Sampson grinned happily down at Rhys, while Rhys blankly stared forward into a face he thought he would never see again.
"Do you want to be in the same team so you can take revenge on me? Is that why you followed me to the military college?" Rhys stared up into Sampson's cocky smirking face.
"Don't kid yourself." Sampson chuckled incredulously at Rhys, "I was always going to join the military. Although I was swayed when Barrow offered me a seat in his gang, when you beat me I realised that I couldn't waste my time in the 20th anymore."
Sampson reached into his pocket and squeezed his trusty lighter in his hand. "Being the strongest is my right. So I cant sit back while the wimps I used to chew out get stronger than me at college."
"That still doesn't answer why you want me on your team." Rhys grunted, annoyed at the mention of Barrow.
"Your ability is unusual. I don't think anyone here has ever seen anything like it, so it could be the surprise factor that helps me win first place." Rhys could practically see the ambition burning in Sampson's eyes.
"Yes, you did always have this obsession with being the best." Rhys remembered the incident a few year ago when their high school finally scrapped together enough funds to have an ability tournament. In the fifth sector, schools were expected to host tournaments like that every year, but their school had a problem with upper management dipping their fingers into the funds meant for the tournament, so it never happened. By some miracle one year the funds didn't 'go missing' and the tournament was held at an old arena. Or it was being held until Sampson placed second overall for his performance. That's when he went on a rampage and burnt down the arena. Needless to say there was never another tournament.
"It's natural to want to be the best." Sampson shrugged of Rhys's judgmental stare.
"Well, we can't make a team with just the two of us, we need two more people. Do you have anyone in mind?" Rhys sighed wondering if he was actually going to consider being on the same team as Sampson. The guy who had burnt his friends to death in an alley a few days ago.
Sampson scowled as he surveyed the crowd of college students. "It's annoying to choose when you don't know their abilities."
Rhys smiled secretly knowing that he could see everyone's abilities with ease. "Well if we could, what would your ideal team look like?"
Sampson turned back to look at Rhys. "I'd be in charge of attacking since that's my specialty." Sampson expertly spun his lighter between his fingers like some kind of fidget master. "You have that weird ability, so you'd be doing as many sneak attacks as possible. I don't want another offensive person since they'd only get in my way..."
"Since you want to do all the straight up fighting, a healer or energy transferor would be ideal to keep your energy up." Rhys was already scanning the few people awkwardly walking around the gym who had not found a group yet, looking for the brown haired guy with a goofy grin.
"And I don't know if you heard about Connor yet, but we will definitely need someone with a defensive skill, like a barrier creator or an energy absorber."
"Connor," Sampson's eyes sharpened. "Yeah I heard about him."
Rhys watched as Sampson's mood worsened. Rhys knew that Sampson was volatile, especially when his god complex was being threatened. Having someone like Connor whose core ability was undoubtedly better than Sampson's was probably making his blood boil.
"Do you know if he has a generation type or a manipulation type core?" Sampson stared blankly into the crowd of students where Connor had his back to him. The black stripes of his tattoo were clearly visible on his neck, which only added to his already frightening presence.
Rhys knew his words would agitate Sampson, but he decided it was better that Sampson understood the huge gap between himself and Connor before the evaluation test started.
"Neither. Connor is electrokinetic. He has complete control over electric current, so he can generate it and manipulate it however he wants."
To this day researchers and core developers argued about whether manipulation cores or generation cores were better for elementists. However it was common knowledge that a person infused with a core that allowed them both to manipulate and generate elements was by far the superior. No one with a brain could argue differently. Although Sampson had some severe personality defects, he was not stupid. He knew now that there was no way he could beat Connor by himself.
Sampson was silent for a bit before he turned back to Rhys. "We don't really need a defensive person then, I mean your ability means that his electricity won't affect you."
Rhys's eye twitched remembering what his teacher had said about him being weak to Connor's powers. "Even if I won't be affected by his electrical current, it will pass straight through me and hit the rest of our team. A defensive team member will be for your benefit not mine."
