Sosuke woke to the bright dorm lights, groaning as he rubbed his eyes. His body ached, every muscle protesting as he shifted. Training had been brutal.
He sighed, glancing at Rin's space across the room. He preferred being the only one without a roommate, but since it was Rin, he didn't mind too much.
Just as he sat up, Rin suddenly pounced onto his bed, pinning him down.
"Are you excited?!" she grinned.
"What the hell—get off!" Sosuke grumbled, trying to push her away.
"What's with you? Why are you being lazy this time?"
"I was literally about to get up before you jumped on me!"
"Mmhm. Sure." She climbed off and stretched. "Come on, let's eat at the cafeteria. Then we can see the results together."
She was already walking out before he could argue.
"She won't even wait?" Sosuke muttered, rubbing his face. "Everything hurts…"
With a tired groan, he got dressed and made his way down the long hallway to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was small, fitting for their team size. Sosuke sat at a table with Reid, Lyra, and Rin, his plate mostly untouched as he rested his chin on his palm.
"I wonder how the results will be posted," Reid mused, sipping his drink. "Like letter grades or something?"
"I don't know, she didn't say," Lyra answered between bites.
"I think I'll score pretty great considering I joined in late." Rin smirked.
"Right, but I'm definitely beating you out in intelligence," Lyra shot back.
"Oh really? We'll see about that."
Sosuke barely listened. His eyes wandered to the board at the front of the room. Arthur was already there, waiting. Then he noticed something else.
"Why is Milo sitting with Ren?" Sosuke frowned. "Wait—why isn't Ren sitting here?"
Reid sighed.
"He betrayed us," Lyra muttered.
"You're being dramatic," Reid said, rolling his eyes.
"What happened?" Rin asked.
"He caused Starborn to split up," Reid explained. "Said he didn't want to work as a team. Didn't seem to care about anyone else."
"You're forgetting the part where he said he never does anything unless it benefits him!" Lyra added.
"Calm down, he'll hear you," Reid warned.
"Good."
Sosuke's gaze drifted absently to the board. Ren really did that? He wasn't too surprised—just a little betrayed.
Then, the screen changed.
"The results are up," Sosuke muttered.
The table fell silent. They all stood and walked toward the massive display. Each member's profile appeared, listing individual stats under their name.
"She went with overall ratings," Reid pointed out.
Sosuke Estrella: 83 Overall Score
Speed- 90
Strength- 80
Endurance- 72
Combat Awareness- 91
Intelligence- 88
Weapon Proficiency- 79
Mana Level- 82
Sosuke's jaw tightened. "Why is my mana so low?" He expected a higher number.
"Seems like everyone's is low," Rin noted.
"No. Not everyone." Lyra's voice was sharp. "I think we all got low scores to show the massive gap…"
Reid Stark: 79 Overall Score
Speed- 89
Strength- 95
Endurance- 90
Combat Awareness- 70
Intelligence- 76
Weapon Proficiency- 40
Mana Level- 99
"Ninety-nine?! That's the max, right?!" Sosuke exclaimed.
Reid stared at the screen in shock. "I always thought I had a low mana capacity…" His hand clenched into a fist. "Maybe that's why I can't control it. Because I have so much. Is that possible?"
"Maybe so," Lyra admitted, still processing.
Arthur Veiss: 86 Overall Score
Speed-84
Strength- 82
Endurance- 85
Combat Awareness- 90
Intelligence- 90
Weapon Proficiency- 96
Mana Level- 78
Lyra Valcrest: 80 Overall Score
Speed- 78
Strength- 70
Endurance- 78
Combat Awareness- 86
Intelligence- 97
Weapon Proficiency- 85
Mana Level- 72
Ren Natsume: 84 Overall Score
Speed- 80
Strength- 79
Endurance- 85
Combat Awareness- 98
Intelligence- 90
Weapon Proficiency- 89
Mana Level- 65
Rin Sakurai: 83 Overall Score
Speed- 85
Strength- 88
Endurance- 77
Combat Awareness- 84
Intelligence- 96
Weapon Proficiency- 71
Mana Level- 78
Milo Griffin: 79 Overall Score
Speed- 85
Strength- 72
Endurance- 80
Combat Awareness- 78
Intelligence- 82
Weapon Proficiency- 86
Mana Level- 69
Ryoma Estrella: 81 Overall Score
Speed- 87
Strength- 88
Endurance- 70
Combat Awareness- 92
Intelligence- 88
Weapon Proficiency- 60
Mana Level- 80
Lyra nudged Rin with a smug grin. "Guess we know who's smarter now."
