Jack had finally got his assigned dueling ranking since his dual entrance test and it was bad, really bad the worst possible rank. E. Only a select few got the rank and it was not something to be proud of.

“You have all been assigned the rank of E. You have probably been told by all your peers that means you are in the lowest ranks. That is not entirely true. She emphasized entirely. The normal ranking system goes A, B, C, D. E is a separate rank given to students who do not fit within the normal ranking system for whatever matter that may be. There is no second-year rank E. That means if you can’t fix your handicap and manage to achieve a proper rank you will not be here next year. Today we will be breaking into pairs and working on our mana manipulation to ensure each student can create a proper mana shield.” Jack was put with a very plain-looking boy whose name was Salem.

Salem looked incredibly boring. His face didn’t have a single discernable feature and Jack couldn’t describe him even though he was looking right at him. The only oddity was that his skin was completely covered from the neck down. He was wearing the normal student uniform, but he had on gloves and some sort of underlayer that covered some of his neck seemingly down to his feet. Salem was quiet and barely said a word. After making introductions the boys squared off in their designated area. They had been instructed to spar very slowly.

While slowly sparring they were supposed to create a mana shield blocking the blow. This exercise was different from Choi’s. It was a lot more straightforward, but they made them go on for a very long time. Like Choi had taught them mana shielding was not a very efficient way to use mana. So, by the time the exercise was complete everyone was exhausted.

The training was straightforward. The first person would slowly swing or kick toward the other. Then the opponent would slowly block, creating a mana shield at that location. Then they would switch and the other would slowly attack and be blocked. The exercise started slow; it was hard to time because the enemy was moving so slowly. Jack saw a lot of people miss timing it and being way too early or way too late. Being early wasn’t such a big deal at the beginning of class, you could easily hold it. But after 30 mins everybody was barely holding on. Everyone started to try and wait until the very last moment. But they were wearing pins that would record anytime they were struck.

Jack and Salem worked away, and by the time they were allowed a break they were both dripping in sweat. They collapsed to the ground and just relaxed and caught their breath.

“Your mana control is very impressive.” It was Salem Talking. He had surprised Jack. He hadn’t talked at all during the entire exercise and Jack thought he was quiet.

“Oh, thank you very much. Your control seems good also.

“Thank you. I will not be ranked E for long. I just need to beat my handicap.”

“Handicap?” Jack asked confused

He looked at Jack with surprise on his face. “Huh, I thought you would have noticed.”

“Notice what?” Jack asked still confused.

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Salem pulled his neck collar down a little and Jack could see that he had an insane amount of cybernetic machinery attached to his body. “I was born with only 20% of my muscles. Through cybernetics, my family was able to give me the ability to walk and even run. But it’s very hard to work with mana when I only have half a body to work with.” He was examining his hand thoughtfully.

Jack was calmly trying to not throw up as he saw Salem’s deformed neck. After a moment he calmed his stomach and truly started to feel bad for Salem. “Wow, uh, I’m really sorry. If it makes you feel any better, you are so good that I literally had no idea.”

He looked up at Jack, he was searching his gaze to see if Jack was lying. He had something like hope in his eyes. “When I turned 14, I absorbed the metal element. With it, I am able to almost feel the metal as if it’s one with my body.”

“Wow, metal, nice. I heard it’s like the most expensive element.” Jack thought about the possibilities he could do with such a powerful element.

Salem looked at Jack again. Jack was looking at the ceiling as he thought. “Do you really not know who I am?”

“Uh no. I don’t really know anyone. I’m not from around here.”

“My last name is Barton.” Jack recognized the name. He had seen it everywhere; it was the name of one of the empire’s most rich corporations.

“Wait like the company Barton?”

“Yeah, my family runs it.”

“oh, holy shit. Uh, aren’t you guys considered like royalty or something?” Jack tried to think back to the lessons Gants had taught him about proper etiquette but he was drawing a blank. All he could think to do was put out his hand and properly introduce himself. So he stood up, faced Salem and held out his hand. “I’m Jack Warwick, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Salem Barton.”

Salem put his hand out and smiled. They shook hands. The mix of metal felt weird in his hand, but Jack made sure not to make a face. He smiled and shook happily; Salem was a nice guy and had obviously been fighting his entire life.

“Break times over, everyone back to it.” The Teacher walked around instructing the students. Jack and Salem smiled at each other and got back into fighting formation. The rest of the class was more mana manipulation exercises. Every time they were given a break Jack and Salem would chat about different things. Salem it turns out loved to read, probably even more than Jack. They both loved fantasy stories about heroes fighting monsters.

“no no no, you’ve got to read The Tale of The North. It’s the best!” Salem said.

“pffft, nothing beats Trolgor the Magnificent.” Jack spat back.

“Hahaha, that is a good one. Man, I haven’t had a real conversation with someone in a long time, thanks.”

“uh sure, what do you mean?

“well most people know who I am, so they either feel pity for me because of my dysfunction or they try and befriend me because my family is rich.”

“Oh. Well. The rich thing is pretty cool. But I don’t think I can be friends with someone that thinks Tale of the North is better than Trolgor.” Jack teased.

“Hah.” Salem smiled broadly.

The class ended and the boys went their separate ways. Jack really enjoyed his interaction with Salem and decided he was going to read The Tale of the North tonight. He had teased Salem but it was a very good book. Jack was walking down the hall of the academy. He was in a distant wing that was made up mostly of a weird matte purple brick. Jack couldn’t help but marvel at the majestic beauty of the academy. He was admiring the craftsmanship as he walked when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Something moved that grabbed his attention. It was a normal rat. It looked just like Pyke but it was a real rat. Jack smiled when he saw it and quickly tried to follow it. Unfortunately, the rat had other plans and turned into a very tiny hole that Jack had no chance of fitting through. “Aw, see you later little guy.”

As he walked back to his room, he couldn’t help but marvel at the ability of rats and other small critters. He had found out that even though the city and the academy have implemented many mechanical and magical systems to prevent critters. They still somehow manage to make it in. They are little furry industrial workers that were constantly being overlooked. Jack decided to play with Pyke tonight.