Sampson's eyes suddenly glowed defiantly and Rhys saw that his fiery aura was churning and flaming. "You think I need protecting? Is that what you're saying?" Sampson growled out at Rhys.
Rhys was about to rip out his hair in frustration when the loud voice of the other class's instructor boomed around the gym.
"Okay recruits, listen up." She was a huge burly woman with a cleanly shaved head. She had at least a foot on the other lecturer and her thick arms bulged with muscles and veins.
[title: Other class's instructor]
[Aura: Strengthening (almost strong)]
'Almost strong' Rhys had not seen this label from the system yet. So far no one had surpassed Connor and his 'very strong' label.
"Those of you who already formed a team please move backwards and allow those who have not formed complete teams to move forward." Rhys and Sampson begrudgingly walked to the front of the gym.
"Everyone who hasn't gotten into a team, come stand on this line and face the others." She pointed to the painted white line just in front of her.
Those who were by themselves sheepishly made their way to the white line and turned around to face the crowd while groups of twos and threes like Sampson and Rhys scrutinised them.
Among the line of thirteen people Rhys was happy to see the guy from his class, the energy transferor who he had set his sights on. Even now he had a big carefree smile on his face but Rhys suspected he was only smiling to mask the embarrassment of not being picked. On the other hand, Rhys was pretty shocked to see the poison generation girl standing right next to him in line. Although Rhys could see why some would be hesitant to pick the energy transferor since he could end up being dead weight to a team, but poison generation was an amazing skill that should have surely secured her a place in a group. Perhaps she didn't want to tell people her skill.
"Okay, you groups of three over there." The instructor pointed towards a bunch of students who had made groups of three and were in need of one more member. "Since you guys did a better job at getting into groups within the time limit, I'll let you pick first."
Murmurs of dissatisfaction rustled through the groups with two members but they quickly quietened down when the instructor sent a menacing look their way.
A brave girl with a weak healing ability immediately stepped forward and pointed to the largest guy in the line. He had a mean scar from his cheek to his lip and impressive muscles that made him look like he was in his thirties. All that was a bluff though because he was just another weak Strengthening ability user.
"We'll take him." She burst out quickly.
"Good," The instructor nodded. "Go join your team." The big guy walked off the line with a frown on his face, apparently he was not too happy with his group.
The first girl's decisive but stupid actions created a frenzy within the other groups of threes, they all started to suddenly point to the most impressive-looking person in the line and called them to their team. They knew nothing about their abilities and were going with the mentality of 'he/she looks tough, so they are probably strong'. That panic had made people forget their senses and just revert back to judging people on unreliable first impressions.
Before long all the groups of three had been completed and seven people from the line had been chosen leaving six people behind. Everyone who had been chosen was picked because of appearance, not because of their actual strength, thus some of the best people were still on the line waiting to be chosen.
"Okay then, you guys please join the other completed groups." The seven groups walked back to where all the other groups were waiting.
"Now will the remaining three groups please choose two people from the line each. One at a time please, starting with you two." Rhys grinned when he saw that the lady pointed at him and Sampson.
The last six people in the line consisted of the petite poison generation girl, the class clown with the energy transferor ability, a timid looking girl with a weak healing ability, a toned girl with a weak strengthening ability and two guys with very weak Earth manipulation abilities. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone left with a barrier ability. The next best thing for Rhys would be one of the guys with the Earth manipulation abilities because the electricity ability was weak to the Earth ability. However, the system had marked the two guys as very weak so there was actually no point in choosing them. Connor's 'very strong' electric current would turn any manipulated earth controlled by a 'very weak' manipulator into dust, instantly. That meant the best choice was the poison generation girl. If they could not get defence, Rhys would need to supplement the team with more attack.
"We will take him and her." Rhys consecutively pointed to the class clown and the poison generating girl eager to get those two standing next to him. However, Rhys's hopes and dreams came crashing down when Sampson opened his mouth.
