***** "Dude, what course are you choosing?" a short teenager asked as he slapped me on the back.
"Alex!" I exclaimed.
"So? What are you going to choose?" he questioned.
"I don't know, probably the Navy. You?" I replied.
"What do you think, obviously it's the scouts with the ground forces! I ain't going with the air force nor the navy, having both feet on the ground is the best."
"Oh well, I wouldn't want to fly on wand flyers or just with magic..." I muttered.
"I wouldn't want to attack from the sea on ships or underwater," Alexander chuckled. "But I guess you're destined to lead the Navy."
"Well Administrative wants us to split up to take the lead in each part," another student sighed as he walked towards us and added, "Commands nice too you know..."
"Daniel... You should just take up your responsibility as a leading member of the Army," I scolded. The young teenager, whose height is comparable to Alexander's, is our school's brightest student in the field of close-range fighting on land. Alex, although not the best, still possess immense skills in close-quarters fighting, putting him in pretty much second, just behind Daniel. It had been three years since we, children under eighteen years old, were woken up from our deep-sleep pods. The surprise invasion of the Unknowns forced governments around the world to relocate its minor population in deep-sleep stations around the world to avoid an extinction of a species. Three years ago, we were roused from our pods and were told that the war had became a stalemate. However, with humanity's population decimated, children above the age eleven were sent off to military schools to fight against the Unknowns. Taiwan's government seemed to have collapsed, and multiple states replaced its former government. The adults told us that countries around the world have collapsed and that we were one of the more fortunate ones, as a new government was created instead of being thrown into chaos and war. Being hibernated in Taipei, we now belonged to the Capital State and act as soldiers while taking classes at the Capital Military Academy.
"Why do we have to rely on magic?" I sighed as the three of us walked into the command center. Magic, a power that was discovered when the Capital awoke us. It seems that only children had the ability to employ magic, and were thus prized in the Capital Army. By exporting an energy source inside our bodies called mana, the energy flow is able to turn into a raw form of magic. Studies focused on magic conversion showed massive results when weapons and body enhancement equipment were produced that were powered using magic. The Capital State invented a transformation chip implanted on our back to convert raw magic into the usable magic that could be applied and powered weapons and other products. The Capital Military Academy, a school that facilitated the training of its students both militarily and academically, was created to help teach children with magic capabilities.
"You guys are late," Alice, a girl known for being able to handle pretty much all sorts of combat scenarios, scolded us. By the time the three of us walked in, the other members of the meeting were already seated in their chairs around a large table.
"Alice, give them some slack," Emilia defended. Emilia Hsu, a Command student that specializes in coordinating attacks, is known for her soothing voice and collectiveness on the Comm-link and has a special magic spell that can calm people down when they're in a panic, earning her the nickname "Angel."
"Humph," Alice grumbled.
"Sorry," Daniel squeaked.
"We know, we know, anyone care to explain why we're all here?" I asked, quickly finding an open spot at the table to sit down.
"You guys are here to decide on who leads each department," a deep voice answered as Administrative Supervisor Hulkenberg stepped out. Supervisor Hulkenberg, or Dean Hulkenberg, is the man in charge of our whole grade. "The Alpha Squad contains most of the strongest people in our academy, and I hope that all of you can become leaders and examples for others."
The Alpha Squad currently consists of twelve members of the Academy that are the best-of-the-best. We take in new members if the administration and more than half of our team believe he or she should become a new member. And to be honest, I think it's time for us to scout out some new talents in the school.
"Wait, we don't even get to choose?" Ruri, a short, energetic girl who specializes in close-hand-to-hand combat, exclaimed.
"The Administrative decided that you guys have to be evenly split so each force is evenly balanced," another person spoke out. This was expected, as the seven boys and five girls participating this meeting consisted of the best-of-the-best in the academy.
"Dude, do I look like I care?" Joseph, our main strategist, sneered. While being a critical member as a strategist and a top coordinator in any offensive or defensive battles, Joseph is known in the school for his carefree and critical views on the academy.
"First of all, it is Supervisor Suzuki. Second, although let you people stay in charge of the forces and school, we adults are still you seniors and commanders," Supervisor Suzuki growled.
