"Oohhh!"

"How is this possible?!"

"Savior!"

"Impossible!"

A small group of scientists was shouting denials at a small computer screen in front of them. The screen indicated that the teenage girl they were currently measuring possessed a soul force 9.7. But that could not be the truth. Noone ever had a soul force greater than 8.5 Not even adult S-Rank Consor pilots did, so a measurement of 9.7 was impossible. There wasn't even a ranking for it.

"Is the machine broken?"

"You know that can be true!"

"Then are you saying this measurement is correct?"

They measured again, and the computer screen lit up with a soul force of 9.7 once again. A few of the scientists collapsed.

"No way…"

"She could end the war! We have to report this!"

"Are you crazy?! Who could possibly be her partner with that kind of soul force?! She would kill them!"

The scientists began shouting amongst themselves indiscriminately. That was until a soft but firm voice spoke and quieted them all.

"Are you done measuring? This skin-tight suit is super uncomfortable, and this measuring tube smells disgusting. Can I leave now?"

The scientists were dumb struck. Did this girl not realize how extraordinary she was?! But still, they let her out of the measuring tube. The girl immediately began to walk out of the room of stupefied scientists. Her long dark blue hair trailed behind her like a cape.

"Y-your measurement…"

"I'm not interested! Just send it to me later or something. Just make sure you measure the guy that comes in here next properly! He's going to be my partner, after all." Her sharp, serenely beautiful features made a threatening expression as she said it.

And with that she nonchalantly exited the room, the automatic sliding doors closing behind her. The scientists became frenzied again after she left. A soul force of 9.7! Truly record breaking! Sky shattering! Common sense defying! And she said her partner was measuring next? What kind of soul force would he have, to be able to sync with her? The thought of it excited them.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The scientists were once again staring dumbly at the computer screen, but this time for a completely different reason.

"Soul force 1.8…"

"He's completely… average."

"He's below average."

"He's far below average! He can barely pilot."

The scientists were disappointed beyond measure. This guy was supposed to be her partner? He'd be splattered all over the cockpit walls by her soul force the moment they let them pilot together.

"Excuse me? This tube smells like black mold. Let me out, will you?"

The scientists opened the tube for him. The boy swept his black hair out of his eyes.

"Seriously, when's the last time you cleaned that thing? I'm surprised Ada lasted a minute in there without complaining."

"..."

"You aren't going to tell me what my soul force is like? Amazing, isn't it?"

The scientists were absolutely paralyzed from shock. His soul force was indeed amazing. Amazingly low.

"Your soul force…"

"Ah, whatever then. The measurement doesn't matter anyways." With that the teenage boy began walking towards the exit.

His soul force measurement doesn't matter?!

The boy stopped just before leaving the measurement chamber.

"Because I'm piloting with Ada, no matter what."

—

"So, what's your measurement like? Hurry up and show me!"

Adalaene was currently looking over his shoulder at the soul force measurement envelope he was holding. They'd just opened hers together. They knew it would be pretty high but seeing that Ada had a soul force of 9.7 was still a surprise. That would make her the strongest consor pilot ever if they managed to graduate. They'd even given her the EX-Rank. That rank didn't even exist before they measured her.

"I'm opening it now, hold on." He tore open the envelope and pulled out the contents.

"..."

"There's no way they measured it correctly. I'm going back there right now. I'll kill them."

"Ada. It doesn't matter. Get back here." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down on the bench next to him. "Besides, I don't really wanna go back into that measuring tube again. It smells horrible."

"What rank did they give you? C-rank?"

When a person had their soul force measured for the first time, they would be assigned a rank based on its intensity. Those with a soul force of 2-4 were assigned to C-rank, the lowest and most common rank. Those with soul force from 4-6 were assigned to B-rank, which was more rare but still pretty common– For every 100 C-ranks one B-rank would appear. Those with a soul force between 6-7.5 were assigned the A-rank. A rank was super rare, with 1 A-rank being worth at least 10000 C-ranks. Those with a soul force above 7.5 were assigned the S-rank. Their rarity was immeasurable, with less than 15 S-ranks having ever existed.

"E-rank…"

Apparently the scientists had made a completely new rank for him, too.

Adalaene was superbly pissed-off.

