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  Chapter 2 - A Beginning

  A few days pass, and the commander comes back to check on the new soldier he recruited with the lieutenant beside him. “How are you holding up, newbie?”

  “Fine so far, sir.” replied the boy.

  “Good, I never got to ask your name. Mind telling me your name, boy?”

  “Aiteu…Aiteu Ovlius.” he said, hesitant.

  “Aiteu eh? ...what an interesting name! Oh, how rude of me! The name is Victrovis Dwellburg! Don't forget it!”

  Victrovis shakes Aiteu's hand, smiling.

  “What is the lieutenant’s name?” asked Aiteu

  Victrovis looks over at his lieutenant with a stern look. “Don't be shy! Introduce yourself to our newest recruit!”

  The lieutenant looks over at Aiteu. “Serlvis, pleasure to meet you…” The lieutenant looks away and pushes up his glasses, as if he were embarrassed to speak his name.

  “Nice to meet you, Serlvis..I hope we can get along." says Aiteu, hesitantly. Serlvis nods in agreement but doesn’t speak.

  “BWAHAHAHAHA Still the same old Serlvis, didn’t even introduce your last name!”

  “I did so for a reason, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would honor my reason and not tell him my full name, Commander.” Serlvis said with a stern look.

  “Very well, I shall honor your reason for not informing him; at least you gave your first name.” The commander says in a hearty voice.

  Aiteu stares in confusion.

  Is his last name bad or something?

  Victrovis looks over at Aiteu. “Ah, I almost forgot the reason we came by today. Starting today, you will be taking part in our training program. The king has given us permission to recruit you into the army and expects great things from you, soldier!”

  “Really?! Thank you so much!”

  Now I’ve been given a chance to do some research on what happened to me and why I ended up here.

  Aiteu looks at Victrovis. “So when do I start training?” Victrovis looks at him, as if he was trying to hold himself back from laughing. “Right now, right here, 1000 pushups within one hour, or you will be terminated!”

  “WHAT?!”

  Victrovis bursts out into laughter, Serlvis sighing and shaking his head in disappointment.

  “I’m sorry, lad, it was a joke. Please do not think ill of me; being a commander can be pretty stressful on the body when you don’t laugh from time to time!”

  “Don’t you mean all the time, Commander?” Serlvis said as he glared at Victrovis.

  “Oh, come on, Serlvis! If anything, it is you who doesn’t liven up and enjoy life at its fullest!”

  Aiteu stares at Victrovis with a blank stare. “Yea... a joke...I get it… ha ha….ha ha ha”

  “Now look, you’ve broken the recruit’s spirit, commander.”

  “Oh hush! It was just a joke; he is probably scared he may actually have to do 1000 pushups.”

  Aiteu looks at Victrovis. “You mean...I don’t have to do 1000 push-ups?”

  Victrovis looks Aiteu straight in the face and places his hand on his shoulder. And lets out a deep sigh.

  “As long as you do not plan to become a general, major general, marshal, or grand marshal…”

  Aiteu tries to back up, but Victrovis's grip is too tight. “W-why the sigh? What's so bad about it?”

  Victrovis looks at Serlvis and Serlvis shrugs “He is asking you, commander, not me.”

  Victrovis looks back at Aiteu. “Listen, boy, if you care for your life...as well as for your future...do NOT provoke them… Anyone above the rank of a general is simply a monster, no questions about it. And certainly no doubt!”

  “That’s pretty harsh to say about them, don’t you think?” asked Aiteu

  “Harsh? Not so much...when you see them, you will agree with the commander on his statement,” Serlvis said with an annoyed tone.

  “They are that strong, huh?”

  Victrovis and Serlvis nod in harmony.

  I better just avoid those people for now…

  “If you don’t mind me asking...what is the ranking system of the kingdom?” Aiteu asked curiously.

  Victrovis lets go of Aiteu shoulder and gets up. “Some cities or kingdoms have different ranks, depending on how they wished to construct their kingdoms. As for our kingdoms, the ranks are…

  Private

  Sergeant

  Corporal

  Lieutenant

  Commander

  Grand Commander

  General

  Major General

  Marshall

  Grand Marshal

  And if you just happen to be a monster amongst monsters or blessed, there are the ranks of

  Arch

  Holy Knight

  And last but not least…

  Holy Arch”

  Aiteu looked at the commander, eyes widened. “And...what was your rank again?”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Victrovis looks at him, as if he is disappointed to say his own ranking. “A general, boy.”

  Victrovis immediately begins shaking Aiteu. “BUT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! THOSE HIGH-RANKED FOLKS ARE MONSTERS, I’M TELLING YOU! THEIR STRENGTH IS UNBELIEVABLE!”

  “I believe that’s enough, commander; if you were caught saying this, you would be punished for insulting them.”

  “I suppose you are right...true monsters are what we are fighting against. I suppose it is rude to call our own comrades monsters...even if their strength seems similar to a monster.” Victrovis said with a blank expression as he laughed half-heartedly. “Anyways, enough with that, we must begin your training soon! You have exactly 3 hours to prepare yourself and to meet us down in the training room! See you there, Private!” Victrovis and Serlvis leave the room immediately.

  “What?! Wait! I don’t know this place!!! How am I supposed to know where I am going?!”

  Aiteu waits, as if he were waiting for a reply.

  Ugh, I suppose I’ll just have to explore and possibly ask around for help…

  Aiteu leaves the room and looks around.

  I don’t know how to navigate this hallway due to not being allowed to go further due to the king suspecting me… I suppose I should try going to one of the sealed entries and see if they will allow me in now.

