Part 1
The school gates were wide open. There are many students who entered the school from their respective homes, others have rented dormitories.
Ben stared at the gates in awe. Many years ago, when his master had created him. Most of his master's memory had been imprinted on his brain.
'Ben' now has the exact personality as the past 'Ben'. But the memory details from using hope and Rift wasn't intact. Ben found it hard to recall the events on that peculiar day, nor any of some key memories.
"Well, this place sure does seem a bit overly high-tech…"
Ben walked over to the examination room. There, they will let you take examinations. Where the people who took it will channel their esper powers and channel it through a certain crystal made from Hope’s technology.
Scientists have worked hard to explore its secrets. But now, all they can do is reverse-engineer it. And copying in successfully. The ‘battle suits’ have their own unique designs. There are many different diverse kinds. Though, rarely, some of them ‘evolve’ to be something that fits their owners best.
Ben walked through the gates, and stared at the big academy institute within. He was in awe. There are large buildings in the city. The school are divided into 12 districts. And each has its own unique characteristics for the students inside to study and learn to fight.
(So… the academy is in the 1st district, huh… 12 districts… Why am I feeling a little dejavu here?)
The odd boy walked up to the first district. The academy’s entrance is filled with new students ready to take the test. Ben found out later that there was a ranking in the academy. The ranking is useful for tagging groups and ordering people.
“Well, the line is so long… Even after all those years they can’t fix crowd line problems.” Ben thought sillily to himself as he waited in the line of new entrees. Somethings just never change.
Many newbies entered and left in despair. The test wasn’t accepting people who had no talent. So Ben was now a bit nervous at the test. When it was finally his turn, he entered the building and stared at the area around him.
The examiners stared at Ben. They heard about him in the mothership, and concluded that it was just a total bullsh*t. Because the cloning technology isn’t available even with ‘hope’s technology. And this human must be a frozen body from the time before the cyclops starts attacking.
“So, challenger Ben… What is your power’s main focus on?”
“Erm… What?”
“What we mean is that how your esper power are yours based on.”
“Oh…. Um, I can create a dark matter blade.”
“Show us.”
Ben effortlessly created a blade sharper than any matter humans knew of. Dark matter is something that could only and only be proven by math. But hope’s technology made it possible for scientist to analyse it. And know more about it.
Nevertheless, it is still rare for a person to use it as a weapon.
“Good…Ben, is this all you can do?”
“Yes?”
“Your dark matter will be useful to our academy. We welcome you to the institute. Your ranking will be B 101. You can also rank up if you work hard and beat people who has ranks higher than you.”
“Oh…”
“Well, do you have a private house?”
“No.”
“Well, our academy institute have prepared a private dormitory for you. It is in District 12, that’s also another name for the dormitory district.”
“Ok… Where is it?”
“Ask the person down there. They should provide you with the answers you need.”
“Thanks!”
Ben still didn’t want to reveal his true powers yet. Because it can make him to be seen as a monster. Even if he helped them. This is what the mothership’s captain told him about.
Ben walked down the stairs as he whistled out for fun. Little did he know that the art of whistling had been lost for over the years. He earned the stares of the people around him, and he shut up due to embarrassment.
He went on a transport bus that would bring him to the dormitory district. Ben then saw that the temperature in the bus is far more comfortable than before. The technology had reached farther than we thought.
The announcer in the bus was doing a roundup of the city. she was telling every new students what the academy institute was.
“The academy institute was built 2 years after the cyclops invasion. This academy is revered to be the 3rd strongest of all the other esper academy out there. We have ranks as you can see. If you are a C rank. No special support will be given except education. B rank and you also get a private dormitory.for themselves. A rank will get a special battle amor for themselves. These battle armor will be stronger than other private battle armor.” The girl announcer stopped for a bit to catch her breath. And continued.
“There is only a total of 30 A ranks in the academy. But those aren’t the rarest. The best thing is that there is one more rank above them, and that is… THE S RANK! There are only a total of 7 S ranks in the academy. If you meet them, be prepared to praise them. Because they are the saviour of the human race and the hope of all humanity!!!”
