That arduous training stayed as their daily routine for a few months after their arrival. In that period, recruits kept coming from all over Northern Empire territory. Orphans number in the camp continuously grew from just sixteen of them into a few hundred which made Ethan and the other first recruits stunned at how crazy jammed their little barrack became in the last three months. After three months passed, Ethan got a new training schedule now. It grew harsher on this newly developed training plan.

Ethan and the other first-month recruits have weapon training straight after they finished conditional training that was assigned to them previously. He got more muscular than three months ago when he still lived happily in the orphanage. All orphans in the training facility don't even want to try to escape from the building because all they can see from the training field is just a snowfield. They doubt their ability to survive in the wilderness at the moment even after they got their body properly trained in such a harsh environment.

On their fourth month' of training, their physical instructor and weapon instructor came together into the training ground.

Ethan: *What an odd occasion! I wonder what kind of special event they prepare for us.*

That thought is indeed true since the last time they went in together they got weapon training added to their lovely routine after four months of being physically trained.

Regas: "We have good news for all first recruits that we brought here. You will have no training today but a medical checkup on a medical facility that you haven't seen yet. You will need to follow your weapon instructor, Rolf."

Rolf: "Thank you for the opening speech, Regas. You lot better follow my order or you'll get another spicy extra training session after you finish your medical checkup. Now follow me!"

As instructed, they follow Rolf's order and follow him in a nice three-line formation. Regas who followed those recruits from behind gave them nods approving his training discipline result that he had seen in front of him right now. He felt quite pleased with the result.

When they arrived at the military medical center, those recruits stayed at the waiting room that has been prepared for them broom beforehand. Ethan entered one of the rooms when his name was called by Rolf. He met the doctor inside of the office room that he went in.

Doctor: "Please lay down on the checkup capsule. We will proceed after you enter the capsule."

Ethan: "Is there anything else that I have to do before I enter that machine?"

Doctor: "You just need to remove your shirt and follow the further instructions told by the capsule. Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Ethan: "I'm good. Let's proceed with the procedure shall we?"

He removed his clothes and lay inside the capsule. He relaxed his body inside the machine while waiting for it to initiate its program.

Ethan: *Why is there no tutorial or whatsoever as the doctor said before? Is it broken or something?*

He waited for several minutes but the capsule just continue its scanning program. He could only hear machinery humming sounds several times but nothing else happens.

Machine: "Thank you for waiting. Scanning progress completed. Proceed with an antibody strengthening program. Please relaxed your arms muscle."

Ethan: *Tch! I hope there's nothing bad happening to me.*

He relaxed his arm on the bed. A few minutes after he got fully relaxed, suddenly both his arms and legs got handcuffed by the capsule.

Ethan: *What the...*

The straps which cuffed his limbs tightened up as time goes by. Ethan has almost no chance of retaliating while he's panicking. He hopelessly let the machine continue its program. The medical capsule injected some calming serum inside Ethan's body which forced Ethan's body and mind to get calmed down almost in no time.

Machine: *Proceeding with the next procedure.*

Ethan couldn't make any response to its statement due to injected tranquilizer on his body. He stared blankly on the ceiling of the capsule while enduring whatever serum which getting transfused into his body by that medical capsule. Shortly after he got injected with another type of serum by that medical capsule, he started to feel the pain inside of his body as well as sweating like a fountain due to his increasing body temperature. He braced himself by grinding his teeth together to endure such enormous pain he felt at the moment.

Some moments have passed and he started to groan in pain because his body pain grows even worse than it was in the beginning. He nearly lost his mind on the process. Hopefully, his body shutter down and he fainted during the process.

Several days have passed after he turned unconscious.

Ethan: *What on Earth is going on? Where am I?*

Ethan barely remembered what happened when he woke up. He could only remember that he got a medical test inside of a capsule. His handcuffs already getting released the moment he passed out inside the capsule. He has no idea at all about the process he went through but is feeling exhausted right now. He could tell that he felt sores all over his body.

Ethan: *I better just go up and get some rest in my room. Maybe I can figure something out about what happened to me when I got outside of this machine.*

He tried to move his body to open the medical capsule's door.

Machine: "Please wait a moment until the scanning process is done. We will let you go out straight after that. Now, please say status inside of your mind to check if the nano-machine has been established inside your body."

He didn't do as instructed but asked the machine's AI another question.

Ethan: "What is a nano-machine?"

Machine: "It's a type of serum with nano millimeter-sized machinery that will help to strengthen your body as well as determine how good or bad your training progress is. It will enable you to reinforce your body with another technology to improve your body states such as increased strength or vitality or even plating your body to turn it into a bulletproof body."

Ethan: *That's cool but scary at the same time. What on Earth is going on exactly?*

While Ethan's mind is full of questions, he decided to do what the AI asked him to do. As soon as he said status, a window popped up inside of his mind.

[Status]

Name: Ethan

Race: Human

Age: 13

[Body Stats]

Strength: 1.5

Agility: 1.8

Vitality: 1.3

Intelligent: 0.7

[Skill(mastery)]

One handgun (15%)

Dual handgun (17%)

Rifle (19%)

Sniping (12%)

Hand to hand combat (20%)

Knife (16%)

Ethan: *How on Earth they can measure my skills? I know I suck on sniping but hey this thing is ridiculous.*

Machine: "Nano-machine worked properly. No abnormalities. Body status stabilized. Thank you for your cooperation, Recruit Ethan. Data has been registered and now you're free to go."

Ethan: "What do you mean by being registered?"

Before he got an answer, the capsule's door opened automatically. He rose from the bed inside while being greeted by the medical staff there.

Medical staff: "Please go to the head office."

He sent Ethan's the map of his destination. He saw several similar capsules next to him which makes him even more curious about this medical facility even further. He moved near the staff who just sent him his superior coordinate to ask him a question.

Medical staff: "He'll explain what you want to ask now later when you meet him. Why don't you just go there immediately so you can ease your curiosity as soon as you go there?"

He canceled his eagerness to ask the staff and start moving into the designated area that he has to reach now. He walked into that place which doesn't even look like an office at all. He went inside some kind of empty room that looked like a hall and soon after found someone that has been waiting on the other side of the empty hall.

Facility head: "Welcome to my humble clinic, young lad. You can call me Rakovic. I have a piece of good news for you that you're the first guy to wake up after two days of getting injected by the nano-machine antibody. Congratulation to you, recruit."

He walks in that guy's direction and said.

Ethan: "What do you mean the first to wake up? I also would like to hear your explanation on that weird-looking status that just pooped up when I'm inside the capsule."

Rakovic: "You are the first guy to wake up out of other recruits that have been injected by the antibody. It means as it is and nothing special. That antibody has AI-like capability to measure your current body training progress as well as the skill mastery that you learned through your routine. You already saw your own status, isn't it?"

Ethan: "Is there anything else I have to know? I believe you won't just summon me here just to answer my curiosity, right?"

Rakovic: "Sharp ones! I already informed Regas and Rolf about your condition. They are waiting for you in the youth barrack with further information. You better meet them ASAP before they ran out of their patience, as usual, you understood?"

Ethan: "Yes, Sir!"

He saluted the facility head before he leave the room. He bolted out of that hall as soon as he finished his salute.

Ethan: *Those bastards!*