The next few weeks flew by as Kaiden and the other recruits settled into a grueling but steady rhythm of training. Every morning, they woke before dawn for physical conditioning, weapons drills, and lectures on general and military knowledge, all of which filled their days and gradually turned the once ragtag group of recruits into a well-oiled machine.

Kaiden could feel his body changing. His once scrawny frame, so weak when he first arrived, began to fill out with lean muscle. The endless hours of physical training, combined with his regeneration skill, seemed to work wonders on his body.

The mess hall became one of his favorite places. After the first few days of training, the recruits were allowed to request extra rations if they needed more food, as long as they finished everything on their plates. Kaiden’s body craved it, his increased appetite a direct response to how quickly his Regeneration was working to heal his muscles and build strength. Though he wouldn’t be signing up for any bodybuilding competitions anytime soon, the difference was clear. He was getting stronger, leaner, and faster—his confidence growing with each passing day.

Others seem to notice as well.

"You’ve really grown," Davick said, crossing his arms and giving Kaiden a once-over. There was a hint of admiration in his voice.

Kaiden lay shirtless on his bunk, feeling the pleasant ache of a hard day’s work settle into his muscles. He grinned, stretching lazily. "I feel a lot stronger, too."

Davick laughed. "Must be nice to have regeneration, huh?"

"Indeed it is," Kaiden replied, the grin never leaving his face. His body had transformed more in these weeks than it had in his entire life back on Earth, and he wasn’t about to take it for granted.

The recruits had also begun to forge stronger bonds with each other during their free time. After the first week, they’d been given an extra hour each day to wind down on top of their bath time. That hour became sacred—a moment to relax, talk, and strengthen friendships. Kaiden found himself growing closer to many of the recruits, particularly Davick, who had become his closest ally.

There was something about sharing the struggle, the pain, and the exhaustion that brought them all together. Kaiden knew he’d been a shut-in on Earth, but here, things were different. He wasn’t just surviving anymore; he was thriving.

“At least my abilities will prove useful after training,” Davick teased, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“How useful for a blacksmith though?” Kaiden shot back with a raised eyebrow.

Davick laughed it off, shaking his head. “A true blacksmith doesn’t require magical abilities, just his hands,” he said, puffing his chest out a bit with pride.

Another voice chimed in from nearby. “Is he going on about that blacksmith shit again?” Garin teased as he and Harlan strolled up, both grinning.

“Oh, fuck off,” Davick retorted, prompting laughter from the group.

“I can’t believe we’re almost done here,” Garin said, stretching his arms out as he leaned against a bunk next to Kaiden.

Harlan shrugged. “I wouldn’t say 2.5 weeks left is almost done, but yeah, I get what you mean. Feels like we’ve been here forever.”

Kaiden leaned back, resting his hands behind his head. “You guys ready for the next step then, huh? Dungeoneer training’s a whole different level.” Kaiden wondered if his platoon got along so well because it was mostly made up of dungeoneers. Since only 5 recruits in his wagon made it to the army, he figured the other wagons had similar ratios and were mostly hiring for dungeon divers.

Garin chuckled nervously. “Man, I hear it’s brutal.”

Harlan gave a nonchalant shrug. “Yeah, that’s what I heard too, but also exciting.”

Kaiden glanced at Davick, who had gone a little quiet, eyes narrowing with determination. “What about you, Davick? You ready?”

Davick grimaced. “Hell no. I’m still shit with a sword. I can make ‘em, but swingin’ ‘em is completely different.”

Kaiden smirked. “I think I’m getting the hang of the sword, but please keep any bows away from me.” He shuddered at the thought of using a bow. For some reason, it was A LOT harder than it looked. Well, for him anyway. He was definitely at the bottom of the platoon when it came to archery.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Garin laughed and said, "Don't worry. I hear archery isn’t really used in dungeons. It’s more of an army thing."

Harlan shrugged, unfazed. "I heard the opposite. Bows can be pretty useful in dungeons."

"Huh?" Garin said incredulously. "How does that make any sense? Dungeons are all enclosed for close combat. You think you'll be firing arrows from a castle wall in a dungeon?"

Harlan just shrugged again. "All I'm saying is that's what I’ve heard. And besides, some dungeons are massive."

Garin didn’t retort, knowing that part was common knowledge mumbled, "I s'pose that's true."

Davick chimed in, "For my sake, I hope Harlan’s right, 'cause I’m not too bad with a bow myself."

Garin slapped Davick on the shoulder with a grin. "You won’t have to worry if they assign you Defender."

“Defender?” Kaiden asked, his confusion evident. He wasn't sure what they meant by that. Harlan raised an eyebrow, and Davick threw him a sideways look. Kaiden noticed their expressions and said, "What? C'mon, you guys know my knowledge is a bit... lacking."

