"You need to be a Red Ranger," Nico explained. "You don't have to make this decision now."
Oliver was thoughtful, considering whether this was the path he wanted to take. However, listening to what Nico had to say wouldn't hurt.
"However, if you seek to become a Ranger, don't be like me or many others who join with naive ideas—thinking they'll be heroes and defend good with good," the Ranger commented. "Being a Ranger will require you to be equal parts good and evil."
"I got it," the boy replied.
"You think you understand," Nico explained. "But when politics, the senate, the NEA, or even the boy who got you suspended screws you over again, what will you do?"
Oliver pondered.
"Exactly. You've been accustomed, taught, and trained to behave—to play by the rules," the Ranger explained. "However, in a battle, and even more so during a war, there are no rules."
"Most evil happens when good men don’t know how to play by evil rules."
--
--
"I think I know who caused the incident during the exam," Isabela began to speak.
"What?!" Alan nearly shouted. "How?"
"It was kind of by accident. I was in one of the trees of the First Battalion," the girl began to explain.
"In a tree?" Alan couldn't help but ask.
"That's beside the point." She shot a judgmental look at him. "What matters is that I overheard two boys, whom I believe are from the Second Battalion. I didn't catch their full names, but as far as I remember, one was named Damian, and the other—"
Isabela paused for a moment, trying to recall, but she couldn't remember hearing the second boy's name.
"The other one, I don't know. But they were talking about how you had returned to the Academy and that they had spread the false information," the girl explained.
"But did they mention anything about causing the incident?" Oliver asked.
"Not exactly. However, afterward, I looked into him a bit more. Damian is one of the Nemos—moreover, one of the heirs," Isabela explained.
However, Oliver looked at the two without understanding.
"Was I supposed to get something from that?" the boy asked.
"The Nemo’s, they have some kind of Boon that allows control over creatures," Alan explained. "However, he was investigated. His power would only allow him to control one Crabit, not an entire herd."
"Ah!" Oliver understood Isabela's reasoning. "But what would he gain by screwing me over?"
The three spent some time thinking but didn't reach a conclusion.
"But—but is it possible he didn't intend to target you specifically?" Isabela asked.
"What do you mean?" Alan inquired.
"What if he never meant to hit Oliver at all," Isabela explained.
"I heard once that ‘Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice,’" Oliver commented, almost laughing. "What was his standing in the ranks before the incident?"
"Wait. You think he caused the incident because he was in a bad ranking?" Alan asked incredulously.
"How nice to see your faith in humanity,” Oliver commented.
“Maybe it was all an exaggeration. I remember the end of the exam—it was extremely competitive, with Crabits dying left and right. But what if he just wanted to increase their numbers to have better chances? Just a hypothesis, but instead, he brought an entire herd?" Oliver suggested. "He didn't need to control the whole herd; maybe he could just force a few to cause confusion."
"Some other Boons fit as possible suspects, but his was undoubtedly the main one. Given the chance to throw someone under the bus, he pushes Oliver and frees himself from the investigation," Isabela added. "Besides, he's just a nameless piece of trash that no one will care about."
"Hey! Words hurt," Oliver said, pretending to be hurt.
"Makes sense," Alan commented. "But what do we do with this? Do we take it to the Major or a Captain?"
"No way. They'll sweep it under the rug," Oliver replied. "No, this is a problem I want to solve myself. At the very least, I have to repay him in kind."
Stolen novel; please report.
"What are you planning?" Isabela asked.
"Just a superficial plan. But it will require a lot of improvisation," Oliver explained. "However, for now, let's focus on our exam."
Isabela slammed the table in front of them. "The exam! Do you guys already have a group?"
"I thought you already did. Didn't Astrid team up with you?" Alan asked.
"No! She betrayed me. She had promised her House that she would help other members who were underperforming," Isabela explained.
"Great! You can join our team," Oliver said.
"Really?!" The girl smiled at the possibility of taking the exam with them. "Then we just need to think of one more person."
"Do you guys have any ideas? Oliver has a reputation so bad that nobody from the Second Battalion wants to join," Alan commented.
"Our team is already full," Oliver explained. "I invited Katherine to join."
"WHAT?!" Isabela shouted, looking at him. "We're going to have a princess on our team?"
She seemed to tremble as she said that.
"Do you realize the responsibility?" she asked.
