Adopted Soldier

Alex was now right in front of what look like a gaming console. He was even given a controller of sorts. This confused Alex a lot, since this was so much different from the usual supposed tests his crazy b*stard of grandfather makes him do. As always once he was strapped in, the irritating voice of his grandfather could be heard.

"Alex all the other test that has been given to you was to get a better feel of the physical aspects of your abilities, now we're going to test your mental capabilities. Right in front of you is a little game I created just for you. I know you like playing games Alex, I've seen footages of you playing a lot. So this little test of mine, might actually help in making you relax. Since I've noticed that you haven't been relaxing at all. As you grandfather I can't help but worry."

'My stress is all because of you! You crazy old man!' Alex screamed in his mind, as he gritted his teeth continuing to listen to Richter's annoying voice.

"This game is like a prize after passing your tests. The game is a simple strategy game. In this game you are given different units that have different roles, which you will utilize to annihilate the opposing factions. Well isn't that simple enough, to learn the controls you just need to read the manual beside you. Hope you have fun playing the game"

Once Richter was done saying what needs to be said, he stopped talking and watched silently at the monitor.

After listening to his sh*tty grandfather's introduction to the game, Alex immediately started reading the manual. Even though Alex didn't like to do these tests his grandfather gives him he still continued doing them. He continued since he knew that the moment he failed any of the tests his crazy grandfather would kill him in a second. If he proved to be nothing more than failure then, his grandfather would kill him without a second thought, just like that time with his parents.

Alex could vaguely understand what his grandfather wanted from him. Before and now, his grandfather only cared about one thing and that's the strength of the Greyhounds. Alex didn't understand why his grandfather was so obsessed into making the Greyhounds even stronger, seeing that they were already strong enough. Based on the quality of the facilities he has seen, and the level of the subordinates in this hidden base, Alex could vaguely understand just how strong the Greyhounds were.

Not to mention based on how proud his grandfather was about the strength of a Greyhound, Alex could deduce that a normal family member of the Greyhounds was beyond any of the normal S rank mercs. So why does this man who already has so much power want more? Alex didn't have time to think too much about this and continued to read the manual.

Once he was done reading the manual he started to play the game. For some reason the graphics of the game was close to nonexistent as they were simply dots with labels on them. Alex then saw a message pop up, which indicated the mission objectives of the game.

The main objective was to use the units Alex has, to annihilate the opposing forces. The difficulty was that the enemy forces outnumber Alex's forces one to twelve. So the first thing Alex did was study the layout of the land, which was basically mountains and forests. When he clicked the map function it showed a very detailed map. This made Alex suspicious and confused, if this game was able to show this level of graphics, then why were the units only dots?

Alex had a bad feeling about all this, but had no other choice but to move onward and finish the game. Alex then started to moving the units to their positions. He noticed that there was some time lag between movements. It took some time for the units to acknowledge his command and move. So he needed to keep that in mind as well.

After placing the units to the right position, he made one unit into bait. Alex used the fastest unit which were basically the scouts as bait. Once the enemy forces saw the scouts, they gave chase. The enemy only sent a few units to track down the scouts, which Alex immediately decimated.

Seeing their comrades haven't returned, the enemy forces were now wary. Still Alex used the same tactic and made the scouts even more visible to the enemy forces. Now that the enemy forces have confirmed the existence of the scouts, they sent in even more men to attack the unknown enemy.

Once they gotten deeper into the mountains, Alex sprang the units for the planned ambush. The enemy forces have been outmaneuvered and surrounded. Not only that Alex's units had the advantage of a surprise attack, cornering the enemy forces making them unable to put up a more decent fight. While that was happening, seeing the defense of the base was now as low as it could be, Alex sent in his remaining forces to capture the enemy base.

The whole battle took three hours to finish in real time. When Alex won, the first thing he thought about was how sh*tty this game was, which was basically as sh*tty as his grandfather. Upon winning the game, he was shown a casualty report. eighty of his men had died in that mission, twenty of them were gravely injured, fifteen had light injuries, and the remaining eighty five were lucky enough to sustain no injuries. Overall the mission was rated a great success.

As always once the test was over his grandfather's voice echoed through the speakers.

"Congratulations Alex, you once again proven how superior Greyhound genes are. Your commanding skills were outstanding. Even though capturing the base without destroying it wasn't part of the objectives you still did it. Gaining that base was an excellent bonus for us."

When Alex heard what his grandfather said he was confused, and then after second he quickly understood what his grandfather meant. What he was playing wasn't a game, the delayed movements of the characters, the detailed map, everything was real.

Alex didn't say anything, as he tried to calm himself. He didn't know, no... He already had a vague suspicion that was what's happening, but he did it anyway. He used his grandfather's men to kill people that he doesn't know anything about. Were they from Berdonia, Were they from the Southern Union, Were they from the Granado Empire, or were they from some other country? He didn't know, nor did Alex care to find out. He needed to survive so he killed them, that's was all.

Alex even knowing that the game might be something else entirely, still continued to play it. This was for his survival. Alex was no stranger to killing, so this didn't affect him as much. He was sure that the people he killed weren't civilians, they were trained soldiers, so that made his guilt feel a bit lighter.

All Alex could think off at the moment was to survive, so that he could return to his family and friends. He needed to survive, so that he could fulfill his promise to Rachel, and tell her how he felt.

For him to survive he needed to make his crazy grandfather still think he is useful for the future of the Greyhounds.. If he fails even one test, death is what awaits him, or something far worse.