4. Admission.
4. Admission.
The transport ship carrying Kal slowly rose into the sky. He couldn't help but feel grim as he watched the ground grow distant. Even though he had an Ion Buster implanted in his body, he couldn't exactly feel at ease knowing his destination was the infamous Hell-Lugal.
The reason Kal's father, the Commander, had sent his son to the Hell-Lugal training camp was obvious. There were few places that boasted such ironclad surveillance. Even for Kal, who was a seasoned pro at running away, there would be no way out of that place.
You really are relentless, Father. Did you want to keep a leash on your son until the very end...?
The son recalled his father's stubborn face. He had endured for five years, but in the end, he couldn't change his father's mind. ...In a way, it was a truly pitiful and bitter result.
"I'm sorry."
Ellis, who was sitting across from Kal, hesitated for a long time before apologizing. He, who had been watching the blue sky outside the window turn black, glanced at his terribly upright knight friend. There was an unmistakable sense of guilt on her face.
"Don't be. You're in a position where you have no choice but to do as the Commander says. ...I understand."
He had spent enough time in the military himself; how could he not know something like that? However, contrary to her appearance, she was unexpectedly soft-hearted and introverted, often agonizing over even the smallest things for a long time.
"Ellis, your personality is the same as it was back then. ...Ah, but your boobs grew out nicely."
"The young master has become much more lecherous."
Hearing that he was lecherous, Kal let out a snickering laugh.
"Living with sexual frustration for so long, you know, my mind's gone a bit wonky? Whenever I see a woman, my eyes go straight to her tits."
"Haa... Young master... Please, maintain some dignity. If not for yourself, then for the Commander's face."
"Hmph, that old man of a father, sending his precious son to such a hellhole... Ah, alright, alright. I got it... Hey, you're great in every way, but I think you need to learn some joke skills. A boring woman isn't popular with men, no matter how pretty she is, you know? You should try being a little cute, too. Maybe show off your chest a little here and there."
"I'm fine not being popular."
"You'll end up an old maid and die alone, you know?"
"I, am, fine. I, will, take, care, of, it, myself."
As Ellis's aura turned murderous, Kal wisely shut his mouth. She barely held back the urge to smack this annoying bastard who knew exactly how to hit and run.
The transport ship soon fell silent. It entered the scanning room of a 10-million-ton battleship floating in space. As the ship landed, Ellis unbuckled her belt and stood up. Of course, Kal, who had to go much further, just sat there and watched her actions quietly.
"Take care, Ellis. See you next time."
"Please be careful, young master."
"Learn some funny jokes by the next time I see you. I'll check then. Got it?"
Ellis got off the transport ship without answering. Kal watched her disembark through the window. Soon, the spaceship began to rise, and in an instant, it was back out in space.
Those twinkling stars embedded countless times over the pitch-black curtain—. He had left his beloved hometown after just one day, only to embark on another journey with no promise of return.
And to the notorious Hell-Lugal, at that—.
Yeah, fuck it, people live there too, right? It's not like I'm going to die, right? And I'm the Commander's son, for god's sake!
Kal tried to keep a relaxed mindset. And considering how much military experience he had, surely he could survive just one training camp.
The transport ship soon preheated its engines for a space jump.
Just as the pinprick stars seemed to stretch out, the spaceship tore through space and shot forward in an instant.
To that— very distant place.
· · ·
Hell-Lugal, the prison planet that specializes in locking up all kinds of heinous criminals of the Empire.
True to its notoriety, many of the people coming to this Hell-Lugal training camp were no pushovers. Of course, in a bad way.
Those who had criminal records among those granted permission to enlist in the Imperial Army were sent here without exception, and those who were vaguely unqualified, those without connections, and those who were just plain unlucky bastards also ended up here. There were even very rare cases of people being transferred here after causing trouble at other training camps.
Anyway, since most of them were bastards with nothing to their names, the treatment of the trainees was bound to be shit. In other words, both the prison and the training camp were notorious. ...Then again, what kind of crazy trainee would want to come to a training camp on this backwater prison planet—!
Kal finally arrived at this Hell-Lugal training camp, which was the worst of the worst.
He got off at the station, squeezed in among the countless trainees. As expected of Hell-Lugal—, the trainees had faces that made you want to say that. Honestly, they looked like they should be going into that prison right now rather than the Imperial Army.
