Soul of the Warrior

Chapter 107: Candidate

"I see that we have a couple more new additions," the man at the front of the conference room said as Reivyn and Fira took their seats. "I will just say that I am Major Dobrik, and I will be your Commanding Officer. Your Company Commanders will be introduced to you during training. There's a packet being passed back to you to cover the information you've missed so far. It isn't much, we've just started."

Reivyn sat attentively and accepted the packet of information that was passed back to him. He flipped through it briefly, noticing that there were documents to sign as well as the information provided. I'll go through this afterward. If I read it now, I'll miss what he's saying, and I'll end up having to read everything while missing any additional information from the speaker.

"So far we have limited intel on the overall situation. No other cities, that we know of, have reported attacks or passing armies, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened and we just don't know about it. For the time being, this will mainly be a double effort: Defense of the city and local territory, and a rescue operation.

"The defense of the city will be handled by the regular troops and city guard. The majority of the rescue operation will be handled by the auxiliary, you. That doesn't mean we're throwing you to the wolves to handle the most dangerous objective on your own. There will be regular troops accompanying you, and, considering the intel we do know, defense of the city might be more dangerous. We don't know.

"As an auxiliary unit, you're basically unaffiliated mercenaries attached to the local garrison. In the packet of information you have in front of you is a preliminary contract. It is only for the duration of the training.

"The terms are simple: You agree to undergo an abbreviated version of officer candidacy, one designed based on the official training and testing methods, so there won't be any surprises there. You can willfully quit at any time, for a monetary penalty, or you can be dismissed by the staff for failing to reach the standards.

"Monetary compensation will be in accordance with the rank of Sergeant for the duration of the month-long training. When it's completed, you can choose to accept a provisional commission, or you can part ways, no questions asked.

"However, until further notice, the city is on lockdown in accordance with wartime rules and regulations. People can come in, but they can't go out. This will likely be in effect until we learn more about the potential enemy."

Reivyn nodded his head at the statements so far.

Training to be an officer is different than being enlisted. It makes sense to offer a higher salary during training, but not quite at the level of one who has already accepted a commission. We haven't earned it, yet.

As for the lockdown, I did notice that there wasn't any foot traffic exiting the city yesterday when we arrived. We had been rushed ahead so quickly, though, that I hadn't really considered it at the time.

"The packets contain the information on housing and other non-monetary compensation, such as contribution points and services available to you. That's for after passing the training, though. During the training, you will be housed in male and female separate dorms for the duration.

"Are there any questions so far?" Major Dobrik paused and surveilled the room. Nobody raised their hands. Most people were paying attention, and the few who weren't were perusing the documents.

"Remember, this is mainly a rescue operation effort. If it turns out that there's full-blown war, the kingdom itself will handle the situation. Volunteering now, in case that happens, will look good on your record, though. You won't have to stick around with your provisional commission in that instance, either. There will be more options available.

"For the most part, the auxiliary units will receive minimal training, but as the officers in charge of said troops, we have to ensure you have at least a minimum standard.

"That will be all for now. We'll have the legal team come in and sort through the documents you'll need to sign."

"Attention!" A seasoned sergeant called from the side of the room as the Major departed from the podium. Reivyn's body acted on instinct, and he stood up from his seated position, body locked, head straight forward. The others in the room were much less responsive, Fira included.

It must be strange for her to take orders like that, knowing she's technically a superior rank to everyone present, Reivyn thought. Well, she's the one who wanted the Life Experience.

Major Dobrik glanced at Reivyn as he exited the room, but he didn't give any outward appearance to his internal thoughts on the matter.

"At Ease," the sergeant called.

Everyone took their seats once more. Reivyn flipped through the packet of documents as several people, presumably the legal team, entered the room.

I really didn't miss much, Reivyn mused. Basically just the introduction to the command structure. It's only slightly different from the ranks and structure of the Lord's Retinue in Magron. I don't see any Knight-designation ranks. Second and First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel. It says here that Generals are the exclusive prerogative of the monarch and his counselors to assign.

Colonel Zok is the highest military authority under the Count. He's most likely the man I saw yesterday who didn't understand the three-to-one-odds wisdom of assaulting fortified positions. Maybe he's a political appointee, and the Major might be the true strategist. I hope the Major knows what he's doing. He seemed like a no-nonsense military man, at least.

The legal team filed in with stacks of papers. There were several individuals, and they each grabbed some papers out of the stacks and started approaching different people seated to go over the contracts. The documents they had were apparently the information on the individuals, Reivyn noticed.

