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Part Two

Nick spotted Matthew and Freya by the bus little ways away from the crowd. Matthew was leaning against the bus and Freya had her arms crossed. She was not wearing her white framed glasses. Nick figured that during the accident they must have broke.

“Hey, you two feeling alright?”

Nick asked them as he walked over.

“Better than before, and where’d you run off to?”

Matthew replied back to Nick as he moved forward a bit to stop leaning against the bus.

“I did a little scouting.”

“And, how’d it go?”

“Two of them, couldn’t make them out at least not from this distance.”

“I hate snipers.”

Matthew said as he let out a breath of cold air.

Freya glared at him.

“And this sniper hates you. Next time you need some support, I’ll just leave you be.”

“You know what I mean, I hate the bad snipers.”

“Have you two seen Katherine or Darius?”

Nick just realized that Katherine was not over here and he was still curious as to where Darius was.

“Katherine? Yeah, she went into the bus over there. Don’t tell me you’re interested in her Nick.”

Freya had this sly grin on her face when she said those words.

“A bit.”

Nick responded instantly. He was interested in that ability of hers which healed her almost instantly.

Freya was startled, she was just teasing him. She did not actually believe Nick was interested in Katherine. Sure the girl had one hell of a body, but her personality or at least what she showed so far was far too cold.

“What the hell man? Now you’re interested in her too? Since when?”

“When we were flipped upside down, and everyone was harmed. She was the only thing on my mind at the time.”

“Fine, you can have her. She seems drawn to you as well, asking what makes you so special.”

Matthew said as he leaned against the bus once more. There was finally this girl that he felt could match him, but she was interested in someone else. Now that person she was engrossed in also had emotions for her. His luck was weak, but Matthew was not one to stand in the way of his friend's romance.

Hearing what Matthew said, Nick was curious as to what he meant by that. Could it be that Katherine noticed?

“Now that everyone is healed up let us get you back on the road.”

A loud voice ordered them. Nick turned his head and spotted an older white-haired man, he was the source of that sound.

“Merge onto the other buses, and do not pile up in one bus. Don’t just stand there, get to moving!”

Under the older white-haired man’s urging all the students piled back onto the buses. Nick, Matthew, and Freya all went into the same bus as Katherine.

Nick took a seat next to Matthew, and Freya sat next to Katherine.

“You never said anything about Darius, so you have not seen him?”

Nick asked about Darius once more.

Matthew shook his head gently.

When he got off the bus, the only ones he noticed were the ones that were already on it, minus Darius and Nick.

“No. I’m sure he has his reasons.”

Nick nodded in agreement.

“So, what do you think?”

Matthew questioned him.

He was intrigued to know what Nick thought about the attack that occurred. An assault like this just does not happen out of the blue, there was a goal behind it.

“Declaration of war, or assassination attempt.”

Matthew rubbed his chin upon hearing Nick’s answer.

It could be either one of those, but who would want to go up against the academy?

“Personally, I’m leaning towards an assassination attempt. If this was an attack on the academy, why would they stop at only attacking one bus? They would have continued shooting until multiple buses were down.”

“While I'm also inclined to believe that, you can’t deny the fact that there were only two of them. That attack could be sent as a warning.”

“Did you think of the third option? It could be a diversion. Get everyone’s attention focusing on this camp while they attack another location?”

“That is a long shot, considering the only teachers that came with us are from the first year classes. What could be so important that they would try to draw the teachers attention on this camp? If anything they only made themselves a target. So it is unlikely that a diversion is what they were after.”

“Whatever their goal was, it sure has everyone shook.”

Matthew used his thumb and pointed behind him at all the students sitting on the bus.

Nick looked at them, they were shaken.

This was the first time they underwent an attack of this caliber. At school, the matches they fight in are not life-threatening, but this one was. A person’s first time on the battlefield is always the hardest, but that does not mean it gets easier.

Once they also came to the realization that this was an attack on their school, they will worry about their safety inside Mt. Hessian. If they thought it was an assassination attempt, then that would mean they will keep their distance from the people who were on the targeted bus.

Either one was not good as it would considerably lower the performance of others. While Nick did not care about the other classes, for his own class he did show a little concern.

They each had their own responsibility, and if they did not do it, then the whole class will suffer.

The bus made its way to the entrance of Mt. Hessian. There was a giant wall erected that enclosed the whole area.

“That has to be like forty feet tall.”

Matthew said as he got off the bus and viewed the wall. The tan colored barrier was covered in orange colored dirt, it made it blend in with the surrounding mountains.

