Yawning, Ryan rubbed his eyes, stretching his arms above his head.
Hearing the satisfying crack of his back muscles, Ryan abruptly paused mid-pose as he gaped at where he was sitting. This room was relatively spacious, with unadorned white walls, much like his own repainted room. However, the peculiar part of the room was not its interior but its inhabitants.
Sitting shoulder to shoulder along the walls were hundreds of boys who appeared to be around the age of 18.
Ryan, too, was crunched in between two boys.
"Do you know what's going on?" Ryan asked, tapping the boy to his right on the shoulder.
"Don't touch me, mongrel," The boy spat, flicking Ryan's hand off his shoulder.
Stunned by the boy's reaction, Ryan tried his luck with the boy on his left.
"Do you, by chance, know what's going on here?"
"M-Me?" The boy asked, adjusting his crocked glasses.
"I don't see anyone else here, do you?" Ryan asked sarcastically.
"I see 551 people here, not including me," The boy retorted, examining Ryan quizzically.
Rubbing his forehead, Ryan said, "Forget it," and decided to wait and see why they were all in this bland space.
Surveying the room, he sensed he had overlooked something, 'Why is everyone so tense?'
Racking his brain for an explanation for the unusually tense atmosphere, he saw a hole in the middle of the floor appear.
As the floor opened up, a woman emerged, standing on a rising pedestal.
As Ryan watched her ascent, he felt a feeling between fear and arousal well up inside him. She was a large, athletic, curly-haired brunette with golden amber eyes.
"Quiet," she shouted, stomping her black latex boots on the ground. She stepped off the podium and strode around the room, her pitch-black skirt swishing from side to side.
"My name is First Lieutenant Valeria Waters." Speaking in a loud, commanding tone, she addressed the audience, "I'd first and foremost like to congratulate you all on behalf of the Kheaweth Military for completing the orientation test." As she spoke, her green military uniform bounced up and down.
The medals adorning her uniform jingled as they bounced, allowing the onlookers to receive both pleasant scenery and a melody as a bonus.
"To see your ranking, simply look at the grey wristband on your dominant hand, and will the data to appear."
"This wristband will be your new best friend and is built to resemble the heavenly screen."
'What on earth is this chick talking about?' Ryan wondered, 'First my room, and now this? What is going on today?'
Hearing excited murmurs sounding from the audience as they activated their new wristbands, Ryan gazed down at his own.
Rubbing his neck Ryan looked around to see if there were any hidden cameras, but honestly, this would be the lousiest prank show in existence.
"What the fuck!" Ryan blurted as he saw a screen pop up in midair.
The room suddenly turned deathly quiet, everyone cringing, expecting the Lieutenant to rip Ryan a new one. Unexpectedly, she only glanced at him before turning and addressing the rest of the room, ignoring the outburst.
"If your class rank is in the top 100, congratulations! You have just entered the illustrious list of ranked members of the Kheaweth Military!"
Shrugging off the feeling of death that came over him, Ryan exerted his will on his wristband.
<Name: Anthony Dire>
<Class Rank: 1>
Gasps and passionate exclamations of joy and sorrow filled the room as 99 people voiced their excitement and 452 their disappointment.
The 552nd, Ryan, however, was completely baffled, 'What the hell is going on?' Feeling like this was surely a dream, he kept pinching himself, yet he didn't wake up. 'Is this real?'
"Before I send you all on your way, does anyone have any questions?"
"My name is Marcus Montgomery, of house Montgomery, and I am sorry if I sound rude, First Lieutenant." The man to Ryan's right introduced himself as he stood, giving a low bow in the Lieutenant's direction. "But I fail to see how I could possibly be ranked ninth! What qualities is this test supposed to cover that it dares to rank me ninth?"
"Oh, it's Mr. Marcus of house Montgomery, is it?" She said, twirling her hair in her finger, "I didn't realize it was you."
"Of course, such a lovely madam as yourself is forgiven for such a small offense." Marcus said, his belly jiggling as he talked.
