[You have slain Lesser Monstrous Wolf (Lvl. 25)]
“This should be the last of them,” a male voice called out. The speaker was well built, with dark brown hair, standing in a small clearing with other dead monster bodies around him. His eyes were a shimmering gold. As he spoke, he pulled out a longsword from the body of a dead wolf monster, blood spurting weakly from the gap. He shook his sword of remnant flesh and grime as he gazed at a notification.
[Beast Realm Event: Lair of the Black Wolves (Lvl. 30) has been completed.]
Defeated:
Low-ranked
72x Juvenile Monstrous Wolves (Lvl. 20)
23x Adult Monstrous Wolves (Lvl. 29)
1x Direwolf Lair Boss (Lvl. 36)
[ ]
[Structural Integrity of Lair: ]
34% -> 12%
Alert: Structural Integrity below 20%.
No more monsters will form until integrity rises to 20%
[ ]
“Ugh. Finally. I was getting sick of being sprayed by gross puss all the time,” replied a loud female voice. Out of a dreary forest stormed a woman with short, fiery red hair, and piercing green eyes. She had an athletic figure with attractive facial features and was wearing form-fitting clothes that showed off her defined abs. She swung a tall spear around, cutting away the undergrowth as she made her way over to the man. She leaned against her spear as she gazed at the man with her vivid green eyes.
“What’s the plan now, Conlan?” she asked.
Conlan blinked, realising he had been staring at her for too long and coughed. He gestured to the monster bodies around them, leaking foul brown and green murky miasma. “It will depend on how well we did in this Lair. What’s your level?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Didn’t you say never tell anyone my level?” she asked. He sheepishly scratched his cheek, making the red-haired woman grin. “I’m just kidding.” She smirked. “It’s 32.”
Conlan felt a smile spread across his face.
We made it.
The red-haired woman blinked when she saw his expression. “I’m taking it that it’s a good thing?” she asked curiously.
“It means we can finally go where I wanted to,” he replied, nodding.
“So, are you finally going to tell me where you planned on taking us?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He hesitated, thinking. Conlan sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then stored his longsword in its scabbard on his belt. He gestured for the woman to follow him as he went to lean against a large stone. He clasped his hands together. “Cathy,” he began seriously. “You said you’d trust me on whatever I say. But… I don’t want you to feel forced into this.”
Well, she’d come and follow me regardless of whether I say this or not. She always kept that little crush on me after I had saved her. It didn’t change even before I died.
“It might be dangerous, far more dangerous than anything we’ve experienced so far, and you’ll be placed outside your comfort zone over and over again,” he continued a solemn expression on his face. He lowered his gaze to look at the ground, putting a grimace on his face. “If you want, we could do the Rank-2 stages as well, and come back when-”
“Are you kidding me, Conlan?” she interrupted an angry expression on her face. She crossed her arms. “No way in hell am I going back to the Obelisk to do one of those again. No, not until I get to level 199. Those stages are torture.” She walked forward and gazed at Conlan just as seriously as he gazed at her. “I said I would follow you from the moment you saved me in that inn. And you promised me that you knew a way for me to gain enough strength to stand on my own in this strange new world.”
She gazed at her hand and clenched it, tumultuous emotions running through her. She looked up and gave him a soft smile. “I’m going where you’re going, danger or not.” She held out a hand for a fist bump. “And I’ll make sure I’m always your equal in strength,” she said, winking.
Conlan stared at her for a moment, and then his smile widened, and he bumped her fist. “Thank you, Catherine.”
I knew I could count on you to always follow me.
‘Catherine’ scowled. “It’s Cathy. Catherine is what my mum calls me when she’s mad.”
He just laughed, making her try to kick him in the shin, but her leather boots were unable to get through his Rare leg armour. “I… want to sign us up for the Empire’s Navy,” he finally said.
Catherine eyed him curiously. “I’ve heard quite a bit about this Empire. They essentially rule an entire realm, right? But the Navy…” she frowned slightly. “I didn’t think my skill set would fit in with a Navy.”
“The Navy of the Empire is different to that on Earth,” he replied, shaking his head. “And I don’t want us to sign up for just the normal Main Navy Battalion. I want to sign us up for the Distorted Depths region’s Navy Battalion.”
“The Distorted… Depths?” she asked curiously.
