"we have the world’s first mythic rank tar with us today" the news anchor’s voice ca from the TV in the bus.
The journey to the military base was mostly uneventful, save for the occasional attacks from lower ranked primals.
Reid’s eyes moved from the view outside the Bus’ window. There was barely anything to see outside except so really old and destroyed stone structures.
A Century ago, the wildlands were places filled with wonders of human technology but now, it was just a danger filled land dominated by primals.
He focused on the TV in front of Lisa, who at this point was busy napping instead of watching.
A bright smile graces his face as he spotted his mom in the news studio. She had been putting off that interview until today.
Reid was really proud as her son.He kept his eyes glued to the TV as the anchor asked question after question and his mom calmly answered.
"How did bonding with your forged-beast feel?" The anchor asked "did it feel uncomfortable?"
"It felt exhilarating" Vivian answered "I felt so much power coursing through in that mont but I also felt that with one wrong move, I could annihilate the entire city"
"It was a constant struggle to keep all that power bottled up" she continued "but overall, it felt great".
"I see" The anchor nodded, intrigued "Do you think anyone else can achieve this rank?"
"I believe it should be possible but with different circumstances " she answered "I’m still new to this amount of power but all I can say is, you need to have a strong enough bond with your forged-beast ".
"A strong bond with your forged-beast " He said, before asking "can you clarify whether you’re talking about the soul bond or sothing else."
"While the soul bond is important when taming a forged beast, I believe you have to have a strong emotional connection with them" Vivian explained.
The news anchor moved his script filled with the questions he was supposed to ask to the side before asking "but aren’t forged-beasts basically machines?"
"How would you bond on an emotional level with them when they’re just cores and cables" he finished his question.
"Do you have a forged-beast?" Vivian asked instead of answering the question.
"Yes ma’am" the anchor replied.
"Then, have you ever observed it displaying any form of emotion, much like a pet?" She asked again.
"Yes, but everyone knows that those are programd in by the Forgemasters themselves" the anchor said, completely confident in his words.
Reid retreated into his thoughts. He knew enough about forging to know that the personalities of the forged beasts are in no way programd by the Forgemasters.
If they were, then how would one explain the emotions Axie displayed just after he created it.
He wondered why the Forgemasters were unwilling to correct this belief but again, this was another can of worms he he too lazy to open.
He wasn’t worried about his mom being in danger for revealing that the emotions had nothing to do with Forgemasters since she was currently the strongest known tar.
"That’s all for today" the anchor’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts "thank you for accepting this interview Mrs. Fletcher".
He turned off the TV and returned to watching the passing wildlands. The primals were still flinging themselves on the buses but not even a shudder passed through the bus.
If he wasn’t looking outside, he would have never known they were being attacked, due to how stable the bus was.
He wondered how much longer the drive would take since, according to the watch given to him, they had been at it for 3 hours now.
_________
The drive lasted another two hours before the buses finally slowed down. Reid peeking through the glass and spotted rows of other buses lined up, and slowly moving.
Their bus joined the line of military transports, and Reid finally caught sight of their destination.
A colossal stone wall stretched endlessly to the east and west, its weathered surface bearing the scars of countless battles.
Towering watchtowers lood over the structure, their mounted weapons aid outward, ready to repel any threat. These walls had been built to prevent primals from invading the military base.
As the bus moved closer, Reid could make out the massive reinforced gate that slowly opened revealing the military base.
It was as big as the walls highlighted. In the center was a huge structure and around it were smaller barracks.
The buses finally ca to a stop at an open field in the base. The recruits alighted and stood in a neat row as ordered by the personnels in the buses.
Elizabeth’s dragon flew past their heads as she headed to the building in the center of the military base.
"I didn’t expect there to be this many recruits"the boy standing at Reid’s left whispered.
Reid turned to look at the speaker and was surprised. The boy was another person he hadn’t expect to et here.
"Dean?" He asked.
The kid he tead up with in the hunt had also joined the military and was standing by him.
"I didn’t expect to see you here, but I’m glad there’s at least soone I know" Dean whispered.
"I see" Reid wanted to ask why he joined the military because he didn’t look or act like soone who was looking to grow through danger but he figured that had nothing to do with him.
They stood in the scorching sun for a few more minutes before a monster of a man approached them.
The man was extrely huge with orange-red hair and black eyes, making him almost look like Alex. His aura was not in display but every recruit could feeling their skin crawl in his presence.
Reid observed that the man felt more like a primal than human making him wonder how that was possible since he looked completely human.
The man’s heavy steps ca to a halt as he faced the recruits, his hands behind his back as he regarded them.
He scanned the gathered recruits with an expression of thinly veiled disappointnt.
"Welco to hell," the man finally spoke, his deep, gravelly voice rumbling through the open field. "For those of you who thought this was just another step in your cushy little careers—let make one thing clear. You are now property of the military. Your lives belong to us, and we will break you down and rebuild you into true warriors. If you survive, that is."
A few recruits stiffened at his words. So swallowed nervously. Reid, however, simply listened, his curiosity piqued. He was still trying to figure out why the man felt so much like a primal.
"My na is Commander Ajax," the giant continued, stepping forward. "I am your commanding officer. You will eat when I say, sleep when I say, and fight when I say. I do not care who your family is, what rank you held outside of these walls, or what pathetic dreams you have about glory. In here, you are nothing."
Reid noticed a few recruits flinch, particularly the ones from influential families (families not belonging to the great families ) who had likely never been spoken to in such a manner. Lisa, standing beside him, let out a low chuckle under her breath, seemingly entertained by their reactions.
Ajax turned, snapping his fingers. A group of fully armored soldiers marched forward, their boots striking the ground in perfect unison. Each carried what looked like weighted training gear.
"You will wear these at all tis," Ajax said. "They will adjust to your current level of strength and increase increntally. If you cannot handle this, leave now. There is no sha in admitting that you are weak. The sha is in pretending otherwise."
No one moved.
Ajax smirked. "Good. Then suit up."
The soldiers began handing out the gear, and Reid took his set without complaint. As soon as he strapped the weighted vest on, he felt an imdiate shift in pressure—like his body had just been subrged in water. His muscles strained slightly, adjusting to the new burden.
Lisa groaned beside him. "This thing is heavy—how much does it even weigh?"
Reid flexed his fingers, rolling his shoulders. "Not sure, but it’s definitely increasing our weight. Feels like it’s adjusting to our strength levels individually."
Dean, already breathing slightly heavier, muttered, "This... is going to suck."
Ajax clapped his hands once, drawing their attention. "Ti for your first test."
The recruits tensed. Most or all of them hadn’t expected the first day to be like this but they would soon learn to only obey, not expect.
"See that tower?" He pointed toward a towering tal structure in the distance, at least five kiloters away. "Run there. You have exactly twenty minutes."
A murmur of disbelief spread through the crowd.
"Did I stutter?" Ajax’s tone turned lethal. "MOVE!"
Reid chuckled as he dashed forward, this really was going to be hell for all of them.
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