White Building; seated within a room were Laila and a couple of her friends, discussing a topic of interest. Pulled up on the monitor was the video of an Esper in action. The Wave Controller was battling against five Tier 3 Frenzy Beasts, using his greater reach to his advantage.
Laila was no different to them, discussing the video with enthusiasm, commenting about the techniques they could use. Suddenly, Laila's face beamed with a smile, one of genuine. She then excused herself, exited the White Building, and walked towards the dorm, her gait slow and steady.
Once she entered her room and closed the door behind her, a sphere of psychic energy formed, separating her from the surroundings. A flash of magenta appeared, forming a humanoid figure, looking at Laila, its expression complex.
"So, who tipped you, Marble?" Laila laughed, showing zero signs of fear, looking carefree.
…
2:00 PM, Haesha sat in the cafeteria, filling her plate with food. She swerved her vision, glancing around her surroundings, failing to find Jyorta. She ate her lunch in a hurry, intending to help him search for his room key later.
2:15 PM, she arrived on the 3rd floor of the Indigo Building, glancing at Jyorta's room, finding it unlocked. On a closer inspection, she listened to the sounds of human activity from inside.
'Is he rearranging his things?'
Shaking her head, she returned to her room and changed into a tracksuit, exiting the building. She then noticed some of her friends walking on the ground, engaged in hushed discussions. She joined up with them and began to share experiences.
After walking for some distance, Haesha turned around, glancing at the window of Jyorta's room, feeling strange for some reason. She couldn't exactly put a lid on the feeling.
She then shook her head, choosing to focus on the next class. There were only around 5 minutes left; she wanted to mentally prepare herself for the gruesome training exercise that might spring up next.
2:30 PM, Rishen Veera arrived at the scene, a wide smirk on his face, looking like he had concocted something interesting for the day's training exercises. Haesha looked around, unable to find Jyorta.
Rishen Veera inspected the crowd, showing a trace of disappointment when he discovered the absence of Laila. He then began the training exercise, enjoying the struggles of the students as they sought to overcome it.
5:00 PM, Haesha returned to her room, her clothes muddy. She picked up a change of clothes, soap, and other necessities and placed them in the basket, carrying it with her as she exited the room.
Along the way, she noticed Jyorta's room was locked, the owner seemingly absent, for reasons unknown. There was part worry but mostly confusion in her expression as she headed towards her restroom, planning to freshen up.
8:30 PM, after dinner, Haesha returned to her room. She had checked on his room on the way once, finding it locked. She felt puzzled, unable to guess why. Not intending to waste any more time than necessary, she began to study, planning to appear for a test soon.
4th December, the year 333 of the Dawn Era; the morning classes were once again exclusive to Espers. Of the 131 Espers, two were absent: Laila and Jyorta. The same thing continued for the next day too.
Once classes were finished, Haesha approached Esina, "Have you seen Jyorta? He hasn't been to class for two days at a stretch."
Esina shook her head, "I haven't seen him either. Ashten mentioned seeing Jyorta head towards the White Building yesterday evening. He's probably fine. Jyorta has a habit of ditching classes and self-studying. He claims that he can better understand stuff if he learns them on his own."
Esina waved her hands, "It's not like attending classes are compulsory. We do it because we want to learn. But, Jyorta is from the Bone Family. Who knows, maybe he is already aware of the things we learn?"
Days passed in such a manner, the absence of Jyorta and Laila became the talk of the class.
9th December, 10:30 AM, seated before her was the entirety of the October Batch, Warriors and Espers included.
Madam Rizenne pressed the remote in her hands, allowing a screen to flash behind her. The screen had the words, 'Dedicated Credit Ranking System' written at the top. To its below were two columns, divided between dates and batches.
"Day 1 of each month is when the Credit ranking of January batch is displayed. Day 2 is for the February Batch and so on. Day 12 is for the December Batch; after that, there won't be any ranking displayed until the next month." She said, changing it to another image.
At the top was the November Batch, followed by the December and January Batch. Trailing below it in order were the Batches from February till October. Madam Rizenne commented, "The November batch will be graduating by the end of this month. The next month, we would welcome a new November batch. The cycle continues as the older batches graduate every month while newer batches join. Your lot will graduate by the end of the upcoming November."
