Enlisting

Several days have passed since Joseph found himself waking in a forest. He had continued his travel northward attempting to reach the border cities. Fortunately for him there was plenty of wild game and other food and water sources so he was fairly well taken care of, the only thing he regretted is that the ground wasn't very comfortable.

The first time he killed a dear, he found that he received 1 exp for doing so. Discovering for the first time that killing anything, even outside of the towers, would reward you with something if weren't to far beyond it in terms of grade.

He notated it as a kind of interesting story but was too focused on his task to really care about its implications.

On the 10th day of his journey he stumbled across a small trading post where he was able to finally get an idea of where he actually was. Walking towards the gate guards he presented his system ID to verify his identity as a non hostile.

The guards were dressed in standard military black. Patches on their shoulders indicated their grade and rank, these two just happened to be F grade privates in the northwest border army. This particular army was rather famous, having garnered a great number of accolades for their successful repulsion of the yearly raids. Seven straight without a breach, their general is rumored to be an S class blessed, but no one really knows as the individual doesn't really interact with anyone. 

Looking at his ID the guard on his left asked the standard questions in a deep gruff base. His boredom was evident as most people these days preferred to delve the towers non stop, so there weren't very many recruits to process on the border front.

"What is your purpose on the northern front sir?"

"I wish to enlist in the border forces." was Joseph's crisp reply. He had a lot of time to think about his particular predicament over the past several days. He still didn't know who was after him, but he knew he needed some kind of deterrent force that was at least more potent then Aden was.

Each of the generals serving on the fronts were all legendary blessed, but the northwestern general was a cut above.

"Well done boy!" came the guards enthusiastic reply, he would get a small commission if he was able to secure a recruit for the border. He quickly radioed for someone to come and take his post while he led Joseph to the necessary recruitment offices.

It took all of 5 minutes for the new guard to arrive after which the one who had spoken to him gestured for Joseph to follow. The outpost was little more than a supply station, with caravans of recruits, weapons, and other essentials being checked and verified before they were sent further on. But as in all military stations they had a recruitment office just in case a wandering adventurer or blessed individual wanted to volunteer. 

No one was ever turned away from the border forces, the only requirement for service was to be willing and able to hold a weapon. Now of course there were differing levels of benefits and opportunities depending on the individual but one could expect full meals, decent pay, and a place to sleep. Even for the lowest member of the unit, they still lived better than most F grades who decided not to enlist at all.

Stepping through the wooden doors leading to the office he was met with a familiar sight. The office was laid out in a very similar fashion to the guild halls bar and reception hall. With different service members standing behind the waist high counters just waiting for someone to serve. There was only one other recruit currently signing up, a tall black haired young man decked out in full leather gear and a dagger strapped to the small of his back. 

The young man shot Joseph a quick glance but showed no other sign of interest, quickly returning to the paperwork in front of him.

Being an E grade himself Joseph could tell that this young man was just as strong as he was. This realization was something of a shock to him, and not without good reason. "I'll have to keep a look out for him." Joseph thought, it was good to keep tabs on strong potential allies.

Approaching a young man behind the counter the guard introduced Joseph and told him what was wanted. Smiling broadly the young man behind the counter enthusiastically welcomed Joseph and recorded the guards name as the recruitment point.

"Welcome, welcome to the northwest border army recruitment office. My name is Athor, I understand that you would like to register as a new recruit?"

Nodding his head in response Joseph was then presented with a pile of paperwork, which Athor seemed all to pleased to plop down in front of him with a loud 'Bang!'

"Please just fill these out to the best of your abilities, also please note that it is not recommended for you to lie about your current grade or potential. The initial benefits may be nice but the danger is also equally ramped up."

Joseph couldn't think of anything more idiotic than purposefully elevating ones grade beyond what they could handle. It was basically committing suicide to enter Towers or battlefields that were above ones grade by more than an small margin. F grades could beat weak, really weak, E grades but that was the end of their prowess.

"Not to worry," Joseph replied amicably. "I don't intend to falsify my grade at all."

"Wonderful!" Came Athor's customarily enthusiastic reply. "Then you wont die during orientation!"

Hearing this caused a bit of nervousness to creep into Joseph's mind. "What kind of orientation is he talking about?" Shaking his head Joseph resolved to find that out himself later. He was already here after all and didn't have any better options currently available to him.

The paperwork was fairly standard, requiring name, age, grade, ability, home town, etc. Joseph filled it out as best he could only leaving out the true measure of his abilities potential. 

Once Athor received the paperwork back he stamped it then took it into a back office for a few minutes. Once he came back he handed Joseph a new uniform with several patches laid in a pile on top. Also included was an identification card, rewards packet, and general information booklet.

"What's all this?" Joseph asked. As far as he knew there was some kind of interview process he was supposed to go through. "Didn't you just mention an orientation thing?"

"Oh don't worry about that." Came the happy reply. "Those things are waived for A grade potential candidates with combat abilities. You have no idea how much the border is hurting for more effective combat personnel."

This both did and didn't make sense to Joseph, he knew for a fact that the border hadn't had a breach in 7 years. How could it possibly be hurting for personnel?

"I can see your confused," Athor continued. "You don't need to worry, everything is detailed in your welcome packet and information booklet. Also due to your advanced potential and current capabilities you have been granted a promotion to the officer corp. Congratulations Second Lieutenant, you report to Lieutenant Colonel Gamba starting tomorrow."

Joseph was shocked at this development, "An officer?" he cried internally. "I had expected to join as a private and work my way up! Guess they really are hurting for people."

Gathering all of his materials he retired to the restroom that was attached to the office in order to change. All of the items were D grade artifacts that gave a uniform boost to his stats. They were also far more durable than ordinary clothing so he didn't need to worry about them getting damaged as much. 

"How crazy is this." He chucked to himself. "Not even two weeks ago I was struggling to understand exactly how much time I would have to delve into towers to get a set of gear like this...How times have changed."

He was able to appreciate how the new uniform made him look, with his gold bar attached to the lapels on his shirt they identified him as an officer in the army. Albeit the lowest ranked but still it was a far better start than he had hoped for. The sharp lines and compact look made him seem far more imposing than he normally did, which of course was by design. 

"I suppose the only thing to do now is move on, cant stand around admiring myself forever right?" Chuckling at his own joke Joseph went back to the counter to thank Athor for his help.

"No need to thank me sir." Athor raised his right hand to his brow in salute as he replied. "It was my pleasure to serve you sir!"

Once more the boy's attitude made Joseph smile. Returning the salute Joseph left to find the next caravan that was leaving towards the front. What he didn't know is that he was heading into a war zone that no report could ever do justice.