Fangs of Friendship

"Lin Hori," a calm voice called out, resonating like gentle waves on a distant beach.

"Lin," the voice repeated, sounding familiar this time. It resembled the voice he had been hearing in his head for what felt like hours.

"Zen?" Lin thought, uncertain of his surroundings.

As Lin's mind drifted through the realms of sleep, he found himself immersed in a world of vivid dreams. Visions of battles fought and victories won danced before his closed eyelids.

He awakened to the soft voice echoing in his mind once again.

"Lin."

"Zen?," he acknowledged, his voice filled with wonder.

The surrounding scenery transformed into a serene landscape. Lin found himself standing on the edge of a tranquil beach, waves gently caressing the shore.

"Welcome to your inner sanctuary, Lin," Zen spoke, his voice soothing like a gentle breeze,"You can also call it a dream construct."

Lin marveled at the peacefulness of the place. "This is incredible," he whispered, his awe evident.

Zen continued, "This sanctuary exists within your mind, a realm where we can communicate and train without physical limitations."

A flicker of excitement ignited within Lin. "Training? What kind of training?"

"Training that will help unlock your full potential, harness your unique abilities, and enable you to face any challenge that lies ahead. I already downloaded some martial combat resources," Zen explained.

Lin's eyes widened with anticipation. "I'm ready. Show me what I can do."

With those words, the tranquil beach transformed into a vast training ground. Obstacles appeared, and a holographic opponent materialized before him.

"This opponent will help you test your agility, reflexes, and combat skills," Zen informed Lin.

Without hesitation, Lin leaped into action. His movements rigid and sluggish, his reflexes a terrible sight to behold. The opponent's attacks were swift, and Lin were unable to evade them. With each passing moment, he felt his strength and confidence deplete.

"It is nothing to worry about, you are still rusty and the academy will eat you up like this. You will be working twice as hard to be able to stand up for yourself," Zen calm voice sang out to Lin.

Lin trying to catch his breath," Again, please!," he pleaded for their training to continue. He was determined to train twice as hard if that would give him an advantage.

As the training session progressed, Lin's mind and body began to harmonize, unlocking new levels of strength and agility. He finally could effortlessly executed complex maneuvers, landing blows with unmatched precision.

Hours passed like seconds in this realm of endless possibility. Lin pushed himself till he could go no more, eager to explore the depths of his potential.

Finally, the training session came to an end, and the holographic opponent dissipated. Lin stood, breathless but exhilarated, within the serene sanctuary once again.

"You have made remarkable progress, Lin," Zen commended him. "But this is just the beginning. There is so much more to discover and unlock within you."

Lin nodded, his determination burning bright. "I won't stop until I've mastered my abilities and become the best version of myself."

Zen smiled, a sense of pride emanating from his presence. "With your dedication and my guidance, there's no limit to what you can achieve."

As Lin awakened from his dream, he could feel the remnants of his training session coursing through his veins. The power and potential that lay dormant within him were now awakened, waiting to be unleashed upon the world.

He knew that his journey had just begun, and he was ready to face the challenges that lay ahead. With Zen by his side, the possibilities were endless, and the destiny he carved for himself would be legendary.

The adventure awaited, and Lin was determined to make his mark upon the world. The crystal's legacy had chosen him as its vessel, and he would honor that trust with every fiber of his being.

Little did he know, his path would intertwine with the fate of Shing district and the world itself, as he embarked on a journey filled with danger, discovery, and the forging of his own destiny.

****

Lin had woken up to clatters and noises in the room. He opened his eyes to see some other recruits settling in.

One was the recruits has muscular frame with low blonde cut. He camped down at the bed that the other end, leaving the slender, frail one of the three in the middle.

Lin had equally woken up to a splitting headache. He ran his hands through his hair like it was a solution to the headache.

Lin tapped on the wristband twice, and it came on.

A notification popped up before him.

[ UPGRADE WITH ZEN]

"Huh! The developers of Zen are just cocky" Lin thought.

[Neural strain detected]

[New achievement unlocked: Shut down]

[5 Exp rewarded]

[Exp:15/20]

Zen, had detected the headache almost immediately Lin had rebooted the wristband.

"Your brain activities have increased since my core processing got attached to your neural synapses through the chip embedded in your brainstem.

This chip, transmits your brain and internal activities to the bureau so that everyone can be easily tracked and located from your governance" Zen continued, "trying to remove this chip could lead to death as it is located just beneath the brain stem"

"To subside the headache, I would recommend the intake of food with high calories" Zen replied to his silent thoughts to get rid of the headache.

Lin climbed out of bed to go get a drink from the water dispenser in the room before heading out in search of fuel to keep his body functioning.

His roommate with the skinnier frame had noticed Lin sitting up in bed.

"You are finally up. You have been out cold for the past forty five minutes since I have been in the room. Hope the academy isn't giving you nightmares already?" The boy had said in an attempt to be friendly.

