Chapter 16: Hoop Academy (1)

Since there were two thousand students each semester, there were twenty-five classes in total, with eighty students in each class so that the classes would not be overcrowded. From A to E, there were blocks where the class was located and numbers indicating what grade it was.

For example, D4-22, block D, fourth grade, twenty-fourth section.

Cale looked at his section and sighed. E1-22. He was in block E, first grade, twenty-second section. He was relieved. No matter how much he prepared his mind, it would be better if he met the protagonists of the novel less, no, not at all.

When he walked in the door, he saw a clean and spacious classroom. With high ceilings and tall windows, he could see the snow falling outside. The desks were divided in two and went up and up. So the students could see the lectern without any problems.

Cale sat in one of the back rows by the window. He could hear the excited speeches coming in. Some bragged about their rank, others about their family or their money. Each one of them shone in his black uniform.

The edges of the jacket were edged with a gold line, making the uniform look elegant. The girls' skirts were black pleated skirts. Cale was glad to see no familiar faces.

"Attention!"

The instructor shouted in a muffled voice, waking up everyone who had fallen asleep as he stepped onto the platform and looked around the classroom. With his short blue hair, squinty eyes and molded body, he looked more like a cage fighter than a professor.

"It's your first day and it's orientation, so nothing special will happen," he said, looking at everyone with narrowed eyes, and when he continued, there was a commotion in the classroom. "Your classes will be reorganized in a week's time when your rankings are reassigned."

Cale frowned at this news. He had not expected them to reorganize the rankings so soon. He wondered what had led to this decision, but he didn't think the instructor would answer.

"My name is Giles Qarat, I'll be your guidance mentor for E1-22, and while some of you may be with me for a week, I don't want any relaxation in my class," he said as he released the pressure and the students pushed back. When Giles saw this, there was a sneer in his eyes, like he was looking at an insect.

Cale didn't know this man. He didn't remember him being mentioned in the novel. And since there were no heroes in this class, there was no way he could have been in the novel.

"Now, after you take attendance, I'm going to take you to the training room. I suggest you spend this one week practicing and improve your ranking. The higher your rank, the more benefit you will receive." After saying that, he opened the tablet in front of him.

"Rank 1840, Cale Rayne"

Cale raised his hand when he heard his name.

"Present."

Nodding his head, he continued.

"Rank 1839, Matilda Weiss"

"Present."

"Rank 1800, Victor Greg"

"Present."

"..."

"..."

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As the ranks were read out in descending order, Cale realized he was the weakest in the class. He grimaced at the thought of the test a week later. He didn't need to attract anyone's attention to carry out his plans. He could do what he wanted more easily when he was invisible.

"Rank 1760, Terry Heiz"

"Present."

"So now I want to see you in half an hour at the training facility in Block A," Giles said as he left the classroom and the students left one by one.

Half an hour later, just as Giles Qarat had asked, his class were waiting for him in the training facility, dressed in their gym clothes. When Giles entered, dressed more casually, he led them into a large room.

"There is a wide variety of weapons here, so feel free to choose the one that suits you best. Just be prepared to pay C400,000 if you damage an existing weapon. No matter how rich you are..." he mumbled the last sentence under his breath, but Cale heard him.

The variety of weapons in the room left Cale speechless. nunchucks, spears, shields, thin and broad swords, great swords, daggers, shields...

There were so many that Cale felt dazzled. But he wasn't thinking of using a weapon. He didn't need one.

Giles looked at the excited expressions of the students in the room as he told them the price of the guns and poured cold water on the students who didn't come from wealthy families.

"Before you pick up your weapon, swipe your student card so you can register your name in the database. Then pick up your weapon and meet me at the training area."

The students looked after Giles for a moment as he left the room and then quickly grabbed their weapons.

"Wow, this katana is perfect for me."

"You know this instructor? He didn't introduce himself properly."

"You're right, I wish he had told me what he was going to teach."

"I like that bow"

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Cale knew there was no point in being there, so he left the room five minutes later without registering a weapon in the database. Giles gave him a brief glance as he entered the training area, but his attention was back on the tablet in his hand.

The training area was large and spacious, about the size of two football fields. The shooting ranges were to the left and the training dummies to the right. The training dummies were very useful for close combat training. They were also durable enough to withstand the power of A level hunters.

The central part of the training area was empty. Here the students could practice with their weapons in comfort.

In the upper left he could see the gymnasium, equipped with top-of-the-line equipment. On another side was the swimming pool, which consisted of a special liquid that helped to train and develop muscles. Even though it was basically water, it had something much more beneficial for the hunters' bodies.

"Now that everyone is here, you can go and start your training. I'll be watching you from here," Giles said as he saw everyone arrive, called out what they wanted and sat down where he could see the students.

When Giles sat down, everyone started moving. Some to the mannequins, some to the shooting gallery, some to the center of the training area to try out the new weapon they had bought.

When everyone had found their own area to work on, Cale stopped in the center of the training area, which was a little off in the corner, and sat cross-legged on the floor. Some of the people standing next to him looked at him, but Cale ignored them and closed his eyes.

Cale had learned the hard way that he had to train his mind in the monster he had killed with Amaris and Dante. His mind had to be open at all times in order to use his Unlimited Void ability.

He had to learn to always be alert and react to the slightest thing without wasting time. If he had used Unlimited Void when he fought the monster and pushed it into the chaos energy, the monster's tongue would have been pushed out before it could touch his wrist.

Cale concentrated and pushed all thoughts away. There was no point and he wasn't going to use the chaos energy. All he had to do was train his mind. He opened his senses. As his focus increased, his senses began to sharpen.

When the sweat from his temple fell from his chin, his students entered the training hall, led by Jessica Hill, the A1-1 class guidance mentor.

Jessica had led her students into the room to retrieve the weapons and returned after completing her instructions as Giles had done.

"Hi," Jessica greeted Giles with a beautiful smile on her face.

Giles was one of the few of Jessica's friends who wasn't impressed by her beauty. Jessica's nickname was the Red Queen. With her short red hair and bright blue eyes, she had a charm that mesmerized everyone who saw her. She was a great sorceress and an expert in telekinesis.

"Looks like you've brought your students to the training area," he said, and she smiled at Giles.

"There's a re-evaluation in a week. I'm sure all the instructors are taking them to the training areas," she said and sat down next to him.

Meanwhile, when Jessica's students arrived, she told them to train and watched them. She looked at the ones who caught her eye. Apart from Dante, Amaris, Damien, Felix, Sylvie, Elliot, Amy, Veronica, these students came from eleven elite families.

There were high expectations for each of these students, who were called the geniuses of their time. As Jessica looked at all the students, she saw a red-haired student in a corner with a wet collar on her white T-shirt.

He was sitting with his eyes closed and she could see some of the students next to him looking at him and laughing. Yet the red-haired boy continued to sit in isolation.

"Who's the red-haired boy over there?" asked Jessica with a frown  and Giles looked indifferently where Jessica was looking.

"Rank 1840, Cale Rayne."

"What weapon is he using?" Giles sighed at Jessica's curiosity and opened his tablet. His brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the data log.

"He hasn't bought a weapon," he said, surprised but not showing it on his face.

"He didn't take a weapon?"

A flurry of activity caught their eyes as a few of the students looked over to where Cale was, pointing and talking about something. The next moment there were two objects flying towards Cale. But two things happened that surprised everyone who saw them.

A sharp object flying towards Cale fell to the ground without hitting him, while another small ball hit him on the head. Everyone who saw this looked at Cale in confusion, and when Cale slowly opened his eyes, for a brief moment the coldness of the red irises made them shudder.