"Are you kidding me?" He shot her a disapproving look.
"Hehe. I forgot," Isabela smiled.
"We just need to rest. Tomorrow's going to be a long day," Alan commented before they said their goodbyes and returned to the dorms.
--
--
The next day, none of the boys needed to use the Gauntlet to wake up; the entire base was too noisy for them to keep sleeping. Unlike field exercises, where only part of the recruits participated, the exam would include all the students at the base this time.
Given that each battalion had around two thousand recruits, it was expected that at least a thousand groups would head out for the exam, leaving only the soldiers and some captains at the facilities.
| Channels
| Exam1Group [4] [Private]
|
|
| Exam1Group
| [OliverKR] Added [KathSaysHi] to the Group
| [OliverKR] Alan and I are already going to the teleport building.
| [BellaRedFanGirl] I'm at the cafeteria; I should arrive at the building in a few minutes
| [KathSaysHi] Affirmative.
|
"Affirmative? What the hell kind of answer is that?" Oliver read Katherine's response several times before giving up, trying to understand what was happening in her head.
As Alan and Oliver approached the building, they could see a kilometer-long line stretching out with hundreds of groups waiting for their turn to be transported.
"This is going to take a while," Alan commented in a defeated voice.
Oliver could only nod. Both sat on the ground while they waited for time to pass. Shortly after, they spotted the two girls approaching, each coming from a different direction.
"Finally, we're all here," Alan said.
"Guys, this is Katherine. Katherine, this is Alan and Isabela," Oliver took the opportunity to introduce her to the rest of the team.
"Nice to meet you!" Katherine greeted them.
"Great. Now comes the hard part," Oliver explained.
The three looked at him, not entirely understanding.
"I understand the reason for keeping our powers secret, especially if our powers are unknown. However, during an exam, it would be impossible to coordinate our combat or reconnaissance without knowing what each of us is capable of," he explained.
They understood what he meant; for many there, a Boon was something very personal, and sharing it with a stranger felt like exposing yourself. Knowing they would have reservations about starting, Oliver decided to take the initiative.
"Alright. I'll start with myself since I'm bringing this up," Oliver said. "I still don't know exactly what my Boon is focused on. However, it seems to be related to my eyes." He pointed out the color difference between them.
Katherine noticed for the first time that they had different colors and that he seemed taller.
'Did he evolve? Was it his first time?' She assessed the boy's growth rate.
"My boon allows me to see an opponent's ways of attacks and defenses, whether they're humans or creatures. However, it only works with Pawn-level opponents," he finished explaining.
"If it weren't for the level limit, that would be extremely overpowered," Alan commented. "Alright, since you shared, I'll explain mine too, especially since it could be a problem."
"My Boon allows me to create, control, and amplify gravitational fields," he said.
"Wow!" was the reaction from the other three.
"But! But! It consumes a lot of Energy, and I can't differentiate between allies and enemies," Alan added.
Katherine felt more at ease after Alan's disclosure because she understood that his power was extremely rare, and even so, he was willing to share it with everyone.
"Mine is strange," Katherine began. "I can control blood—not others', just my own." She quickly summoned her sword and made a small cut on the tip of her finger to demonstrate.
A drop of blood emerged from her finger but soon started spinning, sometimes moving up and down between her fingers.
"But the main thing is that I can alter some properties of my blood. One example is its hardness." As she finished speaking, the drop of blood hardened into a spike.
"Ah!" Oliver finally understood the girl's powers.
"However, it's a bit obvious. Although it doesn't consume much Energy, it does consume my blood," Katherine concluded.
"Hmm, mine isn't simple to explain either. I don't even know the limits clearly," Isabela began. "I can accelerate myself. That's it."
"Huh?" Alan made a sound of confusion.
"No, literally, that's it. I can alter my body's acceleration using Energy and Stamina. So, for example, I can fly." Isabela began to use her powers.
However, it didn't quite look like flying. She resembled a yo-yo, rising a few meters and then starting to fall, only to rise again.
"Another use is to increase the impact of a punch." She demonstrated that her punches were becoming extremely fast.
"However, there are several problems with it. It's not a simple power to use; I need to be very focused. So, I often can't use it in an emergency or when I'm startled, " Isabela explained.
"Very well!" Oliver thanked them.
"Now we need to decide who will be responsible for fighting and who will handle reconnaissance."