“It’s the least populated region of the Beast Realm, but it’s very important,” he said, getting off the stone. “It’s full of incredibly strong monsters of gargantuan size. The Distorted Depths Navy fights these massive creatures because the materials of a high-ranked monster are extremely valuable to the Empire, whether it be to create elixirs, armour, weapons or for research.”
“Fighting? Wait, does that mean…” her eyes widened.
Conlan nodded, smiling. “Fighting strong monsters earns us loads of experience. And with the merits obtained through our actions, we can obtain valuable skills and training from official, high-quality forces. We would even have a direct cut of the slain monsters’ profit, which we could use to purchase high-quality armour or weapons made with these monsters, or allow them to be sold for our own profit.”
“I see. Yes, we would definitely get strong quick this way,” she said in agreement. “But I’m still fire and wind affinity. How would that work with being on water?”
He smirked. “By being a very powerful dual affinity user. They allow anyone in as long as they can show their worth.”
Well, it will still be hard for her with her fire affinity. But I want- no, I need to go to the Distorted Depths. I won’t be able to see her for years if I don’t.
He started walking towards the forest edge. “And if we can show the assessors for our Battalion Application how valuable we are, we could even be invited to the elite navy cadet training camp, where we will be instructed by the best of the best, and enter into direct military action without having to climb up the ranks.”
He looked back at her with a grin. “We’ve satisfied two requirements to enter the Elite Navy Cadet training camp. That’s to be above level 30, and under 25 years of age. If we can show we have talent, then we’re all set.”
“But what about the Forerunner’s Event in November?” she said, frowning as she followed him.
“I’ve done my research,” Conlan told her. “The training camp goes from October 1st to October 31st, and then we come back on the 1st of February next year to become official members of the Navy. That’s because all the training camps finish at that time, so then they’ll sort the cadets into different groups and place them under Squad Leaders over the three-month break. Those three months at the Distorted Depths are also the worst and most dangerous months of the year for the region as well.”
“Oh really?” she asked, following him as they trekked through the thick undergrowth. When they had first come into the Lair, thick coiling murky monster miasma filled the zone with ugly brown-green fog, and monsters were popping up everywhere within sight. As they completed it a few times, with it resetting once every two to three days, the miasma slowly reduced. It was now barely pooling high enough to reach the soles of their shoes. “How come?”
“Because that’s the winter-equivalent months for the region. And with winter comes terrifying mana phenomenon storms, the chaotic mana generating thousands upon thousands of monsters that swarm the seas, and sometimes stronger monsters form that could easily devastate entire kingdoms if they were on land,” he stated solemnly. “The Distorted Depths region is one of the largest regions within the Beast Realm. If we can spend one or two years there, we’ll be far better equipped for the realms and the Tower.”
She remained silent for a while, thinking over what he said. She eventually spoke up, “Then, let’s do it. You know more about this Tower than I do, so if you think this is the best path for us, then I say we follow it.”
He looked back at her over his shoulder and smiled. “Then our next stop will be the Empire’s Distorted Depths Navy Battalion Application.”
They walked a while longer, the residual miasma slowly disappearing as they exited the circle of chaotic mana miasma that indicated a Lair.
[You have left the Lair of the Black Wolves (Lvl. 30)]
As they began walking towards the Ascendant city they were nearby, Catherine spoke up, “So, you said we’ve both satisfied some prerequisites for the application, right? That means you’re at or over Lvl. 30. What’s your level?” she asked.
Conlan glanced at her as she came up beside him, grinning and giving him a playful nudge with her elbow. “Come on, I’ve told you my level, haven’t I? Can’t show the same attitude?”
He smiled. “Of course I can.”
She’s going to be my party member from now on, so I could…. no. It would be best to keep important information to myself in case my party members accidentally reveal it. I’ll give her a lower figure.
“It’s Level 37,” he told her.
She groaned. “Argh, I’m still behind. Here I was thinking Lvl. 32 was great, and you’re 5 levels ahead of me! Just you wait, I’ll catch up.”
He laughed. “That’s never going to happen.”
After all, I’m Level 43.
“Oh, by the way,” he continued, interrupting her counterargument about how she would definitely get higher than him soon. “The way you incinerated all those monsters was awesome.”
