There were only 15-20 students in each class. So there weren't honestly many students even though there were a total of 5 sections for the freshmen.
"May Forecast! And Manny Bulk!"
"You two will be the first pair to duel!"
"Yes! Sir!"
"Aye! Sir!"
The instructor called out the names.
A pair of students came in the middle of the auditorium; they were the first to be evaluated.
"There are only a few rules. Perform well and don't kill, also don't die!" After saying it, Instructor Stone D Gustav had clapped his hands.
"Okay then, you are good to go."
"Ah, wait, wait," he called out once again. "The suit that you are wearing has a lot of resistance but don't be too dependent on it. Remember, learn when to give up," said the male instructor with lazy behavior.
"Yes, sir!"
"Aye, sir!"
"Okay, if you are ready, then start!"
The two students who were facing each other in the middle took their stance.
The student with the name of Manny Bulk was a male student. After the signal to start the fight, he directly ran towards his female opponent.
The male student Manny Bulk summoned his Ex-Energy in both hands. Now his hands were glowing in a greenish brilliance, forming like shells on his fists.
Seeing the approaching enemy, the female student May Forecast had rapidly stomped the ground. She must be planning to distance herself from him.
It was too late, though. Took by surprise, Manny Bulk, who was moving like a high-speed train, had succeeded in cutting their distance; he sent one-two combinations of punches.
Most of the students who were currently watching had their mouths formed like a letter 'o'. But to their surprise, none of the punches were able to hit the female students.
May had excellently dodged the attack in a hairsbreadth. Next, she summoned her Ex-Energy on her arms to repel her opponent's punches. But May Forecast could not confront her opponent in a brawl. She knew how dangerous those punches were. It even sent pressures that almost outbalanced her several times.
In the end, none of the two were able to defeat their opponent. The instructor shouted a time's up. May Forecast was able to survive by running around and dodging her opponent's onslaught. She was even able to land a hit by using her kiting strategy.
Their duel ended in a draw.
Although their duel was good, most of the students were booing them. Then after that pair, it followed by another, until most of the students finished their evaluation. Among those who already performed, there were some notable individuals. And most of them were from the section of students with the highest growth potential. It was from class A.
It was the class where Desty and Wendy were part. All of them won their duel against their opponents. There only defeats were against their classmates.
Jem wanted to congratulate Desty for the win, but she was around her classmates at the moment.
He noticed Wendy was waving her hands towards him. Since she was the only person he could actively talk with, Jem replied in respect with a nod and smile. Though, there was a mask on his mouth.
He wondered why. It seemed like Desty was purposely ignoring him. But he wanted to believe that he was wrong. He could be wrong, even though he was a person with high perception. There was no guarantee that he would be right always. After all, even if he said it was his perception, in truth, it was only his intuition.
As expected, none of the students from Class F were able to win.
"Next, Jem Hansen! And Jack D Zaro!"
Finally, his time had come. Before standing, he sent another glance to Desty. Unexpectedly, she glanced at him. Jem felt so happy then waved his hand towards her. Although he looked like an idiot as he did so. But, who cares. However, he got no reply. Desty quickly darted her eyes away from him. Jem blinked his eyes in wonder before he took back his hand unwillingly.
He also noticed Desty's classmates. They were staring coldly at him.
"???"
Question marks were floating over his head. Jem Hansen decided to step forward. He also noticed that none of the students in the audience podium had their attention in the arena. They perhaps thought that the next fight was not worth watching.
"Heh!" Jem scoffed. 'Let me show you, people, how a real fight is supposed to be, hehehe,' he thought and smirked. Then laughed inwardly like a typical villain.
But a second later,
"I give up!!!"
Even though the signal to start the fight was yet to announce, they already heard a loud declaration of giving up. All the students in the stadium broke to guffaw after a brief second of being dumbfounded.
HA-HA-HA!!!
The person who declared giving up was no other than Jem himself. Well, there was nothing he could do about it after seeing who his opponent was. He was certain. Whoever in the lower class would end up deciding like him when the opponent was that person.
Jack D Zaro was the infamous delinquent from Class B! There were even rumors about him beating an academic teacher just because he wasn't in the mood. Look at those unfriendly eyes of him. He was sure that even a ghost would think twice if to haunt him.
"….."
Jem just wanted to live the next day. He had many ambitions in life that he wanted to fulfill.
Unexpectedly, the instructor denied him. The instructor said that he needed to survive for at least one minute in their duel before he was eligible to give up.
'Damn it, isn't that the exact contradiction of knowing when to give up words of his?' He thought in dismay.
Unbeknown to Jem, his declaration only gathered more hate from his opponent. After the signal to start the fight, he ran away from his opponent. He just needed to survive for a minute then declared once again. If he could maintain the distance between them, he had a great chance to survive. In this kind of fight, it wasn't about how you perform. It was about how you survived.
Noticing his opponent's plan, Jack D Zaro twisted in anger. A cross-shaped pulse popped out from his flat forehead, and blood-colored veins were popping out from his full of anger eyes.
A burst of greenish Ex-Energy sent shivers to every student in the auditorium. Jem found himself rolling on the ground. A mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth. An invisible force hit him.
Before he could get up and regain his ground, it was too late. Jack D Zaro was already grinning widely in front of him. Jem grimaced.
A moment later, he suffered a harsh beating.
Before he lost consciousness, at the corner of his eyes, he saw Desty. She opened and closed her mouth.
She must be worried about him.
Though he felt pain all over him, he was happy.
Out of all the students who evaluated that day, only he suffered injuries. He was hospitalized for half a month and was already behind from training. He also received the result of his second evaluation. In one month, his Ascendance points only grew 3 points. Whereas most of his classmates in Class F have average Ascendance points of 7 to 9. The average Ascendance points in Class D were 15, in Class C were 20, in Class B were 30, and in Class A were 40 points;
These Ascendance points were their total growth in a month. Once Ascendance points reached the threshold of 100 points, Ex-Human would undergo an evolution. They would gain a breakthrough. And it increased their power.
Regardless, since he had 1 Exo points only, his growth potential was low and slow.
Half a month in the hospital caused him to be behind in training. The other students already learned many things. He, on the other hand, only knew how to fortify.
Jem felt more secluded. It seemed like he wasn't part of the academy. He could only feel envy for the other students who magnificently manipulated their Ex-Energy.
That day he went early to his room. His room was only for a single person. Since there were only a few students in freshman, it was easy for the academy to accommodate all the students with a room each.
After taking off his clothes, he threw them on the bed. Then he changed into a sleeveless one. He then sat on a single-size sofa and rested his tired back. He also took off the mask on his face and threw it away. After that beating in the duel, another two of his teeth broke. Now there were three gaps in his teeth.
Jem sighed. He was so behind from the others.
He closed his eyes as they felt heavy. It didn't take long for his consciousness to travel into his dreamland.
Two months after his admission to the academy, all the freshmen traveled for a field trip. Their destination was the frontline.
(Next chapter his Guardian System will activate!)