The students were in an uproar when they saw their instructor finally pinned completely to the ground.
They were surprised by the performance of the five students. They never thought that a class like this would be this much fun. It was the most thrilling class for them.
They then started cheering loudly.
Arman, who saw everything, almost cried when his two friends beat and won the challenge that the General had given to them. They were really the best of the best in their classes!
The General, however, was trying to process the toxin in his body that Raia gave him. He was actually impressed that Raia and Bernard could really defeat him with the help of the other students in the ring.
After a few seconds, he moved. He slowly stood up and reached for his pocket and saw the time ticking down to its last three seconds. 3... 2... 1!
He smiled and breathed out some air. He patted the dirt and dust off his shirt and body, then walked toward the center of the ring.
"B-016, D-002, F-028, H-008, J-035... I congratulate you all. You have defeated me on time. But based on my rules, only the ones who can physically bring me down can win, and there are only two of them... B-016 and H-008!" As the General announced the winners, some students who were in the same class as the other three felt bad. They hoped that their effort would have been rewarded as well.
"But... because you have shown outstanding performance and powers... all five of you will receive some of the awards. You will no longer have to take exams for this year. You are hereby exempted!" The other three students, namely, the werewolf, the porcupine guy, and the knives guy suddenly woke up when they heard that they would receive such rewards.
Though they could barely move, you could see that they were crying and happy because of the turn of events.
"On the other hand... B-016 and H-008 will also receive personal training sessions from me. This evening, you will receive your own combat technique that fits your powers and your physique. In our next class next week, you will show me your progress. Failure to progress will result in deductions. For the whole year, you will master those combat techniques. Because at the end of the year, you will have to fight each other, and the one who will emerge victorious will receive a generous amount of rewards. So if you don't have any questions... then class is dismissed."
After the General announced the big news, the students got excited and couldn't wait to see the combat techniques laid out for them to learn.
Raia and Bernard were excited as well about what combat technique would fit their powers. They wanted to learn it so badly.
When the students finished their clarifications with their instructor, they started to leave the venue one by one.
Bernard, Raia, and Arman didn't go yet; they tried to catch up.
"Bernard, I thought you died!" Raia exclaimed, teary-eyed.
Bernard just laughed. "Me? Dying? That can never happen. I can adapt so well that to any environment I encounter, even harsh ones, I will survive it all. Can you believe it? We have powers! I never thought we would live and get to experience this mysterious phenomenon and fight like that! Wow! It's like something straight from a movie, right? I wonder what we'll learn about the powers of the others. How about you, what's your power, Arman?" Bernard said, still ecstatic and rambling about everything on his mind.
"Me? Oh, I just have the most incredible power," Arman announced proudly.
Bernard squinted. He could pick up on Arman's boastful confidence but didn't really believe him.
"Oh yeah? What is it then?" he asked Arman.
"I can give tremendous buffs to people. I can make them really powerful! How's that?" he said smugly. His face was full of pride as he puffed his chest to feel bigger, but Bernard was much taller.
"Oh right, the ability that grants others a boost in their strength at the expense of something that belongs to you... That's just a really sad power with a price," Raia made fun of Arman's power, making him frown and defend his ability.
"That's just wrong. I told you a ghost took my things!" Arman said, trying to stand by what he believed happened last time in the elevator.
Raia and Bernard looked at each other and laughed.
"Idiot, ghosts are not real!" Raia said while laughing.
"Maybe they are, and we can talk to them with a SoulLink Communicator!" Bernard added jokingly, and the three of them stopped for a bit before remembering what that was and laughed once again.
It was a made-up thing from their business class that they had to sales pitch in front of the class before the Great Catastrophe happened. Those were such good times.
"You guys are such bullies!" Arman complained but laughed as well.
As they were making fun of Arman, General Matthias approached them and called out to Raia.
"Jeraiah!"
When Raia heard his name called out openly, he turned and faced the person behind him.
"I have to talk to you about something," General Matthias stated his request, but Raia's mood soured when he got close. Raia clearly hated his guts.
"I don't have to talk to you about anything. Rather, tell me what happened to my brother and my family. Where did you take them?!" Raia's mood changed immediately. With his tone now, Bernard and Arman looked a little worried. Bernard had never seen Raia angry before until now, he was really surprised. He could even feel the frustration and hatred exuding from Raia's body.
