Cedar stepped forward, his boots crunching against the gravel beneath him. The early morning sun cast a pale glow over the courtyard, glinting off the polished weapons of the squad lined up neatly in formation. His sharp eyes, marked by faint lines of experience, scanned the roster in his hand before flicking toward the soldiers before him.
He raised his voice, firm and authoritative, each name cutting through the crisp air.
"Lugh Tinker!"
A wiry young man with unruly brown hair and a grin snapped to attention. His playful demeanor was barely hidden under his disciplined posture.
"Yes, sir!"
"Anabelle Trissy!" A tall, broad-shouldered woman with a no-nonsense expression raised her chin. Her auburn braid hung neatly over her shoulder, and her well-worn gauntlets bore the trace of time spent in the forge and the field.
"Present, Sergeant!"
"Rogan D. Alan!"
A gruff voice answered as a burly man with a thick beard stepped forward slightly. His massive frame seemed better suited for a blacksmith than a soldier, but his imposing strength had proven invaluable time and time again. "Yes, sir!"
"Ivan K. Asterius!"
A silent figure raised his head slightly, revealing piercing emerald eyes and long silver hair tied loosely behind him. His movements were precise, almost too graceful for a battlefield, and his demeanor was cold and detached, as though he stood apart from the world around him.
"Present," Ivan said softly, his voice carrying an air of quiet authority that belied his position.
"Cambell Muntz!"
The youngest of the squad, a red-haired boy barely out of training, stepped forward, his hand trembling slightly as he saluted. His freckles stood out against his pale face, but the determined set of his jaw showed he was eager to prove himself.
"Yes, sir!"
Cedar glanced back at the roster and nodded sharply. "Squad 2, all present and accounted for." He stepped closer, his posture straight and commanding.
"Today's mission is critical: we are to reach the western gate and join the other squad to receive and transport the equipment to Nosead City. There is no room for mistakes. Each of you knows your role—failure is not an option. Do I make myself clear?"
The squad straightened even further, their collective shout ringing out like thunder:
"UNDERSTOOD, SERGEANT!"
Cedar's gaze swept over them, lingering briefly on each face before he gave a firm nod.
"Good. Squad 2, prepare to move out! Standard column formation, staggered pairs. Rogan, take point. Anabelle, you're on rear guard. The rest of you, stay sharp."
With a crisp pivot, Cedar motioned forward, his tone unwavering. "Forward march!"
The squad moved out with disciplined precision, their boots striking the ground in rhythm. The tension in the air was palpable, each step carrying them closer to the unknown dangers ahead.
The journey to the temporary military camp outside the capital was uneventful. Cedar and Ivan, having received the mission details the day prior, were already familiar with the plan.
After reporting their arrival, the squad was ordered to wait until evening for the equipment transport.
The tension from earlier began to ease as the squad gathered around a campfire for dinner. The fire crackled softly, and the warm light softened their weary faces.
"I think it's about time we introduced ourselves," Lugh said, breaking the silence. His voice was cheerful, carrying a hint of mischief. "We'll be working together for a long time, after all. I'm Lugh, as you already know. I like to cook and read in my free time. My favorite novel is 'Protect the Author'. Anyone read it before?"
Lugh's animated expression made him seem more like a carefree bookworm than a soldier.
Ivan, sitting across the fire, raised an eyebrow. His calm, refined tone contrasted sharply with Lugh's energy. "Never read it, but I've heard of it. Isn't that the one banned in Long Shan by the government?"
"Yeah!" Lugh's face lit up. "And it was about to end, too! Nobody told me it was banned until I got obsessed with it. Now I'll never know how it ends. Oh, cruel world! Why must I suffer this excruciating pain in my soul?"
Anabelle, clearly fed up with Lugh's dramatics, interrupted. "I'm Anabelle. My family runs a smith shop. I like chess." Her words were short and to the point.
"That's it?" Lugh asked, narrowing his eyes as though trying to see beyond her composed exterior.
"I spent most of my free time at the academy working in my family's workshop. Chess is all I've got."
"Oh," Lugh said, accepting her answer. "I also went to a military school. Though at my school, the military was just one of the majors."
"I-I also joined from that school," Cambell stammered. His voice was shy but earnest. "I became a first-year when you were in your last year. My dad was one of the lecturers… He mentioned you as the guy who blew up the lab room."
"Hey, that was an accident!" Lugh bristled, ruffling like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, clearly uncomfortable with the incident and memories of it.
"Now that you mention it," Cambell continued, "you do look familiar. You're like a younger version of Mr. Muntz."
"What about you, big guy?" Ivan asked, turning to Rogan.
"Military duty," Rogan said simply. His voice was deep and steady. "I didn't attend school. I worked as a mailman and a photographer before I got conscripted. Spent some time in a training camp and ended up here."