“R-Really?” she replied, blinking in surprise.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
He nodded. “That raging inferno was so cool. I bet you’ve put in tons of work to make your ability that powerful. You’re going to be an amazing fighter in the future.”
She froze for a second, her ears becoming tinged with pink. “O-Of course!” she said, putting her hands on her hips and raising her chin proudly. “I’m going to become the best of the best!”
He grinned and patted her shoulder. “And I’ll be right beside you the entire time,” he told her.
The two of them kept walking towards the city in the distance in the glow of the late afternoon sun, the red-haired woman yelling at him with embarrassed cries as he just laughed, making her even angrier and embarrassed. They disappeared over a hill as the sun dipped down on the horizon.
…
“Well, here we are,” Conlan stated, looking around the new place they found themselves in.
Catherine also looked around, curiosity plain on her face. They were at White Squall Fortress.
The fortress was a private Ascendant city that required documentation or a letter to use any of the facilities within. You could not leave the fortress or enter most of the buildings without one. The fortress was built along the edge of a towering, nearly kilometre-tall cliff, enormous rolling waves splashing against the cliff’s side and frothing with white foam. It was made of intimidating dark grey stone and was three-tiered. It was the fifth largest fortress within the Distorted Depths Region and had the highest non-military population out of them all. An ever-present grey storm crackling with thunder could be seen hovering over the dark grey waters of the ocean in the distance and howling, screeching winds that gave the fortress its name whipped through the air. The people within the fortress were barely sheltered from the strong gales by the daunting grey walls of the fortress.
Conlan and Catherine were on the first tier of the fortress, where the Obelisk was. All the buildings were bare of decorations, made of hardy wood and grey stone. There was a small market where the non-military members of the fortress traded and bartered, and several shops for necessities, but nothing extravagant. The grey stone that paved the ground below them was slick with droplets of water, the ocean mist and ongoing storm bringing a damp chill that settled into everything, regardless of the weather. The walls of the fortress facing inland were shorter than the opposite walls, and two paths curled up on either side of the fortress to form a wide ramp that took people to the next tier.
The people within the fortress were either dressed in navy blue and white, black, or gold-detailed military uniforms or wearing thick cloaks and fur-trimmed clothes that kept out the chill. The ones dressed in navy-coloured uniforms vastly outnumbered those without it. Most of those in military uniform only wore blue and white, while some wore navy blue and black. Only one or two could be seen wearing blue and gold, often ordering around the people wearing other uniforms. A steady stream of people transporting large green, blue, or grey-coloured carcasses was flowing to and from different buildings on the first tier.
Catherine wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said it would be cold. I am so glad I listened when you said to buy this coat." She was wrapped in a thick light grey jacket that reached her ankles, with dark fur trimming on the neck and sleeves. Brown leather boots covered her feet.
“Our Navy uniforms will come with in-built cold protection enchantments,” he replied with a smile. “They’ll also supply us with military-grade weapons.”
“I was wondering why you said we didn’t need to get better weapons," she said, nodding. “And those cold protection enchantments must be great, judging by how many people are wearing their uniforms.” She gave another look around. “So… what do we do?”
He scratched his chin. “Let’s find an inn to book for the night, and then we’ll go submit our application forms to the Navy. We begin staying in the Navy’s lodging tomorrow.”
They asked around for the location of an inn, even though Conlan knew where to find one already, and entered it. Many people dressed in the were chattering and laughing away as they sat at the round wooden tables, eating and drinking. Conlan walked up to the woman at the front desk.
“Do you have lodging available for us?” he asked with a polite smile on his face.
The female innkeeper looked up. “Got your invitations?” she replied.
Conlan and Catherine showed her the white envelopes stamped with a blue seal, and she nodded. She walked over to a large book and picked up a pen. “One room for-”
“Oh, sorry,” Conlan interjected, holding up a hand. “Two rooms please, and just for tonight,” he added, as Catherine stiffened with pink cheeks beside him.
The innkeeper glanced between them both and then shrugged. “Sure. Two rooms for one night… here we go,” she said, having finished jotting down their booking in the large book. Using one of the keys attached to the keychain on her belt, she unlocked a drawer below the book and handed them two keys. “They have location tracking enchantments on them, so make sure you return them to me before 10 am tomorrow," she warned.
After acknowledging her warning, they went upstairs to place their belonging in their rooms. A few minutes later, they were outside the inn once more.
