Alwin appeared on the other side of the portal within a fraction of a second. Unlike last time he didn't end up inside a giant tree like during his foray to the Forest of Beginnings. Neither did he arrive inside a fancy building like the Warp Station. Instead, Alwin found himself inside a cramped tent. A tent only high enough to house the portal gate itself.

  Before he could continue his description of the tent, the entrance flap was thrown open, and a voice boomed at him.

  "What's the hold up!"

  That monster was unlike anything Alwin had ever seen before. It had the shape of a wolf, whose fur was a blend of gray and brown. Except, unlike a normal wolf it stood on two powerful hind legs. Even more, differing from the norm, the wolf wore clothing, not just any clothing. These were combat uniforms.

  The uniform was a green and brown camouflage set, with matching pants that had so many pockets it’d make a girl jealous. Finally, it was completed with a pair of knee-high black boots which were specially shaped to fit his furry paws.

  "Recruit! Are you done dawdling around? If I have to wait another ten seconds I'll report you for insubordination!" The wolf barked. "Get out of the tent and assemble with the rest of your platoon! Right now!"

  Alwin stumbled out of the tent as fast as his little hops could carry him, all while struggling to balance the assortment of items on his head. He had expected to step foot onto a huge military base equipped with rows of tanks and soldiers marching in formation.

  Instead, he was greeted by… another tent.

  Where were the military grounds? Where were the tanks? Where were the grizzled soldiers marching up and down carrying pew pew guns? Most importantly, when did he get a gun?

  While he pondered his answers to those questions, Alwin lined up in formation with the rest of his classmates. They stood at attention waiting for orders, well most of them. Alwin slouched forward with only a single care in the world—balancing the stuff on his head. While Gus continued to munch on his muffin.

  The mean wolf monster who screamed at Alwin walked out of the portal tent. He paced around, his piercing eyes, sweeping over every student present.

  "My name is Sergeant Fangfang and I will be the one in charge of escorting you lot. Now, I don't know what they taught you at the Academy, but this is the most undisciplined group that I have ever had the misfortune of meeting."

  Fangfang stopped dead in front of Gus. His glare could cut through steel, but Gus remained unfazed. He continued to eat his muffin as if nothing had happened.

  "You!" Fangfang snapped, jabbing a claw at Gus.

  "Me?" Gus answered, his mouth full of crumbs.

  "Yes, you. Put that muffin away immediately!"

  "But I'm still eating it."

  "NOW!"

  With a defeated sigh, Gus obliged. He stored the half-eaten muffin inside of his stomach. "Now I can't savor it." He pouted.

  "And you!" he turned around, his eyes locked on to Alwin. "What is that on your head?"

  "Who? Me?" Alwin blinked, unsure if he was actually talking to him or the person next to him.

  "Of course, you! Is there anyone behind you?"

  Alwin turned around and found nothing but the dull fabric of the tent.

  "Maybe? What if there's a ghost behind me? Or like through the tent there’s someone with super hearing and you're actually talking to them?"

  "Funny guy, huh? Maybe I should just fail you right here, right now?" Fangfang growled.

  Alwin didn't say anything else after that. He could hear Niwla scolding him from the depths of his consciousness. So, instead of saying anything stupid or offending the mean, angry, violent dog, he remained silent.

  Fangfang gave one final glare before exhaling a slow, heavy sigh. "I expected far better behavior from future Coremmanders. Still, it seems like there's always a few slackers. Whatever the case, we've wasted enough time. Let me give you a quick rundown of why you're here today."

  Fangfang cleared his throat before continuing.

  "This final exam is meant to give you a feel of real operations in the field. As Coremmanders it's only right you understand what the future subordinates under your leadership have to go through. The best way to do that? Experiencing it yourself firsthand. Each squad has been assigned a mission. Once you’ve received your mission details, you are permitted to gather more intel. However, it is expected that you all set out by noon. Your exams are concluded when you either finish the task or give up. Do I make myself clear?"

  Silence was his answer.

  Fangfang let out a heavy sigh. "I am not repeating myself. If you are unclear on any part of the explanation then speak now. Otherwise, I’ll take it that you understand."

  More silence.

  "Good," Fangfang nodded. "Now, follow me. I’ll give you a brief tour of the camp."

  Fangfang trotted out through the tent flaps, leading the class outside. Following right behind him, Alwin peeked out of the entrance eager to catch a glimpse of what lay beyond.

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  What greeted Alwin's eyes was a field of tents. When he looked up, he saw the sky, or what he thought was the sky… Something was off.

  At first glance, the sky was a soft, light blue, with clouds floating by. But, the longer Alwin stared, the stranger it became. The sky wasn’t the sky at all. It was fabric. A massive stretch of fabric which encompassed the entire camp. The clouds drifting along? Those were actually painted on. The only thing drifting was him.

  Even the sun was nothing but a painting. If so, how was it so blinding to the point it could light up the whole area? Through the weird bright spots building up in his vision from staring at the fake sun for too long, Alwin finally noticed that it was actually just a really big lightbulb.

  So, they were inside of another huge tent?

  After looking up for so long, Alwin decided to follow the rest of his classmates and look at what's around them. Tents, tents, and more tents. Oh, and other monsters obviously.

  A pack of wolf monsters, similar looking to Sergeant Fangfang, but probably a million times nicer, were performing marching drills across the 'field.'

  Not far from them, was a herd of goat monsters—also moving about on their hind legs—who were practicing head-to-head combat. Yup, not hand-to-hand, but head-to-head They sparred by ramming into each other with their thick, curved horns, attempting to knock their opponents over. The impact echoed across the giant tent.

