32 32 The School Newspaper and a Confrontation

The C, D and F rank students around the campus were woken up at 5 am by their alarms. Thousands of groggy freshmen begrudgingly crawled out of their warm beds to attend their mandatory extra morning training. The three different ranks of students that were required to do additional training had thirty minutes to reach their assigned training spots, if they failed to arrive on time, they would be punished with demerits which would lead to detention.

The C rank students were given a regimen of early morning fitness to complete, starting at 5:30 am, which was overseen by instructors who yelled out insults at those who were falling behind.

Gunn barreled ahead of the other students running around the field, pushing a few unfortunate students to the ground as he pushed past them. He knew he just had an ordinary Strengthening core, and that going up against the other trainees with fancier cores might not guarantee him a spot in the A-class, but he still did not predict that he would be dumped in with the C students.

Gritting his teeth in disgust, he sped past the other C rank students who were already losing their breath. He was better than them and he was going to prove it. He would train for a week as hard as he could and then challenge someone in a higher grade to take their spot. Gunn was not going to settle for just being part of the herd, he would rise above and show everyone how great he was.

At his high school he used to be someone that the other people feared and respected, a top dog, but since he had arrived at the MCP he had already faced two crushing defeats. The first was during the initiation test where he came face to face with Rhys, a guy who had a powerful core that outranked his common ability. Before he met Rhys he was confident that he would do well for himself at the MCP. However after his knees were turned to mush by Rhys's crazy power, his prospects crumbled.

Channeling his growing anger into his legs, Gunn stamped harder into the ground and charged forward, zooming past the person who was running at the front of the pack.

It gave him chills to think about how that guy obliterated his legs in one movement. Gunn knew without a doubt that Rhys could have easily killed him and the thought of his inferiority was driving him to push harder. He needed to reach that level soon.

He panted loudly as he pushed his body to work even harder, straining his muscles legs and ignoring the protest from his lungs.

"Oh hey! You're Gunn, right? How are you?"

Gunn's eyes shot forward in shock at hearing someone speak to him. He was sure that he ran past the person running at the front of the class a while ago. He was supposed to be far ahead of everyone, so then who was speaking to him?

"You-". Gunn seethed to see the face of the reason he was stuck in the C class, the cause of the second crushing defeat he experienced since coming to the MCP.

It was Otis, the guy who had beaten Gunn's team in the first round of the evaluation tournament. By a stroke of fate, Gunn and Otis had ended up in the same batch of one hundred students competing for a spot in the A-class. Regrettably, Otis's superior strength bested Gunn and his team, meaning that Gunn did not have the opportunity to show off his battle skills. Which was the reason he was ranked as a C student.

"You're in the B class, shouldn't you still be sleeping? What are you doing at the training session for the C students?" Gunn panted out his words but picked up the pace so that he was a foot or two ahead of Otis. He might have lost to that meat-head during the tournament but he would not lose to him in fitness training.

"I've always started my day with physical fitness. And as a member of a higher-ranked class, I should serve as an example for the C students like you." Otis grinned cheekily as he effortlessly closed the gap between himself and Gunn.

"You're trying to piss me off, aren't you?" Gunn's heart beat violently in his chest as he broke out into a full sprint to try and get ahead of Otis.

The two continued running at full speed neck and neck along the track leaving the other C students to eat their dust.

"Slow down!" The other trainees breathlessly huffed at them. "You guys are making us look bad."

The C class would do fitness training for an hour before being released at 6:30 am to go about their days. On the other hand, the D and F trainees were at various obstacle courses and building sites around the campus. The D and F rank trainees completed an hour of physical fitness like the C rank trainees, but then went on to Raid simulation training on the obstacle courses for an additional hour.

People who fainted were given a few minutes of rest and an energy pill before being thrown back into the thick of it.

When the bell rang to signify 7:30 am, the D students collapsed in relief. The training was finally over, and they could go and rest. The F rank trainees could only look on in despair as they still had another hour left.

