Chatter grew after the officer left, slowly at first, then faster and faster, until the train car filled with the dull buzz of whispered socialization. Most of us were still complete strangers with one another, but that didn’t stand in the way of nervous energy seeking a release; people talked to whoever they could regardless of familiarity. 

I didn’t really get a chance to check if there was anyone I knew, though I didn’t care to either. Anybody I’d know was someone I wasn’t fond of. I only had a few friends and they were all elsewhere, so everyone else was either a stranger or someone I’d prefer to be dead. 

There were two columns of chairs with a dozen rows in each. Each row had three seats, so it wasn’t much unlike airplane seating. Not comfortable, but we’d only be here for a few hours so I didn’t care. 

I was on the end of the row, two others beside me and three others across the center walkway. None of us talked for a few minutes, but once the chatter got louder more people felt comfortable enough to. 

I was tapped on the shoulder, looking to the side and finding the girl I was sitting next to looking at my face with curiosity.

“Where’d you get all those scars? They look like they were painful.”

“More fights than I’d like to count.”

“Not from the Scourge?”

“Only some.”

“So you’re a Magisterium student. I’m Abby. Nice to meet you.”

“John.”

I shook her hand. And at the same time as I mentioned my name, I felt several eyes land on me. 

I let out a small sigh, waiting until a boy in the row across from me spoke. 

“John? John Cooper?”

“That is my name.”

“You won the Crowned Championship! I was at that tournament!”

“Cool.”

“...Wait a minute, prove you're him. You’re a summoner right? Why would you be with the warlock-”

His words stopped as I shoved the barrel of an M1 Garand right up into his jaw, pushing until his eager body went back into its seat.

“Is this proof enough?”

“...Yesh.”

“Hm.”

I pulled back the gun, the boy rubbing his face until I heard a whisper. 

“So cool…”

“You’re a summoner? Why would you be here then? Don’t you guys go to logistics?”

I was silent as I looked back at the girl next to me. With blonde hair and blue eyes, along with her curious face, she was the spitting image of innocence. Seems she had been living under a rock as well. I couldn’t imagine anyone in the Capital not knowing who I was. 

The boy answered for me after a few moments of silence. 

“John Cooper is the strongest summoner to ever exist! He beat down the Magisterium’s best! He-”

“I can speak for myself, thank you very much.”

“O-Of course.”

The boy backed down, making my brows raise. What was this guy, a fan? He was talking like I wasn’t even here. It was weird.

I looked back at the girl and shrugged. 

“I can fight, unlike other summoners. So I’m being trained for that with you guys.”

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t go to the Magisterium. My parents sent me to another city for school. The Magisterium was too expensive for us.”

“Hm.”

I nodded. Maxwell had paid my fees for me and even then it was only for one year. Normal kids paid tuition for all 4 years, not to mention the costs of living in the capital. There was a reason nobles were so prevalent, and why the population was so small. 

Being born with a Crest wasn’t exceptionally rare. A large chunk of the population was born with it. It was just that most didn’t have the talent to get anywhere above Authority 5, and doing so would take many years unlike the nobles who did that as a bare minimum prerequisite during their teens and early 20s. 

So most of the Kingdom’s population that lived in other cities would simply go to the school within those cities. All of the major population centers had magical schools like the Magisterium, just of much lesser quality. 

It seemed Abby’s parents couldn’t deal with the expenditure, yet lived in the capital since that’s where she went for recruitment. Whatever the situation, she was now being shipped off to the military. 

I could only sense Authority 3 power from her. I was at that level not long ago, and I couldn’t fathom going into the military while so weak. Someone like her would be nothing more than another body on the frontlines to fall namelessly. And here I was, thinking Authority 5 was much too weak, nothing more than the start of a much larger journey ahead. 

It was a nasty feeling. I had both killed and seen many people die. The common factor was that they did so in large groups, unless they had enough power, in which case they would already be standing out from the rest. 

So when I looked at Abby and thought about how much worse the war was about to get, I couldn’t see anything more than another dead body.

“...John?”

“Hm?”

I zoned in as my name was called, Abby staring back at me in confusion, still alive. 

I turned away. 

