The gates of The Militant Institution of Ardent were black iron rails that exuded an ominous weight on the fresh new Egoists who walked beneath them for the first time.
Of course, the reason was more than just its size, which easily made humans look like ants beneath it; it was also crafted for that very purpose – to intimidate.
All those who walked by it, commoners, nobles and royals will be welcomed with the iron hug of a State that wants to strip all weaknesses away from your bones.
While Luca found the image dark, he couldn't help but appreciate its substance.
It's a reminder that status means nothing under their laws. 'It fits a commoner like me.'
He stopped by a line that had begun to form.
Two neat rows which lead to a pair of instructors in the same army crimson. A brilliant insignia breathing life on their right chest.
Luca attempted to identify these people as he could feel their heavy presence– the presence of an Egoist, but somehow considered refraining from it.
His thoughts clicked to what Taren had said from before and he turned to the chubby fellow who stood in front of him.
'Why is he fat though? Doesn't the body go through reconstruction?'
What Luca didn't understand was that Body Reconstruction made the body better adapted to a power that humans can't hold.
Only on rare occasions do people actually experience a full-blown change.
An example would be Luca, but he had examined it to be minimal.
'Everything else though, is beyond what I portrayed at the Trance, but I won't truly know until I use 100% of my synchrony again.'
He sighed as he tapped the boy's shoulder.
"Hey Taren, what did you mean by that from before? How did you know I identified you?"
Taren shivered under his touch as they moved forward on the line. He glanced back slowly.
"Do– Don't you know already? Egoists can tell when they're being identified. Unless you're a higher rank, everyone notices."
Luca narrowed his eyes slowly and nodded once.
"Thank you." He looked away thoughtfully.
'The forums never mentioned that… should I be worried?'
There were a few other things he may or may not be aware of. After all, if he had decided to use his talent on the Instructors, there was no doubt they wouldn't have noticed him.
And if they did…
Luca shivered.
'I guess I'll be keeping this guy around.'
He folded his hands and waited patiently.
Then walked forward when the line moved and as time passed, Taren's turn reached.
Luca peeked from behind, observing how the Instructors were seated on a table and chair each.
A tablet in hand and a scanner placed on the table.
Then his gaze went to the holographic large board in front of the gate.
As he read the contents, his mind began to churn.
'Are these people serious?'
"Your name?"
Taren nearly tripped over nothing. He tapped his fingers awkwardly and stammered a reply.
"Taren Van Ardent, correct?" The Instructor repeated with an arched brow.
Taren nodded profusely.
"Place your hand on the scanner."
Taren did as instructed, and a static wave of blue ran along the scanner.
Soon, the tablet beeped, and the holographic board updated in real-time.
Taren Van Ardent.
Rank; 1st Stage, Explorer.
Ego Synchrony; 15%
Null Resistance; 20%
Ego Manifestation; 10%
Cadet Overall Rank; 654
Luca smirked at the board.
'They're revealing and ranking our status regardless of who sees it.'
He didn't need to think twice about the reason for such an obvious stunt.
'We're being pitted together from the start.'
The instructor handed Taren a see-through card and signalled for him to move on.
The boy nervously stepped out of the line. Hesitating for a moment in a rigid posture before suddenly rushing off through the giant gate.
Luca didn't pay him much mind.
He had long since realised that the gate was actually a hologram, but he was also certain that it acted as the real thing. How, though? He didn't bother to reason.
"Name?"
"Lucamir Elaric."
The instructor froze mid-action and glanced at him. His pupils darted downwards in a once-over, then he stretched the tablet forward.
"Scan."
Luca did so.
A few seconds passed after the familiar light ray before the tab chimed and the board updated.
Luca glanced at it.
Lucamir Elaric.
Rank; 2nd Stage, Explorer.
Ego Synchrony; 5%
Null Resistance; 100%
Ego Manifestation; 20%
Cadet Overall Rank; 1024
The chatter that rose from the cadets behind him and the next line began without subtlety.
"100% Resistance?! Crazy! I've never even heard of that!"
"Oh please, the Number One Egoists had the same numbers when he started, it's not a big deal."
"Like you're ever gonna see something that high in your life."
"Hey, watch it!"
