Inside the Hyperion Empire military department, there are established ranks present.
To be precise, an age-old hierarchy consisting of eight distinct ranks has endured for millennia, Aspirant, Soldier, First Class Mech-Soldier, Second Class Mech-Soldier, Mech-Gladiator, Space Tyrant, Elite Ruination, and ultimately, the pinnacle—High Paucity Ruination.
Each has different procedures to achieve it.
Ms. Joselyn is one of the prestige instructors at the Orion Institute of Mech Soldiers.
She's the youngest instructor at 28 years old, and as a First Class Mech-Soldier herself, she has undergone extensive body augmentation, endowing her with an exceptionally enhanced physique. Additionally, she also possesses the Agile Master Type-1 as her chosen power armor.
Equipped with more than 5 years of battle experience on the frontlines, she's a role model.
Amongst the aspirants, she was also known as the Dancing Serpentess.
It was due to a leaked video of her fighting that spread around the Orion Institute of Mech Soldiers that somehow reached the aspiring Aspirants, depicting her fast striking battle style, and thus she quickly became the favorite instructor around.
Being in the presence of such a figure would make any aspirants nervous.
Alex was no exception.
Knowing that this is an interrogation, he keeps his expression calm and composed.
A sign of distress would only make the situation worse.
Since I passed out, Casper and Natalia must've been interrogated first. I could guarantee that Casper didn't sell me out but Natalia on the other hand... I don't know about her. Alex couldn't assume Natalia to keep his deeds a secret as the two had an altercation before.
It's either Natalia already expressed everything or she decided to keep it a secret.
A fifty-fifty chance, but if he's wrong, he's going to be in trouble.
Ms. Joselyn wouldn't take a lying aspirant lightly, he might get disqualified or even worse, held captive as a criminal. I need to play it safe. Even for a brief second when I got hit by that beast from the air, she looked worried, so she must be a good person deep down.
Deciding to play it safe, Alex fixed his posture under Ms. Joselyn's gaze.
"I was bullied by aspirant Malik and the others, I'm sure ma'am is aware. I have some ideas to return the favor, but before I could do it, we were attacked by a Type-2 Beast possessing Bio-Mimicry ability, and that took the squad by surprise" Alex replied, playing the reality with his sugar-coated words.
Upon hearing this, a peculiar look appeared on Ms. Joselyn's face.
But it was clear that she was still observing him intently, searching for cues she could pick.
Finding that there's nothing of the sort, Ms. Joselyn leaned back on her chair, "And...? What happened to the Type-2 Beast next?" She asked again, squinting her eyes in skepticism, pushing her interrogation further.
Alex's expression twitched when he heard this, it's another bad spot to be in.
I tried to avoid elaborating on the Type-2 Beast's death. Casper and Natalia might provide differing answers, and I can't ascertain whether they concealed the truth or revealed that I was responsible for doing that. He kept his appearance composed, but his mind was in chaos in search of the perfect answer.
Preferably, he wanted to avoid taking a gamble and keep his answer vague.
But it seems he couldn't do that right now.
Judging from Ms. Joselyn's stringent expression, he would need to give her a clear answer.
Alex flashed a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head as he finally responded, "Well, it was a stroke of luck that happened after, ma'am. I stumbled upon Soundwave Gloves in the wreckage of a battleship, and with those, Aspirant Casper and I managed to bring it down"
Someone like him beating a Type-2 Beast definitely would raise questions.
Even some Mech-Soldiers without their equipment would find it hard to kill a Type-2 Beast, much less someone an aspirant like him. However, the Soundwave Gloves provided a perfect cover that made it plausible for him to do that.
Upon hearing this, Ms. Joselyn pondered, remaining silent for another minute.
Deducing that Alex doesn't seem to be lying, she eventually sighed and swiped her finger on the table interface, opening the intercom. "Aspirant Xander, keep your attention while talking with an instructor. If you do this in the academy, you'll be in trouble"
"Y- Yes, ma'am!" Alex quickly corrected his posture and stood straight.
However, he paused for a brief second realizing the meaning behind Ms. Joselyn's words.
Does that mean I'm accepted into the academy? Alex pondered. Surely, it was a slip of the tongue that indicated that he would be accepted. But then again, he was confident in himself that he would get accepted into the academy.
Averting her attention away from him, she then talked to the intercom, "You may come in"
Curious as to who she was talking to, the door behind him was opened again before a familiar figure walked in. It was Natalia, and she stood beside him with an arched back in respect for Ms. Joselyn.
"Aspirant Natalia, reporting in, ma'am" Natalia saluted like a true aspirant.
Despite not knowing why Natalia was brought in with him here, Alex already has a guess in his mind, and he is quite certain that his guess would hold true. It's not a coincidence the two of them were brought here.
