Aelric and his friends sat there, watching as last group of trainees came back from the trial, it must have been lunch time. Aelric hadn't eaten all day. Out of the 32 trainees that competed, only 19 passed. Aelric still felt bothered about his failure earlier. How did he miss? He was so sure that he could do it. He set everything up. Why? Aelric took a deep breath. "Are you okay?" Augustus asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." Aelric replied, "Just still a little upset over how I didn't reach that archer during the trials." He sighed. "Damn. You're still on about that? You overestimated yourself, Aelric, but you had me there to save you. Listen. I've heard rumors that the best trainees during the trials get to join Captain Valeria's squad." Augustus said, "I saw how you performed; I think you can make it."

  Aelric looked at him. "Yeah, but I still failed reaching that archer." He added. "By an inch, not many trainees could've pulled that off and gotten as close as you." Augustus said, "Plus, if you actually got him, then who's to say those soldiers behind you wouldn't have gotten you?" Augustus asked. "Who knows? I'm kind of happy to have graduated. We're soldiers now." Aelric said, "But, still rather disappointed that I missed." Augustus sighed. "You'll feel better about it soon enough." Augustus walked off, "Who knows, maybe Maddie will comfort you." Augustus said as he walked off.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Aelric asked. "Ah, don't worry about it." Augustus quickly replied back, watching as Aelric rolled his eyes. Aelric watched as Captain Valeria arrived with Private Bright trailing her from behind. "Ah, it's those two again." Aelric muttered. That man with the pearly white hair was behind her as well, with that scar on his cheek. He didn't see that seemingly old person as important. "So, you got the mission? Dranor reports this as important." The man with the pearly white hair said. Though, that being said, for an old guy, his skin was quite smooth and pristine.

  "Dranor says it's important? His assignments are usually the most dangerous. Good thing that Private Bright here found that there's candidates from the recent batch of trainees that are good enough for my squad." Captain Valeria sighed, seemingly from relief, "But I'll do this when I get my new squad together." Captain Valeria softly smiled towards the older looking man. "Okay, good. Dranor did make this seem rather important." What was his name again? Right! Sylas.

  "Well, once I get more details, I'll consider sending my squad with yours. You can command both." Sylas said. "Got it." Captain Valeria replied.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  That night, Aelric stood in the back of a line behind all the other trainees in front of the stage as Captain Valeria stood on stage holding a piece of paper. Under the torch light, the paper appeared brown and aged. Captain Valeria was not donned in her usual suit of armor, which Aelric found odd. "My soldier here, Private Bright assembled this list of what he considered eligible and is allowed to join my squad, so, I will read out the list of names, starting from who was the best and who did the worst." Captain Valeria announced.

  "Isaac Schekman, Michael Pritchett, Augustus Williams, Julian Cross, Elijah Barrett, Lenny Johnson, George Smith, John Brown, Madison Bowles, Aelric Marola. This is the list of those who performed the best during the trials." Captain Valeria said, "For those that I called out, come onto stage, and stand behind me if you would like to join." Aelric looked onto the stage. He made it. Why? He wasn't skilled enough to be up there! He messed up what should've been simple. Michael, and his friends, Lenny, John, and George approached the stage with cocky looks on their face, chuckling to themselves.

  Maddie, Isaac, and Augustus walked up respectively. Aelric carried himself and marched to the stage, albeit shaking. Aelric heard the silent comments. "He's shaking, did he really do good during the test?" A trainee asked. Aelric carried himself to the stage, picking up speed. He walked up the stage and stood next to Maddie. "This are the people who will join my squad. They are now in one of the best squads in the Eldenus military." Captain Valeria announced, "Applaud for them."

  The trainees below them clapped, and few cheered. Aelric couldn't help but smile slightly. "You know, you should smile more, Aelric. You look so depressed usually." Maddie commented, snickering. "Don't even, Maddie." Isaac replied. Aelric chuckled. Maybe, everything would be okay. The military would be a better life for him, Aelric thought.

  But, that next day, Aelric and all the other 'newbies' as Captain Valeria called the group herself. They sat in a large tent, sitting around a circular wooden table. A map laid rest on the hard wooden surface. "Never seen this before." Aelric said. Captain Valeria walked in, donned her suit of armor. Those two golden stripes across her chestplate.

  "We have gotten the crucial information for our upcoming mission." Captain Valeria announced, with a slight hint of concern on her face. "What's with the look of concern, Captain?" Michael asked, leaning back in his chair. "Our mission will take place in Moghe Forest." Captain Valeria sighed. "Moghe Forest? You mean... Where the orcs... are?" Private Bright asked. "Afraid so. Damn, but let me go over the mission." Captain Valeria said, "We must infiltrate the main base of the orcs in Moghe Forest and free a prisoner who one of our important figures says is crucial for the upcoming future." A prisoner? We're going to what is supposedly a terrifying place, over some prisoner? "Who is this prisoner?" Elijah asked, seemingly concerned. "A man named Abdus Thaddeus. According to General Sylas and another man, this man is especially skilled in some form of combat none of us has seen." Captain Valeria replied, her face serious.

  "If one of General Sylas' most trusted people says this is imperative, then we will fulfill this mission. No room for mistakes." Captain Valeria said, "So, for now, I will prepare the supplies as we prepare to go to Moghe Forest and complete the mission. Our main objective is to free Abdus Thaddeus."