Micheal stared at the system notification that had just popped up. Curious about his new stats, he opened the system tab:
Micheal muttered to himself, "Well, I'm not gonna need these Rampage points," and closed the system tab. He headed back to the dorm, waiting for Blake and Cole.
Later that day, Danielle asked, "What happened to you guys? You were beaten up, right?" Blake replied with a smile, "We got into a fight, but we won," while Cole stared out the healing bay windows. After Danielle healed them, they left the healing bay.
The next day, Cole woke Micheal urgently. "Micheal, wake up! Blake was taken away!" Micheal sprang to his feet. "Where did they take him? And what happened to your face?" He couldn't bear the thought of his friends getting hurt.
Cole explained, "It was the second-year students—high grades," his head hanging in disappointment. But Micheal wasn't about to let that stop them. "We're going to save him," Micheal declared, gripping Cole's shoulder. They needed a plan.
Outside their dorm room, Micheal and Cole set off to find Blake. They arrived at the second-years' building, knowing they'd likely taken Blake there. Micheal stood in front of the entrance and shouted, "Blake!" A second-year student emerged, eyeing them warily.
Micheal recognized him—the same one who had beaten Jack and his crew back at the dorm. "Come with your crazy leader," Micheal challenged, pointing at the boy. "I'll take you all on." The boy retorted, "You're crazy. I'll cure you today, you low-grade fools."
Unseen by the boy, Micheal formed a dagger using his blood manipulation ability. With lightning speed, he leaped toward his opponent. The boy dodged the first strike, but the dagger slashed his hands. Micheal closed the gap, deactivating the dagger, and delivered a powerful kick that sent the boy crashing into a wall.
The battle had begun, and Micheal was determined to rescue Blake—even if it meant facing the entire second-year cohort. Suddenly, a boy flew out of the second-floor window as if he'd been thrown. Blake followed, landing beside him. Without hesitation, Blake lunged at the boy, aiming a punch.
The boy who'd been thrown—evidently the second-year leader—clapped his hands mockingly as he stood up from the ground, dodging Blake's punch. "Well, well! I thought you first-years were all weak. This is delightful." Three other boys joined him, and the leader introduced himself as Brian.
"Brian here will let you go for today. We've got class, and you guys haven't even had breakfast. Another time, I won't let you off easily. Bye!" Brian strolled away, grinning broadly.
Micheal seethed, wanting to shout Brian's name and start a brawl, but Blake held him back. "That guy's a maniac. You won't land a blow on him, no matter how strong or fast you are. Let's not go against the second-years... yet." Blake tugged Cole and Micheal toward the first-year building.
As they reached the cafeteria for breakfast, they found it deserted. All the students had dashed off to their classes. The PA system chimed in. "Last person to get inside class will regret it." Micheal glared at the speaker. "I hate this darned robot. If I get my hands on it, I'll break it into pieces."
His voice echoed down the hallway. Cole checked his wristwatch. "Let's head to class. Just another lecture." Micheal followed Blake and Cole as they arrived at class and sat at the back. A few seconds later, someone entered.
The person who entered didn't resemble anyone they'd seen before. Four more people followed him, including Kevin—the one from their team match. They all wore long white jackets with fur around the collar and a badge on the arm of the jacket, displaying "Elite."
"Hello, students. We are the White Corps team, the most elite group in the academy. We're fourth-year students," the boy at the front announced, seeming to be the leader.
Micheal, Blake, and Cole exchanged stunned glances. This was their first encounter with the fourth years, and they'd never even heard of an elite team in the school.
"We were sent here by the academy Council to inform you about the past details of the War and why you are here. Most of you still don't know anything about the war. My name is Daniel," he said with a smile.
Daniel had a chiseled face with sharp jawline, blue eyes, a straight nose, and short dark brown hair.
Micheal was stunned; he couldn't imagine that students like this existed in the school. As he stared at them, he became so engrossed that he started drooling. The whole class turned dark again, like back at the virtual class. A screen appeared, showing people running and screaming as aliens walked and destroyed everything.
The defense military threw explosives and fired guns at them, but it seemed to have no effect. Their bodies were hideous, and they appeared intelligent as they fired back at the military. Flying beasts emerged from the ground, tearing people into pieces.
Tears dropped from Micheal's eyes as he watched the video displayed on the screen. He wasn't sad; instead, it was tears of joy. He had finally seen the aliens for the first time, and he felt an overwhelming desire to kill them all. Cole couldn't bear to watch and turned away from the screen.
"These are the Makisis. They are the reason you are here. Your goal and mission is to defeat them. This was the first war. We don't know when they will attack again, but we must be prepared." The class lights came back on, and the screen retracted into the ceiling.
Micheal turned to look at Cole and Blake, who were smiling at the White Corps standing at the front. Micheal thought they would be sad after what they saw, but he grinned.