(Wait, is there a cult going on here!?) Ben was shocked at the sudden revelation. The weak now bow down to the strong. Ben was shocked and smiled. This looks very interesting…
They drove down to the dormitories. And Ben exited the bus. He walked up the stairs and searched for his room His room number is 205. And he easily found it, so he took out his smart card and entered the room
In the room was heavily decorated with strange stuff. And he stared at the room in wonder. He accidentally touched the window, and a table suddenly showed up.
“Woah!!” He played around with the menu screen. There was everything! Foods, information, history etc. Ben recalled something like an iPad back many years ago. Just how fast has technology evolved?
Ben was playing with the screen, when the bathroom door opened. Ben had forgotten and was unaware somethings, and that is…
1.He wasn’t alone, the room was designed to have roommates.
2.The bathroom had a strange sign over it. And he had never seen it or bother reading about it.
3. The bathroom was made to stop the sound inside from coming out. Or outside coming in to prevent perverts.
“Hah… I haven’t taken a bath in so- What the !@#$”
Ben was shocked at the sudden luck he gained. And stared at the girl. Her body was covered by a towel. But that nevertheless showed the curves and her pale white body.
“Um… Hi?”
Ben earned a big slap in the face and he fainted.
Part 2
"So, why are you here?”
"I am your roommate!!!!”
"Can't you see the freaking sign on the bathroom door. It means showering!!!”
"I never heard of a red sign in front of the bathroom saying 'Don't come in'! And usually there should be a sound of water slashing down!!!”
"Where the hell are you from?! Bathrooms have been installed with sound and visualproof glass since who knows when!”
"What!!!!!!!!! That means I can't peek or try to hear you bath!”
"You stupid pervert!" The girl landed another punch on Ben's face. She had finished changing and was now lecturing him out of his evil ways.
"Well, I haven't learned of your name yet. What is your name, newbie?”
"I am a student who just entered the academy. My name's Ben. Nice to meet you!" Ben revealed a smile of a pure innocent child who have had totally forgotten the events that had transpired.
"I am Sarah, Rank S Number 5."
"Wow, you're a rank S huh... Good job!”
"Thank yo- wait, I am the 5th rank S, shouldn't you feel a slightest bit of intimidation?”
"Hmm? Why should I?”
"Don't tell me... You're a rank S too!?”
"Nah... I am a rank B 101th place.”
"Oh... That's more the reason you're strange! Usually, people don't even talk to me like this. What is this new refreshing feeling?”
"Woah, you're taking things too far, miss. I don't really care about rankings either way.”
"Your attitude is starting to annoy me.”
“Why?"
"Don't you know where you stand, B rank? You are just the 3rd from the top rank, and you can never reach my level. Furthermore-“
"Blah Blah blah, seriously, the way people speak now is just straight strange.”
"What the-!”
"Yes, you may have a higher rank, but a human is still a human. And all should be treated equally.”
"You say that I'm weak!?”
"Nooo! I mean that can you please stop with the ranking thingy? Just call me Ben and I'll call you Sarah.”
"Uh... Ok. Then- I mean, Ben. You are really strange, people who see our power as S ranks will usually envy us or praise our power.”
"That's the point. They don't see you for your identity. They see you for your 'power'. If you lost your power, no one will even bat an eye.”
The boy spoke with as he recalled words from a certain book. Ben continued
"I don't need a hero as my roommate. I just want a friend, that's all.”
"...Uh okay?…"
"Good, so nice to meet you Sarah!”
Sarah had always been treated like a god. And she believes that the weak should bow to the strong and beg for protection.
Stolen story; please report.
That is what most students from rank A-S think of. But this is the first time she had been treated as a mere girl.
"U-um nice to meet you.”
Part 3
Ben was placed as a transfer student. And placed in room 111, or first year 11th room.
