The normal days at the academy were going quite slow for Gary. There wasn’t much to do, and since he had already been offered to debut, the lessons felt somewhat pointless now. Sure it was interesting, but none of it was as interesting as what was happening in his life at the moment.
After speaking to Jayden last night, Gary couldn’t stop thinking about what the problems could be, and there was one thing he knew, what he had to do before, and always did, was to get stronger.
Gary
Grade: Bishop
Class: Warrior
Level 23
[Health 250]
[Energy 300]
[Exp 8788/11564]
[Strength 36]
[Dexterity 26]
[Endurance 34]
(There was a mistake the last time his stats were shown)
Which was why he couldn’t wait for Friday to come. Still, Gary got to enjoy his time with the others and Numba had done as he said he would, getting a private instructor to teach him, just like the debut students. Although it wasn’t Eddie that was teaching him since he was far too busy but there were a lot of talented teachers in the AFA, so he was sure he would make some improvement.
Which meant that Numba was away from the others a lot more than he usually would have been. As time went on, the day had finally come and Gary was back in the strange room wearing his blue clothing, taking part in the special lesson.
“Before your lesson is to begin today, I am to take you to the observing deck.” Crowley mentioned. “Coo! I want you to know, you are all to be on your best behaviour, for there are many up there that are from NIRV.”
“Sir, what exactly will they be doing?” Snow asked.
“That is not for me to know, but I think there may be a weekly assessment for you all. Before you take part, perhaps they are monitoring your growth.” Crowly explained.
The two groups went into the large fighting area as they usually would have done, but at the side of one of the walls, there was a door that was already open. Entering inside, they realised that it was actually an elevator.
Gary had noticed that the NIRV research team that had taken the crystal out of the beast had gone into these rooms before.
‘Man, I hope I don’t meet that creepy guy again. I have a feeling he already had an idea of what was going on.’ Gary thought.
As the elevator dinged, the students were surprised by what their eyes were looking at right now. It looked like a large lab. There were several machines, recording equipment, and men in white shirts and suits.
To the right, there was a long glass wall that would allow them to look down and directly at the fights taking place. Now they knew why it was called the observing deck. However, one of the very first people that Gary could see was the very NIRV employee he was thinking about.
“Ah, it’s very nice to meet the new Retrievers in person!” James said, as he walked forward with his thick black frame classes and his annoying pen in his hand. Every so often he would click the top of the pen for no reason and, with Gary’s hearing being sensitive, he would notice it more so than others.
James looked at all of them smiling, but when his eyes met with Gary, the smile was even bigger than it was before.
“Please, none of you have to be nervous, we are just checking your Altered information. After all, we want to give you the best chance of survival, as you will be fighting stronger beasts from now on. If we knew your skills and the type of Altered you all are, it would allow us to match you up with more appropriate beasts that are advantageous for you.”
Crowley had his arms folded and stood between James and the students, if there was one thing Gary was happy about, it was the fact that Corwley seemed to also have a disliking for these guys.
“But if there is a danger, then you will do everything in your power to stop it, correct?” Corwley said.
“Of course!” James smiled. “Please just follow along, this will only take fifteen minutes or so, after that you students should be ready for your next assessment.”
As Gary continued to walk with the others, he realised something. What if these tests figured out he wasn’t an Altered, what would happen then? There was still the fact that the Underdogs were meant to deliver the package that had made Gary into a werewolf to someone. From all the things he was finding out about NIRV, it seemed like they would be a good suspect.
‘My only bet is to plead to Crowley that I don’t want to take these tests, he should understand, right… right?’
“Please, my employees will take great care of you.” James said as he walked off and brushed past Gary. His heart was beating fast but, as he turned his head, it soon turned into a smile.
“You shouldn’t worry too much. It’s just a questionnaire and a health checkup. We can’t take that much information from you guys. Rules of your academy and what not.” A soft voice said that Gary hadn’t heard in a while.
He nearly blurted out and shouted as he saw this person, but soon saw him give a wink towards him as he held the clipboard. Once again, the others looked at who the wink was aimed at, and they all turned to Gary once more.
“Ah don’t worry, I was just trying to be friendly.” The person nervously said. “Anyway, let’s get going to the test.”
As Gary walked forward, it was hard for him to stop smiling.
‘Who would have thought, of all places, I would meet you here. Well, it’s nice to meet you again, Tom.’
*****
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