After returning to the university campus the group went straight to the designated lecture hall.
There was no need to return to their dorms since they brought their bags to the cafe.
As the group of 9 students walked down the beautifully decorated brick road of the campus a plethora of gawking students whispered about this rare spectacle.
"Psst… Are those the 10 Top Dogs?" a student whispered to another in Spanish.
"Yeah, I'm sure it is. They're the 10 most excellent 2nd-year students of the university," replied another in Portuguese.
All of the students of the International University are geniuses in their own right. All of them have mastered at least 10 commonly used world languages and are exemplary students in a chosen field as well as a secondary discipline.
But ten students stand heads and shoulders above the crowd. Not only have they all mastered 20 world languages. They have impeccable grades and have shown to be exemplary professionals in their chosen fields at a young age, as only 2nd years.
These students are referred to as the 10 Top Dogs by their peers.
"Wow, it's Miss Orlov. She's so hot,"
"Shut up she might hear you,"
"Isn't that her boyfriend Mad Doctor Toshiro Ryumori?"
"Nah man, they broke up 3 weeks ago,"
"Wha…what, why?"
"Don't know man," a gawker shrugged.
"Look Leni Meyer is holding his arm! Is it a new couple in the making,"
"What are you talking about, Stone-faced Leon would kill him,"
"Yeah man, he looks angry, maybe they'll fight,"
"Oh my God. I wanna be Ms. Anand's slave,"
"There's one of them missing, where's the Chemist King?"
"I don't know, maybe they don't all have a good relationship,"
Insensitive, annoying, unfounded, and disgusting things were continually said as the group passed through impeccably maintained campus grounds.
The 9 students looked at their surroundings with a mixture of expressions.
Alex and Leon were simply ignoring the looks.
"What is this, middle school?" Alex spat out.
"They have too much time on their hands," Leon grumbled.
Fumiko smiled gently while holding Alex's hand and said, "Damn Insects," with an icy smile on her lips.
Choon Hee was watching Assault on Colossus on Munchy-Roll.
Irina looked coldly at her surroundings and continued to walk forward.
Toshiro, with AirPods in, was flipping through his phone, looking through the clinical data for his latest research project, while listening to anime soundtracks.
Leni was playing Crest Champions Battle Royale Mobile Edition and was holding onto Toshiro's arm for guidance.
Daksha looked down at the ground to avoid the gazes piercing into her.
Oliver was trying to comfort her while shielding her from the prying eyes.
"We got careless because of the good mood. We should have split up," Toshiro said while taking off his AirPods.
"Hmm…Yup," Leni said lazily as she played her game.
"Just deal with it a little longer; the lecture hall is right there, Mad Doctor," Alex joked with a forced smile.
The cicadas of the campus grounds chattered until the group entered the lecture hall.
The group walked down the wonderfully decorated hallways and entered the lecture hall, if it could be called that.
In truth, this was a special classroom created specifically for the 10 Top Dogs by the heads of their respective countries.
The room was small compared to a lecture at a large university. There were only 20 odd seats in 4 rows of 5. They faced a podium in the center with a flat-screen smart TV and projector screen.
There were already 2 people in the room.
One was a scrawny-looking Chinese young man with a pale complexion. He looked about 18 years old. He was 178 cm tall (5'10) and had messy medium-length black hair with a 5 o'clock shadow on his face. His face didn't look bad at all, he was rather handsome, it was just ruined by the chilling glare of his dark brown eyes. He wore a pair of rimless glasses, making him look like an overworked salary man. The young man wore a white and blue university edition t-shirt with a pair of dark slim-fit jeans.
The young man gave a dirty glare to Toshiro as he entered the room, but Toshiro simply ignored him and sat down.
Choon Hee, Leni, Toshiro, Alex, and Fumiko sat down in the front row in that order.
Irina, Leon, Daksha, and Oliver sat in the row above them.
The young Chinese man was sitting on the very top row to the far left.
"Good to see everyone is here, especially you Ms. Meyer," said an old man with a kindly expression and knowing smile.
The old man had brown olive-colored skin and was an African American. He had a strong muscular build despite his old age and wore a flattering black suit, bow tie, and slacks.
This was Dr. Johnson, the world's 80-year-old foremost expert in Modern Physics.
He has been teaching at the collegiate level since he was 50 years old. However, this special modern physics lecture is the only class he teaches now. He simply wanted the honor to be able to teach the world's next generation of geniuses.
Leni froze and giggled nervously, she had missed 5 of these lectures in a row and gotten all of the assignments from her brother.
"Leni feels a lot better now. Leni was down with a really bad cold for the past month," Leni said childishly.
Suddenly Dr. Johnson's face turned colder than a tundra. "Hmm…Mrs. Macintosh seems to have seen you in all of her Engineering labs and lectures though,"
That vicious gaze made Leni shudder and grab onto Toshiro's arm.
"Oi, get off, you loli!" Toshiro spat out.
If anyone saw this situation they would only see a young girl being bullied by a burly old man, but no one helped Leni, they simply thought, "Well, it's her fault,".
Dr. Johnson let out a sigh and let his expression soften.
"I know all of you are immensely talented in your own ways. You've been able to get through life by utilizing your immense genius to the fullest. However, no one can survive on talent alone. There will come a day where you must struggle tooth and nail for what you desire despite the challenges you face. Giving up is never an option and neither is negligence. I will never allow excellent men and women like yourselves to waste your talents like that. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" Replied everyone in unison.