"Wait, that weak chick? Fuck no." Sampson snickered as he looked at the poison generation girl. By the scowl that appeared on her face, it was clear that she had heard him.
Rhys elbowed Sampson in his side and put an apologetic smile on his face. "I'm sorry about him, we'd be really happy to have you on our team."
Sampson looked at Rhys like he had gone insane. Why would Rhys apologise on behalf of him to some insignificant little girl, who looked like she could be a middle schooler?
"Forget it." She stepped back onto the line and stared coldly at Sampson. "Pick someone else."
"Gladly." Sampson spat back at her. "Okay, we'll take that..."
"Ugh, you guys are too slow. Next group, it's your turn to choose." Sampson was interrupted from picking a new teammate by the impatient instructor who gave their turn to the next team of two, who promptly picked the poison generation girl to join their team.
Rhys squatted down on his haunches and added this incident to the list of reasons why he hated Sampson, and then and there swore to himself to never forget the list.
"Don't be dramatic, she's just some little girl. We don't need that kind of dead weight in our team anyways." Sampson crossed his arms confidently with no idea of the gem he had just let slip through his fingers.
Rhys wanted to yell at him that she had a poison generation ability, but then he would have to come up with a way to explain how he knew that, so for now Rhys swallowed his frustration. If the evaluation was going to be carried out like a tournament, then Sampson would have an opportunity to see her fight, and then Rhys would get the satisfaction of seeing Sampson regret what he had done.
As Rhys expected, the next two groups chose their teammates, leaving the timid girl with the healing ability left in the line. Like a scared mouse, she scuttled over to Rhys and Sampson and their other teammate with her head down and her face flushed red with humiliation at not being picked for a group.
"Hello," She shyly looked up at us between her messy ginger hair that curled about her face in a bob. "My name is Nim Reglin. I'm from the seventeenth, and I have the healing core."
Rhys nodded slightly at her words. She was so intimidated that her knees were trembling. Of course a healer from the seventeenth district would be shaken by this kind of atmosphere.
Sampson didn't even try to hide the disappointment and annoyance on his face. He scowled down at her and turned to the guy Rhys had chosen. "What about you?"
"Oh, haha." He chuckled nervously while keeping the usual smile on his face. "I'm Joel Adams and I'm an energy transferor. I'm from the nineteenth and I'm a decent fighter as well." Joel patted his side and brought attention to the double sheathed daggers strapped to his thigh. At a second glance, he did seem pretty sturdy, so hopefully, he would be able to hold his own if he had to fight.
"At least you are somewhat useful." Sampson snickered at Joel's introduction and threw another scowl Nim's way which made her shrivel up even more.
"Okay, so our team ended up with two support type members," Rhys gestured to Nim and Joel. " And one fully offensive member," Rhys looked at Sampson. "And then one combination of the two." Rhys pointed at himself.
"Hey, I'm Rhys Anson from the twentieth. My ability has not been officially named yet, but I've been calling it intangibility. That basically means that I can pass through any solid matter."
Nim and Joel stared at Rhys for a moment, waiting for what they had just heard to make sense, and waiting to see if he was being serious or not. The idea of meeting someone with an unknown ability had never even crossed their minds.
Although Sampson had controlled his face, he listened intently to what Rhys said. The first thing he had done after Rhys knocked him out in that alley was break into the nearest scrip store and search for scripts that explained Rhys's ability. Of course, he had found nothing, but that had only piqued his interest. He would let it go for now, but he was determined to find out how Rhys had gotten hold of such an ability.
"I'm Sampson Welsh from the twentieth. I'm a fire manipulator and I was the highest-ranked fire Elementalist in our school district. I'll be carrying this team today." Sampson naturally fiddled with the lighter in his fingers. "You two need to make sure to not get in my way. If I lose because of you guys, you're dead."
Sampson was serious. He would literally beat the shit out of the two of them if they annoyed him during the upcoming evaluations.
