Troublesome Relations

Right now, Lucas was getting ready for today's event—The unit test.

All cadets from classes 1-A-1 and 1-C-8 are going to be at the 5th district forest for this test.

The very district Lucas previously went to for his training.

And Lucas was sure that there would be some incidents in today's test since both classes, at this point, more or less hate each other. 

Lucas didn't make any plans for today's test nor was he thinking of getting involved. He decided to get involved only if it seemed that students would lose their lives or get seriously injured. 

From his point of view, this is nothing but a childish brawl between two classes.

"Huaaaa~" After stepping out of the bathroom while yawning, Lucas glanced at himself in the mirror, ensuring that he looked presentable. But it was clearly evident that he was still sleepy.

Obviously, it was a result of his messed up sleep schedule.

He was tempted to take a nap right then but controlled himself as he knew that he would be late. Shaking his head to get rid of the drowsiness, Lucas put on the academy's first-year red and black tracksuit and stepped out of his apartment.

****

"You're late! I told you not to be late! Do you really want to die that badly!"

"Calm down, Amelia. The test has yet to start anyway."

"Still, he's late!"

As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the 5th district forest, Lucas saw around two hundred cadets from two classes standing in 4 neatly formed lines.

Amelia was the first to spot Lucas and she immediately began scolding him. Kent was the only one who spoke in his defense and tried to calm her down.

I'm only late by 5 minutes though.

Ignoring her barking, Lucas leisurely started walking toward his Unit. How ironic it was that even though Lucas's strength was revealed, the way others treated him remained unchanged. It was especially so for Amelia who continued to harass him with her words instead of using strength like before. 

What was even more frustrating was the fact that he couldn't blame anyone but himself for it. His reputation was just that bad.

Before he regained his memories, Lucas's reputation was already sabotaged by the previous him.

And that very reputation has put him in a tight spot several times.

Even in his own Unit, no one likes to have him around. Amelia, obviously, bore a grudge against him. Nero is distant towards him. Anastasia speaks to him but with a guarded attitude, as if ready to attack him if Lucas makes one wrong move. 

Although it was a lot milder compared to the first group meeting they had, they still didn't treat him any better.

The only person who treated him better was Kent. But recently Lucas has started to get suspicious of him too.

"Hey, Lucas, c'mere! Join us!"

Speak of the devil.

 Lucas was jolted out of his thoughts by the very same person he was thinking about. 

Kent was waving out to him and beside him Amelia was standing with sealed lips.

Woah, he managed to silence Amelia?!

Lucas was visibly taken aback to see Amelia standing there in silence even though she was swearing at him a few moments ago. For the first time, Lucas felt a tinge of admiration towards Kent.

Anyways, Lucas sent a short wave back and started walking toward them.

"Do you really want to die that badly Lucas? Didn't I warn you before?"

Amelia immediately started to threaten Lucas as soon as he reached his unit. In response, Lucas completely ignored her words and just shrugged his shoulders.

"This guy..."

Amelia gritted her teeth at his nonchalant attitude. Seeing that things might get more complicated, Anastasia stepped in to salvage the situation.

"Why don't you leave it at that Amelia? It's not like the test has already started and he wasn't even that late. So why don't you forgive Lucas?"

"Fine, I will forgive him this time."

Although reluctant, due to the persuasion from her friend, Amelia was able to let go of her anger and forgive Lucas.

Lucas, however, completely ignored their conversation and continued to look elsewhere. Amelia's lips twitched at his attitude but she said no more since that would just make her look more petty.

Nero who had been looking at his unit with distant eyes decided to step in.

"Lucas, I won't tolerate it if you are trying to cause any trouble for our Unit. I'll forget you helped us during the mana training assignment." Nero, with a narrow-eyed look, openly threatened him.

Lucas showed no reaction to Nero's threat and just silently gazed at the black-haired student in front of him.

Honestly, he didn't want to get involved with his unit too much. But he didn't want to be in unnecessary conflict with them either. This is why he wanted to do the bare minimum for the unit and spend his free time leisurely. 

But today might be a little difficult for him to do that bare minimum. Although he didn't know what the test was about he could guess to some extent what it would be about given that they were in the 5th District.

 "Well, that would depend on the situation," Lucas replied as he stooped looking at Nero indicating that he wouldn't mind causing trouble if the situation calls for it.

Nero was about to say something but stopped due to a loud voice.

"Attention, cadets!"

From the front of the crowd of cadets, Instructor Liz and the homeroom Instructor of class 1-C-8 announced loudly.

Instructor Caroline Gray, the homeroom teacher of class 1-C-8, addressed a crowd of cadets who were standing in orderly lines.

She had chest-length light-brown hair that was curled at the bottom with bangs on the right side, purple eyes, and a slim but well-endowed figure.

Standing in front of the entrance of the forest, Caroline shouted:

"I am aware that both of your classes have been engaged in a dispute for about a week now. As instructors, it is not within our purview to involve ourselves in the affairs of cadets. Therefore, I will not address that issue.

"However, it has been arranged that all Units from both classes will participate in a joint Unit test today. I expect all of you to conduct yourselves in a professional and respectful manner during this session."

Nodding to her fellow Instructor's words, Liz continued the explanation by outlining the rules of this test.

"The rules for this Unit test are as follows: Participants will receive descriptions of four specific mana beasts through their smart bracelets. The first four Units to hunt any of these beasts will be declared four winners.

"Additionally, Units can also hunt other mana beasts they come across. The Unit with the total mana beasts hunted will earn fifth place.

"In short, to win, you either need to hunt the four mana beasts that you'll be provided the description of or kill as many other mana beasts as possible.

"Entering the inner forest is prohibited and hurting other cadets, no matter their class is not allowed. The session will end once the four designated mana beasts are hunted. Got it, cadets?"

""Yes ma'am!""

To Liz's explanation, every cadet present here replied in unison.

"Good luck," said Liz.

"Best of luck," Caroline joined in. "And do not fret if you find yourself in a perilous situation. The AI on your smart bracelet will alert us if that happens and we will rush to your aid. Now, let us commence the test!"

And with that, the two super steel reinforced giant entrance gates of the 5th District forest opened up inward.