BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

"Erik!"

"Uncle Ben!"

"You didn't tell me you were an awakener the last time we saw each other!" Benjamin said with a slightly annoyed but overall happy tone.

<That's right,> Erik though. He made a huge blunder here; how could he forget to give such crucial information to his uncle?

"I'm sorry, Uncle Ben, I totally forgot." Erik couldn't be blamed. The last time they saw each other, he ended up at the hospital because of Logan, Conal, and Orson; he was in a moment of emotional disorder then.

Benjamin clearly knew that it was not the young man's fault, and noticing the guilt in Erik's voice, he immediately changed the topic.

"All right," he said, "I'm coming to pick you up; we will go to our favorite restaurant to celebrate. Is it okay for you? I want to hear everything about your awakening!" Benjamin said.

"Really?!"

"Really!" Benjamin assured. "Tell me where you are; I'm coming to pick you up!"

"I'm at the western train station. I will wait for you here," the young man energetically said. He was happy he could spend some time with uncle Benjamin.

Ten minutes later, a car pulled up next to him, and out came Uncle Benjamin. He was dressed in a fancy black and white suit, probably expensive, ready to go to dinner with his acquired nephew.

"Hi, Uncle Ben!"

The two hugged, walked toward the car, and headed to the restaurant. During their travel and the whole dinner, Erik explained to Benjamin how he had awakened and everything that had happened to him. How he finally made some friends and many more things.

The middle-aged man was clearly happy for Erik; he knew how much the young boy had to suffer because of his weak brain crystal, so his awakening was nothing but a miracle in the uncle's eyes.

"So, they brought me into this huge room where they tested my powers, it came out my brain crystal only got a slight improvement, but I jumped to the E rank!"

"I'm very happy for you, Erik. So, what are you planning to do now?" Benjamin asked.

"Well, after my military service, I think I will buy a plot of land and start a farm. It would be the best thing to do with my power..."

"It will not be simple. To get a farm, you will have to join hands with the stone family, and that is not easy as it seems... They are a bunch of prideful people obsessed with money, and messing with them is basically a death sentence. There is another problem; you know, I'm an army sergeant, so I know more than you about the military way of doing things. Believe me when I say it won't be easy to escape their clutches since you are an awakener..."

"So, what do you think they will do, prevent me from leaving them after the ten-year mandatory service?" Erik asked.

" That's exactly what I think will happen, Erik. Having double the neural links makes you double times stronger than average. They will find different excuses to prevent you from leaving. Of that, you can rest assured."

"I know that, but I don't plan to stay in the military forever," Erik said with a look of determination.

"I don't think you have any choice in the matter. If you find a way to leave the military after the ten-year service, they will simply make your life miserable for having abandoned them. They control everything inside the country, and your only way out of their control would be to become a thug. I don't think you will enjoy a life of robbery and murder. "

"But I want to simply have a normal life, uncle Ben! Why would they resort to something so drastic for a single man?" Erik said.

"I don't think you will be able to have a normal life anymore, Erik, and you are severely underestimating the power an awakener possesses..."

"So, basically, my only option is to run away?" Erik asked.

"That's what I think..."

Things got incredibly complicated for Erik; his future would either be, becoming a fugitive or living forever as a military dog. Either of them was unacceptable. Though, he didn't know what to do. His options were extremely limited.

After bringing the young man back home, Benjamin left him with his thoughts. Erik went to the bathroom to take a shower, and once there, he stopped to look at himself in the mirror.

His figure did change a lot during this month. He wasn't skinny like before; he looked bulkier, fitter, and much more handsome.

All these changes were due to the system, and he couldn't stop being so thankful for it. But as Erik watched his changes, he started doubting his choice of coming out as an awakener was the right one.

Clearly, he couldn't have lived the rest of his life bullied because people believed he was trash. He couldn't have lived on the margins of society; that was no life.

He had had enough. But at the same time, coming out as an awakener, which he wasn't, clearly, put him in a difficult spot. In one way or the other, he was bound to have a life that was different from what he envisioned.

It wasn't like he didn't like joining the military. He knew that in the world he lived in, being strong was a necessity, not only because of the thaids but also because of the humans, and he was aware that the militaries would surely help him improve so that no one would take advantage of him.

What he really hated and couldn't stand were Frant's citizens and its government. Not only did they create a shitty societal system, but they also allowed crime to run rampant, endangering everyone, himself included.

He was only lucky that no one robbed him, killed him, or tried to kidnap him to sell his organs. But that could happen at any time.

The only thing that could save him from a life of exploitation were two: either he became strong enough to run away and take refuge in another nation, or Frant did change.

That would mean that General Becker had to fall, but that was easier said than done, and he wasn't really sure if that was a good choice. Becker was an extremely strong individual, not only individually but in every sense. Money, status, control, he had them all.

Despite all this power, the government wasn't able to solve the problems that afflicted the nation, which was weird. It wasn't possible that a place so heavily relying on the militaries didn't know what happened inside. But that was wishful thinking.

<If this is how things will end for me, then I will just leave this damn place. After all, nothing ties me here. I hate Frant with all my guts. Though the problem is that I need the power to flee from the country. To escape the people and face the thaids. In the end, everything revolves around power.>

So, Erik steeled his resolve on what to do. It was more than ever imperative that he joined the Red Palace Dojo. There, he could gain enough resources to get out of this shitty nation as soon as possible.

Having decided on what to do, Erik walked out of the bathroom and sat down on the couch. He trained a little bit in the link-establishing procedure, but he was drained that day, so he went to sleep after half an hour. He quickly drifted into Morpheus' embrace and slept peacefully until morning.

A/N: Sorry, guys, there have been some problems with Quillbot's extension, and every time I uploaded something on Inkston, a weird code got copied too. It was also impossible to remove it. Now everything should be Okay. Also, if someone knows how to fix this problem, I would appreciate the help!