Nim's hand trembled as she clutched her gut because of a painful stitch that felt like someone had stabbed her right through her middle. Despite the her fatigue and pain, she knew the instructors would not give her a break. So she sucked it up and put all her body weight into the shovel as she dug into the earth. The metal tool clanged in protest as it hit the rock-hard ground. The shock from the impact reverberated back up through her swollen hands causing her to drop the shovel.

She winced and clutched her bright red fingers to her chest.

"Hey, pick it up and keep shovelling!" An inspector yelled at her from across the training ground. She could only bite back tears and pick up the shovel again to continue working even though she could barely feel her hands anymore.

The morning session for the F-rank trainees was not even over yet but she already wanted to give up, only she could not give up because she had no choice in the matter. Even if she collapsed, the instructors would pour cold water on her, shove and energy pill down her throat and send her back to digging. She was an F ranked student now, so this would be her life until she made it up to a different rank.

For some reason that was unknown to Nim, the last hour of training for the F-rank class was manual labour wherein the students were given shovels and were expected to dig through a patch of hard reddish earth. There did not seem to be a rhyme or reason for the work, other than making the F rank students suffer and regret not trying harder to get into a better rank.

She dragged her arm over her wet forehead, wiping away the hair that was clinging to her sweaty skin. This was horrible but at least she was building up her muscles.

Finally, the bell for 8:30 rang, relieving the F rank students of their harsh morning labour.

"That's it for this morning. You may leave your shovels where they are, and we expect to see you all back here at half-past five for your afternoon session." The instructor dismissed the students with a daunting message that reminded them their torment was not over. There would be more in a few hours.

The trainees groaned and whimpered at the thought of having to complete a full day of classes and then come back in the evening for more digging.

Ping pong sized food pills were handed out to the trainees. They would not be able to go eat at the dining halls since they were F ranked trainees, instead, they were given bitter food substitutes that would keep them going for half the day before they had to consume another one.

Nim bit down on the pill and her mouth filled with the taste of black bitter herbs and a smell that made her want to spit out what she had just put in her mouth. They tasted awful, but she had to eat it or she would starve. She clenched her mouth shut so that she wouldn't throw it up and forced herself to chew on the inky doughy ball.

The sound of retching was heard across the field as the other trainees tried their food pills. Nim's eyes filled with tears as she thought about having to live this way for an entire year, because honestly how was she supposed to make her way up the power ladder when she had a measly healing core ability. She couldn't see how it would be possible to make it out out of the F class.

The sound of whistles and running footsteps sent Nim looking into the distance where she saw a group of people in dark green military uniforms sprinting towards them. All of them had whistles in their mouths and large metal cages filled with what looked like stacks of papers strapped to their backs.

"School newspaper coming! First addition of the year. The headline says Meet the A-ranked Freshmen!" The runner at the head of the pack shouted out his announcement as newspapers came flying out of the metal cages and landed around the trainees. Someone among the group was definitely telekinetic.

Without another word the strange group jogged off in a different direction. Nim squinted at the weird display but nonetheless picked up the wrapped newspaper that had landed at her feet. She glanced around to see the others doing the same.

She was about to open up the paper when her stomach grumbled hungrily. Embarrassed, she cover her belly with her hand and closed her eyes to focus. The food pills gave her sustenance but they could not rid the body of its urge to consume food. Clutching her waist in regret she wished she had eaten more from the dinning hall before her ranking.

"Come with me." A low voice commanded from a few feet away.

Nim looked up to see none other than the guy who had knocked her unconscious during the tournament. It was the red-headed teleporter she had healed from Connor's team.

Nim stared up in shock into his cold eyes that seemed to be snarling down at her. She vividly remembered him having the same expression on his face when she healed him, before he clobbered her over the head with his fist.

"What?" Nim instinctively moved backwards hoping that it would not make him angrier. He closed his eyes as if channeling the strength needed to not hit her over the head again.

