Tianjing Academy's cafeteria was known for its solid quality, with the Mecha and Starship departments enjoying the best perks. Marlon was feeling generous today and headed straight for the second floor—the à la carte section. It occasionally featured specialty ingredients from the Moon, Mars, or even Titan. While they all shared Earthly origins, the difference lay in the raw materials. Titan beef was in a league of its own, and its price tag reflected that. The meat was exceptionally fresh and juicy, enriched by rare energies and Titan-element saturation—a genuine physiological boost for any pilot. Marlon was in high spirits, ordering a steak for everyone as the group dug in with relish.
"You guys heard, right? Principal Long is beyond frustrated with the Mecha department's performance last year," Marlon said, washing down his food with a bit of beer. "The selection process for this year's team has changed. He's already hand-picked a few captains, and our Class Rep is one of them. My money's on her. Hunter and Jason? Those guys are hacks. Wyatt, you're definitely in, right?"
Wyatt nodded silently and signaled for a second steak. Marlon's cheek twitched—he'd forgotten the sheer caloric intake these monsters were capable of. He'd promised they could eat their fill, but he might have spoken too soon.
"I'll take another one too," Zack added, sensing a rare opportunity to bleed Marlon's wallet dry.
"Seriously? Where's the humanity?" Marlon scrambled to save face as the bill climbed. "One more each, that's it! You're eating into my wedding fund. Anyway, has the Class Rep picked her roster yet?"
"I'm in. No word on the others yet," Wyatt replied.
"I knew it. Our roommate here is the one with the real future. We'll all be riding your coattails soon," Marlon said without a hint of irony. Wyatt came from the Cross family—an old martial arts lineage. Despite his background, he lacked any hint of arrogance and trained harder than anyone. Talent, resources, and an insane work ethic—it was a recipe for success.
Wyatt looked slightly embarrassed just as Sienna arrived. "Sorry I'm late, got caught up with something. What's the occasion? You guys are eating like kings."
"First day of the semester," Marlon said quickly, pulling out a chair for her. "Just giving the boys a morale boost. Sit here, babe." Sienna smiled and sat down. As a junior, she was the center of Marlon's universe; they'd been together for a year and were clearly still in the honeymoon phase. Once she arrived, Marlon basically stopped acknowledging the rest of them.
Leo and the others were used to it, though suddenly, the expensive beef didn't taste quite as good to the single guys at the table.
The atmosphere in the cafeteria shifted as two more figures approached with trays. The general roar of conversation dipped into hushed whispers.
Nina and Noctis. News of Noctis's arrival at Tianjing Academy had spread like wildfire. She was easily the most hyped freshman of the year. Most expected her to choose NUP given their superior resources, yet she had chosen Tianjing instead.
Nina spotted Leo. "Noctis, I need to have a word with Leo. It'll just take a second."
"Nina, since we're here, let's just eat together," Noctis suggested.
Nina didn't mind. As they walked over, Noctis stopped by Zack and gave him a faint smile. "Senior, do you mind if I take this seat?"
Zack froze for a split second before practically catapulting out of his chair. "No problem at all. It's yours."
Noctis sat next to Leo, while Nina took the spot opposite him. The rest of the table watched, unsure of what was happening. Sienna, being in the Journalism department, knew Nina well and offered a friendly greeting, her curiosity piqued by Noctis.
"Leo, Principal Long has overhauled the mechanism for the Mecha Combat Competition this year," Nina began. "I'll be leading one of the selected teams. Do you want in?"
The table went silent. Leo blinked, looking stunned. "Me? I'll pass. We already have Wyatt representing the dorm."
"What if it's Principal Long specifically asking for you?" Nina kept her eyes locked on Leo, searching for a reaction. The old principal had moved him from Journalism to Mecha, and now Diana Long was giving him this opening. Knowing Diana's personality, she wouldn't do this as a favor; it meant Leo was a "problem" she wanted to solve—or a talent she wanted to test.
"Can I say no?" Leo asked. He wondered what the angle was here. Was it...
Nina sensed he was dodging the question. Ever since she'd offered to help him train yesterday, his tone had been one of polite indifference. It grated on her.
"No. It's a direct order from the Principal. You have to participate. Whether you actually make the final cut depends on your performance," Nina said firmly.
Leo shrugged helplessly. "Alright, Class Rep. I'll join. But you know my situation—I work late frequently, so my training schedule might be a bit erratic."
Beside him, Noctis suddenly set her fork down with a sharp clack. Everyone looked at her.
She smiled at Leo. "Senior, I'm looking forward to being teammates. With great power comes great responsibility. Sometimes, being a bit more proactive works out better."
There was a hidden meaning in her words. But who was she targeting? Leo?
"Leo, you're a dark horse. Since when do you know the 'Goddess of Pupils'?" Sienna asked. Wyatt was a combat nut and Zack was a shut-in marksman, while Leo usually faded into the background—yet he was impossible to truly ignore.
Noctis looked at Leo. "It seems your friends don't know your true identity. You haven't changed at all after all these years."
Nina and the others stopped eating, their attention fixed on the two of them.
"Is there some kind of misunderstanding?" Zack asked tentatively. He knew Leo's background—raised in an orphanage, some specialized training program in the middle, then the Tianjing prep course before getting into the Academy. Everyone knew that.
"Have any of you heard of the Solar System Revelation Youth Class?" Noctis asked.
"Who hasn't?" Marlon chimed in. "That program is legendary. It was the only time the four major federations actually cooperated. Every kid who came out of there was a monster. It only shut down because of that major incident. It's the ultimate gold standard." Many of the top contenders in the upcoming competition were alumni of that class.
"Leo," Noctis said with a playful glint in her eyes, "do you want to tell them, or should I?"
Leo sighed, looking more amused than anything. "I thought this was about something serious. Yeah, I was in that class. It disbanded after the accident. That was years ago."
Clang.
Marlon's spoon hit his plate. The entire table stared at Leo in stunned silence. Nina was the most shocked of all—she had tried to get into that program herself. While the public knew the name, the elites knew just how exclusive it was. She had been eliminated in the very first round of testing.
"Are you saying..." Nina stammered, "that you know Markus, the War God of the Moon? That you know Valivert of Uranus? That you were classmates with Basta, the Wolf King of Mars?"