Chapter 74: Wanna Spar?
Wanna Spar?
"Something interesting happening next week?" Theresa repeated with a questioning look as she stared at Mike who had just told her what Masha had told him.
"Yeah, do you guys happen to know anything about it?" Mike asked, and by ’you guys’ he referred to Theresa and Kris.
The former wasn’t that surprising. As soon as Mike left the training hall, which was just after noon, he called Theresa and asked if she was free, and she agreed almost eagerly and sent him her location, which was a calm outdoor Cafe.
The latter was a bit more surprising, as Mike managed to spot Kris walking along one of the paths with his head down, and he immediately decided to pull him over.
The other boy had been a bit surprised to see Mike, and he was quite hesitant when Mike offered he come with him, but Mike, still being able to read him so well, managed to convince him to tag along, and thus, here they were.
Mike was a bit thankful, as while Theresa seemed both surprised and–weirdly enough–slightly miffed by Kris’s presence, she didn’t seem as weird around him as before.
’Progress.’ Mike thought as he watched Theresa think before shaking her head.
"Can’t say I have. The school hasn’t said anything about any sort of special events for the foreseeable future, so I never really considered that such a thing would be a possibility, especially since we are just first years." She answered honestly, and Mike tilted his head.
In truth, he hadn’t expected her to know much. However, due to his own ability to know things deemed common sense, he thought he might as well ask the one person who seemed pretty knowledgeable.
But alas, it seemed like he was destined to remain curious until the day came.
Unless...
"What about you, Kris? Do you know anything?" Mike picked up on the slight hesitation coming from his other friend. Any other person would have thought Kris was just keeping his expression neutral, but Mike could tell otherwise.
Hearing himself getting addressed, Kris looked up with a surprised expression that only Mike noticed.
"Oh... well..." He mumbled, voice small and soft as always, but the fact that he hadn’t said no immediately meant that he might know a few things, and even Theresa got interested.
"I don’t know a lot... but I heard that... us first year’s will be taken to do... a special exercise... related to combat... on another planet... but that’s about it." He finally answered, and the other two shared a glance.
’A special combat-related exercise meant to take place on another planet where only us first years will participate... is it a test of some kind? I don’t recall hearing our seniors doing anything similar. Then again, I never looked into what they did and didn’t do. But judging by Theresa’s surprised expression, I’ll assume it’s a new thing.’ Mike thought before smiling and looking at Kris who was watching him silently.
"That’s good enough for me. Thanks." He said genuinely, and he saw Kris’s eyes widen for a fraction before he averted his gaze with a small nod, but Mike was pretty sure he saw the corner of his lips curled upwards slightly.
"Huh, that’s... strange. But I guess we can’t do a lot about it until we actually get told what it is." Theresa shrugged, recognizing the futility in trying to figure out the true nature and purpose of whatever this was.
It was then that Mike suddenly seemed to remember something, and he tilted his head slightly, resembling a curious puppy as he looked at Kris and asked.
"By the way, would you be up for a spar or two?" The sudden question caught Kris off guard, and he similarly tilted his head at Mike, making Theresa nearly laugh at the sight, but now that Mike had mentioned it, her interest was similarly piqued.
"You... want to spar...?" Kris asked tentatively, and Mike nodded.
"Yeah. I’ve seen you fight during our morning class, but I’ve never seen you... FIGHT, if you know what I mean," Mike scratched his head. "Also, I’m curious, everyone gives the impression that you’re strong, and ever since I met you, I’ve had the feeling that you were, but I want to experience it myself, you know? But you don’t have to, though." Mike said with genuine interest, and Kris blinked.
"... Oh.’ Then he fell silent, seemingly considering how to answer. Mike didn’t rush him and simply took a sip of his drink which was a rich, milky mixture that he found quite enjoyable.
There was silence for a few seconds, and it seemed like Kris wasn’t going to answer, but just as Theresa opened her mouth to suggest something else, Kris nodded.
"Okay." He finally said, surprising Theresa and making Mike smile.
