wallborn

After receiving the knowledge from a hooded figure, they all realized they were in the same homeroom.

"Why are we all in the same class? With over 1,000 students here, we should've been split up," Harkel questioned.

"My mother is probably to blame for that," Wren thought. "She has an obsession with 'the strong stick with the strong' and leaving the weak behind. But I'm surprised she let all of us be in the same class, considering she felt like most of y'all shouldn't have made it to the top five… or even the top ten." As she thought that last part, she glanced at Tessa.

They made their way to the homeroom. From Wren's tone, the boys could already guess who else would be in the class. That made Joey, Jordan, and Harkel laugh in their heads.

When they got to the classroom, they saw 14 other students already seated. Out of those, four caught their attention—Luka, Nico, Jude, and Skye. All top-ten first-years, all in the same class.

The teacher showed them to their seats. The six of them sat in the middle of the classroom as the teacher introduced himself.

"Hello, class. I'm your homeroom teacher. Some of you met me yesterday, but others…" he paused, looking directly at Riven and his group, "…haven't met me yet. So I'll reintroduce myself. My name is Mr. Sable. I'm the physics teacher, but during this block, I'll be your homeroom teacher. For those who weren't here, there should be a paper in your desk listing your next classes. These are based on your abilities, so if I were you, I'd look forward to them."

Riven, Jordan, Harkel, Joey, and Wren looked inside their desks and pulled out a piece of paper listing three classes—including the one they were in now.

"So what classes do you guys have?" Tessa asked.

They didn't see any reason to keep it from her, so they told her.

"I have a weapons class, then… a physics class?" Riven said, confused.

"Well, that makes sense," Tessa explained. "Your ability is gravity or telekinesis, right? They say that one way to increase your power—aside from training—is learning about a man known as Isaac Newton and his laws of motion."

"Hmm," Riven replied. 'Maybe she can be helpful.'

'I know she can,' Wren responded telepathically.

"I have a weapons class as well, but it's after yours—and an elemental class," Harkel said.

"Same," Wren added.

"Me too," Jordan chimed in.

"Wait, what? Why would you have an elemental class? Your evolution isn't… well, elemental-based," Tessa asked.

"They probably didn't know where to put me. Ink might be a new evolution entirely, and they didn't know what to do with me."

"Wait, how is that fair?" Riven questioned. "In some cases, even gravity is considered an element—so why does Jordan get into an elemental class, but I get physics?"

Mr. Sable heard that and looked in Riven's direction, prompting Riven to quickly say,

"Not that I have any problem with that."

"So what about you, Joey?"

"Well… I also have a weapons class, but it's in the same block as Riven's. My other class is also… a healing class," Joey said, looking a bit tense.

Everyone—except Tessa—knew why.

Joey didn't have a healing ability. He had a time-related ability, and with all the things Joey and Harkel had said about Project Mimicry, if it was true and they found out he had time manipulation powers, Joey would definitely become a candidate to go missing. Especially since he was a Wallborn—not someone from the outside world or a prestigious family.

"It's okay," Harkel thought. "All of you might be Wallborns, but me and Wren aren't. If it comes down to it, one of us could probably use our family name to help you."

"Can you guys tell me what this Project Mimicry is later?" Wren asked.

"Sure," Jordan replied.

Then the bell rang, signaling that it was time for the next block.

As the group split up for the day, Joey would be going with Riven, while the others went to their respective classes. The boys gave each other fist bumps before heading off. Riven then turned off the telepathic link as the squad turned into a duo.

"So, Joey… wanna test out your new speed?" Riven asked.

"So you did do something," Joey said, narrowing his eyes. "I knew something felt off with my body—I just couldn't put my hands on it."

Riven explained how he'd checked everyone's stats and combined their unused attribute points to evenly distribute them into Joey's.

Joey felt a bit disappointed that he needed even more of a boost just to catch up, but Riven reassured him.

"Every party is only as strong as its weakest link."

This lit a fire in Joey, and he broke into a run. Riven followed, both boys racing down the hallway—matching speed for speed. The hall was full of students, and while Riven weaved between them with ease, Joey wasn't quite used to his new speed and bumped into people left and right.

Eventually, they arrived at the Weapons Hall. There were 16 different weapons classrooms, but luckily, both of their classes were in the same room.

As they opened the door, they could see a man standing inside. More students rushed in just before the bell rang. One student, breathing heavily, ran in right as it sounded.

Then the man stepped forward.

Without a word, he punched the student in the chest.

The student flew backward and slammed into the wall.

The man stood at the front of the door, staring everyone down. His voice echoed like thunder in the chamber.

"Everyone who was late to Varra Kain's class—line up to receive your punishment."

Joey and Riven looked at each other then looked at the man.

He was smiling.