"Just- Come with me." Before she could protest, he reached forward and grabbed her forearm, pulling her close to him.

Whispers broke out among the other students who saw this interaction. They recognised the red-haired guy as one of the people on the front page of the newspaper. He was Ezra Abrams who reportedly made it into the A rank with his impressive Teleportation core.

Everyone was gawking at the pair, Ezra and Nim, because of how close they were standing together, they looked like they knew each other, well. What an unlikely pair, an A and an F.

Ezra noticed the whispers and instantly lost his patience with Nim. He quickly caged her to his side and teleported them across the campus to right in front of the dinning hall.

"Let go!" She screamed. Ezra did as she asked. She fell backwards on her but.

"What do you think you're-" Nim paused as she looked around. She was no longer at the training site but right in front of the dinning hall. He must have teleported her there.

Frowning in confusion, She picked herself up from the ground and stared up at him pointedly waiting for an explanation.

"F ranks can't eat at the dinning halls right-." He looked down at her and got distracted by her droopy eyes and swollen hands.

"But its the privilege of my rank to be able to give meal points to whoever I want to give them to." He glanced down at her scrunched up face and realised she still did not realise that he was trying to pay her back for saving his life during the tournament.

"If you want to eat actual food and not pills come find me, I'll give you a meal point." With that he pulled Nim inside the dinning hall and informed the dinning manager at the desk that he would be sponsoring Nim's breakfast.

"Thank you." She whispered gratefully as he handed her a plate.

She continued to stare up at him in awe as he quietly dished up food and walked over to an available booth. Nim beamed as she dished food onto her own plate. She never regretted healing him, but now she felt vindicated in her decision to save him. Even though it wasn't a smart decision battle-wise, she was happy that she did not lose sight of her main objective. She was going to be a healer after all, and healers heal people. It was only natural that this good luck came back to her.

*****************

Gunn and Otis stared in shock as they examined the Newspaper on their table. They were expecting it but they also weren't expecting it, nevertheless they were satisfied when they say Rhys's photo on the front page along with the other A ranked students.

"I still don't know what his power is exactly, but I was sure that he would need to rely on close quarter combat to win against an opponent..." Otis murmured as he visualised Rhys's fingers going through Gunn's knee during the initiation. That was an ability that could only work if Rhys was touching the guy.

"I was worried that his ability might prove futile because he was so underweight and wouldn't be able to keep up physically with his opponents, but I guess I was wrong." Otis nodded thoughtfully wondering if Rhys had some kind of long ranged application for his power that helped during his battle.

"That guy is annoying." Gunn growled as he shovelled scrambled eggs into his mouth. "He looks weak as hell but he's actually an A rank student. I wonder how many other guys he has tricked with his whole weakling act."

Otis shook his head sternly as he stared down at the newspaper. "I doubt it's an act. I think that his ability probably takes a large toll on his body, perhaps that's why he is kind of frail-looking."

Otis pointed to the body of writing under Rhys's picture. "It even says here that he collapsed and had something similar to an epileptic episode after using his ability during one of his matches."

Bread crumbs flew out of Gunn's mouth as he stared at Otis. "You think?"

"Yes, that's definitely the reason." Otis nodded solemnly. For an ability like Rhys's that had such a huge impact on whatever he touched, the backlash from with his body must have been in some way proportional. Yes, Rhys was very powerful but he was definitely worthy of pity.

"Achoo!" Rhys sneezed.

"Bless you." Aria excused him. "Someone must be talking about you." She uttered from beside him.

"I doubt it." Rhys deadpanned.

"Which dinning hall is closest to us?" Aria inquired as they stepped out of the forest and had to chose which path to take.

"The one by the training field is probably the best choice." Connor pointed down the path on their right.

"Okay, let's go."