"That's it. They're dead."

He burst out laughing. Adalaene's pure white cheeks blossomed pink like roses.

"What are you laughing for?"

"S…Sorry. Your face was just so cute while you said something so scary. It made me laugh a bit."

"S-shut up."

He grabbed her hand reassuringly.

"Calm down. It seriously doesn't matter. We both already got accepted to the academy. They can't just kick me out now. And we already know we can pilot together."

"That's true…"

"So stop saying you'll kill people with that cute face of yours, okay?"

"Stop flattering me!"

"I'm not, though."

They just sat there together on the bench silently for a long time. Feeling the sea breeze and smelling the salt in the air. Eventually the helicopter landed on the ship to transport them back to land. A different male/female pair exited the helicopter before him and Ada were allowed back on.

"Hey, Glade, even if I have a soul force 9.7… you know that I won't pilot with anyone except you, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's good, then."

__

"Damn. The academy looks even more impressive than in the photos."

Ada and Glade were currently on a transport carrier along with dozens of other passengers. All of them were teenagers close to the age of 18, and all of them were new students.

Dust academy was a prestigious institute dedicated to educating top-notch Consors. They had an acceptance rate of 0.001%. But still every teenager dreaming of becoming a consor pilot sent an application their way. And that was because if they managed to be accepted, they were guaranteed to become the best of the best.

Dust academy was a completely isolated entity. A massive colony ship filled to the brim with different facilities and terraformed environments, all dedicated to providing the best possible environment for Consor recruits. Living costs and necessities were provided throughout the entire educational program. It was truly the best environment one could hope for.

"Isn't it bigger than the colony ship we used to live on?"

"Probably… Look at the size of that tessellated field."

A wave of gasps rolled over the passengers as a consor whizzed past the plane, propelled by the soul force of the human consor pilots inside. It zigzagged in the air freely, as its sleek, humanoid form began waving to them with one of its arms.

An overly excited student with green hair exclaimed, "T-that thing… looks nuts! I-Is that a temporal cannon on its shoulder?!"

The new students became excited as they watched it hover in the air. It began firing the temporal cannon at the sky, creating letters with the blue explosions.

[WELCOME]

[TO]

[D.U.S.T]

The students cheered excitedly, whistling and shouting. Once again, the student with green hair shouted; "TEMPORAL CANNON!!!!"

They quieted down as the consor disappeared from sight, sitting back down. But now the air in the plane was different. Everyone had an excited smile on their face and no one was nervous anymore. They spoke amongst each other with a relaxed demeanor. Dust academy knew how to provide their students with the best environment.

—

Everyone was now inside of a massive building. The new recruits were lined up at the front, while the returning students were lined up behind them. There were hundreds of students, their uniforms ranging in color. The 1st year freshmen had red uniforms on, while the 2nd years had green uniforms. The 3rd years had white uniforms and the 4th years had black.

Everyone had lined up in neat rows for the entrance ceremony.

A loud, but serene voice boomed through speakers as a middle aged woman in a light blue uniform appeared, clashing with her bright red hair. The uniform was form fitting, leaving little to the imagination as far as her curves went. A few of the freshmen boys had ridiculous expressions on their faces because of this, but these disappeared quickly after a glare from their female partners.

The woman on the stage face them, revealing a wide, long scar running down her face.

"Welcome to the entrance ceremony, new and returning students. Most of you know this already, but for the freshman, my name is Irina Yeklov. I'm the acting director of Dust academy. Refer to me however you like."

Glade grinned. Irina Yeklov, war hero of the western seas and slaughterer of the red skies. Every student knew who she was. She was an A-rank consor pilot, and had the highest reaper kill count of any consor pilot in history. She was forced into retirement when her partner contracted reaper psychosis and became the acting director of Dust academy. She was a living legend.

"Now then, onto business, shall we?"

A large screen lit up on the stage behind miss Yeklov. She looked like an ant silhouetted against it. It showed a map of the academy grounds, and she quickly went over it.

"These are the dorms. For your first year they're male/female segregated. But from your second year and on you'll be living together with your partners."

Ada squeezed Glade's hand. She couldn't wait until second year.

"All of you received an electronic device when you exited the plane. You all know how smartphones work, correct? They work similarly. Hold them up to your faces for a moment."

