008 TO FAIL OR NOT TO FAIL
"Although I'm not much of a fighter, I've read several books on Kung Fu. Never had a chance to try it until now", Damen replied explaining about his techniques.
"Kung Fu?....What the hell is that?" Stephan asked in shock.
Damen advanced slowly and the gang leader sank to his knees. Fear replaced fury in Stephan's eyes.
"No…."
Damen was exhilarated. After taking on beatings after beatings all throughout his life from Ralph and all those who bullied him, this was payback time.
"You're lucky I'm out of coins," Damen said, his voice low. "Otherwise, you'd all be in the hospital for weeks."
"Please, spare me," Stephan begged.
"Spare you? That's easy. The air you breath belongs to me… I need compensation… Now Pay up."
Stephan fumbled out his wallet.
Inside were several jade-like Aur cards—the currency of the world. Before he could offer the cheapest one as compensation, Damen snatched the whole wallet and pulled the cards free.
"No…don't take all my money!" Stephan cried.
"You should be thankful you still have knees," Damen replied, turning away.
As he walked toward school, he examined the jade cards gleaming in his hand. The deeper the green, the greater the value…and they were at least a hundred Aur each, maybe more.
"I'm rich," Damen whispered, grinning, as Stephan wailed in the dirt behind him.
----
Damen couldn't stop himself from grinning, even chuckling under his breath.
The whole class glanced at him like he'd lost his mind. Beneath the desk, his fingers brushed against the cool jade of his newly looted Aur cards.
"Money's so easy to make," he murmured, too quietly for anyone to catch.
"What's with the trash? Did he finally go insane?" someone snickered from the back.
Damen ignored them.
Mikey slid into the seat beside him, eyeing him curiously. "What's wrong with you? You look… off."
Damen looked up, still smiling. "No. I'm fine. Better than ever."
Mikey snapped his fingers. "I get it. Thames and Onda are both sick, right? No one's around to hassle you until finals. Of course you're happy."
"Yeah… about them," Damen said, feigning ignorance. "What happened to them, do you know?"
"The doctors said they had heart attacks."
"Heart attacks? At their age?" Damen asked, widening his eyes in practiced disbelief.
Mikey leaned closer, lowering his voice. "There are rumors. Some say they were using banned substance boosters to jack up their aptitude scores… the heart attack is side effect… Now they're paying the price."
"Really?... Bloody Hell they were using," Damen asked, keeping his tone light.
Inside, relief washed over him.
For a moment Damen worried about the shocks he dealt Thames and Onda had drawn suspicion. If people found out about his app they might hold him accountable and worse… take away his mining app.
But if people thought it was drugs…then his secret was safe.
Damen nearly fell off his chair when Mikey leaned over and asked, "How's your aptitude? There's gonna be a mock test later today."
"What? A mock test?" Damen blurted.
Mikey shrugged. "Relax. Even if you bomb it, you've still got a month before the finals." With that, he strolled back to his seat, not bothering to wait for Damen's reply.
"Damn it," Damen muttered under his breath.
It wasn't the test itself that worried him.
He wasn't afraid of failing….in fact, he was certain he could outscore almost everyone now. His Strength alone should eclipse Thames by now, and his Meta… he doubted anyone in class could match it.
That was the problem. His scores would be too good.
Too Suspiciously good.
What if they think I'm juicing up with banned substance? What if they start digging? Damen clenched his fists. If the school discovered the mining app…
The bell rang, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Miss Poney entered, called attendance, and then addressed the class.
"There will be a mock test today. The results should reflect closely to your performance in the finals."
Groans filled the room.
Damen felt cold sweat prickle his back.
Miss Poney was probably right—no one could improve their aptitude by much in a single month. For everyone else, today's test would be a fair prediction for their finals result.
For Damen though, it was a reveal that he couldn't afford. He couldn't have others know how much he had improved lately because there was no justification for it.
"I need to find a way out of this, give me at least another month of training… that sounds more reasonable," he thought desperately.
But then Miss Poney's sharp eyes locked on him. "Damen Dark. If you underperform the Mock test this time, I'll have the school consider expelling you. Don't drag down the class average."
"Yes, ma'am," Damen answered quickly, lowering his head.
His stomach twisted.
If he took the test honestly, his sudden leap in power would raise eyebrows. If he tanked it, Miss Poney might really kick him out.
Either way, disaster loomed.
To fail, or not to fail. That's the question.
-----
The class assembled in the testing hall, where sleek machines lined the back wall, waiting to measure each student in turn. These state-of-the-art devices were built to assess a candidate's true potential, analyzing not only raw physical ability but also the elusive force of Meta energy.
In this era, the world had no greater priority than cultivating powerful Meta humans.
Their existence had become essential ever since the first spatial rifts tore open reality. From within those rifts came horrors unlike anything humanity had faced—dangers that no weapon, no matter how advanced, could overcome.
It was not science or firepower that saved the world, but the emergence of Meta humans. Their powers alone could suppress and tame the rifts.
In response, the education system itself has been reshaped. Its ultimate purpose was no longer to prepare students for ordinary careers, but to discover, refine, and unleash the next generation of Meta humans.
"Mikey Rolands," Miss Poney called, her voice echoing across the testing hall.
Mikey stepped forward, his nerves masked by a confident stride walking into a large semi opened booth. The machines hummed to life, beams of light sweeping across his body, scanning, measuring.
Within seconds, the results were processed.
"Strength 4.8. Meta 0.23," Miss Poney announced.
Mikey's lips curved into a small smile.
Few people scored highly in Meta during Middle High, so the low Meta score didn't matter too much. A Strength score above 4.0 was usually safe too.
If his Theory exam results held up not too badly, this would be enough to secure admission into High School.
One by one, the other students were assessed. The hall buzzed with whispers, the low hum of machines punctuating each new result.
Finally, it was Damen's turn.
"Damen Dark, come up here," Miss Poney barked, her tone sharp and impatient.