Morning came with violence.
Buzz—buzz—buzz—
The alarm screamed beside Ziro's head.
"Hmmm… already morning…" he mumbled, rolling over. "Five more minutes…"
A shadow slid silently into his room.
It loomed over the bed, leaned down, and whispered directly into his ear.
"Wakey wakey, my lord. If you don't get up now, you'll miss school."
Ziro groaned. "Ugh… I won't go today, Mom. I'm sick…"
The shadow's fist clenched.
"My lord," Jamal said coldly, "I am not your mother."
Ziro's eyes snapped open. "Then get out of my dream, servant bastard."
BANG!
Pain exploded in his head as Jamal smacked him awake.
"You think I'm getting paid to wake you gently?" Jamal barked. "Get down now or you'll be late on the first day!"
He stormed out, muttering to himself.
"Servant? Cheap lord of shit… Agh—my fist hurts these days…"
Ziro sat up, rubbing his head.
"…School again. What kind of bad luck is this?" he sighed. "Whoever said learning never ends deserves prison."
He dragged himself out of bed. "Seh. Let's just accept fate."
"Finally awake?" Riya said at the table. "Eat first. Ayzo will take us to the academy."
"Yeah… okay."
A few minutes later, Ayzo appeared.
"Sir, these are the academy dress codes. Please wear them before departure."
Riya stared at the item. "Isn't it… too short?"
Jamal squinted. "Short? That's not clothes, that's a badge. It's smaller than my underwear."
Ziro frowned. "Ayzo… are you sure this is a dress?"
"Don't worry, sir," Ayzo replied calmly. "It is a battle-gear badge. If you touch the upper section, it will transform into a combat suit tailored to you. Otherwise, it functions as academy identification and can be worn over normal clothes."
"Ohhh." Jamal nodded. "Got it. Let me try."
Touch.
"…Touch."
"…Am I doing it wrong?"
"Sir," Ayzo explained, "you must first provide a blood sample. The badge will bind to your genes and recognize only you. You may later upgrade or dismantle it."
"Oh." Jamal laughed nervously. "Haha… I'll do that later."
(He was absolutely terrified to give blood.)
Riya sighed. "Let's not waste time. We'll activate it later. Let's go."
"Please get in, sirs."
Jamal froze.
Why do I feel weird every time she says 'get in'…?
No. No. Dirty mind. Control yourself.
Inside the auto-car, Ziro stared out the window.
"I still can't believe this," he said. "No matter how many times I see it…"
"Yeah," Jamal agreed. "Back on Earth, this stuff was science fiction. Flying cars, robots—now it's everywhere."
"Sir," Ayzo added, "it is not purely science. After human evolution, aether materials accelerated development. Mutants, martial artists, superhumans, androids—combined with magic elements from Planet Asuka but magic is kinda tricky and not many can do it"
"…That's insane," Jamal muttered. "Peak civilization."
"We've arrived," Ayzo announced.
Ziro stepped out. "Wait—where's the academy?"
"You must pass through this teleportation gate," Ayzo said. "All Blue Star academies are located on the Fallen Star."
Riya groaned. "Teleportation again… will this ever end?"
"The Fallen Star was once a planet," Ayzo explained. "Now only academies runs on this. It orbits Blue Star, like a moon."
Ziro grinned. "Teleporting is exciting anyway."
"There are no side effects," Ayzo assured.
"Oh hell yeah." Ziro laughed. "Let's jump."
ZAP.
The transition was smooth.
"Whoa…" Riya whispered.
Ahead stood a colossal structure.
CELESTIAL ACADEMY
Students arrived endlessly through teleportation gates.
"This place is huge…" Jamal muttered.
A tiny fairy zipped in front of them, hovering midair with an almost obnoxious amount of energy.
"Oho! Hi there, new ones! My name's Selly. Ohh—first things first, did you unlock your batch? If not, don't blame me if the teachers get angry. Just unlock it now! I'll help you. Why are you silent? Say something! Uhhh… are you guys really deaf? No? Are you okay? Why are you still standing there like statues? Hey! Move!"
Ziro raised his hand and pushed the fairy away with a sharp stop gesture.
Finally… a little break, everyone thought in unison. Maybe now we get a chance to speak.
Riya blurted, laughing awkwardly, "Well, Miss Selly… you didn't give us a chance to talk, how were we supposed to speak?"
"Oho! Why didn't you say so before?! Okay, fine. First, do the unlock part. You know how, right? Just place your hand on the batch, say 'unlock,' and it'll suck a little of your blood and activate itself. Easy peasy!"
Jamal groaned internally. I don't wanna hear this… just let it be over…
"Guys," Ziro said, frustration dripping from his voice, "shall we just do this quickly?"
"Yeah!!!" everyone shouted in exasperation.
WOP! The batch glowed and clicked into action.
"Unlocked. Battle Gear System Delta,"
Jamal staggered back, hands over his chest, groaning dramatically. "Oh no… shit! I'm dying! My blood… father, mother… I'm coming to you…"
Selly,Ziro and Riya ,with narrowed eyes, looked at him and muttered, "Crybaby…"
"Eh-eh-eh! No! I was just acting! Totally fine!" Jamal scrambled, waving his hands.
"Anyway," Selly chirped, bouncing forward, "let's go! I have tons of other jobs, you know. I'll take you to the Adaptation Zone for your… uh… class determination. Yeah, yeah, move along now."
As they walked, Selly kept jabbering nonstop. "Do you know I'm ranked fifth among assistant teachers? Yeah, yeah, I know I'm beautiful and powerful, but I'm lazy. Otherwise, I'd be number one! But hey, I like giving others a chance to reach the top and feel how it feels to be a topper. Hahaha!"
Everyone exchanged exasperated glances.
"Uhh, miss…" Riya finally interrupted. "Can you… tell us what exactly is the Adaptation Zone? And what do you mean by class determination?"
"Ohhh… you guys really don't know anything, huh? Didn't you check online? Well, fine, I'll explain." Selly spun dramatically, hands in the air. "It's a type of scaling aether adaptivity . Basically, power-scaling. It gives you a rough idea of your future potential.
"The scale runs from F to S. F is normal adaptivity—like a normal human. S is max… the pinnacle of power. Super rare, obviously. This scale also determines which class you'll attend. E-F rank gets placed in 1C, C-D in 1B, A-B in 1A.
"And S-rank? Ohh, it's rare. Those people go to 1S—special class. But remember, it's just potential. Even if you start low, you can always work hard and get stronger."
"Okay… we're here. Go inside. I've got other things to do, so move it!"
Wosh! The doors slid open.
Ziro blinked at the massive crowd inside. "Whoa… quite a crowd. Let's… stand there, guys."
Jamal scratched his head. "Well… hmm… I think I won't get in the same class as you two…"
"Why not?" Riya asked.
"Maybe I'm special," he said, shrugging. "Maybe I'll get S-rank. Gotta study in the special class… but don't worry, I won't forget your sacrifices."
Ziro groaned, muttering under his breath. Stop dreaming… just pray I don't get an F.
A voice rang out: "Hello, dear students! We will begin the scaling. Please stand at your designated spots and place your hands on the gloves in front of you. It will display your potential after assessment. Don't worry—it's just protocol. It won't hurt."
Ziro and the others walked to their spots, tension rising. A sleek, glowing glove floated before each of them.
"Okay… please… don't be F…" Ziro whispered, staring at the glove as if it might bite.
...
....[TO BE CONTINUED]