"Well, aren't you a big boy," the man seated next to Reivyn said, looking up at him? He wasn't as short as Fira, but he was still a head shorter than Reivyn.

"I'm not that much taller than everyone else. I've seen taller," Reivyn said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, but none of them are in here, and it's not just your height," the man glanced at Reivyn's broad shoulders for emphasis. "The name's Jek." The man held his hand out, and Reivyn grasped it firmly for a shake.

"Reivyn."

"Well, nice to meet'cha, Reivyn. Not your first time in the military?"

"Yeah, I have some experience."

"Noticed. What with how you leapt out of your seat when that guy called attention. Where'd you serve, and what'd you do?"

"I was in the Lord's Retinue of some far away Tier 1 Region. I was the Aide to the Adjutant, and we secured a new Dungeon as well as fought off a beast tide and Dungeon break."

"Oh, really? So you don't have just some experience being in the military, you have actual combat experience. Leadership role, at that, too."

"Yeah, it wasn't as special as it sounds on paper, though parts of it were exciting. If you call fearing you'll be overrun by hordes of beasts, demons, and undead and killed at any moment exciting."

"Psh, yeah, I guess that would get your heart pounding," Jek chuckled. "Looks like we'll be teamed up for the foreseeable future, so hit me up with any tips or tricks you got."

"Instant obedience to orders," Reivyn immediately said. "That'll definitely get you through the training program with no problems. Do what you're told, when you're told, immediately and quickly. Speed, speed, speed is the name of the game. Demonstrate that you understand that concept, and you're less likely to be harassed."

"'Instant obedience to orders' and 'speed, speed, speed,'" Jek repeated. "Why is speed the most important thing to demonstrate?"

"Not just speed, but doing the right thing fast," Reivyn corrected. "It's not just about acting quickly, you have to obey the orders instantly. And the reason it's important, consider if we're on the battlefield, and you're ordered to send your troops to hold a position on the line, but you, or your troops, dilly dally and don't make it on time. Now the enemy has breached the line and flanked your allies. Take the macro-concept and apply it all the way down to the micro-level."

"Makes sense. Thanks, pal!" Jek clapped Reivyn on the shoulder.

"No problem. So, you apparently don't have any experience in organized military operations, how did you end up slated for an officer position?"

"Ahh, I'm a very sociable person. As such I've developed a lot of Social Skills. They told me that three, in particular, were crucial in their decision to include me: Motivate, Direct, and Instruct.

"Motivate is like a lesser version of Inspire. Direct is a lesser version of Command, and Instruct is a higher version of Teaching. That, plus being Level 70, led to my current whereabouts.

"Most of the other volunteers, from what I could glean, were around Level 20 or so, with the highest one I saw being Level 40. Heck, there were even a couple of Tier 2 newbies, who thought much too highly of themselves, lined up to join. Couple the lower Levels with the implied lower Skill Levels and the fact that most Adventurer types are a bit of the loner-type, then me being selected makes perfect sense."

"Yeah, I can see that. So you say you have Direct, huh? I've never actually heard of that Skill. I've only ever heard of Command."

"I unlocked Direct by convincing people to follow directions in an informal setting. Command requires a much more formal organization. Who knows? I might be able to get that Skill out of this whole ordeal. Direct and Command would have amazing synergy. Well, once I get a decent Level in Command, that is."

"I bet. I already have Command, but I don't have Direct. Any tips on how to unlock that Skill?"

"Sure. You helped me out with a tip, so it wouldn't be right if I didn't reciprocate. All you gotta do is get people to follow your orders without them perceiving them as orders. No formal organization, either. That includes a System Party. Honestly, despite it being a lesser version of Command, it's probably trickier to unlock. Harder to unlock doesn't always mean better Skill."

"Words of wisdom if I've ever heard any," Reivyn nodded his head.

Their conversation was interrupted by staff members finally making it to them with their documents.

"Reivyn?" A young man inquired, standing next to Reivyn's seat.

"That's me," Reivyn confirmed.

"Alright. I have your information here. We'll use it as a reference to discuss the contract available to you after you pass the training. If you'll pull out the training contract, I'll go over any questions you have of it."

Reivyn descended into the most time-consuming, boring part of joining a military organization: paperwork.

Reivyn stood in formation with the other officer candidates. There were fifty officer candidates for the auxiliary. They were aligned based on height, so Reivyn found himself at the front of the last squad, able to just barely peer over the head of the man in front of him. The Caster candidates had been taken to a separate location. Their training would be somewhat different.

