Combat Class

Erie tried to probe the system for more information. He tried different mind commands, like "more information" or "update system," but the information given to him was limited. All he could read was draconic water.

When he analyzed the gene, the system told him the gene didn't have an ability, and the ability core confirmed that. Now, Gene has an ability. "So Gene picked an ability after all. I would've gone with lightning. He already has ridiculous water control." The more Erie wanted to ask, the more complex the two became, and they seemed to ignore Erie, so he decided to go to bed early.

The next day, after morning training, Erie made sure to make a note of Gene. He noticed that Gene's hair was black, and so were his eyes. He didn't know why he was making notes, but Erie felt he had to; he wanted to understand the ability better.

He wanted to challenge Gene in a spar again, so he took it as wanting to study his opponent. The three met up and headed to breakfast. This routine was starting to become the norm for them. They would all head to the cafeteria and split once they arrived to avoid the situation like last time.

But something seemed off about the situation; the middle of the cafeteria had a red line drawn in the middle. Erie recognized Alex and a few other guys from his hometown on one side and a few of the guys he had fought before on the other.

"Does he usually sit by the vending machines?" Gene began to ask. He couldn't help but stare at the students talking to each other, and now and then, one of the students from the other side glared at Alex.

"I need you to watch Alex for me, Gene," Earie stated. "Something about this whole situation doesn't feel right."

"Erie, I am telling you this guy is not good news. I know you grew up with him, but not all people are what they seem, okay?"

Erie didn't reply to Gene. He knew how Alex was, but since he had been to the academy, he had started to change. He didn't know what it was, but he believed it had something to do with the school's genes; he grabbed their food and sat in their usual spots. 

When he sat down, he noticed Gene, and he was getting strange looks from both sides of the group. Erie ignored them, ate his food, and meditated during breakfast like always.

Gene knew Erie meditated during breakfast, so he sat quietly and stared, paying attention to the constant stares they were getting. He finally decided to comment about Alex. "I was thinking Erie. "He paused, looked around, and proceeded to finish talking.

"If anything were to happen to that Alex guy, I'll go straight to you about it, okay?"

"Look, Gene," Erie opened his eyes as he finished meditating. I wasn't asking you to get involved but to keep an eye on him."

Gene gave Erie a nod and rested his hand on his shoulder.

Finally, after breakfast, it was time for classes to start. Erie and the others selected the type of class they wanted to attend on the watch, and the watch indicated the kind of classroom they had to go to.

Erie selected a combat training class. Because he wanted proper training, he believed focused combat training would serve him best in the future. He decided against picking the beast core class or the core weapons class; he wanted to take those classes in the following school semester.

The combat training class had various people, from high-level ability users to high-level martial artists. But among the few were people like him, those with no abilities at all. Erie had a skill but not an ability; although he could put that skill off like an ability, he chose not to.

The combat class was in what the academy called 'Rome.' It was the most critical combat class that the school created because war heroes came and visited, helped lead, and assisted in teaching.

The building had a futuristic touch. The outside seemed like it was mainly made of glass, but it wasn't. Erie didn't know the material, but it reflected him and his peers. In the reflection, he saw someone standing behind him, and when he turned around, he quickly sped off walking. He didn't know the person because he had a hood over his head.

After noticing the person, Erie quickly walked into the classroom. He saw the teacher standing before the school with a significant smile, showing all his perfectly aligned teeth. The man was slightly taller than Erie, and his skin was darker. His black hair stopped at his neck, and his physique was like that of a bodybuilder and an athlete.

Erie sat in the front of the class, as he was the first person to arrive, and followed Lilly.

Lilly sat next to Erie, and she leaned over to speak to him. "Do you know who this man is?" she asked.

"No, this is my first time seeing him. Why?" Erie said silently.

"He's Gojo!" Erie glanced at Lilly. "Gojo? Like the gravity guy?"

As the two continued talking, Gojo remained in the front smiling, and the class began to fill with various numbers of students. Erie noticed the split again. The ribbons were mixed, but he saw a few orphans from his village on one side. The entire right side of the classroom, where Erie sat, was orphans, and the whole left side, where Lilly sat, was the city kids.

It was as if the students used Erie and Lilly as the cut-off line for orphans and city kids. "This class is more popular than I thought it would be," Lilly said.

There were about fifty students in the class, and it seemed equally divided between the classrooms where the students sat. Erie checked his watch to see how many students were in the other courses. Most of the class had about seventy.

"Yeah, there is a lot in here. I wonder what combat lessons we will go over first?" Erie said, staring at the posters on the wall.

"Well, I already know a few fighting styles. If you like, we can go over a few in our even spar training."

Most people who attended class knew some form of combat because they would learn from their parents or had a dojo back home. The west orphanage village where Erie was from had a dojo, but Erie never attended because he was the lowest among the other orphans. He was a street rat. Meaning he couldn't land a job and earn money for himself.

While Lilly and Erie were chatting, they couldn't help but hear a name. Erie felt like he had heard the name before, but couldn't pinpoint it.

"Hey, it's that Lantern guy!"

"Isn't he the fusion tempted away from the group during the assessment?"

"Yeah, why is he in this class?"

Erie thought long and hard about where he had seen him. "Green hair and freckles, Green hair and freckles. Why can't I remember who you are!?" 

While the commotion grew louder from Lantern walking into the room, everyone heard a loud thud hitting the desk. It sounded like a hammer hitting steel. The thud made everyone flinch from the sudden noise. When he looked forward, he watched Gojo hit the desk in front of him, and the loud noise sounded off again.

"Attention!"

The noise instantly halted, and Everyone turned to look at the man in the front.

"My name is Gojo! I will be your instructor until either you drop out or I kick you out of the class!" Gojo stepped to the side, showing pictures of different combat positions on the wall. "I don't know what's happening today, but I want you all to fix it! We all will get to know each other very well in here!" Gojo walked to the side of the room so there would be a full view of what they were looking at. "Now, on the wall is a different fighting style! I want you to choose a fighting style you want to learn! Type it in your watch, and you'll have lesson plans on your watch!"

Different combat lessons came on everyone's watch; while everyone was quiet, Erie searched through the multiple weapons that shone on his watch: mixed martial arts, muay tai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, ninjutsu, ninshue, palm strike, and many, many more.

Erie didn't know what to pick but needed a fighting stilly to match his fighting ability. Then, something weird happened to Erie. This system activated on its own, and above the words and fighting style, he saw markers and a compatibility meter.

"Jiu-Jutsu: compatibility Low:

"Speed Minus 5."

"Strength Plus 1."

"Agility minus 5."

"This fighting style does not match the user's unique traits."

"I never experienced this before? The analysis must come from the 2.0 update?" 

Erie smiled. The system was coming through for him more and more. He knew he was about to find the perfect fighting style.