The legacy

"After we're gone, The spirit carries on"

- John Petrucci

It seems like an embed memories, the announcement from the Valorem school, that night reveals the other side of the rainbow, and looked what i found! A super cores! That makes my blood boiled, i practice harder, push harder, i want to be the best. "Grit your teeth! Hit it with all of your heart!" I keep repeating it.

Now i have a double training, while my left hand using the box glass to pick and hold the round nites. My right hand is shaping the lumped round nites to shapes. Intense training that i wish upon it, i will succeed to manipulate this thing! A nosebleed happens, I've been forcing my ability that i rupture a blood veins. It was nothing i will endure the harsh training, taking a deep breath i start again to unleash my full focus. The blood veins will be taken care of by the nanites in seconds, the risk is very minimal for this coerce training. Since i came home that day Barnaby has loaned me a writing from a master compiler that uses special technique to improve mental capacity. The rings that i used is the pair items of this methods, i reckon that Mr.Barnes is trying to find a solutions for my hardships too.

According to the book, the requirements to increase a level of structuring, was to be able to alter the round nites was to molded it into a sharp object and maintain its hardness. As i read this book my conclusions is this book, it was one of the book about arts of the nanoweap. A handheld object will vary in shapes as willed. The shapes that the easiest, maybe the shape of a spear, since i practice how to length it to a specific size. That night Mr.Barnes called me to a study, he gave me a weird looking glove with embed mid grade of round nites bar on the inside of the grip. I saw this also in the book, it was called plated gauntlet. A pair of its counterparts was a plated vambrace, a plated arm armor that had a thick bar on the outer arms from elbow to wrist. It was used to mold into a shield, but the one that Barnaby give me is a one piece item. It was a contraband i reckon, but still i think this is hard to come by, it was enough for me. This equipment is a black market items, it was either from the industrialist or the military side of the net.

These two weeks i can't barely rest at ease, the constant needs of improvements is haunting me. "Fuck!" I curses, another failed attempts to formed a solid items. This time it was a blade, I've try to form a spear but the mold are to complicated. The hard part was to increase the hardness of it, molded and locked the form and structured the molecule of it, it was to long to hold! How can you taste and iron like things, what is an iron? Can you comprehend substance as an iron, try to feed the information to the nanites. How do you interpreted "iron", you never knew because you never be one. So i will focus in cosmetics only, trying to explained an easy things like a knife, that i can do. But a knife should able to cut an apple! The whole thing is a jumble now, but i still needed this to worked out, for my sake tomorrow at the exams.

The school is holding a test today, as i enter the hall of the test, all of the participants has their own slave animals now. I am so tired after i almost had a nerves break down, my mom talked to me about it, she only said that to be the best, i don't need to put the hardest in effort, just need to put the best effort. You can't do everything in perfect results, but all problems has a solutions. If it's not now, maybe later, but do not force it! It tends to do more damage to yourself rather than solving the matters in hand, the losses will be larger than the gains by then. 25 tables was already setup in the hall, each have a 40 centimeters and 2x2 inches thick bar of round nites on top of the tables. We have to mold this object to materialized into an object, and used it to performed a simple tasked with it. Call it a placebo objects that able to be used at least for something simple.

One by one the participant being called by the list in numerical order of the listed participant. The first batch skipped my name on the proceedings, many failed the test but some has passed. But the requirements of upgrade does not determined by the passed qualification, the complexity of the mold item has a sentiment over the class upgrade, sure you can pass, but not all passer going to get an upgrade. The last participant have finish within the time allowed. The second batch of the participant being called one by one, "Cassidy Reed! Table 18! Greg Wells! Table 19! Susie Whites.." i was called to the 18th table. "Wish me luck Fang!" Then i pat his head, Fang will wait for me in the seat, i walk nervously to the exam table alone. Focusing on the tasked, i take a deep breath to calm myself.

