Serving Time(((Complete)))

Cities and Battles

^^ The Nexus, early stages ^^

--- 96 Days AD ---

I leaned back, solving the puzzle ring in my hands in a manner of seconds, and tossed it back to Tizzy, who seemed annoyed.

"Alright, no need to be a Smartass." She huffed.

"Hm. Anyway, about this Jyardan, I know you usually spend it with your brother, but-"

"Class? Attention! Good. As you all know, Jyardan is always your day where there are no classes. You're also aware that there is a tournament that decides your continuation in your current courses. Yes?" The teacher stood up and addressed the class suddenly.

"Yes?" Most of us answered, confused.

"Good. Most of you are unaware as to when this tournament takes place. The preliminaries will decide if you're even close to capable of performing admirably in the tournament. Understand that winning is not what matters."

"Then what does?" I asked.

"What matters, is performance. The tournament is nothing but a stage in which you can display your abilities before the professors in a relatively safe, controlled environment. Even if you don't win, it doesn't mean you're not skilled enough to advance." She shook her head.

'Ahhh, the naturals will win, but that doesn't mean the rest are idiots... It's a simple question of natural skill and ability...'

"What's that mean?" One person asked.

"I know for certain that several of you are capable of Advanced skills, but there are also Experts and Masters among you, which presents an unfair advantage." She sighed.

"How so? Isn't that part of the game?" I asked.

"The masters will most likely easily win, of course, but the rest of the contestants will show their abilities to their best, and that's what matters, and that's what will get you advanced." She explained.

I nodded, nudging Tizzy. "Seems like fun, huh?" I grinned.

She smiled, and the elderly teacher spoke again. "The preliminaries take place this Jyardan, two days from now, in the Arena. The deadline for your semester projects, in the non-combat subjects, is in a month, the same day as the finals for the tournament, 4 Dewdan's from now. (Saturday)." She nodded.

"Hmph." I muttered, thinking about my projects.

"Make sure to have them done by then, or you will not pass this semester, and you will repeat it after the break. Go on, the class is over." She waved at us dismissively.

I stood, gathering my various blueprints into my satchel, and started walking towards the Core, humming in thought.

"Which of your semester projects have you turned in?" Tizzy asked.

"All but one... In applied engineering. They wouldn't accept any of my inventions, because they were just upgrades of current technology... And they thought the Tattoo machine was a torture device... Damn... I don't know what to do..." I sighed, sitting down on the ferry bench, headed to my personal island.

She sat across from me, along with Jazz, who'd come out of her class as well. "That's weird... What's the assignment? I never took that class." Jazz asked.

"I have to build something mechanical with engineering concepts as its basis, and I need to 'present it in a way that amazes them' Hmph." I snorted in derision, quoting the main teacher. "Those Pretentious old snobs don't even understand half of the things I say, and yet they presume to attempt to educate me." I snarled.