Arman, however, was worried that Raia would do something rash again. But he was ready to stop Raia if something happened. He didn't want Bernard to witness what Raia did last time to someone named Elliot. He thought Bernard might change his perception of Raia and would stay away from him.
But Raia didn't do anything except ask. Though his tone was cold, he didn't have the power to fight now, especially with Matthias being his instructor. He just couldn't do anything... yet. Though he felt good that he did beat Matthias in the challenge, he still couldn't shrug off the hatred he felt for him. He wanted answers. He wanted to know the status of his family.
Matthias understood Raia's attitude toward him and handled him professionally and calmly.
"I apologize for what happened last time. I only did that because you are too advanced. I suspected you might have a destructive power or ability, so I had to take precautions and bring you here. About your family... your parents were brought to another base with the best facilities. They are trying to wake them up. As for your brother... he was delivered to the same base to become a soldier. Even though he is incapable of holding a True Origin Energy, his body and physique are outstanding enough to be trained in the military. Rest assured that their lives are secured and safe. You have nothing to be worried about," General Matthias informed him sincerely. Raia could even see that the General seemed to be telling the truth and let it go.
Even though Raia had suspicions about True Haven, he didn't seem to suspect the General at all and felt like he could be trusted. That's why Raia trusted him... for now.
"Next week, I will send you a video of them so that you can verify my words are true. But that's not really the thing I wanted to say to you." After he said that, he pushed something on his Wristband and leaned closer to Raia to whisper something in his ear.
"Use those well. The ones I gave you. And be careful with the instructors of the Weapon, Role, Power, and Defense Departments. They're not your ordinary instructors." After Matthias said that, he pushed something on his Wristband again, then walked away.
Raia saw what he pushed on his Wristband. It was a black disc-shaped microchip. It was similar to his!
"Was he 007?" Raia thought so, but he also had suspicions about his instructor, Jack, from the Hunting Department. It didn't make sense now.
But Raia now knew who sent 'those' to him. Along with the contents of the wooden box were two huge, sharp needles. The General was the one who sent Raia those.
Now, with the warnings he brought, his suspicion about the base became much more solid.
"Something is really not right. What does he mean about the other four instructors?"
Raia pondered for a bit when Bernard and Arman tapped him on the shoulder.
"Raia, are you alright? What did he say?" Bernard asked curiously, thinking he might have said something negative that would hurt Raia's feelings.
Raia then looked at his Wristband and pushed the black microchip too.
He didn't answer their question. Instead, he looked at their Wristbands. He found out that they too had those microchips attached and pushed them. They lit up for a split second, indicating that whatever their function was, it had been turned on.
"I'm fine, but let me ask you first... where did you get the black microchips under your Wristbands?" Raia asked with a pause.
The two were confused why Raia would ask such a question all of a sudden, but they answered together, "From the wooden box."
Raia wasn't surprised. He had already anticipated that answer.
"And along with it was a letter from 007?" Raia tried to confirm his guess. The two looked shocked when they heard Raia ask that and nodded.
A feeling of excitement rose in Raia's mind. One thing Raia loved the most was mystery. When he was curious about something, he had this drive to find out why and how it happened. It seemed like Raia's OCD.
Raia even forgot about the status of his family. Now his mind was filled with thoughts about how all of this came to be. With his talkative personality, he shared the details he had pieced together with his two friends.
"Well, fellas. I think something is wrong with this military base. These microchips might be designed to obstruct any recording mechanism on our Wristbands. And if I'm correct, only a number of us were given these. I'm not sure why we were chosen, but one thing I'm sure of... the General has the information." Raia said that, then shared the reasons why he became suspicious about True Haven. Unexpectedly, Bernard had felt and thought the same since day one.
Raia found out that before they were brought here, they were thoroughly examined by a doctor. As Bernard described the appearance of the doctor, Raia's mind knew who he was referring to.
"Doctor? That doctor with Lavender last time..."
Arman also confirmed Bernard's information, making it more credible.
As Raia listened, everything seemed to get darker and darker within True Haven. No one knew exactly what it was, but he knew it was something connected to everyone present in this base.
