A few minutes later, a soldier in a sergeant's uniform entered the office. He saluted the lieutenant.
"Lieutenant, you called for me."
Lieutenant Andrew nodded toward the sergeant.
"Yes, Sergeant Wyatt. This is your new team member. He will join your squad."
He forwarded the file where Alex's details were filled.
"Your unit is perfect for him, as his strength matches your squad's soldiers. But try not to send him to difficult areas at the beginning. Training him properly will be beneficial for our department."
Sergeant Wyatt looked toward Alex, then nodded.
"Yes, I will train him properly."
Lieutenant Andrew looked at Alex and pointed at the sergeant.
"Sergeant Wyatt, take this recruit to get his uniform and show him his quarters."
Sergeant Wyatt came toward Alex and saluted Lieutenant Andrew.
"Yes, Lieutenant."
Alex followed Wyatt to a residential area where Wyatt opened a door.
"This will be your place to stay. You should arrange the bed and clothes neatly every day. Sometimes higher officers come to check the basic living areas of soldiers, so you must maintain hygiene."
Then he looked toward Alex.
"Get dressed. I will wait outside for you."
After saying this, Wyatt left the room.
Alex did not delay. He dressed quickly, placed his clothes neatly, and went outside, where Wyatt was waiting.
Suddenly, a huge alarm rang throughout the base. Hearing the alarm, Sergeant Wyatt looked toward Alex.
"Let's go. The battle might start very soon. Prepare yourself."
Hearing the words, Alex looked surprised, then began to follow Sergeant Wyatt.
Alex saw a huge training ground that looked more like a martial arts practice center. When he reached the place, he saw everyone standing in formation while Lieutenant Andrew gave a speech.
"Soldiers, although you all know your duties, today a new recruit has joined our unit, so I will explain once more. Your work during battle is to look after the injured. Keep your eyes open and avoid direct confrontation with the enemy. Your duty is to save those who can be saved. If your strength is sufficient, you should also help your comrades."
Lieutenant Andrew looked at Alex, who had arrived on time.
"As for you, recruit, you are also to watch for injured soldiers. If you can rescue them, do not neglect them." He then looked toward everyone. "If I find anyone neglecting their duty out of fear, they will be punished."
Alex looked at the faces of all the soldiers and officers; everyone was very serious.
"I don't even know who the enemy is, but I am already confronting them."
Alex continued to follow the team. He looked toward Sergeant Wyatt.
"Alex, be careful during the battle. Most of the time, recruits are the first to die. Observe carefully before you go to rescue. Our job is to protect the injured during battle and to clean up afterward. If you can save a few, it will reflect well on your army record. I will assign you to a nearby base area where fewer enemies come."
Alex heard the words.
"Yes, Sergeant."
Wyatt did not bother to speak with him further but explained to the other groups their assigned duty locations.
Alex, following his group, came before a huge wall. Looking at the wall, he thought,
"So army bases are kept between huge walls—but why build such a massive wall? Are they defending against something that can't breach it?"
Alex shook his head.
"I will find out very soon."
As Alex neared the wall, he heard gunshots firing nonstop, along with huge blasts.
Hearing the sound, Alex, who had lived his whole life in luxury, felt he had been thrown into hell.
"What the hell? They're killing like this? If this many bullets are fired, they could wipe out a whole city."
Hearing the loud explosions, he understood why his elder brothers had been scared of this place.
"Damn it. In such circumstances, I have to go outside to save injured people. It really is a tragic fate to die amid so many blasts."
Alex, who was waiting, suddenly heard the call from Sergeant Wyatt, and they began to move outside.
As soon as Alex came to the other side of the wall, he was scared out of his wits. Looking at the creatures outside, he was terrified.
"What the hell are these creatures? They look like animals, but they're bigger and way scarier."
"Damn it, so not only can humans practice martial arts—these animals have evolved too."
Just as Alex was scared out of his mind, someone pulled him. He saw Sergeant Wyatt pulling him toward a soldier who looked near death.
"Alex, take this soldier to the medical base. Quickly."
Alex looked at the soldier, then went to him, but the soldier was heavy, making it very difficult. Still, he carried the soldier on his shoulder and ran toward the wall where medical staff were treating the wounded.
Alex ran, though he found it hard to move forward due to fear of what he had witnessed, but he still brought the soldier to the medical camp.
"Doctor, emergency!"
Alex shouted.
A nurse came near him to check the patient but found he was already dead.
"Sorry, he is gone."
Hearing the words, Alex felt a heavy weight.
