“However, I am quite clear about the temper of that guy over there. I have to go along with him. Otherwise, things will backfire. Over on this side, I can use the way of the wolf…” Red Moon was sulking due to the Nono incident. He looked at Clint and suddenly gave a sinister smile.
“Clint!”
“Ah… Eh?” Clint was just about to get into the state of training his Willpower but was jolted awake. He opened his eyes and had a blank look on his face.
“From today onwards, I will arrange training tasks for you every day. If they are not completed, there will be various punishments. In order to improve your strength and combat awareness as quickly as possible, this is the only way we can do it. After all, we are now in the radiation belt. There are dangers here everywhere and if you do not increase self-awareness, you may not know even know how you died.”
“Oh… Oh… I see, I’ll work hard!” Clint nodded his head with seriousness.
“That’s good. You have to know that once you don’t finish the task, I will punish you by forcefully taking over your body. You have to be clear about this. Well, for the first task of the day, engrave the first layer of the Willpower imprint once again!”
“Ah??” Clint was stunned. Engraving Willpower imprint was the way to training Willpower. Each different training method would have a different imprint and each layer of training method would also have an imprint in increasing complexity which had to be engraved on different parts of the body to activate the Willpower of the cells in that part.
This was also the main method for training Willpower; repeated engraving would deepen the traces. This was the way to continuously progress in the training method.
In the past, it was possible to engrave an imprint once in four days under his normal state. This was considered to be very good for Clint, who had been forcefully advanced to Willpower Level One. Yet now, Red Moon actually asked him to engrave once a day!
“Lord… this…”
“If you cannot do it, you will go for a naked run! Or go show your little wee-wee[1] in front of the convoy’s Big Sister and shout three times, “I’m a scum!”” Red Moon grinned slyly.
“F*ck…” there was absolutely no way he was doing that!!
Clint’s head immediately went numb and he had goosebumps all over his body. Quickly, without saying anything else, his whole body and mind went into the state of Willpower training.
He knew that Red Moon would walk his talk. In the event of such a terrible incident, his reputation would be sullied for the rest of his life!
*********************
Garen walked into the academy. The number of students in the academy had decreased significantly as many students had received tasks of patrolling in the city, similar to the tasks he did before, as there was a lack of manpower.
Besides Blackboard Academy, other academies in the region were also doing the same thing. The higher-ups of Blackboard had officially entered into a war with the White Light Organization. With East Fate City as the frontline, both sides had invested large numbers of standard Mech units. The Blackboard army and the Ray Print Mech of White Light had been killing each other. There would be a big scale battle every three days while every two days, a small-scale one. The death toll on both sides was increasing.
The White Light Organization had shown more than just the strength of a terrorist organization. East Fate City was located at the border and back of the Maria Region. It was impossible that this situation did not have the acknowledgment and support of the other two regions.
Blackboard was now dealing with the issue of the forbidden core as well as the implication of a possible inter-region war.
Garen paced slowly on the sidewalk of the academy. The green belt beside that was planted with safflowers had been trimmed neatly. Looking ahead, there were maglev circular displays the size of washbasins playing the news.
‘In recent days, the Polar Region and our military have been conducting joint military training. The newest submarine-launched missiles have been revealed. According to relevant sources, the new missiles have not only enhanced the scatter-tracking on the foundation of the Nightingale models, they have also been equipped with a special erosion-type force field generator on their warheads. It can effectively carry out powerful interference attacks on high-level pilots…”
The news broadcaster smiled and spoke confidently as if local high-level pilots could completely overpower the terrorists with just a new type of missile.
Garen strolled past the display as he observed the increasingly tense atmosphere in the Blackboard Region. The atmosphere of the war had already seeped into the academy, where soldiers in military uniforms were often seen entering and leaving the campus.
“My uncle was involved in the research of the new missile. The actual power is not as imagined…” a few passing students shook their heads while discussing among one another.
“How is the situation in East Fate City?”
“Not sure. We were only responsible for the periphery cleaning.”
“If you are an elite student, you will certainly receive an inner job.”
“Some did receive it, but the casualties were quite severe. I heard that even Senior Red Eyes was seriously injured.”
Several students discussed while passing by on Garen’s right. They all looked like senior students, each emanating the force field of Level One Willpower. The senior-level eight-petaled flower silver logo was also worn on their chests. Eight years of schooling was the normal level of most students. For the tens of thousands of students in Blackboard Academy, ninety percent of them were actually at such a level. They made up the majority of ordinary people in the academy.
Even if the students were studying at home, they were also talking about the war.
