Alex, who had planned the whole scenario to let others believe he had broken through to the 3rd rank, entered the chamber.
Sergeant Wyatt watched Alex enter the chamber again. He had seen him practicing nonstop for the entire month, which had indeed led to an increase in his strength. He felt Alex was a very hard-working person.
After all, everyone in the unit knew Alex had been cast out of his home, though they didn't know the full story, only that he came from a prominent family.
Just as Wyatt was about to check on the other soldiers, he saw the chamber level increase from the 5th to the 6th setting.
"This guy is using pressure to strengthen his body again. He's relentless. If he keeps this up for a few more months, he might actually break through to the 3rd rank."
Wyatt watched as the level suddenly changed to the 7th setting.
"Damn it, this madman! He's increased the pressure to a level even an early-stage 3rd-rank warrior can't handle."
Just as he was about to check the situation inside the chamber, the power cut off and the gate opened.
Wyatt saw Alex, who looked somewhat haggard from the pressure but was smiling.
"Alex, you idiot! Do you want to die in a gravitational chamber? I already told you the 6th level was the limit, but you jumped to the 7th!"
Alex looked at the sergeant, still smiling, and spoke.
"Sergeant, I broke through to the 3rd rank."
Wyatt, who had been angry, suddenly froze at Alex's words.
"Are you joking with me?"
He looked at Alex skeptically.
"No, Sergeant. I increased the pressure because I felt I could break through with the extra strain."
Hearing Alex's answer, Wyatt wasn't immediately convinced. He took him to the strength-testing room.
"Come on, show me how much your strength has actually increased."
Alex looked at the large machine used to measure warrior strength. Without hesitation, he punched it.
A loud sound echoed, and the machine displayed his strength.
"3005 kg."
He punched a few more times.
"3000 kg."
"3015 kg."
Seeing the results, Wyatt was relieved,at least Alex hadn't lied. Next, he brought him to the speed tester.
"Check your speed."
Alex tested his speed, which also surpassed the 2nd-rank warrior limit.
"302 m/s."
Seeing that Alex had crossed the threshold of a 2nd-rank warrior, Wyatt took him to the information department to update his details.
"Alex, you've worked very hard this month, so your results are good. But don't forget in battle, you need more strength than this. Don't be satisfied with small progress."
Alex heard the sergeant's earnest advice.
"Yes, Sergeant. This is just the beginning. I'll strive to reach my full potential."
Just as Alex and Wyatt were about to return to the training ground, a huge alarm sounded again.
Wyatt heard the alarm and quickly headed toward their unit. Alex followed, though he had doubts he hadn't yet had a chance to voice.
"Sergeant, these monster attacks, are they random, or are they planned?"
Wyatt looked at Alex and replied.
"They're both random and planned, depending on the situation."
Alex looked at him in surprise.
"On the day I joined the unit, those monsters didn't seem intelligent. They were running everywhere without any coordination."
Wyatt nodded and explained.
"Yes, those were the lowest-level monsters with weak bloodlines, so they had little intelligence. But there are high-bloodline monsters whose intelligence rivals that of exceptional humans."
They quickened their pace. Wyatt continued.
"These low-level monsters attack because high-bloodline monsters command them. Even a 3rd-level high-bloodline monster can command 5th-rank monsters. So on the battlefield, try to avoid those high-bloodline monsters."
Alex, hearing about high-bloodline monsters, was confused and asked.
"Sergeant, are you saying that, like humans with high talent, monsters also have different bloodlines?"
Wyatt looked at Alex and nodded.
"Yes, Alex. After this battle, you should study the detailed information about monsters and humans. At least it will help you understand them better."
Alex nodded, feeling he had missed a lot about this world.
"I need to learn everything, even the basics of this battlefield, especially its origin."
Alex and Wyatt reached the training ground, where everyone in the unit was preparing their weapons.
Alex walked to the armory. As the officer handed him a gun, Alex spoke up.
"Sir, can I have a sword as well?"
The officer in charge of the armory looked at Alex, then brought out several swords.
"Choose one C-level weapon. If you want anything above C-level, you'll need contribution points from the battlefield."
Hearing this, Alex looked at the weapons and chose one that felt suitable for his strength. He still asked,
"Sir, can you check my contribution points?"
The officer looked at Alex, asked for his details, and opened his profile.
"Your contribution points are one thousand." He turned his eyes to Alex. "With this, you can only get C-level weapons. The army provides one free weapon to soldiers according to their strength. Next time, you'll need contribution points for any weapon except standard-issue guns."
Alex nodded, took the sword and gun, and returned to the unit.
Back with his unit, Alex put on body armor and stocked extra bullets. As everyone waited, Lieutenant Andrew approached.
"Everyone, today's battle may be more intense. Intel suggests this could be a pre-planned attack. You'll need to work hard to save lives. The army has already deployed, and high-ranking warriors are waiting for the right moment to strike. Be extra careful."
Andrew then looked over the group.
"Those below the 3rd rank will stay near the base, away from the pressure of high-level warriors. The rest, follow me to the main battlefield."
Alex heard this and knew the battle would be tough for lower-level warriors. In his entire unit, only three people were above the 3rd rank including him. He looked at another soldier from his unit.
He walked over to him.
"John, what do you think the situation will be like on the battlefield?"
John looked at Alex and shook his head.
"I don't know, but where we're assigned might be more difficult this time."
Alex frowned.
"What do you mean by difficult? Our job is to save people, not to fight, right?"
John shook his head.
"You're new, so you don't understand battle. Take my advice: if you want to survive, know that we might be assigned to the front areas, where monsters won't distinguish between logistics and main army personnel."
Alex knew this was likely he had faced the same problem on his first day. But he was still confused about why these monsters attacked humans.
"John, do you know why these monsters attack us? And why doesn't the human council send every warrior to wipe them out?"
John looked at Alex, recalling rumors that he knew nothing about the world. The question only confirmed it.
"Alex, didn't you ever ask your elders about this?"
Alex thought of his elders but couldn't remember anyone who truly cared for him. He shook his head.
"I never really paid attention to those things."
John looked at his confused expression and explained,
"If you had joined a martial arts university, you would have learned the history. Since you didn't… Well, in the army, they generally don't explain it. These monsters first appeared over 1000 years ago. The reason for their appearance is kept hidden by the council only high-level warriors are allowed to know."
He continued,
"There are many theories, but they're kind of weird, so I won't get into them. About 200 years ago, these monsters killed a huge number of people before humans could organize. Different human kings came together to handle the creatures and formed the human council to bring peace to their kingdoms and protect the human race."