Chapter 168 - 166
Chapter 166
"I see...." Trisha uttered with an icy tone, her voice barely a whisper as she stared deep into Ray’s eyes for a few more seconds.
The boy didn’t back down either; he held her gaze firmly for as long as she desired, simply lifting an eyebrow in confusion at her sudden intensity.
Finally, Trisha was the one who broke the contact, turning away of her own accord to glance at Kai instead.
"... Fine then. I guess I can join your squad."
....
The room observed a pin-drop silence at the girl’s words.
A mere moment ago, she was ruthlessly thrashing the very squad Kai was with, and now, she suddenly wanted to join that same team?
What had happened to her in those few seconds of silence?
What exactly had made her change her mind so drastically?
Nobody knew, and it wasn’t as if they would ever receive a straight answer regardless of how much they wondered.
After saying what she had to say, she turned on her heel to begin walking away until Chloe called out to her, desperation clear in her voice.
"Wait! Don’t we need to train together to better sync our fighting styles?"
Trisha didn’t offer a reply.
She simply continued her stride and exited the classroom, leaving the stunned Aspirants behind in a cloud of confusion.
"What an incredibly arrogant girl," Kai scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief.
Van rose from his seat with a heavy, exhausted sigh.
"Since the squad of five has finally been formed, you can go submit the names to Sony. I need to get back to work now."
Without wasting any more time, he exited the room immediately afterward, leaving the rest of the trio behind.
Ray turned his gaze back toward Kai, his expression clouded with doubt.
"Are we really certain we want her to be in our squad?"
Kai lifted a brow.
"Why? You don’t want her on the team?"
"It’s not that I don’t... uh... I mean, it’s not a bad thing if she joins us, but her words are as cold as her ice ability. I really don’t want any more humans or metas talking down to us like we’re garbage," Ray replied, his voice laced with a hint of annoyance.
Chloe huffed while crossing her hands across her own chest, clearly sharing the sentiment.
"I also understand what you are saying. Her attitude definitely borders on the line of pompous arrogance. But unfortunately, we need her strength. If we truly want to top the class and secure the best ranking, we need her."
Kai scowled slightly at the suggestion.
"What? Am I not enough for that on my own?"
Chloe shook her head quickly.
"No. That’s not what I meant at all. You are exceptionally strong, but so is Trisha. If she joins any other squad, it will be a tough match for us.
We also need to outperform the second class, which obviously possesses a lot of formidable meta-humans and powerful legacies."
Kai shrugged, looking back at his friend.
"... Well, Ray doesn’t seem to want her to—"
"It’s fine," Ray interjected as he stood up and began walking away, his mind already shifting to the tasks ahead.
"You are the leader of this group. If you want a specific person to join, I have no objection. Besides, Chloe has some very solid points about the competition."
Without looking back, he exited the classroom, leaving the remaining two to handle the paperwork.
***
Now that he was out of the room, he exhaled and began heading for the combat class where, unfortunately, he would have to encounter Trisha once again.
’... Not as if she even speaks to anybody, though.’
With a simple shrug, he continued on his way through the corridors.
Within moments, he had already arrived at the hall used for the session, and there she was.
Like a pillar of ice, she stood at the front of the class, staring straight ahead with focused intensity.
Without even batting an eyelid at her, Ray turned away and made his way toward a secluded corner of the room, where he leaned against the wall with an indifferent expression on his face.
Before he could even catch his breath, Felix was already beside him, wearing a wide, enthusiastic grin.
"Did you get the same announcement? The one regarding an expedition coming next week?" he asked eagerly.
Ray opened one of his closed eyes to acknowledge Felix’s presence before replying shortly,
"Yeah, we did."
The other boy just clicked his tongue, looking slightly disappointed.
"Too bad we are in different classes; I would have loved to partner with you for this."
’I love it like that! I wouldn’t want to partner with a weirdo like you. Thank goodness we aren’t in the same squad.’
Contrary to those private thoughts, Ray’s outward expression remained neutral as he proceeded to shut his eyes, waiting for the class to commence on time.
Chloe also walked into the hall calmly and took her position amidst the growing crowd of Aspirants.
Strangely, Captain Jake hadn’t arrived yet.
He was usually the first one there, waiting for them while meditating in silence.
But today, he was nowhere to be found.
Minutes passed with the Aspirants waiting for their instructor tensely while chattering amongst themselves in low voices.
Soon enough, after about twenty minutes had ticked by, the instructor finally made his way inside with a visibly cold expression on his face.
On a normal day, he was either smiling mischievously or maintaining a neutral, calm demeanor.
But today, he donned a cold, indifferent mask as he walked to the front of the room.
Scanning the Aspirants with a callous gaze, the teens found themselves shuddering under his stare; many unconsciously took a few steps back in fright.
The stronger individuals, however, remained motionless and didn’t move an inch.
"I heard that you will be participating in the yearly expeditions for all Aspirants next week," Jake began, his voice level as he sat at the base of the raised platform in the hall.
’I wonder what’s up with him. He feels different somewhat,’ Ray pondered as he studied the suddenly serious instructor.
"... That’s good then. Not all of you attended the Gate mission the other day; hence, you didn’t experience the true horrors of the Aberrants.
But that will change, as you are bound to face some terrors. Some mightier than your current strengths and others, considerably okay."
The Captain stared at all the gathered Aspirants one more time before letting out a weary sigh.
"I wish you all the best of luck in what is to come in the following week."
’Why is he sounding like he is giving a final goodbye speech? We aren’t dying, right?’ Ray mused inwardly before shaking his head to clear the thought.
’... I don’t know about the others, but I’m certainly not dying.’
"Anyway," Jake continued as he rose and then climbed the platform without a change in his stern facial expression.
"Let’s begin the class then."