"Yeah sure, let the kids fight the war and have the adults sit back and watch," Andre, a mid-range shooter, added fuel to the fire as the adults glared at him.
"Unfortunately, we adults don't have access to magic like you kids do. This source of magic still had to be harnessed from the bodies, that's why you have those chips on the back of your neck that controls the usage of magic. Furthermore, you are the most important defense line for our operations against the Unknown." Supervisor Hulkenberg said coldly.
"Unfortunately, your aces aren't really in the mood of listening," I sneered.
"Sigh... I'm never gonna get tired of this!" Daniel giggled.
"Let's just follow the Administrative's plan now," Atlas, whose magic abilities specializing in receiving and nullifying both magic or non-magic attacks, suggested.
"Even so, how are we going to split ourselves?" Alex asked.
"There are four departments, and we have... Twelve people, right? Damn, only three people per department?" Joseph grumbled. The four main departments, Command, Army, Navy, and Air Force are how the school sorts its students by their magic capabilities. The Administration decides who goes to which department by evaluating their personalities, test scores from different fighting scenarios, and skills. There is also the Construction Department, a newly established branch that is led by adults and is aimed at students who have low-level magic capabilities and engage in repair and construction jobs.
"I know that, but how are we going to split?" Daniel asked.
"How about the overall ranking?" Lindsey, another Command student that is extremely proficient in data analyzing, suggested.
"Oh my god, I totally forgot about the overall ranking," Ruri moaned as she flopped her chest onto the table. The overall ranking, a system created by our school to rank students by their kill score, excluding command and construction students. The system was used to boost competitiveness between students, as the scores were extremely important to a student's wellbeing. The ranking, deemed by a student's kill score, which is accumulated by the number of Unknowns and their pieces of machinery killed. The ranking would affect a student's term grade, and also term payments. As a boarding school, students had to earn money themselves, either by working in the city for receiving payments from their ranks. Higher ranks also came with bonuses such as better dorm selections, private lounges, and much more.
"By the way, who's leading?" Joseph asked.
"I think it's obvious," Alex muttered as he pointed at a screen on a wall displaying the rankings, "it's right there."
"Well, well, well, it's Lucania," Joseph mumbled.
"It's me?" I exclaimed. I was always on the higher-ends of the leaderboard, but first? I wasn't expecting that.
"So? What's your decision?" Daniel asked.
"For the Command Department, it should be Emilia, Joseph, and Lindsey. The Navy Department will consist of Maximillian-"
"Luca, how many times do I have to say, call me Max," Maximillian, one of our top snipers and the best at long range attack underwater, grumbled.
"Sorry," I squeaked. "Well, let me say this again. The Navy Department will consist of Max, Andre, and I. The Army Department will have more commanders, as most of our battles will be fought on land. Atlas, Alice, Daniel, Alex, Ruri, Florence will be commanders of that department," I suggested.
"No Air Force personnel?" Supervisor Hulkenberg interrupted.
"The Air Force will be integrated with the Army Air Force Department was never a popular one with the students. Plus, we don't have enough students that are familiar with air combat," I explained.
"I see..." Hulkenberg frowned, crossing his arms.
"I guess this concludes the meeting?" Joseph asked, looking at the two supervisors.
"That seems to be the case," Hulkenberg said, staring at a data-pad on the table. The twelve students stared at him, waiting for his verdict. The supervisor, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts for quite some time, suddenly stood up from his chair, startling me.
"Is he gonna reject this?" Alex, who was sitting next to me, asked.
"I don't-"
"Very well, I guess this will be the finalized version," Hulkenberg suddenly declared. "The members of each department should be finalized soon. For now, all of you should just stick to your current companies for training."
"Sounds good to me," I grunted. A quick look at the clock shows the hour hand at 12.
"Meeting dismissed," Supervisor Suzuki ordered.
"Lunch?" I asked Daniel as we stood up and headed for the exit.
"Sure," my friend replied. "Let's hope lunch is good."
"It's a private lounge, obviously the food's gonna be good," I grumbled. "Well, at least most of the times."