The following days went by in a flash, and it was already time for the group to go back to the Academy. The group was walking together toward the Academy, but as they were walking, they realized all of the students in the first-year uniform weren't going into the building.
"Hey, what's going on?" Skye questioned.
" they said we were going to have a type of announcement," a girl answered.
When the female answered Skye's question, Jordan realized something.
"Hey, is it just me or is everyone in a group of sorts?" Jordan said through the telepathic link.
Looking around, everyone agreed with Jordan's words. Almost all of the first-years that were left were in a group of some sort. Only a few of them were on their own. Then everyone could see Emmett walking up to them, looking nervous as ever.
"C-Can I join you guys?" Emmett asked nervously.
Riven walked up to the boy, putting his hand on Emmett's shoulder.
"Sure, I don't see why not." When Riven said this, the duo started to walk back to the group.
Riven could tell, even though he only knew Emmett for a couple of days, that the boy was scared and not that strong as well. And who knows what could happen to him if he doesn't have friends by his side?
"NO!" a male voice called, which made all of the first-years turn their attention to see what was going on.
There they saw a girl who had a chin-length bob with deep orange streaked with bold black stripes that ran in sharp lines down the sides. She was on the ground with what looked to be tears building up in her eyes.
"Please, I don't have anyone. I already tried earlier, but they didn't let me in. Please," the girl begged.
The male who was in front of the small group—meaning he was most likely their leader—was getting ready to physically abuse her, but Nico was quickly in front of the boy, grabbing his hand before it could make contact with the girl. The boy looked at Nico with annoyance, realizing he wasn't able to separate their hands.
"Don't be so cocky now. I've also awakened, meaning we're both on the same level. Don't underestimate me," the boy said with confidence.
The boy clearly didn't know Nico had gone through another awakening and had a true awakening form.
The two of them got into a fighting stance, but before they could go at it, a loud thunderous clap echoed, making all of the first-years turn to see where the sound came from. There stood a man with messy black hair — it was Damien.
"Enough!" the man yelled out. When he did, the boy and his group all walked away while Nico grabbed the girl's hand and took her back to the others.
"Thanks for having my back, guys," Nico thought in a sarcastic tone, thinking the group was just going to sit there and watch, but then saw the group was closer than they were before — and by the glow dying down in Riven's hand, it showed that they were ready to jump in if things got physical.
"Now that that's out of the way, let's begin." Damien then cleared his throat. "Congratulations to all of you for surviving your first outing. You've already received your reward of having a few days off from your classes. Now, your other reward will be us giving you all 1000 Units."
Hearing these words, most of the students were in awe at the number. Emmett, the new girl, and Nico and her old group — who had joined them — were also shocked that the Academy would give them that many units. The only group that wasn't shocked was Riven, Jordan, Harkel, Joey, and Wren. The four knew the Academy could give more than what they were offering, since they themselves had gotten 1000 units after the first assessment.
"Why are they being so cheap?" Harkel questioned.
Everyone in the group who was shocked then got their minds together.
"Fair point. The Academy should be getting support from all of the families and the government, so why exactly are they being so cheap and only giving us 1000 units after risking our lives like that?" Jude said, hand under her chin.
"Funds, most likely," Tessa joined in. Everyone looked at Tessa like they wanted her to explain more.
"Oh, you guys want me to explain more? Well, think about it — the other Academy has way more people than Sigil Gate does, since forced evolution is still rare and natural evolution is even rarer. Meaning, most likely, the government gives the other Academy more funds than they do us, probably because they see more potential in the other Academy, with them having more students than we do.
"Then there's the families. They give a portion of units to the Academy, but it's most likely that portion grows lower and lower each time. And thanks to what we heard from Phineas, we've gotten a better look at how the families are — they're selfish. They would do everything to make sure no power grows on their level or even higher than them. So who's to say they don't draw back on the funds they give the Academy to focus on their own next generations and make sure their power grows even stronger than the Academy's?"
Everyone who met Phineas knew what she was talking about. The family the Storm Guild was under basically tried to get rid of the Storm Guild, with them only having Level Four equipment and then going to a world where Level Eight through Level Ten beasts roam, yet still never gave them an upgrade in weaponry.
But all the groups were interrupted when Damien continued.
"Okay, so today all of you will be transferred out of one of your classes. The class that will be transferred from is your original weapon class. You'll be placed in a second-year weapon class or an Awakening class, which is a class for only second-years and third-years. The Academy feels like if you were able to survive something that was strong enough to kill some of your teachers, you should be able to handle yourself in new combat classes and awakening classes.
