The smoke cleared from the trench in Sector 4.
Kael stood over the vaporized remains of the Beast Soldier, his chest heaving. The rifle in his hands had melted into a useless lump of slag.
The Sergeant didn't yell. He didn't scream orders. He just stared at Kael, his eyes wide. In the military, you either died a Level 1 dog, or you proved you were something else.
"Command," the Sergeant tapped his earpiece, his voice shaking. "This is Sector 4. I have a Code Gold. Repeat, Code Gold. We have a High-Potential Awakener."
Kael's heart skipped a beat. Code Gold?
He quickly pulled up his System interface. The red text of his "Glitch" was still pulsing.
[Warning: Unauthorized Class Detected.]
[System Message: Obfuscation Mode Active.]
[Displaying Fake Status to External Scanners...]
"Sergeant?" Kael asked, dropping the melted gun. "Am I in trouble?"
"Trouble?" The Sergeant spat on the muddy ground. "Kid, you just one-shot a Level 3 Beast on your first day. You don't belong in the mud with us grunts."
A low hum vibrated the air. Through the smog, a sleek, black dropship descended. The engines blew the trench water everywhere. Two officers in pristine white uniforms stepped out. They didn't look like soldiers; they looked like royalty.
"Name?" one officer asked, scanning Kael with a tablet.
"Kael. ID 8940."
"System reading?"
Kael swallowed hard. This was the moment of truth. If he said "Omni-Adapter," they might execute him as a bug. He looked at the fake prompt his glitch had created.
"Battle Mage," Kael lied, his voice steady. "Lightning Variant."
The officer raised an eyebrow. "Lightning? Destructive. Volatile. Rare. Very good."
The officer gestured to the ship. "Get in, Kael. You've passed the placement test. You are being transferred to the Central War Academy."
"Now?" Kael asked. "What about the war?"
"For you, the war has just changed," the officer smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You are going to become a Commander. Or you will die trying."
As Kael stepped onto the ship, leaving the bloody trench behind, he realized one thing: The battlefield was honest. The Academy... that was going to be a pit of vipers.