Riven awoken. When the boy looked around, he could see everyone, but he could only see the new girl, Ysara.
"Oh, good morning," Ysara said as she stopped messing with the training room controls that changed the setting of the area.
"Oh, hey—wait, oh right, we were supposed to see your evolution ability."
"Yeah, but before I could show you, all of you guys fell asleep."
"Ohh, sorry."
"Geez, we're a bunch of a-holes," the boy thought.
"Yeah, no, not like you wasted my night," the girl bit.
"Hey, I said sorry," he replied back.
"I'm sorry, hints of the old me still living on."
Riven's stomach then roared, showing that he was hungry. He then checked his wristwatch, showing it was really early.
"Hey, how about we go get some breakfast, it's on me." The boy had an honest smile on his face.
"Fine."
Since it was early, the school wasn't open yet, so to get the food they needed to go down to Sigil Gate City. Riven preferred going down to the city anyway; it had way more options than what the academy fed them, and most of the city's stores and restaurants were open almost 24/7. The two got several breakfast sandwiches so everyone could get more than one. The academy gave the group their units after the outing, meaning some of them now had 1000 units, and they were originally going to turn it into system points, but they realized they no longer had any more weapons. Meaning, if they bought more and no one bought them, they would have no more units, and they could've contacted Phineas, but all of them were too tired to think of it, and with Emmett and Ysara being there, they couldn't contact him without questions being raised.
Riven, realizing how awkward it was, decided to speak up.
"Soooo, what's your story?"
"My story?" The girl spoke while eating her sandwich.
"Yeah, your story. Everyone has one, like before you had to come here. Watch, let me go first. My story is—" The boy then stopped, realizing compared to others he truly had it good. Both parents are still in life, they have a home and food, everything any kid like Jude, Joey, and Skye would want. All the times where he gave his parents a hard time when he was a kid flashed in his mind, really telling he was probably a bad son. "My story is that I'm a bad child. I used to complain a lot and focus on other things instead of things that would help them out with their own struggles. I had a lot of friends in middle school, but when we came here they acted like they never met me before, which told me all I needed to know th—"
"They weren't your real friends," the girl finished. "Yeah, it be like that sometimes, but I guess me and your story aren't so different. I also had a loving family, but I also was a problem child. Difference is, my parents were apart, so I used to transfer between Wallborn's sections a lot. At one point it would be the Evolaris to the Black Halo over and over again until I came here. Just like you, I made a lot of friends—most were fake, but some—some were real friends too, real." The female then sighed. "I was the popular one in both schools that I went to, and there were these two, Cleve and Kenny. They were like brothers to me, and fate was on our side when the outing came around, we all got on the same team. It would be lucky for me, but not for them. I was scared, I didn't know what to do. The mantis, or whatever they were, killed students left and right. I was in fear, but they got my feet and helped me from being killed. They then convinced me to target one of them, but we got cocky, and Cleve got killed, and Kenny was already—his head was sliced off. Then when we came back I didn't know what to do. I had no one, no parents, no friends. I tried to talk to people I knew before, but they didn't want anything to do with me." Ysara was starting to tear up. "I was so cocky, like I was the best of the best, yet look at me now—alone, and no one will take me."
"We'll take care of you," Riven responded back. "I don't know why people don't just ask to join more. It's not like we have any requirements, which I'm guessing some of these other groups have, and plus, what's the point of being in a small group when in the outing there were hundreds of us, and most of us still died?"
"It was because of you guys." When she said this, Riven turned to her with a confused look. "After the outing, word spread fast about you guys and what some of you did. So most of us took the initiative to form groups and train together. We thought that was how you all became so powerful—that because of Harkel and Wren, who both have very powerful connections, what they shared with you to become stronger. Why do you think most of the time there's barely any students around the halls or in the cafeteria when it's free time? They're all in the gym training. They all want to awaken—heck, some of them did."
"Hmm," is all Riven could say as they kept walking. "I guess me using those awakening potions had more effect on others than just helping us become more powerful."
When the duo was getting close to the training room, they realized the door was wide open. They left the door cracked so they could enter without making a commotion. When the two entered the training room, they were shocked at the person they saw—it was their principal, Darius, and with a dean right next to him.
"Ah, I knew you weren't too far behind," Darius called out to Riven. "Save me the time and effort of explaining. Ohh, and you brought some food." The man then took a sandwich for himself without even asking and immediately started eating it.
"Now," the man continued while smacking on the food, "what was I about to say—oh yes, we have something planned for you all, first, second, and third years alike. That being a field trip."
"A field trip?" they all questioned.
"Yes, we're going to the Grand Capital. We'll be meeting students from the other academy and the family camps there as well so you can get acquainted."
"Why?" Jude stepped up and asked, realizing something was amiss.
"This is one good sandwich. Hmm, as for why—well, I didn't really expect kids to ask why. I thought you would be happy to go. But if you want to know, do you want the bullshit answer or the real answer, since most likely you all will be participating in it?"
"The real one."
"Well, the school funds are low. We're running out of money each day. These teleporters aren't cheap, you know, and the families aren't really contributing like they used to. So with the permission of a particular group, I was able to make a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"One where my academy, the one I built up, will remain at the top—but it relies on you students."
"Long story short, it's a tournament," Damien said, having enough of Darius beating around the bush.
"A tournament?"
"Yeah, a tournament. All of the major forces will be betting 50% of their entire profit—us included. We don't know how the tournament will be set up, but it's most likely you kids will be inside of it, since you scored the highest. Let me get another one of those sandwiches." Darius then stuffed his hand in the bag once again, taking out another sandwich and started eating it. "We want you to meet your competition beforehand so you can get a good feel on them and how they act, and find out their evolved ability."
"What about the other academy?" Leo spoke out.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, they're not evolved. So how exactly are we going to test their strength?"
"It's easy—they have no strength. Those people are unevolved. They were not imbued with the power by God that he has gifted us. I see no reason how they will win, but the family training camps will most likely be the problem."
By Darius's words, everyone could realize the man was a bit narcissistic, thinking that because they were evolved, people who weren't were just trash and weak.
"Oh yes, in one of my gifts, in a week's time we will allow all of you to see your family. You're allowed to stay for two days at most as we get things set up for our little field trip."
Everyone's ears perked up when they heard the man's words. It's been a month since the academy had started, with most of them losing their lives, but he's saying they can see their families.
"Now, you need to know this." Darius had a gloomy look on his face. "You do not tell your parents what happened on that outing, and for some, don't tell your parents about the outing at all. Trust me, I will know if you do, and you will be severely punished." The man's face then lightened up once again. "Right, that was everything. I must be taking this to these other small groups you kids have formed. Have a good rest of your day now."
The two then walked off and closed the door behind them.
"Well, at least they have some type of manners," Wren commented.
"Screw that, I saw you had some food on you. I'm starving," Harkel replied back.
"Oh yeah, right, he—" But when Riven looked down at the bag, all of the sandwiches were gone. "He didn't."
"He didn't what?" When Harkel looked in the bag he was in disbelief. "That jerk. He took all of our sandwiches."