"Okay trainees, listen up." The bald instructor's loud voice caught everyone's attention again.
"Today's evaluation test will be in the style of a classic group tournament. You will all fight in randomly drawn lots against the opposing team. If you win, you earn the chance to fight again. If you lose, you'll sit on the side and watch the others." She reached into her dark green cargo pants and brought out a little finger-sized device and clicked the button on it.
The floor of the gym started making loud noises as the mechanisms beneath the flooring started to churn. Metal panels in the flooring opened up to reveal large circular pits filled with compressed dirt. Each pit was about 15 meters in diameter and a foot lower than the gym floor, and there were twelve of these pits in total.
"In the first round, each group will fight against another group. The winners will advance to the next round while the losers will sit on the sidelines." She said the words 'losers' with a grimace as if the word tasted bad in her mouth.
"To avoid the same incidents that happened in the previous years, the fight's winners won't be determined on a last man standing basis'. Instead, each group will receive a numbered flag like so," From her pocket, she pulled out a material folded flag. She peeled off the plastic lining on the back of the flag and pasted the flag onto her chest. Apparently, the flags were stick-on.
"Your groups are free to choose which member will wear the flag, but the flags must be worn on the front of that member's shirt and must be visible at all times during the match. Anyone trying to hide their flags will be eliminated immediately."
Rhys sombrely wondered what had happened during the past evaluations that they decided to change it.
"As a team, you will work together and try to snatch the other team's flag. Of course, weapons and gear are permitted. And you are all encouraged to use your abilities. There are medical crews on standby so don't be squirmish when taking down your opponents. Although we did change the format of the evaluation to reduce casualties this year, the easiest method of getting the flag would probably still be beating the other team to a pulp and peeling the flag from them once they are down." The way her eyes shone with excitement disturbed Rhys.
"There are twelve pits with two teams per pit. That means there will be twenty-four groups participating in this round. So one lucky group will not have to fight and will immediately advance to the next round."
The crowd murmured angrily at her words. Rhys looked around at their disgruntled faces and realised that none of them knew the instructor was doing them all a favour by doing this. Despite the way she talked so happily about beating people to a pulp, it seemed that she was at least kind enough to allow the students a round of fighting without the most dangerous student in it.
"That lucky group is you four." As expected the women pointed straight at Connor and his three teammates.
[Name: Connor Twenty]
[Aura: Electrokinesis (very strong)]
Connor stood casually with his hands in his pockets and gazed boldly at the instructor. Unlike the rest of the students whose nerves were beginning to get to them, he was not phased in the least. After years in juvenile hall, this all seemed so boring and safe to him. Despite his lifeless expression, his powerful aura crackled and zapped with electrical current which made Rhys frown nervously.
Rhys looked over Connor's teammates and realised that Connor wasn't just some delinquent. Even without Connor, his team would probably be the winning team because each member had a useful ability.
'Birds of a feather flock together.' Rhys murmured the old forgotten idiom that he heard Gramps say many times.
A few minutes later Rhys was pasting their team's flag onto his grey T-shirt. The luminescent yellow material flag had the number 12 pasted on it and was easy to paste on and pull off, but that did not matter since now that it was on Rhys no one would be able to touch it.
"Are you sure about this?" Joel looked slightly concerned at Rhys's decision. "Shouldn't Nim or I wear it since we will be staying behind you guys? If you wear it, won't the other teams just go straight for you?"
Rhys didn't know a better way to explain it than a demonstration. Rhys took Joel's hand and shoved it towards his chest. Joel's jaw dropped when he saw his hand had gone straight through Rhys's body as if Rhys was just an illusion.
"So this is intangibility..." His face lit up with a smile and he seemed to relax a bit more. "If you're like this, no one will be able to get our flag."
A little seed of hope started to grow within the usual smiling but aloof Joel.
"That's crazy amazing." Nim whispered as she raised her finger, eager to poke through Rhys's chest.
"Okay trainees! Lend me your ears one last time before the matches start." Her loud voice infiltrated their ears once again.
