Walking out of the White Building, Jyorta noticed students dressed in tracks, marching in a file towards the centre of the ground, situated very far from him. The distance was so great that he could barely make out their figures.
"Is something happening today too?" Haesha sounded out, feeling curious while at the same time apprehensive about the situation. She knew that she would have to experience the same during the duration of her stay in the military academy.
"Let us take a good view while sitting in the cafeteria." Jyorta said, "After all, it is the building closest to them."
The ground was a large piece of land, spanning 1000 metres in length and 400 metres in breadth. The large area was used for a myriad of exercises, drills, training, etc.
11: 45 AM, occupying a seat closest to the open section, Jyorta gazed at the training exercises. Placed before him was a plate of food, filled to the brim. Accompanying them was a fruit juice, suited to his palate. Haesha ordered some light snacks, munching them in silence while looking at the training exercise.
"Come on Espers, is that the best you could do?" A Warrior shouted, followed by raucous laughter. He dodged a ball that flew his way with relative ease, his expression full of taunts.
An Esper held a basket in his hands, filled with ping-pong sized balls, their material slightly denser. A ball floated out from his basket, flying towards the Warrior, its speed a snail's crawl, failing to hit him.
Every time he dodged, the Warrior taunted the Esper, infuriating him. Finally, unable to bear with it, the Esper picked up a ball using his right hand and took a step forward, assuming a throwing posture. He exerted strength in his hand and threw the ball with force, making it land on the jeering Warrior's face.
Even though the hit barely hurt him, it served to damage his pride. The Warrior charged towards the Esper, intending to punch him.
"Number 536 and number 653, failed." A voice resounded, making the Warrior pause, dumbfounded. He then noticed the Esper sporting an expression similar to his own, looking at his hand that held the ball. It was only then that the two of them remembered the contents of their training exercise.
Each Esper was given a basket filled with balls, numbering around a hundred. They were tasked to use their psychic energy on the balls and hit the Warriors with them. The task of the warriors was to dodge the attacks, provided they stay within the boundary.
The boundary was a wide barrier erected from psychic energy, steadily shrinking towards the centre. Scores were bases on the number of hits/misses. Espers gained a point for every hit while the Warriors gained a point for every successful dodge. The scores were calculated by the teachers, with the final score directly converted into credits.
There was a disparity in their numbers, with the Espers disadvantaged due to their powers being weak at Tier 1. But, Espers had more chances to score considering they held the initiative, while Warriors had lower chances due to their greater numbers.
This was why they taunted the Espers to attack them. As long as the Espers attacked them and missed, they would reap credits. For them, it was an easy way to rake in a larger number of credits.
Seeing the development on the field, Haesha felt confused, gazing at Jyorta, "I thought Espers were stronger. But, why are they getting owned here like they meant nothing?"
"Espers at Tier 1 and Tier 2 are kind of useless. At these 2 Tiers, it is a guaranteed loss for them when they fight against the Warriors. At Tier 3, they are more or less evenly matched and would begin to dominate Warriors at Tier 4 and Tier 5. I also heard my sister mention that their strength once again becomes more or less equal at Tier 6." Jyorta whispered, taking caution to prevent prying ears from hearing their conversation.
Even though everything he mentioned was available in the 'Portal' to refer, it had just been a day since his arrival. So, he had to take caution and pay heed to his words, not talking beyond necessary, acting like an enthusiast whenever possible. It was a front to cover up possible blurts in the future.
11:55 AM, finished with their food, the two of them exited the Blue Building, walking towards the Head Office. Following behind some familiar faces of their batch, they soon arrived before a large auditorium. It had an entrance in the form of a double door, numbering six in total, located across various places in the auditorium.
There was an elevation for each row, circular in shape, the seats looking comfy, capable of seating 2000 people. There was a dais at the front, its height allowing everyone seated to view without trouble. To its end was a large white screen, 15 metres in length, and 10 metres high. A podium was situated to a corner on its left, its position calculated so that the screen behind remained unobstructed.
11:58 AM, as the duo entered, they saw a staggering number of students walking to and fro, trying to find their friends and seat themselves according to their preference as a group. Jyorta glanced around, trying to scan for his friends, failing to find anyone amongst the crowd.
Too many people were around him, hindering his vision, making him unable to spot his friends. Moreover, none of his friends had physical traits that stood out among the crowd, making his search all the more difficult.
