When Lyra headed to school that day, she made sure to fit in perfectly. She traded her usual jacket and work pants for a loose blue t-shirt and white capris.
As she checked herself out in the mirror, she felt confident that she looked the part.
Sorren walked in carrying her breakfast and almost dropped the tray. "Why are you dressed like that?"
"High school students wear outfits like this. I think I nailed it." She adjusted her ponytail, fully aware she wasn't a real student but not embarrassed about trying to blend in.
Sorren set the tray down, unsure of what to say.
The young woman before him stood just 170 centimeters tall, which was quite short for women in the Alliance, where the average height was over 180 centimeters.
Her delicate features and large eyes made her look even younger; with a more lively look, she could easily pass for a middle schooler.
"You look pretty convincing," he said thoughtfully, then hesitantly added, "Maybe you could tone down the intimidating vibe a bit? Try smiling more brightly, be more lively."
Lyra was good at taking advice. She looked in the mirror, curved her cat-like eyes to show off her lower eyelids and apple cheeks, then she flashed a wide grin. It was natural and deceptively innocent.
Even Sorren, who knew her true nature, was momentarily dazzled. But she quickly reverted to her usual serious expression. "How about now?"
Sorren slowly set down the tray, asking, "How old are you, exactly?"
The question slipped out in his shock, and he immediately worried he might have offended her. After all, most women didn't like being asked their age.
"If I remember correctly, I'm the same age as Cohen," she replied.
'Twenty-six!' Sorren stared at her, speechless. That meant when he first met her, she was only fifteen, and yet she hadn't seemed to age much at all.
He didn't dare ask why, but she continued, looking at him through the mirror. "But my official records now list me as nineteen," she said casually. "According to the record, I have a genetic condition and spent seven years in a cryo chamber for treatment. It's not a secret."
Sorren blinked and quickly nodded, indicating he knew how to respond if anyone asked about her age.
When Lyra arrived at Voidstar's only official high school, she was personally greeted by the principal. This was on Snakehead's orders.
Although the authorities didn't directly govern Voidstar, it still fell under the Alliance's jurisdiction, and regular folks lived there.
The area had basic education, healthcare, transportation, and other essential services. Snakehead appointed all the administrative staff of the school.
The school had a fresh vibe, a stark contrast to the rest of Voidstar. The buildings were clean, free from graffiti and damage, with shiny, intact glass.
The ground tiles were uniformly flat, and green trees lined the premises, creating a peaceful and tidy atmosphere.
The fresh air even soothed Lyra's usually scratchy throat.
Inside the principal's office, the elderly man with graying hair nervously wiped his sweat and smiled obsequiously. "Miss Shedd, which class would you like to join? I'll arrange the registration right away."
After sitting down, Lyra took a sip of coffee. "Regarding my enrollment reason, I hope the principal will register it exactly as I say..."
The entrance exam for Nagano Military Academy took place in the local spring, which was September in the Alliance calendar. Besides the compulsory Alliance high school subjects, the exam included superpower, mecha, psychokinesis, and military theory and applications.
This was only the written part; candidates then had to go to Nagano for a second round of tests, including superpower, psychokinesis, and physical fitness exams.
Between the written and practical exams, a background check was conducted, eliminating more candidates.
Given that Nagano was the Whyte family's base, its acceptance rate was only slightly higher than EPMA, at a mere 0.01%.
Just copying the exam content took two hours, so Lyra wandered the school grounds with Sorren out of boredom.
"Can you handle all that knowledge?" Sorren asked. Back in his school days, memorizing a poem took him ten days, and that was only if the teacher could beat him up; otherwise, he'd just beat up the teacher and skip class.
"It should be enough, assuming they haven't changed much since I studied it eleven years ago."
Their idle chatter was interrupted by the ringing of the bell signaling the end of class.
"Are you the infamous Sis Marv?"
The young man standing before them had a look of extreme hatred and disdain, causing Lyra to raise an eyebrow slightly.
...
The young man had a rare vitality for a Voidstar resident.
Wearing a clean green t-shirt and black pants, he was lean but held his chin high, like a green shoot striving to grow amidst ruins, brimming with spirit and completely out of place in this city.
"How does someone like you deserve to be in school?" he sneered, looking at Lyra as if she were a heinous villain.
Sorren, essentially a bully who preyed on the weak, clenched his fist and moved closer to the young man, smirking coldly. "Hey, kid, you've got a foul mouth. Let me teach you some manners!"
The young man showed a flicker of panic but stubbornly glared at them. "This is a school. What do you think you're doing?"
BANG!
Sorren's fist answered him.
Lyra watched indifferently. 'Provoking someone you know is dangerous and then getting beaten up? Seemed justifiable.'
The young man fell to the ground, humiliated, his eyes wide with disbelief that someone dared to act so brazenly in school.
