40 Power Dynamics

After jogging for a while, Rhys and Connor arrived back at the Glowry dorm where they found the Professor waiting for them outside. Killian's face lit up with relief when he saw the two coming towards him.

"There you are!" Killian breathed easier now seeing that they were both well. "Hurry, we have to get to the gym now. Everyone else has already gone."

Rhys found himself being ushered towards the central campus with Connor. All the while, Killian kept a tight grip on his shoulder.

"Do you know anything else about what's going on?" Rhys asked the Professor while all three of them jogged away from the Glowry dorm. Breaking into the military college could not be a common occurrence. Although people knew there was a military base in each district, the colleges were not shown on maps, and portals were used to gain entry to them, so very few people actually knew where the colleges were located. Rhys thought this meant people couldn't break into them.

"No, I'm afraid not." Killian panted lightly as they went. "The rest of the dormitory heads and I just got instructions to make sure all of the students in our resident halls make it to the gym."

It seemed that the Professor didn't know very much about the situation either.

Rhys thought back to the teacher's warning. The urgency in the Teacher's voice was bothering him. The confident and snarky teacher in his head had never sounded that serious before. Actually there had been times when the teacher got serious, but this time was different. Rhys wasn't sure if he hallucinated, but the system sounded... frightened.

Rhys thought back to the warning the system gave him, from what the teacher said, he was sure that the intruder mentioned in the MCP announcement was specifically coming after him. More importantly, the system had not given him a quest to go and challenge said intruder like it had when he met Sampson in that back alley. Instead, the teacher instructed him to retreat. Which could only mean one thing… The system did not think Rhys was capable of winning.

It was making him anxious.

"Okay, you two go ahead. I'll meet you in the gym to do roll-call later." Killian's words snapped Rhys back into focus.

The Professor walked over to a group of instructors that were huddled together outside the entrance of the gym. Their eyes were full of uncertainty, they looked just as lost as the rest of the students.

Rhys looked beyond them to the entrance of the central gym where students were gathering and funnelling into the venue.

"Let's go." Rhys said as he moved towards the entrance. Connor followed after him.

They joined the cue of students and eventually made their way inside the massive fortress of a gym, where thousands of other students were being slowly sorted into groups according to their rank.

At the front of the gym on an elevated platform an instructor was holding up a bright neon green sign with the letter 'A' on it, and all the A students were congregating around him.

Rhys and Connor made their way towards the A group.

"There you guys are." Aria gave a small smile as Rhys and Connor settled in beside her.

"Hello, sleepy head." She eyed Rhys amused to see that he had woken up in time for the emergency announcement. "Did you dream a lot?"

Rhys shook his head. "No, not at all." He hadn't dreamed, it didn't even feel like he had slept. When he opened his eyes after losing his consciousness he was shocked to find that four whole days had passed by. It was still unnerving to think about.

"Hey, Rhys! Over here!" A familiar voice immediately relaxed Rhys and set a wide easy smile on his face. It was Otis.

The muscly teenager hurriedly made his way around the group of A students and jokingly punched Rhys in the shoulder. "We were supposed to get dinner!" He reprimanded Rhys with a laugh.

Rhys chuckled. "Yes, sorry about that, but to be fair I was in a coma..." He rubbed his shoulder where Otis had 'jokingly' punched him. He would have used his spectral form skill, but the Teacher warned him not to use his power unless his life depended on it. Did that mean that whoever broke into the military college was able to track him when he used his power…?

["You can use your passive skills like Aura detection and Energy Absorption. But don't use Aura manipulation or Spectral form."] The teacher groaned, annoyed by his ignorance.

'Why?'

["Just do as I say."]

Again Rhys was filled with the overwhelming urge to strangle the teacher.

"I heard about that." Otis eyed Rhys worriedly. "A coma is a pretty big deal. How did it even happen?"

"Just some bad after affects of using my ability." He gave a halfhearted explanation, wanting to sweep the issue under the rug. The fewer questions the better.

Somebody nearby scoffed loudly, unimpressed by his explanation. Rhys looked up to see none other than Sampson glowering at him.

