The sound of the van door opening awoke Felix. The cold from the van floor also helped.
Opening his eyes, he found himself on the van's floor, face planted firmly on the grooved floor. He quickly scrambled to his feet but was immediately met with a smirk from the other recruits. His brain was still a little foggy, but blinking rapidly, the world came back into screaming focus, causing him to wince slightly at the assault on his senses.
"Please exit the vehicle."
Felix turned around and saw the bored-looking man gesturing for them to exit the van. He wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but he hoped this was part of the normal GA procedures. The location of the military academies was secret after all.
Felix was the first to exit the van, and after his eyes adjusted to the light, he glanced around. Vans were lined up side by side, and in each one, recruits were exiting and forming a large crowd. Up ahead was a large platform where a few people dressed in military uniforms were watching the crowd.
"What the hell?" A voice to the far right of Felix said loudly.
Glancing towards the origin of the noise, Felix saw a blond-haired boy standing in front of a different van. He had an angry look on his face and was staring daggers at his driver.
Marching straight up to the man he began ranting loudly, "Do you know who the fuck my father is? Who gave you the right to do that to m-"
*Crack
Felix winced involuntarily at the audible sound as the blonde-haired boy flew backwards a few feet before landing on his back. The driver had punched him, caving the boy's nose in, and causing blood to pour down his face.
"I don't know if your an idiot or just a spoiled brat but nobody gives a shit if your daddy is the GA president." The driver said with a look of disgust on his face. "Here you're just another worthless nobody."
The event had caused a small stir in the surrounding crowd, but a moment later, their attention was diverted to a voice that rang out from the platform.
"Silence."
Everyone went quiet. Nobody moved a muscle, and everyone faced the speaker whose voice demanded absolute obedience.
The speaker in question was a tall man with broad shoulders and rough features. He had a crisp uniform with medals shiny enough that Felix had to squint every time the man twisted his body slightly.
"I am Commander Remius," The man said, his voice effortlessly reaching everyone's ears, "I am your academy head." Remius paused for a moment before continuing. "132 years ago, our predecessors came together and formed the Global Alliance. Since that day, the GA has selflessly fought back the Beasts and created bastions of safety. As such, it has become tradition that every capable citizen will participate in this magnificent process. While at the academy, you are expected to work your hardest. Failure is not an option. If you believe you will just be able to coast through your time here, you are badly mistaken..."
Felix tuned out the rest of the speech while Commander Remius droned on and on about the privilege they were experiencing and the hard work they were expected to put in. Felix had heard the same stuff growing up a million times.
Eventually, Commander Remius finished his speech and began instructing the crowd.
"Those with abilities, please make your way to the left. Those without abilities, please make your way to the right."
Felix felt his stomach do a flip. This was what he had been waiting for! Everyone had the chance to awaken an ability before entering the academy. For most people, this was the only way to gain an ability.
Some people can naturally awaken their ability, but it is a rare occurrence. For most others, they have to use an "Awakening Crystal". Awakening crystals are crystals mined and taken from inside rifts or artificially made in labs. Most people can't afford to buy one because any material from inside a rift was extremely expensive, and it's difficult to make them in labs. However, the GA supplies a crystal to every student entering the academy. 70% of students are able to awaken their ability this way. If you don't awaken this way, you have to buy an "Ability Crystal". These crystals have abilities already contained in them. Why not just use these instead? Well, these crystals are even more expensive than Awakening Crystals. Therefore, only families who had lots of money or who had a line of ability users were able to send their kids to the academy with years of experience ahead of everyone else.
Felix made his way to the forming crowd on the right. Kids stood around him, looking nervous but also excited. They all wanted the same thing. A chance at a better life.
Once again, the group was shuttled into vans, albeit most of them were pretty reluctant. After being assured they wouldn't be gassed, (AN: "I would ask you to not make any N*zi jokes, but unfortunately none of you know how to act like you're older than 34 minutes, so I won't"), everyone finally piled into their respective vans and they set off.
After about 10 minutes of driving, the van Felix was placed in finally rolled to a stop. Almost immediately, the door rolled open, and his new van mates stepped out. Looking around, he almost gasped.
They were standing in an absolutely massive courtyard. To their left, a giant concrete building dominated the landscape. Giant letters reading: Military Academy #13. (AN: "Wow... The GA couldn't think of a better name? Like, I could have done way better.") The courtyard was surrounded by massive pine trees that denied anyone the ability to gaze into the forest.