After going through the documentation and signing the training contract, the candidates had been directed to the quartermaster to get their gear, which took up the rest of the morning. After that, they had deposited their gear into their new dorm, an open barracks like the one in Magron on the edge of the city, and had eaten their lunch. There had been no reason to delay starting the training, so they began immediately.

There was a large, open space blocked off from the general public for the training of not just candidates and recruits, but for the military organization of the city as a whole. Reivyn could see tracks, training dummies, and obstacle courses.

"Before we begin, everyone will equip these bracelets," a man walked out to the front of the formation. He was dressed in a similar uniform to the one provided to the candidates, but he had the rank insignia of a senior sergeant.

Several lower-ranked troops carried chests onto the drill field and opened them up in front of the formation. They grabbed handfuls of bracelets out of the chests and walked through the ranks, handing them out to the candidates.

"Prison bands?!" The first candidate exclaimed in shock, staring at the bracelet. He refused to take the bracelet from the soldier trying to hand it to him. The rest of the candidates broke out in a restless discussion. Reivyn just watched with a frown. This was the first time he had encountered such an item, and he didn't know anything about it.

"SILENCE!" The senior Sergeant bellowed. The candidates stopped talking, more in surprise than obedience to orders. "You're in formation. Unless given the order of Rest, you will not speak.

"Yes, these are prison bands," he continued. "It is standard operating procedure to equip these items for the duration of officer candidate training. Every one of the officers you've encountered have had to go through this exact same thing. You're all lucky. They had to wear them for the full three months, but you're only going to have to wear them for two weeks.

"These bands will restrict all of your Stats to 20, and they'll restrict all of your Skills to Level 1. That's only in regards to System assistance, though. If your Skill Level is high enough to not need assistance from the System, it won't affect it. It will prevent you from channeling Mana outside of your bodies, for all of you who have access to Mana Skills or Spells.

"The purpose of this is to test your mental fortitude. We will push you, physically, not to gauge your physical abilities - we all know they're high enough - but to see how you function under stress. Will you break? Will you barely press through? Will you shine? That is what's needed in an officer. You will have to lead from the front, and if you're running away because things get tough, then your troops will follow.

"Now put them on. That's an order. You're free to quit right here, right now. You can buy your freedom for the low cost of one gold coin. If you're not going to quit, then GET. WITH. IT!"

There was still some grumbling under people's breath, but nobody quit at this juncture. Reivyn quickly received his bracelet from one of the troops. He gave it a cursory look and threw an Inspection at it before putting it on.

Prisoner's Shackle

Restricts all Stats to 20.

Hinders Skill usage.

Restricts Mana from flowing out of the body.

Note: This item cannot be removed by oneself, or by another person wearing a Prisoner's Shackle.

It's exactly like the senior sergeant described, Reivyn thought. Their usage is actually quite appropriate for the desired outcome. With this Prisoner's Shackle, I don't know how my Mental Fortitude and Iron Will Skills will assist me, and will I get Skill Ups in them for performing without their assistance?

Those were questions for later, and he would inevitably find out. After adorning the bracelet, Reivyn felt his body turn sluggish and weak, and his senses dimmed to what they used to be when he was still a child. Despite once having these Stat levels not that long ago, he didn't acclimate to the change. He felt a constant drain on his strength and stamina, and he nearly felt nearly blind by the loss of information from his senses.

"Now, we can begin," the senior sergeant said, a predatory grin on his face.

"STAND UP STRAIGHT!" A loud, booming shout came from further down the formation, followed by a loud smack and cry of pain. "NO NOISE!" The same voice shouted. Another smack and another cry. "NO NOISE!" Another smack, but this time, there was no shocked cry of pain.

"HEELS TOGETHER, TOES APART!" Another yell, followed by a similar smacking noise. The individual in question had apparently learned the lesson from the first person, and there was no follow-up cry.

"HEAD STRAIGHT, EYES FRONT!"

"ELBOWS LOCKED, ARMS STRAIGHT!"

Reivyn stood at attention, body locked, as several other sergeants descended on the platoon from nowhere. They used a similar training rod as his father had used to correct him when he conducted weapons training many years ago. The strikes from the rods didn't cause damage, but the loss of Pain Resistance for everyone meant that the brief, sharp pain was a surprise.

Despite everyone having their Stats reduced to 20, that didn't mean their underlying Health and Vitality didn't still exist. The blows from the training rods did negligible damage, and the pain was short lived. It had the intended effect, though, as everyone straightened their posture and assumed a presentable military stance.

"Now that we have your attention, I'll demonstrate the proper posture for marching, and then we'll march. You must maintain the proper posture at all times, or you will be corrected."

