SSS Cultivation: I Can Conquer Earth's Rank System-Chapter 38: Mecha-men Alert

Four days passed and the weekend was drawing near. Many things hasn't changed in Leo's life at the academy. Mr. Al declined his offer for change of room, Jade and his friend were still throwing him around for fun, he had visited Miss Charlotte of the hospital wing the third time, he hasn't had dinner yet at the canteen because he always land in some trouble every evening, Rosa's appearance before him has reduced for some reason he was thankful of, and he hasn't seen Lam yet since that day at the test arena.

Out of everything, Rosa's disappearance was what he was most grateful of. He remembered the night he was frozen against the wall by Sil, she had run up to him that night and rescued him before he froze. He wished she wasn't the one that rescued him since she was the reason he was there in the first place, but he was still grateful that he didn't die from cold. His body wasn't like the other mutants, so he couldn't resist for long.

He expected Rosa to pester him like she always does so that he can scream at her and make her see she was the reason he's being targeted by her brother. But she didn't say anything. As soon as she freed him, she left immediately after saying, "I'm sorry Leo."

She clearly understood the problem there. It's possible that she was watching as her brothers bullied Leo and that was why she was present to rescue him.

Leo has never seen her that downcast since he knew her, but he shrugged off his worry since he'll now be free from Riley and his threats, at least. Dealing with Jade and Sil was nothing to him as long as he was free of Riley.

Since then, he only ever meet Rosa at the canteen, in the classroom, and mostly at the lobby. And these times, she only says a "hello" and Leo only answers with a hummed reply. He didn't expect this reaction, but he found himself feeling a little sad that she wasn't around any longer. Rightly so, nobody has stood up for him like she did in just two days. There might be some hidden agenda on her part, but it sure made Leo feel a little important to someone for the first time.

"Seems I really want to die. I shouldn't feel sad that she's here no more. I should be happy. Riley will kill me, he promised," Leo cautioned himself.

Today is Friday and the last class day of the week. Everybody looked forward to the first weekend of the school life. The seniors promised that it was the most enjoyable thing about the academy since students can go out of the academy gate to explore the outside world but not for long. The curfew time is always shorter on weekends so students won't remain outside the school when it's already getting dark.

Leo would have loved the idea of a Saturday like the others but there are pressing matters to attend to on that day. He struggled to let it off his mind but it latched on him like an eel. Hunter Man had reminded him again about the meeting after seeing him secretly before attending one of his classes. "You have no option, Leo. You must be there. I don't think you need Loca's device but I'll give it to you if you won't give me any trouble attending the meeting of our little group, I promise. We really can help you."

That day, Hunter even asked him rigorously if he possessed any quirk at all. "Passive?" "None?" "None at all?" "Good."

Leo didn't know why he lied but he was so quick to say he didn't have any quirk at all, not even a pasisve one. To him, his passive quirk was very useless compared to the other passive quirks he's seen at the academy. He can't even use the mind communication quirk unless he finds someone with the same ability as him, and for now it is only Loca that has that. But now even Loca was not responding to his calls. "Maybe we lost the connection," he thought one day.

Classes ended early for the day as Mrs. Black was in a hurry to do some things at the staff quarters. She said a few things, gave them an assignment and stormed out of the class to the delight of the students.

Later that evening, Leo was ready to get his dinner for the first time at the canteen. He has learned to wear the black watch after a while, careful not to suffer another embarrassment from the servers. He checked the watch and saw that he has 165 credits. The school grants every student 50 credits per day but Leo hasn't been spending much on food like the others so his balance has accumulated to this point. Leo knew there are others with five times his credit balance because they are rich and their rich parents can send them more credits from home. The last time he saw Rosa's credit at the canteen, he remembered it read 620, and it might even be greater on a normal day if Rosa wasn't overspending.

He entered the large and beautiful canteen and the buzzing sound from the chattering students greeted his ears. He joined the queue silently but as he looked to his far right, he saw someone he has been seeking for the past four days. He saw Lam.

Without thinking, Leo went out of the line and started moving straight for Lam who was sitting humbled at a deserted area of the canteen. His head was downcast as he picked his food absentmindedly with his spoon.

"Hey you," Leo called when he got close. Lam raised his head to see who could be calling him. His eyes fell on Leo and fell away immediately. He didn't even spare a greeting.

Leo sat opposite him. "Have you been avoiding me, Lam? What's wrong with you?"

"No I've not. There's nothing wrong with me," Lam replied with a glum expression.

"If you're avoiding me, I get that even if I really don't. But why are you missing classes? I haven't seen you in any since school starts. Why?"

"I attended yesterday," Lam replied glumly again while stabbing the meat before him.

"What about the other days? Why are you hiding yourself? Are you scared of being bullied?"

"No."

"Yes you are. You're very scared, I can tell. Can't you see that you're already breaking yourself before they could break you? You can't continue to hide forever, Lam. You're not the only Impossible in this academy, Lam..."

As if triggered, Lam rose from his seat with an angry look. He was staring deep into Leo's body, red with rage.

"You think you're better than me?..." he said.

"No, I don't. I'm only trying to..." Leo was cut off.

