Chapter 1-SweeT AnD SouR

Year 2443

"You...you bastard Eliot. You have to pay for this. We were committed to creating a new hope for humanity. We were meant to keep each other's back.

And look at you now. LOOK AT YOU. What's our crime? Eliot, you are gonna pay, EARTH, YOU ARE GONNA PAY"

Year 2975,28 September

A peaceful day in the capital of Troy, Avalon. Known as the city of knowledge, Avalon sets apart from any other city in this world.

The infrastructure of this city was made using bricks and lime clasts. According to the locals, this is the last city made by humans. After all, after the robot

revolution everything was done by robots. The red, ash and brown skyscrapers were able to create a unique kind of view in this city.

The time was ten past nine. The pitch-black streets of Avalon were already full of locals, tourists, and most importantly students.

In the busy street, one could find a boy screaming from his room.

"Fuck. I overslept again ". The boy had a bulky but harmless appearance. The glasses made him look rather nerdy .wearing his uniform in a raunchy manner he sprinted toward the big academy building, which looked like Big Ben.

In front of the marvelous infrastructure, there was a gigantic gate with the sign "Welcome to Troy Academia''

Troy Academia, is famous for being the best possible academy in the current world. Teaching students basic science and other skills alongside combat training was one of its best traits.

But it didn't matter much in this world as most of the chores are done by robots and humans mostly just enjoyed their lives. And few of them known as

"Nightingales" put their lives on the line fighting mutated beasts that populated all the vast forests, depths of the seas, and every other possible place that neither humans nor bots inhabited for some reason in the current generation. They also fought against human criminals.

Most of the people here miraculously have supernatural capabilities. These are rather known as cosmium. According to specialists, there is cosmium energy everywhere

around the earth just like air. And in the distant past somehow humans got the capability to use this energy in various ways.

Using cosmium proficiently was a staple to becoming a nightingale. And Troy academia nurtured students' cosmium to a different height.

The Troy Academia's land was somewhat 13 acres. The huge multi-storied building was in the middle. It was a brown building with a similar infrastructure as other buildings in the city. The first few floors hardly had a window but the upper floors were flooded with tinted windows.

But what stood out most was the large clock on it. That thing was the icon of the whole of Troy. And the lands beside were full of neatly cut grass and different sort

of trees.Mostly pine.

Entering the building the boy went to the locker room on the second floor. Most of the part of the five-storied building was highly supervised but the locker room wasn't because of privacy purposes.

Entering the locker room the boy tripped into a blond guy who had a mischievous look and a strongly built body. The blond kicked the boy in the stomach and grinned devilishly saying

"Oh Ron, you never learn. Do you?" The blond kicked Ron again, Ron uttered in pain "Brock, you son of a......"

Brock, now showing tempered eyes, asked, "Son of a what? Bitch? You geddit that you are calling my dad, the principal a bitch?"

Brock punched Ron in the stomach and left. Ron was groaning.

"Oh no. Ron, what happened...? Don't tell me Brock did this.." a girl came running toward injured Ron. The girl was tall, kinda skinny, and had snowy skin shade.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Ugh...oh.yeah that was Brock. But I think I am okay, Ayesha"

Ayesha gave off a disgusted gesture saying" Okay then . Learn to fight, boy." and left

Ron kinda got happy as Ayesha came to assist him. Something about Brock always pissed him off. Brock pretended as if he was a free punching bag. Ron didn't want to take revenge by no means

But Brock surely needs to learn a lesson for doing such things. But now's not the time to think about that. He's missing the principal's speech in the hall room. The current principal sir Aron really hated unpunctuality. The hall room was on the 3rd floor.

It was the largest room with more than 500 student capacity. The hall room was well furnished but wasn't something extraordinary. Dark Brown benches were everywhere and

in front of one stage where the facility of giving a speech or showing holographic slideshows was possible. There were tinted mirrors. Variations of colors could be seen from the outside but from inside all those glasses felt dark. It was done intentionally so that

the holograms wouldn't be disturbed by the light.

Entering the massive hall room, Ron found out the principal has already started giving the speech.

"....just like every year. We will grant permission to one squad from the first semester to work under 'The Council of Nightingale' and as I can see a total of 13 students are willing to

create a squad and enroll for the council. So, we are going to select the squad in our old way"

Everyone screamed together with excitement, "THE BOUNTY HUNT"

The principal gestured for everyone to calm down punching the desk softly. The principal was skinny and pale but gave off an aura full of pressure. His eyes looked

cold. he turned on a hologram. It was a map that was showing the Verma forest. A forest 170 km west of the academia.

The principal continued, "I hope you already know the systems of the bounty hunt arranged for the first-year students. And it's one of the reasons Troy academia

is famous. But I am going to remind you of the rules as it is an order from the council. It is a voluntary event and I don't prefer it to weak-hearted students.

Everyone eager to join the bounty hunter has to create a beta squad consisting of 5 people at least. You will be let loose in the Verma forest's outskirts.

There you have to kill as many mutated creatures as possible for the next 30 days. The Outskirts of Verma forest mostly have untiered beasts. For killing each of them

a team will get 1 point. Finding a D-tier beast would be a mini-jackpot for a team as killing one grant 10 points. The council says killing a C-tiered beast

gives you 100 points! But don't take C-tiered beasts as a blessing and if by chance you run into one, try to run away and inform the academia. Again I'm warning you, DON't

TRY TO FIGHT A C-TIERED BEAST. You will be living in the academia forest camp these 30 days and the academia will supply you with your necessities. Beta squads will

be supplemented with safety bots which are brought from Arcadia"

Ron glanced at Ayesha. Her eyes were shining with joy. "After all, why not? Ayesha always dreamt of joining the Nightingales."Ron pondered,"

Ah, I really wish I could join her squad but...I'm not gifted with cosmium." Ron got gloomy. He knew he had no chance of becoming a nightingale. In terms of awakening cosmium, some are late bloomers. But the age of 18 is even too late for late-bloomers like Ron. All he hoped for was

to become something established like a technical manager or radar master in the future..Everyone had a smile of joy that day except Ron, who was gloomy, and Brock

who also smiled but not from joy, from mischievous intents. Certainly, none other from Academia's first semester stood a chance of winning the hunt except him or

Ayesha. After the speech, everyone was getting out of the hall room.

Brock stumbled on Ayesha intentionally. Ayesha grumbled.

Brock grinned and said while walking away, "Oh my bad, hope you don't stumble upon a beast, kitten......