Shortly after entering the room and selecting my bed, another soldier appeared with a set of new clothes, consisting of army pants, a white tank top, and boots. Thanking the man, I roamed the hallway, eventually locating the bathroom at the end of the corridor. Along the way, I spotted another room converted into a sleeping chamber with numerous beds.
Peeking inside, I saw no one, although one bed was obviously occupied, with the sheets a mess. "Is this room for women?" I was pretty certain of my guess, as it would be weird if they didn't separate the men's and women's living spaces, and men weren't the only ones chosen by the system… I think.
Taking a quick and pleasant shower, washing off the blood and grime that had accumulated, I put on my new clothes and walked towards my bed in the left corner.
Laying on the soft, comfortable fabric, I felt my exhaustion wash away and finally checked what I had been putting off for a while.
"Status"
___
Name: Aeron
Level: 5. (F)
Class: [Savant Of The Empty Husk]
Class skills: [Husk Maker]
Skills: [Lesser Fire Ball]
Health: 1076
Mana: 124
Strength: 13 , Agility 16 , Vitality 10
Endurance: 10 ,Intelligence: 16 ,Sense: 9
USP: 0
___
Looking at the Class I had received, I thought it was quite a mouthful. Focusing on the class, the description enlarged.
_____
Class: [Savant Of The Empty Husk]
Type: [Unique]
Element: [???]
Attribute per level: [+ 1 Vitality], [+1 Intelligence], [+2 Mana regeneration]
_____
"What does this even mean?"
Looking at the class, I became confused as half of the terms I had no idea what they meant, and my Element just stating question marks was frankly ridiculous.
While I had some guess as to what attribute per level was, as I would likely gain those stats for every level up, but mana regeneration, I had no stat named that, so I was left perplexed about what it would actually add to, probably intelligence if it dealt with Mana but I had no way of knowing until leveling up.
The type being Unique also didn't tell me much, but from the wording I assumed it to be good.
Having read over everything, I quickly skipped over the class, finding myself somewhat disappointed by the convoluted information, although the added attributes were welcome if they actually worked how I suspected. Done with the class, I checked the skill.
——————————————
Skill: Husk Maker
Rank: S
Tier: I
Type: Active
Requirements: Provide an incapacitated organism Lvl [17] or lower.
Effect: Produce a husk on your body, which you are able to perfectly physically summon for [10 minutes]. Can only imprint [1] husk. Husk can be erased.
——————————————
"Huh." This time I was pleasantly surprised, staring a bit wide-eyed, I could finally confirm that the ranks actually went from F to S, and it seemed I had an S ranked skill, probably the highest of all.
The skill itself I wasn't so sure about. While it told me I could summon something, as I had no idea what a husk was, and what it meant that it would be produced on my body, I was still confused. But seeing it was S rank, it had to be something good.
It was the same tier as the lesser fireball skill, which again I still did not know what it actually represented. Much more satisfied with the skill than the class I had gained, I wanted to test it out, but remembering I was in a military camp, a question lingered on my mind.
'Will they let me leave the base?'
Although it didn't seem like I was imprisoned here, they did give me and the other system users a special room to inhabit so they could keep an eye out on us, and while at least according to Jeff I could walk around the base, could I exit it?
I would have to find out.
Noticing it was getting dark outside, I decided to ask tomorrow and went to find some grub.
Scouring the hallways again, eventually resorting to asking a random soldier, he gave me directions to a cafeteria.
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Entering a big open space that acted as the bar of the country club, I saw numerous tables occupied with soldiers all chowing down on food.
In the corner were cooks giving out plates of food to soldiers standing in a line, deciding to join the queue, it took 10 minutes before it was my turn. Just as the cook was about to hand me my plate, he suddenly stopped and had a strange expression on his face.
"Soldier, where is your uniform?"
Confused by the question, it took me a second to grasp the misunderstanding, as while I had military pants, unlike the other soldiers dressed in full uniform, I was wearing a tank top.
'Ah, is that why people were looking at me weirdly? Wait, did the soldier giving me direction mistake me for one of his comrades?'
Deciding to dispel the confusion, I answered, "I'm not a soldier, should I not be here?"
The chef's face became angry as he answered, "No" Before he could reprimand me and ask how I got in here, another cook behind him came up to him and whispered something. Normally, I shouldn't be able to hear it, but having enhanced senses, I managed.
"Joe, that's one of… those people. Remember what the higher-ups said: treat them like you would a foreign diplomat."
The cook named Joe gave me a quick glance before returning to his conversation, continuing to whisper, "Are you sure he isn't just a civilian who managed to sneak in? Haven't seen him around."
"Apparently, someone new came in today."
"Ah, shit."
Quickly turning around, his angry expression wiped away, he addressed me, "Sorry for not noticing you, sir… If I may ask, why are you here?" he asked carefully.
"Well, I wanted some food and a soldier gave me directions to this place, so am I not supposed to be here?"
Joe looked at me with a conflicting expression as he answered, "Well, it's not that you can't be here, sir, it's just that you have your own cafeteria with better food."
"Oh, where is that?"
He then explained that it was across the hall to the right. I still asked for a plate; having waited ten minutes in line, I wasn't going to waste my time. The cook again tried to explain that I could get better food in the cafeteria, but being fine with it, I accepted the plain rice and peas meal they offered.
