Chapter 3

Thirteenth Member

“Lt. Kino, he refused to join us.” Jeehan said while standing in the middle of the room.

“Did you gave him the card?” asked Lt. Kino sitting in his office chair, elbows placed on the table and hands interlocking each other pressed his chin.

“Yes sir. Do you really believe he could be the one, sir?”

“‘It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly’, my dear Jeehan, and young Kira has been falling since the day he was born, don’t you think?” said Lt. Kino with a grin.

“I don’t get your meaning, sir.”

“Fret not, my dear. He will join us and succeed where others failed.”

Jeehan frowned.

It was the middle of the night when I left the game and still no closer to being able to walk. There must have been cases similar to my dilemma, there should be, or so I thought. I can’t be the only cripple in the world, can I? Surely there are others like me, my brethren. Then, I realized that probably majority of them were crippled in some sort of nasty accidents or diseases and was not born a cripple like me. I could talk to a specialist but they are overly expensive. My father is a blacksmith in the game, a good one at that, but having difficulty in selling his wares since the competition was very tough and my mother is a chef.

Our family cannot afford a specialist especially at this point of time, taxes in the Kingdom of Mercia have increased by 6% and I bet all of the city under UAN territory have done the same. The tax increase was justified and deemed necessary if the UAN wants to preserve their remaining territory.

I’ll try again tomorrow, I thought. When I reached the desk lamp beside my bed to turn it off, I noticed the card that was left behind by the lady in the Spectre Division. Hmm, Spectre Division huh. I tried to reach it but there was quite a distance between my reaching hand and the card. Damn that bloody woman. I shifted my body closer to the edge of the bed which took me a lot of time and pain to accomplish and finally succeed.

The card on one of its side has a white background with a floating, faceless and hooded ghost-like figure holding a lantern by its chain on its left hand. Creepy, but classy. I flipped the card but saw only a black surface with a white archaic text printed in the middle. It says “Still can’t walk?”

Those sneaky bastards, could it be they have predicted what happened to me in the game? If they did, they are good. I may need to ask for their help, right now my sole priority is to be able to walk in Lost Earth and I have significantly lost a lot of time already. I tried to locate the contact number from the card but there seems to be none. Oh, those mysterious pricks, they sure do love to play games, whoever is the head of this Spectre division is a sick bastard.

“I see you have refused our offer to join. If ever something came up and changed your mind.” Jeehan said while putting the card in the desk. “Try to contact us.” Jeehan added with a challenging voice.

That’s why I felt being challenged at that time by that charming, yet devious lady. So this is what she meant. Well, bring it on, Spectre division.

“You have chosen your desired class and have already entered the game.” Addressed Lt. Kino to his platoon. “Now let us talk about the different division in this Academy since you will be visiting them soon. The Logistics Division is in charge of the management of the flow of goods and supplies. In Lost Earth and real life, they are responsible for the provision of necessary goods and supplies to complete the mission and they also send personnel with crafting class, depending on the length and difficulty of the mission. In Battle Division, they train your mind and body how to fight efficiently and when I say efficiently, I mean they will give you one hell of a training to master every fiber in your body.

In Strategic Planning Division, they will teach you bunch of stuff and it would do you good to remember them. They will teach you stuff like spell casting and spell cool downs, siege and dungeon warfare, proper usage of terrain and the importance of positioning in a battle. On a side note, if the Strategic Planning Division Head asked you about Dirty Tactics, just say ‘There is no such thing as dirty tactics, only good ones and bad ones.’ or something along those lines. The Intelligence Division is responsible for information gathering, I can’t stress enough the importance of the function of Intelligence Division but let me tell you what a wise man once said: 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.'

“In order for this Academy to function at its best, those division of task is essential. So as a platoon, you also need to divvy up the task. For example, I think Rizzo’s squad can be in charge of our platoon’s Intelligence Division and Jazmae's squad in Strategic Planning. This division of task will save you a lot of time and trouble in critical missions.” Added Lt. Kino.

After giving his lecture to his platoon, Lt. Kino was on his way to his office. Before he can even sit, his cellular phone rang. He looked at his cellphone and an unknown caller ID was displayed.

“Hello, who is this?” answered Lt. Kino smiling. Somehow, he seems to have an idea about the identity of the caller.

“The cripple.” the caller answered.

“Oh, so you have changed your mind.”

“Do you think you can help me?”

“Yes. But you have to come here. Jeehan will come and get you, you do remember her, right Mr. Kira?”

“Yes. -----------.” And the call ended.

It was early afternoon, when Jeehan and I entered Lt. Kino’s office.

“Aha. It is nice to finally meet you Kira Kurosawa.” Lt. Kino said in a cheerful way as he approached me sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket that covers my legs. He offered his hands and said “I am 1st Lieutenant Kino Masaru, Head of the Spectre Division and this lovely girl is Park Jeehan.”

Oh, so you are the sick bastard.

“May I ask if you have any difficulty contacting us?” Lt. Kino asked while smiling.

