs broke out among the soldiers. Borna knew it would be like this and waited patiently for their answer.
Then, a shout was heard. “Y-Yes ma’am!”
That got the ball rolling.
“Yes ma’am!”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Yes ma’am!”
…
After arranging for things to kickstart her service in the Defense Organization, Borna and the kids returned home.
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Grandma really is awesome. I knew she was an important person, but I never thought she was so important that the chairman of the Defense Organization would come to recruit her personally.
I laid on my bed and opened up my [Individual Information].
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Individual Information
Name: Elias Raymon
Unit: Combat
Attribute: Lord of Fire
Level: 60
Exp: 7545/20313
Stats:
Strength: 100
Stamina: 100
Defense: 100
Agility: 100
Endurance: 100
Magic Power: 100
Skills:
Blaze Lv.14
Dark Eruption Lv.7
Fire Storm Lv.1
Perks:
Goblin’s Shield
Ember Ignition
Blessing of the Water-God
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Will I ever get to her level? My profile got a great push because of grandma’s training and she said that I was also now qualified to take part in the 1,398th Cosmic War of Humans and Goblins after my stats averaged to 100. But.. I’m still not convinced. Will I be useful in the upcoming war? I get that question often in my head.
But, I wasn’t the only one who was going to participate. There was the entire state military, the Defense Organization and the country-wide academies who have been teaching the pupils since their early years about the system and provided them with it to fight in the deciding war.
I should be fine. I hope so.
Knock Knock.
Someone knocked on my bedroom door.
“Come on in. The door’s open.”
It was my grandma. She came in and told me tomorrow’s plans for training like she usually did.
“Elias, I think you have grown strong enough to face the Seasoned difficulty in the dungeons.”
“Mmm, yeah. I think so too, gran.”
“So, tomorrow we’ll go to the dungeons instead of the forest. The dungeon monsters will give better experience anyway. The coins would be the same. This time, I won’t be helping you unless absolutely necessary.”
I nodded.
“You’ll be able to get a few more skills if you’re lucky. Two or three perks would also be helpful.”
“Two or three? But, isn’t the number of perks I have enough already?”
“Yes, it is ‘enough’ but you can never be ‘too prepared’. Also, the number of skills you possess right now is a bit insufficient. The levels of the skills are also deficient.”
“Hmm, I thought so. Also, I already have bought the intermediate level at the dungeon, gran.”
“Oh really? Then, you can sell it to other dungeon divers for a profit.”
“Will the Dungeon Agency allow that?”
“Why, of course. It’s yours now isn’t it?”
After the exchange, grandma left my room.
There was only a month and a half’s time before Christmas.
I somehow felt uneasy...