When Vorden woke the next morning, he slipped easily back into his usual carefree manner, as if nothing unusual had happened.
"Morning," he said with a grin. "Sleep well? When I came in last night, you were out cold."
"Yeah," Quinn replied, stretching slightly. "Combat training really drained me yesterday."
"I heard something about you getting hurt," Vorden said, his tone turning more serious. "You alright now?"
"As you can see, I'm fine. Fully healed—nothing to worry about."
Vorden leaned in a little, lowering his voice. "I'm being serious, Quinn. If someone's giving you trouble, or if you're getting hurt on purpose, you can tell me. I know we agreed to stay out of each other's fights so the second years wouldn't step in, but I can handle them. Trust me."
Quinn gave him a faint smile in return but said nothing more.
As Peter woke up Vorden greeted him too, but Peter only said very few words back. Now even Peter was acting strangely Quinn thought.
"Is everything okay Peter?" Quinn asked
"Huh, Yeah I'm fine," Peter replied as he got dressed into a new uniform, a little bit spaced out.
The three of them then started to walk towards the canteen and after the breakfast quin separated from the two and went to attend the beast weapons class.
--
After the beast weapons class was over, the students began to go back to their respective dorms that's when them and several others were stopped and were asked to gather in the assembly hall.
It was all coordinated by the second year and around a hundred or so students had gathered, around them was not a single teacher, but just several other second year students,
Up on the stage the curtains were drawn and Infront of it stood Momo.
"Welcome every single one of you." Momo said, "Today we have a special event, a special message to all you first years. You see there has been someone going around trying to go against us, thinking he can break the precious system that has been around for years in this school. I am here to tell you that this is what happens to those who do not obey."
Momo pulled down on a piece of string and the curtains on the stage started to be open up, as the curtains moved away slowly it started to reveal a student who had been tied up and placed on a large piece of wood. The student was bloody and had markings of being beaten everywhere.
"Vorden?!" Quinn said.
A few second-year students rolled out carts piled high with smooth, black, circular stones. Momo picked one up, turning it over in his palm.
"This," he began, "is a metal sphere infused with the energy of a beast crystal. When humanity figured out how to merge beast crystals with our weapons, the tides of the war shifted. What they don't tell you in first year, though, is that beast gear must be activated through your ability. Once awakened, it delivers a boost in power — and the rarer the crystal, the greater the boost."
From where he stood, Quinn's gaze drifted to Vorden — battered, bruised, barely standing — and then back to Momo, who spoke as if he were delivering a cheerful classroom lecture instead of presiding over a spectacle.
"So," Momo continued, "we second years have decided to give a few of you first years a shortcut. Today, you'll learn how to activate a beast weapon using these spheres."
A tentative hand went up from the crowd."Um… do the teachers know about this?" a first year asked.
Silence. It was the kind of question that made everyone instinctively wince.
A second year strode in from the side and, without a word, drove his fist into the boy's face. Blow after blow rained down until the first year collapsed unconscious on the floor.
"Any more questions?" Momo asked coldly.
No one answered. No one dared.
"Good. Now, these spheres were created to help train activation skills. They're not much use in actual combat, but they're perfect for demonstration. The process is simple — focus on the ball as though it were part of you, channel your ability into it, and it will respond."
In his hand, the sphere's color shifted from dull black to a glowing green."In real weapons, the change won't be visible, but the principle is the same. Once activated, the weapon's strength increases. Today, we'll practice on a special target board — tougher than steel, immune to bullets, and only breakable by beast gear."
Vorden was dragged off the stage and placed before the board.
"Today's objective," Momo said with a thin smile, "is to hit the target. And by 'target,' I mean him."
Murmurs spread through the first years."Is this even allowed?""Doesn't matter. No one stopped them before — why would they now?"
Momo's eyes found Quinn."Ah, almost forgot. Our friend here has been trying to pick us off one by one, ignoring our warnings. We handled him before, but he didn't learn. So, take note, everyone: this is what happens when you disrupt the order of this school."
The crates tipped, spilling dozens of black spheres across the floor. There were enough for every student to have a turn.
"Who wants to start?" a second year asked. "No volunteers? Then I'll choose." His gaze landed on a girl with short brown hair. "You. Step forward."
"I… I can't," she stammered.
"Then maybe you'd prefer to take his place on the board?"
Her face went pale. She wasn't strong — a level 2 at most — and the threat was enough to silence her protests. She glanced around, hoping for someone to intervene, but everyone looked away.
"Good," the boy said. "You know what to do."
The girl focused on the stone, and it faintly glimmered green — weak, but active."As expected from a level 2," the second year mocked. "Still, with enough force, it'll do the job."
She closed her eyes, then hurled the ball. It landed short of Vorden, rolling to a stop on the floor.
"Pathetic. Get out of here. Next!"
A male student stepped up. His 2.5 level let him light the ball up brighter than the girl had. Without hesitation, he pitched it hard. The sphere struck Vorden square in the gut, and blood spilled from his mouth onto the floor.
"Now that is how you throw," the second year said with satisfaction. "Everyone else, take notes."