As he was watching the news in his dorm, someone knocked on his door .

Garen switched off the tablet, stood up and opened the door .

Aier walked in with a rather angered look on her face .

"What happened to you?" Garen felt strange .

"It's nothing . It's just that I've got a clear picture of Mina's condition back at home," Aier closed the door as he sat down and poured himself a cup of water . "What were you doing? Why is there a strange medicine stench in the room?"

He frowned as he looked at the messy dorm . There were still papers left on the ground, which had previously been used to hold the stones a moment ago . There was still a little bit of remaining White Peac.o.c.k Powder on it .

"Let me clean it up," Garen rolled the papers on the ground and threw them into the dustbin . He then went to take a cloth and wiped the powder clean from the ground .

Aier watched Garen bustling about as he leaned onto the sofa and continued speaking .

"Mina's family had failed their business investment and had lost a huge sum of money . They now owe a huge amount of debt . "

Garen recalled the girl who kept visiting him when he was admitted to the hospital . Although he didn't have all of Nonosiva's memories, he wouldn't forget people who had treated him well . From his point of view, he could see that Mina was truly being friendly towards Nonosiva . There was no intention and she really just wanted to be friends .

"How much does it affect her?" he pondered for a while before asking .

Aier sighed as he was not surprised by Garen's calm tone . Nonosiva had always been like this, quiet and introverted . For him to ask this much meant that he was very concerned with the topic at hand .

"It may affect her tuition fee next year . "

"Tuition fee…" Garen nodded . The Blackboard's annual tuition fee was seventy thousand . It might not be a lot for the wealthy students but this amount was astronomical to the typical households . Seventy thousand was the entire income of a typical family for a year and there were many families who couldn't even earn that much .

"I'll think of something when I get back," Aier stayed silent for a while before speaking once more .

"What idea can you come up with? Where's Mina? What does she have to say about this?" Garen poured himself a cup of water, sat down and drank it .

"What else can she do? She plans to head out and work to earn her tuition fee for next year . There was another girl who was in the same situation as her . It was her junior and her family wasn't well off as well and decided to work outside so that she could afford to study . The job was introduced by her junior . " Helplessness was written all over Aier's face . "Before I came to your place, I'd visited her and she looked very tired and had lost a lot of weight . "

Garen nodded .

"Don't get hasty with Mina's situation . I may have some idea . "

"You? What idea can you have?" Aier's voice was raised by a few octaves . "You yourself owe the professor at least a hundred thousand . "

As he noticed that Garen didn't seem anxious in the least, he started to feel uneasy about the whole thing .

"You're being impatient," Garen shook his head . "Impatience won't solve anything and will make everything worse . "

"Yes… I've lost myself…" Aier himself realized that he had lost his cool as he lowered his head and tone .

"It's exactly because I'm a hundred thousand plus in debt that I have to think of a plan on my own…" Aier broke him off before Garen managed to finish speaking .

"Whatever . I'll go home and tell my dad about it and hopefully he has some useful idea . You should take your time to rest . " Aier didn't wish to speak further as he stood up . "I'll go first . "

Garen watched as he stood up and slammed the door as he left . Afterward, he stood up, didn't say a word and just sighed . There was currently social unrest as the state of the economy was heavily dependent on the policy of the government . With the policy being changed every now and then, this sort of scenario would surface every once in a while . This was the current state of the world where the people had no power and could do nothing but to stand around and be butchered .

**************

The Blackboard's qualifier match was being held in the shadow underneath the huge battles.h.i.+p . This shade was Blackboard Academy's safest place .

A silver circular light beamed down from the battles.h.i.+p above . From afar, it looked like a very fine silver gauze that could barely be seen . Inside the silver gauze was a huge circular arena that spanned thousands of meters in diameter .

The white arena had been segregated into a lot of divisions, and each division was surrounded by robots that constantly maintained a protective barrier . Teams from every faculty started to pour into the arena .

The teams walked in one by one as the cheers from the student spectators could be heard in all directions . There even were family members and students from other academies who came to witness the match . Cheers came in waves and there even were holograms of fireworks as well .

"The current teams that are entering the arena are the teams from year B2 . The top three representatives are surprisingly all women and by comparison, there was only a male compet.i.tor who barely qualified . This year seems even more one-sided…"

The broadcast was filled with pa.s.sion as it excitedly introduced each qualified teams .

