'Interesting.' Luca thought when he felt a subtle nudge on his left.
As he turned, he found a scrawny four-eyed bespectacled boy with brown hair and dark eyes walking towards him.
Their gazes met for a second before Instructor Raziel's words cut through the air.
"We will be having a few exercises before you truly become one of us." He stated plainly as the rest of the Instructors began to leave the platform for the pavements, one by one.
"Share yourself in teams of five, NOW!"
The command didn't need more words than that to nudge their compliance as the Cadets scrambled for a teammate.
The scrawny boy smirked and swung an arm over Luca.
"You're Lucamir, right? Weird name. I'm Seradino Fernad, let's be pals, yeah?"
Taren poked his head from behind.
"He– Hey, I'm Taren? Wanna form a team?"
The brown-haired boy– Seradino nodded profusely with a wild grin while Luca slowly pushed his arm off him.
"Then so be it, but we'll need two more people."
"We can help solve that."
The trio glanced behind and found a boy and a girl walking towards them. Both of which, Luca recognised from a bit of familiarity.
'So I'm not the only one.'
He waved at them as they joined– a male and a female.
"I didn't realise I would see you guys here," Luca said.
The boy, a blonde with blue eyes sharply glared at him while the girl with bright red hair and yellow eyes smiled awkwardly.
These were his former classmates from the time he still went to school.
"Hope you didn't think you were special or something." The blonde said with annoyance. "Your rank's got nothing to talk about."
Luca smirked and turned away in response.
Not everything had to be a contest of words.
"Who are you guys?" Taren asked.
"I'm Mirek, and she's Adessa, I hope you won't weigh us down in today's exercises."
Seradino gasped as he took out his card.
"Let me have you know that I am ranked eight hundred and one! Don't you dare insult my name!"
Mirek snorted. "Weaklings talking about insults, don't make me laugh."
Luca turned to the holographic board, examined it slowly, then shifted his gaze to the other students.
'No wonder he's got such a big mouth. He's ranked one hundred and five and she's ranked three hundred and seventy.
Then again, this whole ranking is based on Synchrony for some reason. There's no reason for him to be this audacious.'
"You shouldn't depend on your Synchrony alone." He said, grabbing the attention of the five others. "If it were enough to decide who was in power, then the world laws would have been slightly different."
Mirek's brow knitted. His dissatisfaction is evident.
"What did you say, Elaric?"
He muttered as he was about to step forward, when the words of the Instructor stopped him and many others in their tracks.
"TIME UP! All teams should disperse on the platform. It is large enough to contain all of you, so do so orderly."
Mirek froze at those words. His annoyance seethed into anger before he backed off.
'Why would those Nobles ask me to do something so dehumanising?'
He couldn't help but curse at his own luck.
With teammates as low as they are, he couldn't help but grimace.
"Where should our group go?" Taren asked as he looked around.
Almost every group had chosen to walk towards the corners, thus, expanding the spaces between each group.
Luca shook his head. "Don't bother, they'll move plenty away from us."
And indeed, they did. A few minutes passed and after what seemed like a satisfactory distance, the Instructor began to walk around slowly.
His gaze lingered on each group before coming to a halt.
"I'm sure you've all seen them– the current ranks."
Most chorused a reply, the rest just nodded in agreement.
"Good, those Ranks just don't serve pretty numbers. This is what the Institution regards as your potential, and it determines just how many resources the State and Federation at large are willing to stake for you."
Luca's eyes sparked with intrigue. 'Resources?'
"The rewards that will be granted will be based on your contributions and growth which ultimately causes your Rank to rise.
I won't tell you what those rewards are, but only the top five hundred have the chance of obtaining anything with the first hundred receiving the best."
A smirk crossed his face.
"That is not to say that the top fifty, twenty-five, ten and three won't obtain something far more precious than the rest of you cunts."
'Hah… now it makes sense.'
He looked around after his speech. "Any questions?"
A figure from a group of Nobles raised their hand.
"Instructor, are we allowed to derank others through a duel or fight?"
