SPECTRAIt beeped again rapidly. I looked around to see if anyone was watching, but everybody was occupied with finding the common room. The dashboard popped up and it read:“New system task, due tomorrow. Location: Emerald Lake.”Some mischief was bound to happen in camp, but I didn't expect it to happen this soon. Everyone started clearing out of the dining hall. I was made to join them in leaving, but someone called me back.“Spectra!” It was Daphne, she was holding the edge of a sink and beckoned on me to come help her level it on a table. “You know my name?” I asked in surprise. She chuckled. “I handed everyone their camp charter and their name tag remember?” She explained. “Besides, your name is not very common and is memorizable,” she added with a wink. I laughed then, letting myself calm down. I thought in panic for a moment, that she was somebody from the old spectra's memory that I couldn't recognize. I didn't want any suspicion that would lead to my cover being blown. I h
SPECTRAI shook my head. Would these guys ever be a thing of the past for me? I wondered. They turned as soon as they noticed our presence. He looked surprised to see me, which meant he wasn't expressly here for me. He looked at me and then, at my friends with me. He exchanged glances with his boys and they filed out of the room, careful to not come in contact with me. I wanted to shut the door and beat the living hell out of them, but I refrained. I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle the questions afterward. When they'd all gone, we turned to Daniel who stood, dusting his pants and shirts. “What happened here?” Brucy asked. He shrugged. I detested his attitude so much that I found myself questioning why they had to bunk him with us, and I wished they'd touched him a little before our arrival. “They followed me from the common room,” he spoke up as he sat on his bed. “Why?” Kalidor asked, resting his arm against the door. “They wanted me to give them a silver piece I'd thrown while
SPECTRAI turned. It was the camp director. Daphne jogged up to where we were. She was dressed in a black tracksuit and an equally black pair of sneakers. She had her hair wrapped into a bun and tied it with a scarf in an ancient dojo style.“You should do it since you're playing devil's advocate,” she shrugged. I looked around, everyone stared at me to see if I would take up the challenge or chicken out. 100 pushups? Could I manage that? “Come on, spectra,” Brucy egged me on. The students around started chanting for me to take it on. I shot Brucy a playful glare as I took my stance on the floor. Eva came alive in my ears immediately. “Do you think you could manage it?” It asked. I could pull fifty at a stretch, but I didn't know if I could go a hundred times without breaking. “Well, I'll help you,” Eva said, reading my thoughts. The dashboard appeared while I was about to take my prostrate stance. It read:“Agility points: 250”I tapped on it casually, so it wouldn't seem weird to
SPECTRAI turned. It was the camp director. Daphne jogged up to where we were. She was dressed in a black tracksuit and an equally black pair of sneakers. She had her hair wrapped into a bun and tied it with a scarf in an ancient dojo style.“You should do it since you're playing devil's advocate,” she shrugged. I looked around, everyone stared at me to see if I would take up the challenge or chicken out. 100 pushups? Could I manage that? “Come on, spectra,” Brucy egged me on. The students around started chanting for me to take it on. I shot Brucy a playful glare as I took my stance on the floor. Eva came alive in my ears immediately. “Do you think you could manage it?” It asked. I could pull fifty at a stretch, but I didn't know if I could go a hundred times without breaking. “Well, I'll help you,” Eva said, reading my thoughts. The dashboard appeared while I was about to take my prostrate stance. It read:“Agility points: 250”I tapped on it casually, so it wouldn't seem weird to
SPECTRAI turned. It was the camp director. Daphne jogged up to where we were. She was dressed in a black tracksuit and an equally black pair of sneakers. She had her hair wrapped into a bun and tied it with a scarf in an ancient dojo style.“You should do it since you're playing devil's advocate,” she shrugged. I looked around, everyone stared at me to see if I would take up the challenge or chicken out. 100 pushups? Could I manage that? “Come on, spectra,” Brucy egged me on. The students around started chanting for me to take it on. I shot Brucy a playful glare as I took my stance on the floor. Eva came alive in my ears immediately. “Do you think you could manage it?” It asked. I could pull fifty at a stretch, but I didn't know if I could go a hundred times without breaking. “Well, I'll help you,” Eva said, reading my thoughts. The dashboard appeared while I was about to take my prostrate stance. It read:“Agility points: 250”I tapped on it casually, so it wouldn't seem weird to
"Ouch..."Farouk cried out softly, trying to move his hand to his head, but his body wouldn’t cooperate; a mix of pain, itching, and numbness left it still. It felt like his arms and legs belonged to someone else, lying on the ground like stiff sticks."Am I dead?" His mind was still all over the place. He remembered being out during a thunderstorm subsequently getting struck by lightning, a big shock of blue electricity, and then everything went dark.His thoughts were all mixed up; it felt like his memories were all messed up.Trying hard to open his eyes wider, Farouk tried to understand what was happening around him."Thud!"Another loud noise and his head hit the bed's headboard, causing more pain before he blacked out again.He wasn't sure how much time had passed, maybe a day or a few days, when he finally woke up and started feeling his body again.He heard a soft sound of a door closing."Did Mom leave already?" A girl's voice asked."Yes, she had breakfast before us and went
The second classroom on the second floor had a brass tag reading Grade 9 Class 2 hanging above it.Spectra followed two boys into the class and headed to his seat near the window in the back. He stowed his backpack and began pondering the five attribute symbols at the bottom of his vision. Being introverted and new to the school, he had no friends in the class.The first class was mathematics, with a middle-aged woman as the professor. The material was elementary, so Spectra listened briefly before focusing on his thoughts. The language class followed, teaching the country's language, writing, and literature, but Spectra didn't pay much attention.The third class was etiquette, but instead of listening, Spectra tested the connection between the attributes and his body. Suddenly, the Potential attribute number in his vision shook, grabbing his attention.Startled, Spectra looked around, but no one seemed to notice. He glanced at the podium.The etiquette teacher, a man with an elegant
The martial arts dojos here were like the taekwondo dojos back on Earth. They aimed to promote physical exercise and fitness. There was a ranking system, but most dojos were just for exercise and not lethal, except for the top ones. Martial arts were part of the regular education, like music or dancing, to make children well-rounded.Spectra paired up with the same girl as last time. She was ordinary-looking with a slim waist and flat chest. Her silver hair shone crimson in the sunlight."Rank 15, Daris.""Rank 16, Spectra."They greeted each other by name and rank."Begin!" Veledict yelled.Spectra and Daris focused on each other’s movements. The training didn’t include special moves, just basic exercises, and the Explosive Force Technique. Combat was based on personal experience, but with the technique, their strength could be boosted for some attacks. This was to test their raw strength and potential.Spectra stopped overthinking and attacked Daris. He hadn’t used the attribute enh