Chapter 17: The young miss is wearing a strange outfit

Sophie exited her room and tossed the hood up to cover her face as she did not want to run into any of her classmates.

The receptionist at the desk gave an intrigued look at the hooded figure who walked out of the front door but the black wristband visible on her hand dissuaded any thought of alerting security.

Many noble sons and daughters would sneak out of the academy to go play in the capitol city outside, this ranged form innocent fun such as restaurants, virtual arcades and shopping to darker pleasures.

Some students would visit brothels where the enchanting ladies inside came from all sectors of the galaxy.

Others would try illegal stimulants to boost their cultivation potential before an exam.

The school was forced to turn a blind eye as the political pressure from the influential parents prevented them from reprimanding bad students.

The only course of action was to simply invest only in good seeds and give basic education to the rest.

This is why students were divided into three groups every year to determine their academic potential.

The white uniform with gold stars was for the cultivation genius who would receive one on one instructions and resources.

The red uniform with silver streaks indicated students who were average and received fewer resources and group instruction sessions.

The smallest group were the worse kids of the year and were distinguished by a plain black uniform with no other markings.

This included students with a history of violence, laziness or the in case of Sophie, low cultivation talent.

They could listen to lectures at the back of the hall and join group sessions as training partners for better students.

Naturally this created a strict hierarchy in the school with only a few exceptional students rising up to join the gifted group.

Luck was on Sophie's side as she was ignored by all the students who walked by, there were a couple of strange looks, but everyone figured it was one of the trash kids sneaking outside to play.

It took roughly ten minutes before Sophie could see the outline of the gate ahead.

The royal academy was the training ground of all the high nobles of planet Gaia and even some notable royals were alumnus of the school. Naturally security had to be top notch to prevent any threats to the students.

The gates up ahead were the first barrier of entry and would only permit those with a black wristband to enter or leave.

The gate was not technically physical as it was built with holographic technology to give the impression of a thick ten-foot wall.

Inside the projections were numerous sensors that formed a 360 dome of protection around the school and constantly scanned individual to determine the presence of the wristband.

Anyone found without one was deemed as a threat and politely escorted off the premises, this only happened on a few occasions as the hidden guards were a deadly force to be reckoned with.

Even Sophie's father warned her about taking care of herself and not angering the security protecting the school.

The powerful guards were just the tip of the iceberg…. rumors had it that an Ascension stage monster had stationed some of his forces to aid in the school's protection.

Sophie walked through the seemingly solid wall and felt the impression of static shocks buzzing around her body.

Her wristband vibrated twice in response and the feeling soon went away but Sophie could still feel a tingling sensation.

Checking her tablet for messages, she looked around trying to find the bodyguards that her father had sent for her.

"Young Miss is that you?!" a loud voice shouted from the right and Sophie turned to see four people waving at her.

She felt a feeling of familiarity when looking at their distinct figures, so she turned and walked towards them without hesitation.

"Ha! What did I say Jack? I told you I could spot the young miss from a mile away!" a strange woman said to her companions.

"Alright a deal is a deal," her male companion sighed with indifference and handed her a couple of Enas.

The two other men stood silently in the back with an oppressive air of strength lingering around them. Sophie searched her memories to recall the names of these people and soon found the memory.

"Hi Katarina!" she broke out in a big smile and gave the woman a hug.

Katarina was the leader of her father's shadow guards and was the one she had known the longest. She was a slender woman with violently red hair and scars running down the sides of her face.

She was also Sophie's personal guard when she stayed on the family estate as her father did not want any male presences around her.

The other three men smiled slightly as they saw the warm sight, Katarina was a cold-blooded killer with high efficiency in mission completions.

It was only in front of her young miss that she showed a friendly side and sunny personality.

Sophie broke out from the hug before Katarina could wrap her arms around her as well as she remembered the appendages on her back.

She gave a polite nod to the other three men who bowed deeply in return.

Jack was the second in command of the shadow guard and was in charge of data hacking, mission control and espionage.

He was indifferent and lazy in his usual interactions with other people and preferred to spend most of his time sleeping.

He was completely ordinary looking with average height, looks and brown hair which made him blend into crowds with ease.

The two silent men at the back were twin brothers Cain and Luke who were muscular mountains of pure combat strength.

They did most of the fighting and possessed the highest cultivation level of the group just touching the void stage.

They were identical in looks and one could not tell the difference between them if they stood side by side.

"That's quite a new outfit my lady," Katarina teased her gently.

Sophie blushed as she wrapped herself tighter in the cloak and replied,

"I need to talk to dad urgently…. something happened to my body"

A worried look surfaced on her loyal bodyguards' faces and Jack spoke up with a rare tinge of concern,

"I did notice your eyes are shining a bit more than usual. Should we take you to a hospital first?"

Sophie shook her head furiously, she needed answers from her dad and given that she was apparently half of an unknown species the doctors in the hospital would not be able to help her.