Other than Garen who stood among the cla.s.s C5 members, there also was Fervale and the second-ranked Sara who stood straight . Fervale, as the first ranker, stood slightly in front of her and these three didn't stand out so much among the other outstanding contestants from other cla.s.ses .

"Look at the cla.s.s in front of us on the right," Fervale suddenly whispered . Among the cheers from the crowd, his voice went directly into Garen and Sara's ear through the communication device . "Be cautious of the black-haired woman in the middle . "

Garen and Sara's gaze s.h.i.+fted towards where he'd mentioned and in the middle of the three-man team of that cla.s.s, a black short-haired woman was patting a fragile looking fan with long pink hair on the shoulder as she talked to her . She seemed very relaxed and an unparalleled confidence could be seen through her gaze . Her hair was th.o.r.n.y and by her hand gestures, she seemed to be very bold and gave off a vibe of extreme confidence .

"That girl is Merseus, one of the top two in year C . I lost to her last year and didn't last one minute against her," although Fervale said this calmly, a glimpse of dissatisfaction could be seen in his gaze . However, no one really knew he was angry or sad as he didn't express himself a lot .

"Merseus' melee Control is at least Level Two and she is a very powerful opponent . Both of you are ranged shooters so be careful to not let her get close to you," Fervale cautioned .

"Understood," Sara and Garen nodded .

Garen had tested his combat capabilities without the Moonfang and he knew that he wasn't even qualified for a level 1 . With his actual skill, he could only run with the Mech but couldn't evade any incoming attacks . Compared to the real elites, he was extremely weak .

His strengths were actual combat outside the Mech but he was a complete novice in the Mech . Although he had experience in controlling the Buddha Mother, this world seemed different as the spiritual control was totally different than of the Buddha Mother . In this world, Willpower seemed to be the will of every single cell and was related to the cells' biofield .

Garen wondered if his Willpower would improve he increased his Living Secret Technique, the h.e.l.lfrost Peac.o.c.k Technique to a certain level . However, the current him was still very weak .

With his current condition, his opponent, Merseus was considered a very powerful foe .

"Other than this person, there's another person who is considered the strongest in our year C," Fervale was telling them the situation inside the arena . His household held some incredible amount of power and he naturally had all these intel on the enemies . In order to raise his year's overall rank, he decided to feed his team members the opponent's information to slightly increase the chance of winning .

"His name is Bally Visalia, but everyone calls him Bally . He hasn't arrived yet but that man is extremely powerful so you have to be extremely cautious against him!" Fervale started to look frightened even by just mentioning his name .

"Powerful?" Sara squinted her eyes . "How powerful is he?"

Fervale glanced at Sara, "Bally has a nickname called the Mech Grinder . At least half of his opponents have had eighty percent of their Mech's body ground to dust with just his hands . His weapons are a pair of high-speed arc saws and have torn apart at least ten Mechs, killed three and heavily injured twelve people during the academy's entrance exam . "

Huff…

Sara inhaled a mouthful of cold air . While the arc saw was incredibly powerful, it required a lot of energy as well . With two arc saws, a standard mech model could only last half a minute . This meant that the person who used this sort of weapon was either crazy or very confident with himself .

"Bally and Merseus…" Garen understood that he was determined to obtain the champion t.i.tle during this compet.i.tion . As a new student, he had his privileges where being the top three of a faculty would allow him to be admitted to the academy's elite teams . He could also win a good amount of a hundred thousand Universal Unit as a reward or at least ten thousand Universal Units for placing in the top ten .

Rumor had it that one could even order a custom mech as a reward if one was placed first .

To have a personal Mech, especially the unique ones where it could be controlled by Willpower, was something very luxurious . Practically every Mech in this world was made with the biomechanical nuclear as the core, which could tap into a person's Willpower . It was a very advanced technology .

Hence, even a Mech of the most basic model would cost at least a hundred thousands Universal Points .

Most importantly, the first placed would even be awarded a Mech Control Certificate . This certificate was as powerful as the other international certificates where one could legally own their own Mech, which was equivalent to a Pilot's certificate .

What troubled Garen was that his Willpower was still too weak . Without the Moonfang, moving would be incredibly hard and the Moonfang was obviously not suited for a drawn-out battle .

"I can only end the battle quickly," he was very determined .

"Now let's welcome the representatives of the cla.s.s C5 . Among year C, the most promising student and top five student is Fervale, the cla.s.s' first seat…" it was their turn to go into the arena . Fervale led the way while Garen and Sara followed behind . The trio wore a unique red compet.i.tion uniform as they walked on the black carpet, entering the circular arena through the entrance . Students of the same cla.s.s shouted from both sides and there even were people whistling endlessly .