All of the freshman students took square shaped electronic devices out of their pockets. A moment later the black screens lit up, scanning their face. It displayed a message a moment later.

[Welcome to D.U.S.T academy, Glade Lieber]

"They're called notebooks. Make sure you don't lose them. They're basically your student I.D, and you'll need them to open your dorm rooms and order cafeteria food, among other things. You'll also find a map of the academy and any information you might need stored on them."

Glade pocketed his.

Irina Yeklov smiled.

"Now onto ACTUAL business. This is your curriculum."

The first years murmured amongst themselves. Reaper dueling? Live combat?

"Silence. I'm sure you all expected some easy classroom lectures. And that you only start doing the actual work when you get to the later years. That's not how we work at dust. Let me show you the second, third and fourth years´ curriculums."

The screen flickered 3 times, but every time the screen stayed… empty? "Year 1 is preparation for years 2, 3 and 4. You can pass year 1 easily by finishing the curriculums and participating in the tests. You don't even need to hit the average score. But after your 1st year you'll need to hit a 'point goal' by completing actual missions. No more lectures. No more lessons. Just missions and experience. Make sure you absorb all of the knowledge you can from your first year, because you'll need it. With some luck, all of you graduate at 22."

You'll learn more about it when you actually get to that point, but for now just think of it like this. To pass your second year you need to finish 15 real missions and accumulate an adequate amount of points from completing them. Your 3rd year 30 missions and even more points. 4th year 60 missions and the sum of points your past 2 years combined. I suggest you take your first year at dust academy seriously. It's the only training from us you'll receive. Everything else is your own experience."

The freshmen all had serious expressions on their faces. They would be dueling reapers in their first years already. That's a serious life and death situation.

"Another thing– Dust Academy encourages the exchanging of partners. I'd suggest you forget about your old partners," Irina Yeklov stared right at Adalaene as she said it. Adalaene glared back at her. "And consider partnering up with an individual more suited to your own capabilities. You have a better chance of surviving that way."

Some of the freshman had nasty expressions on their faces. Most pilots had been partnered up from when they were kids. The idea of abandoning their partners now felt morally wrong.

"To help you along with picking your new partners, here's a list." Irina Yeklov pressed something on the pedestal she stood in front of, the massive screen behind her showed a list of students I.Ds. All of the freshmans' names were on the list, along with their soul force, rank and a picture of their face attached. There was also a number next to their name.

At the top of the list was Adalaene, with her soul force of 9.7 and EX-rank. A great stillness fell over the space. Many of the males stared at Adalaene in disbelief. It was obvious what they were thinking;

"EX-rank…"

"If I partner with her…"

"She could guarantee my future…"

"I'll make her mine…"

And when they saw Glade, her partner, at the bottom of the list with a soul force of 1.8 they were filled with animosity and jealousy.

"E-rank…"

"Why him?"

"I would be so much better than him."

"She should partner with me instead."

Almost all of the male students suddenly felt a great sense of superiority over Glade.

Of course, the female students had similar behaviour. They were already eyeing other males with a high soul force. Some of them were obviously showing hostility towards Adalaene, jealous of her soul force.

"This list is ranked. The higher your ranking the more benefits you will receive from DUST academy. You can increase your ranking by performing adequately." Most of the students were no longer listening to Irina Yeklov. They were still distracted by Adalaene's astronomical Soul force and Glade's inferiority.

"Also, every 3 months we hold a seasonal tournament to determine your growth as pilots. You'll be dueling students in the same year as you, so don't worry about the upperclassmen. Those who rank first in those tournaments get a special bonus– So do your best. If you have any other questions you can consult your notebook A.I or a senior. I suggest you use today to explore the academy grounds, but stay away from the tessellated field. Your training starts tomorrow. Dismissed."

Irina Yklov left the stage and the students were left to their own devices. Most of the upperclassmen left promptly, already knowing what they were meant to do. But most of the freshmen were standing still, simply staring at Adalaene and Glade.

One of the male students approached them. He had yellow hair and golden eyes. He handsome in the traditional way, with a sharp jaw and strong nose. Glade recognized him from the list as Rank 2; his name was Golden Rapex Apicem, an A-rank possessing a soul force of 7.4.