Ms. Joselyn must've brought them together to tell them something.
Nodding his head slightly in affirmation, Ms. Joselyn fixed her gaze on the two aspirants.
"I'm assuming the two of you are aware that your feats are commendable, and the instructors have reached a conclusion. Surviving a beast horde is already unheard of in the academy's history, but the two of you also managed to outmaneuver a Type-4 Beast with a basic spacecraft" She eventually opened her mouth, her voice loud enough and clear.
Just as Alex expected, the two are going to be accepted to the academy first.
Considering that the Trial has gone completely wrong, and yet the two of them survived, it would be weird if the instructors didn't come to this conclusion. Even back in Adudal Principality, an aspirant of this caliber would've caught the attention of powerful sects.
Assuming a relaxed posture, Ms. Joselyn then tapped on the table interface again.
"Both of you wouldn't need to attend the Trial again, I will personally bring the two of you to the academy. Go to your personal compounds, and prepare for departure. We will depart in two hours" Ms. Joselyn instructed with an irrefutable tone.
Upon hearing this, Natalia and Alex then respond in a union, "Yes, ma'am!"
A moment later.
Now that they know they had passed the Trial, Alex and Natalia left with mixed feelings.
It was worth it to be abandoned but also extremely dangerous.
However, since it's already in the past, they were more thankful that they were abandoned.
Standing in front of the room's door, both of them stole a glance at each other, remembering the altercation between them near the spacecraft. Let's just act like nothing happened, it's troublesome now that she saw me like that. Best for me to keep my distance.
Deciding on what to do, Alex turned to the side and walked away without saying anything.
Just as he strode away, Natalia called him from the back.
"Wait!"
"Hmm...?"
Glancing over his shoulder, Alex raised an eyebrow as he had nothing to say to her.
Meanwhile, Natalia appeared poised to convey something to him.
However, before she could muster the words, an approaching throng of people swiftly diverted Alex's attention away from her, prompting him to pivot and face forward once more.
Coming to his direction is a group of guys, orbiting around a woman.
Judging from the way the scene before him looks, Alex is quite sure that this beautiful blue-haired woman is the cold primadonna amongst the aspirants, donning a chilly expression that somehow still could pull the hearts of the guys and locking their attention to her sole form.
But this made Alex glance back at Natalia once more who seemed to recognize the woman.
Is it her friend that she's so sensitive about? No matter, it's not my business.
Alex shrugs his shoulders, minding his own business, and ignores the crowd, wanting to reach his compound again and preferably meet Casper along the way to tell him that he won't be with him when the Trial is resumed.
Putting both hands behind his head, he leisurely walked past the crowd.
Man, venting on those two is quite effective. I feel a lot better now. Alex pondered in delight.
However, the thought of venting his anger through killing greatly troubled his mind. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I need to somehow keep this under control. Sigh... If only I hadn't done that during the last mission, then I wouldn't have this problem at all.
Remembering the incident before the attack on Planet Molla, his body shivers strongly.
It was a time when he learned another side of him that he didn't know.
While he was dwelling inside his mind, he suddenly felt something grabbing his hand.
Glancing downward, he discovered a dainty, feminine hand tightly clasping his own, a sight that prompted an involuntary furrow of his brows. At that moment, he fervently hoped that the individual who had seized his hand was not whom he suspected.
Please, don't make it her. I don't want any attention. Alex hoped inwardly.
Alex looked back before his face dropped when he saw that it was the blue-haired woman, and instead of her chilly look, she had a faint smile on her face, "I'm sorry for stopping you. But are you perhaps Xander, the one who was with Natalia?"
Upon hearing this, Alex's face twitched, the other guys were already looking at him sharply.
He hasn't even said anything yet and he already got this treatment.
"If so, I want to thank you for helping her survive. Please, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me" the blue-haired woman said with her velvet voice. She exuded a stark warm air toward Alex, making the other guys' faces worsen. "Natalia's friend is also my friend"
Not wanting this attention, Alex cut the conversation short, "You don't need to thank me"
"Apologies, but I must attend to an urgent matter," he explained, offering a slight bow before briskly departing, determined to avoid this attention-grabbing blue-haired woman who seemed intent on ensnaring him in her web of trouble.
Seeing Alex's back going further away, the blue-haired woman feels dejected.
Despite having more to say, she was left stranded, "Ah... I didn't even get to tell my name"
However, her followers already come to her rescue.
"What a lousy jerk. How can he leave just like that when you haven't finished speaking yet"
"Yeah! He's acting arrogant just because he survived a beast horde"
Just then, the blue-haired woman intervened and gazed at the crowd of guys, "Well, if that's the case, can you also survive a beast horde and escape the attention of a Type-4 Beast like him?"
"Err... O- Of course I can" A guy said forcefully, knowing full well that he couldn't.