“Irrespective of their health condition, the military would accept anyone that applies. But, their screening test has a high fatality rate. If he dies, we can forget about receiving monetary support from his mother.” The voice of his aunt resounded through the earpiece as Rael sighed, ‘Her motive is still the same.’

The moment he slammed the door shut in anger and entered his room, Rael panted a little in exhaustion, took in a deep breath before approaching his study table, pulling out an earpiece from within.

He placed it on his ear and switched it on, hearing his aunt’s voice. Of course, he was already used to her comments and her two-faced character.

And, the reason for that was simple. His parents were researchers that had been posted on an Outpost to research a military secret. So, nothing about their work, apart from the fact that they are researchers was known to others.

But, due to the nature of work, they could only return home once in two years. And even that wasn’t guaranteed. Moreover, their duration of stay only lasted a month before they had to hurry on for work.

So, for most of his life, Rael had lived with his aunt’s family. Molla Rukh, aged 43; housewife. A short-sighted cunning lady, two years older than his mother—Stella Rukh. That was his aunt.

Her husband was Dronk Rukh, aged 45; owner of a small restaurant. And, he was the twin brother of Rael’s father—Ralph Rukh.

The two men had married into the family of the women and had taken up their last name. Hence, they had the same family name—Rukh.

But, despite such a close-knit bond, asking them to take care of Rael, especially when they weren’t rich enough wasn’t nice. After all, it wasn’t for a day or a week, but years at a stretch. Hence, Rael’s parents sent them monetary support every month.

It had been arranged at a nearby bank. And as long as they showed proof that they were taking good care of Rael, they were guaranteed monetary support.

At the start, Rael was indeed taken care of very well by his aunt. As for his uncle, he didn’t even treat his own children well, not to mention Rael, the son of the twin brother that he felt inferior towards from childhood.

Even though Rael missed his family, he quickly became close with his aunt and was living well. But, things changed when he turned nine and expressed his desire to become a soldier.

To be a soldier meant gaining superpowers, the power of Plasma—the fourth state of matter. But, that also meant they would have to face the Garracks, frightening beings that roamed the universe in search of life-inhabiting planets to devour and infest with their species.

Death lingered amongst the soldiers, survival not guaranteed even for the strongest in the Federation—as humanity called themselves in the interstellar waters.

So, if Rael became a soldier and died, they would lose their monetary support. Hence, Molla changed her stance towards Rael.

Even though she acted the same as usual with him, she began to add mild laxatives to his food on regular basis. Due to this, Rael had constant loose motions, losing weight gradually. Over time, his body became frail, falling sick regularly.

If not for an encounter two years ago, Rael wouldn’t have discovered the truth. From then, he wired their house, tapping in on the conversations of his aunt and uncle from time to time, understanding the truth of the situation.

It had taken him many months to digest that fact, against someone he recognised as his second mother. Over time, he came to accept it, left with no other choice. This was the reason he wished to become a soldier.

He hated being sick all the time and wished to be a healthy individual like everyone else. And once he entered the military, he would become healthy, gain power and eventually become independent once he was an adult.

Once that happens, his uncle and aunt would no longer obtain monetary support. ‘But, no matter what, they had taken care of me. So, until I turn eighteen, let them enjoy the monetary support. I’ll consider us even then.’

Sighing, he noticed that his aunt had begun to watch the news, her favourite pastime, removing his earpiece as he slumped on the bed, “How…do I join the military?”

Had he been an adult, then it would have been easy. All he had to do was head towards the nearest military base and apply to become a soldier. But, as he wasn’t an adult yet, he needed his guardian’s consent.

And, no way in hell would his aunt give him permission. After all, it wasn’t verbal permission, but a written one. As Rael thought about the needs, his eyes lit up as he obtained an idea, hurriedly switching on his computer before opening an image editing software.

He pulled out the envelopes from his school that he had received previously for various occasions, using the format for the latest as he copied the same on the editing software, drafting up a letter.

Basically, he was making a fake letter from his school. It consisted of two pages, the first being the fake letter, while the second was a form. It requested a signature from his guardian and her consent to send him on an educational trip to a nearby plant.

As Rael was the top student in his academy, he received such offers at least once a month. Some, he attended. While others, he failed to attend when he fell sick. And, such consent forms had been signed by his aunt all the time.

She was rather glad to push him into an academic field. For that was the safest. So, she never said no to such occasions.

Once he was done with it, he created a fake email id that was almost similar to his school’s email, sending him the letter from there.

He then opened it in his account, looking through all the details to ensure that nothing was amiss. He was planning to use the consent form to join the military. It was drafted in such a way that the military would accept it while his aunt wouldn’t even notice anything amiss.

He didn’t immediately tell her though, waiting for a couple of hours before exiting his room, approaching his aunt that was making some snacks in the kitchen. As for his uncle, he was busy in their restaurant.

