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Flames.

Hellfire.

An apocalypse.

Death of the old order.

Screams of tormented dying souls.

Then silence.

Nothing.

Pure darkness.

…

The faintest sliver of light.

Something so warm and pure.

Hope in the seemingly unending abyss.

A shout of revolution under the cold and unceasing hand of dictatorship.

Slowly getting brighter and brighter.

The power of light overpowering the ceaseless dark.

A slow yet gradual process.

The cleansing of one's inner consciousness.

…

A bloodcurdling scream filled the night air.

What followed it could only be described as one thing.

War.

Shouts and howls of men, both alive and dead.

The firing of revolvers, rifles, and heavy artillery.

The smell of gunpowder and blood was ever prominent in the air.

Battle.

Any normal civilian would instantly hurl. Then proceed to curl up pale faced in a fetal position waiting for their world to end.

[Year 358 Chrono Calendar]

Yan Vulf was sent to the eastern front after 3 months of intense training in the Theodore Conscription Academy.

He had shot his rifle only 100 times over the entire duration of his training.

Save for the fact that he didn't get paid a dime as a conscript, he at least had a full stomach and a roof over his head.

This was the countries way of keeping an inflow to its army while keeping its costs low.

Calling this country poor was an understatement. Due to the ongoing war, the situation in the country could be better described as that of total economic decline.

Food was scarce, shops were bare with only vinegar lining the shelves.

Whenever there was any meat, fish, or fresh vegetables the people lining up outside could easily fill a train. They were only allowed to buy small portions but that didn't change the fact that there was never enough for everyone.

The only thing that kept the population from starving was the rations of Dorei flour made specially to make bread using mana.

That's right.

Mana.

A supernatural force or power that may be ascribed to persons, spirits, or inanimate objects.

In this world everyone has mana. With the minimum being 1. Mana can be restored through sleep or various meditation techniques, with an average human recovering 0.5 mana per 3 hours of sleep.

It is known to everyone that your mana limit can be increased by going through life or death situations. So far no other way has been found to further stimulate personal mana limit growth.

Dorei bread works like this. You mix 300 grams of the Dorei flour with 2 cups of water, leave it to sit for 5 minutes. Then inject about 0.5 mana and after another 5 minutes you end up with an average loaf of bread that is full of nutrients, if you don't mind the fact that it tastes like dirt, then it can easily be the only food one eats for the rest of their lives.

There are no bakeries, everyone has to make bread for themselves, this was a solution that revolutionised the world. It made sure that the population was fed in a very cheap and stable way. But it also made sure that people could be easily controlled as they had to use up their mana every day just to eat. Meaning they were more predictable.

*Rumble* *Rumble*

Conscript Yan was chewing on a hard ration biscuit covered in a thin layer of salty paste.

As a conscript, he didn't have a rank. He was regarded as a meat shield, one that could sometimes shoot straight, but still a meat shield.

To the army, he was at the very bottom.

A scrub.

The only tactical advantage that he could provide was that if he were to be multiplied by a hundred he could be used in human wave tactics.

To make the enemy waste their bullets.

Unless he was nurtured through constant combat there was no way forward for him.

Only through the expansion of his mana limit and the learning of new spell chants could he become more useful.

…

The train started to slow down.

As the war was the only known way for people to improve it was something sought after by most countries.

Hopefully one they could win of course.

This resulted in constant fighting on the continents. Bigger countries took advantage of smaller ones by starting armed conflicts with them.

And so unending wars began.

The victory wasn't what mattered.

What mattered was the constant training of warriors.

This began an unending cycle of conflict and bloodshed.

A way of paving the path of the strong with the bodies of the weak.

…

With a screech, the train braked to a halt.

Yan's eyes glowed dully as he looked around the train car.

The Belfort Federation's trains weren't in good condition as they were used continuously for troop and supply transport.

The car was filled with other conscripts, their heads shaved as per protocol.

A loud shout resounded through the carriage.

"CONSCRIPTS!"

It was the sergeant that had been in charge of their training in Theodore Academy.

"Get the fuck up we're leaving!"

Sergeant Wills was 6ft 4inches and bald, with a beard that would make any grown man jealous. He was known for his ruthlessness and for the fact that fought a bear when he was 15 years old, and although he had lost he had gotten away with his life.

"YES, SERGEANT!"

The young conscripts roared, filled with vigour.

"All of you are maggots! Most of you won't survive a week out on the eastern front! But there will always be someone there to replace you! You are expendable! Remember that to your grave!"

Even after a smack in the face with some ice-cold reality from their superior the conscripts didn't lose their energy.

"YES, SERGEANT!"

They couldn't even lower their tones.

Or they would be severely punished.

This kind of discipline had been beaten into them throughout their training.

...

It was the middle of spring, a cold breeze blew through the trees.

The conscripts were lined up in an orderly square formation, roll call was coming to an end.

"Conscript Yan!"

"Here Sergeant!"