"No. You really think you're better than me. You saved me from Bron once and you think you can control my life now? You think you're better than me because you got a D-rank and I got an F-rank?!"

"You're yelling, Lam. Don't cause a scene," Leo pleaded.

"You think I'm beneath you cos I'm someone that remind you that you aren't the weakest in the academy?! You think you can control me because you're a mutant with a quirk and I'M AN IMPOSSIBLE?!"

"What is giving you all these ideas, Lam? I'm only telling you to crawl out of your shell. What is wrong with you?"

"I see that's what you're telling me. I'm an Impossible and I'm stuck with shells forever so how am I supposed to crawl out? You think going out will make my life easier? You must be kidding. Whatever you have in mind against me, don't even think of it because right in this my shell, I'll get stronger and do what any Impossible has ever done! I'll beat the shitty system and become even stronger than you. Let me then see you try to lecture me on how to live my life. Let me see you try after I've caved your head in with my fist! Watch me as I become the king of all Impossibles!"

Lam stormed out of the canteen as soon as he stopped his angry outburst.

"What the freaking dust is he saying? King of Impossibles, what does that even mean? Has he gone insane?" Leo thought.

The rest of the evening went smooth. Rosa waved at Leo across the canteen when her friends wasn't watching, Leo responded with a slight nod, hoping that nobody saw that exchange.

He got back to his VIP dorm and went straight into his room. Jade wasn't around to make his evening miserable, so he locked his door and jumped on the bed. The next time he opened his eyes, it was morning.

[Happy Saturday, Leo Rayden]

[You have no busy schedule for today]

[Go out there and enjoy your day]

Leo has finally decided to input his information into the device by his bedside since Mr. Al wouldn't grant his request to change his room.

"I'm going nowhere today. I'm actually worried about something, so can you please show something to cheer me?"

Leo still found it awkward to be talking to an AI device but he's getting the hang of it lately, and he also appreciated the fact that it made things easier for him. Also, he discovered that this device wasn't present in the other dorms except for the VIPs. "How lucky I am to get this dorm. If not for Jade here, everything would have been perfect," he thought.

[Here's a few movies you can watch to pass time]

[Select the one of your choice]

The holograph displayed loads of movies with different titles. The genres he's seeing wasn't like the ones he loved when he was on earth 78 years ago. Everything has changed since the Xollante attack and so has the entertainment industry. Most of the movies here now are based off the story about earth's destruction. He saw covers of movie actors playing the role of Avengers facing some monsters that was meant to depict the Xollante. There was no satisfactory movie to see and he was careful not to trigger his traumatic disorder again.

"Take me to the comedy section," he said.

[Of course, Leo.]

[Here are a few comedy movies to keep you entertained]

There aren't as much as he would love but he selected one that showed a 60-year-old man with a quizzical look and a monkey clutched to his back. He selected that one and rested his back to enjoy.

While he watched he remained constantly bothered about his meeting with Hunter Man and his little group tonight. There was nothing he could do now but to attend. "He has caught me and now I'm in his trap. But what will happen to my hidden active quirk if I got a new quirk from the little group like Hunter promised?"

These are questions that Leo knew even the AI device by his side couldn't give an answer to. "Guess I'll never know until its done."

----------------------------------------------

Night was here already...

Leo found his way to Hunter Man's office. The man was very excited about something that was hidden to Leo. "Sit down there. We can't move until the curfew alarm is set.

Leo kept his distance from Hunter, still aware of the man's bad temper. After what felt like forever, Leo's watch beeped, indicating the curfew time, 10:00.

"You can't take that watch with you, boy. You don't want to be spotted in the school radar wandering at night. Don't you know it has a tracker?"

Leo immediately flung the watch onto Hunter's table and stood to leave. "Let's go," Hunter said.

Quietly, they stepped out of the back door of the staff quarters. "Now, we have to be careful of those Mecha-men. They are our main enemy for the night," Hunter informed. "A man's waiting for us behind the building. Even though I hate him so much, he will make our journey easier. He only can evade the Mecha-men without worry."

And as Hunter said, a thin gaunt man dressed in complete black clothes was waiting at the edge of the building. Leo hasn't seen this man before but he knew he was one of the teachers. Probably a teacher for the second-year students.

"You didn't come late today. Seems you've been taking some lessons on punctuality," the man said in a hoarse voice full of hate.

"Let's get to where we're going before giving me the opportunity to smash your face in, Allan. I hate that I have to rely on you for tonight, so don't feel too important."

"Steadily maintaining stupidity, I see. Let's leave already," Allan said. Pointing to Leo, he said, "come closer, boy. I only hate Hunter not you."

Leo got closer reluctantly and together, the three of them set out into the night. They stayed away from bright paths and only walked where there is enough darkness. Allan possesses the Shadow quirk... He can walk anywhere and remain unseen as long as there is a shadow nearby. Also, he can bend, move, stretch and make a shadow form whatever shape he wanted. While this last use might not be so appealing, it can hide him successfully if he engaged in a combat in broad daylight.

Allan can walk anywhere at night even when there is a bright floodlight overhead, but whoever was with him will be seen straight away in the exposure of the light. He can hide someone in the dark but not in the light. So, that was why they kept to the shadows of the night.