"People rarely fight in this school, but do you know why?" Lyra said, not even turning fully towards him, just glancing sideways. "It's not because they respect school rules; it's because they fear Snakehead. But I don't fear him."
The school's serenity wasn't due to some latent goodness in its troublemakers but to their fear of the school's protector. In Voidstar, order was dictated by strength and interests.
Suddenly, a wave of psychokinesis, filled with malice, attacked her.
The young man's face lit up with triumph. His psychokinesis was the strongest in school; even a Level 4 Peculiar couldn't withstand it. And Lyra, she was just a sickly person.
The attack was strong enough that even Sorren felt dizzy for a moment.
"Hey, kid, you've got a death wish?" He quickly steadied himself and kicked the young man hard.
Sorren, almost at the threshold of Level 5, didn't hold back.
The young man flew a considerable distance, collapsing the greenery beside the road.
Faint green light shimmered as he struggled to rise. He spat blood, but he laughed defiantly at Lyra. "Sis Marv, you never expected to be attacked by me, did you?"
Lyra was momentarily at a loss for words.
"So, you're just a healer and still dare to act tough in front of me? Today, I won't give a damn about the school!" Sorren, infuriated, summoned a fireball, ready to charge, but Lyra held him back. "Don't kill him."
"Got it!"
What followed was a one-sided beating. The school bell rang, but none of the onlookers, teachers, or students, moved. The former had nuanced expressions, while the latter were mostly indignant.
Even though the young man was a healer, he couldn't stop the steady flow of blood.
Sorren lifted the young man by his shirt and delivered one final punch. Then he spat disdainfully and walking towards Lyra. "Not a single broken bone, boss. I held back."
Lyra saw through his concerns immediately. "Don't worry, Snakehead won't hold this against you."
She then approached the trembling young man. "I remember now. Two years ago, you brought your father to my clinic. He had ruptured internal organs and a broken leg."
The young man's expression shifted from fear to hatred.
Lyra continued, seemingly reminiscing, "You only had 200 astrocredits, not enough for my services. You begged, said you'd work at my clinic to pay off the debt. You cried so pathetically that I did repair his internal organs to save his life. All he needed afterward was an amputation..."
"Shut up! Don't you dare mention him!" Tears mixed with blood streamed from his eyes, and he looked as if he wanted to bite Lyra, "You could have saved him completely, but you let him lose his leg. If it wasn't for your false hope, he wouldn't have died!"
His accusation was bewildering to Lyra. From her perspective, saving his life when he couldn't pay was already an uncommon act of mercy.
Sorren, recalling the incident, couldn't help but laugh. "So, it's you! You must be the second most unique creature in Voidstar. Most people without money don't even approach Sis Marv, knowing full well we're not running a charity. But you were stubborn enough to insist on treatment!"
Sometimes, Lyra thought Sorren was her mouthpiece.
Sorren's words struck the young man hard, but he still argued, "But she's a doctor! How could she just watch a patient die over money?"
The sheer absurdity of the statement left Sorren at a loss for words.
While this was a simple truth to adults, the young man and most of the students around seemed genuinely outraged by the notion of a doctor refusing to save someone due to lack of funds. They felt a deep sense of sorrow over being born in such a harsh place.
Lyra sighed. No matter how much she tried to fit in, she wasn't a typical student. Their values were worlds apart.
Just as Sorren was seething with anger, the principal finally arrived, wiping sweat from his forehead and clearly anxious. He feared Sis Marv might kill someone and then hold him responsible.
"Class has started. Why aren't you all in your classrooms?" He shot a frustrated look at the young man, "Kline, you're preparing for the military academy exams. Why are you trying to get yourself killed?"
The young man, Kline, looked defiant yet defeated, caught between his principles and the harsh reality.
After all, Kline was his student, so the principal, despite his anxiety, decided to plead with Lyra. "Miss, you see..."
"Take him away. After all, I have to respect Snakehead's authority," Lyra replied nonchalantly.
Being berated was merely an annoyance to her, something she didn't particularly care about.
'My goodness, she's much easier to deal with than the rumors suggested!' Relieved, the principal smiled gratefully and signaled for the other teachers to quickly take Kline away.
The young man, still unconscious, never realized that his vaunted psychokinesis had failed to faze his adversary in the slightest.
"By the way, how did his father die?" Lyra asked, curious if there had been any other contributing factors to the man's death that she might have influenced.
The principal sighed, rubbing his balding head. "Well, his father refused the amputation and tried to gather money for you to operate. Unfortunately, his wounds got infected, and he died within a few days."
"Kline himself is a healer. His father shouldn't have died so quickly. But at that time, Kline was busy with exams. He probably feels guilty about it."
Lyra had guessed as much but had underestimated the young man's naivety.
After this little episode, Lyra lost interest in exploring the school. Wherever she went, students watched her with a mix of fear and curiosity, like she was some sort of dangerous beast.
Eventually, she ended up taking a nap in the principal's office. Once the data download was complete, she and Sorren left the school.