Chapter 9: Inspection In Use

Max wasn't familiar with the Inspection ability that the book had granted him. He didn't even like the sound of it. "Inspection?" And the ability was labeled as Rare? He raised an eyebrow at the page, expecting his ability to have been one of the common ones among others.

He wanted to ask Ryan about the ability, but Ryan had already left the room to enjoy his newfound forty-feet freedom.

(The next morning)

Upon waking up, Max still couldn't find Ryan anywhere. He noticed that James and Caleb were already awake and ready for the day.

"Hey, Max. Could you order me a coffee? It costs 1 point," James said.

Max wondered why James was asking him to pay for his coffee. Last he checked, the school gave everyone 10 points each, and James had only used 5 points yesterday... or maybe not.

"Wait, did you order another chicken?" Max asked.

"I told you I'm a glutton for chickens. I was expecting the school to send us another 10 points, but there's nothing yet."

Caleb was just there, staring at both of them as they discussed chicken and Game Points. Soon, an announcement echoed from a speaker inside the room.

[All students should report to the central hall. The tour is about to commence.] It was the same hall where the DNA registration and ability check-up were conducted yesterday.

"I thought the tour was at 10 am?" Max muttered, but then he looked at his wrist and discovered that it was indeed 10 am.

He saw this as an opportunity to save his points, so he swiftly headed to the door and unlocked it. Immediately, the door slid open, and Max discovered that the corridors were buzzing with students who were already making their way toward the central hall of the military school.

When Max saw the glowing green lights on everyone's suits, it came to his mind that his suit was no longer glowing orange. At least now he wouldn't stand out among the rest of the students.

"Are you guys coming?" Max asked and left the room. Caleb followed, and so did James. Soon, Max spotted Finn discussing with two other students who happened to be his roommates. The three of them seemed to have become friends overnight.

"I guess I'll meet you guys in the hall," Finn said to Luke and Henry as they continued their journey to the hall without him.

"Hey, Max! How did your night go?" Finn asked Max, who was already next to him.

"Crazy night. I just hope this morning makes up for it," he responded.

They both reached the hall together, and James stood beside them. He gave Max a look that spoke volumes without words. Max already knew what the look was for; it was about the coffee James had asked him to pay for but he hadn't.

While they were standing there waiting to hear from the Hologram Lady, the bearded soldier from yesterday addressed them.

"Listen everyone, I'm Skylar Vox. The person you're all waiting to hear from won't be available today, so four of us will be leading the tour. You're all going to divide yourselves into four different groups, and each group will be led by one of us."

The students all paid attention attentively as Skylar Vox continued addressing them. If they had learned anything so far, it was to stay silent during announcements.

"Sergeant Creed will be leading the first group. Be warned, he's slow to anger. Sergeant Beckett will lead the second group, and he's also slow to anger," Skylar Vox stated.

"I'm definitely not going with those two," Max said to himself.

After how Sergeant Creed and Beckett were described, half of the members from the first two groups fell into the last groups. A chuckle escaped Skylar Vox as he saw what was going on. However, there was one more sergeant remaining that he hadn't introduced to the students.

"And lastly, I present Sergeant Cressida. She's..." He paused, trying to find the right words to describe her. "Well, you will find out during the tour," Skylar Vox muttered.

Max was too slow to switch groups, and he found himself in Sergeant Creed's group, which was the first group. What surprised him even more was when he discovered that James and Finn were among those who fell into the third and fourth groups just moments ago.

Just when Max decided to switch, Sergeant Creed spoke up. "If you have friends in the third and fourth groups, pray that they come back in one piece."

If Max calculates carefully, the groups in question should be Commander Skylar and Sergeant Cressida's groups. For some reason, he felt lucky that he didn't switch like the others.

Sergeant Creed was a formidable soldier who had served the military school for almost twenty years now. He started as a student just like them, and after his college days, he became part of the military force. He was now in his forties and had gained a lot of respect in the force. After Commander Skylar Vox, Creed and the other two sergeants were next in command.

While Sergeant Creed was leading the way, Max noticed a familiar face – it was Nash, the same student whom Scarlett broke the fingers of yesterday for trying to touch her.

Soon they arrived at the gym center, and Sergeant Creed led them right inside to have a closer look at the equipments. They could already see inside the gym, as the walls were all made of transparent glass.

Max witnessed equipments that he hadn't seen before in any gym room. The equipments looked like gadgets, and each of them had a dashboard on them. Max wondered what the dashboard was for.

He tried to lift up one of the dumbbells that was next to him, but as small as it was, Max couldn't move it even a bit. He tried using both hands, and still, the little dumbbell remained stationary.

While Max was still struggling with the small dumbbell, a student named Finley Scott picked up a barbell with two plates added to both sides.

Everyone held their breath as they watched Finley Scott effortlessly raise the barbell with just a single hand. The only explanation for this was either Finley Scott was a telekinesis user, or he had super strength.

Max was just contemplating which one it might be when a hologram appeared before him with a message.

[ Inspection in use ]

< Name: Finley Scott >

< AR: D1-user >

< Ability: Smoke > (No Upgrade on Flame Ability)

Max wasn't aware of how the inspection ability worked, but he guessed this is how it functions. He just had to look at the person and think about inspecting them.

However, Max noticed that Finley Scott didn't have either of the abilities he had imagined. Then how was he able to lift such a heavy gym equipment like the barbell, with four huge plates attached to it?

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