The front view of the institute was magnificent, almost as if it were untouched by the ruins of the great war. The institute used to be a large school where young adults would come to get a fancy education for a fancy desk job. It is now the home of the most prestigious battle, research, and philanthropy school in the whole safety zone. As soon as they stepped inside the school, the clock tower rang. It's the top of the hour, alerting the students that the assembly is starting and everyone is to be in their assigned seats.
They couldn't help but take a moment to admire the colossal silver wolf statue. The statue was easily as tall, if not taller than the main gateway into the institute. A large capitalized "A" is under the wolf's ginormous body. The wolf is the institute's mascot and, more importantly, its protector.
Amazed, Juniper looks up at Theo with curious eyes. "What is the wolf thing about? She asks innocently.
"The thought process behind this is simple."
"The institute is a wolf pack that risks their lives in pursuit of the hunt for knowledge and power. Doubily as important as the hunt is the fact that the pack protects its own ferociously." Theo explained to Juniper. She thanks him, still enthralled at the sight of the statue.
"We have to go!" Theo yells before he starts running toward the auditorium. Only turning back to say, "It was nice meeting you, Juniper."
Thalia hugs Juniper. "You will love it here, Chiquita. I've got to go before I get chewed out."
Thalia gracefully floats into the air and commands the wind to propel her forward. She easily catches up with her brother and manages to land in front of the auditorium just as he opens the door.
"I hope you know how annoying it is that you don't even have to run," Theo says, opening the door for his older sister.
"Blame genetics," Thalia smiles. As they enter the main assembly hall, her heels click against the polished hardwood floor.
The first thing Thalia notices is how different the hall looked for the ceremony. The ceiling was decorated with large golden streamers. The walls were covered in mosaics depicting clubs and memorable moments of the past four years. Thalia assumed that they were specially made for graduation by the art club.
Each seat in the assembly hall has a different number on the front, starting from the top left corner of the room at 1 to 178. The numbers symbolize the number of graduates this year. Thalia heads to the front row and sits in the chair marked 6. She was only ranked 6th because she hates to study and would instead practice judo and work out during her free time. So she took many of her tests using her memory, which resulted in almost failing specific courses.
On the other hand, Theo spent his free time studying and reading. The exact opposite of Thalia landed him in the number 2 seat a couple of chairs down from Thalia. Theo looks over to Thalia with a large triumphant grin, mouthing the words, "You should have studied more, big sis." Thalia replied with the jack-in-the-box gesture using her right hand, cranking up her middle finger, and flicking him off.
The rest of the students came pouring in one after another, some giving each other high fives and some hugging and crying. The number 3 chair was eventually taken by Keelan Dyntasy, who Thalia and Theo would refer to as the most hated kid in the entire school. Keelan enrolled at the same time the siblings did only. He was 17, only one year off the cut-off for age to be accepted in the institute. He didn't join late for any reason other than the fact that he was privileged and didn't want to attend school yet. He was allowed to enter because his father, Ian Dynasty, was an upper echelon. Keelan's father is also the 17th seat on the round table council. So just to translate all of that in simple terms, Keelan is a super rich and super influential dick bag. He frequently tries to bully Theo due to his timid nature.
As Keelan sits down, he purposely drops his elbow into Theo's stomach. Theo grabs his stomach and gasps for air. "I'm sorry I didn't see you there."
Thalia's blood begins to boil, and the air around her begins to heat up. Thalia hops up from her seat and stands, and glares at Keelan. She could feel her power surging, increasing intensity, keeping pace with her anger. She would offer him a direct challenge if the graduation ceremony weren't today. There is a strict no-combat rule today, official challenge or not.
Although at this moment, the rules did not matter to Thalia. She lives by a few rules: no one gets to pick on her little brother except for her. The whole school knows how harshly she punishes anyone who touches Theo. Keelan's ass would be convulsing on the ground if it weren't for the ceremony today.
Today's rules be damned, she thought. He was testing her to see if the storm goddess would bend her rules in fear of punishment. Her eyes flicker a bright green, and the air starts to crackle.
Keelan grins, showing his mishappen teeth "Yes, little girl, show me what you're capable of."The people in the row behind theirs begin to get up and back away to avoid becoming collateral damage.
A calm and elegant voice rings out behind them quietly but assertively, "May I remind you where you are? Both of you sit down, and Keelan, knock it off."
Chills went down Thalia's spine. She recognized the voice immediately and winced. Only one student in the entire school could make Thalia nervous. The class president and head of the discipline committee, Tyler Winfreed. Tyler is 6,1 with an above-average medium build. Every section of his body is finely toned. He is consistently ranked at the top of our class. This is no surprise considering Thalia has never beaten him in any form of a hand-to-hand altercation. She even used her powers once, and he broke her arm as punishment. Tyler also has a photographic memory, making studying a moot point for him. He is honest to god genius, and if he had been born with a bloodline trait. He could easily be a candidate for the most powerful student since the Apex's Generational Ace, Dante Elceed. Tyler is also handsome in an uptight and proper kind of way, definitely not Thalia's type.
"Mrs. Diez, please do not make me write you up on our last day together!"
While taking his seat at the chair marked 1. He properly crosses his legs and glances over at Thalia, gesturing with his eyes for her to take her seat. Thalia exhales loudly and plops back down into her seat. If there is one thing she won't miss is Tyler's stuck-up ass.
As if reading her mind. "Don't worry, Thalia, the probability of us receiving a similar assignment is little to none."
Thalia thought about it, and her mind was put at ease. He was right. Even if they both get assigned a special assignment, they are unlikely to be placed on the same team.
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