"Well, if that's the case…" She said, biting her lip, "If you want to know. . .get on your knees and beg me."
Silence echoed in the room, everyone holding their breath.
Marcus's chubby face contorted, clenching his jaw. "Do you know who my mother is?" He snorted, looking at the Lieutenant as though she was swine.
"A small Lieutenant like you cannot touch me. It should be you who gets on your knees." He said, pointing his finger at the Lieutenant.
The facade of the Lieutenant fell off, her lips twisting in a half-smile giving her a sinister look.
"There's always a little noble like you who hasn't been taught properly," she said, exerting her aura on the man. "Boys should know their place."
As Ryan observed the scene in wide-eyed fascination, his hands began to rub together on their own as he felt the anticipation building in his body. He wanted to fight.
Ryan had never been one to start a fight. However, he felt… battle lust.
He pictured himself half-dressed, covered in blood, and surrounded by women screaming their love for their protector. In this daydream, he threw his head back and began laughing, towering over his enemy's bloodied corpses.
However, another feeling swept over him a moment later as he stared slack-jawed. It was an overwhelming sense of pure power.
Feeling the Lieutenant release her aura, Ryan recognized it as the same energy he felt inside of him.
Focusing on his lower stomach, he discovered that comparable energy released by the Lieutenant was lying dormant inside him.
'What is this power?'
Watching as Marcus curled into the fetal position and cried, Ryan felt indignation. 'Are nobles so weak as to not withstand a sliver of her aura?'
Frowning, Ryan thought, 'How do I know it was only a sliver? Why am I getting angry at such a nonsensical thing?'
"One thing you all should learn," She said, making firm and precise movements, "That man will be you if you dare to insult a higher rank than yours."
"It doesn't matter who your mommy is, and even less who your daddy is. If you cannot do this," she said, manifesting a glowing sphere of light on her fingertip, "you are worthless."
Tugging her ear, she capitulated, "At least in battle. Some of you are at least useful in the bedroom."
Hearing her concede some potential prowess, a collective sigh of relief resounded through the room.
Rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, she said, "Alright, any more moronic questions?"
"Good, then we'll ge-." Abruptly stopping, she raised her eyebrows and stared with wide eyes at a hand slowly rising.
Boosting her aura to the max, she directed at the foolish man.
'Fuck! It's him!' Swerving her aura to the side, she crashed it into the recruit sitting beside the man with his hand raised.
The crowd, expecting Ryan to get obliterated by the Lieutenant's aura, stared slack-jawed as Marcus squealed like a pig roasting over a fire, getting a second dose of now the cultivator's entire aura.
"What was your question?" She asked, ignoring the shrieking Marcus.
"What did you mean by useful in the bedroom?" Ryan asked, tilting his head innocently, "Do you think we could have a private session where you showed me privately, Valery?"
Ryan made a calculated move, recalling Aliza's "The rules of conquering women."
"Always press an advantage."
"Always leave a unique impression."
"Get into her thoughts. . .and pants."
Lieutenant Valeria was frozen, unable to move after hearing a recruit call her "Valery."
Hearing it from him sounded…good. 'Why does it sound so good?' She questioned herself.
Looking away from the man's unblinking stare, she tried to make eye contact but couldn't hold it for more than a second.
Blushing and giving up, she settled for looking at his raven locs, "When I say useful in the bedroom," she said, clearing her throat. "I am referring to your abilities as enhancers."
Seeing his wayward expression, her eyelid twitched, and she wondered, 'What do the higher-ups see in this guy?'
"Enhancers deposit their sperm into a cultivator's mouth, vagina, or other orifices improving the cultivator's cultivation depending on each other's ranks." Not daring to ask another rhetorical question, Valeria paused and waited.
Seeing Ryan nod and wave his arms in a "shoo" motion, her eyebrows lowered, and a vein throbbed on her forehead.
Witnessing the exchange between the two, everyone stared, their gazes fixed on Ryan, wondering who he was.