“Aunt, I received another offer. This time, it’s from a company that manufactures electronic gadgets.” He said.

“Again? It’s already the second one this month.” Molla frowned.

“Yep,” Rael nodded, as a matter of fact, not saying anything else.

“Fine,” Molla sighed, accompanying him to his room, saying, “Show it to me.”

“Here,” He showed her the email, watching her wear her spectacles and go through it in detail, nodding as she printed it, watching the printer nearby send out two papers.

She read it once again, feeling mildly doubtful before noticing that her children had returned from school. She quickly signed at the necessary places and wrote the details pertaining to her giving him consent.

“Here you go,” She handed him the papers and exited the room, closing the door gently.

Rael casually scanned the consent form, saved it on his computer, and stored the hardcopy in a folder nearby.

He didn’t do anything beyond that, casually closing the browser as he wore his headphones, switched on some music, picked up a textbook, and sat on his bed, reading through it.

Even though he fell sick all the time due to his poor health, he studied hard, ensuring he placed first in school all the time. It was his pride.

As for taking medicines against the laxatives, he had been doing that for the past four months, building up some strength. Though, he didn’t gain much weight, for that would make his aunt suspicious about him.

After all, she was the most aware of his smarts and hence was never lax around him. That was why she scrutinised the letter twice, even though she read it slowly each time, ensuring to not miss any word or hidden clause.

“Sick freak! You’re alive?” The moment he heard the sound, Rael’s brows scrunched up as an expression of annoyance became evident. But, he didn’t care about it, continuing to read through his book when the door opened as a boy his age sauntered in, acting like he owned the place.

Upon seeing Rael seated upon the bed, casually reading a book, an academic book at that, the boy was pissed, arriving beside him, casually smacking the back of his head, “what the heck are you reading?”

“He peered into the book, ignoring the fact that Rael’s face reddened from the hit, glancing at the first word in the page, “Pig? You’re reading about pigs? Pfft!”

He laughed aloud, hitting Rael’s head once again before exiting the room, “He’s reading about pigs. Hahaha!”

Rael gazed at the first word of the page, noticing the word was ‘pigment’. He sighed, ‘This idiot is surpassing himself in idiocy every single time.’

He closed his eyes, meditating for a few minutes to curb his anger. If he retaliated now, everything he worked on for the past four months would be revealed. After all, he hadn’t become sick in these past four months and had only been acting as such.

And if his aunt actually inspected his body, she would be able to notice the mildly toned muscles within. That was why he was controlling himself.

Before he started on his sickness spree, whenever his cousin brother, Drol Rukh dared mess with him, he pummelled the other party. But once he got sick, he became weaker. In contrast, puberty shrunk Drol’s brain but granted him a strong physique instead.

So, Rael lost hope in winning a physical fight against him after that. ‘But, there are other ways in exacting petty revenge.'

He smiled at the thought, leaving his room after some time, asking for a snack, aware that this snack was the best means for his aunt to add a laxative in. It was his favourite snack, the same for Drol too.

In the night, once they had dinner, Rael glanced at Drol for a moment before acting sneaky.

‘What is this guy up to now?’ Drol noticed his actions, frowning in anger, ‘Why do we have to keep this parasite in our house. His face is damn irritating. He’s a frail dude, but the stupid girls in our class like him for some reason.’

He snorted, heading towards Rael’s room, ‘Let’s see how I punish you this time, damn weakling.’

He then entered Rael’s room, noticing the other party eating his favourite snack, “So this is why you didn’t eat dinner much.”

He grabbed hold of the plate of snacks, grinned as he gobbled them all in one gulp. His mouth resembling a squirrel, he gazed at Rael with an expression full of ridicule, “Meh…wheesklighhh.”

He turned around and exited the room, content in his revenge, knowing that Rael would have to sleep while feeling hungry, ‘Take some more sick leave.’

Though, once he returned to his room, he felt his stomach churn, feeling as if it was gargling. After a couple of minutes of hesitation, he was unable to endure it any longer, rushing towards the bathroom. A storm brewed forth after that.

Chuckling, Rael closed the book, switching on the computer as he browsed through the homepage of the Federation’s military, selecting the local branch as he applied for it.

Within an hour, he received a reply through email, showing his acceptance.

“Your admission test would be conducted on Union April, the 30th. Assemble at noon sharp with the hard copy of the consent form, along with your certificate of identity. Failure to comply would result in disqualification. Take care, Rael Rukh.”

Upon reading through the letter of acceptance, Rael fist-bumped, closing the browser as he slumped on the bed, content with his scheme, “I’ll finally join the military.”

His smile brightened immediately, recalling the scene showed in the promotional videos of the military, one in which the soldiers wielded Plasma weapons and flew through the air like an aircraft.

He then closed his eyes, planning to sleep when his body floated to the air all of a sudden. A suffocating presence enveloped him as a coin flashed into existence before his face. A minute sound echoed within his ears.

<Ding!>