Weeks had passed since Dale had joined the boot camp, and he had become quite familiar with the academic setting.

So far, he has actually found classes like Theory of Mysticism and Battle Class interesting.

Some of the lessons either supported or debunked ideas he had previously had about the world.

’I still can’t believe I don’t completely hate it here.’

Many more students had tried to make friends with him but seeing as he wasn’t social, those interactions ended up awkward and fruitless.

The same was also true for enemies. Ream, in his endless pursuit of vengeance, had managed to recruit some more people into his band of enemies.

’Ah. How troublesome.’ He dreaded the thought of dealing with them.

Austin though had managed to keep on dragging him to spars and despite still being dormant, both of them had improved their fighting style. At least, Dale now had a semblance of one, no matter how rudimentary.

Dale shook his head to break the thoughts. He currently stood in front of an office door.

Inhaling sharply, he turned the knob and entered.

Sergeant Joanne was typing on a keyboard. Her eyes lifted to meet his for a fraction of a second before turning back to her computer.

A few minutes were spent in silence except for the clacking of the keys and the occasional phone call directed at her.

"Ah, yes." She suddenly spoke and looked away from her computer screen.

Her eyes lazily traced over his figure and he raised an eyebrow. "Are we fitting in well?"

Dale forced a smile, "Yes, I am fitting in quite well."

The sergeant tilted her head slightly and nodded. "So where in the dictionary does the definition of ’fitting in’ include making enemies?"

His eyes widened slightly but he quickly regained composure. ’So she really has been keeping a close eye.’

"Somewhere in-between ’get in my way’ and ’find out’."

Sergeant Joanne paused for a second, seemingly stunned by his direct reply but quickly adjusted.

"Hmm... that’ll be all. You may leave."

Dale bowed slightly and walked out of the office. ’Sheesh. So much for being on my own.’

His eyes landed on the watch on his wrist, then he looked away, walking back to his room.

***

Dale opened the door and saw four people inside; Austin, Gary, Sarah, and Trevor.

They seemed to have been in the middle of a conversation but turned to him the moment they heard him open the door.

"Nope." He immediately turned around and tried to walk out.

But before he could, Trevor’s voice called out, "Lock." And the door shut itself, clicking as it locked.

Dale turned around slowly to them. He had constantly seen — and heard — of similar tactics used for interventions.

The question now was what he had done to deserve one... In all honesty, probably a lot.

"What is with the ambush?" He asked as he forced a smile.

Gary rolled his eyes, "Come on. Ambush is a very strong word. You’re making it seem like we are here to attack you."

Dale pointed at the door behind him, "And that isn’t suspicious?"

Trevor scoffed. "We only did that because you immediately tried to leave."

He wanted to argue that he was about to leave because he knew that they were going to lock him... but that was obviously a lie.

Sarah jumped to her feet and ran to hug him. "Dale!! Long time no see!"

Austin also stood. "Don’t let Trevor’s demeanor ruin the joy of the moment. Hehe. They just brought good news."

Dale raised an eyebrow, "Good news?"

The awakened trio lingered for a while.

"Ah yes, the good news. It has roughly been half a year since the boot camp officially begun so all first years are now eligible for a weapon of their choice." Sarah announced as she let go of him.

’Weapons? First years?’

The former obviously went above mundane weapons like guns. He had learned from the Theory of Mysticism that such weapons had long become obsolete, only having an effect against humans and normal animals.

It was logical. What good would a gun do against a human that could level a mountain chain or a beast that could do the same?

So naturally, the only other weapon that the military would offer them was a Blessed weapon.

’Swords, lances, spears, forged using the liquid of the awakening pools and specialized organs of certain beasts.’ He could barely contain his excitement.

If there were any benefits of joining the military, it would be this.

Blessed weapons could be manufactured by either the government or specific private institutions with state permits... the latter had their price range far above the pockets of the average man.

But if one joined the military, Blessed weapons were given to them — albeit of a rumored lesser degree.

And as for the class level, the fact that Sarah referred to themselves as first years proved a certain idea he had.

They weren’t the only recruits.

He had wondered how many years the boot camp took but since it was clearly above a year, why hadn’t he seen any other people?

His working theory was that there were other facilities.

Dale grinned from ear to ear and turned to them, "Good news, indeed. So how did you find out?"

Austin paused, he clearly hadn’t thought of that. He was one for gossip so he would’ve been amongst the first ones to hear about it if it was common knowledge.

Sarah shrugged, then smiled. "Simple, the military wanted us — the awakened — to have first pick."

Dale’s eyes squinted. It seemed favoritism ran deep into the militant structure.

Trevor continued, "We discussed it and they allowed us to bring any other recruits of our choice to pick with us."

He watched his roommate and the three awakened.

It seemed that corruption wasn’t too bad a thing as long as it favored him.

Austin walked forward, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go."