Mech Arena : The Book

The Poorest District

With the Dean overseeing the new generation of students heading toward the core of the city, transportation was made simple, as they used the teleportation array controlled by the academy.

Because of ahow expensive it was to operate, the teleportation array was almost never used. In fact, it was nearly nonexistent in daily academy operations, as the Dean seemed to dread the cost of activating it.

He only allowed its use when he wasn't the one paying for it, fortunately for him, the cost of this particular teleportation had already been covered by the city administration, and there were even extra space stones left over for future use. 

That alone explained why the Dean looked unusually eager and happy despite the fact they were using the teleportation array.

Students within the academy were grouped according to their age brackets, and at the moment about three hundred students from the F-Class, all aged eighteen or nineteen, were being transported to the core district of the city.

For these students, the journey had a single purpose, those who successfully formed a connection with one of the created system guardians would have the chance to awaken their talents.

_ _

After arriving in the core district of Phoenix City, they quickly realized that they weren't the only group there for an awakening ceremony.

Students from the other regions of Phoenix City had also gathered, the moment the F-Class students stepped out of the teleportation station, countless eyes turned toward them.

Whispers immediately spread through the crowd, some people sneered, while others deliberately moved aside, clearly trying to distance themselves from them.

Phoenix City itself was divided into seven major regions: S, A, B, C, D, E, and F.

Beyond these districts was the Core Area, where the City Lord and the governing executives responsible for the city's major decisions resided and conducted their affairs, the A Region was known for housing those who lived almost like royalty. 

It controlled the best resources, and many of the most powerful clans and institutions were located there, forming a balance of influence against the city's military forces.

Below it came the B Region, then C, and so on.

Naturally, the F Region stood at the very bottom of the hierarchy, and it was widely known as the poorest district, with the least resources and the lowest prestige in the entire city.

In fact, the number of portal appearances in Region F and the beast wave attacks they suffered were so frequent that it had been labeled the Region of Bad Luck.

So when people from other regions saw those from Region F, the first thought that came to their minds was to stay away. In fact, even Regions E and D, which were only slightly better off than them, always acted as if they were far superior to Region F.

They often seemed to thank their lucky stars that Region F existed, because otherwise all those disdainful glances might have been directed at them instead.

Jake turned to look at the students who were currently staring at them with a clear sense of superiority, and he couldn't help the anger that began to well up in his heart just from looking at them.

"You all shouldn't think too much about them. All of this will end after you take the Awakening test. If any one of you manages to awaken a very strong talent, you'll quickly realize how eager they will be to bring you over to their side," the teacher, Mr. Charles, said as he noticed the state of his students.

Though some had their heads lowered after hearing the snickers and the disdain directed toward them, there were also a few more courageous students who felt determined to make those who looked at them with such eyes pay for it.

So before something unsightly happened, Mr. Charles swiftly spoke up, in previous years there had been incidents where other students mocked those from Region F, which led to fights that ended badly, with the Region F students beaten black and blue and forced to realize yet another gap between the regions.

And that was because while many kids in Region F were struggling just to survive, trying to secure their next meal after school, doing small menial jobs, or going to the scrapyards to search for precious metals that had been abandoned so they could sell them to Amateur Forgers in the F region with hopes of earning a few Alliance Coins, most of the kids from Regions S, A, B and C were already taking combat classes and would easily wipe the floor with students from the lesser regions.

The atmosphere that seemed ready to explode like gunpowder was finally restrained when they saw the students from the S, A, and B regions coming out.

The moment they stepped out, guild representatives, members of the army from different regions, and several government officials immediately moved toward them, all trying to recruit them into their ranks.

Almost all of them had managed to awaken, and the few who hadn't quietly slipped away from the scene before the F region students even arrived, the uniforms of these three top regions were not only beautiful but regal, almost giving the impression that they were royalty.

"The students from the S, A, and B regions are always allowed to take their tests first, while the other four regions take theirs afterward," the teacher explained quietly. 

"This way, the top guilds, family clans trying to tie talented individuals into their bloodlines through marriage, and the army can assess them more easily."

"They arranged it this way so they wouldn't be overwhelmed by the sheer number of students they have to check through, the second reason is simply because they don't think much of the students from the other four regions."

"And to be honest, it's not like we can completely blame them, almost all the exceptional Cybernetic Soldiers who awakened in previous years have chosen to align themselves with those top cities, so you can bet their descendants are very likely to awaken strong talents, if not top-tier talents. That's why the hierarchy continues to shift."

The teacher said this carefully, making sure his voice stayed low, but then the Dean heard and turned toward him, scolding him for putting such thoughts into the students' heads.

But Mr. Charles only smiled nervously, raising his hands in the air to show that he meant no harm.

"Students of Regions C, D, E, and F are to step into the Awakening Hall now," a loud voice echoed through the hall where they had been waiting, making them realize that it was finally time for them to know their fate.