With all the prerequisite tests done, Nero was finally ready to head to the final registration. So, after hours and hours, he found himself back at the front desk where he had originally started. There were a lot more people in the room now - probably other cadets who had been through the same tests as him already.
The registration was actually quite straightforward, not requiring anything from him at all except his identification card which the registration officer updated with new information once the registration was done.
"You'll have orientation first thing in the morning with the rest of the cadets, and right after that you'll be shipped off to KMA," told the registration officer. "Someone will show you to a shared room. Get some rest - this will probably be your last chance to relax in a long time."
Nero smirked. He was actually impatient to start, but there was no point in explaining that.
He followed a soldier to his shared room and found that there were two beds in each room. Nero was almost looking forward to chatting with his roommate and learning about the cadets that would be joining him in KMA. He wondered if he had served in Lumina, or was just a simple, regular kid who was selected - not that it mattered either way. He would be a temporary roommate anyway.
When another cadet was finally assigned the same room, it was already dinner time. The cadet was named Jeremy Bard, and had, in fact, also participated in Lumina. The reason why he was late in joining KMA was because Jeremy needed to go through a prolonged period of physiotherapy to recover from the wounds he had sustained in Lumina.
While he did not go into too much detail about what he did in Lumina, probably due to restrictions, he mentioned that he had gone to an industrial complex within Lumina. It was, apparently, another point of great interest to the army and had involved a whole lot of personnel. Nero never heard about it, but then again, there was no reason he would be exposed to military secrets like that anyway.
Jeremy had a rather subdued, even slightly suppressed personality, possibly due to his experience in Lumina. Or maybe he was just an introvert and did not like to speak too much. Or… he knew about Nero's negative reputation.
It could not be helped that news about him had been published, and he had a rather public trial accusing him of fratricide. Although the case had long been resolved, it did not change the fact that a majority of people who recognised him had to do with that case. Even if he had proven that he was set up, people tried to keep their distance.
This wasn't something Nero could do anything about, so he went to sleep right after dinner. The next morning, he was up and ready before anyone else, reporting for orientation. Unfortunately, his early arrival did not matter, for orientation was supposed to begin at a set time.
When it was time to begin, the room had nearly thirty other cadets, all waiting patiently. Soon, a registration officer came up on stage to begin his presentation.
"Welcome, cadets, to KMA. Although you have not officially entered through its doors yet, you have already begun your KMA journey," the officer said, speakingly firmly. He was not smiling, nor putting on an encouraging or reinforcing display. Although this was an orientation, it was to a military academy, so it was not meant to be fun or entertaining - only informational.
"My purpose here is to outline what your journey within KMA will look like in a broad sense, as well as fill in the immediate details. To start with, the breakup of your five years within KMA. The first two years are the same for all cadets, and are divided into four semesters. While each semester has specific and individual courses that you will take, the main theme of the first two years will revolve around foundation and discipline.
"That means you will build the foundation of your military career in those two years. Basic physical drills, basic fieldcraft, survival skills, navigation, map reading, combat and basic strategy will become common parts of your every day. Besides that, your education into Aetheric studies will enter an advanced level alongside an introduction to basic military science as well as human psychology. You'll also be given a detailed introductory course on the army and army operations so you're familiar with all branches of the Kolar army and how it operates.
"I won't go into detail about your other semesters, but in your very first semester, at least, the greatest focus will be on ensuring you achieve a minimum physical requirement, as well as achieve the minimum combat standards for survival. That means strength, but also endurance. Expect to face all kinds of challenges, and be pushed to and beyond your current physical and mental limits.
"Then, for the next three years the specific courses you'll undertake will change, but the general theme will remain the same. It is in the third year, finally, when a difference appears in the kinds of courses that cadets take. But instead of focusing on that, what you need to be focused on is why those changes appear.
"You see, during your first two years, you all will be under strict supervision. The purpose of that supervision is not anything other than to study you and your personality type to determine the best role for you. Whether it is as a Technical officer, or the logistics branch, or as a regular command officer in the army, your role will be determined by both your results in your first two years, but also as a result of a deep and thorough psychological analysis of your personality over those two years.
"Now, it is very important that you do not feel pressured to act in a certain way due to that observation. The purpose of that observation is not to penalise you, but to discover the area in which you are most likely going to succeed. As such, act according to your natural tendencies, as well as your ambitions.
"There is no need to force yourself and put on a fake performance to achieve a certain result. The assigned observers are skilled professionals who are more than capable of seeing through an act put on by a cadet.
"Once your two year period is over, and your observation period is complete, you will be assigned to a certain branch of the army. Regardless of which corp you end up joining, regardless of what achievements you end up attaining, your branch assignment will be permanent and stick with you for your entire military career, so do take this seriously. Like I emphasised earlier, focus on your natural tendencies and your ambitions!
"Then, the format of your courses during your third, fourth and fifth years will all be a reflection of your assignment. Starting from the third year, cadets will also be given platoon appointments and sent out to participate in actual missions to accumulate proper field experience.
"From your fourth year onwards, you will likely participate in some capacity in real, active army missions with legitimate threats and risks. Regardless, your last two years will involve getting highly specialised training highly specific to your assigned roles. In fact, due to the sophisticated nature of the training involved, it is actually common practice for soldiers to get partial graduation during their fourth years so that they can accumulate years of practical experience and knowledge before they are able to properly complete their fifth and final year.
"A partial graduation does not negatively affect your career, so it is not something you should be concerned about. Instead, your focus, for now, should firmly be on your first two years!"
The officer paused, and looked across the room to see if the cadets were following along to what he was saying. Regardless of whether they understood or not, he continued.
"Now that you know the basic, overarching format of what to expect during your four years, it is time for me to get into the specifics of what your daily life will involve once you join KMA. As soon as you enter KMA, you will be assigned to one of four battalions of which you will be a part of until you graduate from KMA.
"To be extremely clear, these battalions have no influence on your military career outside of KMA - they are purely a facet of the academy itself for the express purpose of fostering healthy competition as well as exposing you to the genuine environment of the army once you graduate. There are other, minor reasons for the battalions as well, and you'll learn about them in your courses.
"Having said that, your performance will reflect strongly upon your battalion, and likewise, the position and performance of your battalion will affect you. This performance includes cadets from each year of the course, so that you understand the true worth of individual versus collective efforts…"