F-Rank Frank Chapter 39 SERE Training (Two Weeks Later) (Patreon)

Chapter 39

SERE Training

(Two Weeks Later)

In the end the entire Academy had to move and be split apart. For whatever reasons, Frank had been sent to the Advanced Distance Combat Regiment, or the ADC as they are more often referred to as. This was the forward most operation base on the Eastern front, the last true marker of humanity’s reach.

“Come on cadet! Move it!” The Instructor called out.

In this case Frank was forced to do on the job not only his advanced training for his military career, but he was also sent here as it was one of the few bases that still offered SERE training. As with all things, SERE was an acronym, in this case the SERE stood for four basic elements that were compiled into one overall course meant to keep cultivators alive for as long as possible on the eastern front.

While the training had been slightly modified from its original implementation, the newest version of SERE served to teach four main points to each cadet. Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Eradication.

Breathing in, Frank focused on the task at hand.

This was a search and rescue mission, or at least a mock one. To his left, Frank’s newest instructor shouted out motivational speeches, which inadvertently also called any and all zombies that were in the area to come towards the sound.

Frank’s job was to fight his way through the monsters as quickly as possible, find the disabled soldier, rescue them, and then get them back to base in as quick of a time as possible.

“Come on soldier, how do you intend to save anyone with this level of speed and effort.” The instructor called out. “You still have to fight off the incoming monsters, before we even get to the extraction site.”

The instructor was not wrong, as multiple zombies began shambling forward.

If things got too much for Frank, it was the instructor’s job to save Frank before irrevocable damage would be sustained by the cadet. At which point the cadet would fail the training and not be certified to receive further elite training and resources.

Then just as the monsters became visible, Frank let his mind stretch out while not losing a single stride. While he might be slower than the insanely powerful cultivator who was serving overwatch, Frank had one thing going for him that most other cadets didn’t. Namely the fact that his range was expansive.

Even now, with the monsters just becoming visible to the naked eye, Frank could already feel their energy trying to resonate with his own.

Then just as quickly as he found that dormant unclaimed energy that resided in all zombies, Frank found it and then gave what he thought to be a mental spark to the compound.

POOF!

First one zombie detonated, causing a burst of blood, bone, and viscera to fly out and impact the next nearest zombie. At which point the spark, or altered dark energy flew out and corrupted the dark energy that was still powering the next nearest zombie, which created a cascading effect of violence and destruction.

POOF, Pop, Pop, Poof

The only reason such a process was even possible was due to the way that the zombies themselves didn’t actually control the energy, energy that needed to be spun about violently and constantly to avoid stagnation. As zombies got stronger, their control over their cores of energy would increase, and with it, they would ultimately learn to spin and control the very same dark energy that reanimated their bodies and forced them to continue to live on, even after most mortal processes ceased.

This was what Frank had learned while under the tutelage of Dr. Evans and Major Demoniker, two instructors that Frank had since been reassigned to.

Stomp, stomp, stomp.

As Frank’s mind was allowed to relax slightly now that the immediate threat of thirty zombies had been dealt with, Frank let his mind continue to phase out. Trying to understand what had happened, and most importantly what he had done to be sent here.

Apparently, he had gained a lot of recognition by more than one high ranking officer who witnessed his prowess.

Yet, despite having been a staple in the healing support team, he had been apparently claimed by the ADC.

There had also been a bit of controversy around Dr. Evans and from what he could tell Major Demoniker had been listed as a casualty of the assault.

Silence.

Only after a second or two of the constantly yelling SERE instructor being silent did Frank even take a second to glance over at the Instructor who maintained his pace of always just a half pace behind and to the side of Frank.

Seeing his glance, the Instructor instantly flared to life.

“Oh, you think that is impressive, killing off all the enemies like that? You are still the slowest one out here, meaning that you are at beast a weaponized turtle. Sounds great, until you realize that your friends are dying because you can’t get there fast enough to save their lives.” The Instructor yelled.

At that Frank could only nod, there that was the annoying instructor that he had come to expect.

As for his part, Frank just stayed quiet.

With his new tracking lens that he had been given as part of this training, Frank found the general path and route that would lead directly to the downed victim.

Of course, the victim would be a person likely surrounded by more zombies.

In this case, the scenario was just as Frank predicted and had read about.

The target for extraction was a wounded soldier who had managed to take the high ground and was surrounded by a thick protective and see through wall. This wall was meant to add realism to the scenario, while also making it so the rescue target would be safe regardless of how long it took Frank to survive. Then once Frank had dispatched all of the zombies, then and only then would the clear barrier drop and make it so the victim could then be rescued.

Since Frank was also designated with a Healer, he would be forced to grab the target, carry them out, while healing them and providing as safe of a return as possible. Which Frank interpreted as even more zombies would be released on the path.

