Chapter 2: sAlty bIAsEdnEss tAstEs bIttEr
Year 2514
"..sh...sh..*static noises*...this is probably my last message...they really want revenge on earth..the only way....sh..to save the earth...is to unite the heroes...
..beep..beep..beep (signal lost)
Year 2975, 29 September
All the students eager to participate in the bounty hunt were called to the store room. The store room was on the fifth floor. It was kind of huge and neat with a solid navy blue interior and bright hanging lights here and there. The room was filled with packages mostly. Among the 13 faces in the store room, Ayesha and Brock could be seen. She wasn't familiar with any other faces as they were from different sections. Ayesha and Brock were aces from section A. The most talented cosmium users or the most knowledgeable students were from section A. Ron was from section A as well for his extraordinary knowledge. Ayesha's other friends Bruno, Musa, and Noah were from the same section too.
Ayesha was pretty nervous as she had to submit the names of 4 other squad members by the next day but she could only manage 3. but her nervousness was blurred out of her curiosity which was also visible among 11 other squad leaders.
"Why were we called here?" she thought.
Brock seemed to know the deal and unlike others, he was relaxed.
The janitor walked in. The janitor was kind of a strict, non-biased guy who worked with dignity. Everyone actually called him by his first name Shido as he preferred that. He was once a student of this academy and just like Ron he never got the fortune to get a cosmium.
But he worked hard to get to this post. He was an average-looking guy. Working and sweating every day his black hair became permanently tousled. But his black eyes were bright.
He stood by the enormous cardboard box which had a trefoil sign embossed and said in a high tone
"You are gonna be gifted safety bots today. As you know having one safety bot in D-tiered and untiered squads is mandatory. These bots are imported from Arcadia.
Now don't rush. I will call your name one by one and give you your bots."
Ayesha pumped up
"Hell yeah. Safety bot!"
The other students got jolly as well. It was an alien experience for them.
Just like any other job, bots played a significant role in hunting down beasts. They weren't capable of killing beasts. A special law was enforced so that artificial intelligence wouldn't be involved in combat and can't be given capabilities to fight. Reportedly, not from any completely trustworthy source it was said that the Government feared if by chance battle bots were created, they would try to take over the earth. The bots used in squads were mostly to supervise members and report back to the admins in case the members get into danger or get involved in illegal activities.
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The assistant headmistress walked in with 2 strongly built workers wearing ash workers' cloth. The janitor's expression told them he wasn't really expecting that. The workers didn't waste time and unpacked the box quickly. They brought out 13 boxes, each varying in size. The assistant headmistress whispered something to the janitor. The assistant headmistress Miss Nora was built like most other middle age women of her age, kind of short and fattening up day by day. But for some reason, she gave of the vibe of a characterless character.
The janitor started calling out names. First Brock was called and he was handed over the first box. The janitor checked the contents of the box. His one was medium-sized. He continued calling other names one by one, checked all the boxes, and handed over the boxes. Most of them had a hard time carrying the box as it was heavy. Ayesha was called out last. Upon checking her box, the janitor made a skeptical expression and was about to ask the headmistress "this one seems broken..."
But stopped seeing the headmistress's cold look and gesture. The janitor delivered it to Ayesha.
Ayesha rushed outside with the box. She directly went to the locker room on the 2nd floor using the stairs. Ayesha, after all these years of training, didn't have to break a sweat to carry the box. Reaching her locker, she opened the box hurriedly. Her smile disappeared all of a sudden. A sudden thunder struck her mind.
The bot inside was rusty and broken. She got it out. 4 feet in size, the bot was the most humanoid-looking bot possible yet was so rusty it didn't function.
She bolted to the assistant headmistress' room with teary eyes. She cried, "Ma'am, the bot you gave me..is..is broken ."
The assistant headmistress gave a hasty smile and said in a tone of mockery "Ah, is it? I can't help you, honey. We won't be getting any more bots until next year. So, perhaps
would you want to drop out from the contest this year?"
Ayesha got what was going on, and turned red with anger but had to suppress her temper, as misbehaving with teachers meant instant expulsion from the academy. She knew too well this is some type of foul play arranged by Brock but she was helpless. The teachers were always generous to her as she was gifted. But, when it was against Brock she was always mistreated
so that she couldn't surpass him. Most of the time they miserably fail though. So that kind of created wrath against her among a certain Brock lover group.
And the assistant headmistress was part of that group.
She got back home with the broken bot. Her house was on the 2nd floor of the Troy Academy hostel, which wasn't far from the academy. A simplistic white 10 storied building.
Opening the door her brother Faz asked "What happened, sis? Why are you sad?"
Ayesha with a smile, that showed no sign of happiness said " I just tasted something bitter today."
"What did you taste, Ayesha ?"
"Injustice.......