That night Leo barely got a wink of sleep, his fears and former demons were plaguing his dreams. Shortly before sunrise Grae knocked on his door, he wanted to talk to him alone.
"I've been thinking, there's no way to prevent your participation in the army. But I have a little jump start in mind. When I was still training to be a commander there was a boy who always wanted to challenge me even though he was two years younger. I always won against him but he never gave up. His talent was great but he concentrated too much on other things and was kicked out of the academy. I heard that he will participate in this mission aswell. Maybe I can get you to join his squad. His name is Soran, he has a hot temper but a good heart. As long as you stay with him you should have less problems. I will ask him to train you, his ambition is on par with his talent, I have a feeling he'll be good teacher. Because of his stubbornness, he wont give up until you are fit to fight. The journey to the eastern border takes just under 5 days, you will be stopping often but always be on your guard. Even within the soldiers there are some who get a kick out of annoying others. I got info that you will be training with the soldiers in about 2 hours. Find Soran as soon as possible and follow his instructions, then you will have more chances to survive."
Leo listened to him but couldn't get any real hope. His eyes radiated despair and he could hardly concentrate.
"DAMN IT LEO WAKE UP, DO YOU WANT TO DIE?! I know your situation sucks but I didn't think you would just give up. What about your friends, are you just going to abandon them without trying? While we're at it, they should be showing up any minute. I've told them you're going to leave them today. If you've really given up inside, at least put on a confident face."
"Hey peck, why are you pulling on a confident mask. Don't tell me you've already given up, I wouldn't have expected that. I've felt like you before too, I wasn't the best on the basketball team from the start. My first year at school I was kicked off the team. At that time I didn't hit a single basket, I was so angry after that that I practiced every day by myself for a year. My fingers looked so bad at one point that I could barely write. But my work paid off, later I became captain and even won tournaments with the team. This year I didn't leave the team because of my superior strength. That was just an excuse, the real reason is that I wanted to take care of my sister. Our mother is not exactly a role model and is hardly ever at home, so I took my sister's upbringing into my own hands. Of course it's a pity that I'm neglecting my talent now, but family and friends are more important than anything, so I have to come back... So don't look so down, it wasn't easy to tell you that so you better be grateful and motivated. You owe me at least that if I'm really a friend to you."
"I can't tell a story like that about myself but I agree with Blade. You don't have magic but I never saw you as a weakling, in fact you helped me. Without your advice to save my mana, I wouldn't have been able to heal all the survivors in time. Besides, you have already literally escaped death once, so I think you wont go down so easily. We will definitely meet again."
"...I have to admit, in the beginning I didn't think you would survive two days here. I mean you couldn't even hold a sword for a minute and I easily def-
"ADRIAN Get to the point. You were going to tell him something else."
"Oh yeah, you were a bit useful on the trip. You even saved Marah and didn't die yourself, you have my respect for that...I guess? Count me in on your promise, next time we see each other we'll duel. Let's see how strong you've become by then."
After the three of them finished, Grae took them to the training ground. Marah just looked at the ground as she spoke to Leo.
"You have to survive! You have to keep your promise! When we meet again I'll be super strong and I can protect you! I don't know anything else I can say, you already know almost everything about me. Please let me know at least a little bit about your life, I want to know more about you."
Leo just looked emotionless and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Now I can't tell you anything about me, it would only be a hindrance for the both of us. But I promise that when we meet again I'll tell you everything. Until then you have to be really super strong. Otherwise I might surpass you.
"I already knew you were going to say that. I've been thinking about a parting gift for a long time, but jewelry is not for boys and it would probably only hinder you in battle. That's why I asked Grae to show me something to pass on to you. Give me your arm.
Leo was slightly nervous and skeptical as he handed her his left arm. Suddenly he felt a burning pain all over his body as if he was being eaten from the inside. After a few seconds the pain disappeared, when he looked at his arm he saw that a picture of a black wolf was burned into his forearm. On the outside it looked like a normal tattoo but it reinforced the whole arm from the inside.
"Grae said that with black magic you can not only create weapons but also project images. That with my parting gift, you always reminded me of a wolf that's why I chose this figure. He looks a bit strange but you can still recognize him. I don't know if it will stay forever but that's the only thing I could think of."
"Thank you very much, he looks good. I'll be careful not to lose an arm haha. Now then, get strong Marah to protect yourself and others. Goodbye, I will be back."
Leo took his things and went towards the soldiers' training ground, which was outside the city. As he was about to go through the gate he was hugged once again by Marah, who had a tear on her face and smiled at him. A short time later he arrived at the training ground but no one was there.
"Man, you're even weaker than I would have imagined. I doubt you'll ever be on the same level as me. Well, it's worth a try, Grae personally told me that you're not worthless after all. I have a score to settle with him anyway, so dying is out of the question. I hope he informed you well about me. My name is Soran, I am the best swordsman of my class and in the same squad as you. To good cooperation, little worm."
Leo immediately recognized that Soran was very arrogant and cocky. He could immediately imagine why Grae had always won against him. After the short greeting, he already forced Leo to the first training session on the grounds.
"First I want to see what your limit is, our goal is to have you looking half dead by the end of the day. That shows true dedication to training."
