The test had shortly ended, and the entire room was still in awe at the reaction of the towering obsidian rock to Thors’ touch.
Kaely froze for a moment before typing away furiously at her digital tablet.
Whatever was going on here was certainly worth recording, and definitely worth reporting to the higher-ups.
Thors pulled his hand away from the surface of the obsidian rock, and then blinked a few times, the strangest thing hovering in the thin air between him and the stone.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them again, to prove to himself his eyes weren’t deceiving him, and yet... what he saw was still sprawled there in the air, vivid and undeniable before him.
It was... real.
Thors stared at the ashen holographic display floating before his gaze, and on it were displayed a few lines of text, which he read in a whisper.
[Player has successfully met condition.]
[You have attained the Primordial System.]
[System lineage: the lineage of the unknown... God of Thunder]
’Why am I seeing this? An ashen holographic... progression?’ Thors turned back to the group, and from how they stared, he could easily tell they hadn’t seen what he had. ’I guess it’s invisible to them... Still, what am I supposed to make of this?’
At the end of his long line of thought, Thors finally decided to say nothing and simply walked back to the group.
As soon as he arrived, Seoul was the first to greet him, throwing an arm over Thors’ shoulder with a huge grin stretched across his lips.
"Thors, Thors, you’ll have to show me how you pulled off that trick someday!"
Thors gave the handsome man a long, questioning stare before tearing his gaze away.
’I’d rather die.’
Kaely finally finished tapping away at her tablet, then turned back to the group of five and spoke once more.
"You will follow my colleague, Officer Brooke, and she will fill you in on the rest — including the academy tour..."
"Academy tour...?" a few students muttered, their voices thick with confusion, or perhaps more curiosity than anything, wondering what the academy would actually look like.
Soon enough, they didn’t need to let their imaginations fill in the blanks.
As they stepped out of the training hall, they emerged instantly into a large hall filled with other military officers — some escorting candidates the way Brooke was clearly meant to lead them, others simply moving about, minding their daily business.
Yet as each one passed by the beautiful officer, they did not fail to offer her a greeting. Some even complimented her as they went.
Thors noted this — the dynamic playing out between fellow military officers.
But he wasn’t foolish enough to take it at face value. This was only a facade on the surface. While some greeted her out of plain respect, others, beneath their rigid smiles and hollow compliments, clearly harbored some quiet resentment toward the woman.
For reasons Thors did not know, but took note of all the same.
Moments later, they finally exited the hall and stepped into what felt, immediately, like the future.
A sprawling city stretched before them, towering buildings piercing the sky, glinting domes, flying ships gliding silently overhead, and mighty mechs striding through the streets, driven by military personnel.
Thors’ eyes went wide, and so did a few others’, as they stared around at the buildings, the mechs, the sheer order of the place.
It was certainly better than anything they had expected.
Not all of them, though...
As Thors stared around in mesmerized silence, he noticed a singular gaze fixed on him from another student.
The silver-haired woman, with astonishing beauty and ice-cold, crystal-colored eyes, was watching him, her gaze flicking back toward his own dull brown ones.
It was Layla Forze.
Her stare was icy and unwavering, not faltering for even a moment, and it left Thors distinctly uncomfortable.
’Does she have something she wants to say?’ Thors wondered.
However, Layla didn’t hold the stare for long, tearing her eyes off him as they rounded a turn.
Leaving the young man with nothing but curiosity over why exactly she had been staring at all.
After a while of walking, the group finally arrived at the year-one academy building. They were led on a deep tour through the vast, ethereal lecture halls, the massive training grounds, and the libraries.
Before finally arriving at the dormitories.
The boys’ dormitories were visited first, obviously. And upon entry, it was quiet, given that most of the other students were still making their way back after finishing the test.
They were led up to the second floor, where Officer Brooke finally stopped before a designated door, its label reading—
Room 215!
At this moment, she stopped to address the students. "You three will be sharing this room."
Thors blinked a few times, turning first to Seoul, and then to the other boy in the group — yes, the very one who had yelled for him to quit earlier. ’Of all the possible roommates, why this fucking one.’ He restrained himself from facepalming right there.
"In the morning there will be an introductory class, which all new cadets must attend. Before that, though, three tracking watches will arrive before tomorrow, one for each of you," she paused, drawing a long breath before continuing, "when they arrive, you’ll understand the rest."
With that, she turned and began walking off, leading Layla Forze and the other girl away down the hall.
Thors took one final, long stare at Layla as she disappeared into the distance alongside the instructor.
Then he turned back to his room door and sighed, his chest tightening with resolve.
"And so it begins..."