After the test concluded and all the students had taken part and done their thing, Mikeal was lying unconscious in the infirmary—back in the same bed he'd woken up in on the first day he got there.
Here's the thing: the tests were completed three days ago, meaning there was a very real possibility that Mikeal had been out for three straight days.
The day had just begun, and the nurse opened the curtain window. The shining bright sun hit Mikeal directly in the face. The nurse's name was Rachel.
She was a tall, blonde-haired middle-aged woman—very attractive—and a few of the younger boys couldn't help but drool over her, especially since some parts of her nurse's uniform were... a little revealing.
Mikeal groaned and opened his tired, stinging eyes.
"Oh good, you're finally awake. After your test, I wasn't so sure if you were still alive or not."
Rachel walked over to check his heart monitor.
"How long was I out?" Mikeal asked, rubbing his head from a minor headache.
"Mmh, let's see... What day is it? Oh, right—you've been asleep for three consecutive days," Rachel answered, checking on his IV.
Mikeal swore he must have misheard her. Three days? He didn't want to believe it.
Rachel scribbled something down on a chart she was holding.
"Well, looks like you're all better."
Mikeal sat up—only to realize he was completely naked.
"Uhm... where is my suit? And why am I completely naked?"
Rachel didn't even bother to look away or act shy. She just stood there calmly and replied:
"Oh, one of your friends brought you some clothes. Check the cabinet."
Mikeal followed her suggestion and found his clothes inside the cabinet, quickly putting them on.
"Am I free to go?" he asked.
"Oh yeah. You seem completely fine—actually better than fine. So, off you go."
Rachel opened the door for him.
"Thanks."
Mikeal nodded and walked out.
The hallway was surprisingly empty and quiet—odd for a place housing around 300 students. Mikeal walked slowly, noticing that his shoulder no longer ached. No pain. Nothing.
He was distracted, not paying attention to where he was going, and almost got hit by a door opening from another student coming in.
"Oh! Sorry, my bad," the student apologized.
"Nah, it's okay. You didn't hit me," Mikeal replied, without even making eye contact.
At first, the student didn't recognize him. Understandably so—Mikeal's black silky hair covered most of his face.
But then... the student stopped, turned back, and looked closely.
To his surprise—it was Mikeal Park.
He didn't even bother going where he'd planned. He just shouted down the hallway:
"He's here!!"
In seconds, the hallway was packed. A crowd formed around Mikeal. Some students shook his hand. Others clapped. A few complimented him.
"Good job, man! How did you do it?" one male student asked.
"Make way, excuse me! Give him some space!"
A beautiful girl forced her way through the crowd—and suddenly hugged Mikeal.
Mikeal was beyond confused. He didn't understand why he was being treated like a celebrity or an honored war hero.
The beautiful girl's name was Natasha Slaugh. She had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, golden eyes, and carried the kind of presence that made her the popular girl in school.
"Hello there, handsome. My name's Natasha Slaugh—but you can call me Nat," she said, arms draped over his shoulders.
Mikeal, caught off guard by her beauty, stammered:
"I–uhm, I'm—"
"Pardon me, excuse me."
Another girl's voice interrupted the moment as she parted the crowd.
She politely thanked Natasha, then separated her from Mikeal—and pulled him away.
"Alexia? What the hell is going on?" Mikeal asked as she kept dragging him along.
Alexia led him outside, away from the chaos.
"You're welcome," she said flatly, still tugging at his wrist.
They entered another building—one much larger than the rest. Huge. Enormous. One of the biggest buildings in the entire military complex.
This was the headquarters—and inside, it was filled with rooms like a massive, high-tech mall. A building that had almost everything.
"Where are we going? What are we doing here?" Mikeal asked, trying to resist.
"Just come," Alexia insisted, dragging him further in.
Finally, they entered one of the rooms.
This room was lined with statues of fallen heroes—soldiers who had died fighting the cannibals. Mikeal walked around, reading their names.
Then… he stopped.
He found a familiar name.
Solomon Grant.
"Solomon Grant. A friend, a brother, and a father. But most importantly, a brave soldier."
Those words were etched into the stone beneath his statue.
Mikeal's face fell.
Alexia noticed the change in him. She hadn't meant for them to stop and read everything—that was why she'd been rushing.
"I'm sorry, Scar... but you just have to trust me," Alexia said, her voice heavy.
Mikeal gave up resisting. He followed her deeper into the memorial room.
On the far side of the room, a small crowd of students had gathered—not as packed as the hallway, but enough to be noticeable.
"Please excuse us," Alexia said as she cut through the students.
"Okay, where are you taking me?" Mikeal finally demanded.
"Just look," Alexia said, turning his head to face the wall.
Thanks to the military's advanced tech, a holographic screen displayed the names of every student and their graded levels.
At the top were low grades—levels one through three—each group listing five names together.
Mikeal scrolled his eyes downward—until he found the bottom.
There they were:
Alexia Sky, Celine Gates, Hector House, Griffin Hart… and Mikeal Park.
They were listed last—but not because they were failures.
They were the top five.
The highest-graded first-year students, all ranked Level Five—the best of their entire class.
"There you guys are," said Hector, walking up to them.
Mikeal was stunned.
"H-h-how is this even possible?"
"Well, you better believe it," came a voice.
Sgt. Damascus and Lt. Ashley Grey had just arrived.
They weren't alone. Behind them were Griffin and Celine, walking quietly.
"You three, come with us," Lt. Ashley Grey ordered.
The entire room fell silent.
Everyone shifted out of the way, avoiding eye contact with the two commanding officers.
Feeling the tension, Mikeal broke the silence:
"Okay."
The five followed them out of the room and into the memorial hallway. As soon as they left, the other students finally exhaled.
"Phew! That was close," one male student sighed.
As they walked, all eyes locked onto them—especially on Mikeal, who had become something of a big deal.
Walking behind the others, Mikeal leaned toward Hector.
"Hector, what the hell is going on?" he whispered.
"Come on. Don't pretend like you don't know," Hector replied.
It wasn't that Mikeal was acting clueless—he genuinely had no idea why people were treating him like a legend all of a sudden.
As they passed through groups of soldiers and students, Sgt. Damascus and Lt. Ashley Grey were greeted with respectful salutes.
But the five students?
They were just stared at.
"Wow. Talk about staring much," Griffin muttered to the girls.
They walked past a group of students huddled over a smart card, watching something.
When they noticed the five approaching, they quickly shut it off and looked away.
"Is that him?" one male student asked.
"Shh! Keep your voice down. You want them to hear you?" another reprimanded.
This was turning into a very weird day for Mikeal. He still didn't know what was happening, or why today, of all days, people were acting like this.
And he hated this kind of attention.
After walking for a while, Sgt. Damascus finally opened the door to his office.
Everyone stepped inside.
And he shut the door behind them.