It was Kaiden's turn to speak with Sgt. Boran as the conversation with the other trainee came to an end. He walked over, stood at attention, and waited. Boran regarded him for a few seconds, his expression unreadable, before finally saying, "Speak."

Kaiden cleared his throat. "Sergeant, I'm just a little confused as to why I've been assigned the role of Bracer when I think I’d be much better as a Defender or even a Striker."

"Name," Boran interrupted, sounding bored.

"Kaiden Hayward," Kaiden replied. A flicker of recognition flashed in Boran's eyes at the mention of his name.

"Ah, you're Private Hayward. I see." His tone shifted, a faint spark of interest now present.

What the hell does that mean? Kaiden thought.

Boran, now less disinterested, added, "Tales of your recruitment have reached ears even all the way over here."

Kaiden furrowed his brow in confusion, his stomach tightening. What tales?

"It's nice to see you don't abhor all manner of trousers," Boran said with a smirk.

Kaiden's face flushed immediately. How the hell did that story make it here? He clenched his jaw, fighting the urge to retort, but decided against it. There's no way to talk yourself out of that embarrassment.

Boran, seemingly enjoying Kaiden’s discomfort, continued. "We had an interesting time discussing you. Remind me again of your abilities. Show me your status."

"Aye, Sergeant," Kaiden replied, quickly pulling up his status screen and making it visible. He turned it toward Boran, who plucked the screen from the air like it was a tablet, his expression neutral. Boran swiped back and forth a few times, scanning the information without comment.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Boran handed the status back. "I see." He stared at Kaiden for a few more moments, saying nothing, the silence stretching between them like a taut wire. Kaiden’s heart pounded, and a bead of sweat formed on his forehead.

"What do you know about titles?" Boran asked suddenly.

"Titles?" Kaiden echoed, drawing a blank.

Boran nodded. "As in page two of your status. Your title page."

What!? Kaiden shouted in his mind. There was another page in his status? Nobody told me this. He desperately fought the urge to bring up his status right then and there, but he knew it’d be rude for his eyes to shift away from the sergeant. Not to mention he'd look like a complete moron checking it now. Who doesn’t know what their own status looks like?

"I know I don’t have any," Kaiden said, though now he wasn’t so sure.

What little he did know about titles was that they provided bonus stats and, sometimes, abilities. Titles were usually awarded through notable accomplishments, such as defeating powerful enemies, clearing dungeons, or achieving something extraordinary. He had never received a notification, so he assumed he had none. Accomplished nothing, so no titles, he thought.

"Right," Boran said, pausing for a few moments then added, "You don’t have any titles yet, but you will in the future. Titles are the only part of your status you're allowed to keep private, unless you decide to flaunt them. So, don’t show anyone your title page, Hayward. Not even the General has the right to see it. The only time you must show your title page is during recruitment, and even then, you didn’t have to show me now. So be careful."

Kaiden’s mind raced as he nodded in acknowledgment. “Understood, Sergeant.”

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Boran then said, "Now, as far as your placement, that's not a mistake. Yes, I understand that your Regeneration ability is a great ability for a Defender, and your sword skills could be useful for a Striker, but Bracer is not a mistake. What did I say decides your role?"

"Classes and abilities," Kaiden answered.

"Exactly," said Boran. "Other than Regeneration, your other two abilities are utility. And what role uses utility skills the most?"

"Bracer," Kaiden said reluctantly. He could understand the logic, but his “utility” abilities didn’t seem particularly useful for a Bracer—or even for a dungeon party. Before he could linger on that thought, Boran continued.

"It's not an exaggeration to say that Bracers are the most important role for a dungeon party. A Bracer who can use Regeneration to keep themselves alive is invaluable. Anyhow, you’ll understand with time."

"Aye, sergeant," Kaiden said, trying to process it. Maybe I need to level up my other abilities more to see their usefulness, he thought.

