Chapter 69：Doppler Family

Seeing their brisk response, Madam Mary felt happy, "Good, that's the spirit. As expected of the future pillars of our city. Now, the way you are taught here and the way you were taught in your previous Academy might be different. First of all, there will be no classrooms; you all will undergo a collective lecture in the auditoriums. For general knowledge lessons, you will assemble here. As for the others, the details have already been posted on your bulletin boards."

The students nodded to her words, showing that they had already gone through the details beforehand. Jyorta gazed at the principal, feeling like she looked familiar. Especially, her manner of speech, and her body language, they were strikingly familiar. Seated close to the dais, he could also notice her facial features, partly resembling his mother.

Despite his confusion and curiosity, he paid attention to the speech. "In this academy, you will no longer be addressed as students. You will be called Cadets. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Ma'am!" The children echoed.

"Good; now, as Cadets, you get some perks. First, you will get access to a 'Portal', a place where you can watch videos and surf through documents detailing actual raids, battle tactics, martial arts, etc. It is situated inside White building, the one situated at the very end of the academy."

A screen lit up behind her, displaying the layout of their military academy. It was shaped in the form of a rectangle, its sides coloured in a varied manner. It had tall buildings on all four sides—connected to one another, forming a row—acting as a wall that separated the academy from the outside world.

The buildings on the right were named the Rhachis Block, further divided into seven buildings, starting from Red at the top to Violet at the bottom—the seven rainbow colours. The buildings on the left were named the Psychic Block, similarly divided into seven buildings.

To the bottom was a grey building, named the 'Head Office' while the building at the top was white in colour, looking like it housed a myriad of facilities. Madam Mary gave a brief account of each building, emphasising to further look into the posters pinned on their bulletin boards.

Switching off the screen behind her, Madam Mary paused for a moment, catching her breath, "Second, you will be provided with a set of uniforms that range from battle wear, training suit, meditation clothes, etc. I think you have received them already, judging by your appearance with the uniforms."

Seeing everyone nod, she continued, "Third, you can issue weapons, armours, and many more to train and familiarise yourself, getting accustomed to all situations."

She waited for a couple of seconds, allowing the students to digest the information, "And, last but not the least, irrespective of the degree of injuries you sustain in your training, be it broken bones, injured organs, or even severed limbs, don't worry. You have me here; I can heal you back to full health in no time. So, train to your heart's content." Saying so, she lifted her arm, showcasing her biceps in an effort to assure them.

Jyorta chuckled, receiving a glare from Haesha, immediately turning silent. Thankfully, he was really quiet and hadn't gained attention from anyone other than Haesha who had coincidently glanced his way.

On seeing that the students hadn't understood her joke, Madam Mary sighed and continued, "Actually, we have a merit system in place here. You can get merit points from passing various tests we would conduct in different fields. Using the merit points you have amassed, you can exchange it for a myriad of treasures; treasures that you could never imagine existed, all accessible to you."

'Finally, it's here.' There was a glint in his eyes as Jyorta observed Madam Mary, anticipating her next set of words.

Madam Mary chuckled, seeing the eyes of the students glisten upon the mention of treasures, "A pamphlet will be sent to you later, detailing all the treasures and the corresponding merit points needed to exchange for them. You will be allowed to consult your parents once about the matter, tonight. I'm sure they would be able to set a goal for you."

After that, she continued to talk about the decorum they needed to maintain, the curfew, discipline, and other topics. She then introduced the faculty that would teach them and the availability of various courses. Finally, at the end of the session, a teacher walked out, distributing a pamphlet to everyone present, using his abilities as an Esper.

As the pamphlet flew into his hands, Jyorta closed his eyes, trying to sense the flow of psychic energy, letting out a sigh. "It is difficult to get a grasp on other's psychic energy."

"Of course, it is. The psychic energy of each individual has a subtle difference, making them differentiable. Though, I don't know what it is that makes them so," Haesha whispered, her eyes glued to the pamphlet.

The more she read the pamphlet, the greater her shock became. Her hands trembled, feeling as if the pamphlet weighed heavier than she could carry; her eyes flushed with a heated gaze, boring into it.

"You shouldn't focus on the obvious bait," Jyorta whispered, placing his hand on her shoulder. For some reason, he felt like he needed to help her. It was probably his teenager heart manipulating the strings from behind the scenes.