Rhys, Aria and Connor walked down the path side by side ready to settle into the swing of college life. They had not planned to walk together, they had all just stepped into the elevator on their floor at the same time, which lead to them walking together, which also somehow meant they were going to eat together. They weren't really friends but this level of closeness was comfortable enough for the time being.

Rhys felt a little unsettled though because of the email he had received early in the morning from Professor Killian.

"Did the Professor send you guys anything this morning?" Rhys asked at last, too tired to think of a way to manipulate the answers out of them.

"Yes." Aria nodded and turned to Rhys. "He sent me a list of supplements and foods that I need to eat everyday. They're supposed to help me naturally secrete more poison. Apparently, the dinning halls are going to prepare special drinks and meals for me in the future as well. Was it the same for you guys?"

"What he sent me wasn't as strict." Connor spoke up. "Just some suggestions about what to eat to increase my energy output, also some supplemental drinks." Connor ruffled his hair as he thought about the email from the annoying Professor.

Rhys tried to hold back a scowl because of the teacher laughing at him in his head.

"And you?" Aria looked up at Rhys while Connor looked down at him.

Rhys sighed before relaying the email the Professor sent to him.

"I'm supposed to down two protein shakes a day, as well as take vitamins and supplements that the dinning staff will provide for me every morning. I have to eat four meals a day but I can't choose what I eat. My breakfast lunch and dinner will all consist of a portion of meat, some kind of carbohydrate and vegetables, that are already made for me. I mean it sounds delicious, but in the email he made it sound like me being underweight was enemy number one. And I'm going to get penalised if I don't eat everything on my dietary plan..."

['Its because you are made of nothing but skin and bones. Eat your meat, drink your shakes and don't complain!'] The teacher guffawed inside Rhys's head which only agitated Rhys more.

Aria giggled from beside Rhys. "I can't believe you're going to get punished if you don't eat enough. They are really serious about you gaining weight."

Connor was silent but the way his mouth was twitching upwards made Rhys aware that he found his strict dietary regiment amusing.

'They're making me feel like I'm a skeleton or something.' Rhys kicked a loose stone out of his way as he walked forward. He had to admit that all that food sounded amazing though. He rarely got to eat twice a day in district twenty, and when he ate it was hardly ever meat. Doubling his intake was going to be a stretch for him, but he knew it was infinitely better than going hungry.

['With all the food you'll be consuming plus the energy you'll be absorbing, you should reach peak health in a few weeks or so.']

The trio entered the dinning hall together which immediately got them the attention of everyone in the room. People curiously peered at them over the newspapers in their hands, examining the trio of A rank trainees whose faces where on the front page of the newspaper. The whispering only got louder as the three sat down together.

"This is annoying." Connor uttered as he forked some sausage into his mouth. He did not seem to enjoy the attention either.

"I doubt it will always be like this." Aria licked her thumb as she turned a page in the newspaper. "They're just curious since so few people made it into the A class."

"How many?" Rhys nodded appreciatively at the lunch lady who personally delivered his food to his table. Not many kids had dietary plans, on top of that he was probably one of the only people who had to eat steak for breakfast. So of course they had to make food specially for him and bring it to him. It was a little embarrassing, but he suddenly didn't care as he looked down at the juicy hand-size steak on his plate.

"They've got fifty two people listed here."

"Only fifty two?" Rhys couldn't believe the number was so small, he had calculated that there were supposed to be more hundred thousand freshmen, how could there only be 52 A rank people if at least one team from each group of a hundred students made it into the A class.

Aria took a moment to read the newspaper before replying to Rhys. "Apparently most of the classes yesterday didn't even have one person who made it into the A rank."

Rhys looked up from his steak and mash potatoes with a frown. "How's that possible if the prize for each winning group were seats in the A class?"

"It says here that quite a few groups who won their tournaments were denied A rank because the instructors thought they weren't good enough. Apparently our class was the only tournament group that produced more that two A ranking students."