Seeing that most people were staring at me, having heard the commotion, and not wanting to make people uncomfortable, I headed to the other cafeteria, apparently meant for me.
Walking inside, I noticed it was a bit smaller with only three long tables you could sit at; the middle one, however, was occupied by three others, two men and a woman.
Hearing my arrival, the party turned to my direction. Looking at them as well, I noticed someone familiar; it was the old man I had passed in the hallway when I first arrived.
Seeing me, he waved and said, "You're the new chap, right? Come join us." The two others, both seemingly in their mid to late twenties, were a man with short brown hair and sharp facial features and a innocent looking woman with long green hair that was obviously unnatural; both looked at me with excitement when they heard the old man's words.
Walking over to the table and putting down my food, I saw they were eating potatoes with a small portion of steak covered in gravy. Looking at my meal, I lamented as I should have listened to the cook when he said I could get better food.
Getting over my disappointment, before I could introduce myself, the man blurted, "So, what did you get from the trial?"
A bit taken aback at the sudden inquiry, the woman intervened, "Don't be rude, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet. I'm Donna, by the way," she said with a warm smile.
The old man then told his, "Jeremy"
And lastly, the still-excited man said, "I'm Kurt. Now what did you get from the system?"
Donna, hearing Kurt's response, rolled her eyes, while Jeremy just chuckled.
"I'm Aeron… and I got a skill from the trial."
I decided to only reveal the skill for now, mostly because I did not quite know if what I had was special or not, and I would rather not divulge such information as long as the situation in the camp was unknown. I also technically did not lie, as I did have the fireball skill.
Hearing my response, Kurt's face drained from excitement as he sighed out loud. Not sure what to make of this behavior, Jeremy answered, "Don't take his actions to heart, the lad got a common class from the trial and hoped to meet someone who also received a class, but unlucky for him, it seemed we all only received skills."
So common classes also exist, from the wording alone my class sounds better.
Curious, I asked, "So what's the class's name?"
The old man narrowed his eyes a bit, while Kurt became excited that the conversation was about around him. Clearing his throat, he said boastingly, "My class name is Warrior, and it gave me an E+ rank skill that increases my strength"
After that, Donna chipped in as well, "I got a skill that increases my speed, although it's only F rank."
"I also got an F rank skill, gives me a bit of resistance against fire, so the most useless of the bunch," Jeremy said self-deprecatingly.
"So what's your skill?" Donna asked.
"Oh, I got an E rank skill, it lets me shoot fireballs."
"What!"
"Whoa!"
"Let me see, shoot one!"
"Uhm, you see we're inside, can't really shoot it here."
"Alright, show us tomorrow then," Kurt exclaimed.
"…Sure?"
Satisfied with the answer, the group looked at me in a new light. It seemed they hadn't really experienced any magic yet, with all their skills merely enhancing their physical body, they were surprised.
I, however, raised an eyebrow at that, as in the trial they should have experienced some monsters who could use magic, like goblins or the fiery Salamander, but maybe they hadn't reached that far, wondering I asked, "How was your guy's trial?"
Asking the question, it became known to me that the trial was different and similar for everyone. Everyone was first transported into a cave where they had to fight low-level monsters and eventually fight a sort of boss like the elder slime before they could advance.
To be honest, only Kurt was giving me useful information as only he made it past the boss monster. But from what they were telling me, one particular detail came as a shock.
"Wait, you guys died?"
"Well, I actually survived but was too scared to fight the monsters and just hid the entire time," Donna replied.
Jeremy also responded, "Yeah, I managed to reach the boss monster but died during the battle, got eaten alive by dog sized rats," he said while trembling as if recalling the experience.
To be honest, I found it surprising that Jeremy made it that far at all, seeing as he looked to be in his seventies, having a full white beard and head.
'I guess the system makes even the old young again.'
Kurt, on the other hand, looked a bit embarrassed as he told his story, "After I defeated a ginormous bat and exited the cave, I found myself in a jungle. I moved through it carefully but accidentally stepped on a snake that bit and paralyzed me."
"So you got eaten by a snake?"
Hearing my response, he looked uncomfortable as he awkwardly laughed, "Ha,ha,ha No, I… fell into a small puddle and drowned".
"….."
I wasn't quite how to respond to that, but luckily Jeremy had something to ask me, "So kid, did you also croak in the trial?"
Thinking over the question carefully, I answered, "No, I was a bit like Donna, although I did manage to make my way to the boss, but became too scared to fight against the giant slime."
Well, what I just said was a lie, but it was necessary for now.
It seemed like Jeremy wanted to question me further, but before he could Donna interjected, her curiosity piqued as she had no clue what a slime was, which changed the topic. Having explained it to her we continued to chat for a little while longer before going to bed.
During our conversation, I gleaned additional insights, such as that for them, the trial only lasted 10 days instead of 15. Which made sense, as I could vaguely recall my time being extended because I was in the top 1 percent or something to reach Level 5. I also discovered that Jeremy was the first to arrive at the base before Kurt, and then Donna showed up 4 days ago.
I was glad I learned these extra tidbits of information because when I woke up from the most comfortable sleep I had in ages, a soldier was waiting for me at the door, ready to take me to an investigator that had a few questions for me.