The next day at school, Mr. Frank was there. All the students seemed out of it and he just couldn't wrap his head around why.
"Ugh…" [Students]
"What's with you guys?" [Mr. Frank]
Most of the students had their heads on their desks while making groaning noises.
"I'm so sore~" [Jessica]
"My body is aching…" [Brandon]
"Fighting Mr. Silver was a horrible decision…" [Alex]
"Hm? Mr. Silver?" [Mr. Frank]
"Your substitute." [Felix]
"What was his ability?" [Mr. Frank]
"Strings…" [Orion]
"Oh. Wait, my brother was my substitute?" [Mr. Frank]
"Your brother?!" [Class]
"His ability is Thread Manipulation. I can't believe you guys fought him. Did you guys win?" [Mr. Frank]
"If you hadn't noticed, we all collapsed outside your front gate. It was a draw. Against ONE person." [Alex]
The class's atmosphere dropped sharply.
"You didn't have to put it that way…" [Orion]
Noticing the gloomy atmosphere, Mr. Frank decided to change the subject.
"Well… the past is the past. Anyways, I have another announcement for you all." [Mr. Frank]
"Is it another surprise drafting?" [Felix]
"No." [Mr. Frank]
"Another surprise tournament." [Felix]
"No, close though." [Mr. Frank]
"Ugh…" [Adam]
He didn't like the idea of going through another tournament.
"This is something new this year. It's a competition between schools." [Mr. Frank]
"Between schools?" [Adam]
"The district had hired me so I could help create a large artificial forest within a stadium. We will then release captured voidlings inside it so the students can fight them." [Mr. Frank]
"Any safety precautions?" [Felix]
"I will hand you all bracelets that will monitor your health. There is a button on it that will act as an SOS. The button should be pretty obvious to you since it's red and has the letters SOS in bold. If the bracelet senses any attacks that would prove fatal to you, it will automatically deploy a shield to protect you and activate the SOS." [Mr. Frank]
"So… What's the reward from winning?" [Adam]
"I will give you an MDE or an MOE." [Mr. Frank]
"C-can you repeat that in a way I can understand?" [Adam]
"I will give you a Mobile Defensive Equipment or a Mobile Offensive Equipment." [Mr. Frank]
"Wait, are you serious?!" [Alex]
("Am I the only one who still doesn't get what it is?") [Adam]
"It seems so." [Krino]
("I guess I'll just have to ask Felix about it later.") [Adam]
"The rules for the tournament are just to kill the voidlings. Depending on the level of voidling you have defeated, you will be awarded points. Also, fighting between students is prohibited. Breaking that rule will result in disqualification." [Mr. Frank]
"What's the highest level inside the forest?" [Alex]
"Level 5." [Mr. Frank]
The excitement died down and the class was left in a gloomy mood once again.
"There's no way we can beat that…" [Brandon]
"No, wait. We have Felix!" [Jessica]
The class looked at Felix with expectant eyes.
"Huh? How am I supposed to win?" [Felix]
"Well… you have the highest level in our class." [Alex]
"Then what about Adam?" [Felix]
"...He's only level one. Don't try to change the subject using him." [Orion]
"I'm right here you know." [Adam]
"...B-but he has a soul weapon…" [Tiffany]
("Tiffany…") [Adam]
A small tear emerged from the corner of his eye.
"Exactly, don't just judge people by their level." [Felix]
Before the conversation got heated up, Mr. Frank intervened.
"Alright, settle down. The competition will start next week at the Lion Stadium. You can either drive there by yourself, or arrive at school and ride the bus." [Mr. Frank]
("Hm… Next week? Doesn't that mean-?") [Adam]
"Since the tournament is next week, we will be doing a whole week's worth of training again. Aren't you all excited?" [Mr. Frank]
"Oh no…" [Class]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The class went on as usual and Mr. Frank announced that special training would start the next day. As class ended, the class went home with a solemn look. During the walk home Adam decided it was the right time to ask all of his seemingly dumb questions.
"Hey Felix." [Adam]
"Yeah?" [Felix]
"So… what are MOEs and MDEs?" [Adam]
"Are you serious right now?" [Felix]
"...I'm sorry I don't know everything." [Adam]
He spoke in a sarcastic manner.