Letting out a sigh, Jyorta turned around, finding Haesha missing, seemingly disappeared. He soon noticed her figure at the farther back, dragged away by her friends, engaging in chatter, laughter echoing amongst them. Haesha turned her head, looking at him, sporting a wry smile, and expressing her apology, her actions quick.
Jyorta nodded, letting out a chuckle. "Guess she's pretty popular among her friends."
He then found a random seat to occupy, situated next to the path, noticing at least 5 seats to his right being empty. As he occupied his seat—idling around—six people walked towards him, four boys and two girls, forming a group.
A boy among them walked forward, pointing towards an empty seat 3 rows forward, whispering at Jyorta, "Bro, can you sit there?"
"Sure, I don't mind." Jyorta smiled, vacating the seat, walking forward. He then neared the empty seat, asking the person sitting next to it, "Excuse me, can I sit here?"
The boy nodded, looking mildly disappointed at the fact that a boy approached the empty seat first. Jyorta occupied the seat, thinking, 'Ah, the troublesome nature of a teenager. Well, I am not that different myself.'
At noon, Madam Rizenne walked in, closing the 6 doors upon entry. She then scanned past the crowd, "So, all 878 students from the October batch are here."
"For our first class, let us start with something you all are familiar with," Madam Rizenne said, making the image of an old man with oriental features appear on the screen. "He is Rhachis Ancestor Dawn, the first Tier 6 Warrior to emerge from humanity."
The image then flashed to another old man, his facial features looking delicate, having an androgynous face. His eyes made one fearful, the image creating a sense of suppression. "He is the second Tier 6 Warrior to emerge, Rhachis Ancestor Reef."
The image finally changed to one they were the most familiar with. Before Madam Rizenne said anything, the crowd echoed the words, "Rhachis Ancestor Light."
Madam Rizenne nodded, "These three were the first pillars of humanity. Only under their banner did we survive and develop, eventually creating 5 strongholds for humanity."
A hand on the first row rose, the actions abrupt, gaining attention from everyone present. Getting a nod of approval from Madam Rizenne, the girl—who had raised her hand—stood up, grabbing hold of the mike that flew her way, speaking into it. Her voice was smooth, and melodious, making the listeners want to hear more.
"Ma'am, I thought there were six cities?"
Hearing the question, Madam Rizenne turned silent, motioning for her to sit. She then flashed the screen back to Rhachis Ancestor Dawn, "The arrival of Rhachis Ancestor Dawn signalled the rise of humanity from its dark ages. As a show of respect and hope, we have named our current era as the Dawn Era."
Ignoring the signs of confusion that cropped up the girl's face and the others who were looking forward to the answer, Madam Rizenne continued, "Before Rhachis Ancestor Dawn appeared, humanity was on the brink of extinction, having to face the onslaught of the Frenzy Beasts that grew powerful day by day, their numbers exponentially increasing. It was an apt scenario for the term Dark Ages."
Judging the pace of the speech, Jyorta frowned, 'She seems intent to dodge the question. But, why does she have to do that?'
"The cause of the Dark Ages was thanks to a sole individual, the First Ancestor, one who is strong enough to face off against six Tier 6 Ancestors and come out unscathed." The screen flashed to a humanoid individual, looking like a fusion between man and beast.
His face was blank, bereft of any facial expressions, except for a mouth that lacked a tongue or teeth. Each strand of his hair, long and transparent, had suction pod-like mouth at their ends, painting a scary picture.
"He is the reason for the destruction of the 6th city of humanity," Madam Rizenne finally gazed at the girl who had asked the question, "The details of it are classified. If you want to learn more about them, you would have to become a Transformer or a Sky Controller at the very least."
Her expression then turned solemn, a feeling of anger accumulating underneath her tone, "He is the strongest of all the Ancestors. He is the source of the Frenzy Parasite that gives strength to all Frenzy Beasts. Each strand of his hair is a Frenzy Parasite. He could create a million of them in an instant."
"Moreover," Her expression was tinged with hopelessness and despair, infecting the students, "Every living being, whether human or Frenzy Beast, once they lose control, he would gain control of them. He can influence all the parasites in the world, and make them do his bidding."
"He goes by many names," Madam Rizenne let out a forlorn sigh, "The First Ancestor, Rhachis Ancestor Parasite, Beast God, and finally…"
"Mother Parasite."