Chapter 6: The Archangel

• Bzzzt!! Bzzzt!! Kalen woke up top hear his alarm going off on his phone. “Damn, it’s 6am already. I didn’t get enough sleep last night,” he grumbled as he quickly got up. He showered and brushed his teeth.
• Twenty minutes later, he was dressed in his new military uniform that was provided yesterday. He strapped on his sword and daggers, and ready to face this new challenge. He left his room surprised that Aledos was not waiting for him. He is usually up before him.
• “What happened to this fool now?” He questioned as he went to his friend’s room. “I can’t believe he is still sleeping. He reached Aledos’s room in about 15 seconds.
• Boom! Boom! Boom! He banged on his friend’s door as he called out, “Hey dumbass, what the hell are you doing in there?”
• “Alright, you can stop banging on my door. I just woke up late. I’ll be there in a minute,” Aledos yelled to his friend.
• “I said it, when the sun rises normal people respond fast to get up. But you my friend are slow as a snail. What a bad influence you are, come,” he urged his friend with an impatient tone.
• Thud! Thud! Thud! He finally heard his friend coming. His friend quickly opened the door rushing out. “Hey, Kalen,” he greeted.
• “Good morning dumbass, let’s go before we are late.” Kalen greeted back naturally, as his expression morphed back to its normal outlook.
• “Kalen, who did you just call a dumbass?” Aledos fired back, feigning anger as his expression darkened.
• “I was talking to the guy behind you. It wasn’t you, brother.”
• Aledos turned around to look and saw nothing behind him. He shouted, “One of these days I’m going to kill you, Kalen.”
• “Relax man. Let’s go, there is still 15 minutes left before we need to be on the parade field. Let’s grab something to eat.” Kalen said with a smile. He was trying so hard not to laugh at his friend. He walked off ignoring his friend fuming face.
• At the parade grounds, all the squires stood at attention, waiting for the Knight Captain to arrive. A few minutes later Knight Captain Reede arrived with his entourage of Knights as the squires saluted their captain.
• “Good morning, Knight Captain,” they greeted.
• “Good morning children,” Knight Captain Reede replied with a smile planted on his face. “I hoped everyone enjoyed themselves last night and got a good rest. The second training phase is about to begin.”
• “Now, I want everyone to group themselves into a group of two. You will be traveling to the Xeigra Branch of Camelot exobiologist forest reserve. I do advise everyone to group yourself with your best friend or someone you trust. You will need them as you expected to watch each other’s back.”
• “Those without a best friend or someone they trust. I can only sympathize with you.”
• “Everyone that survived the first phase of training receives ten marks out of 400 marks. Everyone has been informed that whoever is the best squire out of this batch of squires will receive the legendary stealth armor. Now, I must tell you that this piece of armor is of the lowest quality in the military. Don’t think it is the lowest quality, because it is still very valuable than anything you currently own.”
• “You and your teammate are required to kill as many exobeasts as you can. Everyone has learned about exobeasts during your learning years, but here is some advice.”
• “These creatures are completely different beasts from the regular augmented ones. They are heavily modified to be faster, strike harder and have a higher intelligence for a beast.”
• “They are steppingstones for your graduation. Don’t become complacent, because you will be free food for them.”
• “The total points for this phase of training are 200 marks, so try to kill as many as possible. Don’t worry we will be able to track how many kills everyone has done. Don’t try to figure it out, because it is classified.”
• “The government is going to provide each group a pair of automatic rapid laser pistols. Don’t worry about bullets. They will also provide one laser sniper rifle. Do be careful with the laser sniper, because you only have five cartridges to use, each cartridges have 10 rounds in it. I will let each group decide on who gets the laser sniper rifle.”
• “Everyone knows your sergeant, Knight Sgt Langley. He will be your escort for this trip to the reserve. It is your lucky day children, because the government is nice enough to provide the fighting warship, The Archangel for this training.”
• “I am envious and jealous of you guys. I never got this chance when I was a squire in training. This is a stuff of legends.”
• “Do cherish this moment, as veteran Knights never receive this chance to see or be on the warship The Archangel. Good luck children, I hope to see everyone back here in a month’s time. Dismissed!”
• The squires marched in an orderly but excitedly to the clearing where the warship was docked. Everyone was very excited to be on the legendary warship The Archangel. This warship is one of the highest-level techs that the Kingdom of Camelot owns. It guards the kingdom against all its enemies.
• All the squires in the south can recognize the shiny massive warship immediately on site. Since the squires were young, they’ve heard the legends of The Archangel. How it decimated the Republic of Gaul military’s ass several times in small and large-scale battles.
• The warship is equipped with most powerful engines that has ever been created, allowing it to reach hypersonic speeds. It is also equipped with heavy firepower. The government went all out with the weapons, as it has high powerful rail gun, missiles, pulse and laser cannons, and so much more. The Archangel is also having the most resilient armor to be installed with powerful shields. The perfect word that can summarize this warship is just BADASS.
• “Kalen, I can’t believe that the government is providing us with this warship.” Aledos comment as they walked to the warship.
• “It is amazing, Aledos. We are so lucky and blessed to be available to experience this. I am going to brag about this for the rest of my life,” Kalen said excitedly.
• They quickly arrived under the massive warship to see several strong steel ropes that was lowered to the ground. They each climbed a rope separately to enter the warship. The hatch was open to allow the squires to enter the warship.
• They saw Knight Sgt Langley already waiting for them inside. They immediately saluted him when they saw him. He nodded to them and motion for them to enter the warship.
• The warship interior was very luxurious, painting the scenery in a very beautiful light. The squires looked around the warship as Sgt Langley lead them to their seats. They were afraid to touch anything on the warship.
• Kalen was enchanted completely by the beauty of the warship, even the sergeant’s next words became fleeting clouds to him as his eyes sparkled in admiration.
• The Archangel is a very massive warship. It has a disc shape, just like the fictional spaceships depicted in the novels and fiction movies if it was seen from the outside. The inside was lit up completely with blue lights, illuminating everywhere with a bright warm glow.
• The squires finally settled in their seats and belted up, as they continued to admire the warship’s interior. They wish they had their phones to take pictures.
• “The warship is being controlled by an AI. By its calculations in thirty minutes, it will drop off the first set of groups and then after that it will be intervals of five minutes for the rest of the groups.”
• “I wish everyone good luck. Do your best and try to make it back home alive.” Sgt Langley said without much emotion in his voice.
• Kalen clenched his fist in anticipation, as he focused on his goal of being the best in this training.