After he managed to land a blow on Lord Byron, their sparring session quickly ended in quite an awkward silence.

Dale didn’t mind it though. He had his thoughts to put in order.

It seemed as though self-sacrificial means were the prevalent ways he often sought to obtain victory.

Whether it was with Decay or even his new lightning sabers, it remained the same.

That was something he wanted to change but couldn’t, at least not at the moment.

Though it was something that he was bound to fix about himself in the long run if he didn’t want to affect his potential.

Even more time passed by and before Dale could track it, it was time for them to head for their new boot camp to begin their second year fully.

Now, Dale stood in the auditorium with everyone else in his year.

His luggage was at his side. Calling it luggage was a bit of an exaggeration as it was nothing more than the clothes he had come into the boot camp with.

Some recruits had boxes worth of clothes and fashionable designer brands.

He couldn’t be further from that. Aside from his sabers and the one pair of clothes he was in, he had nothing of value.

His eyes lazily scanned the crowd.

During the break and winter solstice, a lot of them had become Awakened, partially erasing the larger-than-life reputation the Awakened trio had.

Their reputation couldn’t be completely wiped out for simply one reason.

Irrespective of the others’ ability to catch up, the fact remained that the three of them had Awakened first as the popular Awakened trio.

’Can I really call them the Awakened trio again? With Austin in their ranks, won’t it be a quartet? No... It sounds like a musical group. Awakened quartet.’ Dale could almost see the posters and crazed fans.

Austin waddled his way through the crowd and smiled as soon as he set his eyes on Dale.

The redhead hugged him. "To think we’re entering the second year already?! Crazy, huh. It feels like it was just yesterday that I saw you for the first time."

"So much has changed but not your frown. No, that has remained the same..." Austin paused, "... I think it’s even bolder now." He completed.

Dale raised an eyebrow, "What frown? I don’t have a frown."

Gary’s voice interjected. "You must definitely do."

The two turned and saw the three other members of their team approaching. Sarah skipped to Dale and said, "Leave him alone."

"I like it as he frowns. He will get wrinkles early and wrinkles are a sign of wisdom, you know?" She stated as though it were something desirable.

Dale’s jaw dropped and he turned to Trevor, "Please tell them I don’t frown." He pleaded. At least he was sure Trevor would be honest.

The latter shrugged. "I can’t. That’ll be lying." He stated so calmly.

A vein bulged on the side of Dale’s head, "Can you blame me if I’m actually frowning? Most people are idiots, weird, or both."

Austin tilted his head slightly.

"Surely, we are not part of that category, right?" He eventually asked.

Dale turned to him and they stared at each other in complete silence. "Yeah... sure."

The redhead looked ready to speak when a man walked onto the platform. Despite seeing him, Austin still wanted to speak.

Dale turned to him and did the universal gesture for silence, fighting back a laugh at his roommate’s expression.

The man on the platform was someone Dale was completely unfamiliar with.

He had ebony skin with piercing brown eyes and a huge tattoo running from his neck down his exposed arm.

Dale couldn’t tell what exactly the tattoo was of but he could recognize feathers within the inked skin.

It wasn’t as though he had gone out of his way to memorize everyone’s faces but he was sure he would have at least been a little familiar with the man’s face, especially with such unique tattoos. He wasn’t.

"I am General Malcolm." General Malcolm spoke slowly to let the recruits digest his words.

He looked over the crowd just as General Todd himself had done. ’Is it some part of a training they give them?’ Because, otherwise, there was absolutely no way that the two had a completely condescending opinion about their year of recruits.

If General Malcolm was searching for something, he hadn’t found it because his face suddenly relaxed.

The new General turned to them and spoke slowly, "I am in charge of the second year of your boot camp and will personally oversee your behavior within it."

He walked down and started strolling through the students like they were trees.

"I see a lack of uniformity and discipline. What is Todd doing with you people? No matter, you’ll be fixed soon enough."

General Malcolm lifted a recruit’s arm and looked under it.

He turned to them, "I assume these are all the items that you wish to take with you."

"Sir. Yes, Sir!!" They replied uniformly and General Malcolm smiled lightly. "Good."

"Before we begin our journey to the second military base of the Utra nation, there are a few things you should know. This base is vastly different from the one you’re all going to." He paused.

"There are a lot of tasks that will be assigned to you during your year. It is of utmost importance that you accept them eagerly and perform them diligently." His voice turned a little cold.

General Malcolm’s eyes lost all warmth. "The military isn’t a charity organization. You will work for your stay and only do anything after it has been approved by those necessary. Do we understand?!"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Dale couldn’t believe his ears. It sounded like the military was going to be using them and their abilities.

His watch buzzed and a notification popped up on the surface.

’100 credits have been deposited into my military account?’ Since when had he opened a bank account? Not to mention one with the military.’

Dale was sure he hadn’t and that left only one possibility — the military had opened it for him using his details just so they’d be able to pay him after the incident with the Ascended beast.

’I know I am not a financial law advisor but isn’t that illegal?’

Dale kissed his teeth. Who would be stupid enough to report the military to the Police?

General Malcolm nodded as he noticed they were all ready. Immediately, they all dropped unconscious.