Chapter 42: Saved by Evie

SPLASSSH!

The sound of rushing water slowly pulled Declan back to consciousness, and his eyelids fluttered open as water streamed down between his brows before he abruptly sat upright.

He looked down at himself.

His clothes were still the same tattered mess, but his body was completely unharmed.

There were no scratches, nor wounds, not even a scar.

Declan immediately raised his hands to his face and pressed his fingers against his skin, but there was nothing there, and when he rubbed his cheek again, there was still nothing.

His familiar smooth skin had returned.

"But I didn’t level up, did I?"

║-1 All Injuries Rejuvenation Card║

║Rejuvenation Cards Left: 0║

Declan froze.

"You!"

His voice rose in disbelief.

"You used the Rejuvenation Card!?"

That card had been his secret weapon, one he had been saving for the day when fate finally decided to screw him over, giving him one last trump card to pull out when everything else failed.

And now? It was gone.

His secret winning move had been used!

[You were poisoned by the rat claws. ]

[You would’ve remained unconscious for more than three days if I hadn’t used it.]

The system panel blinked calmly before him, leaving Declan in silence.

Then the memories of the previous night came rushing back, and his expression darkened.

"Those bastard rats."

His fists tightened.

"I swear on my life, I’ll be the one to wipe every living Radiorat off this planet someday."

After switching off the shower, Declan rose and headed into his bedroom.

He quickly changed into a fresh set of clothes before making his way into the living room, where he picked up his device.

The moment he checked the time; the color drained from his face.

"5:16."

His eyes widened.

"Wait..."

He looked at the time again.

"The next class is in..."

"5:20!"

"Shit!"

Declan shot off the sofa and rushed toward the door, only to come to an abrupt stop halfway there as his head suddenly snapped back.

"The green card!"

He hurried back, snatched it up, then froze again.

"My device."

"Damn it!"

He grabbed that too before finally bolting out of the room.

The door had barely opened when he almost knocked straight into someone standing outside.

It was a pink-haired girl, looking at him with an apologetic smile.

"You’re finally up. Hey, Declan. About yesterday, I..."

"Have you checked the time?"

Declan cut her off, and before Evie could even answer, he was already sprinting down the corridor toward the elevator.

"The time?"

Evie blinked, and she pulled out her device and checked.

Her brows immediately furrowed.

"Just four more minutes before class begins."

It wasn’t exactly a disaster.

Classes wouldn’t start the instant the clock struck 5:20. The actual teaching would probably begin another thirty minutes later, meaning she wouldn’t miss anything important.

That would only mean arriving late at the required time and the penalty was only five points.

But then another thought crossed her mind, and Evie immediately chased after him.

She caught up just as Declan entered the elevator and stepped inside with him.

______________

"Ahh!"

Declan’s voice escaped him as he sprinted across the pavement.

He glanced down at his device.

5:17.

"Shit. Three minutes."

He quickly pulled up the map, and noticed classroom was still roughly five minutes away.

That meant he’d arrive two minutes late.

’Five points. Five fucking points! Damn it!’

VROOOOOOOOOM!

All of sudden, a thunderous engine roar erupted behind him, and Declan turned around.

A violent gust whipped his hair backward as something swerved around him at high speed before skidding to a stop directly beside him.

"Here."

A helmet was thrown toward him, and Declan caught it before looking at the person responsible.

It was a feminine-shaped figure sitting atop a Tron power bike, her entire body hidden beneath protective gear and a helmet.

The visor rippled before becoming transparent, and Evie’s face appeared behind it.

"You wanna lose those points or keep them?"

Declan didn’t need to be asked twice.

He shoved the helmet onto his head and climbed onto the bike behind her.

Then things immediately became awkward.

Tron power bikes were aggressive machines designed around a low, forward-leaning riding position. The rider practically lay over the frame.

Naturally, the passenger had to do the same, which left Declan in a rather uncomfortable position.

But he didn’t have time to complain.

VROOOOOOOOOM!

The bike shot forward, and Declan nearly flew straight off the back.

His arms instinctively wrapped around Evie’s waist as he desperately held on.