"Table 25! Now everybody please br ready! The test will commence in 2 minutes, and would takes 25 minutes at least to finish, please make yourself ready, and start on my signal!" It was the longest 2 minutes of my life in this world. Everybody looks very nervous some sweaty, some lack of confidence, some trying to concentrate, i even saw in the corner Susie Whites was praying. The examiner took out the timer, "ladies and gentlemen, please engage!" The exam started, everybody are putting their hand on the round nites bar. I fully concentrated on molding the bar into a knife, fully imagine it on my mind. The shape of it! And one of the parts was the hardness of the object, it was the most trivial thing of the items. One by one the examiner bringing a test subject, molded into plate, he test it by putting a food over it, molded into a bat, he was testing it to hit a thrown ball, even trying to wear on the molded iron hat on his head. Then on to my table he brought a potato as he grabbed the handle of my molded knife "hold it steady Mr… Reed!" He cuts the potato "swack!" The potato split into halves. "Hmm good texture.." he takes out a rope and begin cutting it, as it makes a press and pull motions, back and forward, i can feel the hardness of the mold beginning to deconstruct, i was trying to hold the integrity of the molded knife. The ropes was cut at last, he grinned "a bit glitch ain't it? Next!" He runs to the 19 table, where seems like Greg gonna piss his pants! I, myself trying not to shit on my pants! That second test has make me producing a fist size of sweat in my forehead. My blood vessel almost ruptured by the pressure.

I beginning to see clearly how the participants reactions when the test was conducted, some of them covering their face, some hitting the tables, some smiling, some sitting or kneeling on the floor. The examiner is doing a good job sucking the life force, of the students taking this exam.

"You may all get back to your seats now, and now was the third batch turn, the last for today.." we all got back to our seats, the third batch is now being called to the tables. The announcement of the one that pass will be announced one by one, after the last batch.

"There are 70 participants on this exam, which 10 failed, 25 barely passed, 20 passed, and 15 has rise to a higher grade."

Said the examiner and the results will be written on an envelope handed on the podium. We were called one by one to received an envelope which has the writings results of the test.

"Participant number 43 Cassidy Reed!" As my turn to take the envelope to the podium. I walk awkwardly, i take the envelope and got back to my seats. My heart is pounding hard as i open the test results, reading the results i am quite surprised. One by one the participants get back to their seats after taking the envelope.

"Well ladies and gents, we have here the three representative from the high schools, Valorem! Ms.Rose! Sanctuary! Mr.Diggs! And our countries finest Royal Academy! Mr.Clancy!" The three representative nodding their head once they are called upon.

"You all have read the results, the three representatives will go to a classroom, all that have decided where you should go, please follow the high school of your choice and please follow the respective representatives of the school in orderly fashioned!" The crowd move following the three representatives. As 10 of them stay on their seats for the school briefing since they failed the test. From the 65 that passed the test, I see the merchant school take away 15 people, 35 to the military, Clancy, Wells and Whites. The Valorem representative followed by 15 people including me, following a slender beautiful young lady in her 20's called Ms.Rose, the lewd looks of the boys following the two schools beams towards the representative of our schools.

"Please be seated!" She instructed us.

We seated in the desk of the classroom, one by one. Ms.Rose then placed a some kind of projector on the teacher desk, suddenly a light comes from the object and makes a hologram face. "Welcome to all of you, you all has pass the exam, to prove why our school always been the most, the best and the toughest in the compiler society, please in the count of three raise your hand who gained an upgrades into high grade in this room, since in this test only 15 of you made it as a high grade structuring class. One! Two! Three!" To my astonishment 15 of us raised our hands. "There are methods and there are observations!" The hologram continues to speak.

"I am a super computer of the industrialist, i don't have a physical body, but we know everything and we have watched you from the moment you enlisted to the Valorem, please take notice as a warning, you are not accepted for the net that you have, or the family you are from, nor the wealth that your families owned! You are not applying to the Valorem! But you all was handpicked!" We dropped our jaws that moment on the spot hearing that.

