Chapter 1: The Outcast

The sound of boots striking dirt echoed through the dense jungle, accompanied by the ragged breaths of cadets struggling to keep up with the pace. Ethan Cross stumbled over a tree root, barely managing to catch himself before falling face-first into the mud. Behind him, a few muffled chuckles came from his peers, their amusement barely concealed.

"Come on, Cross!" barked Sergeant Mathers, the towering drill instructor leading the exercise. "You're dragging the whole squad down!"

"I'm trying, sir!" Ethan gasped, his lungs burning from the relentless march. He adjusted the straps of his too-heavy pack, gritting his teeth as he forced his legs to keep moving.

The Ironclad Military Academy wasn't a place for the weak. Only the elite—physically, mentally, and emotionally—could hope to thrive in its harsh environment. But Ethan? He was barely surviving. A scrawny sixteen-year-old with no natural talent for combat or endurance, he was the last person anyone expected to make it through the academy.

And everyone reminded him of it.

"Maybe if you weren't carrying all that dead weight, Cross, you'd be able to keep up!" called Logan Steele, the academy's star cadet. His voice was full of mockery, and the laughter of his lackeys followed like an unspoken command.

Ethan didn't respond. He never did. Arguing with Logan only made things worse, and he didn't have the energy to spare. Instead, he focused on putting one foot in front of the other, even as his muscles screamed in protest.

The squad finally reached the clearing where Sergeant Mathers signaled for a halt. Ethan collapsed onto a fallen log, his pack slipping from his shoulders with a dull thud. He ignored the sneers and whispers around him, too exhausted to care.

"This is where we set up camp," Mathers announced, his voice sharp and commanding. "You have thirty minutes. Cross, since you seem so eager to rest, you can gather firewood."

Ethan opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it. There was no point in arguing. He nodded and dragged himself to his feet, his legs wobbling like jelly.

As he wandered deeper into the jungle, the sounds of the camp faded behind him. The air was heavy with humidity, and the distant calls of birds and insects filled the silence. Ethan wiped sweat from his brow, his thoughts swirling.

He hated being here. He hated feeling like a failure every single day. But he didn't have a choice. He'd enrolled in Ironclad because it was his only shot at a better life. His parents had died years ago, and without any family to rely on, the academy had been his last resort.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't belong.

"Stupid Logan," Ethan muttered, kicking at a rock. It skittered off into the underbrush, disappearing from view. "Stupid academy."

He crouched down to pick up a fallen branch, his frustration simmering beneath the surface. As he straightened, something caught his eye—a faint glint of metal poking out from the ground a few feet away.

Curiosity overtook his exhaustion. Ethan approached the spot cautiously, brushing away the dirt and leaves to reveal what appeared to be a strange, disc-shaped device. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen, with intricate patterns etched into its surface and faint blue lights flickering along its edges.

"What is this?" he whispered, his fingers hovering just above it.

A part of him knew he should leave it alone, that he should head back to camp and report it to Sergeant Mathers. But another part, the part that had always been drawn to the unknown, couldn't resist.

Before he could second-guess himself, Ethan reached out and touched the device.

The world around him seemed to blur, the sounds of the jungle fading into silence. The device's lights flared to life, and a sudden jolt of energy surged through Ethan's body. He cried out, stumbling backward, but the device stuck to his palm as if magnetized.

Pain shot through his head, sharp and overwhelming, and his vision swam. A voice, calm and mechanical, echoed in his mind.

"Super Soldier System initializing… syncing with host… synchronization complete."

"What… what's happening?" Ethan gasped, clutching his head. He felt like his brain was being rewired, strange symbols and data flashing across his vision in rapid succession.

"Welcome, Host. You are now connected to the Super Soldier System. Beginning diagnostics…"

The pain subsided as suddenly as it had begun, leaving Ethan dazed and trembling. The device detached from his hand and dissolved into blue light, disappearing entirely. He stared at his empty palm, his heart pounding.

"What the hell was that?" he muttered, his voice shaking.

Before he could process what had happened, a new screen appeared in his mind's eye, as if projected onto his consciousness.

---

Name: Ethan Cross

Level: 1

Attributes:

Strength: 3

Speed: 4

Endurance: 2

Intelligence: 5

Abilities:

None unlocked

Quests:

Survive the jungle ambush simulation (Reward: Basic Combat Reflexes)

---

Ethan blinked, his breath hitching. "Is this… real?"

The sound of branches snapping nearby snapped him out of his thoughts. He whipped around, his senses suddenly sharper than before. A rustling in the underbrush set his nerves on edge, and he instinctively crouched low.

A simulated enemy soldier burst through the foliage, its rifle raised. Ethan's mind raced. The academy's training exercises often used combat drones, but he wasn't prepared to face one alone.

The screen in his mind flashed red.

Quest: Survive the jungle ambush simulation. Time remaining: 10 minutes.

Without thinking, Ethan dove to the side as the drone fired a burst of simulated bullets. His movements felt different—faster, smoother. He rolled to his feet, his heart hammering, and grabbed a fallen branch as a makeshift weapon.

The drone advanced, its sensors locking onto him. Ethan gripped the branch tightly, his mind strangely clear despite the danger.

"You've got this," he whispered to himself. "You have to."

The drone lunged, but Ethan sidestepped it with surprising ease. Before it could recover, he swung the branch with all his might, striking its sensor array. Sparks flew, and the drone staggered, giving him just enough time to follow up with another hit.

Finally, the drone collapsed, its systems shutting down. Ethan stood over it, panting, his hands trembling.

Quest complete. Reward unlocked: Basic Combat Reflexes.

A wave of warmth spread through Ethan's body, and he felt a strange sense of clarity, as if his movements and reactions had been fine-tuned.

"What is this thing?" he muttered, staring at his hands.

Whatever had just happened, one thing was clear: Ethan Cross, the academy's outcast, was no longer the same.

For the first time in a long time, he felt something unfamiliar—hope.