"What's the use of your power if it knocks you out for days at a time?" He snickered and a few others around him sneered similarly.

[Name: Sampson Welsh]

[Aura: Fire Manipulator (average)]

Connor's fiery aura was burning a little brighter. It wasn't shaky as if he was going through a mood swing, the flames around him simply looked clearer, as if Sampson had grown a little stronger in the last few days.

"Sampson…" Rhys sighed out his name, feeling less energetic just by looking at his face.

Scattered behind Sampson stood a few familiar faces from the class. They weren't standing behind Sampson in the same way the kids from District 20 stood behind him, Rhys only had to blink to remember the way those scrawny thugs clung to Sampson's power desperately. Sampson was the strongest then, and those guys knew it, so they made sure to stick to Sampson like glue whenever he let them. In contrast to back then, Sampson's crew was now scattered around behind him, each strong in their own way but still choosing to back him.

Among the group, Rhys recognised the red haired teleporter who had been on Connor's team during the Evaluation tournament.

[Name: Ezra Abrams]

[Aura: Teleportation (average)]

Rhys also recognised another member of that team, the overweight guy with the aura that looked like a bear.

[Name: Roman Grigg]

[Aura: Black Bear Physiology (average)]

Scattered behind Sampson were a few others whom he did not know. A girl with an 'average' telekinesis ability and a guy with the Earth manipulation ability.

Sampson grinned proudly standing front and center of all those prominent people within the class. He had once again managed to make himself the leader, and in a mere four days gathered followers or strong companions and possibly made a name for himself. Sampson was a piece of shit through and through who consistently gave Rhys headaches but the guy was a born leader.

"You know, the entire A class has had to put up with being challenged and having duels these past few days." Sampson's voice got louder as he spoke so that his words reached the other classes. Rhys was aware of the eyes beneath the platform turning to him. Sampson's words weren't just meant for him, he was practically giving a speech to the other classes and sucking them in to the situation.

"Everyone of us has been challenged and had to fight for our place. And those who weren't good enough got thrown back to the lower ranks where they belong…" He grinned cruelly. The few victories he had gained from being challenged had fully restored his confidence.

Rhys's eyes darted towards a person whose face was pinched up and whose clenched fists were turning white. It was none other than Kataru who looked more frustrated and angry than words could describe. Rhys noticed that Georgie was not by his side and came to the obvious conclusion that she had been challenged and lost in a fight. Even if she had Crystallokinesis, it was obvious that she was not a skilled fighter and could not use her ability very well.

"Well, everyone except you…" Sampson grinned wickedly at Rhys, his plot becoming obvious.

Whispers swept across the crowds of lower ranked students beneath them. Rhys couldn't make out what they were saying, but the sensation of judgemental eyes landing on him gave him the gist of their thoughts.

Rhys clenched his fists as he realised what Sampson was trying to do. He wanted to make Rhys fight, something he might have been glad to do any other day, but not now when the teacher had told him not to use his powers.

"Give it a rest, Sampson." Rhys turned to see another vaguely familiar face. It was the guy from the finals of the evaluation tournament, the one with the light blue energy ability. The only other guy who seemed to have some resistance to Connor's ability.

[Name: Unknown]

[Aura: Energy Emission (weak)]

Although his ability was ranked as weak, energy control by itself was something that was considered by many as a superior ability.

"We are here on emergency protocol. The last thing this military base needs is unruly students having a duel while the instructors are trying to ensure our safety." His eyes were clear and determined as he spoke.

Rhys recognised that type of noble attitude as something Otis would align with. The energy emitter was probably from the 17th district as well, the home of the morality police of Sector 5.

"Fuck off, Dean." Sampson glared at the energy emitter looking royally pissed off as his aura flared up.

[Name: Dean]

[Aura: Energy Emission (weak)]

The system immediately corrected itself after learning the energy emitter's name.

Behind Dean a group of followers were standing glaring at Sampson. Among them was Wren Collins the wind manipulator who was on Connor's team during the tournament, Kataru from District 1, the metal physiology guy from the finals of the tournament and not surprisingly, Otis.

