Besieged (Book One): Rise of the Misfit

First Segment Simulation

This was one of those slow mornings in Ravenwood High. It was already the fourth period but to the students, time seemed to move at snail's speed, if not slower. Finnian held his jaw with his hand, trying so hard not to fall asleep, for if he did, that would be more than disastrous. This was because the teacher in class was one of the hardcore teachers in Ravenwood, Mrs. Ruth Morgan. She was one of Centurion’s Senior Commissioners, and also among those assigned as a teacher in Ravenwood High.

After the incident happened that changed Ravenwood, a lot of changes had to be made. Under the World Government’s directive, Ravenwood was first quarantined, in case it was some sort of outbreak. But soon enough, it was discovered that a good number of people remained normal regardless, and they were then separated from the Cyphs. Out of those relocated from the city, 55% were normal, while the rest were Cyphs. As a result, it was only natural and random that some of the teachers were normal, and since the number of normal teachers out-stripped the number of normal students, it left the school falling short of staff when the adjustment plan to establish Ravenwood as a containment zone was put to action. In this case, Centurion dispatched their Senior Commissioners to teach and groom the students both academic wise and how to adjust to their abilities.

Cyphs, by nature, have superhuman enhancements that tended towards the physical aspect, in the sense that they all had superhuman strengths and agility and the likes. And Mrs. Ruth’s class was centered on utilizing those enhancements in actual combat. In Centurion rankings, she was not only a Senior Commissioner, but was also among the top of the rank, and from the way she taught, it may be that her skills are top-notch too. Her class went on and on until the school speakers whirred a bit before a man’s voice sounded out.

“Good day students.  I have an announcement to make, and I know this is one you all have been waiting for, especially the first-year seniors of the school. Well, I’m pleased to announce that the annual Combat Trial for the first-year seniors has been scheduled to hold a week today. I hope they all bring their strengths to bear and display the results of their hard work.

Good luck to you.”

Although the scope of the incident affected many people from all age groups both young and old, Centurion’s center of attention ranged from the age group of 6- 20. This was because the majority of those affected by the incident were within that age group. If statistically, the percentage of people affected by the incident were 45% out of 100%, then 40% out of that 45% fell within the aforementioned age group. And as such, the Combat Trial was an assessment established by Centurion to gauge the strengths of the students of Ravenwood High school.

From their middle school to their final junior years, the students of Ravenwood High school have been subjected to many tests and studies on the nature of their abilities, and for further studies, the Combat Trial was created. It comprised of three segments that corresponded to the last three senior years of Ravenwood high. The first segment starts in the first senior year and is comprised of a trial solely dedicated to using only their physical enhancements in raw combat. In this segment, the use of one’s abilities was prohibited.

Mrs. Ruth seemed rather pleased to hear the announcement and beamed an eager smile. “Congratulations on making it this far, student. And as the principal said, I hope you display all you have learned throughout the years. For awareness, I will be conducting a pre-first segment simulation for all first-year seniors. And your class will be having theirs after school today.”

This has been Mrs. Ruth’s tradition since the Combat Trial started years ago, and since her class was centered on raw combat prowess, it was normal that she would hold a simulation like this. In fact, the first segment of the trial wouldn’t hold if she didn’t give her approval, as she was also a top Senior Commissioner and one of the few people that held authority in Ravenwood High.

The students were esthetic hearing this. There were strict rules of conduct in the school that attracted severe punishments if one used their abilities to endanger another. But casual spar was permitted, only under the watch of a commissioner. Knowing Mrs. Ruth well, she didn’t seem like one who was scared of going a little overboard in her exercise. Hence, the students were instead, looking forward to the simulation, as that would be a perfect opportunity to display their skills. Who among them would pass an opportunity to show off?

Finnian, on the other hand, wasn’t too surprised by the announcements but was taken aback by Mrs. Ruth’s timing. This came unexpectedly to him, making him not as enthusiastic as the rest of the class.

…

The students of the first-year senior class F made their way to the gym when school was over. Although Mrs. Ruth gave a 20 minutes break before the exercise would start, some people had no self-control and arrived immediately. The looks of excitement could be seen on their faces as they discussed the possible ways this simulation could go. And even some of them started bragging already about how they would topple everyone else without mercy, as was mostly seen among the boys. These people indeed had good records as proof of how strong they were, but no one would agree to be on the weak side after all. Of these people was Caesar Kroft, one of those who were Centurion's center of attention. He hailed himself the strongest Cyph in class F, and indeed, no one else in the class possessed the strength he did, placing him foremost ahead of everyone. Before the stipulated time elapsed, the entirety of class F was present at the gym.