The principal flipped her fiery red hair and looked at the document in front of her. As much as she would want to throw this paper in the garbage, the hologram signature of the Owner of the school prevented her from doing anything rash. Anything he said, she had to follow. Even if it meant that she had to share her power in the school with some unknown person.
KNOCK KNOCK
The door opened even if the principal didn't answer the knock. She already hated him. But as soon as the guy walked in, she put on her game face and gave him the fakest smile she could muster. Like it or not, this guy would be working directly under her as the new Vice Principal.
"Welcome, sir. Please take a seat."
The guy looked as stiff as a board. He had a buzz cut and a large scar on his face going from the top of his left eyebrow to the right tip of his lips. And if that wasn't enough of a distinction to tell her that this man was a military man, he wore all of his medals in his veteran uniform. This man meant business, and he didn't even give her the courtesy of a smile. He knew he didn't have to. If he was someone that the owner hired personally as the vice principal, then he must have had serious connections.
"Greetings. I am Captain Emeric Umbra, formerly of the 67th division of the Terra Army. I have come to report to you about my deployment as the new Vice Principal of this school effective immediately."
Captain Emeric didn't mince his words. He was straightforward in his greeting and didn't waste any words. Usually, people would start small talk and develop a rapport with the principal. After all, they would be working together in the school, so it would be beneficial for both of them to know each other. The captain didn't feel it was necessary.
The fiery red hair of the principal slowly wiggled and some strands of her hair floated to the top like snakes hissing at an enemy. She was fuming, but her face was maintained with a cordial smile. If he didn't have the owner's stamp of approval, she would have kicked him out of this school right this second just for pissing her off. She killed people for less.
"Welcome, Captain Emeric. I hope you like the new job the owner got for you. Is he your uncle or something?" she said, dissing him.
"A job is a job whether I like it or not." The captain didn't even care that the principal was telling him that he only got this job through nepotism.
"Ehem…Can I ask why such an esteemed person decided to become Vice Principal at such a normal high school? Couldn't you have become an instructor in the army?" she asked.
"There is nothing more noble than teaching the future soldiers of our country," he answered plainly. "But to answer your question, I believe that the students of today are out of shape. They are unprepared for the reality of the world once they graduate. It is my duty as a captain to make sure that they are fully trained to solve any problem that comes to them, no matter how difficult it is."
The principal expected this kind of answer from a military man. As expected of meat-brains like them, they only think of Power as the superior route. They think that they can brute force their way into getting what they want. However, they forget that they could only function as an army because of the Money that this country generated. He was the kind of man that didn't understand route dynamics.
Just like in the game, Money beats Power.
Power always needed armor, artillery, support, and most importantly: cultivation resources. As they got stronger in the Power route, the more they needed Money to fund their progress. That was why Power always lost to Money, because of how dependent they were on it.
But of course, there were always people who thought that Power could always beat Money through brute force. In simpler terms, they steal it. That was essentially what the army did in their conquests of other lands and other countries. They use their power to conquer cities and land to plunder them of their resources.
Captain Emeric Umbra seemed like that type of guy, the principal thought. There was nothing wrong with that, but she always thought that there were better ways to do it than killing millions of people for Money.
"If you want our students to–as you say–shape up, then how do you propose we go about it?"
The Captain was ready for this question and immediately went into his plan. "First of all, all of our students are now required to participate in a weekly Physicality Test."
"Weekly?!" the principal asked. "Usually, we only do it once a year or twice at most. That seems excessive."
"Excessive, it is not. This is only preparation for the students because, in one month, all the senior students are required to go on an excursion outside of the city and travel to the wildlands."
"Excuse me?! Do you want our senior students to have a field trip in the very dangerous wildlands?! Pardon my language, but are you freaking crazy?"
The captain simply shook his head and said, "I am not crazy. I am a Captain. Sometimes, you need to send out your troops to enemy territory for them to learn properly."
"But what you're saying is putting our mortal students into danger that they cannot protect themselves from. They have no training about dealing with Fiends and Monsters."
"Exactly," the Captain interjected. "If they learn about how to fight Fiends early on, then they will be better equipped when they graduate from high school and into a college"
"But half of our senior students don't even have a Teqx yet. They haven't found a company to sponsor them with an internship. Are you telling me that they will also have to fight against Fiends that can crush them with one claw? Do you want students dying on our watch?"
Despite the valid argument against his plan, the Captain wasn't deterred. "Those that do not have a Teqx yet can just watch on the sidelines. We will have teachers and professional Dreamers watching over them. They will be safe from harm."
"So you say, but things can always go wrong. Things will always go wrong. Can't they just stay in the classroom and learn theoretical knowledge on how to fight against Fiends?"
To that point, the Captain vehemently disagreed. "No. If they simply learn from textbooks, then they will be no better than thousands and millions of students out there who only have theory but don't know the application. If these students witness and learn from a real-life fight with a Fiend, they will be much more attractive to companies and groups. They will easily get an internship and finally get their Teqx."
The Principal shook her head and held it down. She was having a headache from all the troublesome things that her new Vice Principal suggested. Even if his argument seemed logical, it was standing on very shaky foundations. If one student died at their school because of this, it could cause the collapse of the very school itself. The benefits do not outweigh the costs.
"I don't think that the owner will approve of this plan. It's way too risky–"
"I have already gotten permission from the owner that we can implement this plan as early as possible."
"You…he…sigh." The principal knew that she couldn't argue with that. If the owner said that it was okay, then she had no choice but to agree with it as well.
Sometimes, she hated how Power always bowed down to Money. If it weren't for her needs and the tremendous amount of money she needed for her cultivation, she would have quit being a principal a long time ago. But, a paycheck was a paycheck.
"Whatever…since this is your plan, I expect you to take care of it." the principal said as she pushed the Captain out of her office. She was washing her hands of this whole thing in case things went south.
And now that the Captain was alone in the hallway, he walked over to a discreet corner where no one could see him.
"Infiltration complete," he whispered to the corner.
And all of a sudden, shadows emerged from his feet and grew out of the floor into the shape of other humans. Their shadow powers allowed them to become invisible from people and hide in the shadows.
"Congratulations, Leader E. Our shadow organization has completed the survey of this school and has planted operatives to be our eyes and ears," one of the shadow people said.
"Are you sure the power is here, leader?" one of the shadows asked.
Captain Emeric Umbra nodded his head. "Yes. Usually, the power hides itself even better than us. But yesterday, it had a moment of weakness. I suddenly felt a surge of power that was indicative of our target. It is here, no doubt."
"Is that why you wanted students to have physicality tests every week?" the shadows asked.
"Yes," the Captain answered. It was only a matter of time until the little princess showed herself.