Chapter 30: Ridiculous Rules

The sound was tiny, yet the moment he stepped forward, he felt something pass over his body, almost like moving through an invisible barrier.

"Oh," he muttered in surprise, turning around.

There was nothing there.

That was when it occurred to him.

A force field.

Most likely, anyone without a registered dorm card would simply be denied entry.

"Then this green card is quite important," he mused before turning around and continuing inside.

The pulling force became even clearer once he entered the dorm building, and before long, Declan found himself standing in a large central hall.

The card guided him toward an elevator, which swiftly carried him upward. When he stepped out, he found himself in a long corridor lined with doors, with a large balcony overlooking the bustling base floor below, where students continued to move through the building.

Declan continued down the corridor until he reached the final room at the far end of the curve.

The green card pointed directly toward a blue-colored door.

"This is it?" he mused, unconsciously releasing a breath of relief.

There was no doorknob. Instead, a scanner had been built directly into the wall beside the door, further highlighting just how important the card was.

Declan swiped it across the scanner.

BEEP.

"Welcome to your new home, Declan."

The AI’s voice rang out as the door opened, and Declan stepped inside.

It was dark at first, but the moment he fully entered and the door closed behind him, the lights came alive, illuminating a simple yet fairly spacious living room.

A woolly rug covered most of the floor, while a simple three-seater sofa with a rounded design sat alongside an equally round center table.

That was all.

Declan walked over to the sofa and placed the bag upon it before turning his attention toward the two doors on the side.

He checked them one after another, finding a bathroom behind one, complete with a basic shower and toilet.

That was all there was to it.

The third door, however, led into something far more peculiar.

The room was spacious, roughly the same size as the living area, and contained two obvious amenities: a bed and a wardrobe.

But the strange part was that another section of the room had been separated by a glass door.

Declan stepped through it and immediately noticed the difference beneath his feet.

The flooring was made from a completely different material, far harder and thicker than the rest of the room, almost as though it had been designed to withstand an enormous amount of force.

Then his eyes landed on the object hanging in the center.

A punching bag was suspended from the ceiling by a thick chain.

"A punching bag!?" Declan exclaimed in disbelief as he walked toward it.

He threw a light punch into its surface.

THUD!

The bag barely moved.

"It’s quite tough," he muttered, giving it another look.

The system panel suddenly flashed before him.

[This must be the training room. But for an academy as large as this, this is quite basic.]

Declan couldn’t exactly argue with that assessment.

Still, he didn’t find the room unbearable.

His house back in Frit had been arranged similarly, except his bedroom and living room had been combined into a single space.

In a way, this was actually better.

"It’s enough," he replied to the system before returning to the sofa.

He sat down, unzipped the bag, and placed its remaining contents onto the glass table: the boxed device, the memory card, and the green card.

Declan opened the box and found a communication device inside.

It was thin as a blade and wide as a book, folded neatly in half.

He unfolded it, revealing a 7.6-inch screen tinged with a liquid-like glow. A soft hum followed as the display slowly came to life.

"A Razor Galaxy Z Fold, Mega Spec," Declan muttered, his eyes glinting with slight surprise.

The Head Scientist from his time working with the Mechnoheart Organization had used the same device.

It wasn’t merely expensive; it was a genuine performance-oriented beast, capable of handling far more than an ordinary communication device.

Quite surprising that such a device was being handed to newcomers of the academy.

Once the main screen appeared, Declan scrolled through the basic applications, but nothing appeared to be related to the academy.

Then it occurred to him.

He picked up the tiny pin that had come with the device and used it to open the memory slot before inserting the memory card he’d been given.

The moment he pushed the filled slot back into the phone, several notifications appeared across the screen, and Declan watched as a number of new applications began downloading themselves.

He examined them more closely.

They contained exactly what he needed: information about X Guard Academy.

He remembered the woman’s instructions.

Read the rules first. Familiarize yourself with the map.

So Declan navigated to the application labeled Rules and began reading.

At first, his expression remained neutral.