"Great!" He immediately downed the rest of his drink and stood up, looking excited.
"Uh, what?" Theresa was baffled. Everything was moving a bit fast.
Kris also stood, and Theresa lingered for a moment before sighing. She stood as well before asking.
"Fine. What training room will we use?" She asked, and Mike tilted his head.
"It’s a weekend, so most of them might be in use right now. Should we look around?" He offered, but Kris shook his head.
"I know a place." He shook his head and started walking. Mike and Theresa shared a glance before shrugging.
They followed after Kris who walked with a surprisingly brisk pace. But they were at a stage where it wasn’t a problem, so they had no problem keeping pace with him.
Soon enough, they reached the training wing, and as Mike had guessed, the place was pretty crowded today by juniors and seniors alike.
As usual, the seniors barely paid them any mind, but their entourage managed to garner the attention of quite a few of their peers who noticed Kris almost immediately, followed by the two following him.
"Look at that, did they become his lackeys or something?"
"I wouldn’t be surprised. After the stunt that white-haired runt pulled, he’d be pretty stupid to proceed on his own."
"Still, it’s a bit pathetic, no? He was all talk, only to lower himself to a subordinate. Then again, people like him only know how to leech off others, so it’s expected."
Mike didn’t need to use any special senses to hear what they were saying, and he noticed Theresa bristle beside him slightly, but she managed to keep her cool.
Kris didn’t seem to care, but he could tell that even he was annoyed by the gossip.
As for Mike?
’They don’t know what they are talking about, so I genuinely don’t care.’ He shook his head slightly. In his eyes, they were all just immature kids with a twisted sense of justification, and quite frankly, paying them any mind was beneath him.
He told himself that, and while he did feel that way, there was some of it that he wasn’t fully aware of.
Mike had begun seeing himself as a predator. It was subconscious, but it was happening. Hence, why should a predator bother itself with the opinions of prey? In the end, their fates were the same.
Soon enough, they left the place where most of the training buildings were, and Mike noticed the number of people in their grade started to drop. In fact, even seniors started to become sparse.
He glanced at Theresa and noticed her slight confusion as well, but Kris didn’t stop walking, and eventually, they reached a training building that seemed a bit smaller than the others, but also looked a lot more advanced.
Without any hesitation, Kris walked up to the entrance which seemed locked, and held his watch up to the control panel to the side.
There was a buzz, and the doors slid open.
"Oh, is it one of those ones you need to pay for?" Mike asked as they trio entered, and Kris just nodded.
"How... How much?" Theresa asked quietly.
"Depends." Kris just shrugged, and Mike sensed he didn’t want to give a straight answer, while Theresa just didn’t want to push.
Eventually, they entered, and Mike had to do a double-take when he saw the interior.
This building seemed smaller than the others from the outside. But on the inside, it was massive.
It was as big as several football fields with a high ceiling, and there was a control panel outside the central arena which seemed to be blinking with numerous options.
Mike glanced at it and was taken aback.
’Set gravity, set temperature, set wind speed and resistance, set air pressure... Is this really just a training room???’ He thought with genuine shock.
Theresa was similarly stunned, and she couldn’t help but mumble.
"A place like this... it has to cost at least a few thousand credits every hour. Isn’t this too much...?"
"A few thousand what?!" Mike blurted out before snapping his gaze to Kris.
"Dude! You do NOT have to spend this much money on us." Mike said, feeling both embarrassed and a bit thankful, but mostly embarrassed. While he didn’t mind people spending their money on him, the possibility that Kris could be spending more in an hour than Mike had made since he came to the academy was... disconcerting.
However, Mike felt genuine confusion from Kris.
"It’s just a few credits... what’s the problem...?" He asked tentatively, and Mike sensed that he was a bit anxious.
’He probably thinks he did something wrong. But he’s genuinely clueless...’ Mike sighed.
"There... There isn’t a problem. Just... warn us next time. Okay?" Mike sighed. It seemed like Kris wasn’t one of those people who had more money than they knew what to do with."