"Damn it, I was so nervous I couldn't even run back quickly."
He felt very sad that because he had not been quicker, the soldier had died.
Just as he was about to go back to the battlefield to at least save a few others, he saw bubbles floating above the dead soldier.
Alex touched a bubble and saw a few letters before his eyes.
[Picked 2 points of strength.]
Looking at the letters, he thought of an attribute-picking system.
"So I have a system to pick attributes from corpses. If I had known about this system earlier, I wouldn't have wasted so many years."
Without hesitation, Alex touched the remaining two bubbles.
[Picked 3 points of strength.]
[Picked 2 points of speed.]
Alex looked at the dead body, then ran back toward the battlefield. When he re-entered, he saw an opportunity to increase his strength.
Without hesitation, Alex began searching for injured soldiers.
He looked into the distance where bubbles were floating and carefully walked toward them while observing the surroundings. He watched for creatures and tried to avoid them if they were nearby.
When he reached the location, he saw more than a hundred bubbles. Without hesitation, he began touching them.
[Picked 2 points of strength.]
[Picked 5 points of strength.]
System notifications popped up frequently as he collected the attribute bubbles. He continued to observe the area so as not to attract the monsters.
Just as he finished collecting the bubbles, he heard a small sound and saw a hand moving among the dead bodies. Without hesitation, Alex began moving the dead soldiers aside.
Then he saw a woman who was injured. Alex did not bother looking for other attribute bubbles but carried her and ran toward the medical base.
This time, Alex did not make the same mistake; he ran quickly so as not to waste time.
He reached the medical camp and saw a doctor walking toward him.
"Doctor, she's still alive. Check her."
The doctor ran toward him, called a nurse, and took the woman inside.
Alex, who had felt a little guilty earlier, felt better after saving this soldier.
This time, Alex did not stop but went back into the battlefield. He searched for injured soldiers and tried to save more while avoiding the monsters.
Alex came upon two soldiers who appeared to have died, but what attracted him was that their bubbles were more numerous than any he had collected all day. Looking at their sergeant ranking, he knew these were higher-ranking officers.
He touched the bubbles.
[Picked fragments of sword martial art.]
[Picked 50 points of strength.]
[Picked 89 points of strength.]
[Picked fragments of sword martial art.]
[Picked fragments of sword martial art.]
Alex looked at more than thirty attributes and collected all the bubbles. Without hesitation, he then ran away from the place.
He knew the battlefield was monitored and did not want to expose himself while picking attributes.
When he was some distance away, he thought,
"So even skills and techniques can be picked. It looks like I will have to be more discreet, otherwise they might find me unusual, which would attract unnecessary trouble."
Alex still searched every corner of the battlefield but saw that the area assigned to him had no more injured soldiers; they were either dead or already transferred to the medical base. Just as he was about to go back, he saw a huge monster corpse.
What surprised him was that this monster also had bubbles above its body.
"So even monsters' attribute bubbles can be picked."
Alex looked carefully as he moved toward the monster. When he reached it, he saw at least ten bubbles.
[Picked 120 points of strength.]
[Picked fragments of fire talent.]
[Picked fragments of fire talent.]
Alex, hiding beside the monster, looked at the system information and then at the talent description.
"Finally, I have a talent. If I had talent before, they wouldn't have sent me here. But it's okay if I hadn't come here, how would I have discovered the system?"
While still hiding and looking toward the main battle, Alex saw many soldiers fighting monsters with various weapons rather than guns.
"If I had talent earlier, those old men in the palace would have favored me, but I couldn't practice, so they abandoned me. They even used me as a pawn in their coup. I practiced so hard for more than seven years and was still only a 2nd-rank warrior."
Alex stopped thinking about his family and looked at the soldiers fighting.
"Their fighting style is so smooth, and they give off a more powerful feeling. It must be because of the battles they go through here. After all, I have never even fought anyone."
Then he looked at the dead bodies in the area. He wanted to go there, but he knew if he stepped into that zone, he might draw attention.
"Damn it, if I could collect all those bubbles… Wait, our department will clear the battlefield and bring those corpses back."
Then he smacked his head.
"Why am I getting impatient? Let's not attract anyone. I'll wait for the right time, then show my talent gradually so they won't doubt the sudden surge in my strength."
Alex looked at the cruel battle and understood why his brothers had been so scared.
Every few minutes, soldiers died, mostly those whose strength was not great or who lacked enough experience. Looking at the situation, he knew that if his strength did not increase, he might soon be on the list of the dead.