“Then, shall we take a look at the next tier?” Conlan asked Catherine.
She agreed, and they began walking up one of the large ramps that led them to the next layer. The second tier contained the lodgings and dorms of the navy and several other military-only facilities. The buildings were multi-story and had a very minimalistic theme, lacking any artistic detail. Only big signs designating the purpose of each of the buildings could be seen, written in bold text for visibility. One of the buildings had a temporary banner that said, ‘ELITE CADET APPLICANTS ENTER HERE’.
He pointed it out to Catherine. “That’s our stop.”
They headed over to the shorter building.
…
“You’re all registered now,” spoke a desk clerk in a blue and white uniform. He looked up from his open books and forms and then withdrew two small badges from a box on his desk. He passed them to Conlan and Catherine. They were the same navy blue as the uniforms, and a stylised golden E for elite was embossed on the front. The clerk gestures to the badges. “You’ll get your official nametags after you’ve completed the training camp. Until then, these badges will allow you access to all the facilities open to those in the training camp. Please insert your mana, or other energy type if applicable.”
They both fed a thin stream of mana into the badges, Conlan’s badge lighting up with a faint gold-yellow glow, while Catherine’s lit up with a deep orange. It faded away after a few seconds, but they could feel the sensation of part of their mana being within the objects.
“They’re now mana-bound to you and contain your mana signature, so tomorrow, you will be able to access the facilities. Remember, the training camp begins at 1:00 pm sharp, so do not be late. You will be locked out of the facilities and will be expelled from the camp from that point onwards. I suggest arriving an hour to half an hour earlier, at the very least,” the clerk told them sternly.
They nodded with seriousness, and the clerk nodded back. “That will be all. Any additional information will be in the booklet I gave you earlier if you need it. Thank you for your future merits in the Navy. For the Eternal Authority of the Empire,” the clerk stated, giving them a salute. He then returned to his work.
Conlan and Catherine left the clerk, making their way back to the entrance of the building. Conlan couldn’t help but turn his head to the side every few seconds, wondering if he might be able to see her.
Catherine noticed his actions. “You’ve been turning your head around a lot since we’ve come here. Looking for something?” she asked curiously.
He stiffened slightly but moved on with a slightly tight smile on his face. “Oh, I’m just curious to see if any of the other training camp members are here. I want to know who we’ll be working alongside for the next month.”
She’s probably not here. It’s likely she’s already registered. I’m a bit disappointed that I can’t see her yet, though.
Catherine nodded, naively believing him. “I’m wondering too. Am I going to be surrounded by men the entire time?” she mused.
“Apparently there’s a promising new cadet this year,” they heard a voice say.
They slowed their walking when they passed two Navy Officers in conversation, slightly curious about what they were talking about.
One of the two Officers blinked and looked curious. “Really? I’ve just come back from leave, so I haven’t caught up on the news. Is this person someone from a powerful force?” he asked.
The other Officer, an older man, shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard. But the Commander himself gave them an invitation in person.”
The younger Officer’s eyes widened and he looked stunned. “The Commander? The White Squall Commander? The Commander Arkenast?”
“The very same,” the other Officer replied.
“You’re pulling my leg,” the younger Officer said, looking sceptical. “The Commander has never, in his entire career, given a personal offer to a cadet.”
“But he did this time,” the older Officer responded, shaking his head. “And guess what: I’ve heard they’re a mage.”
“There’s no way,” the other Officer said, dumbfounded. “Not even a warrior?”
“Not even a warrior,” the older Officer said, smiling widely.
The younger Officer frowned. “What’s this so-called ‘promising cadet’ like? I mean, if you’re going so far as to try to get me to believe this, you must have some eyewitness reports…”
“I think I’ve heard she’s a girl. Nobody’s seen her since she registered a few days ago, though.” He slung an arm across the younger Officer’s shoulders. “But never mind that. How was your holiday?”
The two Officers walked off as they started discussing other, unrelated topics. Conlan gazed after them.
A female mage… It’s got to be her.
He gave a slight sigh of relief. He had always had a niggling worry that something might’ve changed this time round, that maybe she remembered everything, that somehow she didn’t even exist anymore, but he could rest easy now, as the Officers’ words were basically verification. Conlan blinked when Catherine tapped his shoulder.
