Looking at the tent labeled B4D7, I felt a bit of trepidation about entering and meeting the unit I was about to join. I never really made many friends in my previous life and got kicked out of the military on Earth before getting too close to anyone. So, it’s very likely the Knights inside are gonna be the closest I have ever gotten to anyone in both lives.
I took a deep breath and then exhaled. ’Alright, I can do this. No big deal. Maybe we won’t even get along, and I’ll be a loner here as well,’ I said internally to hype myself up.
Then I head inside, pushing the entrance flap aside as I step forth. The first thing I notice is the layout: five rows of five cots. Each cot has decent space around it: a single weapon rack to the right, then a small desk and chair at the foot of the cot.
The next noticeable point was the dozen Knights inside doing a variety of activities. Most seemed to be seated upon their cots, legs crisscrossed, looking as if they were meditating. A few sat at their desks, maintaining their armor. One man was working out next to his cot. Then, the final man seemed to be doing some paperwork at his desk.
It was that last man who actually went up to greet me when everyone noticed my entrance, though everyone else went back to their activities. This man wore his full armor set, except for the helmet. The only difference from the usual Knights’ armor was the symbol from the flag plastered at the center of his chest: the golden dragon coiled around the golden globe.
"Welcome to Unit D7! I am Captain Drake Ogman; I’ll get you settled in," he said with a smile on his scarred face, and I just noticed his bald head. Then he paused as he noticed the two places my gaze went. "You must be really new if you are ogling the Imperial Insignia. It shows the rank of Captain amongst Knights, as only we have earned the right to represent the Insignia. If you make the rank, you can go to the armorsmith to get it etched on."
He then chuckles. "Though don’t expect to be making rank anytime soon. Only way for you to become a captain is if I die and you are the most senior Knight in the unit at the time. Oh, and yeah, the bald head is an annoyance. Some freak mutation when I opened my Mana Veins, and I even had to get a specialty helmet that had a thicker interior cloth."
I was surprised by how talkative he was; he was throwing information left and right. I was worried he might start telling me his life story. I was even more scared to learn that not only did I have a chance to explode, but also to go bald when opening my Mana Veins. The damn General left that part out. "Nice to meet you, Captain Ogman. I had no idea I could’ve gone bald by awakening!"
"Haha, well, you had no reason to be worried about that. Mutations are already extremely rare, and most that do, don’t get the same kind. I heard there is a guy in one of the other units that grew a second dick when he opened his Mana Veins. Took quite a while for him to get used to that," the captain exclaims, excited to tell the story, and even uses two fingers as a visual aid.
My face blanched at the idea of a second one, even cautiously glancing toward my own nether region, wondering how that worked. Captain Ogman didn’t seem to notice and kept talking.
"Oh, and yeah, I bet you are annoyed at meeting another Drake. I know, I know, so many guys named Drake in the Imperium since every peasant parent wants to give a name reminiscent of dragons to their sons. Well, I am just another one of those sons," he explains something I didn’t even have a question about as he rolls his eyes at his own name.
I was thoroughly thrown for a loop, as this man is literally the first man named Drake I ever met, so I didn’t even know such a thing about the Imperium. I felt like I was going through whiplash interacting with this man.
"Sorry, I’m blabbering off again! Here, I’ll introduce you to everyone. We aren’t a full unit right now since we lost some in yesterday’s battle. With you, we currently number eighteen. Joster and Asher are at the armorsmith. Norris, Kino, and Dalia are getting chow," he explains as he guides me over to the man working out first.
"This here is Winstral; he is pretty much always working out and pretty much never talks," the captain explains as Winstral just glances over as he continues to do push-ups and grunts in affirmation.
Next, he guides me to each person, one by one. "This here is Onna; she is scary, especially on the battlefield. Oh, here is Saketh; he is the next in line for Captaincy if I die. This is Uther, and he’s not allowed to join in the card games. Over here is another Drake; everyone calls him Lesser-Drake since he’s lower rank than me. This is Oscar, who snores very loudly. Right here, we got Ynar, who is the only noble-born of our unit."
The captain pauses as he guides me to another section of the room, and I feel like I am going to struggle to remember all these people. "Here we have Ikith, who always seems to have snacks. Then right here is Trout, who has sixteen brothers, a company record. Over here is Destor, the youngest in our unit, though that might change with you. Finally, right here is Qan, and he is the only one from the capital city in our unit."
After meeting everyone, he stands proudly at the back of the tent, as if he just showed off all his trophies. "Well, that’s everyone except those currently out, and you can meet them later. Oh, and here’s an empty bunk; you can have this one," he says, pointing the cot right at the end corner of the first row.
"Thanks, captain. I’ll do my best to get along with everyone," I reply, feeling a little tired after going through all that, and then I glance toward those currently meditating.
Captain Ogman, catching my glance, speaks out. "Oh, yeah, you’ll see everyone meditating quite often. After all, it’s everyone’s goal to earn our Akai and become a Sentinel, so most in their free time try to form their Core."
"Oh, right! Since you are so new, you probably haven’t tried the armor yet. I’ll help guide you on how to put it on!" The captain says excitedly, pointing to the bag I am carrying.