“Good morning, students,” a rough and weathered voice echoed around the massive auditorium. On the stage far below, a woman without a trace of color to her hair spoke. Her face and hands were lined with creases, yet her strides were long and her voice was full of power as she spoke. “On behalf of the faculty and the staff, I welcome you to The Olympic Academy.”
“Now, not many know this, but in centuries past, students applied to schools like this.” While old movies got a lot wrong, I was happy to see that wasn’t one of them. “They waited to see if they got accepted or not. To see if their achievements were worth being allowed to attend.”
“Too many of those with useful skills or unique powers would be lost if that process was allowed to continue. As such, the academy does not accept applications.” She stressed that point. “Instead, we use the tests to identify traits, powers, skills, and knowledge that we can grow into something useful for more than one person. And you were the ones we identified should be here.”
Her voice faded as she let us process her words. While I knew that every group did it, no one outright said that was what was going on. Yet she had.
“Each of you took the mandated tests, and your results were processed by your local government.” Her words reminded me of my own tests. The oddness of some of them. “The ones that were flagged as people of interest were then sent to this academy for our staff to review. The results provided were checked, information about you was processed, and your potential was then assessed.”
Her gaze swept across the room. One end to the other. One tier to the next. “The first years are not the only ones that were checked. Every year is reviewed to see if a person will be allowed to continue.”
That surprised me. I would have thought that all you needed to do to continue was to have good grades. Judging by the amount of noise all around me, I wasn’t the only one to assume that either.
“That means,” her voice boomed out, cutting everyone off as everyone focused on her again. “That each of you was found worthy of being here. That we felt that your potential was capable of meeting our highest standards. But do not think that means you can slack off. Everything you do here will be watched. Your various actions, and inactions, will be recorded.”
For a room full of so many people, it was strangely quiet as we waited for her to continue. With a wave of her hand toward the side, she did. “Outside these walls, the world runs on influence. Wealth opens doors. Family reputation smooths obstacles. Connections create opportunity.”
She wasn’t wrong, but something told me she was about to piss a few first years off with whatever she was about to say. “Inside this academy, those advantages mean nothing.” Sure enough, a few people around me cried out in anger. There were demands, threats, and even offers of money to give them special treatment.
She ignored every one of them as she spoke. “You were not selected because of your family. You were not selected because of your resources. You were selected because of your skills, knowledge, and powers.”
Her head tilted a little as her hands clasped behind her. “Now, we acknowledge that the disparity will never truly be gone. There is nothing we can do to make the system perfectly fair. But that is not the point here.”
“The point of our efforts is to force you to learn to see others as more than pawns.” Her tone sharpened a fraction. “To remind you that you cannot, will not, ever be alone. That everything you do requires others. From the person guarding your back to the farmer producing your food.”
“With that being said,” her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “The world outside is not kind nor fair. So most of our time will be spent on helping you learn to survive in it. To help you develop, not just your powers, but your minds and bodies. To give you the tools you need.”
“As for where the need for others comes in.” She paced a little to the side. “You may find that you are unable to complete one task or another. Or you may find that you need help with a specific subject. Do not look to the teachers. Their help is as free as their time. Instead, look to your fellow students.”
Her eyes slowly traced over the room as she spun to pace back. “Make deals. Sign contracts. Become friends. And I would recommend not reneging on your end of the deal. After all, who will you turn to if you need a new weapon? Someone you screwed over once already? Or will you go to someone you have a good rapport with?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
That made a great deal of sense. The best part of what she was saying was that it would get through the thick skulls of the more muscle-headed among us. I just had to hope that the more devious in here understood what she was trying to say before it was too late for them.
“As long as you do that, you will find that your odds of dying decrease.” The fact that she outright said the words told me that she didn’t think they would. “Now, in a few minutes, you will receive your evaluation schedules. While these assessments are mandatory, they are not here to eliminate or pick on you. They are here to highlight where you are lacking so that we might address those issues.”
There was a second of silence before she continued. “Some of you will discover gaps that you are unaware of, while others will find their weaknesses confirmed. Even if you think that you can ignore it, I am here to say you cannot. Not if you wish to continue attending this academy next year.”