“What do you think she’s like?” she asked curiously, as they continued to move towards the exit. “She must be pretty good if a Commander personally offered for her to be here.” She tapped on her chin. “Maybe she’s some arrogant abandoned noble princess, who got forced by her family to enter the navy so she’d get accidentally killed, and will return triumphant and with lots of power to laugh in their faces.”
He huffed a laugh. “This isn’t a novel," he said, but he wasn’t truly focusing on the conversation.
No, she’s not arrogant. She’s just… indifferent.
“Well, it’s good that there’s another girl. I was worried there would only be men.” Then she paused and hastily shook her hands. “That’s not to mean I hate men- I mean, I like you- wait, not ‘like’ like in that sense, I meant in general, not that-”
He patted her shoulder reassuringly. “I understand what you mean, Cathy,” he said with a warm smile.
“U-Uh right, that’s good,” she muttered in embarrassment, ears slightly pink. Eager to move the conversation onto something else before awkward silence fell on them, she turned to look at Conlan. “R-right. I had something else I wanted to ask,” she told him.
He raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to go on.
“What do you intend to do after all this Navy business?” she asked. “It doesn’t sound like you intended to stay here permanently.”
He contemplated her question for a moment. “Well, it’s a bit farfetched to discuss this now,” he replied, thinking about the Faction Command Deployment he earned from the Tutorial. “But let’s just say I plan on finding talented allies while here, and I’ll leave the rest as a surprise for later.”
“Hmmm...” she responded, looking at him with narrowed green eyes. Then she shrugged. “Well, I’ll follow you no matter what you do.” She hit her fists together with a vicious grin on her face. “Just leave the worst fighting to me. I haven’t been a three-time semi-finalist for the International Youth Boxing Championship for nothing. I don’t just have good looks.” She winked.
He gave her a smirk. “But don’t you use a spear now?”
Her smile stiffened. “E-Even, if I use a spear, knowing how to throw a proper punch, can still be useful!” Then she looked down at her hands, clenching and opening them. “But still, I’m surprised. It’s really weird how well the spear has just clicked for me. How did you know I would enjoy it so much?” she asked curiously.
He paused and put a calm smile on his face as they left the building. “I suppose I just… have this special instinct for these sorts of things, I guess.”
…
“You will not begin training until tomorrow,” the Navy Officer told them, taking them through a long wooden corridor. “Today will just be an introduction to the duties and tasks required of you for the duration of the training camp, and then you will be introduced to your living areas. The living areas and facilities of the cadets are in a building separate from the Officers of the Navy, so you will not be in contact with the other Officers unless they are your instructors.”
“Are the sleeping areas for the men and women different?” asked Catherine.
The Officer paused and then nodded. “Yes, they are. But everything else is shared."
They turned a corner and then stopped before a door. He pulled it open and gestured to it. “The Officer in charge of speaking to you will arrive in half an hour. You shall remain in here until he arrives,” he stated.
They nodded, and then with bated breath, they both stepped into the room. The door shut behind them as they took in the new sight.
The room was of medium size and contained several rows of wooden benches. The walls themselves were also wooden, and flickering mana lamps hanging from brass holders adorned the walls. As the door shut, several people within the room looked up to see the new arrivals.
Catherine took a seat on one of the empty benches as Conlan looked around the room, matching the people from his memory to the people within the room. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he sorted through the 30-40 odd people sitting on benches chatting or standing near the walls. He noticed a few.
That man with the mousy brown hair was... Ruel something, I think? And the tattooed man next to him was named Drew.
He saw a man with chocolate brown skin and blonde hair, dressed in a sleeveless vest with a red silk bandana around his head.
He was Palin, from that desert Major plane.
A man wearing a thick black cloak with long black hair that hid his face.
Wilden…. Leutia? The necromancer.
A girl with very short wispy ash-white hair and brown eyes, sitting cross-legged as she levitated off the ground with her hands behind her head, looking bored. Her ears were pointed and curled up slightly.
Noirel Arventiel. That half-fae never liked me for some reason.
He paused when he noticed a trio of two men and a woman chatting near a corner. They were dressed in flowing oriental robes of white, black and varying shades of blue, with features similar to those from the Asia regions on Earth that indicated they were from the Heavenly Realm. The young woman had long dark hair and deep blue eyes and stayed silent as she observed the conversation between the two men. One of them was tall with a broad frame and had several nicks and scars on his face, with average looks. The shorter man beside him was lanky and held a fan with his long hair half tied up. He seemed to be making jabs at the taller man, but even as he did so he scanned the room with narrow eyes, observing the other people.
