I left Melia's abode satisfied, permission granted for my taking of her men. I looked back, my hand waving to her as she smiled at me.

I turned my back to her again with a small smile on my face. The men were Melia's.. well technically they were mine but they listened more to Melia than they did to me which was why it was so important for me to grab her permissions. A document was in my hand, one that her subordinates would recognize as her permission.

It was easy to get this document, all I needed to do was part with some of my dignity and allow her to cuddle me.

A smile price to pay for such an able force. However they weren't as good as I wanted them to be. It was why there was other things that I needed to do.

One of those being a visit to the research center to grab the surplus of weapons they were making. Hopefully the latest version.

Nothing but the best for my own.

Before I could do that though I needed to gather the men themselves. It was why I was heading to their abodes.

It wasn't that long of a walk, maybe only a couple minutes before I was staring at the network of houses that held themselves at the top of the trees.

A jump and I was on one of the bridges that connected them.

Apparently I was heard as doors and windows opened, curious looks placed towards me.

They were not suspicious of me, just curious about what I wanted. They were not subtle at all.

In fact the most subtle of them were the ones that opened their windows and sat at a chair as if they were enjoying the sun.

"Ahem-" I coughed into my fist to garner their attention, "Fifty men, all able bodied and willing to fight. On Melia's order I want you to come out."

There was some hesitance in their emotions but my voice traveled through all of the houses, I made sure of it.

That was why only a couple minutes after leaning to the side I found myself surrounded by fifty men and women.

"Come, follow me." I commanded before bringing them down the tree. Instead of just jumping off as I would have liked to, I had to take the natural path that they had created.

..

I found myself in the research hall, flanking me were the fifty that I had gathered.

It was quite a crowd however they were still unarmed which was what the visit ti here was supposed to solve.

I turned back, jumping onto a higher ledge as I faced towards them.

"I will not lie, you all will face war. However I will have no complaints as you of your own free will have signed up for this. However I will not let you go unprepared, I will do my utmost to make sure that you come home alive."

I paused for a second making sure that my gaze landed in every single one of them.

When there was no noise I continued.

"That being said, I want you to group up with people that you think you will do best with."

With that said I looked down upon them one last time before I walked back further into the building.

..

"That being said, I want you to group up with people that you think you will do best with."

I found myself gaping at what he had said. At first when the Lord had announced that he wanted fifty able bodied men I had thought that maybe it was some construction project that he wanted us to personally work on.

However that notion was thrown away when we were placed in the research hall. It was a place where only the crazies go, not people like us who were fit and happy to do the grunt work.

That was besides the point though, the research hall was where all the smart people went. The ones that could cut material costs on a building, or come up with some other method to build.

They were all snatched by this very research hall to churn out designs that made our lives easier.

Though to be here was an honor it also meant grueling work. It was why we mentioned it with crazies because even for us the work hours and learning was intense. However it was integral to our expansion which was why even though we made fun of them we still praised them in our hearts.

Now though, to stand here with so many strangers, it was a weird experience. Usually we would be assigned a task, told how to do it, and then we would complete it. Here and now, we were given a simple order.

Find someone or someones that you could work with. It was difficult for us as we barely even knew each other's names let alone personalities.

I look around, observing the people around me. However when I do I found something surprising.

Cliques were being made, of people that were friendlier with others. I sighed, this one to myself.

It seemed that I was wrong, maybe my personality wasn't to the others liking and that was why I was left alone.

Yes, that made sense. These people already knew each other and it was just my misconception that exiled me from them.

I watched as the cliques grew bigger and more diverse, each iteration isolating me further. It was enough to overwhelm me.

A spike of anxiety washing over my body. I took a deep breath to calm myself but by the time I opened my eyes again I found the makeshift podium that the Lord had used filled with weapons.

There were all sorts, some longer with higher calibers and some smaller with more bullets yet lesser calibers. Or anything in between. historical

However I didn't pay attention to any of them, instead my eyes focused on something else. It was one of the higher calibers, a sniper if I remembered right.

For some reason it just drew me towards it. Enough that I found myself next to the lord who seemed amused if anything.

I took that as a good sign and swallowed the nervousness that bubbled inside me. Taking another step forwards I place a hand to the sniper and instantly I felt at home.

My other hand went to it and I pulled it to my shoulder. It just felt right, natural.

"Your name?" It was a soft voice, one I didn't expect from the lord yet I answered anyways.

"Lock, my Lord" It was a simple name, one that had no more meaning in it than the obvious.

He smiled at me before patting me on the back, "Good name"

I nodded back making sure that my eyes were anywhere but on his.

"Thank you.." I whispered.

I heard a soft mutter back before my world turned to dark.

..

It was a forest that I woke to, not only that but it seemed to be perpetually dark. The ceiling was filled with stalactites meaning that I was most likely in a cave but how.

A cave should not have a forest slumbering below.

Before I was able to delve deeper into those thoughts I was ambushed by some creature. It wasn't a monster though nor was it a human.

It was some sort of in between. With limbs that popped up in impossible proportions and numbers and teeth that seemed to litter its mouth.

I jumped back and hid in a nearby tree, I atleast had the agility to do that, I noted that the rifle was still in my hand.

However I dared not use it, the noise alone would draw the attention of whatever other creatures were in this forest.

My feet impacted the branch and I stabilized myself before looking down at the creature. It was staring right at me, despite the fact that I wasn't in line of sight.

I jumped back again, this time stumbling onto another branch. I tried to balance myself but it did not work.

I had the option to either clutch to my rifle and fall or to let go of it and cling to the tree. It was in a second of a moment that I decided.

The weapon was too important, it was why I clutched to it and let myself fall. My back fell to the floor, knocking the wind from my lungs and stunning me for a moment.

A moment that the creature used to close the distance. I had no other choice.

BOOM

The trigger was pulled and the head of the creature exploded in gore. It was not a pretty sight but I had no time to panic.

I immediately pounced to my feet before retreating as far as I could. There were no other thoughts in my mind. All I knew was that I needed to find some shelter. Some place to hide.

I took one last look behind me, to the corpse that I had made and to the weapon that had done it.

A promise was made.

'I will master this'