Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 155: Briefing

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Cedric had his eyes closed in meditation when all of a sudden, he sensed a presence invading his minimized field of senses and closing in on their location.

He saw that it was the people from the army, and behind them was Orion.

Seeing this, Cedric sat up on his bed and stretched a bit. He glanced at his other male batchmates and saw most of them trying to get some sleep or doing something else to distract them.

BAM!

Those who were caught unprepared jumped in surprise when the doors of the quarters suddenly blew wide open. Four people entered as if nothing happened and stopped at the center of the room.

"First years, gather around and form a line." Orion ordered in a stern voice.

The students rummaged to fix themselves up and do as they were told. Cedric was fairly calm since he already knew this was coming. He was actually the first one to be ready, the rest followed after him, even then, it still took them a minute to do so.

Once they were in position, an uncomfortable silence descended within the room. The male students felt the cold and measured gazes of the people in uniform that Orion brought with him, making them feel tense as if they had done something wrong.

"It took you an entire minute to get into position." One of the men in uniform clicked his tongue as he spoke. "For superhumans like you lot, that's awfully slow. You will get killed here if you continue being like that."

His rough and deep voice rumbled within the corners of the room, causing most of the students to shiver when they heard him.

"Don't think for a second that just because you're in this camp, you're safe. Erase that mentality in your brains. Yes, you all have some level of security here but don't forget that you're in the frontline. If shit was meant to happen, it will happen here. If you want to live, then you must always be aware of your surroundings. Am I clear?" The same man scolded and asked.

"Sir, yes Sir."

"What's wrong boys? Have you not eaten? Where's your spirit? Answer me properly!"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

"Good!" The man nodded then said: "My name is Julius Dreyar. A Knight Captain or the 101st Battalion led by Lord Commander Banestar! Your batch will be delegated to us and us only during your stay here."

"From now on until the end of your stay, you will be addressed as Cadets. Your name, upbringing, and background are all irrelevant here and when your Captain tells you to go south, I should never see you going north. Disobey and you will be punished according to our laws. You will be given codenames instead of using your real names. Your codenames will be followed by your batch's student ranking.

Am I understood, Cadets?"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

"Good! Now, once I call your codename, I want you to step forward. Cadets #6, #15, #27, #60, and #145."

Those who were called stepped forward and were given supplies. Cedric saw that it was a set of military uniforms, a Cadet Badge, rations, water canteen, and a military standard knife and pistol along with a knapsack where they could keep it all.

Then, someone from the military who came with Captain Julius stood behind the cadets and did something to their Monitoring Chip, causing it to turn into a deep shade of green.

The first group where then asked to step aside as the captain continued calling out other caderts into their team. Moments later, Cedric himself was called, unlike the other teams though, his team only consists of two people aside from himself. Cedric had some theories about this but he kept his mouth shut.

This continued until everybody was divided into groups. Once done, the captain told them:

"You were made aware that all of you will be divided into groups of five. For those who don't have five members yet, that's because the rest of your teammates were females, who are also receiving their briefing now."

"Aside from that, you have received your supplies and ration. By tomorrow, I expect all of you to be wearing the uniforms we gave to you with the badge. Anybody who fails to follow this will receive disciplinary action."

"The rations you received should last you for a week." The captain paused, seemingly relishing at the student's dumbfounded expression.

It was clear that he was messing with them because the dried rations they received were simply not enough to last them three days, much less a week!

"If it turns out that it wasn't enough for you, you may freely exchange some for Merit Points. You will learn how to earn Merit Points after meeting with your Knight Captains."

"Here, our day starts before the crack of dawn and ends whenever we feel like it. Tardiness will not be tolerated in any way, shape, or form! Repeat violations will get you dismissed/expelled or thrown into the other side of this wall to serve as bait."

The cadets shivered at the threat.

"And finally, you may have noticed that we did something with your Monitoring Chips. That color represents that you're a part of the army. In that state, your access to the Acala System is frozen until you're done with your service. This is to avoid any mishaps that could happen with the System being vulnerable here."

"Also, any pending Hell Dives will be frozen until you're dismissed."

"Don't get me wrong. We're not excusing you from your Hell Dives, we're just freezing your due date. If you haven't cleared your Hell Dive for this month, then you will have to do it once you return to civilization."

"Judging by the date, that would be next month. That means that you'd have to do your task twice if you want to remain on the green. This is non-negotiable. Am I clear?"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

'Thankfully, I already cleared mine.' At least half of the cadets including Cedric thought inwardly.

It would have been a nightmare if Cedric had to do this Hell Dive twice next month. That's a total of 4 times in his case because of how much the world hates him.

"Good. That's it for your briefing. You will meet your Knight Captains tomorrow and I expect you all to be on your best behavior. Dismissed."

After saying this, the group of men in uniform left the men's quarters with Orion trailing behind them.

As soon as they left, the cadets felt like a boulder was removed from their bodies. Some even collapsed on the floor due to the weakness.

Cedric went to his bunk bed and rummaged at the stuff he received earlier.

While the rest of his batchmates were discussing how strict and cruel this place was, Cedric took off the uniform of the Starlight Royal Academy and tried the military uniform on. He's a bit surprised that it fits him just fine. It's a bit loose on some parts but that's be expected.

'They probably got my measurements from the Academy. Or they have other ways to determine it. Whatever, this works just fine, I suppose.'

He took a look at himself in the mirror. Although this is probably the last purpose of a military uniform, it didn't look bad on him. He also sensed several symbols carved in the uniform that provide minor conveniences like; deodorization, self-repair, self-cleaning, etc.

The standard-issued knife and pistol weren't bad either.

As he was returning to his bunk bed, he saw that his teammates intercepted his path. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he stared at them with an unimpressed look and raised an eyebrow.

Even before they could say anything, Cedric could already tell what they wanted to accomplish, he overheard their discussion after all. It's amusing how easily his batchmates forget how sharp his senses were. Also, their faces say it all and he could hear their thoughts.

"Cedric bro, we are—"

He stopped them right then and there by holding a hand out. He then let out a breath and said:

"It's #1 here." He reminded them. "And there's no need to pretend. I know what you want. A piece of advice from me to you. Stop it. It's not gonna work.

I'm in the same spot as everyone else here. Bound to the same laws as you do."

"Unless our Knight Captain, whoever they might be, specifically told me to babysit you, I will be on standby. Don't think that just because I'm on your team means that you can take it easy. Something like that won't fly here."

"The earlier you two wake up from your delusions, the earlier you could actually work on becoming stronger to survive this place. Remember what's on the opposite side of this wall. People die here very frequently. And as Instructor Orion said, without power, everything else is useless. Good night."

Cedric didn't even wait for their response. He left them blushing in shame since he wasn't holding back his volume, and others heard his words.

To others, Cedric's actions might've been too much but in truth, it is what's necessary. Besides, he didn't really feel the need to be chummy with people who intended to ride on his coattails.

If they want to thrive, they must work hard for it. It's as simple as that.