They easily walked past a patrolling mecha-man without being spotted. Leo was amazed.

After a while, they finally arrived at the second year school. They got into the empty building and made their way to an office deep in the building. Then Hunter spoke.

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"Isn't it strange that there's no one at the entrance, Allan? Greg was supposed to be waiting for us."

"I don't care if Greg waits for nobody. We're here already. The general won't be here today too, so we shouldn't keep Omal waiting," Allan replied.

"Okay, I just think it's weird, that's all... Whose office are we meeting?"

"Greg's still. And don't question me again," spat Allan.

The lobby of the first-year school was brightly lit when they got in. It was much larger than Leo's school, more beautiful and even more advanced with some hi-tech devices hanging all around.

Leo followed the two men up a short flight of stairs before turning their first left to continue the long walk down the corridor.

The closer they got to the middle of the corridor, the louder Leo heard some strange sounds ahead of them. He wondered if the two men didn't hear the sound as well because they seem unbothered by it.

One advantage that comes with Leo's passive mind communication quirk was his advanced hearing. Though his hearing isn't as sharp as someone who possessed the advanced hearing quirk first hand, but it was at least way better than other humans. Even Leo was oblivious to that fact about himself because he always thought that whatever he heard, others can hear it too.

The sound kept coming from ahead but still, the men weren't concerned. It sounded like two metals being rubbed against each other, and Leo couldn't help but feel like he has heard that irritating sound a few days ago.

"Mr. Hunter, can you hear that sound?" Leo asked.

"What sound? Just keep quiet and tag along," Hunter replied.

"They really can't hear it? But it's there, just around the corner," Leo thought.

They got to the end of the corridor silently and as soon as they took the next turning by the right, Allan who was leading the party with his hands tucked in his coat, stopped dead in his tracks.

Hunter, seeing that Allan has suddenly stopped became alarmed. He jumped out to the turning to see what Allan was scared of. To him, there was only one thing that can make a boastful Allan act scared like that, and he wished it wasn't true.

But as soon as he came out to Allan's side, he saw that it was really what he was thinking. He froze also.

Leo saw the two teachers shocked before him and he knew instantly what they had saw. The sound he heard earlier suddenly became clear to him. He knew he had heard it before but he wasn't sure where. But now, even without seeing what's producing the sound, he knew it was a Mecha-man and that sound is only made when they've activated their beast weapons.

"We're done for," Leo thought.

Allan and Hunter, after recovering from their shock, immediately turned back towards the corridor and made to run back the way they came. Leo knew what they are about to do, so he was also ready to run with them. But as soon as they turned back, they saw two other Mecha-men coming straight at them from the path they wanted to escape from.

They moved slowly and imposingly, while they turned their beast swords in their hands as a whirring sound accompanied their movements. Two strong teachers like Hunter and Allan couldn't even stand a chance against these two metal men and their beast weapons.

Having no space to escape as the Mecha-men edged closer, they are forced to move back to the turning where Allan first saw the Mecha-men.

It was then Leo's saw what Allan and Hunter had seen before...

He saw two Mecha-men stood pointing their beast weapons at a tall gaunt man named Greg, and well built man named Omal who was holding a student firmly in his grasp. Leo knew the student was another weak one that have been promised a strong quirk by Hunter's little group. Greg and Omal kept moving backwards with the boy student as the two Mecha-men kept closing in. Leo saw that soon, there won't be any room for Greg and Omal and the boy, then the Mecha-men will get them.

But his own party has their own problems too. The other two Mecha-men coming at them will come close enough any moment, and Leo didn't want to think of what might happen if a battle actually starts between the teachers and the robot men.

On a fair level, the men in those metal suits stand no chance against these teachers, but the gears donned by the men are too advanced for the teachers to handle. Their armour and weapons are made from steel and beast crystals combined, and every armour was as effective as the rank of beast it was gotten from. Seeing how these Mecha-men security service are fully funded by earth's council, there was no doubt that their equipments will come from advanced beast crystals.

"When did these bastards start getting access into school buildings?" Hunter said in a whimpering manner as they backed up.

"Well, I can just use my shadow quirk to escape even though they might predict where I am. I will still be able to escape, what do you think, Hunter?" Allan spoke with an awkward grin.

"If you ever think of leaving us here now, I'll make sure I kill you myself later," Hunter said harshly.

"That's if you make it out of here alive," Allan laughed.

The Mecha-men are now only a few feet away.

While Hunter and Allan exchanged words angrily with each other while moving backwards, Leo's eyes were glued to his far left where the Mecha-men men there are now engaged in a clash with Greg and Omal. Omal had pushed the student behind him rashly and the boy fell awkwardly on the floor.

Instantly, something clicked in Leo's head. He looked at the lump of the student's body on the floor and he immediately knew who it was.

"Lam?!" he yelled.

Leo immediately left Allan and Hunter and ran straight towards Lam who appeared to have passed out. But as he got closer, one of the Mecha-men slipped away from Omal and Greg's view and came straight at Leo with his beast weapon poised and ready...