He shoved Glade aside and focused his attention on Adalaene. "Partner with me." The way Golden said it to Adalaene felt more like an order than a request. It was obvious Golden thought he was superior to others.

Adalaene looked at him disapprovingly and she shoved her middle finger in his face. "Fuck off." Adalaene took Glade's hand and stormed out of the lecture hall. Golden was frozen in place, stunned. His face transformed into one of anger. Some of the other freshman students cowered in fear as Golden unintentionally released some of his soul force, cracking the ground around him.

Noone had ever refused him like that. Not. One. Person. This was the first time Golden had ever felt humiliation in his life. He would pay back this humilation tenfold! But his anger was not directed towards Adalaene. Instead, it was irrationally directed towards Glade.

Ada led Glade out of the lecture hall by hand. Glade had expected what happened in the lecture hall to happen after he saw the list. It was obvious people would feel superior to him, and that they should be paired with Ada instead of him. But Ada wasn't an object– She made her own decisions and decided herself who she would partner with. Glade felt warmth blossom in his chest as he remembered the way she'd rejected Golden in the lecture hall.

Glade squeezed her hand and Ada stopped to ask him, "What is it?"

"Thanks." Glade smiled warmly at her.

Ada blushed from his smile. "H-huh? Yeah… Stop looking at me like that!" Ada smacked his arm and pulled him along again. "Let's go check out some of the restaurants."

"Sure."

__

Glade and Adalaene sat at a table in a café. Adalaene munched on some pancakes while Glade sipped on a cold drink. The café was called Café Séléne. It seemed to be frequented mostly by the upperclassmen. And while there were some stares and the occasional glance towards their table, the upperclassmen left them alone.

"Want a bite?" Ada extended a fork with syrup drowned pancake on it towards Glade. Glade opened his mouth to decline but Ada shoved the fork inside of Glade's mouth, forcing him to eat it. Glade did his best to prevent his face from deforming as he chewed on the sugary taste of death. Ada had always had a sweet tooth– even back when they were kids, and she'd forced Glade to eat a multitude of overly sweet confections over the years.

"How is it? Good, right?" Ada shoved another bite of pancake into her mouth, smiling in ecstasy as she ate it.

"Y-yeah…" Glade sipped on his cold drink to wash the acidic taste of sugar from his mouth.

A female upperclassman dragged a chair over and sat next to them. Her uniform was green, meaning she was a second year. She had short gray hair that reached shoulder-length, and distractingly blue eyes with soft features. "Y'know, if you eat too much of that, you'll get fat." She was pointing at Adalaene's plate of syrup-drowned pancakes. Adalaene was not amused. She glared threateningly at the upperclassman as she took another bite.

The upperclassman laughed. "Don't glare at me like that, please. I'm here to make friends. You guys seem interesting." The upperclassman swiveled on her chair and focused her attention on Glade. She closed some of the distance and stared at his face. "Especially you. I've never seen anyone with black hair before. And a soul force of 1.8? I've never even heard of that low. Interesting, very interesting."

The upperclassman's face suddenly transformed and a shiver ran up her spine. Glade quickly reached around the upperclassman and squeezed Ada's hand. "Calm down."

Ada's glowing eyes faded back to their regular bright purple color. Some of her soul force had been leaking out after the upperclassman closed the distance between herself and Glade.

The upperclassman recovered from her shock and relaxed back in her chair. "Ha-ha. I guess a soul force of 9.7 isn't anything to scoff at. I almost pissed myself." She looked at Glade, impressed. "If you can pilot with that kind of pressure around you… You're way more impressive than you seem." The female upperclassman stood up and introduced herself.

"My name is Cistelle– Call me Cis. That big doofus over there," Cis pointed across the Café at a brollic male with a soft expression. "Is Cid. He's my partner. If you need help with anything you can ask us."

Glade smiled and thanked her. Cis walked back to her table where Cid was waiting. Ada watched her the entire time. "I don't like her." Ada made a sour expression.

"She didn't mean anything by it. She seemed nice to me." Glade genuinely thought so.

"Hmph." Ada munched on the last bits of her pancakes.

"If you're done, let's go check out the docks. I wonder about some of the consors they have here. They may even have a Streel type." Glade urged Ada to finish her meal quickly as he finished his drink.