"Please follow me." Felix turned to see a man wearing a GA uniform gesturing for them to follow. The large group, now united, followed the man into the large building. Inside, it reminded Felix of a normal school. Although the large insignia on the ground was slightly telling.
The group was taken down the hallways, and after a few more minutes of walking, they were split up into smaller groups and sent into four different classrooms. About forty people were in Felix's group.
Felix quickly chose a seat and waited. His excitement couldn't be contained, and he began nervously tapping his foot on the floor.
The group waited. And waited. And waited. Over half an hour passed, and still no instructor had told them what to do, and nobody had even checked up on them.
"Hey, what gives?" A boy in the back of the room asked. "Are we getting our Awakening Crystals or not?"
"Quiet." A girl said.
"Shut it." The boy replied, unfazed. "This is bullshi-"
The door flung open, and a woman wearing a full uniform entered. Everyone immediately silenced themselves and became still.
"I'm sure you all are excited," The woman said with a smile. "Don't worry, each of you will get your Awakening Crystal, but first..." The woman paused before continuing. "Please raise your hand if either of your parents has perished in the line of duty."
Felix raised his hand along with a few other students.
"Thank you," The woman said. "Most of you are unaware of this, but the GA does not immediately return all of your parents' belongings to you until you are old enough to serve. As a result, some of you will be receiving your parents' belongings. This is why your wait has been extended." She smiled while tapping something on her watch.
A moment later, a few people, not much older than the new students, entered the room and began handing out thin black bands made out of a metallic material. After they finished, they quickly left the room, and the woman resumed speaking.
"Please place the bands on your right wrist."
Everyone obeyed.
As Felix brought the band over his wrist, he suddenly felt it clamp down. Panicking, he tried to pull it off, but it was completely stuck.
"Don't worry," The woman said. "This is your academy band. The technical name for it is lengthy, but everyone calls it the A.B.. This band will monitor your vitals, alert us to any danger you may face, serve as identification, and allow quick access to your Academy Credits. Acadmey Credits will serve you as the only money you will need as a student of the academy. Restaurants, shops, and online stores will all accept this payment. If you do need real money, however, you can exchange them for normal credits. As a student, you will receive 150 Academy Credits every week. If you perform well, you will be awarded credits, and your base payments may be increased. If you don't perform well, you can kiss your money goodbye. I won't explain to you how to work your A.B. because it is relatively simple, and if you can't figure that out, then you probably shouldn't be here."
The more she talked, the more Felix was sure the smile from earlier was a complete lie.
"One more thing. Your Awakening Crystals can be found in your dorms. Your dorm location is on your A.B's band. Good luck."
Before anyone could react, the woman had strolled out of the room and completely abandoned the class to figure it out for themselves.
'Must be some kind of small test,' Felix thought. Obviously, the way to pass was to figure out how to work the A.B.. With that in mind, he began examining the thing on his wrist while ignoring the complaints of the students around him. The band itself was simply a sleek chunk of metal. No buttons or screen could be seen.
Out of curiosity, he tapped the band.
Immediately, a small holographic screen appeared and hovered right above his wrist. The screen was small, but Felix could easily read the words on it.
[Personal Information] [Account Balance] [Student Handbook] [Calendar] [Map]
'Looks like this thing does a lot more than she let on,' he thought while pressing on [Map].
The screen changed and showed an outline of the building he was in, along with labels of the different rooms and a green blip that Felix assumed was his. At the bottom of the screen was a button that said: "Dorm Room".
"That was easy," Felix muttered while pressing the correct button and watching the screen change to give him directions.
"Hey," A kid behind him called out. "How did you do that?"
Felix turned and narrowed his eyes. "Are you all stupid? Just tap your band."
As if on cue, everyone immediately tapped the band on their wrist, and small holographic screens appeared over their wrist.
Ignoring the rude looks he was getting, Felix simply began following the directions to his room.
The hallways were empty except for the occasional student. Overall, the building simply reminded Felic of an enormous school. Eventually, he passed by both the cafeteria and the library, both of which were giant on their own.
'How big is this place?" Felix thought. "This is only one academy... What about the rest?"
It took him a whole five minutes of constant walking to reach the dormitories and another two minutes to find his room.
Room 759
Felic tried the handle a few times, but nothing worked. The door remained locked.
"You have to press your band against the handle to unlock it." A feminine voice to his right called out.
Felix turned and saw the brunette girl he had driven to the academy with. She smiled before entering her own room, before Felix could thank her.