“Stop acting like a child that has just saw something amazing. It is only a wall.”

Freya commented.

“You always have something to say don’t you.”

Freya flipped her curly purple hair.

“Only for you.”

“Don’t start, we have to stay alert.”

Nick told the two of them.

Freya and Matthew both humphed and let out a breath of cold air.

All four of them followed the crowd of students and walked towards the wall. There was an entrance located there, but first, they had to listen to the person in charge of the Mt. Hessian.

When they arrived closer to the entrance, they were in the middle of the crowd.

There was a wooden platform at the front of the masses. On the platform were five individuals, who were wearing a black and gold coat. The teachers in charge of all the first years could not be seen from where Nick was, but he knew they were in the front.

Once all the students made their way towards the crowd, a well fit middle-aged man with black hair stuck the wooden platform with the end of his sword that was still in its sheath.

A wave of energy spread out going over all the student's heads, causing them all to be silent.

He did not use any sort of ability, that was just his usual strength. However, that force of his was filled to the brim with energy.

“Welcome to Mt. Hessian.

Behind this wall is where you will live for two weeks, and inside this wall is an environment you have never been to before. I don’t care what your rank is, I could care less what your EXO ability is. The only thing that matters is power, and power comes in many forms. It is not only displayed with brute force.

I’ve been informed that there was a small problem on your way here, that predicament has been taken care of. You need not worry about any sort of assaults, this place is safe.

As you can see there are four other individuals up here with me, each one of them is a high ranking official. No threat can get past them; each one of them will be guarding an entrance.

Mt. Hessian while it is under the care of the military, it is used to train some of our new recruits. Unlike you, they stay in there for two months. Inside you will find everything you need to survive. As long as you have those things it will take you a long way.

I will now answer three questions.”

A whole wave of hands emerged from the crowd of students.

The man pointed to one student.

“If you use this place to train military recruits, then why are we here? We are only students, not part of the military.”

“What do you think you are going after you graduate? You don’t look smart, your ability is more than likely trash. Now, with your prospects, do you actually think you will go far in life?”

The middle-aged man stopped looking at the student directly and gazed at the entire crowd of them.

“Don’t have such narrow minds like this fellow. You will more than likely work for the government in some sort of way. Those of you with low potential shall be drafted into the military, and those who show a bit of promise will have a chance to go into a different field. I’m not sure what you thought precisely, but you are a weapon and weapons must be taken care of properly.”

A grin appeared on his smile.

“Don’t look so sad, I’m only speaking the truth. You want to rise above the rest? It is simple, put forth more effort than the person next to you, behind you, and in front of you. Show the world you are more than just a weapon for them to use, that is the only way to have a life of your own.”

The truth was revealed to them. Those who thought they were going to live a lavish life now knew that was not the case. However, not everyone was like them, there were some who knew what they were getting themselves into.

It was not like they had a choice in the matter. School was not an option, you had to go. If you did not, there would be a suitable punishment for you once the government found out.

The middle-aged man watched the hands, there were fewer raised this time. He pointed to another person in the crowd.

“Sir, what are you?”

“I am human. What did you expect me to be?”

The students laughed when the man responded. What kind of question was that?

“No, I mean your rank or well… job.”

The student was a little embarrassed as he corrected himself.

“That is classified when you graduate, and if you have the opportunity, you will find out.”

Seeing that the middle-aged man had answered his question a few more students raised their hands.

Once again the man pointed to another student.

“What kind of beast will we encounter in there?”

“Depends on what entrance you go into. There are different kinds in each, but the highest ranked beast you will encounter is a minotaur. Grade two demon beast.”

The jaws of the students dropped. This was insane!

“What sort of logic is that? We are only first-year students, how do you expect us to handle a demon beast? And a grade two one at that?”

The students started to complain. If he said a Beta, they would have no problem with it. An Alpha, they would be slightly shaken, but a Demon beast was a whole level above.

That was not something they could handle.

Hearing the complaints of the students, he slammed the butt of his sheath on the platform.

With the wave of energy going over their heads, they became silent.

“I’ve said it before, this is used to train some new military recruits. Your grades do not define your capabilities, it is only used as a measurement. If you think you can’t handle yourselves, then die. I could care less, just means one more weakling I don’t have to deal with.

Get into your groups, and be prepared to enter Mt. Hessian, because it will be one hell of a stay.”

Nick looked at Matthew and shook his head slightly. The student council president fed them the wrong information, something they could handle? A vast amount of the students never fought a mutated beast before, let alone one of the demon rank.