Declaration of War

"Academy?"

Raising his eyebrows, Noir couldn't help but think about it. At first, he considered it as nothing but an annoyance. After a while, he saw an opportunity if he were to enroll in the school.

'There is no better way to spend my youth than school. And it's the best place to witness the youngster's abilities. Not to mention many exciting things could happen there.'

Noir put his hand under his chin.

'Let's see... what scenario would likely happen in a school full of superhumans?'

Power show-off. Hierarchy--the strong prey the weak, or the noble prey the peasant. Too many scenarios could happen in the academy. However, among the hundreds of scenarios Noir could think of, only one was he interested in.

'Usually, in this kind of world, the 'protagonist' is bound to exist. I'm not going to be one, so I want to see if there are any here.'

Noir was determined to be an observer this time, meaning he wouldn't do anything big that caused him to be put in the spotlight.

'Unless I have something to hide my identity...'

Although he decided to do that, he still had a lingering feeling to make sure the world was alright.

With that in mind, Noir changed his clothes and went to the library to finish what he left off yesterday.

He was not in a rush since the academy would start in two weeks. During this period, Noir spent most of his time in the library, reading every book available on the shelves.

On the night, before sleeping, Noir utilized the only computer set in his room to surf the deeper side of the internet.

Just like what he did to the library's security, he breached the city's private server containing valuable data.

If not for the quick response of the cyber guard, Noir would have been able to look into all of the data. He should be satisfied with acquiring around 15% of their data.

That was how Noir spent his two weeks before the first day in the academy, reading books (information), surfing and socializing on the internet, doing a little bit of cybercrime, and trying to understand how society worked in this new era.

***

Today was the day Noir enrolled in the academy, which every person who had awakened was required to attend for at least a year before they could go and experience the true essence of the Resonant world.

Although the tuition was free and every single fresh Resonant was assigned to the available academy automatically after they awakened, not everyone followed the rule.

There were bound some that broke the procedure-- this applied not only to those who chose not to enroll in the academy but other things too, getting them marked as rebels by the League, just like the people that showed up on every broadcast channel right now.

Noir was preparing for his first day in the academy when suddenly, his FT Phone turned on by itself and played a live broadcast.

Intrigued, he hastened his preparation. Once he was done, Noir immediately left for the academy wearing a plain white hoodie and black pants since he and the other apprentices had not yet received the uniform.

As he waited for the elevator, Noir watched the live broadcast.

On the screen, someone stood in front of the Dimensional Rift where monsters resided, wearing masks to conceal their identity. With an exaggerated and dramatic gesture, they spread their arms open.

--- We are Indigo Society!

Intrigued, Noir raised his eyebrow.

'Oh, is this gonna be the villain's entrance?' he thought. 'That aside. So they're the Indigo Society that I have read about? Not much is known about them, though.'

--- We've found that the act of keeping the Rifts in our Earth is as dangerous as the Nightingale Terror a century ago. We don't know why the Lords and The League didn't want to clear them and instead used them as a 'training facility.'

Noir noticed their eyes shone purple briefly.

--- The Rifts are dangerous and unstable. Keeping them intact could bring misfortune to our world. For example, the Rift-Cross. We don't want to experience another event that almost wiped out the entire world population, right?

Those words incited flame within the people's hearts, especially those who chose not to awaken and live as civilians, wanting a peaceful life in this peaceful time.

However, there was no such thing as a peaceful time as long as the remains of the Terror were everywhere in the world. That was the Dimensional Rift, which appeared a few years later after the end of the Exploration Era and the birth of New Civilization.

The elevator arrived at his floor. Noir walked in as its door opened. It was good that it was empty so Noir could continue watching the broadcast without interruption.

--- Our purpose? It's to fight the law. We are the revolutionists who want this world safe from harm. And to reach that, the clearance of all Rifts becomes our goal. Even if it means we become the enemy of the League.

As they finished speaking, a group of Resonants came out from the Dimensional Rift behind them.

A moment later, the Rift surface trembled violently before shrinking and disappearing from the world.

--- This is the Declaration of War.

At that moment, Noir had a change of thought of the masked person on the screen.

'Villain? Nah. He could be the protagonist!'

Noir was aware that the government, the League, was hiding information. They were the global elites of this world. Moreover, the League was the organization that stood at the very top, controlling and managing the Resonant and its clans.

With that setting in mind, the Indigo Society could be that one organization that revolted against the government after they discovered the dark secret the government tried to hide from people.

'That scenario isn't that bad. The Main Character that is a leader of the Revolutionist Army... interesting.'

Noir didn't act rashly. For now, he took notes of the Indigo Society and the masked person as the potential protagonist.

After all, there were still many scenarios that were yet to be discovered. And Noir's favorite setting was the young hero who attended the academy before facing the real threat of the world.

Arriving at the lobby floor, Noir strode to the Flash section in the hotel and set his destination to the Academy City, Majesty.

'This is merely but the prologue of the story.'