"I was thrilled to find out I am going to be sharing a room with the son of a legend, a national treasure."

Lin paid no attention to the new guy as his intention was to get rid of the mind-disrupting headache.

He had the first cup of water. Then another. And another till he felt like a barrel of water. The headache wasn't going to budge. Lin will have to get something to eat. Anything at all. Preferably if it has a high sugar content.

Lin turned around and the kid who had been speaking to him was standing right behind him.

"Feng Lee" the boy said sticking out his hands, "My friends of which I have few, calls me Fangs"

Lin took Feng's hand in a firm handshake and a poker face, indicating no interest to socialise.

Feng ignored Lin's countenance and proceeded to introduce him to the other roommates.

The roommate who was now paying attention to the two boys standing in the middle of the room.

One of them is frankly excited to be speaking to the son of a national treasure, the other seems disinterested and a little bit pale.

"That is Draco hugh" Feng had pointed to a roommate with a slightly bigger body stature than Lin. "He is from Mage Sect"

"Let the boy rest, he is already breaking into cold sweat" Draco said, making fun of Lin as he could obviously tell the slight difference in his aura.

"What about you Feng? Which of the sects did you bunker down with?" Lin had asked directing his stare to Feng.

"Ah! My bad. I am from the Tech Sect" with yet another smile.

Feng sure likes meeting new people.

"Feng, it was nice meeting you. I will be happy to catch up with you later. I have a pressing need I should really attend to," Lin said, trying to hurry off.

"Let me come with, there is practically nothing I am doing here. I will equally love to take a look around before it's time for our orientation," Feng had insisted.

"Do not go around acting like you own the place, Rangers always have a thing preying on cadets," Draco had said looking at Lin.

"Just so you know, at the recruitment camp, I could hear some rangers murmuring about lossing a parent or a relative to the mass suicide your father had led them into. Like I said, don't go around like you own the place" Draco added.

"I bet you have got plans to own the place and shut all the haters. I am a huge fan of Commandant Hori. Without his sacrifice, the Shing district would probably be submerged under rumbles of disaster '' Feng had said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Why do your friends call you Fang?" Lin asked Feng " You do not look like you can do a lot of damage to anyone"

Feng let out a loud laughter, "You will see. Do not let the looks deceive you."

Lin and Feng stepped out of the room together down the halls. This time, it is busier than it was when he first walked through. Lin was suddenly glad Feng tagged along.

Lin had caught people in groups staring and pointing at him. They both walked up to a vending machine at the entrance of the dorm.

Lin selected a chocolate bar from the machine and placed his wristband on the machine. The machine beeped and a chocolate bar dropped to the tray.

"Ain't you getting anything?" Lin had asked Feng.

"Nah. I am fine. I am more interested in looking around the academy. That might have to come after the orientation seeing it is almost time" Feng replied looking down at his tablet.

A look of puzzle watched over Feng realising Lin didn't have his tablet on him.

"How did you pay for the snack without your tablet?"

Lin had let out a forced smile.

"It seems like my lucky day. I had hit the button and the chocolatebar fell into the tray before i got the chance to pay," Lin lied pointing towards the number 3, the option for Chocolate bar.

Feng had bought the lie after he had hit the number 3 several times and nothing had come out from the vending machine. Lin equally tried out a few times trying to solidify his claim.

"Quick, let's go change into our uniforms, we got fifteen mins to get ready for the orientation," Feng snapping Lin out of this thoughts.

"Zen really had transferred all information off the little tablet including his account informations, the access pass that was handed to him at the recruitment camp"Lin thought.

"Ain't I the best at what I do?", a voice from his own thoughts had replied with a tone of arrogance.

Lin had tried ignoring small talks from groups of teenagers like him who were littered around the hallway on their way back to their dorm. He had equally caught some Rangers eyeballing him as he walked with Feng. He could tell they were Rangers as they were suited up in there uniforms and right arm badges.

Cadets had to prove themselves in combat at the arena, their skills in piloting a megabot or their resourcefulness during crisis to get a badge.

Getting a ranger badge, means you nust have to be an outstanding cadet, which usually takes roughly eighteen months to accomplish.

"I can feel my blood rushing. This is really what it feels like to be popular," Feng couldn't help but flash a smile at anyone that stared or pointed at them.

"I would trade places with you if that was possible" Lin joked.

The duo had gotten back to their room and Draco was already dressed in his uniform. A black long sleeve vest over a pair of camo combat for trousers, and a black boot.

He didn't look as fancied as the Rangers he had seen earlier but the uniforms really looked good on his muscular frame.

"Wow! You look damn good in uniform" Feng teased as he proceeded to get dressed.

[FIVE MINUTES BEFORE CADETS ORIENTATION]

A holographic notification popped before Lins sight.