I spent the next hour getting my ass handed to me by a hyperactive pyromaniac with a salamander. Turns out Rafi was actually pretty good once he stopped bouncing off the walls long enough to focus. His Fire Salamander gave him enhanced strength and reflexes that made each blow hurt like hell.
But I kept pushing. Kept charging forward. Kept trying to recapture that moment when everything clicked.
The moment when the Magician appeared.
It stayed just out of reach, like trying to remember a dream after waking up. I knew it had happened. I remembered every word. But I couldn't bring it back by force of will alone.
"Dude, you need to chill," Rafi panted as we trudged into the locker room after class. "You almost broke my nose with that last combination."
"Going easy on you would be a disservice," I said, wincing as I peeled off my sweat-soaked shirt. Purple bruises already bloomed across my ribs where Hask had landed his heaviest shots. "You want to get reclassified? So do I. Neither of us gets there by pulling punches."
"There's a difference between pulling punches and trying to murder me," Rafi said, but he was grinning. The guy seemed physically incapable of staying annoyed for more than ten seconds. "But I respect the intensity. Most of these Class Z kids act like they've already given up."
"Not all of us."
A massive shadow fell over me. I turned to find myself staring at what appeared to be a human mountain.
The guy had to be 6'4" and built like someone had assembled him from load-bearing materials. Close-cropped dark hair, green eyes with a warmth that contrasted with his intimidating size, and muscles that made me wonder if Hask had been secretly breeding super soldiers.
"Bram Holst," he said, extending a hand the size of a dinner plate. "You're Maximus Sterling."
Not a question. A statement of fact.
"Max," I corrected, accepting the handshake. His grip was firm but controlled, like he was consciously holding back from crushing my bones to dust. "Nobody calls me Maximus except my probation notice."
"You fought well against Hask." Bram's voice was deep but surprisingly gentle. "Most first-years freeze up when they see the Titan."
"I was too busy getting punched to be intimidated."
That earned a small smile. "What kind of woman is your type?"
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Or man if you swing that way," he clarified. "What kind of person makes you feel like the world is worth it?"
Well that was about the last question I expected. The locker room fell quiet, several guys pausing mid-change to hear my answer.
"Not gay but a woman who can cook," I said after a moment. "You?"
"I like a woman with a big breasts!" Bram nodded. "The bigger the breast the bigger the heart my father would say."
"Okay…?"
With that cryptic answer, he closed his locker and headed toward the showers. I glanced at Rafi, who shrugged.
"Bram asks everyone that question. He's a little weird but he's good peoples. His Anima is an Armored Bear named Wall. Absolute unit. Low compatibility though."
"That's why he's in Z?"
"Yeah. Control Index failure." Rafi jerked his thumb toward a lanky guy with sandy blond hair who seemed to be having a very animated conversation with his own reflection in the mirror.
"That's Finn. D-rank Spark Ferret with shit compatibility. Smart, but his attention span is basically non-existent. The quiet one in the corner is Samuel. Goes by his full name, never Sam. His Anima is a Cursed Ash Wolf. Total goth energy."
Samuel, a pale boy with dark hair falling across one eye, looked up at the mention of his name and gave a solemn nod before returning to whatever morbid poetry he was presumably writing in his black notebook.
"The big redhead is Ezra," Rafi continued. "B-rank Armored Rhinoceros, lowest compatibility of any B-rank in our year. Solid guy though. Shows up to all the 6AM training slots."
"Six AM?" I winced. "That sounds brutal."
"It's the only time we can get into the good simulation pods. Z gets the worst schedule slots." Rafi's expression brightened. "But some of us figured out that nobody books the pods at 6AM on Saturdays, so we get three whole hours with equipment that doesn't lag like crazy!"
"Who's 'we'?"
"The Grinders. That's what we call ourselves. Me, Ezra, Kento—he's the short guy over there—a few others. We show up when nobody expects us to."
I pulled on my uniform shirt, trying not to show how much my ribs hurt. "And the other factions?"
"The Recalibrators think they were misclassified and should be in Standard Track. They're all about proving the assessment system wrong. Then there's the Weight faction—that's Thessa's group. They're the ones who don't talk much but hit hard."
"And the unaffiliated?"
"People who haven't picked a side, or don't care to. Loners, weirdos, and anomalies." Rafi grinned. "Like you."
"I've been here for three hours. Give me time."
We finished changing and headed toward the Gate Theory classroom. The hallway was packed with students moving between classes, many of them shooting curious glances my way. My white hair and the gauze on my forehead made me easy to spot. The whispers followed us like a wake.
"There he is."
"The Zero kid."
"Kaius Sterling's son."
"Failed the awakening."
"Can't contract anything."
I kept my eyes forward and my expression neutral. Let them talk. Let them stare. I'd had two years of this since the ceremony. The novelty wore off quick.
What didn't wear off was the memory of fog rolling in, of time slowing to a crawl, of the Magician in his cosmic suit telling me to write something interesting. I touched the spot where the box pressed against my ribs under my uniform jacket. Still warm. Still there.
Still mine.
The Gate Theory classroom was larger than our homeroom, with elevated seating arranged in a semicircle around a central lectern. Most of the seats were already filled when we arrived. Rafi nudged me toward two empty spots near the middle.
"Fair warning," he whispered as we sat down. "Vox is... an experience."
I was about to ask what that meant when the classroom door burst open with enough force to bounce off the wall.
"GOOOOD MORNING, GATE RUNNERS!"
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A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter! Support by adding to your library and giving a power stone or two. Comment for a cookie!