Chapter 94: The Yellow Card

The symphony was like an act of nature, stirring up the environment, symbolising an achievement. A faint melody rang out, enriching the bell sounds, creating music that was pleasant to the ears but, at the same time, served to motivate their spirits.

Starting from the White Building, the melody rang out from the Red Building, connecting with the Orange Building, and proceeding like a wave until the Violet Building. Finally, even the Head Office Building began to shake, echoing the sound.

The military academy was shaken up, the students concentrating on their classes rushed out, sprinting towards the White Building. The Warriors were the first to approach the area, using their developed physique to run faster.

They all knew the significance of the commotion; the records of the military academy had been broken. It was a grand achievement, publicised all across the academy.

The hundred students of the October Batch that had been curious about the results were surprised, unable to comprehend the cause of the commotion. They looked at the faces of their friends, noticing their confusion, standing stupefied.

Haesha noticed a stream of students rush out from the White Building, craning their necks to look at the ranking displayed on the wall. Another crowd, many times more massive was rushing from the behind, having poured out of all the buildings.

The ground staff took off to the skies, monitoring the situation, preventing a stampede from occurring. They began to instil a sense of order among the crowd, lining them up to prevent a chaotic congregation.

Madam Mary arrived before the rankings, hovering 4 metres above ground. She looked at the arriving crowd, noticing most of the students from the military academy having assembled before her, "A record has been broken. The record for the number of credits accumulated in the first month since joining the academy had been broken in the span of 10 days…twice."

The word 'Twice' sent bouts of shock into the minds of the students. They then noticed Madam Mary having vanished from the scene, bringing their focus to the rankings. Seeing the score, they collectively inhaled a sharp breath of air—awed.

[Dedicated Credit Ranking System: October Batch]

[Rank 1—Laila: 12,084 Credits]

[Rank 2—Jyorta Bone: 12,031 Credits]

[Rank 3—Dalna Doppler: 359 Credits]

"Jyorta…" Haesha muttered, feeling overwhelmed; she thought of his haggard appearance, the weakness he exhibited, and the sense of satisfaction etched in his eyes. Thinking of them all, Haesha involuntarily clenched her fists, vowing to work harder.

"Yeah, that is Jyorta Bone alright." Esina sighed, glancing through the rest of the score, finally finding her name in the three digits.

"Laila…Jyorta…" A boy murmured the two names, etching them in his mind. He then weaved his way out of the crowd, heading towards the Red Building, his body radiating dense fighting spirit. Faintly mixed into it was a bloodthirsty aura, one that made the surrounding people involuntarily shrink back in fear.

"From where did these two characters appear? They left Dalna Doppler in the dust." A warrior from the October batch whispered, looking at his friend.

"I heard the two of them are Espers," His friend replied, his gaze transfixed on the two lines. The music that echoed in the surroundings, accompanied by the wind, served to further raise the magnificence of the two rankers.

A minute later, the music died down, followed by the wind that calmed down. The ranking screen soon disappeared as a ground staff flew before everyone, transmitting her voice through her psychic energy, "The show's over; work hard to break the established records yourself."

The crowd dispersed, their emotions boiling in excitement. The feeling was akin to a plague, infecting everyone present in the scene, serving to ignite their fighting spirits. The ones from the same Batch wanted to improve themselves and try to close the gap. The ones from the previous Batches sought to accumulate as many Credits as possible to not be overshadowed by the two top rankers early on.

The two students that were the source of the commotion were fast asleep, uncaring, and unbothered about it.

7:30 PM, Jyorta woke up, his body sluggish, unwilling to move. He rolled on the bed, its hardness washing away his bliss, despite the thick, soft bedsheet overlaid on it. He tossed and turned, the laziness permeating through his body abating as time passed in silence.

He felt a prickling sensation on his cheek, the cause of it similar to granite. Switching on the lights, Jyorta looked at the source, finding a card attached to a letter. It was cold to the touch, its texture smooth. It had a faint lustre, reflecting his face. The card was yellow in colour, looking blank.

He read the letter out loud, "Held in your hands is a card made from my Unranked Skill. It has a small indentation on its right extreme; slide through it with your nail to remove the stylus. It can be used to write on the card; I will immediately know of its contents as long as you are within the academy. I became privy of your Trait through Jyovic Bone. Once a week, I will give you guidance for an hour. Jyovic Bone has already given me the required remuneration and submitted the related documents to the academy."

"—Mila Marble."

