"Why?" I asked, still processing his earlier comment.
"They're all the worst kind of criminals," Ben replied casually, as if he'd just told me the soup was cold.
"Huh?" That was all I could manage.
He glanced at me sideways, almost disappointed. "Looks like you haven't been asking the right questions. You should work on that. Might help you survive once you hit the battlefield."
Then he continued, his voice lowering just slightly.
"You ever wonder why you didn't see many civilian recruits? Not surprising, really. The death rate on the northern front isn't just a rumor. It's truth, and everyone in town knows it. That's why recruitment booths in small towns like ours don't exactly attract volunteers."
I listened, my mind already racing ahead.
"You see, when the town mayor requests it, the army doesn't just accept volunteers, they collect prisoners. Some get the option to shave years off their sentence. Others are offered a deal in exchange for avoiding the gallows. They send them to the front. Either they survive and buy their freedom… or they don't."
He looked at me with faint amusement. "Don't worry. They won't kill you. Probably. But small… 'alterations' aren't uncommon. The army thinks it builds character. And your fellow recruits?"
He chuckled. "They definitely know where to hit to make it hurt."
My stomach dropped.
So that's why the guard at the gate had eyed me so closely. Why no one else had looked like they came from school or a smithy. The rumors weren't just battlefield stories, they started right here, before a blade was ever drawn.
Before I could say more, Ben changed the topic.
"You got anywhere to go?"
I blinked at the sudden shift. "No… why?"
He shrugged. "Nothing. You're allowed to return home this week if you have one. You'll still have to show up for guard training every morning, though. But since you don't, you can sleep in one of the temporary tents set up for recruits behind the barracks."
"Thanks," I muttered.
"That's standard process," he said, waving it off. "Oh, right, your signing bonus. Ten silver. Want it now, or should the army deposit it in your new account at the Royal Bank?"
I paused.
Ten silver was more than enough to survive for a month in cheap inns, with food, even. But with the kind of company I'd be keeping… keeping it on me felt like a good way to wake up with a knife in my gut.
"Deposit it."
Ben gave an approving nod. "Smart choice."
We returned to the barracks and a clerk handed me a small canvas tent roll, marked with the army insignia. I was led to the rear yard, muddy, cramped, but lined with at least thirty identical tents.
After a hot dinner of boiled potatoes and thick barley soup, I settled into the tent.
Or tried to.
Sleep didn't come easy.
It wasn't just the fear of my new "teammates." Or the aches still lingering in my ribs. It was everything. The weight of the day, the speed at which my life had changed, and the strange silence in my mind.
Back on Earth, my real Earth, I was an engineering student. I remembered formulas, some science trivia, half a dozen documentaries. But I couldn't recall the name of my university. My hometown. My family.
No faces. No voices. No attachments.
Maybe that was for the best.
Maybe it meant I could fully become whoever I needed to be here.
Eventually, my exhaustion caught up to me, and I slipped into unconsciousness beneath rough canvas and starlight.
A sharp chime woke me.
I blinked, momentarily disoriented. But then I remembered, this wasn't a dream. The city, the camp, the criminal recruits, my status screen... it was all real.
And today was the start of training.
Ben had told me that new city guard trainees would begin physical drills thirty minutes after the first alarm. But I wasn't about to risk showing up late, not on my first day, not surrounded by convicts.
So I got up early.
The sky was still painted in deep lavender, but as I walked toward the training ground, the first rays of sunlight began piercing the horizon. Thin beams of gold slid between buildings, making the barracks look momentarily divine.
The dirt training field was wide and open, surrounded by worn posts, target dummies, and obstacle racks. Dust swirled lazily in the air, catching the light like glitter. A few tired-looking guards were already preparing equipment, their armor glinting faintly as the sun rose behind them.
Despite everything, the morning was… beautiful.
Calm. Still.
It felt like the world held its breath for a second, just for me.
And in that breath, I promised myself something:
No matter what the others were, no matter how weak I started, I would not fall behind.