“Sorry. Authority 3, huh? What element are you working on?”

“Earth! That’s what my father recommended. But how’d you know I was Authority 3? I only advanced a few months ago!”

“John Cooper is the Magisterium’s greatest! He can use Aura to the highest degree, so naturally, sensing your Authority is easy!”

I looked over as the boy started yapping again. Red hair, freckles, pale skin, and a loud voice. He was only Authority 4, and barely so. 

“Hey, what’s your name?”

“Henry Holler!”

“Holler? Shut up for me, please.”

“Yes sir!”

“Pfft.”

Abby stifled a laugh while I settled in. 

……

“File out, now! Move those fucking feet! I want 5 equal rows right on those lines!”

Right when the doors to the car opened, we were yelled at until we finally organized ourselves on the lines right in front of a large building. 

Right above the double doors was a metal sign of large blocky letters. 

Fort Lauder: Ignited Hope

I glanced around, counting 20 people in each row. There were only 100 people in this squadron. I felt like it was a bit too small. 

After lining up, the first row was filed into the building where they were processed. There were some logistics to take care of first. 

Stripping clothes, receiving standard issue gear, and surprisingly, no buzz cuts. 

I forgot this wasn’t Earth’s military. Even then, I was pretty sure cutting down hair was a modern thing. 

I never paid much attention to my hair. I at least kept it from getting long, though it was still medium length. I either swept it to the side or if I was trying to be more proper I would comb it back.

Either way, I wouldn’t be getting my head shaved. It was rather nice. 

I was already warned beforehand so I didn’t have any issues when I had to turn in my clothes and belongings. My Aerial went into my hidden spatial storage within my collar while I had to turn in the extra storage band on my arm. My coat and valuables were also hidden away. There was no way I’d allow anyone to take them. 

So the only thing they got their hands on besides the band were some normal clothes. After that I received some standard gear like a few sets of white shirts and shorts, as well as some socks and a pair of boots.

Another thing I didn’t have to worry about were all the medical screenings. For some reason, this world didn’t seem to have any diseases, at least none that could affect Magi. I had yet to actually see any Magi get sick so far, though that also led me down the thought that if there were magical diseases, they’d be horribly devastating. 

Either way, there wasn’t a long list of immunizations or vaccinations I had to get. After we had all our gear and were situated, our shakedown ended and we moved into the first phase of basic training. 

It was midday by the time we made it to the dorms. We weren’t in any barracks, but had a large building which was effectively an apartment. Each room held two people and it wasn’t long before we were assigned a partner. 

Thankfully I didn’t get Holler, though I wasn’t sure if the alternative was better. After all names were called and all dorm numbers assigned, I proceeded to my door and waited until I spotted a nutritionally advantaged individual hobbling over with his gear bag hugged in front of him. 

My brows raised when the rotund warlock approached. He reminded me of a target I had killed not long ago. 

“I… uh…”

I immediately formed my evaluation of him as he meekly looked past me at the door I was standing in front of. He didn’t want to get within 5 feet of me and was too worried about speaking too loud in my presence. Did he think I was going to punch him or something?

But he was Authority 5, which meant he had surprising talent. Certainly better than Abby or Holler. 

“You’re Sein Narren?”

“Y-Yes…”

“John Cooper.”

I put out my hand. He almost fliched at the simple gesture before catching himself and giving me a dead fish handshake. He was looking more pitiful by the second. 

I shrugged inwardly before throwing the door open and checking our our little room. At least we’d have two beds. It was certainly better than what I’d expected to have. 

I threw my bag on the left bed while Sein took the right. We only had some minutes before we needed to head back down, and in that time we needed to have our gear stashed properly. 

I dumped everything in the bag and quickly folded all my garments before throwing them into a chest at the foot of the bed. Sein did the same just much slower. 

I barely had the last pair of socks in before our Instructor’s booming voice shook the building. 

“Everyone report to the Bay, now! Last pair gets 5 extra miles tonight!”

“Let’s go.”

I spoke before rushing out. I heard Sein scramble and follow. 

I jogged all the way down the hall, all the other recruits beside me as we tried to push through the door. I had to stop though, sensing Sein far behind. 