"Haah… So it's like a phone." [Felix]
"Can I make calls with it?" [Adam]
"No, you bring it around like a phone. It's an object you carry around that can transform into a weapon or defensive object whenever you need it." [Felix]
"So it's like a dangerous phone." [Adam]
"...Yes. Just without the call function." [Felix]
"What about the apps function?" [Adam]
"That too." [Felix]
"How do you know all this?" [Adam]
"I read it in the textbook." [Felix]
"...You actually read that thing?" [Adam]
"Did you not?" [Felix]
"NO! I did not! Nobody reads it! That thing is at least 4 inches thick!" [Adam]
"Okay… Jeez. Tone it down a little." [Felix]
"I don't get how you were able to even memorize that part of the textbook." [Adam]
"Did you already forget?" [Felix]
"Forget what?" [Adam]
"I have photographic memory." [Felix]
"...Oh. That still doesn't justify why you read a textbook." [Adam]
The two finally arrive at the house with dinner waiting for them. The two took a deep breath as soon as they stepped in.
"Ohhh dinner smells amazing." [Felix]
"This is definitely a perk to having an older sibling." [Adam]
"Sebastian doesn't cook for me." [Felix]
"Then a female older sibling." [Adam]
The two headed upstairs and changed before coming back down for dinner.
"So how was school, guys?" [Vivian]
"Yesterday kind of sucked." [Adam]
"Tomorrow is going to suck too." [Felix]
"Did something happen yesterday?" [Vivian]
"We beat up the new teacher." [Adam]
"...You did what?" [Vivian]
"He didn't mean that." [Felix]
"Oh thank god…" [Vivian]
"The CLASS beat up the new teacher. WE beat up an old man." [Felix]
"Excuse me?!" [Vivian]
"The old guy was also our former teacher's dad." [Adam]
"...I can't tell if you're joking or not. Please tell me it is." [Vivian]
"It was an unavoidable cause. We just wanted our former teacher back." [Felix]
"...I can't ignore this. You two are going to apologize to them tomorrow." [Vivian]
"But-" [Adam]
"No buts!" [Vivian]
"They already forgave us." [Felix]
"...Oh. If that's the case then it's fine." [Vivian]
("I remember the old man forgiving us, but I don't remember Mr. Silver giving his approval. I'm just going to not mention that.") [Adam]
"And my opinion on you two drops even further." [Krino]
("This is a necessary means to survive.") [Adam]
"You mean a necessary means to get out of trouble." [Krino]
("I know what I said.") [Adam]
"And? What's going on tomorrow?' [Vivian]
As Adam was stuffing his face, Felix decided to answer for him.
"We're just going to do some training." [Felix]
"What kind of training?" [Vivian]
"...We don't know." [Felix]
"Is that why tomorrow is going to suck?" [Vivian]
Adam swallowed his food with a loud gulp before answering.
"Kind of? The last training we had was us getting beaten back and forth." [Adam]
"That sounds like an understatement." [Felix]
"Is the teacher abusing you guys?" [Vivian]
"Yes." [Adam]
"Not at all, he's training us for combat." [Felix]
"That sounds good." [Vivian]
"Did you just ignore what I just said?" [Adam]
"Is there a problem?" [Vivian]
"It's because I'm more reliable." [Felix]
"That's unfair…" [Adam]
The dining room was filled with laughter that night. After dinner, they decided to call it a night.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Then morning came. A ray of light hit Adams eyelids, awakening him from his slumber.
"Ugh…" [Adam]
"Adam, wake up." [???]
Adam slowly opened his eyes.
"...Vivian?" [Adam]
His eyes were now fully open and he realized it was not Vivian.
"Do I look like Vivian to you?" [Felix]
"The way you nag sounds like her." [Adam]
"Whatever, just get up. Today is training day." [Felix]
"That makes me not want to go even more." [Adam]
He pulled himself out of bed and got changed. He finished his breakfast before leaving, but he was stopped at the door.
"Wait! Before you go, take this." [Vivian]
She held out her hand revealing a small pendant in the shape of a sword.
"What's this?" [Adam]
"Lets just call it… a good luck charm." [Vivian]
Adam took it and wrapped it around his neck.
"Well, I'm off." [Adam]
Vivian waved at the two as they left the house. When the two arrived at the class, the students seemed even less motivated than before.
"I don't want to do this…" [Brandon]
"I'm going to get dirt in my nails again…" [Jessica]
The only one who didn't complain was Tiffany. As Adam passed by her he gave her a small comment.
"I'll be counting on you today." [Adam]
Tiffany brightened up and was looking ready to go. Moments later, Mr. Frank entered the room.
"Good Morning everyone." [Mr. Frank]
"Good Morning..." [Class]
"For our first exercise, we will be going to war." [Mr. Frank]
"Huh?" [Class]