"Emergency assembly!"
A piercing alarm whistle woke Ryan up. He immediately opened his eyes and sprang up with a swift move, donning his combat suit in just a few seconds, and leaped down from the top bunk. When he looked up, everyone else in the barracks was already prepared, some even lined up at the door.
"Damn it! How are you guys so fast!"
Ryan grabbed the tactical jacket from the lower bunk and threw it on, the entire jacket seeming perfectly seamless, like a marvel of ghostly skill, crafted from sturdy rune cloth with the mysterious power of a spell. This tactical jacket provided protection equivalent to thick hide armor, making it difficult for ordinary bullets to penetrate, and only privates of stage five or above in the Mechanical Heart can equip it.
Ryan graduated as a private of the third stage, and they were also the third batch to be promoted as Transcendents.
