Information

Professor Williams continued after the six of them sat down, and everyone's attention was back on him.

He asked the group,

"So, who among you diligent students can summarize what we discussed in the past 17 minutes?"

From the professor's perspective, only five people raised their hands, overlooking the sixth person. He looked surprised and puzzled, gazing at Mary.

Not only the professor but the entire room full of people stared at her.

Was she joking?

That must be it, thought not only Kaiden but probably everyone else as well.

The professor, who laughed louder this time, called on her, saying,

"Mrs. Angel, please tell us what you know about the earlier discussion."

Her voice remained consistent—cold, yet beautiful to listen to.

Mary began by stating they talked about the levels of Awakened individuals and the areas within Praeter's war zone where they can travel or fight. They also mentioned that the vicinity within the first year is a safe zone, except for the slightly distant borders designated for practical training.

Mary explained they were in room 11 because they arrived in November. There are 11 other halls like this, with the 12th set to open next month.

She then asked if she covered everything or missed something. Professor Williams smiled at her and replied that she covered all the important topics.

As Williams scanned from top to bottom, top to bottom, his pupils finally landed on something.

The hologram did not lie.

Although he knew, being informed before the class, that she was special, like Kaiden with 96%, he didn't expect her potential to be 91% with a good ability.

He looked at the six from a distance, focusing on Kaiden and Mary, and said again that it keeps getting better.

While the professor remained calm as ever, the atmosphere, heavy as in the past hours, returned.

Everyone wondered what ability led her to this information.

Did it have to do with an incredibly keen sense of hearing?

Was it a form of telepathy?

Could she teleport, allowing her to overhear the discussion the entire time?

The last one made the least sense, but Kaiden couldn't rule out such speculation.

However, their train of thought was interrupted again when the professor clapped powerfully, creating a rush of air.

Everyone felt a breeze, fixing their hair partially, but Kaiden didn't seem well.

He was pale, supporting himself with both arms on the table and looking at his knees. Cold sweat dripped down his cheeks.

It wasn't because he felt unwell, but rather unwanted memories resurfaced. In a moment, he saw his entire class shattered on the ground, partly buried under debris.

Why didn't he feel this during the actual action? Was it the excitement, the adrenaline, or were sympathy feelings rising now?

One thing he knew; he wasn't feeling well at the moment. An internal conflict arose until a relieving pinch on his cheek, as he once knew, woke him up.

Zack said while doing this,

"Hey, everything okay with you? Why are you so cold?"

Kaiden responded somewhat confused and nervous,

"Oh, everything's fine, tha, thanks."

While Zack looked a bit puzzled, Kaiden, with still pale and tired eyes, glanced towards the professor, who continued to provide more information.

"As I mentioned earlier, there are practical experiences at the borders, but we also have training camps where you can enhance your physical strength using weights.

We also train your mentality here, which is equally important for your strength development.

However, if you can't wait for practical experience, you can enter specially designed rooms using your hologram and fight virtual cryptids.

For this, you need to refresh your chip, but you can only fight cryptids that are a maximum of one level above you. If there are any further questions, don't ask me now, as it doesn't concern you yet, and it will be explained in more detail another time.

Also, as you probably already know, whether professors or sergeants, we are either in the 2nd or 3rd year.

Most are in the 3rd.

Two years ago, it was a bit strange because in the first-year batch, which was the only one at the time, the ages were quite spread out. Some were in their mid-30s or 40s, while others were in their early or late 20s.

Very few were exactly 18 years old."

With a not really serious, sad expression, he added,

'You, on the other hand, are all 18, so you can consider yourselves somewhat lucky.'

After a brief trip down memory lane, he said he's currently 26 years old and an Awakened of Rank 6.

He mentioned that he's also at Level B on the strength scale, on the verge of advancing to a Level 7 Awakened soon.

Everyone was excited.

"Having such a high-level Awakened teach us in theory?"

"That's fantastic!"

They all talked back and forth, as if there were no tomorrow, until the professor stopped them again.

He only needed to give them a serious look, and they could hardly move.

Silence fell and persisted as he returned to his normal gaze.

What was this suffocating feeling?

Kaiden thought,

'I couldn't even breathe.'

But his thought quickly changed as he remembered his brother was only two years older and, therefore, in the 3rd year.

Theoretically, could he be his mentor, professor, or whatever they call them? He hoped so but knew it would be challenging, given the limited information about his brother.

Nevertheless, hope dies last. The professor's calm voice echoed again, announcing that the class was now over.

"If you want, you can go to the cafeteria for dinner or to your rooms to relax a bit. Just remember one thing, enjoy this last day, as from tomorrow, hell will break loose, in the truest sense of the word."

With a somewhat fearful mood, all present now stood up, except for the professor.

They went in small groups formed earlier, heading to their rooms or the cafeteria.

In Kaiden's case, his group went towards the cafeteria.

"What do you guys want to eat?"

Mark asked the group.

Ren immediately stepped forward, saying loudly that he wanted sushi.

This led to everyone chuckling or smiling briefly.

The mood was genuinely lifted.

No uncomfortable situation or anything, as one would expect from normal 18-year-olds.

After everyone laughed briefly, Mark said that he also felt like having sushi.

"Hey, you imitator!"

Ren teased, with Mark following.

Elly then said she wanted pasta, and Zack joined in,

"Yeah, Pasta Carbonara sounds great."

Shortly after, Mary also said she wanted to eat something.

Different from what Kaiden expected, she wanted to have cake.

"What about you?"

Ren asked Kaiden with a slight grin.

Kaiden, who didn't exactly know what to say, hesitated but eventually said he wasn't very hungry.

"I'll just have a hot cocoa."