Clang!
The metal interlocked, and a creepy sound echoed.
It wasn't that loud, but it was enough decibels to wake me up from dozing off by the window on the train.
"Get off everyone! Don't hesitate, pack your luggage quickly!"
A soldier with a grim appearance, his face full of knife marks, shouted in a loud, thick voice.
Then, as if I had fallen into a pond named Dirty Ham once, all over my body, I was a recruit, and the people who were carrying the tea stood up all at once.
Of course, I was one of them.
A young brown-haired woman sitting across from me was also there.
When we made eye contact with the woman, we exchanged awkward eye greetings.
When all the recruits disembarked, the train, which looked like a square lump of scrap metal, left along the rails, emitting black smoke.
Overall, it reminded me of the quiet rural station atmosphere I saw when I traveled to Japan as a child.
In front of the station, there were several wagons to transport soldiers to each unit.
"From now on, the names called will come forward. The answer is omitted. Will Rodman. Dame Jude. Anna...."
The soldier who accompanied them from the city to here put the recruits into the wagon as if he were familiar with it.
The last persons whose names were not called were me and the brown-haired woman.
The soldier, who had been looking at the list he had been holding for a long time,approached us with a somewhat cautious attitude, unlike when dealing with other recruits.
"The two of you will wait here for a while, and you will be greeted."
Even respect.
I seemed to know roughly what the reason was.
From the perspective of the soldiers of the Alliance, pure white heroes who transcend human limits are objects of fear.
One of the units that gathers only the right people for such a pure white training system is Unit 707.
In theory, they are those who have the potential to reach the realm of superhumans.
If only they could survive the war.
In any case, there is a possibility, so he showed a cautious attitude even when thinking about his future.
In short, that soldier is a human who will survive the battlefield for a long time unless he is very unlucky.
"Then that's it."
The soldier who put all the recruits into the wagon himself got into the last wagon and bowed his head slightly and left.
Left behind like that, we were staring blankly at the rural scenery that seemed to smell like cow dung.
"Hey... I think we belong to the same unit, so should we introduce ourselves?"
The long silence seemed unbearable, and the brown-haired woman spoke to me first.
Now I could afford to take a closer look at her.
She had a rather short stature and a simple impression.
She was an attractive woman with dimples and curved eyebrows when she smiled.
She looked about one or two years older than Ryan.
"I'm from the Valant Kingdom. My name is Lilisa Johan. I'm twenty-four... I ran away with my younger brother, who is two years younger. In the end, we were both amicably forced into the army, though."
As expected.
She, too, was a refugee who was forced to take up arms and stand on the battlefield against her will.
I felt a sense of camaraderie.
"I am...."
The moment I was about to open my mouth.
Swoosh!
A strong gust of wind swept through.
A powerful wind with an artificial feel.
We stopped speaking and looked up at the place where the wind was coming from.
"Wow..."
An exclamation of awe naturally escaped me.
A flying ship.
An airship was there.
Although it was a small vessel with a capacity of about 20 people, the ship, emitting blue flames and flying through the sky, had an overpowering presence just by existing.
Compared to the gigantic airship that Odin possessed, this airship was incomparably cute, but there was an enormous difference between seeing it on a screen and actually witnessing it with your own eyes.
"I guess I understand why they didn't send a wagon. I can't believe it's an airship..."
Our exclamations continued until the airship landed in a wide open space.
***
The airship carrying us flew into the sky again.
There were no safety devices whatsoever, yet surprisingly, I felt no discomfort walking around on the deck.
It was even more stable than a ship floating on water.
There was no way to know the principle.
It was probably the power of magic.
Thanks to this, I could follow the commander's order to gather on the deck without much difficulty.
Including me, there were four of us.
These were all the combatants, excluding the technical staff needed to operate the airship.
We stood in orderly rows and columns, pretending to be soldiers.
Before our eyes was...
[Everyone is lax in their discipline. That's why I refused the law to accept refugees as soldiers... How undignified for the soldiers of the Paula family... Tsk, everyone open your ears and listen carefully. I am the commander of this unit, Viscount Leming Paula.]
It was an incredibly cute rabbit plush toy, unhesitatingly spewing unpleasant words in a thick, middle-aged man's voice.
"..."
Lilisa's expression, staring at the rabbit doll, was quite a sight.
