"Your training begins with a simple assignment."
The Commander's voice echoed through the tent. It sounded straightforward, but there was a sharp chill behind his words, the kind that hinted this task was anything but simple.
He tapped a button on the projection console. A moment later, a magical map flared to life above the table. It displayed a dark, mountainous region veined with red fault lines and littered with jagged craters. Labels scrolled across the display in bold lettering: Sector 9C – Dead Zone Perimeter.
"This is your destination," the Commander began, eyes scanning the map. "Sector 9C lies at the outer edge of the former Farming Zone. We used to grow crops in this region. Fields once stretched across the valleys. But not anymore."
He paused, his tone turned colder,
