.Goroso.
Goroso stood on the roof of one of his hideouts, the view was the highest one in the district. It might not be the best view like that of Sani Abacha, the Mayor of the shelter, but it serves its purpose; it gives them the advantage of detecting enemies before an attack. He cursed beneath his breath as he gazed upon the vantage point that served as Sani Abacha's oversight of the entire shelter. "Curse you, Abacha!" He exclaimed silently; the day will come when he will defeat the bastard that protects the Mayor of the shelter. The day of reckoning is coming and then the bloated fool would be toppled from his throne.
To achieve this, he needed to gather his strength; he needed high ranking Ẹṣọs to bolster his military might and at least 3 S-rank powerhouses to take out Kaduna. Kaduna happens to be Sani Abacha's most powerful henchman; the desire to conquer the shelter was so overwhelming that his hand trembled in anticipation. He could visualize himself standing in Abacha's office gazing into the shelter from the vantage point of the tyrant's perch. Sani is unworthy of that position, and one day, he will be brought low.
There was a sudden knock on the door; Goroso paused for a short while, drinking at the moment, then walked over to the centre of his roof in preparation for the meeting.
"Come in!" he grunted, he needs to give an impression to the recruit if he is to establish his authority.
In walks Adewale with his hands tied, he was treated like a captive and presented to Goroso as though he was a tribute from a weaker nation to the stronger. Goroso nodded in approval at the sight of Adewale, then he gestured for Adewale and his captors to come closer.
"Good evening sir," Adewale greeted, "you summoned me?"
"Why is he tied up?" Goroso inquired, facing his men.
"Oga, you talk say make we bring am (You told us to bring him here)" the brute replied.
"As a guest, not a prisoner!" Goroso snapped,
"No vex sir…" the brute pleaded,
"Get out and untie him now" He commanded.
The thugs quickly freed Adewale from his bonds, then they hurried off the roof before they offended their leader again.
"Sorry for the rude treatment" Goroso said without a hint of emotion on his face,
"It is alright, sir," Adewale replied, sizing the situation, "Why did you call for me? I am after all a nobody"
"From this day forward you will be working for me." Goroso declared, and from the tone of his voice, Adewale could guess that he was not given a choice.
"I don't have any skills that are useful to you," he continued; from the movies in the previous world, he could predict the state of mind that Goroso had. He was the kind of person who wanted everything under his thumb. Anything he couldn't own, he would destroy. Adewale is nothing to him but another property that he is about to purchase from the market; the only way to get out of this predicament is to show him how worthless he is.
"Your leadership skills and boosting abilities are tools I can use. I have other boosters, some at Rank-B, but you would make a fine addition."
"But sir…" Adewale persisted,
"You have no choice," Goroso pressed, "Once you Evolve, you will be useful; your purpose is to serve me."
"My Evo-cap is 1, this is how strong I will ever be!" Adewale said, "I'm sorry"
"What!" Goroso growled, "Evo-cap 1?" he exclaimed,
"Yes sir," Adewale said, trying to hide his facial expression exposing nothing but fear. The fear would expose how worthless he is and give him the chance of being discarded by the greedy Goroso, "My only skill is leadership related and I know you will never allow me to take charge of your men"
"Hmmm" Goroso grunted, "You are useless, go away, and don't let me ever see you again"
"Yes sir" Adewale replied, faking his fear and then dashed towards the exit. (Thank God this man is a greedy idiot,)
Goroso signed in disappointment; he had his hopes up, but it was all dashed. Next time he would do a thorough background check before summoning them to his service. He couldn't help but notice that there was something off with the boy who was just in his presence. Was he faking his fear, and where was he coming from before he had him dragged to his presence? Then he cleared his head. Evo-cap 1s are useless; there is no way that boy has a hidden talent.
**************
The van pulled up at the entrance of the recruitment centre, and Adewale came out with a sigh of relief, "what a day", he exclaimed, imagining that two giants of the shelter had their eyes on him. "I think it is time that I keep a low profile," he voiced, "Anything else that is flashy would only cause the corrupt leaders of the shelter to cast their greedy eyes on him,"
"Smart move, boy, flashing your Evo-cap in his face," The driver said as they journeyed towards the shelter, "Nothing good comes from working for Goroso; he is a very greedy man. Be on your guard."
"Yes sir," Adewale replied gleefully, outsmarting greedy men seems to be his area of specialization. He rushed towards the dorms and straight to bed for the day.
***************
The next day, preparations for the next training exercise began; the new commander arrived early the next morning, and Adewale knew that Abacha had given him the order to take them into the wild to exterminate the weakest in the group.
"What do you mean by rejecting his offer!!" Attah exclaimed, "That was your easy access to Olorun-sogo"
"Seriously," Ọsẹ said, "You could have been made for life, that was a foolish decision"
"We are nothing but pests to him," Adewale said, "Joining him would only turn me into a bigger bastard than him."