With nothing else to do, Felix did what she suggested.
*Click
This time, when he tried the handle, the door opened easily.
Stepping inside the room, he gasped.
It was huge. Almost double the size of his old apartment. A bed lay against one wall underneath a window, along with a desk and mirror. A dresser was in the other corner, and a closet was noticeable. A door could be seen on the last one, and upon closer inspection, it was a small personal bathroom complete with a shower.
"I'm a king," Felix muttered. "I'm living like a fucking king!"
He excitedly danced around, but something on the dresser caught his eye.
A small metallic canister was placed next to a black box. Moving quickly to examine the object, Felix picked up the canister.
Almost immediately, the canister clicked open on its own, and a crystal fell out of the bottom.
"This is it..." Felix muttered to himself. Leaning down, he picked up the crystal. For a moment, he simply held the object in his hand and stared at it. This was the one thing that could change his life. It took another moment before he realized something else.
'How do I use this thing?"
Looking around the dresser to see if he missed a set of instructions, Felix spotted a piece of paper. Sighing in relief, he picked it up and began to read.
Dear Felix Ye'Kito,
I was once good friends with your parents.
Felix reread the line four times before he finally comprehended its implications. This person knew his parents! Taking a deep breath, he continued to read the letter.
For safety reasons, I am unfortunately unable to reveal my identity to you and must ask you to destroy this letter as soon as you finish reading it. First things first, your awakening crystal can be used by placing it on your forehead and imagining yourself absorbing the energy. But before you do, I would recommend opening the box I have left for you. It contains your parents' belongings that they left to you. The box is activated only by your blood, and you must simply place a drop of your blood on the box to open it. This was set up so that unscrupulous individuals wouldn't get their hands on the artifacts inside it. Even I do not know what it contains. While I would like to help you more, I cannot risk revealing my relationship to your parents to certain individuals. What I have done is all I can for now. You may notice that you have a substantial amount of credits, and while I would like to say this is because of me, this is due to the money your parents left you, and that I was able to recover. I have many things I would like to say, but it is impossible to recount all of them to you in such a short letter. Be careful not to trust people too easily, but don't become a loner. You will need allies in the future. That is all I can reveal to you.
Sincerely, a friend.
Felix reread the entire letter more times than he could count. This was unbelievable! His parents had died when he was 12, and other than the initial items he had received, he had nothing happen to him that was related to his parents. No friends or allies of theirs had visited him. No mysterious notes. Nothing. And now this person was revealed they were a friend of his parents, and he was receiving the "rest" of his parents' belongings.
After rereading the letter for the last time, Felix folded it up and slipped it into his pocket. He would figure out how to get rid of the letter later, but first, he needed to open the box.
The letter had revealed he needed a drop of blood to open the box. He searched the room for anything to cut himself with, but to no avail.
Sighing a second time, Felix stood in front of the box. He unraveled the paper in his pocket and took a deep breath. Before his brain pushed the abort button, he sliced the paper over his finger quickly, hoping for a paper cut. The paper didn't cut him.
"What the heck?" He muttered aloud while retrying. Nothing.
Again and again he tried, but the paper refused to cut him.
"Come on, cut m- OW! That stings!"
The paper finally obeyed and broke his skin, causing his thumb to bleed uncontrollably.
Reacting quickly, Felix brought his hand over the box and watched as it dripped over the outside. For a second, nothing happened, but a moment later, the whole box started to smoke and glow.
*Shing
The box suddenly dissolved, leaving only one thing.
"What the hell?" Felix said aloud. "All that for this thing?"
A small silver necklace could be seen lying on top of the dresser. It was shaped like a fang with the top morphing into a wolf.
Felix's thumb continuing bleeding causing him to bring it to his mouth and suck on it. With his other hand, he picked up the necklace and brought it closer to his face. Other than a beautiful work of craftsmanship, there didn't seem to be anything special about it. Deciding to put it on, he slipped it over his head and let it rest on his chest.
Slowly, Felix turned around to go to bed. It had been a long day after all.
Suddenly, the necklace began to burn.
"What the fuck?" Felix yelped from the pain. He tried to take the necklace off, but the metal seemed attached to his skin. The pain doubled, causing him to cry out. It felt like the necklace was turning into lava against his skin.
Felix's vision doubled as his eyes began to water. He tried to call out for help, but his throat seemed so dry. His eyelids became heavy despite the pain, and before he knew what was happening, he blacked out on his floor.