We woke up with a firm knock on the dorm's door. Whoever it was didn't wait for a sign from any of us, as they made themselves walk in and, with a feminine voice, quickly told us to "please, get up" and that they'd like to start as soon as possible. Maurice was the first to raise his head and asked, with a sleepy husky voice:
- I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?
- I'm a member of the Serpent's Order and I'm supposed to lecture you on the Uro? Commander Stavros must have warned you, no? – the woman insinuated, with a slightly irritated tone.
- Hold up, he's a commander? He didn't tell us that – I blurted out with a yawn, while mildly shaking Noon's shoulder to wake her up – Also, we didn't catch your name.
- The name is Marion, Captain Marion – she affirmed categorically – and yes, you should address commander Stavros with the due respect, Maurice, Noon and... Fires? Is that right?
- Yes, captain, you can call me that – I moaned, still feeling lightheaded from just waking up.
- Very well. Please get dressed on your uniforms, I'll be waiting outside – she promptly ordered.
- She looks new to the job – commented Noon, rubbing her eyes and sitting next to me – with some more years of experience, she'd have more patience.
- She's cute, though – opinionated Maurice. Captain Marion had red hair, what appeared to be a sign of her short temper, light green eyes and a very slender, but imposing posture.
- And I'm the idiot who's aiming for the king – I sighed, as I opened the closet closer to us to get on my uniform. I quickly found proper sizes for each of us and studied the attire for a while. It resembled what the commander was wearing, with the exception that this one was grey and had no embroidered Uroboros. In its place, there was a white armband, maybe symbolizing an Outer-worldly in training. It gave off the idea of a weird pyjama, as the shirt needed to be buttoned up and the pants were a bit loose and straight. At least the fabric was comfortable, clean and wasn't too damaged. In a sense, if I made some effort imagining how I looked, it would seem we were all wearing a suit. Well, at least it fitted Maurice.
After braiding my dark blonde hair, we were ready to follow the captain into a wider room through the stoned corridors that resembled a small college auditorium. There were four rows of tables and chairs, each one disposed along the steps of a wide staircase that led to a broader space where a desk stood with some books on top of it. Behind it, there was a blackboard where a map had been drawn with poor drawing skills.
– That map seems a bit out of scale – observed Maurice, while us three seated on the second row, where we would be perfectly able to listen to Captain Marion.
– I drew that – she admitted, throwing a fierce look at him, like someone who shoots an arrow to a target with deadly intent.
– I'm going to refrain myself from talking now – the young man decided, with a simultaneously puzzled and fearful expression, making Noon and I giggle.
– Good. I'll be straight to the point, then – she started – This morning, I'll be addressing some more general information you might have missed yesterday. First, I'm going to tell you about the geography of our continent, second, some details about our country and policies and, lastly, the full options you have after finding which quirks you've been gifted with. After that, we'll have time for questions. Then, you'll be free to have a lunch break, after which I'll give you a small tour of the Trial Complex, as well as enumerate some techniques we'll be using to awaken your powers. Is that clear?
Immediately after we mouthed a soundly "Yes, captain!", the woman started spitting out country names and capitals, additionally mentioning what economic activities made each territory profit and uphold good and strong relationships between themselves. For instance, the kingdom we were in, Sunwin, was famous for highly trained Outer-worldly mercenaries that used to be employed by other realms, usually with the purpose of fortifying their defensive power. In exchange, the other rulers would give us products that couldn't be found in Sunwin, such as well-preserved seafood and coal. Captain Marion even remarked that these mercenaries provided a powerful advantage to king Felix I, in the sense that they'd often deliver sensible information about the various territories and military structures, which would be useful in a war scenario.
However, there was this eery big lake at the western part of the continent, beyond which there was a land that had never been explored.
- Why, you may ask – the captain theatrically said – that's because the lake is so populated with monsters, that none of the most bold and courageous Outer-worldly warrior was able to return from it. It would take an army of millions just to explore what's beyond that huge mass of water. Perhaps the blue dragon will be able to do it, but we can't possibly know when, since its prophecy doesn't give us a single clue about when it'll arrive.
We all exchanged an interrogative look between us, wondering what more dangers we'd find out there and what crazy beliefs these people had in a dragon that might never appear.
Captain Marion then continued to talk about an island realm that deeply caught our attention, given it was so similar to the place we were born in. Their yearly earnings were due to selling dairy products and very nutritious food, just like in our island. She also mentioned the islander queen had a particular cleaning mania and therefore required the streets to be always clean, which reminded me of my mother. Nevertheless, the captain never revealed any other ruler's name along her explanation, except for king Felix.
I could see why she was a captain at such a young age. The red-headed woman had a knack for teaching and leading, since she was clear and concise every step of the way. Unlike an old college teacher, she was able to expose every bit of information without diverging or mentioning what side project was keeping them entertained outside the classroom.
The captain then started to introduce the king:
– Our monarch rose to power when he was just seventeen, when dowager queen Haida died following her depression after losing her husband to disease. He's now twenty-five years old and has revealed himself to be a prodigy at ruling – captain Marion said, while blushing. "Oh, you don't stand a chance, her standards are already high", I whispered to Maurice, teasing him. "Well, and it seems you have competition", he replied, provoking a giggle in Noon.