Wow, fuck, this is gonna be so much fun, you fucker—.
Kal let out a long sigh and walked sluggishly toward the training camp with the other trainees. Perhaps because they hadn't entered the camp yet, the foul-mouthed instructors hadn't started spewing profanity yet. It was probably because there were still civilians around the station. Maybe there was an order from above to try and improve the shitty image of Hell-Lugal.
And so, countless trainees walked in a line like prisoners for a long time. You'd think they'd provide a vehicle for this distance, but as expected, the shittiness of Hell-Lugal didn't let down expectations.
Kal had asked a peer who was a Hell-Lugal training camp alumnus about what it was like a few times before. The answer was always consistently that it was shit. That if you go there twice, it's better to just die...
Fuck, God, please don't make me a degenerate who curses his own father—.
However, for some reason, he couldn't shake the ominous feeling that he would be cursing his father the whole time he was here. To make matters worse, the day was gloomily overcast, making his mood even shittier.
The trainees, walking like prisoners, finally entered the training camp. The high, thick walls, the color of crushed rotten spinach, combined with the gloomy weather to heighten the eerie and goddamn atmosphere.
Fuck, I can't believe I'm back at a training camp—.
Having already experienced a training camp once, Kal finally felt the reality of this second enlistment vividly. How could one describe that fucking shitty feeling—!
"Hey you fucking assholes, aren't you going to move faster?! Fuuuuck, I thought I was going to die of frustration earlier, you fucking assholes—!"
The buzz-cut instructor started by asserting dominance, spewing profanity as soon as the trainees entered. Since they were being cursed at out of the blue, the trainees' eyes couldn't help but widen.
"Line up quickly, you fucking assholes—!"
The instructors screamed, making the trainees line up on the parade ground. They made them stand in lines, regardless of gender, and look up at the podium in front.
A while later, a figure who appeared to be the training camp commander came out with the instructors. He looked to be around his 40s. Since being stuck in this goddamn training camp meant being far from a career path, the commander's face was also plastered with a look of bitterness. So, perhaps he had the mindset of wanting to play king here and work these trainees to the bone.
Soon, a speech without fun or inspiration droned on, and the enlistment ceremony ended. The instructors divided the randomly assigned lines into a few more sections to determine each group.
Naturally, they separated men and women at this point. It was to prevent the unfortunate incident of the population exploding if they shoved vigorous males and females into one place.
Of course, bastards who want to have sex will find a way to do it no matter what, so condoms were later found by the box. However, if a pregnancy were to happen, the man and woman who caused the fire incident would be immediately discharged. But it wasn't just a simple discharge; they'd get prison labor added on top. They'd have to work for 2 years without pay at the Hell-Lugal prison.
To avoid that shitty situation, contraception was essential. Still, they said one or two such crazy couples popped up every year.
Anyway, Kal, who was assigned to Group 5, entered the [Dormitory] building while rubbing shoulders with faces that smelled sour. The old-fashioned [Dormitory], where everything was manual rather than automatic, was truly worse than a nightmare.
They packaged it nicely, saying the reason it was made this way was to master the skills to survive in any situation, but he obviously couldn't accept that. If the ship explodes, everyone dies anyway, so why the need to abandon the conveniences of civilization? It didn't seem like survival skills improved noticeably, either...
"Stand in front of your lockers quickly, you bastards—!"
The Group 5 instructor shouted at the scrambling trainees with a murderous glare. As soon as the trainees grabbed a locker each and stood tall in front of it, the instructors told them to unpack all their luggage and wait for a moment.
When the instructor disappeared, a subtle silence flowed in the 5th [Dormitory]. Most of them had already tasted the sweet and bitter of society, so they knew that the first power struggle was important.
However, for now, they were just glancing at each other without taking any action. They had just entered the [Dormitory] and claimed their spots, and they didn't know what kind of shitty disciplinary action they'd face if they fought already.
Of course, that was only a matter of time. It was strange if a hierarchy struggle didn't happen after shoving a bunch of rough men into one place.
At that moment, a loud sound suddenly came from the hallway.
Sounds of objects breaking and shattering began to ring out.
Wow, you guys are impressive.
Kal let out a snort as he heard the sound.
...And the 5th [Dormitory]'s first initiation ceremony wouldn't be long now.