"So, what's your power boy? And where's the datasheet?"

"Here." the woman came and handed the sheet to the guy, with a smile.

Rojack clicked his tongue and snatched the sheet out of her hands. I guess they had history.

The woman clicked her tongue as well and just went to the corner along with Johnathan.

Yup, they totally had history.

"I have the same powers as him just a bit inferior I guess?" I got the impression the guy knew my grandfather pretty well. So I just tried to be as frank as I could.

"Don't be so mod-e-s-t…" He was talking rather nicely until he wasn't. Half of his speech was cryptic for no reason at all. "What the hell! Are you sure you're that ugly bastard's son!? Look at these readings! It's almost like Alfred's-" He stared at me for a second.

'Ugly bastard?' I actually couldn't remember gramps's face, but I somehow knew he wasn't that bad-looking. I almost felt offended.

I sighed. "That was my grandfather's sword. And no, he wasn't my father. And no, he wasn't ugly either."

"What was your father's name?" He took deep breaths and totally ignored my answers.

"I'm not sure. I don't remember and-" And mom never talked about the guy. There wasn't even a picture of the guy in our house anymore. "I think it was Burt."

There just wasn't anything about him. He was erased from our lives. He didn't exist anymore. That nickname was the only thing I knew about him, to this day.

The man sighed. "I don't know how much I can be of service but I'd suggest melting that bad boy and using it as the core for-"

"No, as I said, this is a memento, I can't do anything to it."

Mom trusted me with this, I couldn't just betray that trust. Not for money, and not even for chocolate milk.

He sighed. "Stubborn like your old man, eh?"

"I'm telling you, he was my gramps."

"I know." he laughed loudly.

He sure didn't look like someone who knew.

"So, anything else?" If I couldn't melt the sword, then there had to be something else. It's not like every saber needs a Sylvanide core anyway.

But then again I didn't know what saber kind of cores saber used, or more importantly, what even a core was anyway. I just didn't know stuff. I guess I hadn't been studying much lately.

'Maybe I should jet detention and just read stuff there.'

At least that way, I'd learn more and I'd even steer clear of trouble.

"Well, I'll need a core. A Sylvanide core would be ideal but I don't think you'll find one out in the open anyway. And you don't look that rich either." I knew he wasn't attacking me, but it sure stung. "So I'll suggest getting Mutor cores."

"Mutor cores? I never read-"

"You thought you'd find these things in textbooks?" He again laughed hysterically.

The other two with me were basically just having fun chatting away at the other corner, touching various things in the room as they went. Those two were actually pretty similar when they were alone, totally in sync.

This guy did have his point though.

"So, how do I get the core?"

"Find big Mutors who've mutated at least twice. I think you'll be in luck if you went to the back of this island. I heard a rumor that there was a large two-headed snake seen in the volcano lately. Ideally, search for Mutors who are at least ten years or older. And once you do-" He paused and grinned. "You know what to do."

'There's a volcano here?'

And a snake?

What else did I not know about this place?

But a few things did make sense. The teachers specifically told us to bring back all the Mutors we'd ever hunt and turn them in at the academy and they'd even pay us for it as credits. But I guess now I knew why.

"Are there any other way-"

"Nope." He gave me a big grin. "Either a Mutor core or a Sylvanide one. Pick yar poison, cause nothing else would be able to deal with yar radiation." He even rhymed!

I didn't know why but this whole thing just got a lot more cumbersome. And it was almost as though the guy was mocking me for having radiation as a power.

"Well, the prelims would start tomorrow. If I get free time next week, I'll go and get a core. Meanwhile, I'll have to use this sword and if they say I need a saber, I'll just borrow a basic one from the club. Would that work Jonathan?" I raised my voice a little and stared at Johnathan. He was stealing this guy's lunch along with the middle-aged lady.

"Mmmgh? Yeah sure. Whatever." He was too busy chomping down the stuff: bagels, ladyfingers, and burgers.

"Is that okay?" I whispered.

I mean, no matter how much they knew each other, they couldn't just steal this guy's lunch, right?

"Wife and kids. Can't blame 'em." The man sighed.

'Oh… wait, what?'

I got more and more confused by the minute.

The man burst into laughter. "Yeah, don't worry about it. But judging by yar stats, I can say you can pretty much use all sabers. That's some genetics ya got."

I didn't feel all that special though. And I didn't care about swords either. I just wanted my chocolate milk.

"Anyway, how about ya leave that sword with me? I'll refine it for ya." Rojack pumped his chest, suggesting he was fit for the job.

"Well, I need something to fight, so I can't-"

The guy wasn't even listening to me. He just walked back and grabbed a small saber handle, throwing it straight at my face, a second later. Of course, I grabbed it.

But boy did this guy wanted me hurt.

He just chuckled when I caught it.

"This is?"

"A prototype I was working on. If I can find a good core and perhaps some good quality alone time, I can make it a lot better."

"What does it do?"

"Barriers." His eyes lit up. "That bastard always whined about getting a personal barrier so I was working on this a few years ago. I heard he disappeared but that was normal for him. I kept on working. But I eventually realized, he wasn't coming back." He was looking at the floor, a bit sad.

I could feel him. "What was your relationship with him?"

"He was my friend. We were together at school and we fought the headmaster, taking the academy for ourselves."

Yeah, it definitely sounded like something gramps would do.

I chuckled. "Alright. I'll leave this to your care." I handed over my sword.

"I won't let ya down." He pumped his chest again. "Why don't you give yours a try?"

"Sure."

I fired off the saber.

A pure black stream of light.

It was hot, and the stream was very constant.

But there was a problem. This wasn't a saber. It was a freaking, scythe.

This wasn't some cheap knockoff either. I tried giving it a swing.

"Whoa, whoa! Watch it!"

I might or might not have gotten a bit too close to the guy.

Obviously, it was intentional. The guy literally handed me a scythe instead of a saber, what did he expect and what the hell was he thinking?

Anyway, I smirked and tried to create a barrier in front of me.

But there was one problem.

How the hell would I make one?