"So, what happened with that whole thing?" I inquired curiously.

"Well, we were kinda given a gag order...but since you won't tell anyone, I guess I can tell you," Replied Kilella after mulling it over.

​​

"What? No, you absolutely cannot do that!" Protested Kumar immediately.

"I have to agree with Kumar, you shouldn't leak classified information," Sighed Johan, who was also here.

We were currently at my place, a couple of days after we encountered those Wights during the final exam for Level J. Naturally, it had turned out to be a pretty big deal. The decision to send Level J students outside the Sanctuary while these attacks by the Wights had been taking place was heavily criticized, especially since there had been some casualties.

The group I was in was intact, of course, but from the other two groups, there were three deaths. Jian Lee, Alex Jaice and Misaki Aki. And plenty of the others had been injured as well, though nothing permanent. Apparently, the ambushes that they ran into were more well-hidden than the one we encountered. While there had been no public announcement regarding the deaths, rumors about it were starting to spread throughout the Sanctuary in all four quadrants.

"I doubt it'll remain classified for long, given the way the rumors are spreading, things will get out of hand if an explanation isn't issued to the public soon," I argued, too curious to know about what was going on.

"What do you mean?" Inquired Kumar with a raised eyebtow.

"As in, the snowball effect...the more a rumor spreads, the more exaggerated it gets, and when it becomes really drastic, people will start wondering why the X-Warrior Zone HQ hasn't given them any explanation. That could lead to conspiracy theories, protests and stuff like that," I explained.

"That seems like a situation with a lot of ifs," Remarked Johan skeptically.

"Actually, he's onto something here. Stuff like that was really common before WWIII, the more secretive governments were, the more people started spreading ignorant and far-fetched conspiracy theories and protesting in massive groups on the streets...heck, there were literally MILLIONS of people who thought WWIII was a hoax WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING, so there's definitely some merit in governing bodies being open with the citizens," Pointed out my sister, arguing in my favor.

"But the X-Warrior Zone HQ isn't a governing body, its only task is to handle all things X-Warrior related," Argued Kumar objectively.

"Technically true, but since the people are completely clueless as to anything about the outside of the Sanctuary, they're bound to feel afraid if there's rumors of something going wrong out there...after all, the vast majority of the planet is an almost-completely unknown variable, and people fear the unknown...that's enough reason to justify the claim that the rumors will get more and more exaggerated with each passing day unless HQ addresses them. I'll tell them as much when I drop by there later today," Said Johan, after mulling it over with a frown.

"That's great...so, what happened with the whole thing?" I inquired again.

"The Wight we captured told us where the location of their base in Russia is, so HQ is considering creating bombs to attack them with," Kilella informed me in reply.

"Hey!" Snapped Kumar with a look of exasperation.

"Well, he is the one who technically captured that Wight, so I guess it's fine," Shrugged Johan, letting out a sigh as he glared at my sister.

"Relax, guys, my little bro barely talks to people at all, so he won't tell a soul!" Insisted my sister, patting me on the shoulder with a grin.

"Yeah, that's true enough," Nodded Kumar in agreement.

...I feel like they aren't complimenting me right now.

"Anyway, do you know when the Level Q classes will start, Kumar?" I inquired, "Normally, it'd be two weeks after the final exam of Level J, but they haven't even announced the exam results yet."

"Well, yeah, they can't exactly go about business as usual since three students died, they'll probably announce the exam results after things settle down again. But if I had to guess, it shouldn't take more than a week's delay, so around the final week of July, probably. I don't know for sure though," He replied with a shrug.

"I see...so, uh, you wouldn't happen to know the exam results, would you?" I asked him pointedly.

"I don't know everyone's individual results, but I do know that no one failed, so everyone in your class will move on to Level Q."

Great, I didn't care much about my exact results, so long as I passed...

"Yeah, except for the ones who died," I said with a nod.

"That's kinda cold, and a bit dark, the way you said that," Remarked Johan with a shake of his head.

"I guess you weren't close to the classmates who died?" Inquired my sister curiously.

"Well, two of them were nice enough, I guess, while I wasn't close to them, I can't say I disliked them. The other one was a total bitch though, if you want my honest opinion, I'm glad she's dead."

"...damn, that's brutally honest," Responded Kumar with a bemused look.

"Yeah, you should be careful not to be so blunt," Agreed Johan.

"Oh, uh...sure, I'll keep that in mind," I replied sheepishly...yeah, I guess there is such a thing as 'too honest'.

