The squadron members immediately took action and prepared to move out and report to the training room
Mark change his clothes into the same set of clothing earlier. He polished his eyeglasses, gelled his bleached white hair and combed it backwards to form spikes as two strands of bangs hanged in front of his eyes, and equipped the wristwatch, poket chains, earings, and metal arms bands that are hidden by the navy blue sleeves
He then looked at the mirror and glared at his blue-gray eyes. He lifted his right hand and placed it in front of his face. He pulled and stretched the white glove down to fit his entire hand
Celine took a fast light bath and washed her body off of sweat from the intense gym training. She took a few minutes to stop and lean on a wall as the shower pours down on her wavy burgundy hair and reminisced about her tragic past. Unhealed scars riddled most of her body parts and minimal scars are seen on her limbs
She got off of the bath and immediately dressed up. She wore a plain white shirt that is tucked in on her pink jogger shorts. She wore a simple outfit because it's the mock battle with the other sqaudron members
The shape of her body was outlined by the white shirt and her slender legs shows her sexiness, especially that her chest is C-cup. She tied her hair in a messy ponytail again and her expression is fierce and uncaring
Philip couldn't help but take a glimpse at her for two reason. One is for her figure and two is because he can read the carefulness of her every actions. He can also see the scars hidden behind the clothes with his X-ray Vision
He made it so that he wouldn't be able to see past her skin and see her skeleton or the other side of the room. He could see her skin and her underwear. He didn't care about seeing her underwear though because her scars is more important. It gives him a clue about her origin
It was then that Justine pulled Philip's head from his cheek to get his attention
"Huh?"
"Stop looking"
Philip was confused, he thought that Justine was jealous but the moment he looked back at Celine, she was covering her chest with her arms and looking at Philip with slight killing intent
"Ow..."
Philip looked down and slightly lowered his head in embarrassment, giving the impression that he's kneeling down on Celine and asking for forgiveness
Meanwhile, Tenshi didn't do anything and waited for her squadron members. She didn't need to change because apparently, her ability makes her clean all the time that he doesn't need to change everytime. Still, she likes warm baths especially in hot springs
She just brandished the special modified shotgun on her lap and caressed it across the nozzle and the trigger. In doing so, light filled the empty spaces of the shotgun and a few components lit up indicating they are full of power and energy
Sheena also changed her clothes into the same clothing earlier. She also fixed her hair into a ribbon ponytail. She also wore special gloves that seemed to emit a green light. Green lines draws across the surface like a matrix. This seemed to be Sheena's personal equipment
Elaine changed her clothes into a more professional look. White marine uniform and pants. She also wore a white admiral's cap and white gloves. Gold chains also hang from her pockets and a rapier is sheathed on her left waist. The rapier is longer than her height that the tip of the sheath is touching the ground. She has to tip the sword hilt with her left hand to lift the tip of the sheath
All of the squadron members moved with professionalism and efficiency to meet the time given until report
Philip and Justine silently sat on the couch while waiting for them and E-1 was standing akwardly on a corner of the room with her hands inside the pockets of her fut coat
A few minutes later, Mark stepped up and walked towards the door with confident steps and fierce eyes
"Let's go"
He commanded and all the other squadron member followed behind him in order of their ranks. Philip, Justine, and E-1 followed behind them
Mark opened the door and he was met by Veronica, Chris' secretary
"Are you ready?"