“Ah yes. I realized there is a hidden message in the card. The ghost holding a lantern, a source of light and the black background on the other side gave it away. I concluded that I might need a black light to reveal what was hidden and that’s where the challenge gets very difficult. After all, It was very hard to find an equipment that produce black light in the middle of the night. "

"But on the next day, when I asked my father, out of boredom, if he has one. Surprisingly and conveniently, he went out to his room and gave me a brand new black light lamp. Which is very funny since my father, albeit kind in nature, is uneducated and wouldn’t know a thing or two about black light. It was you, wasn’t it?” I said while intently looking to Jeehan.

Jeehan avoided my gaze and looked away but her red cheeks due to her pale complexion failed to hide her embarrassment. My heart skip a beat while looking at her and that’s where I realized, which I refused to admit the first time we met, the fact that she was very beautiful. She was standing beside me with her interlocked arms placed on her back that puts emphasis on her breasts without her knowing. The sunlight coming from the window shone on her and for a moment which felt like a lifetime to me, she has stopped being a human and rose to the ranks of the goddesses.

Lt. Kino burst into laughter. “Amazing, Mr. Kira. It was in fact Jeehan gave the black light to your father. Explaining that we are trying to recruit you and only to give you the black light if you ever need one.”

“Did you predicted that I wouldn't be able to walk in virtual reality?” I inquired.

“Yes.”

“You said you can help me. But what do you want?”

“Yes, we can help you. I want you.”

“So I just need to join your division?”

Lt. Kino turned around and walked towards his table. He opened his drawer and took something in it.

“Why did you apply in the Academy, Mr. Kira?” asked Lt. Kino.

The question caught me off guard. I shrugged.

“An Academy cadet receives a huge stipend every month upon admittance. I don’t want to live with my parent’s mercy for the rest of my pathetic life. I thought of being a dark gamer, but it doesn’t guarantee a stable source of income and needs a lot of time to be a successful one, which is a luxury my family cannot afford, especially at this time of difficulty brought out by the territorial war.”

“So it was all for the money?”

“Yes, and also the fact that the academy does not gain ownership of the items we get on the missions.” I didn’t tell him the truth completely because I believe he wouldn’t understand it. How can he possibly understand me when I can’t even understand myself.

“What do you think will happen when the Empire of Russia take over the virtual territory of UAN?”

“They will gained a massive amount of money.”

“Yes, where do you think that money will come from?”

“From our people. They will squeeze our people for every penny we’ve got. ”

“And?” asked Lt. Kino.

All of a sudden, a frightening realization came to me. It can’t be, I thought. “Our people will be forced to sell our natural resources to them. Are you telling me that they are preparing for a war? Not virtual but a real one? But the peace treaty….”

“Oh, so nice to be young and naive. The Empire of Russia is currently divided into two factions, the Pacifista, who are content the way things are and the Pro-Russians, who are still hell-bent in world domination. The Pro-Russians are the ones behind on the attack and takeover of our virtual city and they will not stop. To them Lost Earth is just another world to dominate.

“If that was their plan, how come the Allied Forces are not helping us?”

“They are helping us by sharing their intel to us and besides they have their hands full trying to defend their virtual territories from the constant onslaught of the Islamic Caliphate from the south.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Ah, right now, the UAN needs every sword, shield, staff, bow and spear it can get to defend its territory. But to truly change the tides of war, we need something and I believe that's where you come in?”

“Eh? I am just a cripple in both realities. What can I possibly do?”

“Ah, but this.” Lt. Kino pointing at the rectangular box he took from his drawer. “Can change your fate in one of those realities.”

“What is that?” I asked.

“It is an experimental drug. The reason you can’t move your legs in virtual reality is because your brain lack the necessary neural network. But this drug will greatly help you force your brains to create those necessary connections.”

“That sounds too good to be true.”

“Yes, this drug costs me a fortune you know. And no, this drug cannot cure you of your disability in real life, in case you are wondering. ”

I felt a throb in my heart when he said that. At least this drug can help me walk in Virtual reality.

“What do you want for the drug? You are not just going to give it to me out of your goodwill, will you? ”

“Haha.” Laughed Lt. Kino. “Join us in the Spectre Division and half of your future debt will be paid.”

“And the other half?”

Lt. Kino got serious suddenly. “I want you to take on a quest. If you are successful, consider your future debt paid in full.”

“That must have been a very important quest to be that expensive. I bet no one has ever completed the quest.” I said while looking into the window.

I felt a sudden chill in the back of my neck and when I turned to look at Jeehan. She was staring so hard to me, like she want to beat me up.

“Yes. No one has ever completed the quest.” Said Lt. Kino smiling in a forceful way.

“What is it about?”

Lt. Kino stared at me and said “I am not at liberty to say that to a civilian. So, what say you, Mr. Kira? Do you accept my terms?”

“Yes. I’ll join your Division." I paused. "Sir."

“Perfect! Welcome Kira Kurosawa, thirteenth member of the Spectre Division.” Said Lt. Kino in a welcoming voice and gesture.

“Wait what? Thirteen? You guys are just a twelve-man division?” I asked quickly.

“No, of course not. We are now thirteen.”

And Lt. Kino burst into another laughter.

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Happy New Year.