Boran’s voice broke through his thoughts again. "One more thing. On Friday, once we split into our parties, make sure you see the quartermaster. I believe he has something for you."

Kaiden's brow furrowed. The quartermaster has something for me? He nodded again. "Aye, sergeant," he replied, the curiosity already gnawing at him.

"Dismissed," Boran said, waving him off.

Kaiden turned and began to walk away, his mind now swirling with questions about his placement and the mysterious item waiting for him with the quartermaster.

After thinking about the whole conversation, something stuck out to him. Boran talked about his recruitment, and that’s when his mind flashed back to when he spoke with Master Sergeant Hales. He had given him a coin to give to the quartermaster when he arrived in Camp Thorne. He chuckled to himself. That had seemed so long ago now, even though it hadn’t even been two months. He’d have to go searching through his locker to find that coin again.

Then, he brought up his status screen again and mentally swiped to the second page. Yep, it was just as he thought. It was completely blank. No titles. The only thing he saw was the word "Title" in the middle of the page and an icon that looked like an encircled golden hand off to the right, which was probably the symbol for Titles. He dismissed his status as he wondered what kind of cool titles there were and what kinds he could get. He imagined that dungeons were probably the best places to get cool titles.

Oh well, it was no use thinking about it now. The fact of the matter was that he was a Bracer for now, and he’d make sure he’d fill the role to the best of his ability, pass the trial dungeon, and then see about changing roles with his new unit. He made his way to the chow hall and grabbed a hot meal for himself. He figured Davick had already finished up and headed back to the barracks.

Halfway through his meal, he heard a voice call out that made him smile.

"Hey, Chicago! There you are."

Kaiden looked up from his meal to see Garin and Harlan walking up, trays of food in hand. Harlan nodded in greeting, and Kaiden said, "Nice to finally see you guys."

Garin said, “Lemme guess—Bracer!”

Kaiden's eyes widened. "How’d you know!?" he asked, genuinely astonished. "I thought for sure I’d get Defender with my Regeneration ability."

Garin smirked, tsking and wagging a finger dramatically. "I knew it all along. Sure, you’re handy with a blade, but with no offensive abilities, Striker and Caster were out. Defender was too obvious a choice, which only leaves Bracer as the correct one."

"Huh," Kaiden exclaimed. "That makes absolutely no sense! What do you mean, 'too obvious'?"

Garin chuckled. "Of course, you wouldn’t understand, Chicago."

Harlan, already halfway through his meal, said flatly, "Davick told us. We ran into him by the barracks."

"Oh, that’s it," Kaiden chuckled, shaking his head.

Garin shot a mock glare at Harlan. "C’mon, why’d you spill the beans so quickly?" He sounded partly in jest.

Harlan just shrugged, not looking up from his plate.

Kaiden then asked, "Alright, what about you guys then?" Thinking about it, he realized he didn’t even know what their abilities were. They weren't allowed to use them during basic training, so he hadn’t bothered to ask before.

Garin grinned. "I’m a Caster, and Harlan’s a Defender."

Kaiden turned to Harlan, expecting to see Garin’s usual nonsense. But when Harlan gave a nod in confirmation, Kaiden’s eyebrows shot up.

Garin, noticing the exchange, said, “Hey, that’s hurtful.”

“You brought this on yourself,” Kaiden said, chuckling

Garin laughed it off, and they spent the rest of the meal catching up. When Kaiden made it back to the barracks, the place was abuzz with the latest news. He found Davick on his bunk and walked over to hear what was going on.

“Apparently, the divinators are predicting rain tomorrow, so instead of the stump, we’ll be heading to the lecture hall all day,” Davick said.

Kaiden shrugged. He didn’t mind trainings like that. He always learned a lot, and he retained much more now thanks to his Mindforge ability.

"Did they say what we’ll be learning?" Kaiden asked.

“Yeah. Combat Classes,” Davick replied.

Kaiden couldn’t hold back the grin on his face. Finally!