I felt relief flood through my body.

I had been worried about mentioning it to anyone. After all, it sounded ridiculous.

The monsters that had invaded our world a hundred years ago were vicious and near unstoppable.

They had no feelings or thoughts. They only longed for destruction.

The thought of anyone being able to control them was beyond the imagination of most people.

I had felt I had found a kindred soul in the man before me.

"Do you think so? It seems impossible. There has never been such a huge change from the Sage's Will."

Arthur nodded in response.

I had hoped he would have a little more information. With the Stoneheart family at his back, he wouldn't be left in the dark about the situation.

"The Sage's Will thinks we are losing the war. There was no need to change the system as long as humanity wasn't losing ground. After the fall of Almire and the return of every soul armour lost in battle. The Will changed slightly. After the past few years, no one paid it much heed. But now it's different. You and I aren't the only ones found so far."

That made me feel better; after all, the more new types there were, the less scrutiny would be on me. I didn't want the total weight of the human collective focused on me. Now, I didn't have to worry.

"Do you know who the others are? What type are they?"

Arthur seemed to ponder for a few moments.

"I have some ideas. I know that there are three others currently in the dorm."

That shocked me more than anything else. If we were all new types, that would be a considerable change to the status quo.

That begged another question if there would be even more than five new different types.

"The testing isn't over yet, is it?"

Arthur nodded in response.

"I don't believe there will be any more aberrants. You awoke as a C rank, correct?"

I could only nod in response. It had been the one positive in the whole situation. No matter what my abilities would be, I wouldn't be a sitting duck. While going against true powerhouses would be impossible. I might have a chance not to be destroyed in the academy.

My parents had kept their academy experience quiet. But they had made it clear that it was one of the most challenging things they had ever experienced.

"I also awoke as a C ranker. Now that all one hundred C rankers have been assigned. Unless the Will changes even more, there shouldn't be any more new Types."

That was an interesting thing to learn. If Arthur was correct, all new types had been assigned C rank.

That was a greater surprise than anything else. After all, only a hundred people started at C rank each year.

They would be A or even S rank by the end of the academy—the future elites of humanity.

It was well known that the first three years after assignment were the greatest periods of growth.

To gamble with the chance of five possible A or S rankers didn't seem worthwhile.

It would have made more sense for us to be put with the hundred F rankers each year.

They often had more experimental weapons and armour. Never so far as a different type, but they had long been seen as the experiments of the Will.

Some worked, others did not.

The fact that the Will had begun experimenting with C rankers might be more of a worry than our new Types.

I wasn't sure what to say in response to that, so we fell into silence. We were both lost in our thoughts.

That was when another door opened up, and out came another man who gave Arthur a run for his money.

He was a giant, standing close to two heads taller than me and almost the same width.

He would have made the perfect Heavy Infantry. So, the fact he had been given something else was surprising.

Arthur was the first to his feet in greeting. His face showed signs of recognition.

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"Aaron, It's good to see you."

The giant's face turned to a smile. His voice booming throughout the entire room,

"Arthur, It's good to see a familiar face. I am surprised you also awakened as a Vanguard."

That was a surprise to both of us.

"No, Aaron, my friend. Kajus and I here are different types entirely. I am a Paladin, and he is a tamer."

I could only nod in response to the introduction.

Aaron showed a face of surprise, moving to join us on the sofas.

I was worried that they might be unable to handle his weight. But it turned out he needn't have worried.

The orange tinge to his manasteel armour glinted as he sat.

Another colour that had never been seen before. The Vanguard's colour had been the closest to any of the base colours.

It was like a mix of Heavy and Light, red and yellow. I couldn't help but think he was some mix between the two—the defences of Heavy with the attack of light.

Aaron was quick to admit about his idea of his new type.

With Aaron, Arthur was more forthright about what he thought his type would be able to do.

He believed it would be a mix between Support and Heavy.

This was a worrying trend for the other types; they seemed to be a mix of the base types—combining their strengths and limiting their weaknesses.

If what I thought about my type was true, then it might be closer to a Commander Type. Something that was only given once a year. Even in the future, he might be one of the rarest types.

While there might be only one of the other types now, who knows how that would change in the future?

The front door of the dormitory opened and broke their conversation.

