Ascenders Rift

Evan and the others soon arrived at their classroom; it was a decent sized room with more than fifty chairs. Currently, the class had multiple new students that were talking amongst themselves. While a few were merely getting through introductions, a few others spoke and discussed the previous proceedings of the new year meeting in hushed tones.

Evan, Fatty Joe, Rick, and Emilia had found themselves a corner where they could all sit as they spoke about the previous topic.

"Evan, it seems that the council had put a lot of thoughts into this action. If it's as that group says, then the future is certainly not looking good. Are you still suspicious about their activities?" Fatty Joe asked as he looked at Evan.

Evan shook his head and replied, "Fatty, some things aren't so simple to notice... but I can understand your concerns. For now, the best thing that you should focus on is growing stronger."

As Evan spoke to here, he swept his eyes across the group looking at Emilia and Fatty before glancing at Rick as he spoke in a tone only they could hear, "The most important thing right now is for all of us to get stronger, in one week, we must then meet up and compare our strengths. If our strengths have arrived a certain scale... then I'll share with you guys a crucial secret..."

Fatty Joe and Emilia were a bit surprised at his words; they looked at each other before Fatty Joe glanced at Evan and suspiciously asked, "Brother Evan, you seem to be a bit knowledgeable? Now that I think about it, neither you nor Rick were surprised during the announcements. Don't tell me that you guys have already known about this disaster?"

"..." Emilia remained silent as she looked at them with a curious expression.

Rick didn't say anything, Evan, on the other hand, had a serious expression as he spoke, "All will be revealed with time, so long as you trust me I'll show you something that will be guaranteed to change your view of the world..."

Fatty Joe looked at Evan deeply as if he wanted to see through him, but he soon shifted his sights towards the front as he replied, "Fine."

Emilia looked at Evan as she pondered, "I wonder what it is brother Evan will show us?"

As Fatty Joe and Emilia had their thoughts, Rick looked towards Evan deeply, but he didn't say anything, keeping his thoughts to himself,

Evan knew that Rick had figured out his current status, he knew that he would come to find him later to confirm a few things. He naturally didn't mind this, he was curious about Rick from the beginning, as though he was more unapproachable in his first life, he was still a capable comrade.

Evan shifted his sights around the room, noticing that Susie has already entered; she sat in an opposing corner compared to his own.

He looked at her and pondered, "If I were to recall correctly, in my last life, she had bonded with Michael pretty much very early. That bond must have formed because of her previous breakdown, maybe Michael must have been the one to offer counsel. Interestingly, it would seem my deed has ended up breaking off a cycle of fate, but it's better than having them chew at my head together. At least, right now, she should have understood her previous wrongdoings."

After thinking to here, Evan's eyes coldly flashed as he said in a voice, only he could hear, "As for her mother, there are plenty of ways to pay her back, especially now that I have caught the interest of Alan. While I am no longer hung up about the past, the karma for playing with my parent's fortune must be paid. For that Michael, however, if he dares to annoy me again, it will be the day of his end..."

Soon, the time for the class was in session, and everyone looked at the door silently. They were curious about who this specialist would be that the military had assigned.

Not long after, the door opened as two familiar beauties had appeared, the one at the front had silky black hair the fell to her neck with an attractive face, as her slender inclined eyes gave off a hint of aesthetic charm.

Behind her was a young girl that shared her features with her eyes being a bit larger as she sported a ponytail. Both were dressed modestly, in simple jeans and long shirts.

As Evan saw these two, he was surprised; his eyes flashed with awareness as he pondered, "To think it was them... I knew I heard their names before; they were the members of that number two rift party, the Twin Roses. Did they teach this class? Or was it simply because I had not attended any sessions that I was unaware of this? Che! I must have been no different from a depressed soul; it seems..."

While Evan was surprised, the mature beauty seemed to have noticed Evan; she gave a slight smile and a wink before she spoke a greeting, "Hello everyone, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Angeline Meadows, your survival instructor for the rest of this year. By my side is my little sister; she has also been enrolled in the academy. Her name is Breya... it's a pleasure to meet you all!"

As Angeline said this, both her and Breya made a polite bow as a form of greeting. Everyone in the class looked at the two in surprise, as the males who were in a bad mood had brightened spirits upon seeing gorgeous women.

Quickly, everyone rose to feet as they greeted, "Welcome!"

Angeline smiled and nodded as she saw this, she then spoke, "Good, now that greetings are over let's get down to business."

Breya soon walked from the speaker's area as she headed towards a nearby seat, Fatty Joe who saw Breya was stunned, his eyes widened as he felt himself a bit lost.

Evan seeing Fatty Joe standing was a bit surprised, he slapped his shoulder and spoke, "Sit down, the class is in session."

"What?" Fatty Joe asked out loud, causing many to look at him.

Angeline also cast a curious look towards him, along with the now seated Breya, Fatty Joe, realizing his mistake was embarrassed, he quickly sat down and covered his face.

Evan looked at Fatty Joe deeply before he looked at Breya from the corner of his eyes, his lips then curved into a smile as he showed a look of understanding.

"This fellow... so it turns out that he similarly had an ideal type..."

At this time, Angeline had spoken to the group, "Now then, for the first session, I shall be going over some simple methods that you can apply in your daily training sessions with the HDP helmet. Don't worry, once this session is over, I shall be handing out the devices and pills to everyone. With that said, let us now begin..."

Evan and the students soon focused their attention on Angeline as she waved her hand on a tablet causing a broad series of notes and details to appear on the digital board. Following that, an in-depth discussion had begun about basic survival skills. Time passed quickly, and everyone had left the classes after claiming their copy of the helmet.

Before Evan, Fatty Joe and Rick had separated with Emilia, Evan had made sure to remind Emilia to wear the necklace that gave her, only after seeing that she nodded and answered did Evan let her go in peace.

On the way back dorms, Evan asked to be excused from Fatty Joe, saying that he was going to handle some affairs. Soon, Evan had arrived at a very remote part of the campus grounds. Here, was a peaceful region at the center of a group of trees, the grass was well cut and maintained.

The time was now at the peak of the afternoon, as the orangish-red sunlight painted a warm feeling across the open zone. Evan stood there silently as if he was waiting on something to happen.

Swoosh! Not long after, a 'swooshing' sound was heard as an individual had appeared behind Evan. The two stood silently within this setting a few meters distance apart, the evening winds rustled their hair and brushed the stray leaves across the fresh air.

After a long while, the sun, which was slowly setting in the distance, finally fell transforming the world around it into one of darkness, illuminated by a myriad of lights from distant buildings and campus lamp posts.

Evan's and the figure's features were now vaguely lit by the distant lamp lights, as they stood quietly in the dark field. Soon, the figure behind Evan spoke.

"So, what do you know, Evan?" Rick asked in a relaxed tone, his eyes showing a profound light.

Evan smirked at those words as he recalled his first meeting with Rick in his previous life and the words Rick said, followed by the beating he had received.

"Although I'm a bit mature now, I am still a man who never forgets his grudges... " As Evan thought to here, he mimicked the Rick from his memories and spoke, "Rick... if there's something you want to know, then I'll tell you. But first, you'll have to prove that you're worthy."

Rick's eyes suddenly turned colder as the air around him changed, the world seeming as if it was about to transform into something akin to a disaster.