"Um... My name is Ben. Nice to meet you all. I am good in science, and I hope we can all get along!" Ben jovially said out as he saw the class.
"Now Ben-Chan. Please choose your seat!" The cute semi-japanese teacher cheerfully ordered Ben to find his seat. Ben was happy to have a fellow Asian in his class.
There were many students in the class and Ben was nervous on where to sit.
The he saw a certain familiar person. It was Selendis who found him.
"Uh... Can I sit here?”
"Sure, why not?”
The captain hasn't fully disclosed Ben's secret in order to avoid a turmoil of confusion to the world. He just said that the DNA data doesn't match and he was just a boy with a similar face. So Selendis doesn't know fully about Ben yet.
The first subject was math. Ben looked at this subject thoroughly. The math of the universe had been wildly studied since those years. And education level have risen considerably.
(How da fuq can a normal student learn a college-level math!) Ben was lucky that his clone body posses the best brain in the world for subconscious calculation. But digesting the information or remembering them is still kept at the normal human level.
The next class... Science.
(Too easy.) Now for many people, knowing quantum mechanic and about photon's parallel universe is hard. But Ben loves science. He studied them hard when he was a kid, and read many books about them.
The teacher gave out tests to see the level of intelligence in her class for each student.
"Wh-what the..." Ben got full score on every section. And the teacher suspected him for cheating. She then took him for a retest 5 times, and concluded that he didn't
"Is that all?" The boy who was nearly categorized as a genius said out broadly.
"Tch! Fine you win this time!" The teacher challenged Ben to a science duel, and Ben won easily.
Before the last was STE or Strategic and Tactical Education. Here, they teach students to control armies and learn to how to fight both strategically and tactically in the battlefield. The best in class will often become the commander of a squad.
(This is just like Starcraft II. I feel more like playing a game rather than studying.) Ben then forwarded the mother ship in the hologram out of enemy territory to retreat. Then secretly deployed a bomb at his enemy player.
"GG"
The bomb in the hologram burst and destroyed the other student's incoming army. And earning Ben a win.
The next class was…
PME or known as Physical and Martial Education. Here, everyone will learn to fight and duel with their partners.
"Now, everyone! Prepare your stations! Find a partner and I will then give you further instructions!
Ben went around to find a partner. And he found Christina.
"Hey Christina! Do you mind if you partner with me?”
"HM? Oh Ben! Long time no see. I'm rank A #9 y'know. Can you keep up with my dance, prince?”
"We'll never know if we don't try, right?”
Christina smiled and agreed. She will teach this man the difference between their powers. She is a rank A while this man is a rank B. There is just no way he can beat her. No one was ready to pair with her due to power difference anyway.
Ben took out his specialized head phones. It can be said to be a kind of battle armor. But custom made by Ben's and Hope's tech and design.
(Music are mysterious things. They can make your brain work in certain ways according to their tempo.) Ben thought as he put it on.
He had been lent a battle armor. But he refused to use it. All he needs was a special hologram watch and an eyeglass for analyzing enemies and contacting allies.
Christina started her battle signal.
"Equipping battle armor,
Light particles encircled Alice, and next next thing Ben knew the girl in front of him was wearing a battle armor. It is similar to extension of the arms and legs. But it doesn't hide the body that much. So he could still see her main body and face.
Ben was already wearing his headphones, and was choosing a song. He found one to his liking, and prepared for battle.
"HM? Aren't you going to equip a battle armor? It helps you calculate and protect you, your fighting power will decrease dramatically if you don't wear one."
"Oh, nevermind. I have my own way of fighting.”
"Well then, don't regret it!" The teacher announced the start of the practice, and Christina activated a rocket booster on her back.
(Fast!) Ben wasn't panicked. He lightly sidestepped. And dodged the incoming attack splendidly. He created a dark matter blade and cut off Christina's left turbo booster.
Christina retaliated back and shot 2 bomb shells at him. He created a wall of dark matter to guard himself.
