A few minutes later, Luca walked out of the Mansion in the new crisp black army uniform.

He was adjusting his cuffs when he looked up to find Caedun waiting at the gate in the same black, though it had been adjusted to fit his form.

"You already went to the tailor?"

He asked as he approached the rather large boy.

Caedun nodded. "Couldn’t exactly sit down and do nothing now, could I?"

Luca chuckled. "Alright, let’s be on our way."

As they marched to the gym, their conversations stretched between the tasks, a bit of their trances and sparsely, their lives.

Luca had come to realise that Caedun was more prominent than he had thought.

He was the son of Egoists, who were members of the Moonglow Haven, the 7th rank Guild in the Federation.

A connection like that meant he was directly affiliated with a Guild and thus was not forced to sign the same document as Luca was.

’I mean, it’s expected, but those under the control of the Federation are fewer than I thought.’

If it were so, he would need to be particularly careful, and form connections with Guilds... and Caedun might be his first key out.

They had arrived at the Gym, the building introduced to them by the Instructor after passing by people who threw them knowing glances.

The Cadets were the only people within the Institution who wore black, so it marked them easily from the others.

As they walked inside, they were welcomed by a chill breeze. The kind that immediately calmed the nerves.

Luca looked up to find air vents. Rolling slowly, yet imbuing the interior of the building with fresh, clean air.

"Hello there. Are you here to register or book a room?"

A composed and professional female voice broke through his thoughts.

He turned his direction to the source– a long, wooden counter. Clean and polished with a silvery sheen, and behind it, a woman with red hair and eyes. Brimming with power and mischief.

’An Ardenthal?’ He wondered as he joined Caedun at the counter.

"Yes, we’re here to do both. I believe there’s a fighting centre as well?"

The woman’s eyes flared for a fraction of a moment. Easily unnoticeable if you weren’t the type to pick up micro movements.

’Most Cadets take at least a week or more before they see the necessity in getting used to their strength.’

A smile formed on her lips.

’Do these boys truly know the importance or are they just here to show face?’

An Egoist grows through their core.

A dust core is explosively inferior to a Particle core and this is the same for Broken and Perfect.

With each substantial rise in power comes a subtle inability to use your full prowess because of the rise.

Most Explorers simply just punch harder than they used to or run faster than they started and call it adapting, but every older Egoist knew it was more than that.

The changes that occur with an increase in core are a vast molecular change that touches every aspect of the body.

No part isn’t enriched by it.

Even organs are reinforced more than before, even by a little, and such, without adapting to their growth– Egoists won’t truly showcase their potential.

"Alright, bring in your cards."

The boys pulled out their cards. She took it, swiped it past a holographic interface and handed it back.

"You’ve been registered for your one-year tenure as a Cadet.

Let it be informed that your subscription with us will also end on your last day, and if you ever intend on renewing said subscription, then come to meet us directly for a renewal."

The boys nodded in unison as she led them through a door.

"You’ll find the rooms you need on the floors.

All strength, durability and speed testing will be located on the first floor.

This includes the Hydro-Dynamic Viscosity Pillars, Gravimetric Flux-Bars, Ionised Tension-Tethers and Kinetic Inertia-Dampening Omnidrome.

The Temporal Time Dome is on the second floor. Meet one of the workers for a room key and get one of them if you intend on duelling or training separately from others.

There are training courses for sharp shooting on the third floor as well as weapon tutors, core anatomists, and other forms of specialisation on the third floor.

Finally, the relaxation chamber, our newly registered Molecular Myo-Repair Chamber or the Harmonic Pulse is on the ground floor which is our current location."

The boys blinked in unison.

They stared at each other before turning back at her.

"What’s the point of Institution lectures if this gym has so much to offer?"

Luca asked, intrigued by the whole thing.

The woman’s smile widened. As if she had anticipated such a question.

"You see, what we offer is personal growth, development and adaptation. As for your Instructors, they will be offering you the opportunities, resources, knowledge and basic understanding to develop yourselves."

She went further.

"While you can decide to focus on one more than the other, I would highly recommend both since personal development and understanding of your powers won’t be assisted by the Institution or its instructors... but by you."

Silence filled the air at the end of her explanation, and Luca had to admit that he got the message clearly.

’I only came to see how much has changed in my body... but this is more than I anticipated.

There’s a whole new path opened for me in this place.’

"Alright, thank you," Caedun said with a warm smile.

Even he had begun to see the importance of such a place.

The receptionist nodded.

"You are future soldiers of the Federation, it’s only right to assist you in your growth.

If you have any questions, you know where to find me."

As she left, Luca and Caedun turned to the elevator, their thoughts spinning as they did so.

"Sh– should we start with a practice duel? I’ve been wondering how you dealt with those Ardenthals who attacked you."

Luca looked up at him for a moment as they walked into the Elevator.

It chimed, ascended then stopped at their destination. The second floor.

He shook his head.

"I still want to see how strong I am. Everything I’ve done so far is merely based on instincts.

Maybe after some warm-ups."

As they looked around the second floor, the boys couldn’t help but gulp.

There were a few large, muscular adults.

Males and females– most in compression shirts or tank tops with training shorts or trousers. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

It was a home of constant wear and tear of muscles, the adrenaline-rushed muscle heads of trainers who saw their trainees as candy.

Some whipped their gazes at them, but on recognising their clothes, they turned away with disinterest.

"Do– do you know how to use this equipment?" Luca muttered slowly.

He had to admit, he felt intimidated by the weirdly shaped mechanics and equipment layered out in different parts of the building.

Caedun sighed. "Not at all."

Just then, a particularly muscular figure walked up to them. He was in brown compression tank tops, black tight pants and a long, white beard braided with weird coins and beads.

His skin was toned and rippling with veins and bulging tendons.

Luca instinctively took a step back.

"Yo, yo, y’all new here or what?"

’What?’ Luca’s face twisted in confusion.

"Um, yeah. We wanted to get a bit of practice in." Caedun replied as he took a step forward.

The man folded his hands as he stopped in front of them. A stern gaze from his deep, blue eyes.

"Not in those clothes. Go to the changing room, and get a fresh pair of training wear.

Come back here, I’ll show you the ropes."

He pointed at a door through a tiled pathway and the boys walked towards it.

At the door, there were symbols for male and female.

They went through the males, quietly picked up some clothes through a Cloth Monitor Vendor– An AI robot usually found in places like this.

They produced clothes through fibre wear and stored databases.

It didn’t take long before they swapped clothes and came out of the room in the same workout attire as the others.

Luca chose a tank top and slightly bigger trousers while Caedun went with a shirt and tight shorts.

They arrived in front of the man who waited patiently with a wide grin on his face.

"Now you look the part! What’s your Core level, boys?"

"39.3%, Particle White."

"75%, Particle White."

Luca side-eyed Caedun before focusing back on the man.

"ALRIGHT! NOTED, I’ve ingrained your cores and formulated your workout sessions for the day.

You want to get used to your powers right?

Then you’re in the right place for it."

He punched his fist together in a rather enthusiastic manner– a bit too much by Luca’s books.

’Nah, there’s no way he’s one of them right...’

He shook the thought as soon as it came.

He saw some of them when he entered too. Trainers who enjoyed the suffering of their trainees.

"The name’s Jorash." He stared at each of them with great interest.

"Welcome to hell, kids."

______

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Got our first GT today! There will be extra Chapters this weekend to celebrate passing this first hurdle!

Thanks for your support and please continue to do so!