The Military Academy was built in an old-fashioned style. The building was constructed a year after the havoc that befell Planet Earth. The Gaia Core users were just getting the hang of their powers, and the Originals helped build this institution to aid the human race.
Over the years, the Military Academy has undergone some changes, and now the single building has become three large buildings with the same style. The first building was meant for the first-year students, while the last building was for the second-year students.
The building in the center was the grandest, and that's where the Sergeants and the Head General were positioned. The staff room and some of the classes were also located in the second building.
The Military Academy has three main halls, distributed across these three buildings, and now the first-year students were summoned to gather at the second hall, which was located in the second building.
The hall was filled with the majority of the first-year students, and many were still filing in. The students were worried and puzzled. They all wondered why they had been summoned to the second hall. It wasn't the first time they'd been summoned, but it was the first time they were gathering in this hall. Whatever it was, it had to be something important.
"I don't have any—" One of the students paused as soon as his eyes met the figure standing on the raised platform at the other end of the room. He quickly gulped, forcing the rest of the words back down, and walked with his head lowered as all eyes were on him.
'I never knew Sergeant Karitha would personally be here,' he thought to himself, chastising himself for the stunt he just pulled. It was then he realized the entire place was as silent as a graveyard, despite being filled with students.
But this wasn't true. It would take more than five hundred people to fill the hall, and the first-year students were approximately 300. The hall was only half-filled, but still, it was a miracle that no one was causing a commotion.
Sergeant Karitha stood on the raised platform with two other men. She was at the left end, while the man in the middle was someone familiar to the students. The individual at the right end, however, was a complete stranger. The man in the middle was wearing the same military uniform as Sergeant Karitha, with his name inscribed on his breast pocket.
He was about to speak when he heard the tapping sound of fast-approaching footsteps. The door creaked open, and all the students' attention turned toward it. The first thing they saw was a brown old stick striking the floor.
The moment the students saw this stick, they all knew who it was, and murmurs started rising among them as the figure finally walked in, using his stick to shut the door behind him.
He had no idea about the attention he was receiving, as he couldn't see. He started navigating his way forward but soon stopped when he felt a presence before him.
"You're late as usual," Bred muttered, loud enough for him to hear.
"Hope I won't get punished for that?" Larry replied, to which Bred had no answer. His presence had turned the once silent hall into a murmuring plaza, and he knew it wouldn't sit well with those at the top.
"Good day, everyone. I'm Edric, the General in charge of the second-year students at the Military Academy." The man in the middle made his presence known as his voice echoed across the hall. The students were silent now, but Sergeant Karitha could see their puzzled faces. They had a lot of questions, but they knew better than to interrupt a General in the middle of his speech.
But Larry couldn't help but ask himself the same question running through everyone's mind: 'Just what in the world is a second-year General doing in a gathering of the first years?'
"You all must be wondering why I'm here, isn't that so?"
Although General Edric had thrown out a question, he didn't expect an answer. Still, some students couldn't help but nod in response.
"The Military has been out exploring different parts of the Earth, searching for treasures that will aid us in this war against the Meteor Beasts. We are all aware of our current situation, and as the days pass, the beasts grow stronger."
"These beasts were once humans like us. Among them were our relatives, our loved ones, even our friends. That's why you all need to strive harder so we can fight and protect our motherland. All hail the motherland." General Edric raised his fist into the air. This small act ignited something in the students, and they quickly followed suit.
"All hail the motherland!"
Their voices threatened to tear the walls of Larry's ears as he gritted his teeth, gripping his stick tightly.
"What if I told you that a way has been found? A way to revert the Meteor Beasts back to humans without harming them. The Originals have begun working on this project, and it has been a huge success for humanity. The project was supposed to be a secret, but with the way things are going, I'm afraid there's no more secret to hide."
"To complete this project, certain items are urgently needed, and a lot of forces have been sent to specific areas to retrieve them. Most of the second-years have already been dispatched, but recently, a signal was picked up in California. A rare item was discovered in one of the cities in Los Angeles, and we need a team of 15 to recover it. The available second-years number only six, so we have no choice but to involve the first-years. Or… aren't you ready to save humanity?"
The students' faces said it all. It was a mixture of hope and fear. At first, they were elated at the thought of a solution that could bring back their loved ones, but the risk involved terrified them. Most of them had seen the outside world, and no one in their right mind would want to go out there willingly. Now the Military was offering them the chance to do just that for the sake of humanity.
Silence enveloped the room as the students pondered the revelation General Edric had just delivered. It had been barely two months since their training started, unlike the second-years, who had been here for over a year. As much as they wanted to help, they knew the risks were high. But none of this seemed to bother General Edric. If it weren't for Sergeant Karitha's persistence, he wouldn't have explained the situation in such detail.
"I need a total of nine students. Three Aqua Core users—one of them must be a healer." General Edric stated, his voice as deep as ever.
In less than a minute, a boy came forward, followed shortly by two girls, causing a smirk to appear on General Edric's face. 'This will be easier than I thought,' he mused.
"Two Gaia Core users," he continued. Two boys came forward and stood behind the trio who had already stepped out. The two boys were Level 3, as were the two girls, but the boy in the middle—the first to come forward—was only Level 2. This didn't go unnoticed by General Edric, but he admired the boy's bravery.
"Next, two Aero Core users."
This time, a girl and a boy stepped forward. The girl was Level 4, while the boy was Level 3.
"And finally, two Infernal Core users," General Edric said, clapping his hands slowly with a face full of smiles. But what happened next shocked him.
Instead of two people, only one person came forward to join the others. It was a girl at Level 4. Sergeant Karitha quickly whispered something into General Edric's ear, and his countenance changed immediately. He turned to the other man and whispered to him as well. The students were confused, but some had a good idea of what was going on.
There were few Infernal Core users among the first-years, with most being Gaia Core users. One of the prominent Infernal users was Peter, who was nowhere to be found. Many of the students started glancing toward Larry's direction, and Bred shifted away, fearing he'd be seen as an accomplice to Larry, who was growing increasingly nervous.
"Having only one Infernal Core user means we'll need one more person to join this retrieval mission." Larry could sense the difference in the voice. It had changed from deep and confident to soft yet alarmingly firm.
General Edric had stepped back, and the man at the right corner had stepped forward.
"I'm Brandon, and I'll be leading the team on this expedition. We'll be needing a replacement for Peter Cruz, and that replacement will be…." He paused, scanning the room with his eyes until he suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on a particular direction. Reflected in his brown irises was a black blindfold and blonde spiky hair.
"Larry Quinn. You're Peter's replacement," Brandon announced, a smirk curling on his lips.