Freshmen

A figure of a girl dashed through the road and made it through the metallic rails. At her front was a man walking through the red carpet, with cameras and microphones surrounding him. She joined with the mass and extended her equipment, hoping to interview the prominent bloke.

"We are reporting to you, live here in Queens Academy, New York City, to see our freshmen superheroes attending the ceremony! Among the students enrolled, the directory of the university has his eyes on extraordinary abilities that can-, and here he is right now! Can you tell me who will be the next superhero representative of your school?" The reporter asked, with her recorder leaning near his dry mouth.

"We leave that for the election of the student officers."

The man wearing a brown trench coat and a dark bowler hat gave a curt reply and proceeded to the stage. He scanned the pupils below the ground with narrowed eyes and a sinister grin on his mouth. With both hands holding the mic, the director announced.

"Welcome to the entrance ceremony for the freshmen students!"

A crowd of applause followed afterwards, accompanied by flashing cameras blinding our eyes. Every student had an exciting look carved on their faces, but not me. I kept a stern expression and lent an ear to the director. It almost felt like I had not seen him for years since I was the one who killed him back then.

However, their chaos stopped as the director gestured his hands.

"In the next few weeks, we will have a tournament and decide our representative student for the Gallants-a league of young superheroes trained under the military, government, and veteran superheroes. Those chosen participants will receive handsome prizes."

All students locked their eyes with the old man as the director continued his speech."

"But we do not limit the test to those physical and mock-battle examinations. There is also a written exam to gauge your intellect if you are worthy of the recognition. That is all I wanted to say. Have a pleasant morning."

The director finished his speech and went inside the campus. Behind him were two guards inspecting the crowd before following their leader.

I suspected the university hired these soldiers as henchmen and scanned our power and magic level. If I remembered my distant memories, these guards had the equipment to check the abilities of anyone they saw. The item was not ideal since it never gave concrete results, but it was enough to scale the students.

The government and other superhero universities were not aiming to create a league of fair heroes. They planned on controlling them when a situation arises.

The professors motioned their hands for each class of students to enter inside. I followed my line and stepped foot on the ancient-like wooden floor of the campus.

A blaring sound shocked us as the gate closed behind, locking us from the inside. I spared a look at the memorable paintings hung above the walls and the vase made with careful hands. Each item displayed held immense arcane enough to amplify any abilities or grant skills to a non-combatant individual.

Our group headed over to an empty classroom and waited for further announcements. After the professor in charge left the room, the students moved around and made their first impressions with their classmates.

I did not engage myself with trivial matters and talks. All I cared about was to see Nicholas and invite him to join our group, the Octagon. Since we lived in the same hometown, he was the first person who sided with Octagon, with the rest of the team following afterwards.

But I knew him during the mock battles and became close friends afterwards. Nicholas did not show himself during the first few weeks of classes and only attended events that the professors required.

Nicholas was busy working a part-time job as a clerk in a nameless mart down the road. He would work with various jobs day and night to sustain the needs of his family and the debts he had not paid.

He was also monitoring the whereabouts of his maverick brother, also known as the Lightning Thief of the lawless streets. His brother was not a criminal, but a lost dog working for an underground corporation.

I took a glimpse at my side and saw a person approaching in my direction. The youngster sat on the chair and asked.

"Her, where are you from?"

"None of your business," I answered.

I stood up from my seat and walked outside the halls, leaving the poor student alone inside the room. There was no point attending the academy, but I wanted to inspect something inside a specific classroom.

I walked over to the corridor and met with a man that I knew for a long time. He had pointy blonde hair directing upwards. The lad wore a crimson jacket given to him by his father, with his name intact on the other side.

His name was Jack Miller, always on the hunt for weaklings such as I was from the previous timeline. He was the person who brought trouble to me when I was ignorant of my surroundings. No matter where I go, he would stir up trouble and end with me taking the blame.

"What are you looking at?" He said and went past me.

"I am sorry. It was nothing."

After our brief exchange, his two delinquents beside him attempted to trip me over, using their feet. But I already knew what was about to happen, so I eluded their pranks and gave out a faint chuckle.

With swift movements, the troublesome friend of Jack feinted a punch coming at me. I knew they would not hesitate to do such a scene and would just scare me to overact.

But I did not react and let his fist stay in front of me. Even if he did scheme on punching me in my face, my system had already activated my ability to obstruct his jab.

"Who are you?" Jack queried me a question.

"I am nothing of your concern."

I proceeded to the adjacent room and slid the doors open. Blake and I were like cats and dogs, always fighting for the position for the Gallant back then.

"We will soon battle in the mock battles, and there I will crush you!" Jack exclaimed before losing interest in me.

The bell chimed throughout the campus, telling the professors and students about the start of class. For this week, the professors would explain the importance of using abilities to rescue civilians. They would not discuss something out of the ordinary since it was the first day of classes.

I went to the library and opened the primaeval door. The smell of books like wood and vanilla greeted my nostrils as I walked into the quiet collection of books.

I glanced at my side and saw a young lady reading a fictional storybook on her desk. As she noticed someone entering the book room, she placed the volume and attended to me.

"It has been a while since someone visited the library." The girl exclaimed. "But should you not be in your classroom? The class has not started yet?"

I knew the woman from my erstwhile memory. The librarian was the one who sacrificed herself to save me from the latches of the Gallants when we the Octagon turned rogue for a cause. Unfortunately for her, she died while blocking the projectile sent by Jack, who was a Gallant then.

"I came here to look for something,"

"What book are you looking for?" She asked.

"The historical events and other scientific discoveries."

Within a second, the keeper scanned the shelves and thought to herself about placing the books. She raised her hand and marked the third hall.

"Go check for that third corner, second level, at the far end side of the shelf. It has a blue and purple cover with familiar words written on the side. You would not miss it." She instructed.

I expressed my gratitude and nodded. As I turned around and moved forward, the girl from the desk called out for my attention.

"If I could ask, why do you want to read such intricate books?"

"I want to find out about the Sallens."

Her pupils shrunk, and her mouth gasped as soon as she heard my sentence. I knew that nobody understood the words Sallens, not until now.

With brisked movements, the girl disappeared from the counter and went behind me. She lifted a knife concealed from her sleeves and tapped her hand on my shoulders.

"Why do you know them?"

I could feel her warm and moist breath touching my skin as she quizzed me with a question. From all I remembered, she was a bashful woman who could teleport from a short distance. But her abilities failed her quite a few times and nearly got her killed from the occurrence.

She was an informant who told us details about the history of the universities and the government program for Gallants. The lady never told us who she was working for, so we never knew her identity.

"Those bastards will invade the Earth, and we only have a year to stop them."