There, in the back of the ruckus was Sein trying to push forward while also being courteous to everyone around him. I simply slipped through the door before stepping to the side and waiting. 

Like that, everyone rushed out to the Bay, which I assumed was the courtyard outside the dorms since all our instructors were waiting there. But it was only after everyone was out that I finally saw Sein emerge from the doorway. 

I looked down at him before waving, simply jogging over with him in tow. 

And so, we arrived last. 

An instructor came yelling as we jumped in formation. 

“Cooper and Narren! You two get 5 extra miles tonight! And you can forget about grabbing a treat during dinner!”

“Yes sir!”

I straightened out while responding, Sein trying to do the same while already sweating. 

After we got chewed out the instructors started giving more instructions, such as what to do and how to respond whenever we were spoken to. It was standard procedure. We were to salute whenever a superior officer walked past, had to acknowledge our orders as loud as possible when they were given with a ‘Yes sir,’ and had to stand at attention with our arms to our sides. 

They went and corrected all our forms, spending an hour doing just that. During the process, I couldn’t help but sigh. 

I don’t think I could’ve gotten a worse partner. Sein looked to weigh around 280 pounds and stood at 5 foot 10 inches. No athletic ability to speak of, and certainly no confidence. I was hoping he was at least competent and capable of following orders, otherwise basic training would be an even greater pain in the ass than I thought it would be. 

In this world, there was no such thing as giving up during boot camp. Everyone had to get through it, because military service wasn’t voluntary. Every soldier was needed and they would serve their time, willingly or otherwise. 

Unfortunately that meant I was stuck with Sein. The only solace was the fact that basic was only 6 weeks. It also wasn’t like I was training for anything important. Once we graduated, none of this would matter. 

I decided I would just have to figure out how to make it work. 

“Alright, start running! If you thought basic training would just be hurling spells all day, then you are dumber than we assumed! Down that road, right now! We’re doing laps, trainees!”

“Yes sir!”

Everyone yelled before taking off, running down the road and getting scattered in the process. 

“Stop, stop! Get back in fucking formation! Fucking dumbasses!”

More yelling, and everyone shifted back into formation before taking off into a run again. 

5 long lines of 20 each, and Sein was right behind me. I felt him puffing air on my back not even 200 yards in. And each lap, as said by the instructor, was a mile long. He was wheezing before long. 

A guy behind Sein started with a harsh whisper.

“Hey, get back up there! Before he yells!”

I heard Sein’s stomping as he struggled to keep in pace with the group. It was only a jog. 

But he couldn’t keep it for long. At some point he stepped off to the side, everyone running past him as he stopped and started vomiting. 

An instructor was immediately on him. 

“Fuck! Already?! Get your sorry ass back in there trainee!”

“I..!”

“Go! Fucking move! Get those oily paws of yours moving! Hey, who’s this guy’s partner!”

“Fucking hell…”

I muttered before stepping out and saluting. 

“Me, sir!”

“Cooper! We don’t fucking tolerate sad sacks of shit! I don’t care how long it takes, you will get your partner around two laps! And I suggest you get him moving, because lunch is in an hour!”

“Yes sir!”

I saluted one more time as the instructor ran off. Then I looked down, finding Sein heaving on the floor.

“...Did they never make you run during academy?”

“I… I’m sorry…”

“I didn’t ask for apologies. Stand straight, and start walking. Keep moving, no matter how slow.”

“Ye-... Yes…”

He hardly managed to breathe while shuffling forward. He was trying to jog and barely managed walking speed. 

I just walked beside him. I couldn’t even pretend to jog at this speed, and I didn’t care much about getting yelled at. 

While he struggled for air I watched as the rest of the squadron ran ahead. Of course, some handled better than others, but all of them could at least run. 

How someone like Sein managed to exist, I had no idea. I supposed there had to be at least one, but I didn’t think they’d be in my squadron, let alone be my partner. 

Before long, the squadron looped around and lapped us. We got yelled at a few more times, Sein speeding up just a bit before falling back down to walking speed once they were gone again. 

And then an hour passed. I watched them all head into the chow hall, and we were just barely crossing a mile. 

Another sigh escaped. This was going to be a tedious 6 weeks.