I walked back to our barracks room alone as John went off ahead. The metal components inside the door squealed as it opened. A tremendous yell assaulted me by what seemed like every Carpenter in the camp. When I looked into the room, I saw that I wasn’t wrong; they were all crammed into the confined space. There weren’t that many of us, really. It just seemed like a lot because the room was currently filled with both boys and girls, and I was used to only seeing boys in our small barracks room.

I was swarmed with everyone all at once. Everyone was saying congratulations and trying to pat my back, all at the same time. But, before more than a handful of people finished saying anything, a loud call to “at ease” rang out. Everyone in the room snapped into position with their hands to their lower back while adopting a wide stance with their legs.

“Alson, meet me outside,” came the voice of Sergeant Michel.

I quickly spun on my heels and headed back out of the room into the sparsely lit hallway. I stopped in front of the sergeant, snapped to the same position I had in the room, which was customary, and waited for him to speak. Sergeant Michel had always been a stoic leader, and it had been long since he had last talked to me.

Even then, I had only heard him speak when he answered a question at his training sessions or when he told me about my parents. He told me I did an excellent job as the first wood type to win a match. I said my thanks, and then he handed me another armband.

"You’ve come a long way in the past year or so,” he began. “The other cadre members and I discussed your fight. Since you showed exceptional talent, we decided to award you this rank now.” He held out an armband, it was still the same color as the one I wore, which the cadre called olive, but I thought it looked more like dying moss. The only difference was this one had a black letter “D” embossed on it. “You are the only wood type to have won a match and to own one of these, so wear it proudly." He said while putting it on my arm. Since I was a Carpenter, I wasn’t sure I would be given a ranking. I thought I would have to win a few matches first, but with just one win, I surpassed F-rank and went to D-rank. Once I got to C-rank, I would be authorized to go on missions outside.

"Yes, sir," I replied while snapping to attention and throwing up a salute.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Alright, we'll talk more later. I'll be expecting great things from you from now on. Now go enjoy your victory.

He returned my salute, and I promptly did an about-face and marched back to the room. As I walked back in, everyone had spread about the room, at least as much as possible. Sarah was closest to the door and the first to notice my ranking. "Whoa, what is this?" She asked, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Mr. big bad loner got a rank only after one fight? And a D too? How fitting."

Her comment stopped the jubilation in the group cold. I didn't know what had gotten into her lately. After all the hell we endured in this place, she had become a mother hen to all the other Carpenters. It’s not like she was that much older than most; she just liked looking out for everyone. Well, everyone except me. Her attitude changed toward me about a year ago, but I couldn't figure out what had happened. I chose not to respond, we had gotten in a few fights recently, and I didn’t want to spoil the good mood, so I just turned to go to my bunk.

Before I could get more than a handful of steps, she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards her. "Congratulations," she said to me in a hushed tone, not in an unmotherly fashion, which surprised me. "You need to be careful."

"Around you?" I snapped while pulling my arm away. I couldn't believe that she would do that right then.

"Pff, no." She rolled her eyes, then leaned in a little closer. Her red hair fell over her face and covered her blue eyes. "I'm already hearing rumors that the Metalheads are angry and want to get revenge, not in another match." She turned around abruptly and walked away without another word.

At that point, I didn't really care what they would try to do, I knew what I needed to do, and nothing was going to stop me. The regulation stated that we had to possess a rank of C or higher to go outside on sentry missions. I already obtained the D-rank after only one fight, which is unheard of, but since I was the only Carpenter who had won a match, they made an exception. Regardless of the why, I needed to ensure I was ready as soon as that happened. With my plan, I couldn't afford to not be.

The celebration didn't last too long since most cadets had cleaning details to get to before mandatory lights out. I was pleasant and talked to everyone, but I was distracted because I wanted to share my joy with someone else as happy as I was. Although, for the group's morale, I tried my best not to let that show.

After all the girls left, I returned to my bunk and sat at the edge, finally letting everything sink in. Rank D already! This accelerated my plan, but that wouldn’t be a problem. Had I attempted to participate in the fights when they started a year ago, I could already be in the position I was trying for. Regardless, I was well on my way. As I wound down from the evening's excitement, I went over my plan and reminisced on when I thought it up.