Her hand lifted to gesture at the staff stationed around the hall. “Instructors and academic staff will be overseeing these evaluations and are authorized to adjust the difficulty at their discretion. You may even ask them to increase the difficulty if you so wish. You may not, however, ask for a test to be made easier.”
“And let me warn you now.” Thick threads of mana erupted from her and wrapped themselves around the room. “Respect for staff and fellow students is not only expected, it is required. Any interference, attempts to manipulate, or acts of aggression will result in immediate disciplinary action.”
Her words hung in the air as the density of the mana continued to increase. Then, between one heartbeat and the next, the pressure vanished. “The world beyond this academy is not soft. It will not play nice. It does not give second chances.” She straightened. “Neither will we!”
With those words, she vanished. There was no pop of someone teleporting. Nor was there a slight blur of her racing off. There wasn’t even a whisper of mana to suggest that she had used a power to leave. She was there one second, gone the next.
Before I could wonder what was next, my pad vibrated twice. While I would have normally left it where it was, everyone around me was pulling theirs out. So with a shrug, I pulled it out to find an email market urgent and open immediately.
TESTING:
General Testing – 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Physical Section 1 – Arena 2
Reaction Time – 9:00 AM
Fitness – 9:10 AM
Combat – 10:00 AM
Physical Section 2 – Field 1
Identification – 11:00 AM
Gear Usage – 11:30 AM
Resourcefulness – 12:00 PM
Other – 12:30 PM
LUNCH – 1:00 PM
Mana – Resonance Hall Room 3
Stability – 2:00 PM
Output – 2:20 PM
Control – 2:45 PM
Mental – Building 7 Room 212
Comprehension – 3:00 PM
Mathematics – 3:30 PM
Negotiation – 4:00 PM
Strategy Simulation – 4:30 PM
DINNER – 6:00 PM
Power Testing – 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Technomancy – Builder’s Hall Room 903
Other – 7:00 PM
Oh, boy, this was going to suck. Especially as it was eight thirty and I had no clue where the Resonance Hall was or even how far I had to go. “Fucking hell.” Bert groaned at whatever he was scheduled for. “Couldn’t they have put all the physical stuff first?”
“And here I was hoping to save that shit for last,” I mumbled back as I tried to search the map for the various buildings. It took a good moment before I realized what he said. Without even bothering to ask, I just took his pad and looked over his schedule.
TESTING:
General Testing – 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Mana – Resonance Hall Room 1
Stability – 9:00 AM
Output – 9:20 AM
Control – 9:45 AM
Mental – Building 8 Room 114
Comprehension – 10:00 AM
Mathematics – 10:30 AM
Negotiation – 11:00 AM
Strategy Simulation – 11:30 AM
LUNCH – 1:00 PM
Physical Section 1 – Arena 1
Reaction Time – 2:00 PM
Fitness – 2:10 PM
Combat – 3:00 PM
Physical Section 2 – Field 3
Identification – 4:00 PM
Gear Usage – 4:30 PM
Resourcefulness – 5:00 PM
Other – 5:30 PM
DINNER – 6:00 PM
Power Testing – 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Physical – Field 7
Other – 7:00 PM
Who in their right mind planned tests like this? I mean, with how many students they had to get through, I understood the need for them to spread the tests out. But surely there was a better way they could have gone about testing everyone. Maybe have all the easy tests over and done with so that people could focus on the harder tests.
With how it was now, both of us were going to have to pace ourselves. After all, it wouldn’t do to burn out on the earlier tests only to fail at the easy stuff. Or was that the point? Surely that wasn’t the reason. Sadly, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
I passed Bert his pad as I gave him a subtle warning. “Take your time and pace yourself.” To those around us, it would sound like something most people would say before a test. As I looked back at my screen, I realized that he might not have the map. “Oh, do you have the…”
He held up his device. Projected above it was a version of the map with every stop already plotted. It even had a series of paths it recommended he take to get from point to point. With a final good luck, we went our separate ways.
