See that Joe still had not moved even after the other three had already made their way out of the room, because they had failed, those who had passed directed their attention to the screen. The entire room grew silent. First, they had witnessed the power of the James family when the High General's daughter bolstered her strength. Now, they are left dumbfounded by the presence of another military legacy. Many were already aware of instructor Merril's legacy on the battlefield. He was one of the nation's strongest support personnel. Their suspicions were all but confirmed by what came next.
"Joseph will remain behind. The rest of you will proceed to the next room for further instruction. Instructor Summers is already waiting."
Swallowing the questions that were sitting just behind their teeth, the others hastily made their way to the next room; leaving behind the one person with the most questions. Once the door was firmly shut behind them, Alexander carefully approached Joe.
"You must be Adriane and Marie's boy. You are almost the spitting image of your father. Well, except for your mother's eyes. Last time I saw you, you hadn't even started walking. Feels like only a few days ago. How's your mother been?"
Hearing the mention of his mother, Joe's hands unconsciously clenched at his sides while his jaw tensed and locked itself closed. After taking a series of slow, deep breaths, he was finally able to get his emotions under control once more. With a glare filled with all the rage he had been swallowing for the last eight years, Joe met Alexander's gaze.
"She was killed roughly eight years ago. My sister and I ended up surviving for four years on the streets before I managed to track down the waste of air that had killed her. Funnily enough, his wife ended up taking Sarah and me in the next day."
Alexander's eyes nearly explode from their sockets. A combination of surprise and sorrow mixed with an unhealthy helping of rage caused his blood pressure to spike to near dangerous levels. His nephew was parentless for four years and nobody bothered to tell him. What's more, he had a niece who had suffered the same fate!
"Nobody told me. Had I known, you and your sister would never have been left alone. After Adriane died, I felt my entire world come crashing down. He was my younger brother after all. Before he met your mother, he lived for the battlefield. He spent as little time as possible off it. Once he met Marie, he changed for the better. Once you were born, he decided he was done with war. The expedition he died on was supposed to be his last."
"While I'm here, I truly hope you can tell me more about my parents. I was too young to even remember what my father looked like. Over the last few years, I've forgotten the sound of my own mother's voice. Until today, I couldn't even remember our last name. If I have any questions, academically or otherwise, would it be alright if I came to you?"
"Any time you want to remember your father's face, go find a mirror. As I said, other than your mother's eyes, you're the spitting image of him. As for questions, you can come to me about anything, just don't expect any form of special treatment. The Academy raises warriors, not cheats. Now, get moving to the next room. Instructor Summers is likely growing impatient. She will be your primary instructor for the next four years. Don't let her age or looks fool you, she got he position for a reason, and it wasn't through connections."
With those words, Alexander left the room through the same door in which he had entered. Turning on his heels, Joe rapidly moved towards the next area. His near sprint came to a sliding halt as he breached the threshold to the next room.
With all eyes on him, his body nearly slammed into a short, red-haired woman. Her stern look of impatience not budging even a millimeter despite the fact she had nearly been bulldozed over by Joe's broad figure.
"You're late. Explain before I have you removed from the campus."
For a moment, Joe was at a loss for words. Despite you small stature, the imposing aura radiating off this woman was a stark contrast to the beauty that encompassed her face. Standing a full nine inches above her meant he had to lower his eyes to meet her veridian eyes. His uncle's words resounded through his mind once more at the realization of who was before him.
"I apologize for my late arrival Instructor Summers. Instructor Merril requested an exchange of words between the two of us following the prior examination." With a slight bow, Joe's words came across as both sincere and respectful. What they lacked was the usual fear her presence instills in new cadets.
"Understood. What is your name so I can validate this statement with Instructor Merril?"
Realigning his spine with its natural position, Joe's broad shoulders once again stood taller than the woman. His face gave way to no emotion. "Joseph Merril, ma'am."
Now, it was her turn to let a sliver of shock escape her otherwise stonewalled expression. As brief as it was, to Joe, the slip couldn't have been missed. He had spent the last year perfecting his control of the power within himself. Through all the theories he had read on the matter, one stood out as being impossible. Every scholar agreed on this one theory, which occurred nowhere else in society.
Every person believed it was impossible to condense the core of their power. They were wrong. Through countless lights of trial and error, instances of pain from the failure's backlash, Joe had found a way. Every other person who had attempted to prove this theory had tried to drag the spiraling nodes of power towards the core's center. Every other person was hit with a backlash when the node slipped from their mental grasp.
Joe also suffered that backlash numerous times before an idea hit him just as hard. He and the others had failed because their mental strength was insufficient to keep hold of the node. What if he tried pushing instead? That one idea led him to the consolidation of his inner most nodes. Over the course of five months, he managed to assimilate every node.
This change didn't directly affect his power level. Instead, it allowed him to more easily utilize the strength he already possessed. No longer was his power needing to jump across nodes that were in motion. Now, they were all one node taking up only about a quarter of the space they had previously. With this level of control, nothing slipped past his gaze unnoticed.
"Very well. As I have already explained to the new cadets that had not left me waiting, I am the Primary Combat Instructor of this institution. Should you have awoken along a physical path, you will be spending the better part of the next four years under my charge. I do not tolerate tardiness or excuses. Don't let it happen again."
"Yes ma'am. After today I will be in your care, and I am looking forward to all knowledge you can instill on me."
Following another slight bow, Joe made his way to the back of the line where the others had watched the entire exchange. Once all present were in position, Instructor Summer lead the group out of the testing facility. The remainder of the day would be a constant exchange of supervisors overseeing everything from final admittance paperwork to dorm assignments.