They were that exchange group from the Heavenly Realm, right? One of the five Heavenly Sects, the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect. They didn’t stay as part of the Navy for very long though. The woman is one of their potential successors, Zhang Mingxia. The tall man is from her family, Zhang Meng, while the foxy-looking guy is… Liao Tengfei. Great. Just great. I always hated his penchant for stirring up drama.
His eyes drifted away from the Sect trio, spotting a few other people he recognised, until they paused on a woman sitting on the ground near one of the walls. She had dark brown curly hair that fell down one side of her face, thick lashes, and gorgeous blue eyes, likely due to her water affinity. She looked gentle and timid and avoided looking at any of the others. Conlan looked at her with a complicated expression on his face as he remembered all that had happened.
Liliana…
He shook his head. The past is the past. It won’t be happening again.
He continued scanning the room until he froze, his gaze having landed on one particular individual. He felt his heart begin pounding faster, and his hands shook slightly.
Leaning against the wall was a figure, her arms crossed and eyes closed with an expressionless face. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and dark leather pants, with brown leather boots laced up. She was tall, taller than any of the other women within the room, nearly reaching Conlan’s own height. She had sharp features and thin black eyebrows, her skin a pale tone that contrasted against the black. Thick, untamed, curly black hair rolled down her back and just past her waist, but now and then strands of her hair shimmered and glinted with indigo, violet, and blue radiance, the occasional silver gleam appearing as her wild hair sparkled with illusory vibrance.
Behind him on the bench, Catherine leaned forward to see what he was gazing at so intently. “What’re you staring at?” she asked curiously. Then her eyes widened slightly as she saw the woman. “Oh wow, she is gorgeous.” Then she blinked and narrowed her green eyes to glare at Conlan. “So, you’re staring at the pretty lady, are you? Fell in love at first sight, want to ask her out on a date?”
He shook his head and put a smile on his face. “No way. I was just thinking her hair is a bit unique.” He shot a glance at the woman.
I really want to go up and talk to her now but…. It’s more important right now for me to keep Catherine’s affection for me alive so she becomes loyal.
“And besides,” he said, shooting Catherine a wink. “You’re more my type anyway.”
He smirked as the red-haired woman went beet red, and she turned her head to the side to avoid looking at him. Then he stiffened.
The woman leaning against the wall had opened her eyes and was staring right at him, her eyes an icy, emotionless blue. He began to panic as his skin went cold.
Why’s she looking at me? Is it me? Have I done something, does she know something, does she recognise me?! What do I do?! Do I go up and talk to her, or do I-
The woman gazed at him for a beat and then closed her eyes again. Conlan heaved a sigh of relief, but also one of slight disappointment as his beating heart slowly calmed.
It was just a coincidence then….. it feels bittersweet.
He avoided looking at her for the rest of the time, just chatting with Catherine as they waited for the Officer to arrive. When the door to the room opened, everyone looked up to see two men walking in. One was shorter and younger, with a navy blue and black outfit, while the taller middle-aged man was wearing a fancier outfit in navy blue, gold and white. They walked to the front of the room, the taller man standing slightly behind the shorter man.
The shorter man, who had dark hair and appeared in his late twenties, took a step forward and gazed sternly at them all. “Good afternoon. I am Officer Ross Stanhope, and I will be in charge of you all for this training camp. Please take up seats on the benches so we may begin.”
The people scattered around the room all walked over to the benches. The tall wild-haired woman leaning against the wall straightened up and walked over, seating herself a few rows in front of Conlan and Catherine. When they were all seated, he gestured to the man beside him.
“Now, originally, I was to be the one responsible for your introduction. Things have changed, and instead, this man will be responsible for the beginning of this introduction.” He took a step back, while the other man stepped forward.
The man who appeared in his mid-40s gazed around the room, crossing his arms. He had wild dirty-blonde hair, and rough scars coated his skin. He smirked. “I doubt many have seen me before, but my name is Merrow Arkenast. Commander Arkenast to you all. I am the highest authority in White Squall Fortress."