"They probably put all the trainees they thought would make A rank in one tournament, which was our class' tournament. That's why so many people from our class got A's." Connor sipped on his black coffee. He had already wolfed down his food and was working on his coffee now.

Rhys nodded because Connor's theory made a lot of sense. By putting the prospective A students in one tournament the instructors would be able to see better quality matches since the more skilled students were facing off against each other. It would also decrease casualties to have students of more or less the same strength facing off instead of really weak versus really strong students.

Rhys was beginning to understand the method behind the madness of the MCP. At first he thought this place was just a slaughter/survival house putting young adults through hell to see if they could create worthy warriors after everyone else had been crippled, but actually there was a lot of sense and logic going on behind their seemingly cruel policies.

He grinned as he drew a parallel between the military college and his system. Rhys placed his knife and fork down and swallowed the last piece of his steak. His stomach felt full but not bloated surprisingly and he thought he actually might be able to munch on something else.

"We have ten minutes to get class, we should head out." He stood up from his seat as he saw the clock on the wall.

Aria and Connor nodded and got up from their seats as well. Connor and Aria walked out first while Rhys grabbed the newspaper as he left the table, something interesting caught his eye at the very bottom of the front page.

As he left the dining hall, Rhys was stopped by one of the dining staff at the exit.

"Don't forget your protein shake, young man." The same woman who served him his food pointed to the tumbler labelled with his name.

"Thanks." He smiled at her and grabbed the tumbler, wedging it between his arm and side so he could still read the school newspaper as he walked.

At the very bottom of the list of A rank trainees were two name that stood out him. The names reminded him of what Aria said yesterday about Professor Killian Heseinberg, what she said about his name being too long syllabically and pretentious for someone born outside Sector 1's four districts.

"Hey Aria," Rhys caught up to her and Connor who were waking a few paces in front of him. "Do these names sound like Sector 1 names to you?"

He cleared his throat before reading off the notably long names. "Georgina Callahan and Kataru Romano?"

She turned back to look at Rhys and he clearly saw a spark of recognition flash in her eyes. She nodded slowly, obviously something was eating away at her mind.

"Yes, definitely names from Sector 1. Maybe even-." She stopped herself and glanced up at Connor as if waiting for him to say something. When he only looked back at her blankly she faced Rhys again.

"Are they supposed to be other students who got A ranks?" She slowed her pace so that she was waking next to Rhys and could get a look at the newspaper.

It was obvious that she knew something, something involved with Connor. Rhys suddenly remembered the term he had heard two military personnel mention in the basement of the library. They had called Connor a 'Tardras'. On top of that, Professor Killian said something very confusing yesterday about Connor not infusing with a core. The plot was only thickening and Rhys was eager to learn more.

"The article said that they arrived late on campus and weren't able to participate in the tournament, but despite that they were given A ranks just based off of their cores." Rhys relayed to Aria and Connor what he had read in the article.

"But if they're from Sector 1, what are they doing in one of the Sector 5 colleges?" Rhys sharply locked his eyes on Aria who instantly avoided his gaze. However, he saw her momentarily glance at Connor before zooming back in on the newspaper. As much as Rhys was trying to gage her reaction, she was trying to see Connor's reaction.

Rhys gazed at Connor's back, and the thick three-lined tattoo at the nape of his neck. From Aria's actions he knew that this was somehow all tied to Connor. But was Connor aware of it? There was only one way to find out.

Even if they were roommates and were walking to class together that did not make them friends and did not give Rhys the right to pry into his life, however, staying in the dark about a situation just was not his style.

"I was in the library a few days ago and overheard some instructors talking about us, all three of us." Connor immediately paused and his aura spiked dangerously, but Rhys continued hoping that the spike in aura was more due to surprise than aggression.

"Our private information was being kept in three red files and I listened as they read over our details." Aria too was now staring at Rhys with a guarded expression.

He felt like he might have just killed the rapport they had built up over the time they had spent together during the morning, but maybe he didn't need friends if he had the system.