"Now, I'll call role. I know I don't usually do this but I'm feeling auspicious today. You know how it goes. Say your name, nationality, ranking, field, and secondary discipline,"
"Now let's start, International University of Science, Technology, and Arts, 1st rank," said Dr. Johnson.
Fumiko stood up and declared loudly, "Yes sir! Fumiko Kizaki, Japanese, 1st rank, primary field: meteorology, secondary discipline: modern physics,"
"2nd Rank"
"Yes sir! Leni Meyer, German, 2nd rank, primary field: mechanical Engineering, secondary discipline: software engineering,"
"3rd Rank"
"Yes sir! Toshiro Ryumori, Japanese, 3rd rank, primary field: medicine, secondary discipline: modern Physics,"
"4th Rank"
"Yes Sir! Li Chang, Chinese, 4th rank, primary field: chemistry, secondary discipline: material science," said the scrawny Chinese lad.
"5th Rank"
"Aye Sir! Yi Choon Hee, South Korean, 5th rank, primary field: marine biology, secondary field: electrical engineering."
"6th Rank"
"Sir! Irina Orlov, Russian, 6th rank, primary field: electromagnetic physics, secondary field: ballistics."
"7th Rank"
"Yes! Alex Grayson, American, 7th rank, primary field: optical physics, secondary discipline: 3D digital design."
"8th Rank"
"Ye…Yes si…sir! Daksha Anand, Israeli, 8th rank, primary field: geophysics, secondary discipline: geology."
"9th Rank"
"Yes sir. Leon Meyer. German. 9th rank. Primary field: psychology and sociology. Secondary field: biochemistry,"
"And 10th Rank"
"Yes sir! Oliver Williams, British, 10th rank, Primary field: nuclear physics, Secondary field: electrical engineering,"
When Oliver finished speaking Dr. Johnson had a proud smile on his face. "This guy has a lot of pride as a professor," Toshiro thought.
"Now then class today we'll be delving into the heart of Quantum Theory. Turn your textbooks to page…"
BOOM!
There was a fiery explosion from underneath the ground in between the first row and the podium.
Dr. Johnson was blown back against the wall and slammed into it with a fleshy SMACK.
His back formed a bloody splatter on the wall.
Everyone in the classroom was thrown backward by the brutal kinetic energy and scorched by the searing flames.
Toshiro and Leni were thrown like rag dolls and slammed into the 2nd row of seats, tearing them from the floor bolts and all.
Shrapnel pierced into both of them, tearing apart their intestines and ripping through their extremities, leaving chunks of charred muscle sinew scattered across the ground.
The others in the front row suffered a similar fate.
Choon Hee flew through the air sideways and slammed into the back wall, cracking her skull against the wall with a SQUELCH.
Fumiko and Alex, were hurled away together like burning leaves in the wind.
The middle and back rows didn't suffer any less carnage.
Oliver and Leon's backs became pin cushions when they attempted to shield Daksha and Irina from the explosion.
Even so, it did nothing to help.
Daksha and Irina were shredded by the shrapnel that chewed through their bodies like the teeth of a wild beast ripping through prey
Even Li Chang wasn't safe. He slammed his back against the wall with a fleshy squelch.
He landed on his front causing the shards from his glasses to pierce into his face.
Blood and torn flesh scattered across the ground as cries of pain and despair filled the room. The scent of burning humans and blood filled the lecture hall. It was a brutal scene that would make even the most hardened veterans vomit. It was a miracle that no one lost a limb or was killed instantly.
"Huh…Where am I," Toshiro thought as his eyes opened?
WAH, WAH, WAH, WAH
"What is that…siren…is it an ambulance," Toshiro mused as his consciousness faded away.
"Hey, is that Miko…where are they taking her?" Toshiro thought deliriously as a group of men in blue and white uniforms carefully placed a bloody body on a stretcher.
Moans of agony could be heard as they carefully placed her on the stretcher while trying to stop the bleeding.
"Brother...Leon"
Toshiro heard that as he felt a weight being lifted from his chest.
"That sweet and annoying voice, it's like a kid's, whose voice…Leni! What is going on!!!" Toshiro's mind began to race as he began panicking.
Toshiro gazed at the charred black ceiling in despair. His nerves were so scorched that he no longer felt pain.
His consciousness left him again.
"Get them outta here, now!"
Toshiro heard this gruff voice as he awakened yet again.
When his eyes opened he could see a metallic ceiling. He tried to move his neck but something was restricting him.
There was a man. He looks like, what was it, a paramedic.
"HE'S AWAKE"
"Hey, son, can you hear me!? Can you tell me your name!?" the voice yelled in an urgent tone.
"Who are you calling son?" Toshiro replied exhaustedly in Japanese.
This ripped away the last dregs of his strength, forcing Toshiro back into the depths of the abyss.
Simultaneously, inside 10 ambulances, something extraordinary happened.
Circular diagrams filled with a myriad of shapes, patterns, strange numbers, and colors shown underneath each injured student.
A blinding rainbow shown with greater intensity than a supernova.
The torrent of light continued to shine for about 10 seconds.
When the light died out like the last remnants of hope in an hour of despair, the paramedics in each ambulance were dumbfounded by the same impossible phenomenon.
There was no longer anyone on the stretcher.
On May 15th, 2021, 10 extraordinary individuals disappeared from this Earth.
On a day like any other, something extraordinary happened.
End of Chapter
Next Chapter
A Whole New World ;)