"After today's matches, you will all be ranked with letter grades ranging from A to F." The back wall of the gym suddenly lit up. Apparently, it wasn't just a wall but a ginormous flat screen. "A-B-C-D and F." She emphasised the letter F loudly. Rhys frowned slightly wondering what happened to the E rank. Did they just leave it out?
"Because the fighting event was made a bit less brutal this year, the freshmen head decided to place more emphasis on the different rankings to motivate you guys."
The giant flatscreen flashed a big golden 'A' and began to display images.
"The winning group will automatically have all its members ranked as A. And people who make the A category can enjoy unlimited meals, unrestricted access to campus facilities, a personal growth tutor who will help you create a personalised training program to help you get stronger, as well as a trip to the blacksmiths who will custom make a weapon for you."
The shots of previous year's A group and their smiling faces flooded the screen. Pictures of mouthwatering food, and restricted libraries as well as gem powered weapons had everyone swooning. For the district twenty kids in particular, the A category lifestyle was probably much better than they had ever experienced.
"The B category students can enjoy three meals a day with a few extra meal points to use at their own discretion. They will be awarded a weapon consultation to figure out which weapons would best suite them. B students can also enjoy access to some specified restricted training facilities."
As the screen flashed with pictures of the B category lifestyle, most people were still happy with the rewards but just could not get as excited about it.
"The C category students can enjoy the dining facilities on weekdays only. On weekends you will be given food pills, anything else you want to eat you must pay for with your own funds. You will not have tutors or consultations or access to any restricted training facilities. Since C students are lacking in power you will be given a training regime on top of your coursework that you must complete and have signed off by specific instructors. Failure to complete your regime will result in punishment."
A picture of a student laying bloodied and unconscious on the floor while instructors stood over him with grins in their faces flashed on the screen. Everyone's mood suddenly darkened. The happy pictures of the A and B groups were no more.
"D category students are really expected to work harder. Dining facilities are only available to them on the weekends as a treat. During the weak they will live off of food pills and be expected to complete lots of extra training shifts, almost double the amount of shifts C students have to complete."
The mood was souring quickly. Rhys shook his head in pity for the students that would have to live off of food pills during the week. Food pills would technically give you all the nutrients you need but robbed you of the satisfaction of eating food. Food pills tasted awful and no one would voluntarily eat them for more than a few days straight. The psychological effect of eating food pills for a week would take its toll on a person.
"F category students will be the first to wake up in the morning and the last to go to bed at night. You will be assigned morning and night regimens as well as unpaid construction jobs around campus. You will not have the privilege of eating at the dining halls, and will live exclusively off of food pills unless you have the money to spend on extra food from the convenience stores."
Rhys frowned thinking about the kind of life you would have as an F ranked student, it was actually a good thing there wasn't an E rank category because then the F rank students would be even worse off. Extra training and work on top of the scheduled college courses, and no actual food for months. And since people were naturally prejudiced Rhys was sure F ranked students would get bullied. It was basically the life he had lived in district 20, a lifestyle he was not going back to.
"Hey, you guys." Sampson glared at his teammates. "We are making the A group no matter what."
Rhys nodded confidently. He would need to use all his strength to get his team to that golden category.
Joel and Nim looked less confident, having support type abilities had always put them on the weaker end of the rankings they had taken part in during their lives. However, they knew that they did not want to be part of the F group, at all costs.
As Rhys looked around the gym everyone had a determined look on their faces. The rewards of being strong had tempted them and the consequences of being weak scared them. As was the military's plan.
"Okay everyone, head over to your assigned pit, the matches will begin shortly."
***********************
IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING
Connor's full name is Connor Twenty. They give surnames to Orphans based on the districts they come from. Connor is an orphan of district Twenty so his name is Connor Twenty. I don't know why I wrote it as Connor Twelve in the previous chapter... just had a brain fart or something.
Anyway say it with me, "Connor Twenty!"