The one good thing about having a slow partner was that I didn’t have to move fast. I could easily perform well above standards, but had little desire to. Vigor preserved my strength and stamina, not to mention how much those two had increased in and of themselves due to my training at the Magisterium. 

Plus, I was pretty sure that these instructors knew exactly who I was. Maybe they gave me the short end of the stick on purpose, but I didn’t feel any ill intentions, nor were they treating me particularly discourteously. It was only Sein that they were getting on. All I was told to do was to keep pushing him. 

So long as my life wasn't made more difficult, I was A-OK with anything they gave me. I didn’t even care about running all day. The only annoyance was them cutting into my sleepy time, of which there already was little. 

As our first night approached, we finally managed to get called in for dinner. By that time Sein was nothing more than rags. I, on the other hand, had a little pep in my step. I was hungry after missing lunch.

I jumped in line behind everyone. The near-mush they served us didn’t become more appetizing after marinating in the odor of a bunch of young adults. Nothing I wasn’t used to, however, given my experience in sports. Not much got worse than a full locker room after practice. 

“John!”

An airy voice called out to me. I looked over to see Abby at a table, waving vigorously. 

I lifted my eyebrows and walked over, sitting down across from her. 

“Hey, Abby.”

“Hi! How was running? That boy seems to be weighing you down.”

“That’s one way to put it. But for me, it’s a light jog at best.”

I chuckled a little bit. Abby initially seemed kind of airheaded, but turned out to also have a sense of humor. 

I asked.

“Who’s your partner?”

“Her name is Henrietta. And she’s nice. And a bit loud…”

“Abbyyy~!”

A girl came running over and jumped into the seat next to Abby, gently nudging her with her shoulder as she set down her tray. 

My face fell. Red hair, pale skin, no freckles. She looked like a near carbon copy of Henry Holler. 

“John!”

Speak of the devil. I heard another call as Henry came running over with his partner, the two sitting down next to me. 

“Meet Jack Smithson! He’s my partner!”

“‘Sup.”

I nodded at them before burying my nose in my food, occasionally glancing up at Henrietta and Henry.

I asked the girl between bites of food. 

“Henrietta, what’s your surname?”

“Hitchens! And you’re John Cooper, yes?”

“That’s right, this is John Cooper from the Magisteriu-!”

“Holler, shut up.”

“Yes sir!”

He stiffened and saluted. His voice was seriously loud, especially when he sat right next to me and my sensitive ears. It rattled my eardrums.

Abby stifled another laugh as I resumed eating. 

At some point I heard some heavy breathing, finding Sein heading to an empty table in the back with a tray of food. 

Henry nudged my arm.

“It seems you got the runt, John. My sympathies.”

“It’s fine. It’s just basic training.”

“Still. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen someone so… unfit for the military.”

I took another silent glance at Sein. Henry was right. It was almost like the guy was trying to be as unfit as possible. Maybe he was just scared shitless of actually enlisting. 

Well, at least he was good at eating. I watched him inhale the entire tray of food before sitting in silent contemplation, maybe shame. Unfortunately for him, there were no seconds. 

I cleaned off the rest of my tray. The food was bland, but hopefully nutrient dense. 

“I just need to get through these six weeks and I can move on. I don't care about being weighed down. None of this has any bearing on the future.”

“Certainly not for the Magisterium’s top elite. But for others… impressions mean a bit more.”

Henry’s voice went down to a mutter, Henrietta’s head bobbing in agreement. 

Another reminder that I couldn’t allow myself to be insignificant. I’d be reduced to a statistic otherwise, to be tossed around on a whim against the Scourge. 

For those with no noble backing and no obscene talent, staying safe in the military was far more difficult than it would be for me. At least I’d have eyes on me. I’d have value to bigger players. They wouldn’t, and they’d be treated accordingly. 