As he was watching the news in his dorm, someone knocked on his door . Garen switched off the tablet, stood up and opened the door . Aier walked in with a rather angered look on her face . What happened to you? Garen felt strange . Its nothing . Its just that Ive got a clear picture of Minas condition back at home, Aier closed the door as he sat down and poured himself a cup of water . What were you doing? Why is there a strange medicine stench in the room? He frowned as he looked at the messy dorm . There were still papers left on the ground, which had previously been used to hold the stones a moment ago . There was still a little bit of remaining White Peac.o.c.k Powder on it . Let me clean it up, Garen rolled the papers on the ground and threw them into the dustbin . He then went to take a cloth and wiped the powder clean from the ground . Aier watched Garen bustling about as he leaned onto the sofa and continued speaking . Minas family had failed their business investment and had lost a huge sum of money . They now owe a huge amount of debt . Garen recalled the girl who kept visiting him when he was admitted to the hospital . Although he didnt have all of Nonosivas memories, he wouldnt forget people who had treated him well . From his point of view, he could see that Mina was truly being friendly towards Nonosiva . There was no intention and she really just wanted to be friends . How much does it affect her? he pondered for a while before asking . Aier sighed as he was not surprised by Garens calm tone . Nonosiva had always been like this, quiet and introverted . For him to ask this much meant that he was very concerned with the topic at hand . It may affect her tuition fee next year . Tuition fee… Garen nodded . The Blackboards annual tuition fee was seventy thousand . It might not be a lot for the wealthy students but this amount was astronomical to the typical households . Seventy thousand was the entire income of a typical family for a year and there were many families who couldnt even earn that much . Ill think of something when I get back, Aier stayed silent for a while before speaking once more . What idea can you come up with? Wheres Mina? What does she have to say about this? Garen poured himself a cup of water, sat down and drank it . What else can she do? She plans to head out and work to earn her tuition fee for next year . There was another girl who was in the same situation as her . It was her junior and her family wasnt well off as well and decided to work outside so that she could afford to study . The job was introduced by her junior . Helplessness was written all over Aiers face . Before I came to your place, Id visited her and she looked very tired and had lost a lot of weight . Garen nodded . Dont get hasty with Minas situation . I may have some idea . You? What idea can you have? Aiers voice was raised by a few octaves . You yourself owe the professor at least a hundred thousand . As he noticed that Garen didnt seem anxious in the least, he started to feel uneasy about the whole thing . Youre being impatient, Garen shook his head . Impatience wont solve anything and will make everything worse . Yes… Ive lost myself… Aier himself realized that he had lost his cool as he lowered his head and tone . Its exactly because Im a hundred thousand plus in debt that I have to think of a plan on my own… Aier broke him off before Garen managed to finish speaking . Whatever . Ill go home and tell my dad about it and hopefully he has some useful idea . You should take your time to rest . Aier didnt wish to speak further as he stood up . Ill go first . Garen watched as he stood up and slammed the door as he left . Afterward, he stood up, didnt say a word and just sighed . There was currently social unrest as the state of the economy was heavily dependent on the policy of the government . With the policy being changed every now and then, this sort of scenario would surface every once in a while . This was the current state of the world where the people had no power and could do nothing but to stand around and be butchered . ************** The Blackboards qualifier match was being held in the shadow underneath the huge battles.h.i.+p . This shade was Blackboard Academys safest place . A silver circular light beamed down from the battles.h.i.+p above . From afar, it looked like a very fine silver gauze that could barely be seen . Inside the silver gauze was a huge circular arena that spanned thousands of meters in diameter . The white arena had been segregated into a lot of divisions, and each division was surrounded by robots that constantly maintained a protective barrier . Teams from every faculty started to pour into the arena . The teams walked in one by one as the cheers from the student spectators could be heard in all directions . There even were family members and students from other academies who came to witness the match . Cheers came in waves and there even were holograms of fireworks as well . The current teams that are entering the arena are the teams from year B2 . The top three representatives are surprisingly all women and by comparison, there was only a male compet.i.tor who barely qualified . This year seems even more one-sided… The broadcast was filled with pa.s.sion as it excitedly introduced each qualified teams . Other than Garen who stood among the cla.s.s C5 members, there also was Fervale and the second-ranked Sara who stood straight . Fervale, as the first ranker, stood slightly in front of her and these three didnt stand out so much among the other outstanding contestants from other cla.s.ses . Look at the cla.s.s in front of us on the right, Fervale suddenly whispered . Among the cheers from the crowd, his voice went directly into Garen and Saras ear through the communication device . Be cautious of the black-haired woman in the middle . Garen and Saras gaze s.h.i.