He couldn’t see a damn thing as the world around him became nothing more than a blur.

His heart hammered against his chest as Evie weaved through traffic at an absolutely terrifying speed, slipping between vehicles with barely enough room to spare.

Then she did something completely insane.

An incoming truck suddenly filled Declan’s vision, and his heart nearly stopped as the Tron bike dropped even lower.

They shot directly beneath it.

Massive tires thundered overhead, passing so close that Declan could practically feel the danger, yet Evie didn’t even slow down.

When Declan finally stepped off the bike, the first thing he did was check the time.

"5:19."

"Come on!"

Evie grabbed his arm, and before he could say anything, she dragged him toward the building, the two rushing inside alongside the other students.

____________________

"For the first six months, all of you, regardless of the field of study you intend to pursue, will undergo the same basic training."

"Every subject taught during this period will consist of general knowledge applicable to all students."

The female instructor’s voice echoed throughout the enormous, stadium-like hall as a massive projection hovered above the center of the room while she explained the academy’s system to the assembled students.

"At the end of those six months, your performance will be assessed using several metrics, after which you will receive an overall score."

"Each field of study has its own minimum required metric."

"The higher your overall score, the more options you will have when it is time to choose your specialization."

Declan sat among the other students, his attention fixed on the instructor, and as she continued, he gradually pieced together how the academy operated.

The X-Guard Academy had a department dedicated specifically to Mech Science.

That was the path he intended to pursue, but unfortunately, he couldn’t enter it immediately.

He would have to wait six months.

Even then, he first needed to undergo the academy’s standard Nexian training before taking the examination that would determine his metrics.

If his final score was high enough to qualify for Mech Science, only then would he be allowed to choose it.

At first, Declan had assumed those six months would simply boil down to passing a final examination, but he was quickly proven wrong.

As the instructor explained how students could build their metric scores, Declan realized the process was much more complicated.

Attendance and class performance mattered.

Even the instructors themselves had considerable influence over a student’s metric in their respective subjects.

If an instructor didn’t know you, never noticed you, or had no reason to consider you exceptional, your metric count would suffer.

And Declan had already missed one class.

Compared to everyone else, his metric score should currently be sitting at -1.

’Tsk. I really wish I hadn’t fallen asleep.’

[Don’t beat yourself up over it. It couldn’t be helped.]

The panel blinked in front of him.

Declan stared at it for a moment before eventually letting the matter go.

’I’ll just have to make sure I don’t fuck up any more classes from now on.’

The class finally ended after three hours, and the students began filing out of the hall with Declan among them.

He hadn’t gotten very far when something nudged his shoulder.

"Yohooooo!"

Declan turned. It was Evie.

The two had gotten separated the moment they entered the hall; one second, she’d been beside him, and the next she’d disappeared into the crowd.

Although, considering the insane speed they’d traveled at, Declan’s sense of direction had been thoroughly fucked by the time he entered the building.

For all he knew, he might have been the one who’d gotten lost.

"Thanks for the ride," he said as they continued toward the exit.

"I wanted to use that to repay you for all the little mocking I did last night."

Declan merely shrugged.

"Then it’s repaid."

"Yesssie!"

Evie clenched a fist in celebration, then a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.

She glanced around before moving closer to Declan and leaning toward his ear.

"But seriously, though..."

Her voice dropped into a whisper.

"How the hell do you get jumped by rats?"

"You were literally covered in claws. That could only have come from an entire island of them."

"Just where did you go last night?"

She asked with genuine curiosity.

Declan stopped, and Evie noticed him glance around, seemingly checking whether anyone nearby was listening.

Then he gave her a small nod, motioning for her to come closer.

She leaned toward him and Declan brought his mouth close to her ear, before whispering.

"Get your pink nose out of my business. Okay?"

He straightened up immediately afterward.

Evie burst into a giggle as Declan resumed walking, pulling his hoodie over his head and deliberately putting a few extra steps between them.

"Hey, want a ride back to dorm?"

"No."

He answered without even turning around, and a moment later, he had disappeared into the crowd of students.

Evie could only watch as he soon faded away completely from view.

"Just what is with him?"