Quite The Impression
It was strange. The elevator took them to floor 47 without anyone even doing anything. It must have been from the watch.
("This thing might actually be able to do anything.") [Adam]
The three had to shimmy themselves out of the elevator due to the amount of passengers inside. It was a wonder how much weight it could hold.
"This is it?" [Brandon]
He stood there stupefied as the elevator doors closed behind them. The only thing on floor 47 was a large circular platform.
"Maybe we should ask… or not." [Sora]
He cut off the idea since there was no one else on their floor.
"Let's just stand on it and see what happens. The watch will do something about it. …I think." [Adam]
Brandon and Sora nodded.
"Reasonable enough." [Brandon]
The three walked onto the platform, causing their watches to light up.
"User Access: MA059348. Confirmed. User Access: MA023948. Confirmed. User Access: MA098265. Confirmed. Teleportation sequence initiated." [???]
Adam could hear a robotic voice and something whirring to life before watching his surroundings change in an instant.
"Welcome!" [???]
Before them stood another uniformed man. Other than a scar on his lower lip, there weren't any other defining features.
"You all must be the new recruits! I'm Captain Kumre. Just call me Cap if you feel like it." [Uniformed Man]
Captain Kumre then put up his watch.
"Put yours up too." [Captain Kumre]
The three were a bit anxious given the situation, but they complied. Their watches emitted a beeping noise, causing them to flash green.
"Great. You've all been registered. Now… Load Checkpoint." [Captain Kumre]
Just as Adam began to question if he misheard, his surroundings shifted.
"Huh?" [Adam]
His eyes widened as he scanned the environment. It appeared to be the inside of a cave, lit up by portable lights left here and there. There were a few people walking around, but the most noticeable thing was a giant swirling purple portal in the middle of the cave.
"Surprised?" [Captain Kumre]
Although the three didn't say a word, Captain Kumre could see the confusion in their eyes.
"My ability is level 5 Checkpoint. It allows me to teleport to locations that I have "saved" at. Similar to those video games you young people are into." [Captain Kumre]
He then stood there smiling.
"Ah, I almost forgot. You can talk freely with me. I'm not a stickler to the rules. Go ahead and ask any questions you'd like." [Captain Kumre]
Brandon raised a hand.
"...Why are we here?" [Brandon]
"Well, that's because you're now soldiers. That includes every person within the vicinity." [Captain Kumre]
He then pointed a thumb behind him, showing that the people around were wearing the same black uniforms as McGiven.
"As recruits, your first task will be fighting voidlings. Uh… depending on ability. Speaking of which, who's Adam?" [Captain Kumre]
Adam raised a hand.
"Me." [Adam]
"Oh." [Captain Kumre]
His smile faded for a moment, but recovered rather quickly.
"Level 1 Compression huh… Alright, I know what job is right for you." [Captain Kumre]
He then turned around and cupped his hands over his mouth.
"Randy!" [Captain Kumre]
"Yes Captain?!" [???]
One of the soldiers called back.
"C'mere! Bring me a saddle and two rifles!" [Captain Kumre]
"On it, sir!" [???]
As the soldier rushed to gather a few items, Captain Kumre shook his head with a chuckle.
"Good kid. I always tell him he doesn't need to address me as sir, but I guess he's a straight laced one." [Captain Kumre]
The soldier then ran over with a large sack, a pickaxe, and two mana rifles.
"Pass it over to the kids here. Oh, but the saddle goes to the kid in the middle." [Captain Kumre]
The soldier then handed a rifle to Brandon and Sora, leaving only the bag to Adam. Captain Kumre then placed a hand on the soldier.
"This is Sergeant Randy. He'll show you the ropes. Say hi, kids." [Captain Kumre]
There was a collective anxious hello from Adam, Sora, and Brandon.
"Randy, can you take them in? Just have them work alongside you for now." [Captain Kumre]
The soldier seemed like he wanted to say something, but he only nodded.
"Yes sir." [Sergeant Randy]
Patting Randy's shoulder, Captain Kumre left. Randy then sighed.
"Alright, guess you're my problem now. Bring up your watches." [Sergeant Randy]
Repeating the same action as Captain Kumre, all their watches flashed green.
"Hm... Now you're officially my responsibility." [Sergeant Randy]
("This guy…") [Adam]
Sergeant Randy was unlike Captain Kumre who was all smiles. Quite the opposite in fact. It felt like he didn't want to be here at all.
"Hey, can I ask you some questions?" [Sora]
"...Yeah, sure." [Sergeant Randy]
"What's with the portal?" [Sora]
"Dungeon supply. Ever heard of it?" [Sergeant Randy]
Sora glanced at Adam and Brandon, who only shrugged.
"...Can't say I've heard of it." [Sora]
"It's basically entering dungeons that don't have dungeon masters so we can just take the mana crystals. We have to do it periodically since the crystals regenerate." [Sergeant Randy]
"Then why do we have these rifles?" [Brandon]
"Because voidlings also appear there. Don't know how." [Sergeant Randy]
"Oh…" [Brandon]
"Is that all your questions?" [Sergeant Randy]
Adam raised a hand.
"Why did you guys call this bag a saddle?" [Adam]
"Because the person who carries it will be considered a pack mule. Guess who's mining all the mana crystals?" [Sergeant Randy]
He then placed a finger on Adam's chest.
"This is the job given to low level ability users." [Sergeant Randy]
"Wha-?" [Adam]
"Welcome to the field, you donkey." [Sergeant Randy]