Chapter 6 - Dormitory

It didn't take long for the buses to pass through the portal, Adrian felt a slight tingle run down his spine as they passed through the portal, the same thing happened to everyone else.

The buses made it through the portal without any damage, the bolts crackling in the portal didn't even leave a scratch on the bus.

Adrian stood up from his seat, eager to see what was at the other side of the portal, "What the..." Adrian couldn't complete his words as his mouth hang open, his eyes widening as he took in the amazing scene that unfolded before his eyes.

As they emerged from the portal, they found themselves driving towards the a tall towering tower, the top most floor seemed to touch the sky.

As they drove closer, the tower's sheer scale became even more awe-inspiring. Its sleek, silver surface glinted in the sunlight, and the windows seemed to shimmer like a thousand tiny mirrors.

Flying vehicles could be seen moving in and out of the tower, they all moved in perfect synchrony, their paths weaving and intersecting with precision, as if choreographed by an invisible conductor.

The vehicle slowed to a stop in front of the tower's main entrance, the sliding door hissed open with a soft whoosh. A gleaming, metallic ramp extended from the doorway, inviting them to step out into the heart of the Alliance Academy.

Adrian watched everything unfold, the incredulous look on his face overtaking the surprise he felt a moment ago.

As he stood there, frozen in awe, his mind struggled to process the sheer scale and complexity the alliance academy.

"Out you go, make your way towards the tower!" the driver instructed them, as they all began to exit the bus, with their luggages.

All the candidates stood close to the tower, watching the two buses dissappear into the distance, A tall man with a bald head approached them, his piercing blue eyes scanned the group, his gaze lingering on the each of them before moving on to the next.

He wore a silver jacket, same with his pants, a small insignia, "A" pinned to the left side of his chest.

His stern expression softened slightly as he addressed them, his deep voice commanding attention, "welcome, cadets. I'm instructor Ryker. Let's get you settled in, follow me!"

With a swift gesture, Instructor Ryker turned and strode away, expecting the cadets to follow. His silver-clad figure moved with a confident, purposeful stride, his white boots echoing off the polished floor.

The cadets exchanged nervous glances, then fell into step behind him, their footsteps forming a ragged cadence as they trailed after the instructor.

They walked for more than 20 minutes before coming to a stop, just ahead of them was a large three storey building, "This is the 1st year dormitory, where you all would be staying, your dorm number is written on your ID's, you'll find a watch and your uniform in your room, put them on and head to the multipurpose hall for your briefing."

Instructor Ryker explained to the cadets before turning around to take his leave, "oh, and don't forget to read the academy's rules and regulations, it's all in the handbook beside your cyberdeck!" his words echoes in the air as his figure disappeared.

Adrian looked at everything around him, the surprise and awe he felt was radiating off his face, he slowly followed Dave and the other cadets as they entered the building.

Adrian pulled out his ID to check which number his room was at, "Number 34, that's my room number, what's yours?" Adrian asked.

"Number 29 for me, I guess we'll be on the same floor," Dave looked at the place with a curious gaze, they climbed the stairs and came across a large hall way, they moved through the hall way checking the doors for their number, but it wasn't on any of them, so they climbed the stairs, heading to the next floor.

After a few minutes of searching, they came across other cadets that seemed to have arrived before their batch. Finally they found their rooms, Adrian's room was farther inside the building on the second floor, while Dave's was closer to the exit that led to the stairs.

Adrian waved Dave off as he opened the door to his room, the nice scent wafted into his nose, the room was brightly lit, and to the side of the room was a large bed, well, large for Adrian but it was enough to carry three people.

Adjacent to the bed was a nicely fitted brown table, a book lay on the side of the table, another object was also on the table, but Adrian didn't recognize it.

He walked towards the table, gazing at the screen that reflected his face, "Is this the cyberdeck?" Adrian stared at the computer, although it looked like the ones he's seen at the orphanage, he looked away from the screen and gazed at the keyboard.

After looking at it for a while, he decided to leave it and look around, another thing caught his attention, at the left side of the table, a small blue box sat on the floor, Adrian looked around the box, trying to find it function, but it was proving stressful so he left the box and moved towards the bed.

On the bed, a navy blue jacket with white buttons, adorned with the alliance emblem that let out a brown sheen on the chest, whereas the insignia was smaller than the one instructor Ryker's chest.

The pants are a matching navy blue, with thin white stripe running down the side of each leg. A white dress shirt with a wing - tip collar completes the uniform.

Adrian touched the uniform, his hand running along the buttons on the jacket, "Damn.. Just from touching it alone, I know it's expensive.. Haha, as expected of the alliance!" Adrian said as he admired the uniform.

He removed his hands from the uniform, then he headed towards the door few meters away from the bed, he opened the door and gazed at the spacious bathroom, it had a bathtub, sink, with a toilet, and a small shower to the side, "Ah, beautiful. Time to freshen up!" Adrian exclaimed with excitement, removing his cloths to take a shower.

***

A while later.

Adrian came out of the bathroom feeling refreshed, he wiped his body before heading towards the wardrobe at the corner of the room, it seemed like he missed it when he entered.

He opened to the wardrobe and stared at similar uniforms inside the wardrobe, he also noticed some casual cloths and underwear's. Below the wardrobe, four pairs of black, polished leather shoes with a low heel and a subtle brogue detail could be seen.

Adrian put on his uniform, it felt very comfortable and the uniform had a stretchy feeling, showing how durable it is. After fitting in his uniform, he walked towards the mirror beside his bed.

A 5'6" tall young man, with a lean figure, and dark short hair that barely touched his shoulder, with a fair slender face, a sharp nose, and a hint of smile tugging on his lips, his deep brown eyes seemed to hold a calm demeanor.

"Mom, dad, I hope you can see your son.. I'll make sure to make you guys proud!" Adrian stated.

He tapped the watch fitted on his right wrist, the watch lit up with a small humming sound. It displayed his information and other options.

Adrian tapped the screen, the next instant, a holographic image showing on the watch appeared,

{TIME : 2:39 PM}

>>NAME : ADRIAN LANE <<

>>SEMESTER : FIRST YEAR STUDENT <<

>> STATUS : UNAWAKENED > ABILITY : U/A <<

>> POINTS : 10 POINTS <<

>> MAP <<

>> TO-DO <<

...

Adrian stared at the holographic image, gazing at his Information, he checked the reminder and it showed that they had 20 minutes till the briefing starts, so he sat down and read the alliance academy handbook.