"I heard that you're the success of the eugenics lab." He said and observed Aria's strong gaze.

"And I heard them call you a 'Tardras'." Rhys waited to see how Connor would react.

Connor turned around and glared back at Rhys for too long a moment for comfort.

"And you?"

"And me?" Rhys frowned confused.

"That Professor said your core wasn't from Earth. Explain yours and then I'll explain mine."

Rhys's shoulders relaxed a little bit, the air between Connor and him was still tense, but Connor's reaction was much calmer than he expected since the guy had a reputation for electrocuting people when he was irritated with them.

"There isn't much more to it, what the professor said is technically right. I ended up going on a raid through a portal. Things turned ugly quickly and my only choice of survival was to infuse with a core from that planet. Luckily it worked and now I have my ability." What he said was technically the truth, they weren't asking for the little details so he just gave a summary.

"Then I got forced to attend this MCP by the military general who rescued me, and so here I am." Rhys stared back at Connor waiting for a reply.

Connor sighed and frowned gently. He seemed a little annoyed that Rhys had been so forthcoming with his story. If Rhys had dodged the question then that would have given him a reason to be evasive about the truth as well.

"I don't know much about it, really I don't." Connor breathed out as he turned around and continued walking down the path.

"I just know I'm not supposed to have these powers. They belong to a certain group of people who I'm not a part of. I came here because the general promised me answers, but that geezer hasn't shown his face yet." He stroked his hand through his blonde hair, before continuing.

"That old guy mentioned the name 'Tardras' before. He said they would come looking for me once news about me spreads, but he would tell me anything else. All I know is the name, I don't know anything about who or what they are." Connor stuffed his hands in his pockets and glance down at Aria with a sigh.

"But you know, don't you?"

"Come on, we're going to be late." She turned on her heel and started down the path again. "I'll tell you on the way there."

Rhys and Connor followed along behind here, keenly listening to her words.

***************

A slim toned young woman walked down the path with her long dark hair swaying about her waist. Her bright eyes sparkled in the sun and caught the attention of everyone she passed by. Her silky hair and unblemished skin were a sight to see among the students who had just sweated their way through morning training. Whispers of awe and admiration trailed behind her as people were left gobsmacked by her beauty.

"Lady Georgina-" The dark skinned, shaven haired young man behind her called out.

"You have to call me by my first name from now on, Kataru. You can't address me with my title anymore." She interrupted him.

"Actually, call me Georgie. I should probably go by my nickname so that my distinguished name doesn't stand out too much."

She pursed her name plump lips for a moment, a bit reluctant to go by such a short and tacky name, but then clenched her fist and nodded satisfied. Sector 5 was a whole different world from Sector 1, she was practically remaking herself and to do that she needed a new funky name to blend in with the Sector 5 students.

"Yes, call me Georgie!" She flipped her buoyant hair over her shoulder and walked forward.

Kataru shook his head, vehemently opposed to the idea. He wouldn't dare do something that broke noble customs "I couldn't possibly demean you like that Miss Georgiana-"

"It's Georgie, Kataru! G-E-O-R-G-I-E!" She insisted, turning back to flash him a smile to let him know that it was alright. His troubled face earned him a giggle from her.

"I'll call you Kat, while we're here Kataru. Addressing each other like this will be the key to fitting in with the lower classes, so you have to do it, Kat." She stared at him, waiting for him to agree.

"Yes, milady-" He paused troubled. "I mean, Georgie."

"We are here, Georgie." Kataru grumbled out the informal name begrudgingly. "This is the hall where all the A ranked students will meet."

He grabbed hold of the door and opened it for her, as he had always done. Something he would continue to do even if she insisted on pretending that she was not a noble.

"Let's think of this as a grand adventure." She beamed as she walked past him into the hall.

Kataru could not share her excitement. He knew they were there because Lady Georgina made a deal with the general. The protection of the MCP in exchange for information they had on the noble families.