Mako and Erin exchanged nervous glances, the gravity of the professor’s words sinking in. They knew the stakes were high, but the thought of failing the exam due to just an

intervention was daunting. The room was filled with a tense silence as everyone processed the information.

Finally, Erin broke the silence, her voice steady but tinged with determination. “Professor, what exactly is the punishment for failing this exam?”

Mako nodded in agreement. “Yeah, what would happen if one of us slipped up and caused the intervention to happen?”

Professor Curtis gave a grim look as he replied,” If you fail the exam, it simply tells us that you are not ready yet… You won’t get the rewards, you won’t get a promotion, and worst of all, your spot in the military school may also be questioned with the worst-case scenario being that you are asked to leave the military school…”

A heavy silence followed Professor Curtis’s words once again, Mako, Erin, and Bill all feeling the weight of the potential consequences. The thought of being expelled from the military school was terrifying; it was a future they all dreaded. The pressure to succeed had just intensified.

Mako clenched his fists, determination steeling his features. “Then we can’t afford to fail. We have to be at our best, no matter what.”

Mako was never one to back down from a challenge and being optimistic and open to endless possibilities of tomorrow was one of the life lessons that his grandmother had ingrained into his very soul. Now he would do everything in his power to overcome this challenge alongside his friends.

Erin nodded, her resolve matching his. “We need to work together, watch each other’s backs, and this time… we will make sure no one gets left behind.”

She spoke with true courage and emotion as she gave a warm smile toward Bill; however, Bill’s expression didn’t match the same energy as Mako and Erin’s.

Bill had a saddened almost worrying expression on his face as he weakly opened his mouth to speak.

“Professor… What would happen to someone like me…? You said that I should be able to recover within 1-2 weeks, but nobody knows for certain how long will it take for me to be back at my peak strength. What if I haven’t recovered enough by the time the special exam begins… Will I get expelled…?” Bill asked Professor Curtis in a trembly and weakened voice.

The energy that Mako had brought into the room with his determination and optimism was quickly overshadowed by Bill’s very grim and serious question.

Both Mako and Erin’s heads quickly turned back toward Professor Curtis with eyes begging for his response.

They had been so concerned with themselves that they hadn’t even considered Bill’s condition as there was a very real chance that he wouldn’t have recovered enough to participate in the special exam with his full strength.

Professor Curtis sighed, his expression softening as he looked at Bill. “Bill, your situation is unique. The military school values not only strength but also resilience and determination. Although I doubt that you won’t be able to fully recover before the exam starts, if you are unable to participate in the special exam due to your current condition, your situation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.”

He paused, making sure Bill and the others understood the gravity of his words. “We don’t want to punish anyone for circumstances beyond their control. If you’re not fully recovered by the time the exam begins, you will most likely be given an alternative assessment or another chance when you are back to full strength. However, you won’t receive the same privileges and rewards that you would have received if you participated in the actual exam…”

“This is why I tested you today, Bill. I wanted to ensure that you could master your emotions and suppress your mutant gene before the exam begins. Several strong cadets can wield abilities based on the emotional spectrum. If you were to face any of them in your current state, there would be little anyone could do to stop you from going berserk like you did today…” He added.

“I was hoping to see you fight back and struggle, but I had gravely miscalculated in not acknowledging the importance of the person that has become your main trigger which has led to you getting a lot more injured than what I expected. Although the timing will be quite close, I do believe that you will be able to recover in time for the exam,” Professor Curtis finished with his usual warm and jolly smile.

Bill nodded slowly, relief mingling with his lingering worry. “Thank you, Professor. I’ll do my best to recover as quickly as possible.”

Erin placed a reassuring hand on Bill’s shoulder. “We’re all in this together, Bill. We’ll help you in any way we can.”

Bill smiled back at Erin; however, this time his smile didn’t carry any real emotion behind it at all. This was because as soon as he had obtained the answer to a big question mark that was inside his head, his mind already began to formulate a plan and that plan wasn’t going to be very pleasant for him.

Professor Curtis smiled, pleased to see the camaraderie and support among Mako, Bill, and Erin. “That’s the spirit. Remember, this mission is not just about individual strength but about teamwork and strategy. Support each other, and you’ll have a much better chance of success.”

*Crash!*

Just as Professor Curtis finished giving his wisdom and advice to the tri, two more figures crashed into the recovery room, visibly panicked and distraught.

“Sorry, we’re late…” Leon said as he panted with his hands on his knees.

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

When Erin had sent out the encrypted message, She knew that Mako was the only one who could talk some sense into Bill as he knew him the longest, but she didn’t only send it to Mako, but also to Leon and Nathan as they were members of their team as well and had a right to know too.

However, unlike Mako, Leon and Nathan were both in the middle of their specialized training course and weren’t able to read the message immediately.

Once they had finally been permitted to finish and leave for the day, they were so exhausted that they could have fallen and slept right there on the ground and that was when they read Erin’s message which was sent half an hour ago.

They quickly deciphered the text and were shocked to learn what had happened. They read through it very quickly and looked up the location of the head nurse’s office on their cards only to find it to be located on the complete opposite side of the military school.

“AUGHHHHHH! Why did it have to be so far away…” Leon complained as he was too exhausted for this but he knew he had to suck it up because the situation was also quite

serious.

“You ready, Nathan?” Leon asked as he did a couple of stretches to warm up his tired muscles

once again.

Nathan just quietly nodded. He wasn’t a big fan of the idea Leon had in mind, but he also knew that there was no faster way to reach the head nurse’s office than this.

“Okay… Here we… GO!” Leon shouted with Nathan strapped to his back as he activated his speed ability and began sprinting through the military school complex in order to reach the

nurse’s office as quickly as possible.

******

As soon as they crashed onto the floor of the recovery room, Nathan quickly sprinted to the nearest trash can to vomit from motion sickness due to Leon’s extreme speed which he was

still not quite used.

“That idiot better have a good explanation for all of this…!” Nathan said coldly as he wiped his dirty mouth while remaining hunched on the ground with his face still over the trash can. It took both of them to recover from their speedy trip and while they did that, Professor Curtis decided to take his leave, allowing for the youngster to talk amongst themselves in private. Erin explained the situation to Nathan and Leon but tweaked the original story a bit as she didn’t tell them about Bill’s suicide plan but rather simply told them that the power was too great from him to control and he simply went berserk.

Nathan and Leon were rightfully shocked to learn about just how much destruction Bill had done to his own body, not to mention the state of the training room which he had also

wrecked.

Mako also told them about the conversation they just had with Professor Curtis about the special exam that was going to talk place in approximately 2 weeks time.

Similar to Mako, Leon was also very excited as he was itching for a chance to go wild again and now he was a lot stronger than before; however, Nathan was a bit more composed and calculated as he understood the importance of the exam and what it meant for him in order

reach his goals.

While everyone was talking and sharing information, Bill had remained silent this entire time and not once did a smile appear on face. After going through the possibilities in his head, he finally made up his mind and steeled his resolve before weakly opening his mouth.

“Mako… I need you to… to poison me…”