I was sure my expression was not much different from Lilisa's.
'Familiar magic?'
It was usually magic used to scout dangerous areas or search for enemy units.
I knew it as magic that imbued small and light objects like the plush toy in front of me, or small and fast animals like birds, mice, and rabbits, to gather information, but I never imagined it would be used in such a way.
In my opinion, it was a waste of talent and resources.
Even a magician's mana was not infinite.
[It's regrettable for you who have just transferred to the unit, but this airship is currently heading to the front-line operation area. Well, the daily life of the battlefield is usually like this, so don't be too frustrated. Weapons have been prepared, so pick one each.]
As soon as the plush toy finished speaking, the waiting airship crew began to grunt and bring a large box.
'Operation area...'
My treatment as a suitable candidate for the training system was harsher than I expected.
I thought that since they were precious talents, one in a thousand, they would be sent to the battlefield after thorough training and some cultivation.
However, far from thoroughness, they were sent directly to the field without even basic training.
In this way, I didn't know what the difference was between regular soldiers and suitable candidates.
Meanwhile, the crew brought the box in front of Viscount Leming and emptied its contents onto the floor.
My expression naturally distorted as I roughly scanned the types and conditions of the equipment.
'The condition is terrible.'
The types were varied, but all of them were in poor condition.
At a glance, parts were rusted, chipped, or the leather on the handle was peeled off.
"How are we supposed to fight with this...?"
Someone said what I wanted to say.
Still, there was nothing else to do.
It was better than fighting barehanded, wasn't it?
I picked up a one-handed sword and a round shield that were moderately easy to wield.
Of course, the only experience I had with wielding a weapon in my life was making a small scratch on a friend's arm when I was young, waving a branch around while playing together.
I was uneasy.
The cold metallic touch, not completely covered despite being wrapped in leather, and the weight I couldn't feel from a tree branch, made my heart tremble.
Regardless, the airship flew towards the operation area at high speed.
***
During that short period of free time, I interacted with my teammates.
To survive, we had to cooperate with each other.
The other two, excluding Ryan and Lilisa, were refugees from a country called Rdival.
Unlike the Valant Kingdom, Rdival had not completely fallen, but most of its major facilities had been occupied, thus losing its function as a nation.
"Still, if I had known that refugees would be treated like this, I would have stayed in Rdival, even if I was threatened by Purity's bombardment or wild magic beasts. At least my chances of survival would be higher than being rolled around on a battlefield. The only silver lining is that my wife is from the Mergan Kingdom, so she was exempted from conscription?"
The man grumbling in a deep voice was estimated to be in his mid-30s, the oldest among us.
His name was Theo Zeram.
He said he was a lumberjack in Rdival, and as evidence, he had considerable muscle on his body.
"Well, what can we do? Since it's come to this, let's work together to survive."
I felt fortunate to have such a dependable person on the team.
In contrast...
"Huk... Huk..."
A woman in her early 20s, who had been crying nonstop and couldn't even choose a weapon, was crouching in front of a spear that a crew member had roughly thrown at her.
No matter how much we tried to comfort her, she wouldn't stop crying, so we couldn't even find out her name.
Since she was the only one among us with bright blonde hair, as if made of melted gold, we decided to call her "Blondie" for now.
We could only hope that she would recognize the reality and steel herself before the operation officially began.
"By the way, how can we, who haven't even received basic military training, fight against those monstrous Purity bastards, just because we received that... what was it? Training? System? Can we really fight them?"
"That's..."
I reflexively opened my mouth to Theo's question, then paused.
I almost made a blunder unconsciously.
I had knowledge and experience gained from D&K.
While I couldn't fully apply them to the Alliance's training system, it was true that I knew more than the other soldiers.
Considering that this system was a newly applied technology, I might even know more than Viscount Leming, the commander.
But I knew exactly how I would be treated if I revealed this, yet I almost instinctively answered when the topic came up.
'It's become a habit to tell new players various things, and it almost slipped out without me realizing it... I need to be careful.'
When I suddenly fell silent, Theo gave me a questioning look.
As I was racking my brain for an excuse, under his gaze that seemed to urge me to speak quickly, a helpful voice came from an unexpected source.
[It seems everyone has chosen their weapons. Everyone, hurry and prepare. The operation area should be visible soon...]