Then his eyes widened.

Until ultimately—

"What the fuck is this!?"

The Rules app had a boxy interface, with each box representing a single rule.

There were twenty-one boxes in total.

Declan skimmed through them, but some were so ridiculous that he could barely believe them.

One of them was Rule 1, and it went like this:

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[{Rule 1: Points Are Life!}]

Points determine privilege.Meals, modules, and medical pods are purchased with points.

Run out, and you lose access to meals, Mecha Modules, and even the ability to heal from training injuries.

Note:Every newcomer receives 100 free points.

Even More Important Note:They can be taken from you by others.

_____________

"This is ridiculous," Declan muttered in disbelief.

Even if he agreed that meals and Mecha Modules ought to be a student’s responsibility, that was fine.

But lacking access to medical pods for healing training injuries, injuries caused by the school’s own training?

That was outrageous.

To make matters worse, it was explicitly stated that others could take away points.

That was an outright declaration that thieving was part of the system, and the academy was practically encouraging it.

A school like this, and such a thing existed?

What was this, the 2000s!?

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

The next rule was even more ridiculous.

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[{Rule 3: Forbidden Grounds: Upper Divisions}]

The X-Guard Academy has three sectors.

The first sector is designated for newcomers, the second for second-years, and the third for third-years.

The second and third sectors are strictly forbidden to lower ranks.

Unauthorized entry will result in a point deduction, and the deeper one ventures into the territory, the more points will be lost.

If a second or third-year student catches an offending student, they may face disciplinary action for the infiltration.

Note:Having your points reduced is automatic from the Academy.

Getting your ass whooped doesn’t mean you won’t get deducted points. It means you just got taught an extra lesson.

_____________

Imagine losing your way and not only getting your points deducted, even though they were clearly essential for survival, but also getting beaten up by senior students.

What happened to the common sense of simply having someone direct you to the right area?

Now it made sense why the woman had told him to read and familiarize himself with the map.

If he lost his way and mistakenly wandered into forbidden territory, he might lose everything.

Another absurd rule was Rule 5.

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[{Rule 5: The Challenge System}]

Students may issue ranked duels. Victory awards 30% of the loser’s total points; defeat costs half of your own.

However, duels require instructor approval, and the challenger must possess at least 200 points to offer a challenge.

Note:Newcomers are under a No-Challenge protection for two weeks.

Important Note:While you can refuse a duel from someone who has challenged you more than twice before, you cannot refuse duels three times from three different people.

Your fourth challenge must be accepted!

Very Important Note:Duels must be approved by an instructor, who also determines the winner or loser. Hiring an instructor requires a payment of 50 points.

Caution Note:The points possessed by every student are listed on the Points Ranking and can be seen by the entire student body.

_____________

While Declan understood that this was a way for students to earn points, it was still ridiculous.

Want to duel someone?

Well, you must have 200 points, then go rent an instructor for 50 points.

If you lose, you lose half your entire point net worth.

Imagine renting an instructor for 50 points just for him to watch your ass get whooped badly.

How ridiculous was that!?

And besides, there was a Points Ranking, making it difficult to gather points in peace.

The amount of points he had would always be displayed, meaning the challenges would be endless once he became a big fish.

Where was the peace that was supposed to come from having enough points?

If, once you had enough, greedy eyes immediately locked onto you, waiting for their chance to challenge you?

How was this supposed to be a fair system of earning points?

This was plain robbery in a fucking suit and tie.

The last ridiculous rule was the final one on the list.

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[{Rule 21: Zero Point Protocol}]

Students with 0 points for a week will be relocated to the ’Reclaim Wing.’

Important Note:The details of the Reclaim Wing program are confidential.

Advisory Note: Try to avoid letting your points drop to a complete zero...please.

_____________

They were supposed to go through a Reclaim Wing program, yet the information about the program wasn’t even revealed.

When he finished scrolling through the rules, his eyes darkened.

"This is ridiculous."

[Kinda looks alright to me.]