CHAPTER 50
TWO WEEKS LATER!
It had been two whole weeks since Ray and Van arrived at the Aspirant Corps.
This made it a total of a full month since the Wall Rose crumbled and both boys lost their families.
In these two weeks, despite his cheat, Ray trained like never before.
From his daily quests, to physical training, to homeroom classes, to aspect classes, and then honing his bloodline skills and putting everything into practice, Ray was evolving.
He was growing—and not at a slow or decent pace—he was rapidly progressing, as his dedication and determination were evident in his mannerisms and the way he carried himself.
It was as if after his evolution, something inside him clicked, something had changed.
A subtle air of power lingered around him… the subtleness gradually growing stronger by the day.
Captain Jake had already managed to teach his class the three groups of kicking in these two weeks.
There were more kicking techniques to come, but he focused on these three groups, which Ray managed to master in a single minute.
Due to his perfect muscle memory, he only needed to perform the action once to get a full feel for it.
The physical training every morning also honed his perception.
And now, his stats had increased.
During the physical training, Ray had actually managed to surpass some of the grade 3 and grade 4 meta-humans just a few metres away from Kai and Trisha, who were always out front.
Today was just like any other day. Ray had just finished his daily quest, which always ended with a 10km run.
He could be seen standing upright and panting while muttering:
"Status."
[Status]
[Name: Ray Dawson]
[Age: 15]
[Race: Tribrid]
[Level: 3]
[Exp: 70/200]
[HP: 50/50]
[MF: 50/50]
[Energy: 100/100]
___
He had actually managed to get to level '3' for fourteen whole days, he completed his quests without fail earning him 10 EXP's daily.
After the fourteenth day—which was yesterday—he had racked up a total of 140 EXP. Adding his previous 70, he managed to level up.
He was supposed to be left with 60 EXP, but after today's completion, it rose to 70.
"Attributes."
{Attributes:}
[STR: 25>>> 26]
[AGI: 25>>> 27]
[INT: 24]
[PER: 20>>> 25]
[END: 26>>> 28]
[Stat points: 5]
_
For some reason, the system had awarded him one point to STR and two points to AGI three days ago after he completed his quests.
The increase in perception was due to his daily physical training with the instructor, whose name he strangely didn't know, nor did he bother to ask.
Oh. He also still had the free stat points from completing his quest of defeating Flinn that day, which he wasn't ready to distribute yet.
He hadn't found the perfect opportunity nor decided on which attributes to assign them to.
Checking his wrist, he glanced at the time.
"5am."
"...."
"Shit. I need to get back now."
Dashing away with his face towel in hand, he arrived at his dorm a few minutes later and quickly bolted toward the bathroom.
After freshening up a few moments earlier, he now rushed toward the training field for their usual physical session.
But for Ray and the other Aspirants, everyone was excited for something that would happen on this field in a few hours.
The instructor had explained the day before that, from today, after all their classes and activities, from 3pm to 4:30pm, he would be taking them for something new.
After waiting two weeks straight, the Aspirants would finally be trained on the use of the VMS gear—the pair of boots all Vanguard Order members wore, along with some of the Iron Corps' members too.
A type of gear that gave humanity the footing to face the towering Abberants, creatures several miles taller than them.
The same gear, designed by one of the Big Four Legacies, enabled all wearers to glide through the air and get in the face of those ape-like bastards.
The instructor had announced that he would be training them in its use later today, making every single Aspirant eager and looking forward to the session.
The physical training ended with a buzz as all the Aspirants headed over to the cafeteria for breakfast.
Kai, as usual, was seated with Van and Ray, eating happily while chatting.
In these two weeks, they had kept receiving twisted and strange looks from the others, which they purposely ignored—until now.
Tak. Tak. Tak.
Footsteps echoed toward the trio, causing them to glance up from their food.
"Sorry?" Kai asked with a raised brow as he stared at the figure in front of him.
A boy of about 5'8", his fiery red hair neatly combed backwards.
His uniform was pristine and clean, and his hands were half-tucked in his pockets.
Ruby red eyes glared at the trio seated at the table.
The half-tucked hand, the one with a watch on it, was displaying a number.
"6.8"
'6… What now?' Ray gulped inwardly as he stared at the grade boldly displayed on the Aspirant's watch.
Despite his shock, he outwardly remained calm, nonchalantly chewing his food.
'There is someone stronger than Kai in this place? Yo! What the hell is happening?' Van, unlike Ray, was far from calm.
His hands were clasped across his lap under the table, while his feet nervously tapped the floor as he fidgeted.
Turning his gaze, he could see that all eyes were on the figure standing over the trio.
"... Kai Larson. What are you doing?" the boy asked, frowning.
"Huh?" Kai cocked an eyebrow in genuine confusion. "What does it look like? I'm eating with my friends, of course…"
Hearing the term "friends" made the boy's brows twitch in anger as he shot the other duo a glare.
Despite the gaze, Ray continued chewing, outwardly calm and composed.
But deep inside, he was nearly choking at what he saw.
He had silently activated his Thermal Vision, allowing him to see the boy's aura, and he almost gasped.
The aura was twice as large as Kai's and danced wildly like an untamed flame, threatening to burn everything in its path.
"Friends? These trash are who you call friends? Why do you want to malign the reputation of the higher-echelon society by befriending these ga—"
"And who gave you the right to interfere in what I do?" Kai's brows furrowed as he shot out of his seat angrily, glaring at the figure.
"Are you blind? Can't you see my hair? Or do you want to pretend you don't know who my family is?" the boy clapped back, untucking his hands from his pockets.
His posture was calm… cocky even, as he stared daggers into Kai.
Kai, on the other hand, tilted his head from side to side, studying the boy before his eyes lit up in recognition.
Then the light dimmed, replaced by a scowl as his grip tightened until his knuckles whitened.
"... What? Because you are a descendant of one of the Big Four, I should bow to you?!" Kai shot back angrily.
Ray could no longer contain himself.
He went into coughing fits, visibly choking at what he had just heard.
"Wh-what?!"