"His synchrony, though…"
Fits of laughter quaked from different corners of the line, pulling Luca's attention.
"Resistance is practically useless if your synchrony is that low!" The laughter increased.
"Not even the beggars get that low."
Another laughed even harder.
Luca furrowed his brow at their words.
'Isn't the average Egoist a 5%? Their words mean nothing since I can change them when I want, but why the laughter?'
Just then the Instructor handed him the card, his dull brown eyes shimmering with a silent light.
It seemed like he had found an interesting specimen in the group.
Luca took it without batting an eye and walked through the gates. He was overwhelmed by a sensation of warmth before the world changed vastly in his eyes.
Now standing on a large cement platform, Luca was surrounded by the quietly assessing eyes of numerous cadets.
Behind the cadets were seven Instructors, and seven pavements which led further into the Institution, where a series of tall buildings could be spotted.
The scene startled him, when he looked back, then tilted his head upwards slowly with intrigue.
'I see.'
The billboard from before was here as well, but unlike the little thing outside, this took the whole gate.
Showcasing every cadet in their respective ranks.
As Luca read through the profiles, his eyes slowly began to widen in realisation.
'Seems like the forum was wrong?'
They numbered one thousand, five hundred and one and from the list, the majority of the Cadets had a synchrony of at least 10%
'Shit.' He turned away and walked towards the closest group. 'Everything else seemed accurate, how are things suddenly shifting?'
Staying at home for too long might have fried his brain, but Luca had forgotten that things change with time.
The last time he had checked the average specifically was at a random argument session with his parents.
How could he have known now, that synchrony was the major preceding factor in the powers of an egoist, and how the average was now 10, not 5%
'That explains the laughter.' Luca sighed.
"Lu– Lucamir?"
Lucamir turned to find Teran, his gaze, sharper than before.
"Do– Don't pay attention to the ranks. I believe you're plenty strong as you're one of the fewest at 2nd Stage, Explorer."
Luca smiled at his words in response.
'That's another thing. These ranks focus solely on synchronisation.' He turned away from the boy slowly, folding his arms as he did so.
'Since when did Synchrony become so important?'
He wasn't certain, but he had a feeling he could get the information he wanted if he asked his new buddy.
"Taren, have you heard of the forums?" He asked.
Taren's face squeezed slightly as if he had suddenly entered into a deep dive of thinking.
He slowly shook his head.
"No, haven't heard of it.. what's a forum?"
"Huh? The forums? EgoistsAgenda of course. Don't the Ardenthals use it for information and stuff?"
"Oh," Taren said slowly as more students joined the expanding group. "No, we don't have such… perhaps it's more of um, a commoner thing."
Luca didn't bother to ask any more questions.
The prying eyes of one of the Instructors made it so, but he had a feeling some nosy Cadets were listening in.
'This is bad.' He frowned. 'Everything I know about the Abyss and Egoists is based on what I've read? Don't tell me my decision to drop out of school is going to come back to bite me?'
He had always regretted it a bit, but not so much that he would let it bother his life.
There were certain decisions, though hard, if necessary and if he found it the right call at the time, he would take it.
A step at a time. That was how Luca made decisions.
Luca settled back into space and awaited the other Cadets to join in.
From the atmosphere, he could read that there was something else going to happen after this.
The ranks for example, wouldn't be there unless they served a purpose.
And after about thirty minutes, as the last Cadet walked in with the two Instructors, the gate suddenly shuddered and from what Luca could tell, solidified.
Just as it did, a low chatter spread through the group of children when a man walked out from the back of the group– a large build with crimson hair and eyes, the colour of the Ardenthals and three medallions shining neatly across his chest.
"Instructor Raziel," Taren said slowly.
Luca nodded. 'It seems like whatever the reason for holding us here is about to begin.'
The chatter only increased when the man stood in the middle of the group, glancing about silently with a fierce expression.
He cleared his throat then–
"SILENCE, YOU FILTH OF THE WORLD!"
The whole place turned still.
"IF YOU PARASITES BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE HERE FOR A VACATION, THEN PRAY TO YOUR GODS!"
A deadly smirk crossed his lips.
"Because for what we're going to put you through this year, no man will rescue you."