Training Begins!

Several hours later, Rowan emerged from Director Freeman's office in a bit of a daze. While he had managed to take in the shocking information with stride, it was still shocking enough to surprise even him! He simply had a good enough grip over his emotions than most people.

'I guess this is why I was so aware of my birth.' He thought to himself. He could remember most things that happened around him immediately after his birth, and he knew that it was not normal.

For as long as he could remember, Rowan could always recall everyone around him calling him smart. He was always faster to catch on to things than his mates, and his understanding of certain matters exceeded a lot of people. While that did not make him the smartest person, it was still remarkable how easily he was able to catch on to things at such a young age.

Rowan absentmindedly made his way back to his shared living quarters. While he had already digested the information that had been shared with him, he was still deep in thought.

'I wonder how much different from everyone else I will be after I become a Noble.'

As he was walking, a thought suddenly crossed his mind, making Rowan freeze in place.

"Oh, damn! I forgot to ask Uncle Freeman about Eric." He swore out loud and palmed his face. So much for being smarter than his peers and faster to catch on to things. He had so easily forgotten about his brother.

Rowan shook his head and proceeded to open the door to his shared room. There, he came face to face with his three roommates.

"Oh, Rowan. You're back!" Robin chirped from his spot on his bed. Elijah and Connor were sitting on Elijah's bed as they discussed something, but that discussion came to a stop as they turned to face Rowan.

"Welcome back, Rowan." They greeted.

"Thanks, guys." Rowan gave them a smile before making his way to his bed. The moment he sat on it, he felt the spot beside him sink in. Robin had bounced over immediately, eager to gossip a bit. The boy was slightly shorter, with a head full of bright, yellow hair, and bright blue eyes.

"Hope you don't mind some gossip?" Robin grinned widely at Rowan. Indeed, he was one for gossip.

"I don't mind. Ask away." Rowan shrugged helplessly.

"So, the Director is your uncle?" Robin immediately asked.

"Not biological. Uncle Freeman and my father were good friends before my father went missing. Even since then, he's been even nicer to our family. That's why we are so close." Rowan explained. When he mentioned his father, everyone winced. Even Robin who had already established the fact that he was a renowned gossip couldn't help but wince.

"If you don't mind..." The yellow haired boy began.

"You're wondering how I can talk about my father so freely?" Rowan quirked a brow. He already knew where Robin was going.

"Yeah." Everyone had turned to listen to the conversation now.

"Well, I don't think there's much to it. While it hurt me that my father was lost in the line of duty, at least I'm happy to know that he was lost while protecting his comrades. My father was a soldier. A warrior. I'm proud of that, and I'm proud of my father. My pride as a Heart won't let me avoid speaking about him." Rowan explained with a small smile on his face.

Upon hearing his explanation, everyone looked surprised.

"That is a surprisingly simple, but profound reason." Connor nodded from across the room.

Connor had a scholarly look to him. A pair of large, round glasses sat across his nose, and he often wore a sweater. Ever since they had moved into their new living quarters, a book had rested in Connor's hands, and it was curiosity about the contents of the book that drew Elijah over to his bed.

Elijah nodded along with what Connor said, and the room descended into momentary silence.

"It is already quite late. We should rest so that we can be in prime form when we get summoned by Maxwell tomorrow." Rowan told Robin, and the smaller, yellow haired boy agreed. The others heard them too and also agreed. Before long, they had their beds made, and they were already asleep. The adrenaline that stemmed from being exposed to a new place had worn off and left them all tired.

When morning came, they were all woken up at 6am, by an alarm that rang from the hidden speakers in the room.

"Sorry to bother your sleep, but training starts today, boys! Freshen up and follow your comms, they will lead you to the training room where you will all begin your training to generate geno armor." Maxwell's voice came from the speakers.

The boys woke up groggily. They had expected to be woken up early, but not that early. The only who did not mind it was Rowan. He quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed some bathing materials, and hurried into the bathroom at the back end of the room.

Seeing Rowan's enthusiasm to get down to practice, a fire was lit in the hearts of the other boys once more, and they regained their vigor.

"Wait for me!" Robin called out as he followed after Rowan with his own bathing materials in hand. The others were not far behind either.

Half an hour later, they left their room and began making their way through the halls of the underground base. They followed the map that was displayed on their comms.

On the way, they came across many other recruits making their ways to their various training areas. Some of them were even following the path that they were taking.

The Black Gold Organization did not only recruit from Willow City and Gold City. There were a host large and small cities alike scattered all over Henan. They were all prime sources for new recruits, and the Black Gold Organization did not hesitate to tap into this pool of potential Nobles. The smaller hunting organizations also did the same. As a result of that, the Black Gold Organization was able to take in hundreds of recruits each year. Although not all of them eventually became Barons, dozens of them still generated Geno Armaments and became Barons, leading to the Black Gold Organization having a lot of Nobles under its command.