"It's one point!" Rin snapped.
Sosuke crossed his arms. "Of course Arthur's number one, huh?" He exhaled sharply. "At least I managed to get tied for third."
Ryoma put his hands on his hips proudly. "I did good, right?"
Sosuke smirked slightly. "Yeah, you did."
His eyes flicked back to Rin, who was still arguing with Lyra. He hadn't realized just how strong she had gotten so quickly.
Tina Kallard entered the cafeteria, and the entire room tensed at her presence.
"I gotta say, I'm pleased with the scores," she said with a smirk. "I don't get many trainees, but when I do, they never get breaks. You guys earned one day. But if you slack off after that—" her eyes gleamed, "you'll wish you were dead."
With that, she turned and strode off, leaving the room in silence.
Sosuke slumped in his chair. "Oh, thank god. I didn't want to train in this condition." He exhaled. "I'm getting more sleep."
"You sound like me," Rin teased, appearing at his side. She turned to Ryoma, eyes scanning him with curiosity. "So you must be the one he was talking about."
Ryoma's eyes widened. "Wait—he talked about me?"
"Once." Rin crossed her arms. "So, you're Estrella blood?"
"Yeah!" Ryoma grinned. "I'm pretty strong if you can't tell."
"Oh, I definitely can."
The two fell into easy conversation as they walked through the halls, getting to know each other.
Elsewhere, Milo grinned as he caught up to Ren. "Your score was super high! Not that I'm surprised—I expected that from the guy who taught me."
Ren scoffed. "I hardly taught you anything. I haven't trained you since Novara."
"Still counts!" Milo patted his back. "Come on, be proud! You made second place!"
Ren's jaw tightened. "Yeah. Second." His fists clenched as he muttered under his breath, "Damn it, Arthur… you will lose to me."
Milo blinked. "Yikes. Alright, I'm gonna go get some fresh air."
"The garden doesn't count as fresh air," Ren deadpanned as Milo jogged off.
Sosuke lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, his arm resting over his forehead.
"Rin managed to catch up…" He muttered. "Why don't I feel happy for her? She's even reached my level."
His fingers curled into the blanket. I haven't felt joy in a while. I hate faking a smile.
With a quiet groan, he shoved his face into his pillow. This is stupid.
The door swung open. Rin strolled in, a soda in one hand and a donut in the other.
"What's up, Sosuke?" she asked, mid-bite.
Sosuke lifted his head. "'What's up?' Since when do you say that?"
"I'm a changed person." She grinned before taking another massive bite.
"Hardly." He sat up, pulling the blanket over his lap. "I don't know what to do today."
Rin tilted her head. "There's plenty to do. The garden, the theater, the game room—"
"I don't feel like doing any of it." Sosuke stared at his hands. "I should train… but I can't."
"Ohhh, so it's because your body's wrecked from the test?" Rin sipped her drink.
"No, it's—" He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I don't know. I really don't."
Rin set her things down and walked over to him.
"I could stay here with you all day if you want."
"No… it's okay. You should go do something fun."
Instead of leaving, Rin sat down next to him. "Why are you trying to get rid of me?"
Sosuke's eyes flicked to Rin. "I'm not—"
"Doesn't matter. You're going to have fun, whether you like it or not." Rin grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of the room. "You can't just sit around all day."
"What are you doing?" Sosuke's eyes widened.
"Stopping you from sulking in your little 'depression.' We're finding something to do. This place sucks, but we'll make it work."
Depression? Is that what this is? The thought caught him off guard.
Sosuke let Rin drag him down the hallway, his steps lighter than before. Maybe she was right. The only time he ever felt anything lately was when he was pushing himself—getting stronger. Or when he was around her.
Maybe, just for today, he should let himself enjoy the break.