Wait a sec, why were they here right now, anyway? About an hour and a half ago, my sister had called and said that she was coming over with the two of them, and while I had been annoyed by the last minute notice, I was really curious to ask them about what had happened with the Wight situation, so I didn't question it. Knowing my sister, they hadn't come over for anything specific, in which case...how do I get them to leav-?

"Crap, look at the time!" Johan suddenly exclaimed in alarm, before turning to Kilella, "Hey, we're supposed to head to HQ today, remember!? You're the one who insisted on stopping by here to kill a bit of time before going, so I was expecting you to keep track of the time! We'll be late at this rate!"

"Huh, but why would you do that? You're a pretty organized person, so I left that up to you," She replied innocently.

"You-...! Whatever, we don't have time to point fingers, let's just go!" He sighed in exasperation, "Pardon the intrusion, Kilzachs, this was all pretty last minute."

"Yeah, you got that right, I've specifically told my sister to tell me well ahead of time if she's coming over," I responded with a frown.

"This is exactly what we mean when we say you're too blunt," Said Kumar, lightly punching my shoulder.

"Oh...I mean, I totally don't mind it when people come over unexpectedly...it's like, who doesn't like surprises, am I right?" I replied dryly.

"Sarcasm isn't any better."

"...I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, though," I remarked sarcastically.

"Don't respond to being called out for sarcasm with more sarcasm. Seriously, your social skills need work, Zax."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Well, uh...we're off, then," Johan interrupted, as he and my sister headed out.

"Later, little bro!"

And with that, they left, which left me alone with Kumar...how do I kick him out? Eh, I'll just say it bluntly and-.

"I think I'll go too, I plan to really make full use of this break before classes start up again," He stood up and stretched his arms up before I could say anything.

Well, that was a freebie.

"Oh, I see...yeah, maybe taking it easy for a bit won't be a bad idea, I should take at least two consecutive days off, it's been a few years since I spent more than just a single day doing nothing and relaxing," I realized.

I usually only took days off once every two weeks, and it was never more than a day at a time, I just start feeling uneasy and restless since I feel like staying idle for too long might dull my skills. Sure, there have been times where I decreased my workload a bit when it felt like I might have overworked my body, especially on days when I have classes, but at the very least, I would still exercise and do some basic drills.

"I'm guessing you practice shooting a lot?" Kumar inquired, as he got ready to leave.

"Hm? Yeah, I suppose I do...I try to practice each aspect of my fighting style evenly, but I do end up putting in a little bit of extra effort when it comes to using my wrist-blasters than I do with my hand to hand combat and blade skills. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know if you've realized this or not, but I'm pretty sure there's no one in the Sanctuary who can aim as accurately and consistently as you can."

Wait, really? Huh, that was a nice stroke to my ego...

"That's not saying much though, is it? I mean, how many people besides me actually use XFE guns in the Sanctuary?" I pointed out.

"Fair enough, most X-Warriors don't use them, and civilians certainly don't. But I'm also counting X-Warriors with long-ranged Manifestations, your accuracy is better than anyone I know. Well, anyway, I'm off. See you later, Zax."

"Yeah, sure. See ya later."

...

...

As it turned out, my sister came over again the next day, and once again with last-minute notice. If there was one silver lining, it was that she came over by herself this time, so my place wasn't cramped with too many people, but still...she came over right before I was about to head to the gym. She said she had a surprise for me, and of course, refused to tell me what it was until she came over...I have a pretty short fuse when it comes to my patience, and she was really wearing it down right now...

"You alright, Zax? You look kinda irritated, little brother."

"Do I? Huh, I wonder whose fault that could possibly be...," I responded, struggling to keep myself from snapping at her.

"Oh, I know! Let me guess, did you have a bad dream but you can't remember any of the details?" She inquired, after looking like she was deep in thought.

"...just tell me why you're here, sis."

"Hey, what's with the attitude? Ohh, I know, you're excited to hear what the surprise is, aren't you?" She remarked with a teasing smirk.

If I'm being honest, I hate surprises...like I said before, I don't like unknown variables, I prefer it when things are predictable because that makes them easier to control. That said, I was curious about what she's got to say...

"Yeah, yeah, I'm super excited...so, what is it?"

"Fine, I guess I've kept you in suspense long enough. It's like this, yesterday when Johan and I went to HQ, we reported in detail what happened when we ran into the Wights. Naturally, that meant mentioning that you were the one who actually incapacitated Hebi, the Wight we captured. And since you'd also been involved in that incident where the Level J teamwork exam went wrong, some of the higher ups got curious about you. I couldn't resist telling them that you're my brother, and Johan mentioned that you're the best marksman he's ever met, so...they want me to bring you over to HQ later today!"

...huh!? Yeah...I really do hate surprises...

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