Ash gave a calm sigh, taking a good look at the room, which was sure to be comfortable,
Having the three things he needed in a room.
A toilet, a kitchen, and a separate space that could pass for a living room or a working space,
which was a tiny fraction bigger than the others.
And the whole place wasn't in the residential building, but located in the outer Bastions library basement.
Not that he was complaining, but
The room was barely furnished, and worse still, it was in need of a deep clean; filled with dirt, most of the furniture was covered in thick but fine dust, cobwebs, and trash.
And there was even a decade-old can of beans somewhere around the corner.
The only surprising thing was that it wasn't infested with rodents and insects, or maybe he hadn't noticed them at all.
After surveying the room for a little while, he decided to clean the place, which was hectic to say the least.
'Today is going to be a long day,' he thought,
Trying to wrap his head around how long the room had been left abandoned.
And that singular thought made the process much more difficult.
He got to work as soon as he got the cleaning supplies from the library clerk,
who seemed friendly enough, handing everything before he even asked.
It would take longer than normal before he was done, and he knew it.
***********************
A loud, blaring sound woke Ash from his sleep, forcing him into a state of panic.
It took him a little while to realize that it was only the Alarm that was installed mainly to wake him at the scheduled time for the inmate to train.
Without exception, he was going to join them .
Kane had told him they would get six months of special training, which was too short for Ash before joining the main force of soldiers in the fight.
The rift, as it is known, is a collection of many gates that accumulated over the years, forming a more powerful and destructive gate that takes years to clear.
There are twelve rifts that exist in total,
And they are being held and cleared by either an extremely powerful kingdom or an empire.
a collection of nations, or a Bastion, which, from what he knows, answers to no one,
Working solely on its own as an independent body.
A package arrived not too long after he woke up, and as Kane had promised, it contained all of the essential materials he was going to need.
Except for consumables, he had only two pairs of bodysuits and two outfits very similar to the one worn by Kane.
Two pairs of boots, both of which were his size and tailored to fit him correctly, accompanied by a watch and a note attached.
`You have ten minutes after the second horn to get ready and head out of your room. Use the watch in the box to find your way to the sixth training hall, look for the instructor known as Kruger, submit your credentials to him, and begin training.
P.S.: Try not to be late.`
As if on cue, the second horn sounded, and he quickly prepared himself. He wasn't really in a hurry, but he was efficient; it took him less than a minute to be done.
The only problem was that he didn't know how to use the watch, and the instructions weren't included in the letter.
And worse still, he was running out of time, so he decided to leave, figuring it on his way out,
It took some asking around from soldiers and utility workers who were surprised to see a kid in the bastion.
But still answered, leading him to a not too large building, which is known as ' hurdle '.
which is a multi-way transport system connecting almost every part of the bastion, and it was not too impressive on the outside.
Only when he got in did he see the beauty that was on the inside; it had a very large space and several doors, which, to Ash, acted as elevators .
He received help here from a kind receptionist who told him that he had to inject mana into it,
which was the most obvious thing he could have done.
But it still didn't even cross his mind.
'Sometimes think I might be dumb,' Ash thought with a face-palm as he found the right route and made his way quickly, reaching the hall.
Which was already filled with people of different ages and genders standing at ease.
Usually, he was expecting it to be categorized by gender, but how wrong could he be?
"You are late, "a voice called out to him as soon as he stepped in, filled with authority and a teaspoon of malice.
The person who called him out happened to be a woman who looked like she was in her twenties, suited in a similar outfit,
But it had an emblem that was a golden shield with three stars and two red lines crossed above the symbol.
She had a scar that ran across her face and a small one on her cheek, but this did not dull her beauty.
It took him less than a second to knock himself out of his trance, trying to answer, but he was cut off before he could even explain,
" I don't need to hear your excuse, take up a sandbag and do five laps," the lady said with a tone of finality, not that he wanted to argue,
since he had arrived late to training.
He didn't waste any more time grabbing what looked like a military tactical vest, and the pockets were filled with clay.
which was strange since the sandbags he knew about from his past lives were filled with fine sand.
He gave the lady a strange look while trying to lift the sandbag, which was practically heavier than normal,
Although it looked like it was tailored for him, he couldn't help but feel like it was too much of a burden for his size.
"The faster you do that, the better for you, because you are eating into your and your teammates' she warned with a casual tone without looking.