Hex’s heart skipped a beat the mont he saw the familiar white-haired boy standing in the doorway.
’Out of all the possibilities... why did it have to be him?’ he thought, as a knot ford in his stomach.
The boy stared at him coldly, his silver eyes fixed like ice. Neither of them spoke for a few monts, the silence thick and heavy.
"Listen... you’re really misunderstanding ," Hex finally said, deciding it was better to clear the air now rather than let this drag on. "I didn’t kill anyone."
"I know," the boy replied without hesitation. "I figured that out during the fight."
Hex blinked in surprise. "How?"
"There’s a thing called intent. You didn’t have any. You’re not soone who’s used to killing."
"I’ve killed beasts before."
"That doesn’t count."
Hex stayed quiet, unsure how to respond. He tilted his head slightly, wondering why this guy was still so hostile if that was the case.
The white-haired boy seed to catch his expression. "Because you ssed up my rank."
Hex let out a short, dry laugh. "What a joke."
"I know the fire was caused by you," the boy said, his tone flat but sharp.
Hex swallowed hard, panic crawling up his throat. ’He knows... he actually knows...’
"It wasn’t ?"
"You might not have started it but you fanned it up."The white hair boy muttered coldly.
"I didn’t."Hex denied firmly.
"Your refusal doesn’t an anything to after all.."
"I just wanted people to unite," Hex said quickly. "A bigger danger would stop us from killing each other."
"But in the end, it cost us points. You can’t deny that."
"..."
Hex sighed and shook his head. "Whatever." He turned away, not wanting to push the conversation further. It already felt pointless.
"Dein."
Hex stopped mid-step. "Huh?" He turned to see the boy now sitting casually on the sofa.
"Dein. That’s my na.Since,I am gonna rot my life with you,I should know your na."
"...It’s Hex. Nice to et you."
It wasn’t much, but it was a good start. Maybe his stay here wouldn’t be as bad as he first thought.
After that, they seed to silently accept each other’s presence. Dein headed straight for the shower, then went to bed without bothering to eat, clearly too exhausted. Hex, on the other hand, felt restless.
He sat on his bed and began exploring the features on his new watch. After a few taps, he found a section labeled Material. Inside were two tabs:
[Breathing Technique]
[Fighting Technique]
He clicked on the breathing technique first.
[Basic Cosmic Flow Breathing] – A simple thod to draw in and circulate cosmic energy through the body. Inhale slowly through the nose, hold the breath for three seconds, then exhale in a controlled flow. The process is repeated to strengthen the energy channels and increase stamina over ti.
"Alright... simple enough," Hex murmured.
He then switched to the fighting techniques section. A massive list unfolded before him.
[Sword Techniques]
[Spear Techniques]
[Archery Techniques]
[Close Combat]
[Defensive Arts]
[Throwing Weapons]
[Advanced Weapon Mastery]
And more. The list seed endless.
It felt strange to see so many techniques related to fighting and almost nothing about using powers directly. Hex didn’t rush to start practicing anything since classes would begin tomorrow.
He didn’t know which one was suitable and he wasn’t that of an idiot to start the nuisance without anyone to guide.
Instead, he decided to rest for the night. Lying down on the bed, he stared at the ceiling before suddenly asking out loud.
"Where on Earth are we? What sector is this place in?"
The watch on his wrist lit up in response as if it had been waiting for the question.
[You are currently on Mars.]
"Mars..." Hex muttered in disbelief. "How did I end up here? So the army campus is actually on Mars and not on Earth?"
[No.]
[There are two types of Federation army centers.]
[One for standard training on earth and one for the galactic level that is located on Mars.]
His head throbbed at the thought. He rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh before forcing himself to relax. "Forget it," he mumbled, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
The next morning, Hex made his way to the canteen. The sll of warm food filled the air, and the place was buzzing with chatter. As he scanned the hall, his eyes caught a familiar figure.
"Lia... It’s , Hex!" he called out.
"Hex..." Lia’s eyes widened in surprise before her face lit up with a bright smile. Her expression was warm enough to draw the attention of a few nearby boys who gave Hex quick, jealous glances.
Compared to most, Lia’s beauty stood out.
Hex walked over, waving his hand in greeting. Before he could say much, Lia imdiately began firing questions at him.
"Hex, where were you? We tried to find you but couldn’t. What happened?"
"After defeating the hound, I kept running," Hex replied, forcing an embarrassed look. "The fire blocked my view, and I lost track of where you all went. I think I ended up going in the wrong direction."
"That’s bad..." Lia said softly.
"Let’s not talk about that. Where are the others?" Hex asked as they started walking toward an empty table.
"They’re probably still sleeping," she said with a light tone, following him to sit down.
"Sleeping?" Hex frowned. "Don’t we have class at nine?"
"Haha... that’s just the basic class, Hex. The elites have already learned that. It’s only for those who awakened late or right before enrollnt."
"I see," Hex nodded, glancing at the class na on his watch. Basics of Mutations and Cosmology. No wonder it sounded so simple.
"Sadly, I’m one of those late awakeners," He said with a small smile.
"You awakened late, yet you’re already so strong," Lia said, returning the smile.
They continued chatting casually as they ate. For Hex, every mont with her mattered. He had already marked Lia as soone important.
Her healing ability was rare and valuable, and being close to her ant he could copy it whenever needed until he found a way to obtain it permanently.
Once they finished eating, Hex waved goodbye and made his way to class.
The classroom was large and well-equipped. Hex barely had ti to settle into his seat before a middle-aged man with a wrinkled face walked in. He wore a military uniform with three shining stars on each shoulder.
As he stepped in, the class automatically activated various functions. The massive screens behind him lit up, and Hex’s desk projected a small interface. He could zoom in on the professor’s face, put on virtual headphones to hear him clearly, or read live transcripts of his words on the screen. The technology was impressive, far beyond what Hex was used to.
The man, who carried himself with the ease of soone used to commanding attention, scanned the room of over a hundred students.
"Though most of you are still unaware, I’m sure you know a few things," he began. "So let ask you... do you know what these three stars on my shoulder represent?"
The students looked at each other for a mont before a few voices called out.
"Your position?"
"No."
"Your achievents?"
"No."
"Your status?"
"Isn’t that the sa as rank?"
Halton, as the man introduced himself, chuckled as he walked between the rows.
"Power.."
"Then what about my power?"
A boy hesitantly raised his hand. "Your... your strength level?"
Halton stopped and stared at him. "Anything else?"
"Tha... th-that... I don’t know," the boy stamred, shrinking back under the man’s gaze.
Halton blinked, his expression frozen for a second before he shook his head. "I was just asking. No need to look like I’m about to execute you."
Taking a deep breath, he faced the class again. "Since no one can guess, I’ll tell you. The three stars here represent the realm I am in."
Hex’s eyes narrowed slightly. This was the first ti he had ever heard the term realm used like that, and his curiosity sharpened imdiately.
Reviews
All reviews (0)