  Meanwhile, Gus was fixated on another group of monsters and Alwin knew why.

  Way over in the distance, stationed in front of yet another tent, this time a mustard yellow, was a bunch of vegetable monsters. Most of them were some sort of giant cabbage monster, their leaves serving as both hands and feet. Unlike the other monsters nearby, they were practicing a sacred art that Gus couldn't ignore. It was the art of cooking.

  Various vegetables—the non-monster kind—were tossed high into the air. In a single slash with their razor-sharp leaves, they managed to chop them all into tiny pieces mid-air. The diced pieces landed into a bowl only to be dumped into a pot of boiling water. The rich aroma of soup wafted through the air, luring in Gus.

  Before he could even think about dashing toward them, Uchronia lifted him off the ground. His paws paddled against the air, muscles tensed, as he attempted to run toward his one true calling. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he never came any closer. Eventually, Gus noticed why. He slumped against Uchronia’s grip, defeated.

  With Gus secured, Uchronia continued to follow along behind the rest of the class and Sergeant Fangfang as he started to give another explanation.

  "You students are lucky that your final exam is part of such an important task. We've received intel that a cultivator sect is in the midst of expanding their territory nearby. As such our company has been tasked with finding out more information and putting a stop to their expansion. However, right now we ourselves are in the middle of setting up base camp. It's a temporary outpost until the mission is completed. Unfortunately, we don’t know how long that could take. That is why most of our infrastructure consists of tents. This is Tentative Camp."

  Alwin wasn't really paying attention for most of the speech, but at the end, his attention snapped back into focus.

  Tentative Camp? Whoever named it was a monster after his own heart. The pun resonated with him at a deeper level. A sense of purpose began to well up within Alwin. He wanted nothing more than to go and above and beyond for the mission. Not because he wanted to please his classmates nor did he want to impress that brute of a sergeant, but simply because the name of the camp spoke to his heart. It motivated him beyond anything he could even dream of—barring earning Uchronia's approval of course. He would complete his mission flawlessly.

  "We have multiple platoons stationed here, which I'm sure you've already noticed going about their training. There's the Alpha Wolves." He pointed to the squadron of wolves who had gone from marching drills to performing sprints around a makeshift track."

  "The Battle Horns."

  Alwin's eyes shifted towards the goats who had been sparring by ramming their horns into each other. However, they had transitioned from a physical duel to a more... sophisticated one.

  They still used their horns, but instead of battering rams, their horns blasted out musical notes. Trumpet blasts, trombones wails, to even a sultry saxophone. Music filled the air as they belted out solos in a musical duel for the ages. It was a battle of the horns both physically and metaphorically.

  "Lastly, we have the Caesar Salads."

  It was the same group of vegetables that had been practicing their cutting skills. Now, they were still practicing them. Rather than slicing, they focused more on stabbing. Each vegetable monster dodged, parried, and counter-attacked with their leafy blades. Some less fortunate—and unskilled—ones ended up with leafy greens penetrating their bodies.

  "In charge of all three platoons is our commander-in-chief, Commander Cooper. As part of your final exams, each squad will be attached to a platoon and you are to carry out your assigned tasks. Once the platoon leader deems that it is completed you will have been considered pass and are free to return back to Monsteria through the Warp Gate. Any questions?"

  "Sergeant Fangfang." Uchronia raised up a leaf.

  "Speak, recruit."

  "There are three platoons, but we have four squads in our class. How will we be split up?"

  What a silly question. That just meant that one platoon had the burden of handling two squads. How could Uchronia not realize this sooner? Shame on her. All of the equipment balancing on his head must be training his brain at an astronomical level. If not how else could he derive such an immaculate conclusion.

  "Astute observation," Sergeant Fangfang replied. "You are Uchronia, I presume?"

  "Yes, sergeant."

  "Your squad has the fortune of being directed by the commander himself. The rest of you lot, make your way to your respective platoons. Bion's squad to the Alpha wolves, Galeo's squad to the Battle Horns, and Tess' squad to the Caesar Salads. Uchronia, your squad will follow me as I escort you to the commander."

  The rest of Alwin's classmates dispersed to their respective platoons. Bion in particular was mumbling and grumbling about something inconsequential—probably about how Alwin got to work together with the big boss.

  When all of the other students had dispersed, Sergeant Fangfang had a look on his face that resembled disbelief. Between Alwin’s balancing act and Gus with yet another muffin he managed to pull out from who knows where it made sense why he felt that way.

  He shook his head and led them towards another section of the camp.

  If Alwin had to describe their destination, it would be the most important part of Tentative Camp. The reason? It was the largest tent that stood right smack dab in the middle of the camp.

  Guards from each platoon protected the perimeter of the tent armed to the teeth with weapons, armor, and equipment. After checking in with the guards, Sergeant Fangfang led the squad inside.

  The moment they entered the tent, a wave of heat hit them It felt like they had just entered a sauna. Not only that, blinding lights obscured their vision.

  Through the hazy glow, a shadowy silhouette greeted the squad, his arms moving in a slow rhythmic motion as if stroking something.

  "Sir, I've brought the recruits you’ve requested for their final exam," Sergeant Fangfang said.

  "Very good, sergeant," said the commander. "You're dismissed. And close the tent for Cor's sake. You're letting out all of the warmth."

  "Yes, sir."

  Fangfang obeyed without hesitation, stepping out and sealing the flap behind him. Now it was just Alwin, Gus, and Uchronia, together with the mysterious commander of Tentative Camp.

  What sort of task would they be assigned? Boy, he sure couldn't wait to find out. Here's to hoping it's a super easy one.