"Lacking?" Garin repeated with a chuckle.

"He sure is different," Harlan added with a smirk.

Davick chuckled too. "I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point."

Kaiden rolled his eyes. "Well, keep me in suspense, why don’t ya?"

Garin leaned in. "Hold up. I just wanna make sure you’re not pulling a fast one on us." He stared at Kaiden and made a gesture as if searching his eyes for deception. "Striker? Bracer? Anything?"

Kaiden shook his head. "Nope."

"The Art of Four?" Davick added.

"Still no idea."

Harlan sighed. "That’s Chicago for ya."

Kaiden had grown used to the nickname by now, and honestly, it had started to grow on him. For some reason, only Davick and Harlan seemed to use it consistently, but he didn't mind. It was better than some of the other names he'd been called.

"I can't believe you decided to join the Dungeoneer Corps without knowing the most basic of basics!" Garin said in disbelief.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Kaiden said, holding up his hands in mock defeat. "Just explain it already, will you?"

Davick nodded. "Alright, sure. So here’s the thing, all dungeon divers always go in groups of four. We call it the Art of Four."

Harlan cut in, "It's said that this was decreed by god himself."

"Yeah," Garin added. "I believe it. He did create the dungeons, after all, so that checks out."

Kaiden nodded, absorbing the information for now.

Davick continued. "Every dungeon party consists of four distinct roles for maximum survivability: Striker, Caster, Defender, and Bracer."

Kaiden’s eyes widened as Davick explained. "Striker is the physical damage dealer, Caster is magical damage, Defender is the frontline, or bulwark, and Bracer is the support—or healer."

Holy shit, Kaiden thought. This was exactly like so many games he'd played back on Earth. This crazy god, Oros, had taken those exact same concepts and made them real, staples of this world’s dungeons. He found himself growing even fonder of Oros’ strange designs.

"You did know, didn’t you?" Garin said, eyeing Kaiden’s expression.

Kaiden smirked. "I didn’t know what it was called, but yeah, I’m familiar with it."

"Fucking Chicago," Garin said, shaking his head but grinning.

Harlan crossed his arms. "Unfortunately, we don’t get to pick our roles. We’ll be assigned them as the military sees fit."

"I guess that makes sense," Kaiden said.

Davick shrugged. "No use worrying about it now."

"True," Harlan agreed, while Kaiden nodded along.

Then Garin flashed a wild grin as he looked over at the other three recruits. "The Art of Four is good 'n all, but that's just for the regular folk like us."

"What are you talking about?" Davick asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Garin said, his grin widening. "Ever heard of the infamous solo dungeon diver? The Samurai Gallamond!" He said the name dramatically.

"Another myth," Harlan said, unimpressed.

"No, this one's actually true!" Garin defended himself.

"Samurai?" Kaiden said aloud. He couldn’t stop a grin from spreading across his face. Samurais existed in this world? This was incredible! He had always been fascinated by samurai back on Earth, but to think they existed here as more than just history...

"Ah, so you have heard of samurai," Garin said, catching Kaiden's look of recognition.

"Of course, I have," Kaiden said proudly.

"Sure, he doesn’t know the Art of Four, but a Legendary Class that most people think is a myth? That he knows," Davick said in disbelief.

"What?" Kaiden replied, trying to play it off. This wasn't the first time he'd heard people talking about classes. He'd noticed in his status that there was a slot for a class, but it currently said "none." From what he'd pieced together, classes worked a lot like in the games he was familiar with, granting abilities and stats. But what did "Legendary" mean exactly? He figured it had to do with rarity or strength, but he wasn’t sure. So he asked, "What’s a Legendary Class?"

All three of his friends smacked their palms to their foreheads and let out exaggerated sighs.

"What?"

“They’re basically the best of the best. Stuff of legends, hence the name!”

“Actually Legendary just applies to the rarity of the class. Legendary being the most rare,” Harlan chimed in.

“How can you solo dungeon if you gotta enter according to the Art of Four? That doesn’t make any sense,” Kaiden said.

“Well...” Davick began, but struggled to find an answer. He looked up at Garin who just shrugged.

“The Art of Four just states four separate roles need to enter the dungeon, not four people must enter the dungeon. However, I’ve heard that there are very few dungeons that won’t actually let you enter without enough people,” Harlan said.

“Why’s that?”

“Because of certain floor requirements which for example would need like two people to stand on opposite platforms to open a door or something like that.”

“Oh, I see,” Kaiden said. His immediate thought went to movie scenes back on Earth where the characters needed to enter a vault of sorts or deactivate a doomsday device and needed two people to turn two keys at once on opposite ends of the room. Before Kaiden could ask more questions a loud voice echoed throughout the barracks letting them know it was time for bed.

“Lights out!”