One of the younger people from the day before came through the door.

He was one of the people I had yet to learn their name or rank.

"Good, three of you are awake. That is enough for now. Follow me for testing."

I was the slowest to respond. The other two were quick to snap to attention. Saluting in response to the order.

There was a clear difference in teaching between them. Both Aaron and Arthur had grown up in the centre of the military.

It had been quite some time since I could say the same.

I followed behind the two giants. Awaiting what was to come.

My nerves were mounting. I had no idea what activating my soul armor would lead to.

There wasn't much to see as we travelled through the fortress.

We kept to tighter corridors and stairs. Any busier area that we happened to pass through, we were quick to move out of.

That didn't stop some people staring as we passed.

I didn't think it was because of Aaron and Arthur. News had spread about us within the fortress.

All eyes would be on us for the coming future. I didn't know if I could handle it.

After what felt like an age, we finally arrived at a training area. With several people waiting there. General Amir was absent this time around.

The other General, on the other hand, was front and centre.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the man after the rudeness of the night before.

He nodded as we passed. He waited until we stood at attention opposite him before speaking.

"This is an unprecedented opportunity. The Sages have decided that change is needed for humanity. You are the first sign of that change. Today, we will be testing you to your limits."

That was worrying to hear. I wasn't sure if my limits were much different from how they had been the day before.

If I had to face either of the two other men, I knew it would be a losing battle.

Even if Arthur's Paladin was more focused on support than combat, his greeting had more than proven that he had far greater strength than I did.

I didn't fancy my chances against either of them in any fight.

Arthur was the first to be called up. It was clear that he had been the first to awaken a new type.

I imagine he was one of the first in line at the start of the day.

Aaron and I moved to the side, standing alongside the General and the others. Eager to see what the first Paladin would look like.

Arthur stood in front of us for a few moments.

Breathing slowly, he brought his arm up in front of us.

I wasn't sure if it was an entirely different process to activate the new types of soul armour.

Arthur spent a few moments trying to activate it with a mental command.

As the seconds drew on, it was clear that even he wasn't capable of a first-time mental activation.

He looked resigned as he finally called out to his device.

"Activate."

Other than the colour, the first few moments of his activation seemed standard. It looked similar to Heavy armour.

It was C rank when you first had full body armour. He was only missing the helm, which would come at B rank.

Other than that, his body was covered by silver armour. While it didn't look as dense as some of the heavy armor he had seen. It was clear that he could still take more than a few hits.

That was when the General decided to speak up.

"Incredible. Can you use your skills?"

That threw me for a loop. While it wasn't unheard of for recent bindings to have skills. It was rare, even for C rankers.

I, for one, had yet to see any skills on my status page. I wondered if I hadn't been looking hard enough.

"Aura of Strength"

Arthur speaking brought me out of my envy. Having failed his first mental activation, he was quick to resort to verbal activation.

This was the first I had heard of the skill.

The closest thing would be the Blessing of Strength, a support skill that boosted another's strength and combat power.

I felt a small burst of energy and newfound strength run through me. It was clear that Arthur's skill worked similarly.

Rather than targeting a single person, It affected everyone in the surrounding area—an incredible skill.

"Fantastic, while It's not as strong as Blessing of Strength. The fact that it affects everyone is a powerful advantage."

Arthur nodded.

What surprised me even more was when he went to speak once again. I had never heard of anyone having more than one skill right after the binding.

That seemed almost as impossible as getting a new type.

"Aura of Healing"

The second he said the words, I began to feel better, like a gentle wind was blowing through the room, easing out my body and my mind at the same time.

Judging by the reaction of the other people standing beside me, I wasn't the only one who felt that way.

If this was what a Paladin was, then they would be playing a major part in the war in the coming years.

I was in awe at the skills he had shown. Aaron, beside me, seemed to be reacting similarly.

After all, Arthur hadn't spoken about any of his skills before we left the room. He was only speaking on his suspicions.

Those suspicions were thrown out the window now. What he was and what he could become was now more than clear to everyone.

The General looked on the verge of clapping as he told Arthur to stand down.

As Arthur left the practice area and began to make his way back to the group, the General turned to Aaron and me.

"Okay, Cadet Kajus. It's your turn. Show us what a tamer can do."