"You mean…?" Haesha managed to retract her gaze with great difficulty, struggling to control herself. She looked at Jyorta with curiosity, "There are Unranked Skills for the take, two of them in fact. What else is more important than those?"

"I'll tell you later. Trust me, my sister told me many things. She has plenty of experience and has been one of the best to graduate from this academy to date." Jyorta sported a smug expression, as if all the achievements were his own.

"Fine," Haesha heaved a sigh, thinking, 'I will contact father tonight and see what he has to say.'

Seeing shocked exclaims echo throughout the auditorium, some louder than the others, Madam Mary smiled, "Since this is your first day, that will be all for today. Don't roam around the grounds when students from the other batches are training. Also, don't enter restricted places without obtaining prior permission."

Noticing that the students were about to get up, she waved her hands, "Remember, punctuality is the most important trait required here. Classes will begin from 8:30 AM; so, remember to report on time. You can leave now."

Madam Mary walked towards the door near the dais, taking a final glance before exiting. The students began to get up from their seats one by one, walking towards the six exits in the auditorium, forming groups.

"I am going to meet my classmates," Jyorta turned around, glancing at Haesha still focused on the pamphlet on her hands. "…Haesha?"

"Yes, sure," Haesha stood up, retracting her gaze from the pamphlet, "We will meet at the cafeteria during lunch. I heard Espers and Warriors eat at different sections, with the Warrior's section being many times larger than ours."

"That sure is the case." Jyorta nodded, "After all, most of the students are Warriors while only a minority are Espers."

The two followed a long line and inched forward, talking about the rumours they had collected since arriving at the military academy. They eventually made their way out, squeezing through an exit and descending to the ground floor.

Once they walked out into the open, Jyorta couldn't help but stretch his limbs and take in a deep breath of the fresh air. Finally, noticing one of her friends, Haesha turned around, "See you during lunch."

Seeing her departing figure, Jyorta placed a hand on his chest, frowning, 'I feel like my heart is about to burst. I thought my resistance against beautiful girls was pretty high considering I am around my sister every day. Sigh, is it because my body is that of a teenager's? Or is it due to me lacking an attachment to my previous life, making my current experience a novelty?'

Letting out a sigh, Jyorta summoned his willpower to avoid having his gaze trail after her, directing his vision to the other side. As long as he didn't see anything, he would be able to control himself. Soon, he noticed his friend Ashten Coorg talking with some of his classmates, forming a group around a corner.

"Hey guys, miss me?" Jyorta laughed, barging into the group without any sense of decorum.

"Jyorta," A boy turned around in surprise, noticing Jyorta's hand slumped over his shoulder. He hurriedly raised his hand and pushed Jyorta, retracting from his hold.

"Don't talk to this traitor." A boy muttered, distancing himself from Jyorta.

"Yeah, he's the enemy of our brotherhood." Another boy shouted, looking at Jyorta with scorn.

"Player," Ashten Coorg said, his voice low pitched, behaving like he was betrayed.

"Guys?" Jyorta looked at them in shock, wondering at their reaction. His thoughts failed to form as he felt shunned from their stares.

"Jyo~ta~" A girl jumped from behind, wrapping her arms around his shoulder, looking at the gazes of the surrounding boys. She snorted in disdain, calling her friends, "I smell jealousy in the air~"

"Right~" Another girl piped in, joining the group, sending a derisive sneer at the boys.

"Let me tell you," A girl pointed her finger at Ashten Coorg, "If you were in his place, you wouldn't have even dared to approach the girl, not to mention sit beside her through the entire lecture."

"That doesn't matter," Ashten Coorg looked at Jyorta, his lips curling up, filled with 20 percent perviness and 80 percent fawning. "My dear brother, introduce me to that pretty lady. If you do, the entire 18 generations of my successors will worship you as our godfather."

As goosebumps appeared on his skin, and a feeling of disgust coagulated within him, it dawned on Jyorta, the realisation for their strange behaviour finally kicked in. They wanted him to introduce them to a girl.

The girl who had slumped her hands on his shoulder chuckled, "Even if you plan on riding Jyorta to get acquainted with the girl, making her your girlfriend would be an impossible feat. You shouldn't bite more than you can chew; after all, she is from the Doppler Family."

"The Doppler Family?" Jyorta sounded out, feeling confused. 'Based on her reactions, Haesha doesn't seem to hail from an Aristocratic family. So, who are they talking about?'