I glanced around the chow hall. 100 trainees, and I couldn’t see a bright future for any of them. None of them mattered, none of them would survive. They’d all be decimated as the Scourge flooded in by the millions, just another 100 deaths to add to the other hundreds of thousands.

“5 minutes, trainees! If you’re not formed up in the Bay before then, all of you will be joining Cooper and Narren on their extra 5 miles!”

“Yes sir!”

Resounding shouts echoed through the hall as a dozen eyes fell on me. That’s right. We had more running tonight. 

Everyone rushed out and formed up. The sun was passing twilight, the sky fading from purple to black. A few magic lights illuminated the Bay where we all gathered, well before the five minute deadline. 

Two instructors stood before us as we stood at attention, standing around for a few minutes before barking instructions. 

“Listen up! Lights go off two hours past sundown every night! That’s curfew, and unless expressly ordered, none of you are to be found outside the Bay after curfew under any circumstances! If there is an emergency that we absolutely need to know about, medical or otherwise, you are to report to my quarters right over there in the east sector of the dormitory, room 1. Otherwise, being found outside the Bay after curfew will land you official disciplinary action! To that end, none of you are allowed to travel beyond the dormitory without your assigned partner! They must remain in contact with you at all times! Do you understand that, trainees?!”

“Yes sir!”

Another shout that echoed off the walls of the dorms. Then, the instructor waved. 

“Retire for tonight! Cooper and Narren, remain in your positions until given further instructions! Dismissed!”

Everyone saluted and made their way to the dorms. The instructors also walked off, seemingly with no intention of giving us further instructions anytime soon. 

I let out a long sigh, and simply stood there at attention as everyone left. We were soon left alone in the middle of the Bay, chilly winds and dark landscapes our only company. That, and Sein’s still-heavy breathing. 

“... Sorry.”

“I don’t like apologies.”

“...”

Sein went quiet after my rebuttal. But it was not without thought. I really didn’t like apologies, a philosophy I carried from a well-respected family member of mine. 

I glanced at him in the corner of my eye, waiting a few seconds before muttering. 

“Apologies mean nothing and do nothing for anyone. The only things of value are your actions. In this case, what do you need to do in order to fix this situation?”

“... Keep up.”

“Exactly. So keep up, or work until you can. That will be your apology. I don’t care about anything else so long as you’re doing that.”

“... Yes sir…”

With those words we went silent, and then waited an entire hour until the instructor emerged from the dorms. 

“Cooper! Report!”

“Sir!”

I turned and ran over, the instructor heading past the entrance to the dorms. 

Once on the other side and away from the chilly breeze, I saluted in front of him. 

He spoke first.

“At ease. I understand the situation clearly, Cooper. Nobody with an eye on your name is going to care about your performance here. I’ve got orders to get you through this and out of here without delay. And although you still need to meet the bare minimum standards, don’t worry about being held back by the sack of fat out there. We only paired him with you so that we can ship him out faster, otherwise he’d be going through round after round of basic training with no end in sight. You’ll compensate for him in a way. And not without reason. We could have picked someone else…”

He trailed off for a second before sighing. 

“Let’s just say it’s another case of nepotism. So please, bear with it. 6 weeks and you’ll never have to deal with this again. Understood?”

“... Understood, sir.”

“Good. Now head back out and do two miles, then retire. Any more might kill that kid out there.”

“Sir!”

I saluted before jogging out, waving Sein along for the run. 

He didn’t say anything as we ran, and I didn’t let him stop. As I had said before, he had to move, no matter how slowly. I didn’t care if he had to crawl. He would continue moving forward until he was done. 

I ran ahead and did both miles, taking no more than 15 minutes. I didn’t want to be completely idle during these 6 weeks. Plus, breaking a sweat felt nice in the cool night air. 

After that, I walked with Sein until he finished the second mile, after which he basically had to crawl back to the dorms. 

I washed up and retired right before lights out. Sein laid down on the floor without even washing, filling the room with an unhealthy odor. Unfortunately, he passed out before I could even say anything.  