The senior sergeant demonstrated the different facing moves as well as the proper way to march: left foot first, on the call of "Left," right foot second, on the call of "Right." Most of the people had the March Skill, but that didn't mean it was based on proper posture and execution. It just meant they would have more endurance while walking in step with others.

The senior sergeant only displayed the proper way to move once, and then he immediately began issuing commands. Reivyn followed along with the rest of the candidates as they turned about in place, other sergeants yelling and striking the candidates to ensure proper execution.

After several minutes of facing drills, the senior sergeant turned them to the right and had them step off.

"Lean back, and strut! Lean back, and strut!"

The sergeants never let up on yelling and correcting the candidates, and they marched around for nearly an hour.

"Double Time!" The senior Sergeant called out. The candidates began to jog forward along the track they had been led to. The other sergeants pulled back from correcting as much while they were jogging so as to avoid tripping anyone up, but they still shouted at candidates who let their postures slack or their feet to get out of step.

The senior sergeant led them around the track at a jog for another ten minutes before leading them to an open field. They spent the rest of the afternoon doing different physical exercises. The heat was really getting to Reivyn long before they got to the end of the day, and his vision was swimming. Sweat poured from his body and stung his eyes, but he refrained from wiping it away, letting it just run its course.

"Alright, we're done for the evening," the senior sergeant said after marching them back to their starting location. "Fall out!"

More than half of the candidates collapsed in place, and the rest bent over to catch their breath and wipe their sweat away. Reivyn maintained his posture of standing straight despite the burning in his muscles and lack of breath. He noticed a group of soldiers standing in the distance with clipboards, watching the candidates and writing things down.

Normally, I would bet they would March us to the barracks to get cleaned up before heading to the mess hall for the evening meal. The presence of those other soldiers with the clipboards, though, indicates they're already judging our mental strength. Having us fall out of formation suddenly like that was a trap.

"Bro... does your... bracelet... not work?" Jek sidled up to Reivyn, gasping for breath.

"I'm just as tired as you," Reivyn denied. "Remember how I said instant obedience to orders and speed were the most important aspects to show?" Jek nodded his head. "Well, that showed itself by the other sergeants shouting and striking the candidates. How many times did you get struck by one of their rods?"

Jek stopped gasping for breath as he contemplated the question, a look of realization on his face.

"Exactly. Those that took too long to follow the orders, or didn't do it correctly, got smacked. Everyone else who did it quickly, and correctly, got away without any problems.

"That's only the first important aspect. They told us explicitly what the other one was: Military bearing. Even if you're exhausted, even if you feel like you can't move another muscle and you're having a hard time catching your breath, you need to look the part of an officer. Stand up straight, regulate your breathing, and appear as if nothing is bothering you."

Jek followed the advice as Reivyn gave it. He straightened up, quit gasping for breath, and tried to stand nonchalantly. He couldn't quite complete the look, though, as he had a grimace on his face.

"This is way worse. I regret everything." Jek squeezed his eyes shut as his body shook from standing straight. Reivyn laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Bearing isn't just your posture. It's your face, too. Keep a neutral expression. Chant to yourself, 'this is nothing, this is nothing. I can keep going, I can keep going,' over and over. It'll help."

Reivyn watched as Jek slowly relaxed. The grimace on his face eventually disappeared, and he re-opened his eyes. Some of the other candidates nearby listened in, but only a couple of them mimicked the instruction.

"I maintain that this is worse," Jek complained.

"Yeah, but now nobody will notice," Reivyn pointed out. "Keep it up, and you might unlock Inspire, as well."

The other candidates who listened and followed Reivyn's advice had thoughtful looks on their faces, but the ones who listened and didn't follow rolled their eyes as they dismissed his words. Reivyn mentally shrugged. I'm not here to hold their hands. If they want to take my advice or not is on them.

Reivyn looked up to where the clipboard soldiers were standing. The senior sergeant was standing with them. He had his left arm crossed over his chest, and his right arm was resting on it as he stroked his chin, watching Reivyn and the candidates immediately surrounding him. He bent his head towards one of the troops, saying something to him, and the soldier made some more notations according to the instructions.

Reivyn turned back to Jek and the other two who had mastered their bodies.

"Get used to it," he said. "This is only the first day, and it's a half-day, at that. They're going to stress us out in new ways every day before we ever even learn how to command others."

"Oh, joy," Jek said sarcastically. "I'm so glad I agreed to the idea of volunteering for a leadership position instead of being one of the troops with no expectations."

Reivyn simply laughed as he shook his head.

"It'll be worth it. You'll see."