The door clicked shut behind Anthony as he stepped out of Colonel Vazeryth's office.
He paused for a moment, standing still in the corridor.
Then, a smile crept across his face, no, a wide grin spread from ear to ear.
At that moment, Anthony was genuinely elated.
After an entire year of following a rigid, robotic training regimen with no deviation, the recognition was a sweet reward.
The relentless grind had finally paid off.
That wasn't what irked him.
What truly bothered Anthony was the fact that he had to begin at the very bottom of the military ranks.
A Private soldier?
It felt no different from being a novice adventurer, tasked with mundane chores, picking herbs for weeks before graduating to fighting slimes, then goblins.
The very thought of it filled him with extreme boredom.
How long would it take to find his girlfriend if he was stuck in such a tiresome cycle?
But now, with the rank of Lieutenant, all that had changed.