"You think so?" Ada became excited at the mention of the offense frame Consor.

__

The docks were directly below the large tessellated fields where the reapers were contained. As Glade and Adalaene entered the docks an occasional reaper scream could be heard. Reaper screams were the reason most Consor pilots retired. After years in battle and blood, the screams wormed their way inside the pilots' minds and broke something inside them.

Reaper psychosis– A permanent mental disease which caused one to have violent outbursts and a lack of self control. As Consor pilots possessed soul force, the damage they could do was unimaginable if left unchecked. Retired pilots were kept under constant monitor and mildly drugged.

Ada and Glade moved along the large space filled with the frames of consors. Consors were large machines made from dead reaper husks. They were powered by the soul force of a male/female pilot pair. Consors had different frames suited to different battle styles. There were defensive frames, mobile frames, restraint frames and offense frames. Ada particularly loved the offense frames– particularly the Streel.

A Streel Consor was rarely used by pilots who favored the offensive type because of its high fire power and energy drain. A Streel Consor held the mecha equivalent of a sniper– a long distance tessellation railgun. It would drain the average pilot of all their soul force after 2 or 3 shots. Another issue was the fine control needed to snipe long distance targets. Missing was a guarantee.

Ada and Glade were moving past a particularly bulky(defensive type) Consor when a piece of metal suddenly fell from above. Glade saw it fall through the air.

"Look out!" Glade pulled Ada back against his chest as the large piece of metal clattered to the floor where she had just stood.

"Are you okay?" Glade looked at her with concern. "Y-yeah… What was that?"

Glade and Adalaene looked up at the defensive type consor's bulky form. There was a boy with green hair climbing on it, messing with an open panel near its head. Magnius shouted up at him;

"Hey! Watch what the hell you're doing!" Glade was angry at the fact that Ada would have been hurt if he hadn't noticed the piece of metal falling.

The boy looked down at them and exclaimed; "Ah!" Before climbing down the consor's torso and jumping down to the ground.

"Sorry about that! I couldn't help but go inspect the psycho frame wiring! Didn't you see it fly through the air earlier? And the accuracy of the temporal cannon! Amazing! Oh, and you should see the soul amplifier in there…" The boy went off on an excited rant. Glade interrupted him.

"Hey. Apologize properly. She could've gotten hurt."

"A-ah…" The boy, shocked out of his excitement by Glade's cold tone, bowed down to Adalaene and apologized. "I'm sorry. I should've paid more attention."

Adalaene accepted his apology. "It's fine, don't worry about it."

The boy straightened and extended his arm for a handshake. His uniform exposed him as a freshman just like them. "M-my name is Puck. Nice to… meetcha?" Glade took his hand and shook it. "I'm Glade. This is Adalaene."

Recognition lit up the boy's face. "Ah! The irregular pair!" Adalaene and Glade frowned at the name. Adalaene asked Puck what he meant.

Puck looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh! Er…" The boy fidgeted a bit. "T-That's what most of the freshmen are calling you. Y'know… 'Cause of your irregular ranks and soul force. I mean… 9.7 and 1.8… Pretty irregular, right? Especially your ranks. EX-rank and E-rank…"

The boy looked down at the ground, scared for some reason. Glade put his hand on puck's shoulder. "Yeah, we get it. Relax. We aren't mad or anything."

Puck looked up, relieved. "Oh…! Thanks?" Adalaene had to stifle a laugh. Puck was an extremely timid and awkward boy in conversation. Puck took an interest in why they were at the docks. "I didn't think anyone would be at the docks but me… I was just checking on the consor…? You're… not gonna tell on me, are you?"

Glade reassured him; "No, don't worry. We just came to check out if they have a streel type."Puck became excited again. "They sure do! I saw some on my way here! Come, come! I'll show you!" Puck skipped off down the docks excitedly, leaving Glade and Adalaene to trail behind. Ada giggled as she watched him hop away. "He's a character."

"Adalaene Tritrite and Glade Lieber, I assume?" Adalaene and Glade turned around after a stern female voice called out to them.

Irina Yeklov faced both of them, hands behind her back. She made for an imposing figure. "Let's have a quick conversation, shall we?"