The hologram stopped and automatically turned off, Ms.Rose take the object back to her purse. "Ladies and Gents please noted, i will be your homeroom teacher for this class, refer me as Counselor Rose, I'm am a semi master class, do not mistaken! I am not worthy enough to be called a so called Master only when i earn my true master class then i will be addressed as such!" As she batting her eyes, and she is making a killing with that eyes. The boys instantly nodding their heads. "You will earn you place based on achievements, now by the aptitude research, your training has been pre arrange." She explained there are three basic training in the Valorem in which the sophomore is pre determine in one year, the bases of this presets was the aptitude test of the initial city assessments we took, somehow they cant get our private information from the public records. The combatant, the engineer and the supporter. These basic class will be a general attribute of the new students, and the advancement can be chosen or determined in the second school years.

"Where you are stationed, will be announced on your first date stepping your foot on the Valorem, please do not make an imagination over what you'll get, you don't have the capacity for it, let the Valorem super computer do that for you!"

All the 15 people on the room that start to thinking a drift to far now has come back to their senses.

"No needs for questions, your answer will be given on the need to know bases, students! What you'll get from Valorem is not educations, but legacies and for that, i welcome you to the Valorem! I bid you goodbye for today, enjoy your summer vacations! Your school package will be delivered to you, in the last week before you departed for Valorem! I'll see you all there!" She open the door and flew out. All 15 people stand up and mingling shaking hands to each others, we all the best graduated from the elementary school, and somehow end up in the Valorem team, strange how they manage to get a hold of us. "Wow!" The only word i cant say for it.

For the summer i decided to asked Mr.Barnes for a summer internships at the merchant guilds, as i picked up interest on legals purchasing and exotic goods. Actually on the bright sides i will need this knowledge to get a feels of the trends of the society. The merchant guild has the best resources on the even fields and the odds fields. Since their clients is the rich and the powerful, i need the experience.

At exactly a week before i depart for the Valorem a package has arrived in the mansion addressed to me. The suitcase has no way to be open, only this blue color scanner with the instruction to place my thumb in it. I place my thumb hesitantly, when i hear a sound, "fingerprints detected! Cassidy James Reed! Proceeding with embed process, do not remove your thumb!" A needle pricked my thumb "ouch! Shit!" I try to pull my thumb in reflexes, but it was stuck for another 5 seconds. The nanites suture the wound in seconds after the thumb is removed, the blue color scanner change color to red and blinking. "Complete! You have been connected to the collective!" Suddenly i feel weird. A big buzzing sound is ringing on my mind, suddenly i sense a familiar sound but nobody was near me, i was alone in my room. "Cass! Is that you?" It was one of my classmate that enrolls to Valorem. The suitcase open after a hissing sound, a bodysuit and a monocle like the guards on Valorem was inside. The suitcase instructing me to wear the 2 items. After i wore it, suddenly i can feel 14 people that in the same class as me, the suit enable the controls, and the monocle establish the visual of the collective neural ink. "This is sickkkkk!!" As i tinkers with my new equipment's, all of my classmates mind storming my thought like they all shouting in unison agreeing. After 10 minutes the instruction played on each of our monocle, a guide book, rules of the school, a tour of the facility of Valorem. In the End Ms.Rose join the collectives, and beginning explained the package we received and the functions of the suits and monocle.

The whole sessions finished in two hours, she is right tough. All our question was directly answers as we were thinking about it, the information's was like directly injected to our minds. This package is bonded to our DNA, so the user of unauthorized access will killed, the invalid users will suffers a neural damage, the most advanced feature of the linked network that very interesting was, the private neural link to Fang. "Cass can understand me?" Fang asked me while he tilt his head looking at me. "Yeah can you?" I said it without talking. "Cass no speak, why can i hear you?" Fang asked me. "You can bark and howl without using your mouth too" i said. I sense a loud vibration from the wolf, i am surprised. The howl has a meaning! It was not a random wailing. I can feel Fang is excited. What makes me glad is this features has a settings functions for broadcast and sharing. It can be turned off and on upon request, but it was always listens for broadcast. I can access digital information's but not all. We have limitations on access level, the information's level has to be on our level to be accessed.

I am ready to go to Valorem.

The next was to get implanted with a super cores! What kind of surprise will i get out of that! And i just to have to wait for a week to find out..