'So, Ancestor Marble has made some arrangements in the academy to help me.' Jyorta nodded in delight, feeling his impression of the man improve. The moment he retracted the letter from his gaze, a flash of yellow appeared on it, turning it into marble. Immediately, it turned to dust, the essence within it extracted, vanishing like it hadn't existed in the first place.

"This is the perfect ability for a crime," Jyorta commented, his expression turning bright.

Seated on his bed, he picked up the water bottle, intending to quench his thirst. Finding it empty, he grunted, pushing the bedsheet aside. He slowly got up, held the empty water bottle in one hand, and his room key in the other.

He exited the room and turned right, arriving before the water dispenser, situated next to the flight of stairs. Filling his bottle, he took two big gulps. The water slid down his throat, moistening the muscles, and finally entering his stomach; he felt his body regaining some vitality.

Jyorta returned to his room, taking a glance at the pile of books on the table, strewn across the surface. Opened notebooks, shredded paper, broken caps of pens, etc. his room was a mess.

He once again exited the room and returned with a broomstick, beginning to sweep the floor. Of the pens that weren't empty, he tossed them on his bed. The rest, he swept them with the accumulated dust.

On a corner of the room was a perforated basket, filled with clothes he had worn for the past week. He counted the number of clothes placed in them, closed the lid and inserted his name tag over it, planning to later deliver it to the laundry services.

Picking up another basket, he placed in it a set of clothes, his underwear, and the necessary toiletries. Locking the door behind him, he carried the basket and headed to the restroom, planning to freshen up.

8:15 PM, returning to the room, he picked up the basket filled with his used clothes, wore his ID card over his neck and locked the door. Descending the stairs, he arrived at the ground floor. Walking towards the rear end, he spotted an open section carved into the wall, the name plaque signalling it as the laundry services.

Jyorta delivered the perforated basket, taking a glance to confirm the presence of his name tag in it. The man in charge of the laundry services took hold of it and handed him a slip, "You can collect it after 2 days."

8:25 PM, Jyorta arrived at the cafeteria, joining the long queue, feeling relaxed. Though, he began to plan his next course of action.

The talk with Psychic Ancestor Marble spurred him to work harder. Moreover, he now had a strong individual to guide him in the initial stages. No matter the task or plan, the initial stages were the most difficult to brave through.

After all, even though the corrosion ability seemed powerful, he had yet to know the extent to its usability and limitations. Also, a famous quote from his previous life changed his mindset.

"We stand upon the shoulders of our predecessors and gaze farther into the horizon."

The milk had already been spilt; instead of trying to salvage the situation, he had to manoeuvre it to suit his preferences.

Jyorta slid his hand into his pocket, feeling the presence of the yellow card. Its size, dimensions, and weight were similar to his ID card. It was his opportunity to climb higher, faster than anyone else.

'Madam Mila knows about it thanks to my blunder; thankfully, Ancestor Marble had covered it up after that and even concocted a suitable tale. Moreover, a command from him was enough to spur grandpa into action, turning the lie into reality. I don't know whether Ancestor Light knows about this. But, since there is no interference, it seems he gave a tacit acknowledgment.'

Jyorta inched forward, glancing at the queue that was shortening at a snail's pace. His thoughts churned, referencing the mindset he possessed in his previous life. 'Even if they are untrustworthy, I am placed in a helpless situation. Since they intend to help me, I will make use of this chance to grow stronger. In this world, the strength of an individual surpasses the strength of an organisation. I should keep that in mind.'

"Dinner time is over. You can only order snacks now." The man behind the counter said, his voice grumpy, sporting an expression of boredom. Jyorta gave a perfunctory nod and selected a snack with a high-calorie count.

Taking the slip, he headed to the service section and gave it to a chef. Filling his plate with snacks, he noticed a stream of people—the ones who had been having their dinner—head towards one corner, dropping their plates.

Immediately, most of the tables became vacant. Also, a chef shouted from the delivery section, urging the students to drop their plates. The nutritional content of the dinner was many times higher than the snacks. Jyorta vowed to never skip the three meals; otherwise, it would hinder his growth.

Skipping past the messy tables, he found a relatively cleaner one. He then began to dig through his food, thinking about the multitude of information Ancestor Marble had revealed to him.

'If everything he said is true, then our city is really in a precarious situation. Then, I must strive to gain as many advantages as I can from the academy. As for the rest, I can bother about them later. After all, my lacking strength makes me unqualified to even be a chess piece in the grand scheme of things.'