"But if you had joined him then you could have helped us in the end." Attah protested,
"Before or after they have corrupted me?" Adewale inquired. "Remember I said that I wanted to help my friends and he technically ordered me to abandon you"
"But…" Attah continued to protest but was cut short by Ọsẹ,
"Enough, Attah," He countered, "Adewale is right; the moment he agrees to become Abacha's dog, we are as good as abandoned." Attah sighed in quiet surrender.
Just then, one of the Ẹṣọs managing the recruits walked into the dorm; he looked around and then gestured for Adewale to follow him.
"Not again!" Lakan voiced in despair. Adewale responded immediately marching towards the superior.
"The new commander wants to see you." He ordered, Adewale nodded in reply and marched off to the commander's office.
************
Meeting with the new commander
Adewale hurried off to the new commander's office. He might have had little respect for the previous commander because he was nothing but an ambitious coward, but this commander was different. The aura he emitted was one showing a high level of charisma; he hoped that he could develop a positive relationship with this one. He knocked on the door and waited for permission to walk in; this commander's office was filled with awards of service and a picture of his family.
"Please sit down," the commander ordered,
"Yes sir," Adewale replied,
The commander was sorting through some files keeping the records in their proper order "That lazy bastard!" he grunted, "I'll remember to send a letter of complaint to the mayor later, only idiots recruit idiots." he exclaimed,
"Sir?" Adewale voiced, he was fearful that he had unknowingly offended the new commander.
"Not you, boy!" the commander said with a scowl on his face; he then stood from his desk and threw a set of files into the dustbin.
"Idiots, all of them," he growled, and then his face became calm as he focused on Adewale. "The fools are the most ambitious and yet they have zero skills, zero knowledge and zero potential"
"The previous commander?" Adewale asked, realising that he was complaining about the one who once occupied this position.
"Indeed," The new commander replied, "He was the crown of stupidity, a coward and above all a greedy fool. This post was mine, then he took it from me because he wanted to flee from the front lines of the battle."
"Wow!" Adewale exclaimed,
"I heard what you did during the invasion of the Reptile-king," the commander said with a tone of approval, "Your quick thinking saved many lives, I'm impressed"
"Thank you, sir," Adewale smiled, realising that the commander was a decent man, "Although, at that moment, I was only trying to save my own life."
"Modesty, a good leadership trite, I am going to enjoy training you," the commander said with a smile, "Unfortunately, I have bad news for you," he continued,
"I'm ready for it, sir," Adewale voiced; he knew that his last conversation with Abacha would have consequences.
"The final expedition for all recruits was moved up" The new commander continued, "In two days all recruits will be taken to the wild"
"I see, hands-on Ẹbọra fighting experience!" Adewale said,
"No, it's just an execution effort to control the population of the shelter," he said with a sad note in his voice.
"I know," Adewale acknowledged, "Abacha told me himself, he told me to choose. To be his dog or to die with the rest of the sacrificial sheep."
"Let me guess, you choose to defy the mayor of the shelter." the commander observed.
"Yes sir," Adewale replied, he was unable to look into the new commander's face. He didn't want to see the look of disapproval in his eyes.
"You're gutsy," the commander acknowledged with a slight smile on his face, "But that's not always a good thing, you might as well have gotten both yourself and your friends killed."
"Better than watching my friends die from the safety of a dog house barking like a fool." Adewale replied defiantly, "I didn't join the corrupt practices in my previous life then, and I will not join it now" The last sentence was made in his mind.
"I like you, boy," The new commander voiced with a smile and then scratched beneath his nose; Adewale noticed that he had done this 3 times already. It must be a reflex action. "Promise me that you'll survive the expedition!"
Adewale realised that luck was on his side, the new commander was a good man and a potential ally. "We can't make it out without your help," He said throwing caution to the wind. The new commander chuckled again, "Smart boy, I can tell you're a good judge of character. I tell you everything you need to know and give you everything that is within my power to give, but at a cost…"
"I save as many as I can," Adewale said without waiting for the older commander to finish, "I will never betray my friends."
"Good," the commander acknowledged scratching his nose again. "Abacha believes that killing the weak would make the shelter stronger whereas I believe that every man woman and child within this shelter has a role to perform." then he offered Adewale a bottled beverage, "Every life is important and must be preserved,"
"I totally agree," Adewale responded as he accepted the gift.
"Your expedition begins in two days," The commander said, "it's time for your crash course in survival and wildlife, a warning to the wise I will not go easy on you."
"Please don't hold back sir," Adewale said in a determined voice.
"I don't plan to," the commander responded,
Thus, their two-day training began against the expedition or, as they like to call it, training against Death Day.
************
Two days passed quickly; the new commander had all the units train and train without rest for the whole of the two days and then, on the night of the eve of the expedition, he finally allowed them to rest. He ensured that they all had the nutrients and supplements they needed to help them recover from the exhausting training.
The day of the expedition finally came and they all equipped themselves and prepared according to the advice of the commander. Death day had come for all the remaining members of the unit dorms; they were about to embark into the unknown, and the tension was more than any of them could bear.
"Adewale" Ọsẹ said,
"Yes," Adewale responded,
"Death day has come" Ọsẹ continued,
"Death day has come," he repeated with a determined look in his eyes; if they die, it all ends there, but if they live, then the storms of change begin.