I just had to make do, donning my hood, the mask filtering out the odor. Thankfully, it was comfortable enough to wear to sleep, sparing me the irritation. 

And so our first day ended. 

……

The first week went by slowly, but that was only because everything happening was new. Once we settled into a routine, each day flew past. 

Unfortunately for Sein, things got much worse before they got better. I could practically hear his creaking joints and limbs on the second day as the previous day’s trials took their toll, and the instructors knew not the concept of mercy or recovery days. 

Every day of the first week required two miles of running in the morning. After that, we moved on to form drills for saluting and standing at attention. I couldn’t count how many hours they made us just stand outside while going off and doing their own thing. Sometimes we missed lunch because of that. 

Everything else was educational. We were taught things we’d need to know, such as ranks and insignias for both infantry and intelligence ranks. We also learned protocol for communication and appearance, such as when to wear dress uniforms, when to wear fatigues, and how to take care of all our gear. It was all standard stuff that I had no issues following. And I was a summoner, so forgetting anything wasn’t really even an option. 

For one, the infantry ranks almost always directly corresponded to the person’s Authority. Us trainees were the sole exception: all of us were Ensigns with a blank insignia, unable to advance in rank until we finished basic training. 

Anybody who went above Authority 10 with an infantry rank was required to train for the intelligence ranks as well, because by then they would be trusted and powerful enough to lead massive amounts of troops. At the very least, they needed to understand the wider picture, as they themselves were strategic weapons capable of altering the face of a battlefield. This also meant that the Infantry ranks ended at Authority 10, shifting to the Intelligence ranks.

At the peak of Intelligence ranks was the title of Sovereign, exclusive to Authority 12s. Sovereigns were the pillars of the Kingdom’s combat power as well as the leading authority on, well, everything. They might not be the greatest tacticians, considering that there were many more summoners who were several times smarter, but nobody could trump their sheer power. That alone was the deciding factor most of the time regarding major decisions. 

Still, most of the work involving leading the military fell to the Marshals. That was Duchess Talexia’s rank. She, according to some rumors from Umara, only became a Marshal because she had to. And because of her distaste for logistics and intelligence activities, all the paperwork fell to her husband, the poor man. 

Another detail I learned was how one person could hold two ranks. Unlike on Earth however, one rank didn’t inherently supersede the other. An A-4 Sergeant was a higher rank than an I-3 Officer, but equivalent to an I-4 Captain, and underneath an I-5 Major. 

The intelligence ranks were mostly composed of weaklings, putting it simply. Many ordinary people who enlisted went there and carried out logistics roles. Summoners went there too, to be trained into higher-ranked roles for intellectually demanding tasks like tactics and strategy. 

Because of that, they couldn't be allowed to outrank all the infantry ranks like officers did in Earth’s militaries. Those with actual power wouldn’t allow themselves to be ordered around by some powerless summoner. Only if that summoner outranked them directly would they be forced to comply, and even then it depended. 

But there were those with power who also took to the intelligence roles, and when that happened, they would sport two ranks. They could be both an A-6 First Sergeant while also being an I-4 Captain, and they would wear both insignias, one on each shoulder. 

These were all things that they taught at the Magisterium, though I hadn’t been there long enough to learn them. Now I was, though, and it was nice to finally put things into perspective. 

Umara’s mother stood at the peak of the Kingdom’s military, holding some of the most devastating power humanity had to offer in that unassuming body. Thinking of it that way, I felt weird about treating her the way I did. That thought only lasted for a second though. She was just a nice lady, and would eventually be my mother-in-law. Like Umara, she was also too pretty to look scary. 

……

…

“Report to the Bay in five minutes!”

Everyone heard the announcement, regardless if they wanted to or not, and rushed to line up in the Bay in formation. 

There was a moment of silence before the instructor continued. 

