Bab 4: Second evaluation exam

"Kyaaah!"

A wail from someone reached his ears. It was when his figure came flying when some of the girl students arrived at the corridor towards the washroom. But they stopped on their feet when they saw a flying shadow of a human coming out from it-- along with the broken door.

Together with a loud crashing noise, his body hit on the opposite wall and caused some cracks on it. A mouthful of blood sprayed out from his mouth at the impact and trembled the whole room. Such a kick could instantly kill a normal human.

Even an Ex-Human like Jem had fainted for a couple of seconds before his consciousness came back.

Without him knowing, around him, some dumbfounded female students were looking at him with wide eyes open and agape.

"Who is…" one of the female students muttered in shock.

"Wait, he's that student, right?" Pointed the other female student at Jem who had his back stuck on the wall.

"You mean the student who has the lowest Exo points?"

"Yes, I meant him!" The two female students started talking about him and wondered what was happening.

But Jem had no regard for them. His body was aching all over and his vision just came back. Though it was still a little blurry.

Cough! Cough!

He noticed that something came out of his mouth after he coughed. But soon his eyes grew bigger when he saw what it was. 'T-t-tooth?!' Jem worriedly muttered in mind with trembling eyes. He knew that he was at the age in which teeth would no longer regrow. That's why it is a bothersome circumstance for him.

"Regardless, why was he in the female washroom?" He heard one of the female students ask it.

He glanced at them and thought, 'Wait, what are they saying--' as he was saying it in his mind, he paused when he saw a female logo at the wall beside the door where he came from. Looks like his dizziness caused him to mistake the place!

"Wait, isn't Miss Sylva's niece is currently using the washroom?" Another female student said.

'Perhaps this person tried to peep.' They thought but did not voice out. However, disgust was apparent on their faces. Even Jem himself noticed it. He was about to say something to clear his name. But one of the girls already said something ahead of him.

"It is her right?"

"Yes, it's her."

"The person who got one of the highest—"

While saying it, they suddenly stopped when a figure came out of the washroom while having a nonchalant expression on her face. She was wearing the academy uniform. A gray and green top and a black skirt below.

He tried to open his mouth to explain but stopped after she threw a look of disgust towards him. Jem, who was still on the floor, succumbed in silence. That look of her, it was the kind of look that no matter what he would be going to say would never change anything.

Regardless, he could not let himself be killed. Jem readied himself for the worst. He would surely die next time if he received another of that monstrous kick.

Fortunately, the girl left without saying anything.

Jem sighed in relief. He thought he was a goner. His face turned below. He looked down as there is nothing he can blame her for, especially that it was his fault.

After that incident, Jem found himself as the center of mockery from the other students.

Although none of the students were directly telling him, he knew they were talking at his back. They were calling him a pervert or something of that sort.

There was also a toothless nickname attached to him after that incident. Jem had to use a mask on his face to cover his mouth and hide his toothless teeth.

It was infuriating that other people would make a big out of it. Looking at his current situation, he started to think that living on the farm was better compared to the city. For some reason, he started to miss the farm.

But he could not go back as a failure. His grandpa would certainly laugh and maybe be disappointed in him. He could not betray his trust.

Jem told his grandpa that he would come back as a better man and not a failure. That's why… he can't go home yet. He had to persevere. He just needed to graduate from this academy and become a certified bachelor.

However, because of that incident, he became isolated from his classmates.

Maybe it would be better if it were another girl who was in the washroom at that time. When Jem learned the identity of the girl, he knew that his academy's life would not be as smooth as he dreamed it to be. He already had a bad start for being the student with the lowest growth potential.

Yet now, because of that incident, the low reputation he already had, has gotten even worse.

Unbelievably, that girl was one of the two mysterious people who got 9 Exo points.

He shook his head and sighed.

"Okay, that is all for today," said the sexy teacher after folding the one-inch-thick book in her hands. Then she left while saying, "Good luck in your training." Her figure disappeared in the door while waving her hand.

Once again, after their class, Jem went to the cafeteria. While the others were talking lively with classmates and friends, he, on the other hand, was alone.

Jem did not linger long in the cafeteria as his allowance was just enough for him to eat rice and egg.

His allowance was reduced by half because of that incident in the alleyway. It was when he first arrived in the city. Since he had a bad history of breaching a Law of Equality, the association deducted his allowance. Even if he wanted to disagree, he could do nothing about it. After all, it was their choice, especially when his evaluation result came out. He could only tightly close his mouth.

The association said that he was not worth spending their money on. It was already fortunate of him that they left him with half of the total allowance.

Once again, after eating his lunch, he went to the training room. This time he was very cautious. He could not let himself fall to such a blunder once again.

The training room was a spacious place. The width was 200 meters and so was the length. But it was divided into 4 small facilities. Each had its training functions. Jem went directly to the dressing room and took off his uniform, then changed to his training attire.

It was a sleeveless blue shirt. Then topped with a padded vest. It had an impact resistance to minimize the damage dealt with him.

Every class had its training room, and this room was exclusive only for their class. It was also the reason that he was surprised to see an unfamiliar student inside their training room. Jem shook his head to get rid of the thought. He did not want to remember that incident.

He then went to the training room where he can fight with training dummies. He took a training sword that was on the table in the corner of the room.

Jem then stepped in the center to where a round disc can be seen, the disc below his feet glowed briefly. Then the next second, a humanoid doll with no distinct features materialized in front of him.

After coming to the academy, the only ability he learned with his Ex-Energy was the beginner-tier Fortification ability. It hardened any weapon he wished to fortify.

When the battle started, the timer on the wall also started running.

After a difficult encounter, he was successful in defeating the training dummy. The timer will automatically stop when the trainer defeats the dummy or is defeated by the dummy.

A sigh of disappointment escaped his mouth when he glanced at the timer. "Almost 20 minutes… a bad result." Most of his classmates could defeat the dummy in less than 10 minutes. On top of it, they were the lowest class. He left the training room with a heavy feeling. Jem needed to find a way to improve himself.

After few days,

Jem could be seen sitting in the cafeteria once again. As usual, he was alone.

Well, it had been almost a month now since he was admitted to the academy. So, he was kind of used to being alone already. If anything, he wanted to see and chat with Desty. However, there was almost no chance for them to see each other.

Everything that he was looking forward to in coming to this academy, none of those were happening as he was expecting.

He was always alone. However, there was an exception.

"Yo! Mr. Lonely!!!"

A playful high-pitched voice reverberated in the cafeteria. He did not need to glance to know who it was. It was that girl, Wendy. All this time, it was only her who occasionally came to disturb his solitude.

"Wendy, why do you keep coming to disturb me? They are going to think that we are close, you know," Jem told her in a less enthusiastic tone after she found herself a comfortable seat in front of him.

Wendy tilted her head before a smug appeared on her face. "What are you saying? Do I look like someone who cared about that stuff? Fufu," She told him while resting her arms on the table. Then she leaned forward.

Jem let out a sigh. It was for her good that he said it. And also, he would rather not talk with everyone. Especially now that he was toothless. He felt uncomfortable.

"Regardless, are you ready for tomorrow's second evaluation?" She asked him in a voice that could be considered as whispered.

He repositioned himself. "So, it's tomorrow huh…"

Every month the academy would have to evaluate them to figure their growth. And tomorrow will be the second evaluation. However, it was a duel-type evaluation. They needed to fight the other students.

The next day, all of the freshmen students were gathered in an open auditorium. In the middle of a spacious auditorium was a wide-open space arena.

Jem was sitting in the corner, waiting for his turn.