I looked at the sky above, a few lazy clouds gently sailing along, uncaring about the frantic activity below. The main boulevard of the Academic Citadel looked like it was about to burst, but even though the next day would mark the beginning of the entrance exam for the Military Course, I was content with having found a comfortable spot on a bench.

Despite my relative ignorance, the upper echelons had already put a good word in for me, so I was sure the process itself was purely a formality. In the end I really didn’t have much at stake either way. All I cared for was having a good time in my otherwise pretty fucked situation, and trying to avoid being roasted alive again was almost at the top of my ”to do” list.

After a good while spent lazing around, I hopped on my feet and began to explore. The Citadel was basically a town onto itself, a separate enclave sitting on an artificial island about a kilometer offshore from Fukuoka, populated mostly by students of all ages and staff. Weirdly, I had found out about the presence of other schools after I got assigned a spot at a “provisional dorm” while I waited for my exams to be concluded. I had even been tempted to tell the military to screw off, but alas, that wasn’t possible.

I yawned soundly as I strolled along, directing more than a few upset gazes at me, when a weird ripple of Od was caught in my range: ”Is this all you have today? Ow, man, you have to be better than that!” came a shrill voice from a nearby alley.

Instinctively, I stopped, watching three silhouettes circle ominously around a fourth person. They were broadcasting their Od towards their victim, a wave of subtly intimidating energy, a threat of violence. I cursed under my breath as I began to turn the other way, unsure about what to do, when a young boy came running out of the alley. For a brief moment, our eyes met, and I saw old bruises on his face before he mixed with the crowd.

The three tormentors came onto the street, evidently waiting for the boy to return. “What are you looking at?” Said the tallest and thinnest of them in the same shrill tone I had heard before.

”You should be glad someone dares to look at your ugly mugs,” I spat out at him without thinking. I extended my range towards them, scanning their Od with mine.

---THREAT LEVEL ✥✥✥✥---

---THREAT LEVEL ✥✥✥---

---THREAT LEVEL ✥✥✥---

”What? Do you know who you are talking to? We have been personally recommended to join the Military Course this year, we are nobles, so know your place,” added the same guy... at least he had the highest threat level, if only by a slight margin.

”Weak... that is what you are,” I remarked, gripping his energy flow within mine.

It had been two days since I arrived at the Citadel, and until then I had seriously hoped humanity had come together more strongly, since they now had to fight common enemies...

”I was wrong. Fuck living quietly,” I growled as I began strangling the bastard with my Od. Ever since general Suda had tried the same thing with me, I knew how painful it could be, and I could only imagine how it could feel without a skill like “Hand of the Maker” to shield yourself with.

The two stockier guys moved in to hit me, but even though I had to let their leader loose, I found I moved much faster then them. They were almost snails to me, so I dodged one of them and pushed on the lower part of the arm of the other, activating the Hand. It was a slight touch, since I still had to reel in the remaining power from the “noble”, but focusing it completely on his energy pathways was easy, and it evidently hurt.

As his lackey fell to the ground and began cradling his broken arm, the leader spun to kick me in the head. He was faster, but the System had warned me of that, and I had been feeling a lot sharper even though I had been lying in abed for two weeks.

”Is this it?!” I said, uncaring, as I caught his ankle and threw him against his only friend still in the fight.

”Noble my ass,” I spat, seeing them scramble to their feet and running away as they cursed colorfully.

I had barely noticed in the heat of the moment, but the flow of people moving down the boulevard had deviated, and a little crowd had formed at a safe distance from our little scramble.

”Damn,” I said, turning to stare at the imposing man moving towards me. He was wearing a military police uniform, and he did not look happy. I was going to get in trouble on my first week there.

”You guys are coming with us,” he growled, and before I had time to correct him on his use of plural, two other policemen strode out of the alley, pushing the three thugs forward with little ceremony.

[...]

The man standing on the other side of the table took in a deep breath of the room’s sterile air, sighed, and locked his green eyes on my sitting, handcuffed figure. He looked disappointed more than anything, his sharp, western looking features relaxed, he combed his red buzz cut with his large hands, and then spoke:

“Why the hell would someone like you mess with small fries like that, I know you’re better than that Lorenzo,” he said, hunching his huge frame over to lean on the table with his hands.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, sir. They were giving some poor boy a rough time because they thought they were so much better than him, so I showed them there’s always bigger fish and put them in their place,” I explained, shrugging nonchalantly while still avoiding his gaze. Why did he speak so casually with me? I was sure I never met him.

“First of all, let me introduce myself, I am Joshua Finnegan, elite soldier in the United Human Front, I’m a temporary instructor at the Academy for the military course, and a good friend of Touka’s. She said you saved her life and I couldn’t be more grateful, but those kids are the children of some influential people. I’m going to cover for you this once, but you also need to understand what you did was rash, since on top of assaulting people you used Od indiscriminately in a public place”.

“I understand your concern and I’m grateful for your help, but I humbly disagree. My use of Od was calculated and minimal, I barely needed any to gain the upper hand. Still. It’s true that I should have tried a more diplomatic approach first, instead of provoking them, though,” I said, trying to sound more competent and composed than I really was.

---THREAT LEVEL ☆☆☆---

“Well, I can’t deny that. Truth be told, this is not an official questioning, it’s all off the books, so I can tell you that I waited until after you beat them up a little before stepping in with my men. I wanted to see if you were as good as Touka says you are”.

“And am I?” I said, a pinch of smugness finding its way in my words. I wanted to know how good I was compared to others, in the new state of the world.

He looked at me, and I finally managed to hold his gaze. “You are indeed powerful, though you’re way better at fine control and reaction speed than processing a large amount of energy at once. Still, this year we have at least a couple of others who can strive for the top class right from the get go, you’re not going to be without competition”.

I felt my heart skip a beat, though I didn’t know if it was because of my old cowardice or my newly found resolve. Despite anything, I at least had to meet these mysterious “future top class” students. I was curious about what the Imago System would say about them.

“I can’t wait to meet them in class,” I spoke after a couple of seconds of silence.

The man’s eyes almost sparkled as a grin opened on his face, and he said: “Oh, you’ll probably meet them before that. Most of the entrance exam is all about combat practice!”