“The second week is upon us, and now, we will be shifting into combat and formation drills! All of you must know how to operate when called upon to fight! You must know how to stand on a wall, how to obey commands given by your commanding officers, how to launch spells, and where your presence will be appropriate in combat scenarios! Teaching you all how to conduct yourselves in and out of combat will take no less than three weeks, starting now! All of you, double time to the eastern Fort Walls! Move, trainees!”

With shouts we were herded and sent off toward the walls of Fort Lauder. These walls, however, weren’t here for defense, but education. 

Once at the walls, we were rushed up the stairs and lined up on the ramparts. When I looked back at the base from that vantage point, I could see some of the other squadrons being trained and drilled. We were only one group of many. 

“Cooper, step aside.”

I turned when I was called, finding another instructor waving me over. Right then, the warlocks listened in as they were taught standard procedure. 

I, on the other hand, got some private instruction. 

“You’re a summoner and I’ve heard about your weapons. You’re a ranged fighter, so most of what we’ll tell you here will be applicable in some way. However, anything relating specifically to spells will go right over your head. All I want you to do is follow along with the procedure. You’ve been up on walls before, so you should have a good idea of what’s expected.”

“Yes sir.”

Although I usually ended up doing my own thing, that was only when I was trying to kill as much as possible. Here, that wasn’t necessary. I would just shoot once whenever they told us to fire. Nice and simple. 

“Alright, groups, spread out along the wall! On my count, one section will unleash a simple spell at the targets down below. You will await your turn and fire precisely when we tell you to, not a moment before or after! Is that understood?!”

“Yes sir!”

“Then MOVE!!!”

Some other instructors came and separated the groups. I was dragged into one as they rushed to their positions, forming a long line atop the wall with gaps between groups. 

I looked down and found the aforementioned targets, propped up on boulders. 

The first instructor yelled. 

“Section One, ready! Fire!”

With his word all the warlocks scrambled to get their spells off, weak or otherwise. A variety of elements crashed down around the targets, pelting them with water that immediately burst into steam from fire, blown away or smothered by gusts of wind and billows of dust. 

The boulder was hardly harmed, and the next instructor stepped up. 

It was my turn. I slung an M1 Garand and aimed through the irons, finding a smaller target a bit farther away. My safety flicked off right when I heard the instructor. 

“Section Two, ready! Fire!”

I pulled the trigger a half second after his command came, the crack of my gun echoing in the distance as my bullet ricocheted off the rocky target. I heard a slight buzz. 

And sure enough, all eyes fell on me. I glanced around before focusing my attention back on the targets beyond the walls. Using my vision with the ironsights on my guns was still an art I was perfecting. Might as well make an otherwise boring exercise productive. 

“Section 3, ready! Fire!”

--List of Ranks

Infantry Ranks:

A-1: Ensign (Blank Insignia)

A-2: First Ensign (One Stripe)

A-3: Corporal (Two Stripes)

A-4: Sergeant (Three Stripes)

A-5: Master Sergeant (Three Stripes w/ One Arrow)

A-6: First Sergeant (Three Stripes w/ Two Arrows)

A-7: Commander (Three Stripes w/ Three Arrows)

A-8: First Commander (One Sword)

A-9: Chief (Two Crossed Swords)

A-10: Brigadier (Dragon and Sword)

 

Intelligence Ranks:

I-1: Ensign (Blank Insignia)

I-2: Lieutenant (One Silver Bar)

I-3: Officer (Two Silver Bars)

I-4: Captain (Three Silver Bars)

I-5: Major (One Vertical Arrow)

I-6: Lieutenant Colonel (Two Crossed Arrows)

I-7: Colonel (Three Arrows)

I-8: Brigadier General (Dragon w/ One Pair Wings)

I-9: Major General (Dragon w/ Two Pair Wings)

I-10: General (Dragon w/ Three Pair Wings)

I-11: Marshal (One Crystal Star)

I-12: Sovereign (Custom Insignia)