Jace fitted the cyberlink on his wrist. It was a sleek black design with a tiny UAE logo at the edge.
As the cyberlink attached to his wrist, a small holographic screen appeared, hovering over the bracelet.
On it were a series of words and numbers: Dorm 3 Room Number: 15.
Jace sighed as he glanced at the buildings opposite him. A few students were already filing in, creating a line.
On the buildings were numbers marked from 2-10. Jace guessed why there wasn't a number 1 and the best he could think of were the legacies.
It stood to reason they would be in a different dorm. However much the military tried to frame themselves as neutral who focused more on the individual, they weren't.
Large factions still sent large sums and resources to stay in the Military's good side. It was obvious that the privilege they enjoyed would be transferred to their children.
Jace walked up to the line as a symphony of murmuring filled his ear. The simple display of power in the hall had been enough to wow and inspire them.
The line moved fast and in a few minutes, Jace found himself walking into the dorm. At the entrance was a receptionist.
She looked up for a second, analyzed Jace's features, before repeating in a completely even tone, "Jace Blank, right?"
"Yes?" Jace said, frowning. A second later, a small card was laid on the table.
"Your student ID. Protect it with your life." And with that, she called out, "Next."
Jace walked past the receptionist and into the lifeless building.
At the right was a stairwell leading to a higher floor and at the left were the rooms from 1-25.
Walking up the stairwell, Jace took a minute to look at the walls. Like the hall, they were decorated with pictures and paintings, each about a major victory humanity had won in the war.
Jace considered it the Military's idea of motivation. All it did was add a cruel backdrop.
The paintings were filled with blood and devastation. It was a gory sight and one that to Jace, felt counter-productive in giving people bravery.
It was the equivalent of advising someone to fight in a war and then showing them a video containing all the gruesome ways soldiers had died in the war.
As Jace walked up the stairs, the stench of smoke wafted through his nose but he ignored it. He continued on as he reached a clearing. In front of him were rows of rooms, and at the other side was a railing, the only thing holding people back from falling out to their death.
At the center of the hallway were two students locked in battle.
Jace could only see the back of the first person, but his pale black hair and skinny frame painted a picture of weaknesses. What was surrounding him, though, painted a different picture.
Attached to his entire frame was an eerie viscous black liquid, if it was a liquid that is. The form constantly shifted from liquid to a solidified form, then to particles and then back to liquid.
The liquid substance was in the shape of two large wings extending from his back and forming a shield in front of him.
Jace watched as the fragile boy moved, his wings granting him the ability to maneuver. But the hallway was still a tight space so he barely avoided the invisible attack.
Except, as he moved, Jace realized the invisible attack wasn't invisible. The fragile boy's body had been blocking Jace from seeing it and now a ball of fire was heading straight towards Jace.
Jace froze instinctively as the flame passed him, singing the strands of his hair farthest away.
Jace had nearly escaped death, but the two students were still locked in their mortal tussle.
The fragile boy's aerial movement had given Jace the chance to see his opponent and Jace had to admit, from what he could see the fight looked heavily mismatched.
His opponent wasn't large or big. In fact, he was about an inch or two shorter than Jace, which wasn't exactly short considering Jace was 5'11.
What truly made the match unfair was the opponent's muscles. Although he wasn't built like a steroid user, Jace could tell that he had the necessary muscles in the right places.
His blonde hair was tousled about messily and he had a large grin on his face. At the moment, he was speaking. Saying something Jace was too far away to hear.
As he spoke, his hand was stretched out, fire dancing on his palms. They flickered uncontrollably as they slowly condensed into a ball.
Stretching out his hand he attempted to aim at the fragile boy who was now performing a series of acrobatic maneuvers to get close enough to his opponent.
His other hand lay at his side, coated with yellow flames. Although he might have looked defenseless, that hand was enough to block all close combat threats.
Jace watched as finally, the ball of heat was fired, heading not at the fragile boy, but at his wings.
It appeared he wanted to test the abilities of the fragile boy and coincidentally, Jace was right behind the large wing.
The first time, the flames had whizzed past Jace just barely making contact with his hair. This time, Jace wasn't so lucky.
The condensed flames and heat was so close Jace could feel manifested beads of sweat streaming down his face.
Jace could feel a slight tingle in his arms. Due to his extreme training, that feeling was nothing new to him. Some called it some sixth sense or danger sense.
Jace called it 'You're about to die unless you do something' sense. And at that moment, that sense was tingling.
Just as the ball of flames was about to hit Jace, he was surprisingly noticed by the flame's master.
The ball of flames exploded just before reaching Jace, the force pushing Jace back.
Sliding back, he eventually came to a halt, his back hitting the wall beside the stairwell leading down.
If the force had knocked him down even a few inches to the right, he could have found himself tumbling down the stairs.
Jace wasn't sure what would have happened but considering what had happened to the last person who fell from a height, it wouldn't have been good.
Jace muttered a silent prayer for Humpty Dumpty as he struggled to stand.
A hand appeared in front of him, the owner, the guy who had almost taken him out.
With a sheepish grin on his face and scratching the back of his hair he offered, "Hey, uhm I'm Jax."
Jace exhaled deeply as he grabbed Jax's hand and lifted himself up. With Jax so close, Jace was able to notice some things he hadn't. An example being Jax's piercing red eyes.
Jace dusted himself as he rose up. His eyes met that of the fragile boy. The fragile boy instantly averted his eyes as Jace caught him muttering, "I'm Silas."
Jace stood as he surveyed the site of the battle. The viscous liquid had seemingly vanished leaving no evidence of its presence.
Jace felt an arm wrap around him as Jax drew him closer. "So, why are you here?"
Jace sighed as he could almost taste the scent of burnt gasoline emanating from Jax.
Shrugging off Jax's arm, he spoke, raising his cyberlink slightly. "Looking for my room."
Jax blinked as he stole a glance at the watch. A large smile suddenly bloomed on his face as he called out to Silas, "Look, he's our dorm mate!"
Jace jerked back at the thought of being around the two. And weren't they fighting a minute ago?
Jace rubbed the bridge of his nose as he asked calmly, "So, you two were fighting?"
Jax rubbed the back of his hair as his familiar sheepish grin appeared. "Not really. I just wanted to—"
Jace raised his hand, stopping Jax from talking. "You know what, I shouldn't have asked."
Ignoring Jax, Jace walked down the hall, past Silas. Only a few rooms down, he found it. A door, the number '15' written on it.
At the door handle was a scanner, one that Jace easily recognized. Showing his cyberlink to the scanner, the red flashing light changed to green as the door swung open.
Jace walked in as the door slammed leaving Silas and Jax in the hallway.
The dorm felt like a nice mix of compact and spacious. A large enough bed lay at the corner, a window just above it.
At the tail end of the bed was a walk-in closet with a door leading to the bathroom.
At the side of the door was a desk, a stack of paper lay on top. By the side of the desk was Jace's luggage.
Thinking about it, while Jace had already packed, how had Edgis snuck his luggage into the ship?
Too tired to think, Jace sprawled on the bed as he closed his eyes.
Whatever happened, whether he liked it or not. He was here.
He was in the Academy.