Kale was brought back to the present by Nova's statement.
[Accessing Threat…]
The room around Kale became red.
[Threat Detected. Enclosed Space. Proceeding to escape.]
Without Kale's control, the suit squatted and stayed in that position for about a minute.
The muscle fibres clenched and other parts groaned as the suit exerted power to maintain that position.
[Escape in 5. 4. 3…]
"No stop. Nova stop!!"
[2. 1. 0.]
The suit fired off to the door in milliseconds, but when it was about to make contact, it suddenly stopped.
[Suit training and orientation complete. Welcome to the military.]
Kale stood there still shaken from fear at what had just happened.
"Did it say training and orientation? This was a form of training?!"
A wave of relief hit Kale and forced him to his knees and although he was in a battle suit, it felt no different from using his normal knees.
'The military is psychotic.' He chuckled.
"But I guess I did learn how to power the suits, how to express more power with the suit, and how to adapt."
He stood to his feet and the interface of the suit responded.
[Novice Access Granted]
Nova's voice spoke before various parts of the suit lit up each followed by a brief explanation on how to operate, all displayed by the interface.
"Ahh, so that's how to take the suit off," Kale muttered to himself.
He reached for a small button on the spine of the battle suit and tapped on it.
[Are you sure you want to take off the suit?]
This was an extra feature the military added to ensure that an enemy didn't just press the button and render you useless.
"Yes."
The suit opened up from the chest, the mask rose up, and the legs finally opened up, and Kale stumbled out.
A weakness unlike any other permeated his entire body.
His gaze locked on the suit that was now strangely different. It was far thinner compared to before.
Most of the blue lights had faded and faint grey streaks coated the suit.
"Did it adjust based on my preference?" Kale was stupefied.
He looked at the suit, then back at its capsule, before letting out a sigh.
Running his hand through his hair, he forced himself to stand and he entered once again.
This time, he just walked back into the capsule and left the suit.
As he walked out of the capsule, the suit closed soon followed by the capsule.
Kale, this time prepared, fought back the weakness that filled him.
'Huh? It appears that the suit drains your energy.'
He reached for his phone and checked the map that had been given to all students.
'Room 102, Axel's room.' He put the phone back in his pocket but didn't leave. All the students had to stay in their rooms until they were instructed otherwise.
Using the extra time on hand, he cleaned himself up and put on the black tracksuit that filled his closet. The clothes were exactly his size.
'Creepy.'
________
In room 102, Axel was sitting on his bed. The room was exactly like Kale's with a very key difference. There was no capsule.
He reached for his phone and pulled it out.
Just like Kale, there was a special message waiting for him.
[Assessment Result Available]
[Calculating…]
[Role Assigned: Researcher]
[Congratulations (Axel Romero), you have been seen as skilled and valuable enough to be awarded the role of (Researcher)]
[Further tests will be carried out later to determine where you will fit best in this role]
[Thank you for your service.]
His eyes moved to the end of the room where his capsule would have been. In its place instead was a table.
The table had dozens of blueprints and schematics for him to study and understand.
His work was far more complex and taxing than that of a soldier's.
"I wonder how he'll react when he learns of this."
Axel immediately thought of Kale.
A loud sigh left his lips as he walked to the table.
He already had a desk, so the table seemed like an odd addition.
Axel lightly grazed the surface with his fingers and a transparent interface came into view on the table.
[Micro Research Lab Initializing…]
[Online]
[Welcome Axel Romero]
[Current Rank: Green]
Axel stared at the rank for a minute before tapping on it. The technology wasn't surprising after all he had seen.
[Green Rank: The rank bestowed upon all new Researchers. All files and archives are inaccessible]
His eyes squinted but he read on.
[The only projects they are to work on are those provided by those of higher ranks Yellow through White]
Axel adjusted his glasses and then focused back on the text. He exited and navigated the contents but there was hardly anything.
'Seems like the information is accurate. There is next to no knowledge available to me. All I know at the moment is the ranks of researchers.'
Countless thoughts raced through his mind.
'Not to say that such information is useless.'
With nothing else to do, he went to the closet and took a look.
He was met with a lab coat and a blue tracksuit. The lab coats had a small green design around the sleeves.
'An easy rank identification. Convenient.'
A beep resounded from his Micro Research Lab.
Axel tapped on it and the message was delivered to him.
[On behalf of the military, I would like to welcome you]
His eyebrow rose, "Oh?"
[We expect great things from you, Mr Romero. After all, it's not everybody that Cayenne speaks so fondly of]
His knees buckled a bit and he immediately closed the interface.
He was surprised and not in a pleasant way. When he saw the message, he thought it was Miss Cayenne, but if it wasn't, then who was it?
Not only would he be watched, but it would be by unknown bodies with unknowable interests.
There were a few things that Axel feared, and the unknown was among the highest on the list.
He was scared, not just for himself but for Kale. Because unlike what most thought, Kale was beyond talented.
But no matter what came their way, they'll face it together.