Chapter 23: 23：Dawn Era

7:30 AM, followed by the continuous buzzing of the alarm, Heima finally woke up. She rolled around on the bed a couple of minutes, feeling the glaring rays of the sun that warmed the interior, manifesting small beads of sweat on her skin.

Picking up a small empty tray that was 2 feet long, 2 feet wide and a foot high with her name plastered at the top, Heima placed her school uniform and toiletries in it. Her uniform consisted of a red checked full-hand shirt that was long enough to reach the middle of her thigh, almost mimicking a gown. The collars were red in colour while the ends of the sleeves and the bottom were also embroidered in red. The base material was a mix of white and blue.

There was a grey sleeveless overcoat embroidered with the logo of the military academy on the back, the words, 'Academy of Perseverance' curved overhead the logo. The lower garment consisted of a palazzo, grey in colour.

The clothes were made from soft cotton, having a slight elasticity while also allowing the air to pass through the gaps in the fabric. This allowed the students to have a sense of comfort in the hot climate while the choice of material didn't impede their training activities.

Heima noticed the bed next to her vacant and lacked any form of depression on it, a sign that Hancent hadn't slept there during the night. By the time she had finished dinner the previous night and returned to her room, she found Hancent absent, leaving a note behind that he had set out for work. Judging by the state of the bed, he hadn't yet returned.

Stepping out of the room, Heima noticed a couple of her classmates, a boy with a thin frame wearing pyjamas and a girl with freckled cheeks. The girl's hair looked like a bird's nest while the tray she carried had many bottles filled with fragrant solutions. The boy, wearing pyjamas reeked of sweat, a sign that he had been jogging early in the morning. He shot a look at the tray in the girl's hand before sporting a grin.

"Now I understand why our classrooms are saturated by aromatic scents the moment you enter." The boy said, passing by the girl as he headed towards his room.

Feeling a chill creep up his spine, the boy suddenly felt some fluid fall on his clothes, soaking the clothes, pervading through the fabric, a deep aromatic smell hit his nose. Gazing at his back, the boy noticed one of the bottles atop her tray open, a figure stood next to her.

"Commenting about a girl first thing in the morning; how crass of you," Heima said, continuing her pace as she brushed aside a couple of hair strands that fell on her left eye. Heima walked to the end of the corridor where two paths diverged. The one on her left was a restroom for the girls while the one on her right was meant for boys.

After she disappeared from view, the boy sniffed at his clothes, "This fragrance is really pleasant. Can you lend it to me, Lenfia?"

"Uh, actually…" Lenfia lifted the bottle in her hand, resisting the urge to laugh. "This is a hand sanitiser. I always carry it around since I don't like using other products whose smell repulses me."

Seeing a frown emerge on his face, Lenfia closed the bottle, placing it back on her tray as she rushed to the restroom, practically running as the sounds of her laughter echoed across the corridor. "See you later, Heric."

Heima proceeded to her left, opening the door to reveal a small room, 6 feet wide and 3 feet long, parted by curtains. Pushing it aside, a room filled with cupboards came into view. The cupboards lined the wall, with each being wide enough to fit most of her clothes inside. Walking towards one edge where the cupboard was tagged with her name, Heima noticed a number lock that sealed it.

'10852'

Rolling the keys to match the number, she unlocked the number lock, opening the empty cupboard. She placed her tray inside and closed it, not forgetting to lock it again. There were many facilities in the military academy that was for private use, locked by number locks; each had a specific unlock code, making Heima cram a bunch of numbers after the orientation.

There was a double door at the end that led to a washroom. It was parted into two by a rack; the left filled with cubicles meant for showering while the right was filled with a long washbasin—numerous taps situated at regular intervals. A long mirror was affixed onto the wall, spick and clean. There was another door to the very end that led to the toilet, numbering many, separated by thin walls.

Exhaust fans were attached all across the rooms, providing sufficient ventilation. Heima emptied her bowels, brushed her teeth, and took a comfortable bath; the warm water soothed her nerves despite the weather being hot. She returned to the room with the cupboards, noticing a couple of her classmates there who had just walked in, also spotting some unfamiliar faces. She wore her dress without feeling much embarrassment, gazed at the time, and walked out.

8:10 AM, Heima arrived at the canteen, frowning at the breakfast, finding the menu not being much to her liking. She hurriedly gulped down the food and returned to her room, noticing Gita rush out from the nearby room, her mother's shouts reverberating around the corridor.