(He can create almost an infinite amount of dark matter?! This can get interesting...) Christina was now currently using 'only' the battle armor's fighting capabilities skillfully.
Her battle armor has all in all a total of 3 stages. She was only using the first stage. The second has her esper powers involved. But the third... Is an 'evolved' form of battle armor. Yes... She had already achieved that feat.
Ben had known that usually rank A's armor will have the capability to evolve. And it would be too troublesome to fight her in that state, so he activated a switch in his body.
'Hope' had given him the access to the ability to create dark matter. But it was a little different from others. And that is…
Ben knows every property it contains, and can bend it to his will. The other espers who can create dark matter can't really control it, so the examiners thought Ben to be similar, but he's not. After all, his very clone body was made using dark matter. So now his body is ‘human’ but also not ‘human’.
Ben created a new blade for slicing things apart. He manipulated it into a big whip, and he slammed it down at Christina. Christina was surprised at the sudden change in the shape of the whip. Never in history has there been any dark matter user who changed their dark matter that quickly.
Boom! The ground below Christina was smashed open violently. She quickly gained her ground and shot an empty spell Ben. By shooting that, only the air came out, and blew Ben away without wasting an ammo.
(Why can’t I hit him!) Christina was shocked at how capable this man was. He wasn’t even using too much dark matter, and he is truly an experienced fighter. She tried to swing her sword down at Ben, but he dodged and used his feet to kick her away. His feet was partly made of dark matter, so it is harder than steel, yet it is still a ‘feet’ when it is not a ‘feet’.
“Hmph, you are stronger than any dark matter user I’ve ever seen. I will give you my praise by using my full power!”
Christina went from the first and skipped the second stage, activating the third stage right away. This isn’t an RPG game where the protagonist beats monsters as they slowly get stronger.
Battle armor, as mentioned before, is a technology that can only be reverse-engineered and used by the espers. It is truly a weapon of the myths. But perhaps the strangest thing of all is perhaps their ability to evolve. Scientist have theorised that the esper’s power somehow initiated something in the machine.
Christina’s armor then turned from yellow to gold. The luster of the armor shown out and hurt Ben’s eye. Ben stared at the scene in wonder. Christina was quickly finished, and Ben saw her true armor form.
Part 4
Ben stared at Christina in awe. The girl looked like a princess from heaven. She stared down at Ben as if he was nothing but a nuisance. Ben looked at her and daringly smiled. He showed no signs of fear, and activated a new song in his headphones.
“You still don’t give up?”
“No”
“So be it”
Christina’s amor and her body slowly levitated into the sky, and then she activated her esper powers. She suddenly released an invisible blast, and blew Ben away.
“Kuh!” Ben made a dark matter cushion, that supported him and landed him safely.
“Well now, Ben. I have the esper power called Aero Handler. It lets me control the air and blast it towards my enemies. And also…”
Christina released another shot of condensed of air behind her amor and blasted herself forward towards Ben. Ben dodged and he created a big shell of dark matter. And shot it towards Christina, blowing her away. Christina, however, already dodged using her evolved amor and shot a real shell cannon at Ben.
The girl shot up into the sky, and tried to gain advantage in the air. But the boy did something unexpected.
Ben created wings and flew up. The dark matter can become various energies that doesn’t exist in the physical world. And it propelled Ben forward. He suddenly shot towards Christina and slashed his blade at her, but the golden amor had created a dark matter blade that was pre-made by other random dark matter espers. They clashed their swords and the blades created waves of blast. Destroying the ground below them.
The instructor saw the scene unfolding and judged it to be too dangerous for the other students, so he blew the whistle to end their fight.
“Welp, too bad.” Ben retracted his wings and landed on the ground. He walked away casually. Christina was about to cancel her amor,when… Crack!
Her amor falled apart, as if cut by something sharp. She saw the terrible damage done to her amor and stared at the boy, this boy wasn’t normal. He may be holding back while fighting her.
And the day ended peacefully with Ben returning to his room.