Gaining Rank

Seeing this military officer appear out of the blue, storming into the magical weapons class, caused everyone to stop whatever it was that they were doing and turn around, directing their attention towards the middle-aged aged man. Everyone was nervous and wondering what this was all about. They didn't normally stumble across guys like him at the academy. Most of the staff and instructors at the academy looked quite different in demeanor, as compared to the man standing before them all.

Clearing his throat, the man gave a stern salute, his eyes glanced upon everyone present before he spoke the reason for his arrival.

"As you all may be aware of, things are beginning to get out of hand. And following the incident that had happened yesterday, and the danger that's constantly roaming beyond the academy, I have come to say that, the expedition course has been shifted. It will no longer be taking place after five months. Instead, it will be taking place a week after five months. It may not sound like much, but believe me when I say that, no amount of time is worth wasting at this point in time," the man said, giving another salute before leaving the room.

Everyone couldn't stop thinking about what had just been said. Meanwhile, the instructors were doing the best they could to keep the students interested in the class. A lot of them were not aware of why the period before the expedition had been shortened. But, they couldn't afford to think about that for now.

While everything at the academy seemed to be going back to normal, that also meant that the battle between students for rank had resumed as well. Not too long ago, a group of students had set their sights on Kayden's friends. In the first place, the leader of the group was interested in taking his rank for herself. However, after hearing rumors about how he had beaten up Josh and Steve, she decided that she would target his weaker friends instead.

Walking through the hallway, Blake was on his way back to his dorm room. The magical weapons class had come to an end, and he was ready to call it a day. Although he and Carter still had their training sessions, they eventually decided against having them everyday since the pressure the academy was placing on them had been increased.

Unknown to him, a group of students were keeping a close watch on him as he walked down the hallway. He simply assumed that these students were on their way towards their dorm rooms as well.

Ever since joining the academy, Blake had never challenged anybody for their rank, particularly because he never cared about the ranking system in the first place. He had no interest in the social privileges that comes along with having a higher rank.

Suddenly, a student had teleported in front of him, blocking his path, and before he could react, a blow had been delivered to the side of his face, pushing it to the side. Blake was caught off guard by this, and before he could react, he felt his body being electrocuted, as a student from behind had activated his ability. Then, the leader of the student group walked in front of him, ordering the other two to cancel their abilities, before landing the finishing blow to his gut.

Blake had been defeated, and almost immediately, the number on her watch had changed from a 9.8, to a 11.1. Her and Blake had switched ranks, since she was the student who had ultimately defeated him. Quickly, the group of students had fled the scene, in search of their next victim.

Somewhere in the hallway as well, was a red-haired student on his way to his dorm room. Zain had no idea what was heading his way as he was busy thinking about the future expedition course. For now, since the fire class division were the students who were making use of the simulation device, it meant that he would have to focus on other means of growing stronger for now.

Sometime after he had joined the academy, he had come across a student with a weird tattoo on his wrists. When he asked the student about the tattoos, the student replied that it was a secret-a way through which he could aquire strength. This student is the sixth strongest first year student at the academy. However, he claims that he will soon become the Titan one, one day defeating Kayla and taking her rank.

Although he was interested in this means of growing stronger, he wished to consider a couple of things before ultimately making his decision. However, it was in the middle of his thoughts, that a bolt of lightning had struck him from behind, causing his body to jolt from the shock and the pain.

Zain was finding it hard to move. Plus, he didn't have much time to gather his energy for a counterattack, as another student had activated his fire class ability, channelling a large barrage of flames in his direction. Meanwhile, the female student would move in front of him, before delivering a final block to knock him out. Her name is Nadia, and her goal is to become the Titan one of the first year students.

Her rank had risen once again to a 19.2. Seeing this, Nadia couldn't contain her excitement as she jumped up and down, squealing like a little girl in a candy store. Her and her friends had just managed to ambush and overpower a higher ranked student. Although they had all grown significantly stronger since their early days at the academy, she was still proud about the fact that they had been able to accomplish such a feat.

Since none of Kayden's friends ranked higher, she wasn't going to ascend in rank from defeating them, however, she still had another motive for going after them. Not long after, and they had stumbled upon their next target-Carter. Repeating the process, it was a lot easier for them since he was a lower ranked student. Not long after, and they had managed to attack all of Kayden's friends that night.

After defeating Madison, Nadia was beginning to consider going after Kayden himself. But after reminding herself that he was the Titan four, she quickly put those ambitions aside for now. In the meantime, she would just have to find her way to defeat the current Titan five-Josh Brooke.

After experiencing a humiliating defeat at the hands of the tattooed student, Josh had vowed that he would grow stronger and reclaim his rank. And thanks to his hard work and persistence, he was able to do just that, in a battle that almost ended in a draw. Josh was able to reclaim his rank as the Titan five.

That night, the group was feeling quite confident in their power, so they decided to go ahead with it. Fortunately, Josh had yet to make it into his dorm room. Getting close to him, they were ready to charge and attack him. However, they were surprised when he suddenly turned around, seeing what they were about to do.

Frozen in fear, Nadia considered running away. However, a large burst of flames had suddenly put those plans on hold, and appearing right behind them, was Josh, using his flames as a means of teleportation.

"You six must think you're smart," Josh said, cracking his knockles. "But lemme tell you this, I've gone against people far more dangerous that you guys," images of Zain, Kayden, and the tattooed student, had flashed through his mind, and not waiting a second longer, he charged forward, his fist pulled back, covered in thick yellow flames, ready to do some serious damage to these students.

"We're screwed!" Nadia yelled, bracing herself.

Once the classes for the day were over, Kayden had headed back to his dorm room. He wanted to talk with Kayden to finally set an official date for their match. Meanwhile, Shawn was still busy undergoing experiments in his underground lab. He seemed far more interested in that than anything else, as Kayden and Paul barely saw him in the room, mostly only seeing him during the day while in class.

Kayden decided not to think too much as to why Shawn seemed to be absent most of the time. Instead, he decided to focus more on himself in the meantime. After talking with Paul, they had agreed that the fight would take place at this time tomorrow, in the Arena while no body is around. They figured that with how hectic things were getting, that they might as well have their fight sooner than latter.

Right now, Kayden was busy lying on his bed, thinking about the fight tomorrow, when he suddenly heard a knock on the door. He had never gotten any visitors ever since joining the academy, so who could it be that wished to see him? It may not even be him that the person may be looking for in the first place. Glancing at Paul, who was sleeping away, Kayden began to think that perhaps the person was one of his secret admirers, causing a smirk to form on his face.

However, he knew that he wouldn't find out whether or not if that was the case, so he decided to get down from the bed and find out who it is that's knocking at the door.

Upon opening the door, Kayden's eyes went wide in shock as he saw Kayla standing outside.

___________

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

My goal is to one day become a famous author.

If you want my dream to become a reality, then please keep on reading and support this work.

I'm glad to see that so may of you are currently enjoying the story. If you're interested, then perhaps you could consider joining my discord.