BOOM!
Before Viscount Leming's words from the plush toy were finished, a loud roar echoed, and the ground in the distance exploded.
A storm of spectacular flames erupted, followed by successive explosions.
[...Damn it. Have they already dug this deep?]
Viscount Leming spoke as if accustomed to it, but we were stiff as statues.
Those who froze were at least the good ones.
Blondie's cries, which had grown several times louder than before, were grating on my nerves.
[I thought they reappeared after three months, but they're still incredibly violent. As expected, it's the Demon's Unit... Turn the airship around! We'll take a detour, even if it takes time!]
"Yes! Understood!"
The crew members were moving frantically.
I felt the airship, which had been steadily advancing forward, sharply change direction.
Regardless, I discovered a word from Viscount Leming's speech that I couldn't simply ignore, and I involuntarily turned my head towards the direction of the booming sound.
Far away, several airships were engaged in battle at the epicenter of the explosion.
There were more than ten Alliance airships, whereas there was only one Purity airship.
However, that single Purity airship was powerfully smashing the more than ten Alliance airships.
The flag fluttering on the mast of the airship.
I knew that flag.
"Odin..."
An airship of Odin's caliber would usually be accompanied by several escort ships to protect the main vessel.
And the medium-sized airship fighting desperately out there was one of Odin's escort ships.
But what was important now was that Odin's airship, whether it was an escort ship or not, which should have been in the rearmost position, was for some reason on the front line.
A question arose, and at the same time, I felt that this might be the first and last opportunity given to me.
The unique opportunity to meet Odin's subordinates, whom I had built from scratch, and Leysia, who might hold the key to how I came to this world.
However, there was no way.
I was just a lowly soldier on this airship with no authority.
There was nothing I could do.
I had nothing.
"..."
My legs gave out.
The battlefield gradually moved further away.
And soon, it completely disappeared from my sight.
All I could do was desperately hope that this wouldn't be the last opportunity.
Could I really survive in this war-torn world?
Honestly, I wasn't confident.
[Don't be too nervous. I have no intention of pushing you into that hell where cannon fire rains down. I will now explain the operation. Two days ago, Outpost 28, located halfway up Mount Driel, was captured by the enemies. Outpost 28 is an important point where the Spring of Mana is located. Therefore, your mission is to recapture Outpost 28.]
Outpost 28.
A familiar phrase.
The first mission after starting D&K was to capture Outpost 28, where the Lake of Mana was located, and collect the fruits from the tree in the center of the lake.
It felt like a very long time ago, but since it was the first mission I undertook after starting D&K, I remembered it clearly.
'That means... the operation area we're heading to now is D&K's 1-1 stage.'
A glimmer of hope appeared.
Stage 1-1 meant the opposing commander.
Whether it was a player or a Purity noble unrelated to the game, like Viscount Leming, I didn't know.
Whatever it was, the chances of them being a rookie were high.
If so, there would be a loophole, and if I exploited it, my chances of survival would dramatically increase.
However, Theo, unaware of this information, opened his mouth with a stiff face.
"...Commander. We are commoners who haven't even received proper military training. We don't think we can succeed in the operation."
[Don't worry. I don't know what the enemies are thinking, but they captured Outpost 28, secured only the ripe fruits, and then retreated. I heard it's a common occurrence.]
There was one thing I could tell from that last line.
Perhaps Viscount Leming's command experience might not be as long as I thought.
[All you have to do is occupy the empty outpost, not engage the enemy. How about that? Isn't it a very easy operation befitting a first mission?]
Except for Blondie, who was sobbing and not listening to him, Lilisa and Theo visibly relaxed.
[And one more thing.]
"...?"
[Don't forget that you are soldiers who benefit from the system. No, there's no way I'll understand it if I've explained it a hundred times. Although it can't give you a lot of magic, it will give you an experience of how great this system is. First of all... It's you. Come forward.]
The person the plush toy pointed to was me.
I don't know why it was me, but once ordered, I moved in front of the plush toy.
The plush toy put his hand on my head.
After a soft touch.
< Infused with 1 mana in the body. Slightly increases stats. >
< Mana reached a certain figure. You've got a new feature in your hands. >
< Secured power: Yong'an. >
I began to see and feel things that I couldn't see before.