Entrance exams (7) - I guess that's all for today... Maybe not.

"I promise I'll be gentle. Let me just take a peek." Nathan pleaded as he made puppy dog eyes. Hassan felt a bit put off by them. "Could you stop that… it makes me feel weird."

"Oh come on." Hassan heaved a sigh in frustration. "Alright then. But you will only watch me work on them. Don't even try to touch anything without my permission."

Nathan paused as he thought about it. "Would the system count it as me working if Uncle Hassan does the work?" He couldn't be sure that would be the case. He didn't want to waste this opportunity to learn more about the system.

"Alright then. I'll do as you have said…" Nathan looked disappointed with Hassan facepalming. "Let's go." He gestured to Nathan.

They walked over to his workstation. It was complete with a worktable and a couple of computers. Hassan moved to the central computer and after turning it on, the workshop seemed to come alive.

Nathan felt a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be able to work on the suits himself but he still felt a bit of anticipation. He would be able to learn more about the suits.

"Watch this," Hassan said with his back to Nathan. He punched in some codes into the computer after which a crane was activated.

It moved slowly but surely after which it stopped just right in front of an Exo suit. It picked it up and moved it over to the worktable, placing it down after which it returned to its initial position.

Nathan walked to the table to take a closer look at the suit. "Remember what you said," Hassan remarked as he left the central computer.

Nathan merely nodded as he kept his eyes on the masterpiece before him. "I'm guessing you are aware of the various types of Exo suits, right?"

"Yeah, more or less," Nathan replied. "Good. Now as we both know Exo suits are separated into three major types. Heavy, Light, and Medial.

"Each type of Exo suit fits with a particular Guardian class. The Spy class makes use of light armor, The Defender class makes use of the Heavy armor and Sniper class makes use of the Medial armor."

Nathan had come across the suits in the previous timeline. While he worked as Doctor Chen's assistant, he came across a couple of them. Coupled with the fact that Doctor Chen tutored him as well, he felt well versed in the field of Exo suits.

At least, theoretically. He had never actually made a suit himself. Best he had done was help Doctor Chen make one. That was why he listened intently as Hassan spoke.

He was well aware of just how practical knowledge was. "Are you listening?" Hassan asked, jolting Nathan from his thoughts. "Mn. Please continue."

Hassan rolled his eyes as he continued. "This suit is under the Medial type. It's designed for a Sniper." Nathan put up his hand. "Yeah?"

"Do you have a Repairman suit?" Hassan put up a brow. "Why?" "I would like to know what I would be using once I become one."

Hassan at this point felt that the lad before him was misusing his special privileges. But unfortunately, he couldn't exactly reprimand him seeing as it was Chen that asked this of him.

"You won't wear it though…" Nathan nodded in agreement after which Hassan pointed with his finger. Nathan followed it to find a badly mangled suit, ripped at different angles and it was even missing an arm.

Nathan widened his eyes in surprise. "There is a reason why Repairman is not a sought class." Nathan gulped saliva as he turned back to the suit on the table. "Let's get back to the lesson, shall we."

Hassan noticed the fear in Nathan's eyes. It was good. He needed to ensure that the teen was aware of what he was getting himself into. "Hopefully he'd be more careful." Hassan genuinely cared for the boy. He was well aware of how much his brother Chen cherished him.

"Can you guess what happened to this suit?" Nathan remained silent. After over four hours of explanation and working, Nathan eventually had to leave the workshop with Hassan leading him towards the male dormitory.

Nathan was a bit shaken by the mangled suit he had seen earlier but his curiosity won him over as he was anxious to see if anything had changed with the mission he was given.

[ Daily mission: Refurbish ten worn-out Exo suits by the end of the day. Time left – 8:00:00]

[Mission progress: 0/10 ]

Nathan's expression sunk. It was clear now that to fulfill the mission, he had to do it himself. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to work on Exo suits as he did not have a permit to do so.

All he could look forward to now was what would happen if he did not complete the mission. "I hope it's something tolerable." Nathan hoped in his heart.

After almost thirty minutes of walking, They finally got to the male dormitory. Once they got there, Nathan was surprised to find Reyes sitting close by. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be meditating.

"Let me talk with the guard." Nathan agreed as Hassan moved to the guard post. Nathan walked up to Reyes with a smile on his face. Not keen on disturbing the latter's meditation, he could only wait in silence.

"I didn't know young master Nathan had a fetish for watching young handsome men meditate," Reyes said with a smirk as he opened his eyes.

"Who the hell are you calling young master and also, what the fuck!" Nathan regretted believing that Reyes would be meditating. "Hehe, no need to react like that. Glad to see you could come back."

Reyes was honest causing Nathan to calm down somewhat. "So I'm guessing they allowed you to stay?"

"Hmm."

"Your guardian. They allowed you to stay right?"

"Yeah."

"That's good."

"I know right…"

"Because if they hadn't, I would have wasted my time securing a bed space for you." Nathan paused as he closed his eyes before glancing at Reyes. "You just had to ruin the moment."

Just as Reyes was about to counter, Hassan walked over. "You can go in. I wish you the best of luck at the academy. Look out for this clumsy nephew of mine."

"Absolutely sir," Reyes responded comically, amusing Hassan as the latter excused himself. "Let's head in."

They walked into the dome-like building. Nathan was quite intrigued by the intricate and otherworldly design that was used while creating the male dormitory. It looked breathtaking.

There were slide doors as they walked, with numbers above them indicating the room number. The social area was somewhat crowded as candidates became acquainted with one another.

After fifteen minutes of walking, they finally reached the room Reyes had said was theirs. He pushed the number combination after which the door unlocked. He walked into the empty room.

It was a bit similar to his apartment only this time, it was wide enough to fit two bunk beds which meant that four candidates slept in a room.

Nathan took in the décor of the room for a few seconds before turning to Reyes. "What do you think?"

"Looks nice. Who else will be staying with us?" "Well, that would be the fatty from earlier and an Asian dude that doesn't speak much."

Nathan noted this. "Are we meant to bring clothing with us?" Reyes shook his head. "Nope. We'll be given our uniforms tomorrow. Each squadron will have a unique uniform to identify their teammates."

"Alright then."

"You want to freshen up?... The bathroom is to die for." Nathan looked interested. "Let me see."

An hour later and Nathan exited the bathroom which was to be shared by all four candidates in a room. That was one bathroom and toilet per room.

At first, deciding to remain in the room, Reyes convinced him to leave after which he accompanied him to the social area. It was a rather lively place with enough space for a couple of exchanges.

Nathan quickly noted the direction of the conversation. The weak ones were attempting to suck up to the strong ones and the strong ones were acting as pompous as possible.

Just as he was about to ask Reyes if he could return, he heard a familiar voice from behind. "Well, well… if it isn't the highest scorer in the knowledge test, Nathaniel Holt."

Nathan and Reyes turned back to find Jeremiah standing with a few other candidates around him. "He has already formed a clique of his own. That was fast."

Nathan had a feeling that things were about to get worse for him. Unfortunately, he had no way to avoid what was coming. He could only take it head-on.

"Can I help you?" Jeremiah frowned seeing as Nathan was quite bold as he stood over there. "I was worried that you would get kicked out due to your low scores but it seems not. Quite unfortunate if you ask me." He was not about to give up so easily.