"And Raia... I want to tell you something also," Bernard remembered something important.
"The others are still alive. They are with me in Barracks A to E, at the right portion of the base." After Bernard announced that, Raia and Arman finally sighed in relief. They had been overthinking for the past week about what had happened to everyone. Now, they were finally fine, and they could meet again.
"And Raia, isn't it weird?" Bernard asked suddenly. "That most of our class were gifted with True Origins."
"What?! What do you mean? How many exactly survived?" Raia wanted to confirm it.
"There are around 15 people, I guess, here who have True Origins, while the others were brought to another base to train as soldiers."
"15?! Seriously?!"
"Woah!"
Arman and Raia couldn't believe it. As what Inner Self and Mistress Fate said, True Origins were very rare, yet 15 students got True Origins in just one place, in just one class? That was unbelievable but if it came from Bernard, Raia knew it was the truth.
"Who are they then?" Raia asked excitedly, expecting names.
Bernard grinned. He had just remembered something.
Arman noticed Bernard's cheeky smile and played along.
"Bernard, I think he wants to know if that 'person' is here. Hehe." Arman looked at Raia teasingly.
"Oh shut up, you two! Ok, fine, don't tell me," Raia sulked from their teasing and turned his back on them.
The two laughed at Raia. He was just so predictable.
"Okay, okay, fine. I haven't really confirmed if it's them I saw last time, but I'll roam around the campus and gather them. It's going to be a surprise, and we'll meet in the mini forest there." Bernard pointed outside where the mini forest was located inside the base.
Raia and Arman agreed and got ready to say goodbye. The sun was about to set, and the three of them exited the class venue.
After they got out, Bernard said something first.
"Raia. I want to get out of here." Bernard opened up about what was on his mind.
Raia looked at him. He understood completely what he meant. If Raia's guess was correct, Bernard missed his loved ones too. Raia nodded.
"Then let's get out of this sh*t hole," Raia replied with a smile. Raia hugged Bernard, trying to comfort him. He could see the sadness and melancholy in his eyes.
Even though Bernard was happy to see Raia and Arman alive and well, the thought of his family's current status still bothered him.
"But first... let's train hard. Let's get strong enough to fight everyone in True Haven." Bernard took a deep breath and changed his composure to one of hope and determination.
"Agreed!" Raia and Arman answered. They too wanted to get out of here and they wanted to see their families. And so, there was no time for being depressed. There was only one way out of this: to exploit the resources of True Haven and become stronger.
They then parted ways and went back to their respective barracks.
As Raia and Arman walked, Raia could feel a presence following him. He looked behind them but saw no one. He thought he might be imagining it and dismissed the thought.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, they immediately bought food for their dinner. Because of how strenuous the challenge was earlier, he rewarded himself with a hefty meal.
Arman tried another meal too, but this time it was cheaper as Raia reminded him to save up so that he wouldn't use up all of his allowance.
As they were eating, Brock appeared and asked if he could join them. Raia didn't hesitate and let Brock eat with them. As they were eating, Brock suddenly raised a question.
"Raia... have you seen Lavender? I didn't notice her today." Brock mustered the courage to ask. He was actually supposed to be with Lavender today as they were to take classes together, but it seemed like Lavender didn't even attend.
Hearing Brock's question, Raia suddenly thought about what happened to her and the doctor. He tried not to react to his thoughts and instead focused on Brock's concern.
"Honestly... I didn't notice Lavender either. Maybe she's sick and in her room resting." Raia tried to put positive thoughts in Brock's mind, as what was happening right now was really weird. The fact that skipping or being absent could be counted as a warning, yet Lavender didn't even show her face, was strange.
Also, since they were in the same class, he should've seen Lavender but surprisingly, he didn't notice any sign of her at all.
Brock held on to Raia's words and planned to visit Lavender's room that evening.
After their dinner, they went back to their rooms. Raia's body ached all over. He felt like he was dying. After changing into something more comfortable, a message popped up on his Wristband.
[You've received a Combat Technique Tutorial Resource, from SS-002.]
[You've received 500 True Credits from SS-002.]
[You've received your weekly allowance of 700 True Credits.]
[Total True Credits: 3,050.]
Raia was shocked when he saw the total current sum of his True Credits.