After the rescue team brought us back to Paragon, they wouldn't stop questioning how we'd survived an A-rank demon. Between their interrogation and their constant prayers to the Emperor—each one more frantic than the last after seeing the devastation we'd left behind—I almost wished we'd stayed in the wasteland.
They rushed us straight to the hospital, assigning each of us our own room, even though our conditions weren't particularly dire.
Apparently, it was protocol—anyone who directly faced an A-rank demon had to undergo a full body scan to ensure they hadn't been possessed.
So much for saving the day.
Unfortunately, that presented a problem. I couldn't let them scan the vessel—not with its… special constitution.
"Why did we have to come back here in the first place?" Moriarty sighed, pacing back and forth in the small white room, the patient's uniform looking almost insulting on him. "Should we try the window and make a run for it?"
"Who are you even trying to outrun?" I replied, taking over control long enough to flop down on the bed. "The headmasters would catch us before we even reached Central City. And even if we did, uncle's not on Earth, remember? We'll have to get through this another way."
A sharp knock echoed through the sterile silence of the room before the door creaked open. Sergeant Rex stepped in, his armor still dusted with soot and the faint scent of ozone clinging to him.
"How are you holding up, cadet?" he asked, his voice carrying the usual gruffness of a man who'd seen too many wars.
"I spent the entire fight imagining all the ways I could die to a demon," I said dryly, getting to my feet. "Now I'm stuck in a hospital. Honestly, I can't imagine my day getting any worse."
Rex chuckled, the sound short and weary. "Heh, we've all been there. When demons still roam, days like this are just part of the job. You'll get used to it soon enough..." He paused, his expression tightening. "But listen — word from above just came in. You made quite the impression. Command's decided to send you to a new planet, along with a few others. It's an honor, cadet... and an opportunity."
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before shaking his head. "Truth be told, I've no idea what they expect from you younglings out there. But orders are orders."
My stomach twisted slightly. "How many of us are they sending to a single planet?" I asked, though deep down I already knew the answer.
Rex's jaw tightened. He turned his face away before replying quietly, "Two B-ranks... per planet."
"...Well, at least I'll have some company," I said with a faint smile.
"Haha, yes, you will," Sergeant Rex replied, folding his arms. "Don't worry too much. We're only sending you to planets where our military is already established. You'll just be there to assist in combat, nothing more."
He paused, glancing at the datapad in his hand. "That aside, congratulations on becoming a B-rank. Quite a few students made the jump after their recent fights. We're holding pilot training sessions soon, just in case... you know, your pilot dies."
My eyes lit up. "Wait, we're going to learn how to fly a spaceship?" I asked, unable to hide my excitement.
Rex chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, but don't get too excited. It's tougher than it looks."
"I just..." I said, grinning. "I've always wanted to fly a spaceship."
"Alright, let's see how fast you learn that..." Rex muttered, glancing at his wristwatch before raising a brow. "You want to start now?"
"Absolutely," I replied — and before he could even blink, I activated my ability. Time froze. The world turned still. In that suspended moment, I changed into my uniform, tightened my gloves, and stood back exactly where I'd been.
"Let's go, then," he said, opening the door — only to nearly bump into a nurse who had just arrived.
"Uh... sir, before you take him away..." she stammered, adjusting her clipboard nervously. "He hasn't had his scan yet."
"Don't worry about it, he's clean," Rex replied, ruffling my hair with his massive, calloused hand. "Cut my students some slack, will you? They just banished an A-rank demon back to hell. You don't need a scan to prove their innocence. Round the others up, I'll handle their checkups myself."
"U-understood, sir!" the nurse said quickly, before hurrying off down the corridor.
"You know, I might be starting to forgive him for setting us on fire and burying our vessels underground like potatoes," Moriarty muttered from the mind realm.
I remember being the one who actually felt the pain while you were having a spa day inside the mind realm. I thought dryly.
After some time, all the students, both those who had been hospitalized and those who hadn't, were gathered at the training grounds, where a massive black-and-gold spaceship stood at the center. Its hull gleamed like obsidian under the sun, intricate lines running along its sides in geometric patterns that pulsed faintly with light.
It looked enormous from a distance, but as we got closer, a strange realization struck, there was no way it could fit all thousand first-year students.
Or... so we thought.
"What the hell..." one student breathed, stepping inside the ship.
"How does... what?!" another shouted, dashing in and out in disbelief.
"It's bigger on the inside!" Samuel exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the pristine, white interior before running back out. "And smaller on the outside!"
"My entire understanding of physical space has been shattered!" I exclaimed, pretending to be genuinely astonished.
"I thought only objects could be kept in an altered dimension..." Wuxin muttered, staring at his own hands and legs before touching his head in panic. "Are we... are we objects?"
Several students paused at that, glancing down at themselves in sudden existential dread.
"Why did they make us learn three-dimensional Euclidean geometry if none of it's even real?!" Tom groaned, rubbing his temples as he stared up at the ship in existential defeat.
"...Yeah," Rex murmured from a distance, watching us with a faint smirk. "They look better now."