Samantha's eyes widened.
"Velocity Boots?!"
"I thought only Second Year students were allowed to get one!"
As soon as she said this though, a silver and grey light flashed in her eyes, her thighs tensing, the muscle contracting.
A second later she took off, matching Jayden's speed effortlessly while keeping a safe distance between them.
There was a reason Jayden had called her a speedster earlier.
***
A few kilometres ahead in a moving ACV. At the driver's pit was Khan, sitting with a relaxed look on his face.
He had short red hair, bright amber eyes, a body built like a tool for war, and the most noticeable feature about him was probably his fangs and the curved ivory claws he had for nails.
Khan was among a rare group of Evolvers whose powers manifested in the form of Godspawn genes.
They were basically hybrids, with the intelligence of a human, their looks—to a point—and the physical strengths and abilities of Godspawns.
They were usually stronger than their peers, but their flaw was their slow progression.
Their movements through the ranks was so agonisingly slow, that the number of them in the upper Grades could be counted on one hand.
Khan, however, never seemed to worry about increasing his rank. He appeared content with being a Grade 2 Evolver for the rest of his days.
Within the same ACV was Jessica, an alcohol addict. She disliked the opposite gender, but found refuge in her teammates.
She easily broke down when her emotions were heightened, and it always transferred to her ability.
Jessica was a Water Elementalist. Her combat prowess was the lowest in the team, but she wasn't weak by any means. In fact, she was only the weakest because of her alcohol intake.
Her ability to manipulate water had become more of a curse than a blessing to her. With her ability, she could sneak alcohol with her wherever she went, manipulating the water content of her favourite—Vodka—and storing it in inconspicuous places around her body.
This daily practice of hers had made her the best at manipulating Essence amongst the whole of the First Year students.
And now, she was on the verge of breaking down again after realising that Samantha and Jayden weren't with them.
She was drunk too—something she had achieved in under seven minutes due to gulping down several mouthfuls of alcohol. And considering the fact that Evolvers were hard to influence with mundane things, it was quite a feat.
"First Jayden, now Samantha too?!!" Jessica complained, banging her head on the wall of the ACV, her platinum blonde hair falling to the sides in a tangled mess.
"Jayden has never skipped a mission before, so be rest assured that he will be back," Leon said from the bench where he lay, going through a burner phone with utmost concentration.
"And Samantha?"
Silence.
Suddenly the silence was broken apart by a shriek, a shriek that came from none other than Jessica.
"She's probably dead already!"
The group collectively sighed.
Another thing to note about Jessica was her pessimism.
"She can't be dead. If she were, the life monitor would have beeped us," Farouk, the tank of their team, replied.
Farouk was a dark skinned, tall, muscular and tough looking teenager.
His whole demeanour screamed discipline, someone who was a stickler for the rules.
He had a clean, neat taper fade, subtle signs of a beard growing out and a barely visible mustache.
He sat on a bench, leaning forward with a stress ball in hand. He was monitoring the seismic activity in the ground with his Earth manipulation ability.
The GPS didn't account for the activity underground, leaving them open for attacks from below.
Farouk did that always, not slacking for once to rest. Not only because it protected them, but because—just like Jessica—it was a way of training his ability.
Jessica wasn't convinced about what she just heard, but she visibly calmed, shrinking into a corner to wallow in self pity—and also secretly drink more Vodka.
Khan's eyes suddenly flashed with a deadly glint and he sat up.
"We're approaching the Convergence Point! Everyone get ready!" He roared from the driver's pit, slapping his palm on a box by his side.
The box hummed to life, the Nano particles spreading over his arm and across his body. It covered his skin and military uniform, accentuating his well-defined muscles while granting extra protection to his vitals.
The oxygen mask and goggles broke down into Nano particles and fused with the Nano Armour, leaving behind a skintight suit of armour covering his whole body—except his claws.
His muscles rippled beneath the silver and black armor, but they weren't suppressed or constrained in any way. Fact is, his physical abilities had been enhanced greatly, giving room for more explosive attack power.
The rest of the team acknowledged Khan's command and donned their Nano Armors.
Jessica took out a pill from her Dimensional Inventory and swallowed it.
It took no less than a minute before she was sober, her sight clearing and the synapses firing in rapid electric harmony.
They stepped out of the ACV confidently and walked forward.
Around were the ACVs of other students. A few of them had just arrived and were preparing to head into area Z-24.
Ahead of the scattering of vehicles was a tall barrier that stretched for miles to both sides.
This was the Convergence Point; the point at which two different Zones met, separated only by the whitish barrier before them.
The barrier had descended shortly after the Godspawn Apocalypse. Its origins were unknown, just like Godspawns, but its use was—at least humans thought so.
Farouk led the way, followed by Leon and Jessica, then Khan.
Their movements caught the attention of many. But they soon disappeared behind the barrier, crossing the Convergence Point into area Z-24.
At the same time they crossed the barrier, Jayden reached another Convergence Point and stopped.
He smirked, staring at the barrier. Only to wipe the smile off his face and look back with narrowed eyes.
He easily spotted Samantha a hundred metres away through the heavy heatwaves and dust, although he pretended not to, acting all the way like someone who was cautious and checking for any spies.
"Poison Mirage," he uttered under his breath, then swiftly walked through the barrier.