"Yes"
"Then let's go"
Veronica led the way with wide strides to which the squadron members followed with the same speed. Philip and Justine also followed with the same speed but E-1 seemed like she is already running or quick walking
~~~
After a few minutes, they arrived in the hallway that leads to the training room. They maintained their pace until the light at the end of the hallway filled their vision
It was then that the entirety of the training room was revealed to everyone. Veronica and the squadron members are used to it but Philip was impressed by the sight. Justine already came here once or twice and E-1 has no reaction to the training room
The training room has a control room sitting at the top of the observation deck that is surrounding the stage. The training room is a quadrangle and the floor is made of reinforced concrete
There are also obstacles built in the stage like houses, ruined walls for cover, and many more. The stage is entirely flat and hundreds of high intensity lights are beaming down on the stage from the corners of the roof. The stage is as big as a football field
It was then that there was a loud thud coming from the roof and the roof suddenly retracted inwards in four directions. The roof opened and the sky could be seen from the inside
As everyone walked along the seats of the observation deck towards the direction of the control room, they were met by Chris who had his arms crossed
Philip looked around and saw the head researcher, Satou, and Rue sitting at the opposite side of the observation deck. They came to watch the mock battle
Although, seems like Rue is looking directly at Philip and she has a black eyepatch on her right eye. Perhaps because of what happened earlier when her Magic Eye popped
"Come inside"
Chris urged everyone to come inside the control room to explain to them the rules of the mock battle. There was no need for welcoming because everyone know why they are here
"Go to your respective seats"
Chris commanded and pointed on a series of chairs displayed in front of the control panels. This is for everyone's exclusive observation seats for when the mock battels start
Everyone went ahead and sat on the chairs that are provided for them. The spacing of the chairs are far apart that they seemed like they are a council of some kind
E-1 hesitantly and cautiously followed, alternating her gaze to the unsuspecting Chris, Philip, and the chair. Finally, she sat on one of the chairs and tucked her knees close to her chest
Philip and Justine also went ahead to sit on the convenient seats when there's supposed to be only seven seats for the squadron. There's no way they just recently added the two seats or even a few days ago. It was because the chairs are symmetrical and if two chairs are removed, the arrangement will be very ugly. They don't seem to be detachable either
'Oh, how fate works...'
Philip mumbled inside of his head and gave a smirk
Mark sat with conviction and fierceness, Celine sat crudely with her legs crossed, Tenshi sat elegantly and cutely, Sheena sat with poise and discipline, Elaine sat with an innocent arrogance with her head resting on her hands, and E-1 sat in discomfort and restlessness
Justine just awkwardly sat down but she got used to it immediately and Philip sat down without care
Chris then went on and walked in front of everyone with the light from the outside illuminating the control room. Veronica stood next to the control panels, behind everybody else
"Alright, as you may know, you all have gathered here for training, specifically in a form of mock battles"
Chris started by stating the obvious. He paced left and right as he began to tell the instructions
"Unlike before where there's team building, interdivision training, skill checks, proficiency training, and weakness training, here, you will train fighting each other to boost your skills, experience, and talent"
"Each and everyone of you already knows your strengths and weaknesses, take advantage of that and defeat one another! Well, except for Philip, Justine, and... E-1? Yeah, E-1"
"The reason that we're doing this is to train your versatility and flexibility in handling any battle scenario that you might encounter and fighting each other is the best way to do. It will also enhance your abilities because will restrict some of your abilities and amplify the opponent"
"The other reason is that tomorrow we will start the secret mission. We need to be prepared to the maximum and train your abilities and potential"
"With that out of the way, I will now explain how the mock battles will go, the rules, and the terrain"
Chris face the stage from the control room. The clear glass window is what separates him and the stage
"First of all, the terrain. As you can see, there are many obstacles littered around with debris and scrap. There are weapons hidden across the stage that varries from melee weapons to ranged weapons to explosive weapons. The environment is also destructible so go on a rampage if you like. The training room is protected by my ability"*
"The rules are simple. If you are called on the stage, your ability will be amplified and weakened at the same time. This means that by weakening your ability, you have no choice but to break your limits and amplify your ability to the maximum. Also, the person that is called to fight against the called person on the stage, you will be restricted by whatever the person on stage wants"
Philip nodded from Chris' rules. The rules made sense. If Elaine, who is only a radar, is matched against Mark, who is ruthless and very experienced in combat, then Elaine would be decimated
With Elaine restricting Mark of his ability, the match will be more balanced
"The restrictions is limitless and you can restrict them whatever you want. Note that you can only do this once, so think wisely on how you'll restrict them"
"Well, that's about it... Any questions before I continue?"
Chris asked
"..."
No one responded because Chris' instructions were clear. Philip had a question though, but he knew that it will be answered in the next second
"Good. On to the next, the first one to go will be Elaine against Sheena then Tenshi then Celine then Mark. Second match will be Sheena against Elaine then Tenshi and so on and so forth. The final matches are between Philip, Justine, and E-1 against everyone, one by one. You can only fight them once and that'll be it. Then, they will fight each other"
"Is that understood?"
"Yes, master"
"Yes, sensei"
"Yes"
"..."
Thr squadron members responded in unison with only Tenshi addressing Chris with sensei. Philip and Justine addressed him with no honorifics and E-1 just slightly nodded
"Alright then! Elaine, you can come to the stage"
Elaine happily stood up and walked from the control room towards the stage with fierceness plastered on her small body
She is ready to prove to everyone that she's not only a radar, but a fighter also