"You? A guy like you should've been a bodyguard or something," Lugh said, eyeing Rogan with suspicion. "Don't tell me you were born that huge."
"Not really. A friend of mine opened a dojo teaching martial arts from Long Shan. He taught me a few things."
"A giant who knows kungfu? How's that even fair?" Lugh exclaimed.
Rogan smirked slightly. "Not everything from Long Shan is kungfu. I could teach you some if you want, but I'm no master."
"Deal!" Lugh grinned.
"We're quite the bunch of misfits, aren't we?" Ivan chuckled, breaking the tension.
"What about you two?" Lugh asked, glancing at Cedar and Ivan. "You seem close."
Cedar spoke first, his voice calm and steady. "I had a veteran grandfather, so the government paid for my education and boarding school. After that, I went through training and was sent straight to the battlefield. I met Ivan at Aelith City."
"Aelith? So you're one of the survivors from there," Lugh said, his voice quieter now. "No wonder you're already a sergeant. You're practically a veteran yourself."
"Everyone will become a veteran someday. The difference is whether they make it out alive until then. I barely did. The reason why Ivan and I are close is that we had to rely on each other to survive Aelith."
"Oh, oh, oh! I love stories like this. Quick, tell us what happened!" Lugh seemed excited.
The others were also interested. Unlike Cedar and Ivan, who were deployed in the capital, these were fresh soldiers from the capital with little experience. All of them were still second-circle mages and had yet to be haunted by the realities of war.
"It was a risky situation. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We basically took an enemy flying hoverboard and charged into the forest while using an invisibility spell."
"Yeah, it was basically a gamble," Cedar cut in, shifting the focus of the story so Ivan wouldn't have to talk about his family conditions.
Cedar leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing as he recalled the events at Aelith.
"Wait, wait," Lugh interrupted, leaning forward eagerly. "You mean you stole one of their hoverboards? And flew it out under their noses? That's insane!"
"Insane, but it worked," Cedar replied with a shrug. "I used an invisibility spell to keep us hidden while Ivan piloted. It wasn't perfect, though. Just as we were about to make it out, they spotted us. Two riders came after us, and we had no choice but to fight them mid-air. It was close, but we managed to take them down and keep going."
Rogan whistled, impressed. "Fighting on a hoverboard while being chased? That takes some serious nerve."
"More like sheer desperation," Ivan finally spoke, his voice steady and calm but carrying a weight that silenced the group. "We didn't have the luxury of planning or second-guessing. Staying in Aelith meant dying with everyone else. Running was our only option, and even that was a gamble. Cedar even jumped at the other rider and took him down mid-air before hitting the ground."
Campbell leaned forward, his curiosity undeterred. "Did you make it to safety in the end?"
Ivan's lips curled into a faint smirk. "No," he said dryly, his tone laced with mock seriousness. "We didn't. What you're seeing here are just the restless ghosts of dead soldiers haunting your camp."
The group burst into nervous laughter at Ivan's dry humor, though a hint of unease lingered in the air. Even Lugh, who usually had a comeback for everything, hesitated for a moment before grinning.
"Well, ghost or not, you two sure have a knack for making it out alive," Lugh said, trying to lighten the mood.
Cedar smirked, though his eyes carried a shadow that didn't match his casual tone. "Barely. The forest was no better than the city. It was a different kind of hell—silent, but deadly. If the enemy didn't get us, hunger and exhaustion might've."
"Let me guess," Anabelle interjected, leaning in. "You outran them, didn't you?"
"Not exactly." Cedar glanced at Ivan, who gave a small nod, letting him continue. "We had to fight our way out of the forest, too. Those riders weren't the only ones hunting us. Patrols on foot, trained beasts, traps everywhere... Every step was a gamble."
That, of course, was a half-truth. They had agreed to cover up the real story—what had happened with Len—by weaving in bits of fabricated heroics.
"But here you are," Campbell said, admiration clear in his voice. "Ghosts or not, you lived to tell the tale. That's something."
Ivan tilted his head, his lips twitching into the faintest of smiles. "Living isn't always winning. Sometimes, it's just surviving. You'd be surprised how blurry the line gets."
The group fell silent, the weight of Ivan's words settling over them like a heavy blanket. For a moment, only the crackling of the campfire filled the air.
Lugh, ever the optimist, finally broke the stillness. "Well, either way, you two are still here. And if you've got any more stories like that, I think we could all use a little inspiration—or a few more ghost tales to keep us up tonight."
Cedar chuckled dryly. "Let's save those for another time. Rest is a better friend than inspiration when you're heading to war."
Ivan stood and stretched, his movements deliberate. "Cedar's right. Get some sleep. The next battle isn't going to care if you're tired or not."
The others nodded, murmuring their goodnights as they retreated to their tents.