Later that day, Alexandre arrived at one of the island's many small beaches. In the middle of the crowd, he quickly caught sight of William, as well as a tall, muscular black man—Marlon, another friend Alexandre had made during the exam, and whom William had apparently also invited. Unlike the last time Alexandre saw him, Marlon now had a huge hammer strapped to his back.
Alexandre took the opportunity to scan the two men.
╔════════Aurora Tactical System V0.23.1══════════╕
╟─╼CHARACTER
║╰╼[Name]: William Walton
║╰╼[Role]: Hunter Student
║╰╼[Affiliation]: Hunter Academy
║╰╼[LvL]: 8
║╰╼[Class]: Elementalist
║╰╼[Biology]: Hunter
╚══════════════════════════════════════╛
╔════════Aurora Tactical System V0.23.1══════════╕
╟─╼ CHARACTER
║╰╼[Name]: Marlon Edwarson
║╰╼[Role]: Hunter Student
║╰╼[Affiliation]: Hunter Academy
║╰╼[LvL]: 3
║╰╼[Class]: Warrior
║╰╼[Biology]: Hunter
╚══════════════════════════════════════╛
In his civilian life, Alexandre hadn't had many friends, but seeing people he liked again was pleasant enough. He was glad that William and Marlon had survived and even thrived throughout the transformation process. William's level was even impressively high.
Alexandre approached William and held out his hand. "Well, if it isn't the little fragile boy!"
William's expression froze. He stared Alexandre in the eye and seemed to be looking for any sign of aggression.
Alexandre chuckled. "Sorry. A stupid joke. It's good to see you again, William."
Wiliam's expression melted into a nervous smile as he shook Alexandre's hand. "Sorry. Your aura's changed a lot since we first met! Looks like you're well-prepared for tomorrow."
Marlon was sitting on a park bench at the edge of the sand. He now stood up, shook Alexandre's hand, and said, "Don't worry, brother. William's been pissing himself since the Hunter Exam."
William's smile turned into a grimace. "Oh, come on! I passed that third test without even breaking a sweat."
Alexandre replied, "Oh, really? I guess I never asked you exactly how you did it."
William said, "It was easy, really. I made a Faraday shield out of aluminum foil around my tracer, then kept my arm submerged underwater. The signal was strong, not strong enough to beat simple physics."
Alexandre felt slightly annoyed at the knowledge of how simple the process had been. Even though the idea to take such steps would have never occurred to him, they were so simple in hindsight that he wished he'd done the same. It might've made his ordeal a bit more relaxing!
"Anyway," William continued, "I'm also glad to see you again, my friends."
"Yeah, yeah," said Marlon. "Sorry to interrupt your very manly reunion, but why'd you call us out here?"
William replied, "I asked you both to meet me because I have a proposition for both of you. I'd like the three of us to team up and get through the university year together, like we did the exam!"
Alexandre asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?"
William said, "Well, the three of us have completed our transformations, gained our classes, and been given access to the academy knowledge database. Therefore, we no doubt all know that the academy is based on a system of social discrimination."
"Of course," said Marlon casually. "All three of us have read that thing from back to front. But just as a brief refresher, you know, how about you remind me about all of that?"
William smirked. "Of course. The best students will be entitled to more privileges, more income, better education… everything, really, if they get better grades. It's a cutthroat competition."
Alexandre nodded. "Yes, I'm aware of all that. But the classes surely won't function exactly like the exam. How does teaming up help us overcome the system together better than we could on our own? As you just said, it's a competition."
William's face lit up in triumph. "The classes won't be like the exams, you say? Well, that's where I have a little more information than you, my friend! According to my sources, each trimester, the teachers will indeed give us a practical exam. We'll receive points according to our results. I propose that, in each of these exams, we team up to help each other maximize these points."
Alexandre considered this. William's offer was quite interesting! Having allies was an offer that it would be stupid to refuse, let alone the fact that he liked these two men. Even with raw power, Alexandre knew that having allies in such a competitive environment would be necessary to long-term success.
Marlon cut into Alexandre's thoughts. "Hmm, that sounds interesting. But considering what a cunning snake you proved yourself to be in those exams, how do we know you won't shoot us in the back at the first opportunity?"
William seemed legitimately confused. "How do you mean?"
Marlon crossed his arms. "I've read the academy rules. Only the top 500 students are guaranteed to stay at the academy at the end of the year. Unlike Alexandre and me, your strength and toughness is pretty bad. Yeah, you can make up for it with your brains… but that sounds like you being the boss and us being your goons, right?" He stepped forward and poked William in the chest. "In short, what do we get out of this arrangement?"
William's face was stricken. He hadn't realized this was how Marlon viewed him. "Well… I, uh…"
Marlon shrugged and turned to walk away.
"Wait!" a sharp crack of energy accompanied William's voice through the air.
Marlon turned in surprise, his eyes wide.
Alexandre laughed. "You mean to tell me that you didn't scan him already, Marlon? You should've seen this coming…"
People on the beach were moving away in fear or irritation, because it certainly seemed like something was about to happen. The hairs on everyone's necks stood on end and the very air seemed to become heavy.
Sparks of electricity were running down William's arms… and then coalesced into a ball of electricity in his palm, which he pointed at Marlon. Before the man could react, a bolt of blue lightning speared out from William's hand, grazed the edge of his ear, and careened into a tree not far behind him.
A bolt of blue lightning shot out towards Marlon, then struck his ear and went on to embed itself in a tree further on.