24 - Gates [1]

Professor Kenivale caught me red-handed while I was lost in my own thoughts.

Beyond that, however, he seemed to have some interest in me, his crimson eyes locking in on me at intervals.

From where I sat, at the back of the class, I could see the burgeoning curiosity in his vampiric eyes.

Clearly, that strange air of interest that swirled around him was directed towards me.

Having called me out to the entire class for losing concentration, Professor Kenivale threw a question about Gates at me.

I could go on and on about them but there were huge chunks of information concerning the topic asked which I dared not reveal, how much more in a class full of cadets.

Giving an extensive explanation beyond what I should have knowledge of would draw unnecessary attention.

I had a light bulb moment, almost as though a switch in my brain was flicked on.

But rather than a way to exploit the situation, it was a question.

I needed an answer to that question to weigh the risk and benefits of divulging such information.

’If I said all I know about the Gates, I would gain attention beyond what I can handle right now. Every eye, especially the academy’s administration, would be on me all day and everyday.’

It was an exhausting thing to think about as I let out a soft, shallow breath.

’But then, there is a favourable side to this. Although I don’t know the possibility, neither can I accurately predict. However, if I gained such a level of attention... how will the system react to it? Will it give me a reward? Will I have taken another bold step towards a major scenario?’

These were the unchecked variables that kept me mum for now. Worse off, there were factors not directly under my control.

"Do educate all of us here on the concept of Gates and their rankings," he said, a pause following shortly after as he gestured his hand across the classroom as if showing me who my audience were.

"You don’t mind doing that, right?"

Affirming my intention to answer with a nod, I straightened my posture as I stood and started speaking.

"Gates, in layman terms, are holes in space, Professor but they are beyond that. They are intrusions. Interruptions in our normal atmosphere."

I took a pause and glanced across the class.

All eyes were on me like a spotlight, even the Professor’s.

He adjusted himself and leaned against the podium, paying even closer attention to what I was saying.

"Gates, more appropriately, are distortions, tears in space even, that appear and merge our world with another. The sizes and quality of Gates vary depending on how much Essence is emitted. That is also what determines the rank or category of a Gate."

I raised both my hands, revealing my ten fingers. "Gates are ranked from levels 0 to 9, corresponding with the standard awakeners’ ability ranks of F to SSS. With each increase in the level of a Gate, comes an increase in difficulty with which its challenges would present themselves."

"That’s good enough, Remington. Please sit."

"Thank you, Professor."

I sat back down, relaxing and blowing out air. Perhaps, he could tune down the intensity of his focus on me.

Wendy nudged my shoulder from the side and winked at me. "My sweetheart is a smart one."

I smiled and nodded.

Bran leaned forward, exposing his face with a doubtful look. "Hey, Link. I thought you swore you didn’t study."

I scratched the back of my neck and chuckled wryly. "Well..."

"Remington did significant justice to that," Professor Kenny continued from where I stopped. "The first appearance of a Gate dates back hundreds of years ago and until now, we are still unable to completely understand its core origin and how to completely extinguish them."

He raised a finger up. "But one thing is certain. We have come a long way with tackling these alien threats, so much so that the different races of this world have, for the most part, united under one banner to sustain their survival."

He turned back and walked over to the board, picking his marker from where it rested and writing something.

When he was done, I could see the words: "Gate Rankings" and "Levels 0 - 9".

"As Remington already told us, Gates have 10 levels ranked from 0 to 9 with increasing difficulty, and rewards as well, as you go high in the ranks. Our dummy gate is an example of a level 0, one that possesses almost no threat to even normal, unawakened individuals.

"However, the alien Level 0 Gates should not be underestimated as they are also called the Seed. Can anyone tell us why they have such a moniker?"

Before Professor Kenny could even finish his question, Wendy’s hand shot up into the air.

I lowered my head briefly in disappointment.

’Is this really the right time to try and impress the teacher?’

Just when I was starting to feel comfortable with the vampire professor loosening his focus on me, my sweet and lovely girlfriend decided to pull that attention back to us.

"Yes, Arclight."

Wendy rose from her chair with so much energy that left Bran and I glanced at each other, puzzled.

I shrugged and so did Bran.

"They are called the Seed because they can grow to mature into any of the other levels of Gates without particularly scaling up in a strict order. For example, a level 0 when not handled can mature into a level 4, skipping level 1 to 3."

"You are right. Please have your seat, Arclight."

Despite the gloomy atmosphere which Professor Kenny had introduced when he came into the class, everybody was becoming more relaxed.

As the class proceeded, we became more comfortable and even the vampire started to cheer up, releasing the tension stored in his face that it almost stiffened.

About an hour and thirty minutes passed.

"Good that you have grasped all of the concepts concerning Gates. Am I right?"

"""Yes, Professor Kenivale!"""

We chorused our response.

A second later, the vampire’s face bore a twisted smile.

"How about we put that into practice then?" he asked.

We were dumbfounded.

Some of us hinted at what he possibly meant. Others didn’t.

"We will be attempting a dungeon raid. Prepare yourselves," Professor Kenny added.

"When is that, Professor?"

The vampire smiled even more, walking towards Frank Williams who had asked the question.

The professor stared at him briefly, causing Frank to swallow his saliva in fear that he had asked a triggering question.

The vampire then lifted his eyes to the rest of us.

"We leave in the next half hour."