Grumbling about her mother not waking her up on time, Gita complained to Heima, leaving after a sentence; she rushed towards the restroom, hoping to freshen up before class resumed. Heima returned to her room to pick up some books, noticing Hancent slumped over the bed, grunting with exhaustion.

"Dad, you're back," Heima said, hugging him.

"Sorry, I was held up with work. My workload increased due to the upcoming Raid." Hancent said, looking at the time displayed in his watch, silently praising Heima for her getting ready on time.

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"Dad, what do you mean by a Raid?" Heima said, craning her head up to look at his face.

"You'll learn all about them sooner." Hancent patted her head, urging her to not delay. He then saw Heima packing her school bag, waving her hands at him as she left the room.

8:25 AM, Heima sat in a spacious auditorium, the very same she had visited the day before. Looking around to spot some familiar faces, Heima noticed everyone seated around her to be unfamiliar to her. She also spotted a small partition made from a material resembling glass, separating 5 rows of seats at the back from where she sat.

She found Hiltol and Stenna seated behind the partition, their faces scrunched up, a twisted smile on them that sent a shiver down her spine. She retracted her gaze, having no desire to communicate with them as she thought about the words Hancent said a couple of days back.

'I can't remember exactly what happened but all I know is that I was mad for a month.'

She controlled her body that trembled unconsciously as she noticed a middle-aged lady walk to the dais. She controlled the mike and tapped it twice, producing a high-pitch static that rattled their ears. She stood in silence for two minutes, gazing at her watch.

8:30 AM, the middle-aged lady waved her hands as all the double doors leading to the auditorium closed, stunning the students. Some of the students who were just a couple of feet from the doors tried to rush inside only to slam on the door, preventing them from entering inside.

"Today's first lesson," The middle-aged lady announced, "Tardiness is an act of disobedience and is a punishable offence. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" All the students echoed, slightly nervous due to the atmosphere.

"Good," She clicked a small remote on her hand as a projector hung above the dais flashed to life, projecting the diagram of a creature on a screen. "Do you know what this is?"

The auditorium suddenly turned silent, a cold feeling pervaded the air, the expressions of students switching between fear and repulse. On seeing their unresponsive nature, the middle-aged lady flashed a smile, "Correct response, 5 merit points."

A boy suddenly raised his hands, standing up to speak after getting a nod of approval from the middle-aged lady. He held a mike that was passed to him, "Ma'am, it is a Wisdom Parasite."

"Do you know why it termed as such?" She said with a smile, nodding with her arms folded, approving his answer.

Seeing him shake his head, the middle-aged lady made him sit, "5 points for the correct answer, 15 points for having the courage to step forward."

Seeing the crowd stir, the lady continued, "It is called a Wisdom Parasite because it is not born in nature, but a product of human effort. After decades of research during the Dark Era, it was created by a man named Dr. Sathyam who later died during the chaos. It sparked the survival chances of humanity as leading researches from all over the world tried to develop it."

"After years of war and struggle, a person appeared to lead humanity," The screen flashed to reveal a man who had an oriental origin. "The dark era ended with his appearance. In respect to him, we have named the following era, i.e. our current era as the Dawn era."

The words 'Rhachis Ancestor Dawn' appeared below his figure, glowing with a bright, orange hue that behaved like a flame. Seeing the crowd focus on the image, the middle-aged lady said, "He later founded the Dawn city, located tens of thousands of kilometres to our north-east. It is the strongest city of humanity."

A hand rose among the crowd, it was the boy who had answered before. Seeing the middle-aged lady focus her gaze on him, the boy slightly tensed up, gathering his courage as he spoke in the mike, "Ma'am, can I know how many cities exist in total?"

"I was planning to talk about it anyway," The middle-aged lady smiled, "There are six cities in total. It will be mentioned in detail on a later date. You'll know why only six of them exist and not more."

She then coughed once, pressing a button on the remote as the image on the screen flashed, displaying a tabular column. There were 7 rows and 3 columns, the titles being: Tier, Rhachis, and Psychic. The six rows below the title were left blank as if she planned to reveal them in order, taking the time to build suspense.

"Before going in detail about this, let me present you with another question. The correct answer gets 50 points," The middle-aged lady continued, "Why do you think we attach a title to powerful individuals. Even among your daily lives, you must have noticed people mention terms like Shifter or Wave Controller. What do you think of them?"

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