She then reminded everyone, "Even though you won't be rewarded this month but, the ranking board will still display your rankings tomorrow. This will spur you to work harder until the 10th of January where you will be rewarded depending on your rankings."
Before dispersing the class, she informed everyone, "Don't forget to check the ranking board today. You'll know how much to strive towards and can set your goals accordingly."
Haesha and the others exited the Head Office Building, forming groups, and chatting with one another. Over the past few days, Haesha and Esina hit off with each other, becoming rather close. They hopped on their way towards the White Building, feeling shocked at the lack of crowd.
There were barely a hundred people converged around the area, looking embarrassed to stand there. Only then did they remember the date; it was the 9th of December. The results displayed were of the September Batch, ones who had joined just a month prior to them.
Most of the students wouldn't have even begun the competition, still getting used to their powers. Only the ones who had acted early, planning to get a head start would hurriedly appear for the exams, losing advantage in the long run as they scored below their capability. The confident ones would also have appeared, unwilling to lose the benefits of a month.
Since the competition in the September Batch had yet to start in full swing, none among the academy were interested. After all, they all had busy schedules. The ones standing before the White Building were the ones who had some expectations due to the lacking competition.
The walls on the White Building soon changed, flashing an image. Looking at the top ranker, Haesha, and co. wanted to laugh. The highest score had barely crossed 2000 Credits. The second-ranked student only had 958 Credits.
A haggard figure emerged from behind, looking at the laughing crowd, his expression unchanged. He glanced at the rankings for a second, not even batting an eye at the score.
He then checked for the presence of the pen in his pocket and entered the White Building, looking like a person with commitment. Haesha and her group hadn't noticed him, busy in their chatter.
…
10th December, 6:00 AM, the sky was in the process of lighting up, the traces of blue seeping into the darkness, bringing with the gentle rays of sunshine and warmth. A figure exited the White Building, dragging his feet, his expression pale.
With every step he took, his body shivered once, looking on the verge of toppling. He took his time, inching his way towards the Head Office Building.
After more than 30 minutes of a slow walk, he entered the Head Office Building, climbing the flight of stairs, one step at a time. Holding the handrail for support, he pulled his body forward, climbing one floor after another.
Finally, after reaching the 15th floor, he walked through the hallway, arriving before an open reception. It was circular in shape, spanning a radius of 20 metres. There were doors stationed across the circular wall, situated 3 metres from one another, with numbers printed on them from 1 to 47.
Situated in the centre was a giant pillar, spanning from the floor to the elevated ceiling, situated 6 metres high. It had a radius of one metre, looking thick and sturdy, seemingly supporting the weight of the Head Office Building. It was decorated with a myriad of drawings, from weapon to beasts, painting a regal feeling.
Surrounding it was a counter—circular in shape, spanning along the pillar's circumference, separated by a gap of 2 metres—seating four ladies behind them. There were monitors placed before each of the four ladies, facing the crowd.
The moment he entered the reception area, Jyorta noticed a handful of students standing around in silence, seemingly waiting for something. A reception lady shouted into a mike before her, "Token number 71; please proceed through door number 23."
A boy immediately rushed towards the door numbered 23, opening it to reveal a lift. He boarded it and watched it close, going towards the destination without his input.
As Jyorta looked at his surroundings, hesitating about where to go, he noticed one of the four ladies make eye contact with him, beckoning for him to come over with a wave of her hands.
Jyorta walked towards the counter, dragging his feet, his gait slow. The moment he approached the counter, the lady lifted her hands, bringing it over the glass surrounding the counter, "ID?"
Jyorta handed his ID card over to her, looking at her swipe it under a machine. His details appeared, showcasing everything recorded in the official documents.
Looking at his batch and seeing his score, the reception lady felt shocked, freezing for a couple of seconds. Guided by her professional nature, she broke out of her reverie and looked at him, motioning for him to speak.
Jyorta took in a deep breath, calming his thumping heart. He then opened his mouth, producing a hoarse voice, "I want to exchange for a Trait."