Rhys squinted from one group to the other, the tension between them was thick as Sampson's squad of ambition filled and imorally inclined students were the total opposite of the outspoken and ethic-loving group led by Dean.

Rhys blinked in surprise at this display. The power dynamics within the class had really bloomed while he was asleep.

"Sampson's right." The girl with the telekinesis ability standing near Sampson spoke up. "Everyone has to earn their place. Special treatment shouldn't be handed out to him just because he's a little sick." She glared at Rhys condescendingly before looking back at Dean.

"A coma is far more severe than 'a little sick'…" Otis spoke up indignantly. "Besides that's not the point, this is not the time or place to make things difficult on the instructors and staff who are trying to secure the grounds-"

"So what?" Ezra the teleporter butted in. "We just stand here for hours doing nothing? Why don't we make things interesting and watch as Rhys fights a challenger?"

The crowd below them stirred again, their whispers growing more audible at the prospect of seeing a duel between members of the A rank.

It was obvious to Rhys that Sampson and his cronies were trying to make him fight. Rhys did not know why, but there had to be a reason behind it. Maybe they thought he was weaker since he just woke up from a coma and wanted to take this opportunity to have him knocked down to a lower class…

Perhaps Sampson was just tripping on his new found power as a prominent member of the group, and wanted to regain his pride after relying on Rhys so much during the tournament…

Perhaps revenge for when Rhys beat him in their alleyway fight before coming to the military college…

Never mind all the uncertainty, what Rhys did know was that the system told him not to use his Spectral form or Aura manipulation skill, which were the skills he needed to fight. Thus he would lose if he was forced into a fight.

Aria leaned sideways and spoke lowly so only he could hear her. "A challenge is when two people fight, usually in order to raise one person's rank. Don't worry, you don't have to fight if you don't want to since both parties have to agree to it first."

Rhys nodded, he had heard as much from Connor already, but still felt on edge. Sampson seemed a little more organised than usual, it was like he was planning something.

"Forget it." Rhys stared back at them coldly. "I'm not fighting anyone." Rhys knew better than to disregard what the teacher told him. Plus there was no merit in getting involved.

Sampson smirked and turned towards the crowd of students below the platform. He raised his hand and curled his finger toward his palm, signalling someone to come to him.

Rhys watched as numerous heads started moving in the crowd and making their way towards the stairs to the platform. Ten students from the other ranks were now standing in front of Rhys with grins that mimicked Sampson's.

Unsure of how this line of random people made a difference, Rhys sent a questioning stare towards Sampson.

"Everyone wants to get to the A class, so naturally loads of kids try and challenge us." Sampson started. "But if we accepted every challenge we would be completely worn out. On the other hand, if we said no to every challenge it would be unfair on the other students. To make things fair for both sides, A students have to accept one or more out of every ten challenges."

["He's got you cornered"]

Rhys glared at the ten guys in front of him, they were all part of Sampson's plan. A surprisingly solid plan… Now that they were challenging him all at once he had to accept one of their challenges.

'I have to use my skills. I'll lose if I don't.'

["…"] The teacher sighed a long pained sigh, equal parts frustration and exasperation. ["I told you not to use your skills as a precautionary method. If it is who I think is coming after you, they'll recognise your skills and instantly attack you. And it is my professional opinion that you are not ready for them yet…"]

The instructor who was holding up the neon sign finally made his way over to Rhys.

He plainly said. "I have been authorised to supervise any challenges during this emergency period. Please pick your opponent." With that, things were out of Rhys's hands, he would have to fight.

"So who's it gonna be?" A guy standing in the line of ten spoke up. Rhys glared at him and checked the auras of the students. He was interested to find that they all had what was referred to as psychic abilities, or abilities that the system recognised as weaker versions of Ghost skills. Sampson chose these people for a reason, he most likely wanted to get a better understanding of Rhys's power by making him fight people he had not seen him fight before. It seemed like Sampson was determined to find Rhys's weakness.