Instructor Raziel's smirk widened.
"Of course! Only official duels, but the top spot is not meant for bench warmers! If you're fit to get it, challenge the owner of that seat and take it yourself."
Luca, unconsciously, had begun to smile.
One that was eerily similar to the one from the Trance. Even though he wasn't thinking about it, the boy had begun to grow excited.
Not just by the rules of the Institution, but also in the many ways he could use them to grow stronger.
'They already underestimate me because of mere synchrony– fools.'
He could understand their thoughts as synchrony also determined the amount of energy you possessed– and thus, how much power you can truly showcase.
'Still, I find it shortsighted. Every aspect of the Interface is important.'
Silence lingered on the platforms for a moment before the Instructor's words came again.
"You will be given 'tasks' that you must fulfil before you're allowed to step into this place.
Those who fail will be returned to the Federation for further instructions, and those who pass will step into the difficult journey of an Egoist."
A round of chatter began and this wasn't limited to others, but even Luca's group.
"Isn't that practically calling us useless goods? Wouldn't the Federation use us for something… something we don't want?"
Seradino wondered as he tilted his spiral glasses.
Taren nodded. "True. I've heard of cases of former Cadets that were turned into their puppets. Some are used as flesh shields in raids… the world truly doesn't care for weak people."
Mirek scoffed. "Maybe they'll be nice to you three."
Taren and Seradino whipped their glares at him, but Luca didn't bother to pay attention.
'He's right anyway, but I won't be in that section.'
"You need to succeed in at least one task to succeed. So, without further ado, we shall begin the first task."
The Instructor folded his arms with a grace that flowed with him.
The Cadets went silent at his words and awaited his next instructions. Soon, it came.
"One day an ally, another an enemy. You will have to prove that you're prepared enough to kill your friends when the task arises."
The cadets began to stir, but the Instructor didn't let them finish.
"Your group members are your enemies. Defeat them and be the last to stand. Those who are unable to defeat at least one will remain until they do. Those who don't in the end, will be the first to leave."
Luca's ears flinched and he felt his fingers twitch erratically.
'I've been hungry for a fight since I read my Interface! I can finally test this out!'
"You are limited to using your physical attributes, traits and any other abilities that enhance your fighting prowess.
If you're a Spell Caster, you're limited to a single Spell and if you're a Healer, good luck."
Instructor Raziel smirked. "Thirty minutes! BEGIN!"
At first, nothing happened, but a loud bang and a student suddenly collapsing was the right amount of spark for a fire to start.
The air hummed with short screams and angered outburst that surged throughout the platform as a thousand five hundred and five students locked themselves in a brutal combat of fists and spells.
At Luca's group, the team of now four stared at Luca with shock in their eyes.
Beneath their feet was the unconscious body of Seradino– the first student to get attacked and lost, and beside him, was Luca.
His right hand still extended to where he had chopped him cleanly at the back of his neck.
The others hesitated for a moment– Mirek broke out first.
He lunged at Taren who was still processing what had just happened.
His eyes glinted with madness when Luca appeared between them.
He grabbed his fist, pulled him into the air, to the blonde's dismay and slammed him on top of an unsuspecting Taren.
"H– Hey, wait?!"
He attempted to protest before he was pressed to the ground by the blonde's body.
An eruption of sound and earth followed.
The earth shuddered and compressed. Cracks spread in a spiderweb, forming a small crater under their weight.
'What are these fools waiting for? Strike first and win.'
Luca thought as he flipped his gaze at Adessa.
The girl staggered backwards for a moment.
"We– We're your teammates?! How can you turn on us so easily?!"
Luca tilted his head. "Are you asking something so obvious?"
Suddenly, he closed the distance in a second.
The girl's eyes widened as she stretched an arm forward. 'How's he so fast?'
"You're my enemies. Who in their right mind would hesitate in front of their enemy?"
Luca replied when his gaze shifted to a sudden blue spark that ignited in front of her palms.
He narrowed his eyes and jumped back just as the flames surged to life before detonating in a blue smoke.