588: Settling In

Settling In

Once the entrance ceremony was over, all the students were escorted out of the exam center by the guards, and sent through a teleport portal. The Vanguards were sent to the Vanguards dorm, while the Supports were sent to their own.1

When we exited out of the teleporter, however, what we found shocked our eyes.

The dorm building wasn't on the ground. It was hovering in the air, interconnected with countless other buildings through gravity corridors and passages that shone bright blue through their transparent windows amidst the dark of night. It was a beautiful sight, like a massive city in the air (not Celestica) but futuristic and sci-fi-esque. 

"… Wow."

That's the only words that came out of mouth, along with many others. Everyone had not been expecting to see this sight upon coming out of the teleporter, and even the most unconcerned people, like Claire of Zhao Xiuying, were looking up in awe.

It was very impressive, truly, that the IMF could make something like this in the matter of a few days since the meeting to decide what the future of Fragment was going to look like—not to mention all the other construction projects they had to work on as well, such as the actual IMF Tower and the rest of the Fragment Commonwealth.

It was interesting, indeed. I had no idea how they even made this happen, but it certainly was impressive.

There were two sets of escalators on the ground - one leading to the lowest building on the left in terms of altitude in the air, and one leading to the lowest building on the right by the same criteria. The Supports were led to the right one, while the Vanguard was led to the left.

Upon arrival, it was revealed that these were, in fact, the dormitories. The Vanguard one was exceptionally more impressive than the Support one, which made sense, but still, the Support one was far from 'bad'. 

Both were designed to have a similar style to hotels for convenience, but with a fresh twist on it. The color scheme was light blue and white, very futuristic just like the rest of this place. In all honesty, it looked more like a research facility, except the actual interior layout was that of a hotel.

In the front lobby, Tian Lin, apparently responsible for the Vanguard, had us line up properly, where he explained what this place was for. Of course, we could already guess just based on our surroundings, but an explanation was still in order for this kind of thing.

"This is the Dormitory Campus for the Vanguard," he said, sticking true to the old naming fashion of the University of Fragment before it was destroyed. "Here, each Elite-Support tag-team will have their own suite to live in, with electricity, water, and heating already supplied. There is also room service is you wish, but for the most part, you will be left to your own devices here. Privacy and security is maximum, and you will be able to enjoy safe, undisturbed rest in your room. You all are free to do whatever you wish in your suites, so long as both of you are alright with it. If you aren't, however, just send in a report to a staff member and we will speak to the other party."

"Wow... I feel rich..." Someone murmured in the crowd, and a few other comments along the same lines surfaced as well.

"At this academy, we give you lots of freedom," Tian Lin continued. "Follow instructions, obey superiors, and meet expectations. That is all we ask. Apart from that, you are free to do as you wish. There is also a Recreational Campus, but you can explore that in your own time as you get used to the layout of this new school."

I wonder... the recreational campus... will it just be like the old one?

"If there aren't any questions, go up to the counter there. Stay lined up in a organized fashion, and you will soon receive the keys to your rooms. They were all decided randomly, so no complaining about window rooms or anything of the sort. If I hear a word from the staff here about someone whining about how they don't like which room they got, some punishments may be in order."

Geez... he's stricter than he lets on in the Infinite Realm...

"Oh, and remember," he added as the students approached the counter where two receptionists sat, ready to accommodate them. "This will be your homes for the next few years, and although there is an auto-cleaning feature, it is best not to rely on it lest it gets rid of something important to you. Always keep your rooms clean and tidy is my suggestion to you, but if you do not care and want it to be as messy as possible, that is up to you as well. It is your home, not mine. And one final note..."

He stared at us Elites in particular, before speaking.

"Keep in mind Supports are not your slaves. In your tag-team, the two of you are equals. As you will soon find out, without a Support, you Elites won't be able to accomplish anything on your own. As such, do your best to formulate a good relationship with your partner. That's all."

With his signature 'That's all', he left the building, leaving us to our own devices. Of course, given the security cameras all around, just because he left didn't mean we weren't under supervision anymore. Everyone realized that, and thus followed the directions left to us obediently.

By some miracle, all the girls and I got our rooms on the same floor, and on that floor, there was no one else either. The girls were surprised by this and marked it off as just good luck, but I knew better. Someone in the management team did something to make this happen on purpose - if I had to guess, Ling Xin.

... She's probably up to no good again, I swear...

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