Chapter 3 The Origin

Carl and the other two had heard of the fairy tale of The King and His Sword, but they had always treated it as a myth.

But now, all of a sudden, the dean talked about the warriors of War Spirit and specifically mentioned The King and His Sword. The three of them were so smart that they immediately grasped the key to this matter.

"Could it be that King Caesar is a War Spirit warrior?" The three of them asked in unison.

The dean nodded with a smile, drummed his fingers on the wooden table in front of him and said slowly, "Let's start with the catastrophe in the story... The so-called catastrophe refers to an alien tribe—the Zergs, which have nothing to do with those little bugs we see in our daily life..."

At this point, the dean slowly rolled up the sleeve on his right hand and the sight that greeted them, made them take a deep breath.

They had never imagined that under the dean's loose robe, his arm was marked with spreading circles of scars which looked rather frightful!

The worst-looking scar looked like as if it had made by something sharp, which had pierced through one side of the arm to the other side...

The dean chuckled and then pulled back his sleeves. His purpose was not to frighten the three of them, but to make them aware that the Zergs were not some little meek animals.

Without needing the dean to say anything more, Carl and the others also understood that these scars were caused by the so-called Zergs!

"At that time, the Zergs invaded the whole Lorran planet. Almost ninety percent of human beings on the planet were slaughtered."

"Fortunately, we were blessed and given a way out at that time... Perhaps due to the influence of the Zergs, the human genes changed and some people could summon their second soul—War Spirit."

Carl and the other two gaped in wonder, deeply engrossed in the dean's story.

Looking at the appearances of the three children, the dean smiled gently and continued to talk.

"Back then, King Caesar was the first person to awaken his spirit to fight. The current empire was established by the first batch of spirit warriors who aroused their spirits to lead the remaining humans..."

At this point, the dean's eyes flickered slightly. He was recalling the scene of the big battle back then.

While Arthur and Sofia were still trying to understand these stories in silence, Carl had already asked excitedly, "Mister Dean, so thirty years ago, did you also follow King Caesar to fight against the Zergs? Then you must be..."

The dean chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm not that lucky to be a warrior of War Spirit. But every man would have fought to the end for the survival of the human race as I did..."

Carl lowered his head in slight disappointment, while Arthur suddenly said,

"I already roughly understand the importance of the War Spirit warriors to the Empire. Then what's the reason why the three of us are going to take the qualification test tomorrow... And the most important thing I want to know is that if the three of us do not qualify to be the warriors of War Spirit, what will happen?"

The dean nodded approvingly. Carl was brave and responsible, Arthur was sharp and careful and Sofia was smart and bold. He had watched the three of them grow up and they were his favorite children.

"According to the law of the Gamma Empire, any young man who has reached the age of 18 will have to take the qualification test of the War Spirit of the local government. Those who qualify will automatically attain citizenship of the Gamma Empire immediately."

"Citizenship? Does it mean one can live in the capital or become an officer by having this citizenship?" Sofia said in surprise.

Although they lived in an orphanage, they had met the citizens because they occasionally needed to do business with the residents of Rum Town.

Superiority and power were things that Carl and the others had never been able to attain before. Now, as long as they could pass the qualification test, they could easily become citizens. They felt excited immediately!

The dean nodded with a smile, as an answer to Sofia's question.

"Well, about the citizenship, when you pass the qualification test, you will naturally learn more about it."

After a pause, the dean continued to explain, "If you don't pass the qualification test, you have to join the army of the empire. After three years of military service, you can return to the town and be civilians of the empire."

"Then... What if we don't pass the qualification test and refuse to serve in the military?" Arthur caught the crucial point and looked toward the dean's horribly scarred arm.

Carl, who was excited and Sofia, who was silent, also looked over, along with Arthur.

If they could not become a warrior of War Spirit, they would become an ordinary soldier, just like the dean. Although it would only be three years, it did not seem that it would be a safe journey...

The dean was silent for a while and said in an earnest voice, "According to the laws of the empire, anyone who refuses to serve in the military will be hunted down by the warriors of the empire. There is no time limit until the target dies."

Carl and the other two took a deep breath at the same time. Being hunted down by warriors for an ordinary person was already unfortunate, but it was even worse to be hunted forever. To put it bluntly, as long as one refused to serve the military, he would only end up dead.

After taking a look at the time, the dean slowly stood up from his seat and walked over to the three of them. In an amiable voice, he said, "It's getting late. All of you should get some rest. Tomorrow, Silas will bring you to Rum Town."

After hearing this, the three of them nodded and began to walk out of the door.

"Carl!" When the three of them were about to go out, the dean suddenly called out.

Carl looked back in confusion. The dean nodded at him and said, "No matter what happens, don't take it to heart. Believe in yourself!"

Carl raised his eyebrows, not knowing what the dean meant, but still nodded and walked out with the other two.

"Carl, if you have a War Spirit, what do you want your War Spirit to be?" On the way back to their room, Sofia asked excitedly.

Carl glanced at Arthur, who was silent and said, "Hmm." But he did not know what kind of War Spirit he wanted to have after thinking for a long time...

At this moment, several fireflies flew past the window as the starlight brought a hint of summer air to the whole courtyard.