The much-anticipated Monday finally came, as cadets came out from their rooms in their brand-new Spartan military uniform. Clark came outside alongside Leo; they paused a little to admire themselves and the scenery. The dark-toned color of the Spartan uniform made them look like mature and influential men of power. Their slightly bulky stature even kind made them look hot if looked at from the perspective of a female. After admiring how good they looked on the uniform, they smiled before moving forward together to the assembly ground. … After climbing the erected platform, Captain Spoky smiled as he got prepared to address the cadets. After exchanging military greetings with them, he paused for a moment as he became slightly dazed. He quickly recovered his bearing, as he started giving his last speech to this cadet batch. "I won’t call you cadets again. As from today, you are all bonafide soldiers of the Sparta republic. Some of you may already know, but I'll still inform you for those, not in the know”. “This cadet training base is the 2nd best training base here in Southern Sparta. The opportunity you got to train here is precious, don't neglect it after your graduation. Always strive to become better as a soldier, that is the way of the Spartan republic”. “It is a great honor for all of you to take the warship, The Megalodon, as your transport ferry to your graduation ceremony. Try to control impulses as well as possible, because you're not the only graduands taking it”. “The warship will carry us together with the cadets from the best military training base here in Southern Sparta”. After an elaborate session of advice and instructions by their captain, they finally went out as the warship descended. Captain Spoky accompanied them together with the 5 sergeants in the base. This time, they didn’t have to scale ropes as the warship released a teleportation field after descending a little from its standard hibernation height. They walked into the teleportation field and instantly disappeared, as they appeared inside the warship the next moment. It was a very novel experience for the cadets. Clark moved forward with the others, still awed from the warship's use of the products of advancing technology. This was probably all the cadet’s first time entering a teleportation field. The use of teleportation fields is just one of the many marvels, created from the increasing technological skills used by humans. After entering the warship, they moved forward directly to the main compartment where they saw another group of soldiers already seated. “These are probably the graduating soldiers from the supposedly best Southern training base,” Clark thought while silently observing them. A fair-skinned, broad chested, and burly-looking soldier suddenly stood up from this new group of cadets, as he came to greet their captain with a smile. “Spoky!!!, after such a long time we meet again my good brother”. He said loudly with a broad smile on his face. “Really?? Spoky, are those wrinkles I'm seeing on your face? Hahaha, old age is finally catching up to you,” he laughed loudly, as he advanced to give Captain Spoky a handshake. Before their greeting could even pass the animation phase, this guy already started poking fun at his counterpart. Captain Spoky returned the handshake calmly while slightly smiling, as he remarked. "Old age is catching up to the both of us, so pipe down mate”. “Don't embarrass yourself in front of the kids. Stop talking and acting like a kid”. It seemed after their greeting, a fuse was switched on, as they behaved like 2 naughty kids who finally saw each other after a decade-long separation. After bickering back and forth for some time, the burly man finally spared the cadets some attention. “Good morning captain,” the sergeants greeted. The cadets also quickly greeted, having already recognized the identity of this man by now. The man just laughed, as he scrutinized Clark and the rest cadets. "Hmmm, these little guys look ferocious. Good, they are just my style," he commented with a smile. “They really look like record-breaking cadets to me,” he casually added, as his attention turned back to Captain Spoky. “All soldiers are expected to be seated; the warship is ready to move". The emotionless voice of the warship’s A. I finally intervened, as it spared the cadets from the blabbering of the 2 captains. They quickly located seats at the side, they sat down while at the same time observing the other cadets sitting beside them. The other cadets reciprocated, as they just observed themselves. While this happened, their 2 leaders sat together, nonchalantly ignoring their staring contest. They occupied themselves with gossip, blabbering of their youthful glory days of hot bloodedness. The warship finally moved away, as it took the straight route leading to the Southern Sparta military headquarters. None of the cadets talked nor discussed except the 2 captains, as the warship silently moved forward. Minutes later, the warship finally decelerated as it arrived at the huge and heavily fortified government building. The huge graduation hall was only a small part of the military headquarters, but itself alone was already outrageously long and wide. The huge hall was already filled with a sea of people on their arrival. As the main protagonists of the ceremony, they naturally came last to herald its start. After teleporting them down, the soldiers from the best training base moved in first, as Clark’s group followed shortly after. It was just like a red-carpet show, as all the lights focused on them as soon as they climbed into the hall while their captain led them forward. Clark felt a little shaken by the huge crowd, but he was also very excited. Thousands of eyes looked at them as they moved forward uniformly. He was not close to the audience, but he knew that these thousands of stares directed at them were those of admiration. The front row seats were allocated to them, together with the soldiers from the best training base. The military cadet training bases of the Spartan republic had no names, the government referred to them through code numbers based on their performance ranks. Other bottom-ranking training bases frequently fluctuate in the rankings, but the 2 best training bases in South Sparta never changed ranks as their cadet’s performance was consistently always the best. Despite them taking most of the limelight, they were not the only graduating soldiers as thousands of graduates from other training bases sat behind them. After their arrival, the ceremony officially started as the Spartan national anthem was played from the hidden sound amplifiers. The atmosphere felt very epic to Clark, as the singing of the national anthem made the ceremony look more sacred and important. After the national anthem, the ceremony kick-started, as the mc came forward to take over the stage. After the officials of the ceremony did a lot of military procedures, they were finally asked to take the binding military oath. All the new soldiers stood up with a solemn expression on their faces, as they said the oat with vigor. After taking a deep breath, Clark also started taking his oath. “I, Clark Pendragon, pledge to always abide by the rules and regulations of the Sparta republic. I promise to not betray the republic, but to protect it and its citizens with my life”. “I promise that I will listen to my superior’s orders, and I will never do anything that will endanger the republic or its citizens”. “I promise to not become complacent, but to continue working hard to become a strong pillar of the Spartan military. So help me God”. As soon as the oath was taken, an epic silence pervaded in the atmosphere of the hall as a piece of faint music ringed in the heart of everyone. It was the music of change, the music heralding a new generation of Spartan warriors. After a short moment of silence, a wave of applause rose from the audience, making Clark and the other soldiers feel on top of the world. “Mom, Dad, I finally did it. I’m now a bonafide soldier of the Spartan republic,” he muttered to himself in a melancholic tone. After the oath-taking was done, the ceremony finally moved to its most anticipated part, the prize-giving ceremony to exceptional soldiers.