For elites like Garen who could achieve Level Three Willpower, many of them had a lot of military ranks and they could officially enter the battlefield as military soldiers.
He continued to stroll forward. It was already late afternoon. The sun was rather dim, though it still shone on his military uniform. The black belt strapped diagonally to his shoulder reflected the light and dragged out a long shadow behind him.
The gap between students was vast sometimes.
Garen sighed in his heart.
All of them were students and yet, some barely met the graduation criteria. They only had Level One Willpower and could only serve as foot soldiers. Some, in reverse, could serve as one of the main players in the middle stratum.
This was just like the universities of Earth. Some students would be approached by top companies offering them high salaries while they were still schooling and had even built their own businesses with billions in net worth; whereas, some of them were still wasting their lives away and had to submit resume after resume to seek for a minimum-wage job after graduating.
Some had been able to leave their names in notable research papers while some could only plagiarize from elsewhere for their dissertation.
With a sigh and some stirring in his emotions, Garen quickened his pace and rapidly moved toward his destination.
The students he encountered on the road all showed sights of envy as they saw the Captain-rank military uniform on him. Being able to achieve the rank of a captain at such a young age, it was obvious that it was either someone in the family or he himself must have served with distinction. His future prospects were limitless. As long as one had reached Willpower Level Four, being a field officer was certain. If one were lucky enough to advance to Level Five, one could attain the general level.
Some first and second-year juniors and third and fourth-year seniors all thought that Garen was at least a year five student. They could not help but gaze over.
Garen kept his gaze straight and walked directly towards his destination.
A white mountain-shaped building stood more than one hundred meters away. There was a stone monument inserted on the edge of the green belt. The upper part was engraved with the words: Academy Main Building.
After adjusting the collar of his shirt, Garen strode towards the white stone staircase in front of the building.
************
Pap.
The jade-colored stone paperweight was slowly lowered and made a crisp sound on the redwood table.
“You want to apply for a jump in levels?” in the red office, the head of the department, Ansader, sat in his chair and calmly looked at the student in front of him who had submitted his application. This was the fourth student he had met today requesting a jump in levels. He had not been surprised.
But what really astounded him was that this student was able to attain the rank of captain when he was just a second-year student.
He looked down at the paper report.
“The reason you gave is that you have already reached the graduation standard in the academic subjects and you hope to formally join the military to become an official member. I have already received the test results. They were really good,” Ansader carefully considered his words.
“Thank you, chief,” Garen stood upright and looked straight ahead. It was a standard officer’s posture.
“Although your request completely complies with the standards, your application is indeed very difficult for me,” Ansader murmured. “No one had ever jumped across such a large span in one go. You want to jump from the second year straight to graduation. Do you think that you could finish eight years of schooling in just two years?”
“Chief, according to my investigation, there were indeed some precedents. Four people from the Black Rain Generals have had such a cross-level record. Black Star, Red Eyes, and five others have also made such a big leap,” Garen answered truthfully.
“You did your homework well,” Ansader rubbed his temples. It was not the first time he had encountered this kind of genius who thought he was the best in the world and would mention Black Star and Red Eyes at every turn. In fact, this happened quite often. Geniuses were always proud, thinking that they could be compared to any great celebrity and that the world’s successful powerhouses were only a little bit luckier than they were.
“Well, you were last year’s freshmen’s First Seat. Although you couldn’t get into the elite, it was due to the accident between you and Celine which caused you two to fight too early. Not being able to continue in the competition was an accident as well,” to tell the truth, Ansader still admired this genius Nono, who had worked hard with his own efforts and climbed up step by step. Seeing such a genius would always remind him of his past self.
“I will write a letter of recommendation for you. You can take the letter and go to Professor Van Doe in the inner courtyard. He is a good friend of mine and the leading master in the Crouched Eagle Talon Training Method. He has been exploring the feasibility of Level Six Crouched Eagle Talon in the inner court.”
It was not the first time that Ansader had done this. In any case, several geniuses could be found in each semester and he would send them to his old friends. Professor Van Doe was famous for his superb Crouched Eagle Talon Willpower. It was just that he had faded out from people’s horizon a hundred years ago which was why he was not known in the eyes of the juniors nowadays.
“Professor Van Doe?” Garen did not expect this result. “If I enter the inner courtyard, would I get the qualification to accept tasks that go out to the radiation belt?”
“Radiation belt? You want to go out?” Ansader’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
“Yes! I know the truth about the radiation belt,” Garen said frankly, his voice became smaller.
Both their vision met and Garen did not avoid it.