Dale felt like he had been thrown in a meat grinder made of broken glass.

He felt the world around him spin, twist on itself, and explode in a constant loop that sent an ocean of pain crashing into him.

Naturally, he would have opened his mouth to scream but for some reason, it felt as though his jaw was sealed tight.

Even his eyes were clamped shut so he couldn’t even attempt to make sense of his location.

’Damn it! This is what I get for trying to join the army?!’

Soon however, the pain came to an abrupt end and he was thrown out into an empty field.

Dale opened his eyes, groaning as his muscles ached. He had heard of teleportation as a means used by the military but he hadn’t expected it to hurt that much.

On the positive side, he wasn’t actually hurt; he just felt that way.

If that was how recruits were treated, it was no surprise that the registration office had been empty when we entered.

’Lucky bastards.’ He was starting to envy those who had the wit to avoid conscription... unlike him.

Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts aside and took in the view. Truly, he seemed to be standing amidst a beautiful field. It was so wide, it stretched over the horizon.

A small smile crept on his face. Unlike the city, the air was extremely fresh and the setting sun warmed his skin.

Goosebumps suddenly flared across his skin. Something wasn’t right.

Sure, he was in a grassy place yet that was all there was for miles and miles. Just vibrant, green grass. Not even wind or the annoying chirping of crickets existed that one wouldn’t expect.

Dale’s eyes squinted and he crouched a little.

He turned in a slow circle, trying to keep an eye and an ear out for anything suspicious.

’For all I know, the teleport has gone wrong.’

A sudden shadow was cast over him and he quickly turned, swinging his fist back with full force.

Before he could register what had jumped him, his fist clanged against a metal sphere.

The item reverberated due to the force, sounding like a gong.

Dale winced and pulled his bruised fist back. "What?" He had expected a bear or at least a human... not a ball? Just what was going on?

Half a dozen rods suddenly lifted through the grass and turned to face him. "Wait, what?"

Their ends lit up with a bright red light before releasing a short beam of light.

Dale jumped, twisting his body unnaturally to avoid it only to be met with two more beams. He swerved, ducked, and dived as quickly as he could and for just as long.

Soon, a beam struck him on his chest, stopping him dead in his tracks but at least, it wasn’t painful.

All the lit rods lost their light and retracted back underground. This was the second time something had popped out of the ground.

There was no mistaking it, someone was behind it.

A slow, performative clap drew his attention to behind him.

Dale turned around half-expecting to see a mad scientist but what he saw was a woman wearing a lab coat and a pair of glasses as well as a tablet in her hand.

Her blonde hair was tied neatly into a bun and she looked nothing short of stunning, straight out of most men’s fantasies.

She stared at Dale in the eye and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. "Well done, Dale Green." Her voice was completely steady.

It was different from indifference. It sounded both pleased and uncaring at the same time.

’She knows my name. So this is the military?’

Dale smiled nervously, "T-thank you for having me?"

Without replying, she tapped away at her tablet and spoke without looking up.

"Dale Green, you have successfully passed the mandatory assessment. Your core strength is reaction speed... useful in battle. And as for your actual ability and its uses, that will be explored later on. Do you understand?"

He stared like a child for a moment. ’Mandatory assessment? Since when does one assess without telling the one being assessed?!’

She had asked him a question and he needed to answer. "Yes, I do."

She smiled. "Good, I don’t like repeating myself. I am Sergeant Joanne and will be personally overseeing your integration into the boot camp and hopefully, the militant units."

Dale chuckled mirthlessly. Sergeant Joanne managed to reveal so much while being mysterious. Those were usually the most dangerous... at least from his experience.

She waved her hand all around them. "You’ll have to ignore this otherwise unnatural scenery. We have to make sure all landing parties are at least disoriented for a while."

Her hand typed on the tablet and the grassy planes suddenly changed, flickering out of existence to reveal a pure white room.

The room had sectioned tiles which seemed able to open on command as well as holes — unmistakably that which the light rods had come from.

Dale squinted and the pieces clicked together in his head. ’So the entire grassy plane was a hologram?’ That certainly explained a lot.

The sergeant cleared her throat to get our attention. She had given him enough time to process.

"These are the things you need to know." She paused to make sure he was paying attention.

"You already had your data watch handed to you on the point of registration. Do not, under any circumstances, take it off. Is that clear?"

Dale nodded.

The corners of her lips rose slightly in a barely contained snarl. "At a time of your convenience and also before tomorrow, head over to the clinic and list out the details of your ability."

Sergeant Joanne inhaled sharply. "Your watch’s default display is a map of this entire structure. It will guide you. Your room is ’108’. Other information will be communicated to you in time. We shall meet again." And then, he vanished.

Dale wasn’t even sure if she had actually vanished or if the holograms were hiding her. Not that it mattered anymore, he was in the boot camp!