Almost a week had passed since Grey arrived here, most of which was spent checking out more courses. It turned out there were a ton of courses he could learn. Of course, there was too little time.
Currently, He sat across from Ember on one of the institute's trams.
Speaking of her, she had mostly followed the same routine as him, although she had been indulging a little too much in the cafeteria lately. Her discovery that it was possible to get seconds was akin to giving a tiger wings.
"It's a good thing, though. At least she doesn't look emaciated anymore," Grey thought to himself.
He looked at Ember. Honestly, she was quite beautiful without the emaciation bothering her. Her rosy skin now accentuated her amber gem-like eyes. Her gaze was fixed on the window as the dawn's rays illuminated her slightly brown hair.
"What?" Ember suddenly looked at him.
"N-Nothing," Grey stuttered, caught red-handed.
Ember squinted her eyes a bit. "You know, You have an odd habit of staring blankly at people."
"Ha-ha, is that so? I never really noticed that," Grey scratched his hood awkwardly.
"You would have if you lived in the slums. Although, you'd probably already be dead by then," she sipped the coffee in front of her, giving a satisfied smile afterward.
She added, "After all, people don't like being stared at."
"Sure... thanks for the tip." There was no reply.
Sighing, Grey looked outside. This was their current relationship. They had certainly grown closer after spending a week together. At least now she talked to him even when the topic wasn't important.
' At least it's an improvement.'
He shrugged before finally focusing on the environment.
His eyes landed on the flame-like building in the center of the institute complex. He was anxious to see how it looked on the inside. After all, that was where they were heading today.
Apparently, the institute held an orientation at the beginning of each month to welcome new cadets. This included any and all cadets who couldn't attend the previous ones.
According to the previous sets, even the principal of the institute, Ranker Ceaser, one of the few Rank A beings on the planet, would be making an appearance too.
"It is rumored that beings at that rank could easily wipe out cities with their powers alone. Heh, I wonder what he looks like," Grey pondered, a look of anticipation crossing his face. He certainly wasn't the only one excited, as chatter could be heard within the tram cabin.
He had never seen so many people inside a tram since he arrived. But that was expected, as they had received a lot of newcomers in the past few days. More people got cursed the closer it was to the Shiver. This was most likely one of the main reasons for the high casualty rate when the cursed first dived into the Limbo.
"Have you heard the rumors?" Ember asked, her gaze elsewhere as she stared at a girl sitting alone in the back seat of the tram.
"Which one?" Grey was interested. He was usually the one starting conversations between them.
"About the girl from the Big Two."
"Oh, that one," Grey scratched his mask. Among the students who had arrived this past week was a descendant of a direct retainer of one of the Big Two.
Technically, the Big Three. Within the Bastion, three organizations shared control over the entire megacity. They were the Government, Titan Corp, and the Inkwell Family. These three competed over and helped maintain various domains in the city. The Inkwell Clan was led by families that acted similarly to clans of the former years. For Titan Corp, they were led by stakeholders and the CEO of the company, and lastly, the government was led by the Prime Minister and his council. Even if a person lived under a rock, there would be no way they hadn't heard of the Big Three.
"Mikasa Rowling of the Inkwell Clan," Grey recalled her name. She had arrived around three days ago, wiping the floor with the former champions of the fighting course. The funny thing was, he wasn't even sure if she had used her powers. She never talked to cadets, only giving death stares to anyone who tried to approach her. From that, it was quite evident why nobody wanted to join her in the spacious back seats, despite the tram almost being full.
Before Grey knew it, he found himself staring into her black inky eyes. They flashed with killing intent, knocking Grey out of his stupor. Shivering, he shifted his gaze to the window, acting like he hadn't seen anything.
"You did it again, didn't you? Just keep it up, and you might actually get killed," Ember facepalmed.
"I-I am aware," Grey stuttered before sighing. People seemed to have a habit of provoking him while he was staring at them.
'Was it that obvious?'
Grey sipped his coffee, sighed again, and finally kept quiet.
________________
A darkened sky rumbled over the clandestine Institute, bringing with it the nostalgic smell of rain. Autumn had already arrived in its full glory. There were barely any greens apart from grasses left in the environment as trees slowly shed more of their leaves. One such leaf gently landed on the hood of a stretching boy.
Frowning, Grey threw the leaf away before joining Ember, who was waiting for him a little further ahead.
The Institute of Rankers was a city-sized complex, so even when using trams, some journeys could take about 30 minutes to complete. Although Grey came from the outskirts, he had to admit that it was quite terrible. Well, he felt it was all worth it as he gawked at the sight in front of him. The fire-like administrative block stood before him, spreading a strange surge of warmth through his body.
He had finally arrived.