Other than Frank being marked as slow, a fact that would remain as he was still just a Tier II Blood Cultivator, due to needing to spend a week to once again balance out his body and fix any issues that happened while he was unconscious. And there were a lot of issues that happened while he was unconscious, though fortunately, his body had been cultivating so much that despite his unaware state, his body still cultivated and continued to cycle the dark energy.

While his body didn’t cycle the dark energy as efficiently as he would have liked, it was still better than having that much energy stagnate and begin to crystalize within his own body. By comparison the problems felt by just a few minor chunks of dark energy that needed to be chipped apart and broken back down into the blood stream were relatively minor in comparison.

Also, the entire process did teach him a few things. First, he now truly understood just how much pain the other cultivators were in, after he ripped out the chunks of crystalized energy from their bodies that had been weaponized in an attempt to gain an immediate advantage on the invasion. Secondly, he also realized just how much easier it was to heal after having your body ripped apart by the dark matter.

Now he could all but feel that his body not only was used to the foreign energy source, but that he was also more resistant to the lingering effects of the dark energy on his body.

These were minor changes, but changes all the same.

The stagnation also had an effect on his body, as he was now feeling the effects of being slightly slower. This was due to the way his body created seemingly tougher layers of skin to protect against possible leakage and to protect against more crystals tearing their way through his own skin should he ever find himself knocked unconscious again.

POP! Pop! Poof!

By the time Frank got close to the trapped victim, Frank was already at work. His energy able to instantly disperse the zombies. Though unlike earlier, where Frank let the energy splash out and flail about wildly, this time Frank focused the blasts outwards. Each blast was directional, with little to no energy being directed towards the victim.

While Frank was fairly certain that the clear walls had been designed to protect against dark radiation, it was still good practice to try to redirect blasts away from the victim. Particularly as this was meant to be a training scenario for the real world.

While a few bursts did manage to spray out and strike the barrier, Frank was fairly certain that the victim in this scenario would have either avoided the blast entirely, or not been injured enough to be healed by his apparently meager abilities, if his instructor was to be believed.

Vrr!

The wall was already heading down, while Frank made his way to the victim. There were still about ten feet of retracting wall left, when Frank ran forward, finding a slightly elevated patch of dirt that he used to first run up. Then once he reached the top, he used all of his strength to jump up onto the wall. Still not enough to get up and over the wall, and in fact the wall had dropped enough now that had Frank waited he might have been able to clear the structure, but Frank was already committed.

Knife hand.

Frank struck out with his hand as violently as possible.

Crackle.

As he did, his hand broke into the barrier just enough to provide a slight ledge. A ledge that he used for just enough purchase to push down upon, and use his upward momentum to propel him up and over the still descending wall.

Thump.

Frank landed, a slight stinging sensation in his left ankle, but he was already moving before he could let his body stop him due to pain.

Then going over to the patient, he saw that she clearly looked surprised, as apparently most people waited for the walls to drop entirely. That or Frank’s oddly glowing hair was very distracting, as it all but radiated with the traces of green and violent energy that Frank had just been using to get here.

Seeing her, Frank went immediately into his role as a victim extraction specialist.

“Don’t worry, I am here with the advance rescue team. I am here to rescue you, get you to safety, and heal your wounds.” Frank said, then without even seeking permission, Frank swooped forward, grabbing the girl who looked instantly flustered.

Picking her up, Frank stood up, and turned to face the wall that was closest to the extraction site that he was to run towards.

For his part, the Instructor just stared at Frank from the other side of the lowering protective barrier. Though it was clear the Instructor’s eyes kept going to the noted crack and hand print that Frank had created, he still didn’t say anything and instead just seemed to shake his head in admonishment.

Still this was fine for Frank, as Frank already began coursing his energy through the apparent victim, and quickly identified the problem.

“Ohh!” The female said, her back going slightly tighter as she felt the wave of healing energy course through her and instantly make her feel better.

“Don’t worry, you will be fine.” Frank said, momentarily glancing at the beautiful woman in his arms, before turning to face the still lowering protective barrier.

Then once the barrier had gotten to be about a foot off the ground, Frank ran forward, jumped with the patient still being carried in his arms and then proceeded to run back to base, while princess carrying the patient.

The patient for her part wrapped her arms around Frank’s neck to help support her own weight. This was something that Frank was immensely thankful for, as he could feel the lighter load on his arms almost immediately.

Thump, thump, thump.

Frank ran like a machine. A slow methodical killing machine that proceeded to take out zombies and diseased rodents with ease.

Yes, apparently on the way back the other instructors felt that Frank needed to be tested a bit more, or maybe they just wanted to see if the rumors of his exploits were true.

Regardless of their reasons, the end result was the same.

Squeak, squeak.

A small pack of darkness infused rodents were released and sent towards Frank and his patient.