  Aiteu heads down the hallway to the four-way crossed path and looks around.

  Was it left or right? …

  Aiteu looks both ways continuously in confusion.

  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!! Why am I sitting here looking confused?! If one way is wrong, then I can just come back and try the other way! Why am I struggling so hard???

  Aiteu takes a right and heads down the hallway, reaching the door at the end.

  “Is this the training room?”

  The guard at the door looks at him in confusion. “Newbie, I’m guessing?”

  Aiteu felt a sharp stab through his heart.

  “Y-yes…. I don’t really know my way around here…” Aiteu said with a slight tone of embarrassment.

  The guard laughs as he points back down the hall. “The training room is on the left; this is the cafeteria.”

  Aiteu looks at the guard with hungry eyes. “T-the cafeteria?! Can I go in and eat?!”

  “You are the newbie the Commander recruited, correct?”

  Aiteu nodded happily, as if he were a dog getting a treat.

  “Very well, just behave while you are in there, newbie; the veterans can be pretty rough on newbies.”

  Aiteu continues nodding, as if he didn’t listen to a word the guard said. The guard opens the door, allowing Aiteu into the cafeteria. Aiteu looks around as he sees all the wonderful food in the giant cafeteria. He sniffs the food and smells its wonderful aromas. He smells delicious food everywhere and can’t wait to eat. Aiteu walks up to the counter and asks how he can get the food. The cook stares at Aiteu with a confused look.

  “You pay for it.” Aiteu looked at her in horror. “P-pay for it? ...what if I don’t have money?” The cook bursts into laughter. “I was just joking! Soldiers don’t pay for meals! Just pick what you wish to eat and enjoy; leave the rest to us!” Aiteu's eyes widened with delight.

  “You’re serious? I can eat as much as I want?!”

  The cook nods happily. Aiteu grabs a plate and begins pouring food onto his plate until his plate can’t hold any more. He begins chowing down on the food and finishes it within 2 minutes. “May I have seconds?” he asked with eyes still full of delight.

  “Are you that hungry?” The cook asked, staring at him in confusion.

  “At first I was hungry and figured I could eat anything, but when I ate this food...it was so good I couldn’t help but ask for seconds.”

  The cook’s eyes widened with happiness. “You mean it?!”

  Aiteu nods his head, waiting for a response.

  “W-well...usually soldiers are only allowed one meal during breakfast...but since you said my food was good...I suppose you can have a second serving…” she says timidly. Aiteu's eyes widen; he smiles with delight and grabs another plate full of food.

  “Thank you so much! What is your name?”

  “Sylvia.”

  “Thank you so much, Sylvia! I don’t know how to express my gratitude for allowing me to eat another serving of this wonderful food!”

  Sylvia blushes. “You...r-really think it is that good?”

  Aiteu nods vigorously.

  “W-well, if you mean what you say...then I expect you to come help yourself to as many servings as you’d like during breakfast!”

  Aiteu’s eyes lit up. “Say no more, Sylvia! Your food will be my only breakfast from this day forward!” He exclaimed with pure joy.

  Aiteu rushes to go sit down and eat his food, while Sylvia heads to the kitchen, blushing…

  He actually likes it...no one has ever liked my food as much as him...normally people would say that it's average or mediocre...but him...he loved it enough to even make it his everyday breakfast?! H-he can’t be serious...right?...

  Sylvia falls to the ground, crying tears of joy. “Finally, someone who isn’t disgusted by my cooking! If only you were here to see it… Mother.”

  An hour later, Aiteu heads out of the cafeteria after letting his food digest and heads to go toward the training room.

  This is it...the training room...

  Aiteu takes a deep breath in, then exhales out.

  I got this!

  Aiteu opens the door and walks in. He sees Victrovis and Serlvis up in a special seating area; beside them are 4 other people, and down in the colosseum space are soldiers practicing with practice weapons, ranging in variety. Aiteu stares around at his surroundings as Victrovis notices him and heads over to greet him.

  “Welcome, boy! I see you found your way around here!”

  “Yea...no thanks to you.”

  “Bwahahaha! A little adventure never hurts! You are two hours early, so feel free to spectate as you please, unless you wish to try your hand at training now?”

  Aiteu stares at the soldiers fighting, then at the commander.

  If this is all, I should be able to handle it. Back in my town, fighting was much worse…

  “I’ll wait out the two hours and spectate the training matches.”

  Victrovis stares at Aiteu with interest and curiosity. ”Gauging your opponent's strength, eh?”

  “It’s always a good idea to see what your enemy is capable of, no matter how weak or strong they may be...you never know what tricks they are hiding up their sleeves.” Aiteu said with confidence.

  Victrovis looks at Aiteu in surprise. “BWAHAHAHAHA! I suppose I should expect no less from you!

  You already sound like a lieutenant! BUT!”

  Victrovis leans close to Aiteu. ”Will you have the skills to match your thought process?”

  Aiteu slightly backs up out of intimidation. “I’ll never know until I try…” Aiteu says in a timid tone.

  “That’s the spirit! I look forward to your training sessions in two hours!” Victrovis heads back to his seat, speaking with the four other people there and pointing to Aiteu.

  Why is he pointing to me?! What is he talking about over there? I-it couldn't possibly be about me...right?

  The four strangers all look over at Aiteu with different expressions as the commander continues talking.

  It’s about me...it has to be! Just what is he saying about me that is making them look at me that way?! Is it something bad???

  Aiteu goes to take a seat with the other soldiers who are taking a break from training.

  I suppose I should get to studying my possible opponents….