– Quiet – the captain ordered, shutting us up in milliseconds, and then kept going on – King Felix is the guiding force of this country and the reason why it has been so prosperous in the past seven years. He spent his first year as a ruler designing and planning a way of employing our resources and that's when he came up with the idea of deploying the Outer-worldly mercenaries to other territories. He's now of marrying age and should soon find a wife to generate a successor, but he keeps insisting he still needs a few years to build a strong foundation for his ruling. How prudent is that, uh?
The young woman paused a bit to recompose herself, as she realized she was getting flustered. By that time, it had become clear to us she a had a crush on the king. As if to distract us from this fact, she asked us how old we were, briefly interrupting her monologue.
– We're all twenty – quickly responded Noon.
– No way, you look like a child! – the captain pointed at me, slightly piquing my nerves.
– Aren't you too young to be a captain anyway? – should have kept my mouth shut, since, next thing I knew, she was standing on top of our table, crouching right in front of me, her nose almost touching mine. How did she do that? How in the hell did she move in an instant, climbed to the table and was piercing me with her emerald eyes when she had just been pointing at me in disbelief? It all happened in a fraction of a second.
– Please, do respect your superiors, recruit – she hissed slowly, flooding my nostrils with the minted odour of her breath, forcing me to mumble a frail "yes, captain". In an anxious and somewhat excited heartbeat of mine, she was back at her previous position by the blackboard continuing her lecture, in an intimidating display of her power: super speed.
Her minted scent lingered for a while and made me wonder if the nape of her neck would smell the same. It made me want to reverse our roles and have enough authority to punish her and reprimand her the same way she reprimanded me. Maurice was right, I was a lost case and a walking bunch of horny hormones.
Zoned out as I was, I missed the part when she casually mentioned the king used to visit the new Outer-worldly after leaving the Trial Complex, since he liked to scout them and personally evaluate their potential, while presenting their quirks in an arena. Noon would tell me this at lunch time in the canteen.
Nevertheless, before we were able to satiate our recent growing hunger, Captain Marion exposed what future paths we would be able to follow after passing through the Training Centre. According to our powers, we would either join one of the wall's squads - the most probable outcome for those with valuable combat skills-, the law enforcement forces, the health brigade or any other public function in the case of having an ordinary quirk. We could also volunteer and join the Serpent's Order, in an effort to guide those just like us. If, however, the king took a liking to us after the Training Period, he would assign us to a specific position himself, making us part of his network of spies, for instance.
– That is all I had to say – the captain concluded, finally sitting by the desk – Do you have any questions or doubts you want to clarify?
– There's this thing that has been bothering us since yesterday – Maurice took the initiative and exposed our questions regarding all the dimensional shenanigans – Where did we appear and how does dimensional travel work, ahm, around these parts? Is there a way we can maybe go home?
– I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there's no way we can go back home – she declared with a painful shade taking over her. It was the first time the captain had shown a sign of vulnerability and that made me like her just a little bit; she was, after all, an Outer-worldly like us, and at that moment, I had the sudden desire of getting up and giving her a relatable and caring pat on her red fluffy short hair of hers. Yet, the memory of her deadly knife-like eyes still scared me, which prevented me from even trying. That and the punch-to-the-stomach-like fact that we would never be able to return home to our time. Thus, no parents, no sister, no other friends besides Noon and Maurice, who seemed to be as shaken and shocked as I was.
– Concerning the dimensional travel thingy, well, there are places scattered all over the continent that are called the Summoning Grounds, where the Outer-worldly usually appear. Every Trial Complex and every realm is built around one of those grounds, identifiable by the presence of a mineral nowhere to be found in the continent with the exception of those Summoning Grounds – Captain Marion clarified, while reclining on her chair.
– That's just like the summoning platform from League of Legends – Maurice observed.
– In a way, it is – she confirmed, making us excited as she understood the reference.
- Captain, mam, are you maybe an Earthling like us? – I dared.
- No, I'm a Martian – she declared, as if it were the most natural thing to say in the multiverse, increasing our enthusiasm ten times more and almost making us forget our impossible homecoming – Let us leave any more details about my identity for our lunch break. Anyway, about how the dimensional travel part works, that's a bit trickier. From what the Order has gathered, it seems the Uro tends to keep a stable number of inhabitants so that the fragile balance between dimensions is kept. Therefore, every time this number wavers, one or more Outer-worldly are summoned into the Uro. I apologize, but I can't provide a better explanation than this.
- That's okay – Noon reassured, while resting her face between her hands – However, where do the monsters come from?
- Those creatures are supposedly native, and their deaths don't seem to affect the Uro's balance as much as a human demise – the captain was rocking her chair back and forward as she made light out of our dark doubts.
- Hmm, I see – my best friend continued – is it also possible for the native humans to have powers like the Outer-worldly?
- They don't possess as much raw power as an Outer-worldly, but they do inherit quirks from their ancestors, even though their power gets diluted with each passing generation if new Outer-worldly blood isn't introduced to the bloodline. However, the power tends to remain the same along royal bloodlines – the red-headed woman must have felt our eyes flying out of their orbits with the immense amount of fascinated surprise that was flooding us, for she offered us her first smile ever and finally announced we could all have some lunch, to which we firmly replied with a:
- Yes, captain!