+fted towards where hed mentioned and in the middle of the three-man team of that cla.s.s, a black short-haired woman was patting a fragile looking fan with long pink hair on the shoulder as she talked to her . She seemed very relaxed and an unparalleled confidence could be seen through her gaze . Her hair was th.o.r.n.y and by her hand gestures, she seemed to be very bold and gave off a vibe of extreme confidence . That girl is Merseus, one of the top two in year C . I lost to her last year and didnt last one minute against her, although Fervale said this calmly, a glimpse of dissatisfaction could be seen in his gaze . However, no one really knew he was angry or sad as he didnt express himself a lot . Merseus melee Control is at least Level Two and she is a very powerful opponent . Both of you are ranged shooters so be careful to not let her get close to you, Fervale cautioned . Understood, Sara and Garen nodded . Garen had tested his combat capabilities without the Moonfang and he knew that he wasnt even qualified for a level 1 . With his actual skill, he could only run with the Mech but couldnt evade any incoming attacks . Compared to the real elites, he was extremely weak . His strengths were actual combat outside the Mech but he was a complete novice in the Mech . Although he had experience in controlling the Buddha Mother, this world seemed different as the spiritual control was totally different than of the Buddha Mother . In this world, Willpower seemed to be the will of every single cell and was related to the cells biofield . Garen wondered if his Willpower would improve he increased his Living Secret Technique, the h.e.l.lfrost Peac.o.c.k Technique to a certain level . However, the current him was still very weak . With his current condition, his opponent, Merseus was considered a very powerful foe . Other than this person, theres another person who is considered the strongest in our year C, Fervale was telling them the situation inside the arena . His household held some incredible amount of power and he naturally had all these intel on the enemies . In order to raise his years overall rank, he decided to feed his team members the opponents information to slightly increase the chance of winning . His name is Bally Visalia, but everyone calls him Bally . He hasnt arrived yet but that man is extremely powerful so you have to be extremely cautious against him! Fervale started to look frightened even by just mentioning his name . Powerful? Sara squinted her eyes . How powerful is he? Fervale glanced at Sara, Bally has a nickname called the Mech Grinder . At least half of his opponents have had eighty percent of their Mechs body ground to dust with just his hands . His weapons are a pair of high-speed arc saws and have torn apart at least ten Mechs, killed three and heavily injured twelve people during the academys entrance exam . Huff… Sara inhaled a mouthful of cold air . While the arc saw was incredibly powerful, it required a lot of energy as well . With two arc saws, a standard mech model could only last half a minute . This meant that the person who used this sort of weapon was either crazy or very confident with himself . Bally and Merseus… Garen understood that he was determined to obtain the champion t.i.tle during this compet.i.tion . As a new student, he had his privileges where being the top three of a faculty would allow him to be admitted to the academys elite teams . He could also win a good amount of a hundred thousand Universal Unit as a reward or at least ten thousand Universal Units for placing in the top ten . Rumor had it that one could even order a custom mech as a reward if one was placed first . To have a personal Mech, especially the unique ones where it could be controlled by Willpower, was something very luxurious . Practically every Mech in this world was made with the biomechanical nuclear as the core, which could tap into a persons Willpower . It was a very advanced technology . Hence, even a Mech of the most basic model would cost at least a hundred thousands Universal Points . Most importantly, the first placed would even be awarded a Mech Control Certificate . This certificate was as powerful as the other international certificates where one could legally own their own Mech, which was equivalent to a Pilots certificate . What troubled Garen was that his Willpower was still too weak . Without the Moonfang, moving would be incredibly hard and the Moonfang was obviously not suited for a drawn-out battle . I can only end the battle quickly, he was very determined . Now lets welcome the representatives of the cla.s.s C5 . Among year C, the most promising student and top five student is Fervale, the cla.s.s first seat… it was their turn to go into the arena . Fervale led the way while Garen and Sara followed behind . The trio wore a unique red compet.i.tion uniform as they walked on the black carpet, entering the circular arena through the entrance . Students of the same cla.s.s shouted from both sides and there even were people whistling endlessly .