“Ahh!” The female patient, cried out as she saw the plague beasts that were coming right for them.

For his part, Frank never slowed down, never broke stride. Instead, he just mentally targeted the nearest beast and using his pointer finger from his otherwise fully engaged right hand, used the finger to compress and ultimately release a focused beam of death energy at the creature.

Zap.

As soon as the beam struck the rodent, the beast collapsed and began twitching its back leg violently.

Still, Frank wasn’t done, instead all he did was maneuver his hand around, thankfully able to due to how tightly the patient was now gripping his neck.

Then firing off three more well aimed beams, Frank began jogging slightly to the right and around the four now twitching creatures.

“Aren’t you?” The female in his arms asked, as they ran past and around the beasts.

BOOM! Boom! Ba-boom!

At that, the four rodents all exploded, two in near perfect synchronization. Then turning her head to look back, she saw the crater where four completely destroyed plague rodents once stood. Now only leaving behind a charred silhouette and a few odd and end appendages that somehow survived the blasts.

Thump, thump, thump.

Frank for his part never stopped moving, never even slowing down. The most he did was take one or two steps to swing around the creatures, but even that would only cause his time to slow down by marginal differences.

Intense stare.

Frank could feel the patient just staring at him, her face inches away, but her eyes having an intensity that would normally be unnerving to the otherwise silent introvert.

Still, despite the stare, Frank didn’t let anything cause him to deviate from his intended task. Running forward, he finally got to the medical extraction point, where he would be forced to go over his findings for the patient and explain what he did and what he would recommend for the patient.

Entering the emergency tent, Frank began going over his mission details as was expected.

“Patient recovered, female approximately twenty-two years in age. Suffering from what were likely severe abdominal pains, exhaustion, vomiting, and otherwise unease.” Frank stated, detailing the most likely issues that the patient had.

Hearing that the woman in Frank’s arm’s eyes just went wide, as he finally found a gurney to place her down in.

With that the doctor, pulled out the fellow soldier’s medical form.

“That is correct, patient came in seeking quarters for seventy-two hours due to flu like symptoms.” The doctor on staff stated.

At that Frank could only nod.

“What are your recommendations? Should we give the patient the seventy-two hour reprieve?”

At that Frank could only shake his head, “that wouldn’t solve the problem. Recommendation lessen physical restrictions and allow more time in the evenings to rest.”

Hearing that, the doctor could only look at Frank, “if she has an injury or ailment you should just heal her and let her be on her way.”

With that Frank just shook his head, though it was clear that he was hiding something.

“Well then, explain your reasoning?” The doctor stated.

With that Frank looked around to see that the doctor, a few staff members and the instructor that had been keeping pace with Frank this entire time were all in the immediate area, along with the actual patient. The patient who was just looking up at Frank with a clear sense of confusion.

“This is a private matter.” Frank said, looking around at all of the people that were nearby.

“Look, Cadet Fotos. This is fine. We are all here to learn. If you don’t know the actual reason why the patient is experiencing pains then just say so.” The Doctor said.

With that, Frank pressed his lips together, but then stated, “maybe for something like this we shouldn’t announce it to the whole base?”

“Cadet Fotos, what is the meaning of this. Just give your honest opinion, should she be quarantined, or is she safe to be among the other members of this base?” The doctor asked.

“The time to quarantine her would have been about three weeks ago, if I had to guess.” Frank replied.

“Three weeks?” The doctor asked, this time finally reaching out his own hand to touch the patient.

Frank saw the green light of energy go out, it was sloppy. Well sloppy in comparison to Dr. Evans’ energy wave.

From there, Frank watched the wave of energy flow down and through the patient, then Frank saw the moment dawning recognition filled the Doctor’s face as he too felt the abnormality on the patient.

“What is it? Is everything okay? Three weeks ago, that was the time of the Military ball right?” The patient asked, her mind going wild with a myriad of thoughts. “Do you think I was exposed to something?”

“Oh you were definitely exposed that night, but not to what you might think.” The doctor stated.

Hearing that Frank could only grimace at the bad phrasing of the doctor. A doctor who clearly didn’t care about his patient’s mental health.

“I was?” The patient asked, fear and worry evident in her voice.

Then at that the doctor proceeded to prove that he had absolutely no decorum either, as he then replied with the diagnosis.

“Yes, three weeks ago, you became pregnant.”

Shock.

At that, all the staff in the tent found someplace else to be, and miraculously found files that needed to be collated well away from the area. The instructor that had been following Frank with a stopwatch that was still running, suddenly realized that he left something important outside as he left. Leaving only Frank, the doctor, and a patient that was nearly close to crying.

Then as if to further break and embarrass the patient, the doctor continued.

“So do you know who the father is?”

And like that Frank wondered who he angered to be sent out here, to be trained under him.