"Now, most of your classes will be replaced. Things like Aerodynamics and Physics classes will be replaced by a Weapons class — which does mean you could get two weapon classes a day, so look forward to that.
"Now, when it comes down to students with awakening classes, it's obviously different. You need to be at your First Awakening to actually be in an Awakening class, obviously. Now, most of you most likely aren't in your First Awakening, but for those who we are pretty sure have awakened, we will be doing a test exam for your physical attributes. This should show that you are in fact awakened.
"Now, if you ever awaken in the meantime during the school year, then yes, you can come to me, and I will do the same physical awakening assessment. In this assessment, we will test both your physical and your evolved ability to see if it's up to awakening standards.
"Now, this also means if you aren't awakened yet, but your ability and your physical attribute stand up to that of a First Awakener, then yes, you will be put in an Awakening class.
"Now, for those who we know are awakened, please come up to me and take your new schedule and go to your new class. While those who know they're not awakened, please wait here and wait for me to call your name — either to send you to do the assessment or to take your schedule and go to your classes."
When Damien said that, he heard a ding from his wristwatch, which gave him the signal to start calling names.
"Riven Harlow," Damien called out, with Riven walking up towards him. The man swiped his wristwatch over Riven's. When he did that, a dinging sound was heard, and Riven was able to see his classes. He then entered the Academy, but he didn't immediately go to his class, knowing the others would be called as well. And just as he thought, he heard Jordan — with his twin brother walking in and waiting as well. The rest of the group's names were being called one by one. The last one of the group that was called was Nico.
But before she could walk away, the girl grabbed her.
"Please let me be apart of your group. I have no one and I have no friends to rely on," the girl said, tears once again filling up in her eyes.
Nico then patted her on the head.
"Don't worry — you're a part of our group. And do you see that boy over there?" Nico said, pointing at Emmett, who looked confused. "He's also a part of our group. So if you don't get a class with us, hopefully you get a class with him. That way, you can still be close to us. Hey, and after school, you two meet us back at one of the training rooms. I will personally be outside waiting for you there. We could train and become stronger."
Nico then walked off with a smile, waving a goodbye at the two.
The female then got closer to Emmett.
"So what's your name?" she asked with curiosity.
"Em-Emmett," the boy stuttered. "What about yours?"
"My name's Ysara. Nice to meet you, Emmett." When Ysara said this, she had her hand out for a shake, with Emmett shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Ysara," Emmett said back with a nervous smile.
As Damien was calling out more names, Nico then walked toward the group. The red-haired girl did not make empty promises, though. She asked the group if they could invite the two to Wren's training room. Before telling them that they could, and with the group saying that she could, she relayed the message to them.
"So let's see it," Jude said.
"Let's Countdown to three," Skye interjected.
"That's so childish," Kira replied to her words.
"3… 2… 1."
Even though Kira called it childish, everyone still showed their wristwatches at the count of three. They were all surprised — they all had the same Awakening class, but not all had the same weapons class. Their homeroom was still the same.
Checking the time, they realized they were still in homeroom, but instead of going, they decided to hang out in the hallway, viewing that there was no point in going to class. When the time came to go to their next class, most of the students were already back in the Academy, with some of them doing the same thing the group was — skipping their homeroom class and just waiting for their first-period class, which for them was their weapons class.
The group was then able to go to the upper floors of the Academy. They walked to the weapons hall, with them all splitting up, but all of them having at least one class with another.
Riven, Luka, and Skye all entered their weapons class, seeing students going at it with each other, weapons clashing.
Then a broad-shouldered woman with a commanding frame approached them, her heavy footsteps thudding against the ground with purpose. Golden curls spilled wildly around her face, untamed and glinting under the light like coiled threads of brass. Her thick arms were crossed tightly over her chest, emphasizing the muscle beneath her rolled-up sleeves. Her sharp blue eyes narrowed with disdain, lips twisted in a grimace that made her disgust unmistakable.
"Hello, madam," Skye said, which made the two boys look at her differently. This was the most respectful tone they had heard from Skye — but they didn't blame her. The woman in front of them was a hulking beast who looked like she could crush them with one hand.
"Hmph. I don't get why they let you first-years in. So what if you survived your first outing? That doesn't mean you should instantly shoot up the ranks," the woman said, looking at the three in their eyes — but they all just looked down. "I hope any and all first-years in my class know that I will not take it easy on you. If the Academy feels like you are worthy of being up here with my class, then I need to see some results," she said in a loud, booming voice.
She then knelt down a little to look Riven in the eyes, since the boy had gathered the confidence to look at her.
"Let's see what you got," were the last words she said before walking away.