As the morning sun rose up in the sky their stomachs began to grumble, receiving a trait was a draining process and, even though they didn't feel tired in the slightest, they still needed to rest and eat just like a regular person.
Of course they were a lot more resilient than a regular person, but that didn't mean they were immune to hunger, cold, exhaustion or thirst.
Unfortunately for the group, they left their belongings back at their own campfire and the only one who brought his backpack along was Uriel who wouldn't part with it. It was the only one he had and he didn't have enough money to buy another. But the bad news weren't over, because the only food he brought with him was instant noodles.
Instant noodles were the kind of food only the poorest of the poor people would eat. They were healthy-ish, at least healthier than how they used to be, but they had a bad reputation and so most people would try to stay away from them, but now...
"These are delicious!!! What flavor is this!?" The cute girl said after taking the first sip of the cup Uriel handed to her.
"Uh, I believe it's cheeky chicken..." Uriel said blushing up, he was a ashamed of sharing such a cheap meal with the rest of the group, especially with the girls. Hunger, though, made it seem like the most delicious breakfast they ever had and they happily accepted Uriel's generosity.
"What nickname should I take?" The cute girl asked after slurping the last bit of noodles left in the cup.
"What do you think about Medusa?" Uriel said without putting much thought into it.
"Medusa? What's that?"
"It was a Greek mythological beast that turned people into stone." Luna commented. The pretty girl didn't like being compared to a beast of old but she changed her mind after Uriel continued.
"Yes... she became a monster, but she was once the most beautiful woman on earth. In fact, she was turned into a beast out of jealousy, because a goddess couldn't stand being second to a human and she cursed the woman so no one would ever be able to look at her again."
Her face brightened after being indirectly called beautiful by Uriel and she shyly covered her cheeks.
"What about me?" Luna stared at Uriel with a stern face.
"Shouldn't you know about something like that? you're pretty knowledgeable, besides, I don't even know what your trait is."
Her face remained unchanged, but somehow Uriel could feel her disappointment. Then, looking directly at her, the only thing he noticed was the change in her hair color that resembled the shimmer of the moon in the night sky on a clear night.
"I got it, what about Moonlight?" His words seemed to have sparked new life on Luna.
"I like it... and it's also related to my trait, I guess."
"Then what should we call you?" The cute girl whose real name was unknown by Uriel, but now was called Medusa asked.
"I don't know, I don't know what my trait is..."
"We could call you something like... 'Smart'... maybe?"
"That's the least creative nickname... maybe we should call him 'wise'" Despite being flattered by the nicknames they were trying to choose for him, both girls failed miserably.
"why not just call me Sage? it's my last name so..."
"You're telling me you're smart AND your last name is Sage!? If I had known that names have an impact on your abilities I would have changed my last name to years ago." Medusa chuckled.
"It's not that, I think my last name comes from a plant that was pretty common where my ancestors were from."
"A plant? isn't it a herb used for cooking?" Luna asked.
"It is! and it's delicious!" Medusa said and soon she realized the blunder she had committed, because if she had been called beautiful in an indirect way by Uriel that also meant that she was calling him delicious.
When flares were shot again, they were happy to see that one of them was really close to them and they hurried over to see if it was Lieutenant Dragonfang.
The walk was short and soon enough they were able to see that it was, indeed, Lieutenant Dragonfang. There was also one of the corporals and two students along with them. Sam and the other one was the geeky student Uriel didn't know by name.
"Miss Dragonfang, where are the others?" Medusa asked, but the lieutenant shook her head with a grim face.
Not everyone survived the nocturnal onslaught and, by the amount of flares in the sky, Uriel judged that less than half the people who embarked on this incursion made it alive.
"Get ready kids, we'll regroup with the rest of the units and then head back. I'm sorry you weren't able to get your traits, but it's too dangerous to keep going." She said apologetically. "Oh! and no matter what you see, stay close to me. It should be safe, but then again, this incursion seemed to be going just fine at first and it turned into a shit show..."
"Don't worry about that ma'am, we all got our traits now." Medusa said showing her glinting crimson eyes.
"Oh, that's good... that's good indeed." She lingered for a few moments. "You did a good job Shaker and I'll make sure you get compensated for your efforts."
Shaker, who after being affected by Medusa's trait had remained silent, had his mood somewhat lifted by the promise of rewards.
The group moved swiftly through the barrenlands, even Uriel was now able to keep up the pace somehow, but not without effort. Sweat trickled down his forehead and his breathing was jagged, but he endured and kept walking as fast as he could. At least until he saw what looked like a modern city in shambles in the location that Uriel guessed was right in the middle of all the units.
"Is that a city?"
"No, not anymore, it's a lost city. Please don't ask anything about that, you'll know in due time." Lieutenant Dragonfang replied.
"Uh, sure. By the way, I've been wondering, what happened to them?" Uriel took a glance at Sam who was lagging behind.
"Don't bother yourself with that, you'll soon get all the answers you want... and then some more." Lieutenant Dragonfang replied.
So far she had been really helpful and patient with them, even with Shaker who had a nasty attitude most of the time, and she always answered their questions. But now Uriel was wondering what did she mean with that.
Uriel was curious, he knew they spent the night fighting just like them, he also guessed that both Sam and the geeky student had a chance to get their traits, but he couldn't be sure if they actually got one. It was a given that they saw people die and were traumatized, he thought back on how scared Sam was before, but now he looked completely devoid of emotions.
Following the army's plan, if the incursion failed they were to gather near the colonel who came along. Then, and only then, would they be able to call for evacuation. Of course they couldn't walk directly towards them, especially those who were on the opposite side of the ruins in the middle.
The whole goal of incursions was to get inside the ruins salvage as many useful things as they could and clear the cryptids to keep nearby cities safe. Allowing students to gain their traits was a secondary objective because it was on the government's agenda, but the army could care less about it.
They needed technology, scraps, plastic and even fuel. Ever since cities were enclosed with walls they became safer, but it made the production and refining of resources a lot more difficult.
It was a win win situation for government, big corporations, the army and even the citizens. Unless, of course, something like what happened on the last night occurred.
They lost countless students, soldiers and gear. Lieutenant Dragonfang knew that someone will have to take the fall, but it wouldn't be colonel Ethan. He was both good at his job and well connected, it was more likely that every single sergeant, lieutenant and captain will be held accountable for their own losses and, unfortunately for her, her losses had been too great.