Grae had mentioned that he was stubborn and hot-tempered but not that he is a sadistic type. His blue eyes literally pierced him, his wide grin already imagining how Leo would lie on the ground later. To Soran's surprise, Leo didn't grumble once during the entire training. Although he was still far from his level, Soran liked his attitude, so he pushed him even harder. In the early evening Soran ended the training. He was still fit while Leo was crawling around like a zombie.
"Don't be like that! That was my daily routine at the academy back then and it did pay off as you can see from me. Tomorrow morning the normal training with all soldiers begins, if you show up there like a heap of misery then you can forget your respect. So get up now and rest and don't forget to eat something. You're almost skin and bones anyway, don't let me break you apart. See you tomorrow for the first training, don't forget your equipment, you will need it from now on."
Soran had his own room while Leo stayed in a barrack with the other soldiers. The soldiers in his room were a few years older than him and behaved like real daredevils. All evening long they told each other stories about women and heroic deeds, but Leo knew that most of it was made up. Fortunately, they ignored him and paid little attention to him. The whole night he could not sleep, his past plagued him in thousands of nightmares. Early in the morning they left for the training area. Leo's unit was placed very far in the back, they didn't play a big role and were just supposed to do their duty. Soran was in the front row, to Leo's surprise he was suddenly promoted to a commander . After that he had to choose 3 squads under his orders. Of course he took the best trained squads but his 3rd choice was Leo's squad. Leo knew what he was up to. Soran only made it harder for him, he gave him the hardest test there was. Not only was Leo a completely new soldier, but now he was the envy of the other troops. Why would a general choose one of the worst troops? Sorin smiled at Leo and left the compound. Leo gritted his teeth, even if he was angry he had to prove himself even more now. The next few days were pure hell for Leo. Not only was he balast for his squad in training, Sorin always had his eye on him. After a week Leo looked like a living dead man, soon the army would be sent to war. But all of a sudden there came a ray of hope that saved Leo a bit. Two other men subsequently enlisted as soldiers with whom he got along very well. One of them was Freo, a family man of 2 daughters and a son. His family needed the money and so he enlisted as a soldier against his wife's will. Before they end up as beggars he would earn money in another way. At first glance, Leo was shocked by his story; he looked like a grown man at a young age and of a large muscular build. Despite his intimidating stature, he was a peaceful and friendly person. Across from Freo sat Alias, a young man barely older than him. Pure fear and helplessness could be seen in his eyes. Leo knew he resembled him and yet Alias was a wreck inside. All he could think about was dying and not being able to see blood. His family kicked him out of the house and forced him to earn money as a soldier. Although the two could hardly have been more different, he and Leo soon became friends. Due to the seriousness of their situation, there was nothing else they could do but avoid the stares of the other soldiers. Leo exhaled deeply when he saw Freo running far ahead, no wonder with his physics. Behind him was Alias, who looked as if he could collapse at any moment. But somehow the three of them managed to keep up the training together.
Three days before the mission started, he secretly met with Soran, with whom he had a special training. His two friends were also allowed to participate. In the beginning they were still a bit clumsy, but after the 3 days they could be considered good soldiers. In the last night Leo did not get a wink of sleep, thousands of thoughts buzzed through his head. Suddenly one of the red portals appeared in his dream and Leo woke up in a cold sweat. His body still forced him to somehow sleep, tomorrow was a matter of life and death. Leo's heart pounded out of his chest as they marched out of the city the next day. As he looked around, he realized that he was far from the only one who felt this way. The soldiers, who had been bragging and spouting off at the training, now had the same look on their faces as Leo. In the eye of death, everyone is the same. He kept staring at the tattoo Marah had given him.
"I wonder what she is experiencing right now..."
Because of the long march, a night camp was pitched. Leo made a promise with Freo and Alias that they would all come back alive. Somehow that calmed him down a little.
Around noon they arrived, a few hundred meters away from them was a huge portal as big as a skyscraper. At the sight Leo's body froze, again the image of a portal from his dreams appeared to him which came closer and closer. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, but it was Freo who brought him out of his trance. All around them hundreds of tent camps were pitched, in the distance he saw the dwarves sitting around a campfire drinking liquor. Leo couldn't understand how they could be called dwarves. Their stature was almost bigger than Freo's and they were muscle-bound, Leo knew them only in a small form from fairy tales.
Now began one of the worst phases of the war: the wait until something happens. Leo learned from Soran that a first attack was impossible, since no one who entered through the portal had yet come out alive. The main goal was just to close the portal.
That evening, Soran ordered his troops to remain together on standby. Forced by the situation, they put aside their pride and got along with each other. Soran ordered Leo into his tent to give him more specific information. Normally, the weakest troops would hold first as front-line fighters before the other troops helped. But Soran did not like this tactic of taking one of his units as cannon fodder. His troops fought in a closed formation in which every single soldier had equal importance. Even though it was night, Leo couldn't sleep, his watch had just ended, but inside he couldn't find rest.
All the time he stared at the blood-red portal, in every moment one of the monsters could appear from it. The longer he looked the more tired he became, after a few minutes he fell over and fell asleep. In his dream, the portal appeared to him again, but this time he entered it without hesitation, as if his mindfulness disappeared completely. What was waiting for him was much worse than any monster could have been. Once again his past chased him into a trap from which he could not escape. Desperately he scratched a wound in his arm hoping to wake up, it was too late. From now on his nightmare would begin.