The three months leading up to Contractor School went by fast. Nate had gotten significantly stronger leading up to his first day back at school. Looking at the board, Jarris was not only displaying the key fitness metrics they’d been working on for the past three months, but it also showed where he started. Nate had grown faster, stronger, and had lost a ton of weight. Nate was by no means a lean, mean, fighting machine. But he had come a long way from his untrained, unathletic self.

  “I’m not worried about how you are going to measure up to your classmates." Jarris said. “Humans are one of the weaker species in the galaxy, but as you’ve seen in the arena, they can certainly hold their own. As you resonate, your body will only get stronger too. You’ll never measure up pound for pound with a fully resonated Leonid on any of these metrics, but you’ll be a threat no matter who you face as long as you keep training. Everyone will probably panic because of your abilities, so that will be your edge. As soon as you start using your warp step to cross the battlefield in a fraction of the time as everyone else, they will think twice.”

  “My my, those flabby arms have a little definition on them now. You’re about the same fitness level as an above-average Piggin like me, which isn’t saying much, but still.” Hal chuckled.

  “It appears my investment might pay off, but there is still time for you to wash out.” Kalazan said jokingly. “Honestly though, if you could survive these last three months with J, then your certification should go smoothly.”

  “Thank you all, for everything. Not just the work on myself these past three months but also the knowledge, a place to train, a place to sleep, a job. You’ve just given it all to me. There’s no way I could pay you all back.”

  “Ugh, he’s doing it again, J. I thought you would have trained the mushy stuff out of him by now.” Hal said.

  The three old friends laughed.

  Kalazan walked up to Nate and shook his hand with both of his. “You can pay us back by working hard and kicking ass.” Kalazan said in both a playful and sincere tone.

  “Ooo, K said a bad word.” Hal accused.

  Everyone was laughing again.

  “It’s about time for your first day, let’s head out.” Jarris said.

  Hal wasn’t required to show up at registration unlike Kalazan and Jarris, and Nate got the feeling he wouldn’t want to. The last time he had taken someone to the academy was his son Tonk, and his life ended in tragedy. Nate was understanding of this and would never push that boundary.

  Jarris and Kalazan, however, were required to accompany Nate to registration as they were his sponsors and would have to show their certifications in person. They exited the gateway in the administration district near the academy. As they got closer to the school's entrance, Nate saw how big of an event this actually was. There were booths everywhere like outside the Nexus when he had first arrived, all of them representing student body groups, fraternities, sororities, clubs, and more. It was just like orientation day when he went to college back home.

  Jarris pointed out a large tent in the distance assuming it was for registration so the trio headed that way. Nate couldn’t help but notice the number of heads that turned and looked at the three of them as they walked by. He could make out murmurings and mentions of both Jarris and Kalazan by name.

  “So you have this effect on people too, huh? Not just Jarris?” Nate asked Kalazan as they continued to walk.

  “You tune it out naturally after a while.” Kalazan replied.

  “It’s not every day you see a master rank just walking around, let alone two. Unless you’re me of course." Jarris said jokingly.

  “Oh, that’s not the only reason they know us, but it is certainly one of them.” Kalazan added.

  The once normal-looking street with tall buildings surrounding them opened up to a clearing with more booths scattered everywhere. The central walkway turned from the metallic road Nate was used to seeing to actual stone pavers. The walkway led to the enormous tent Jarris had pointed out earlier. There were multiple lines formed with younger-looking people surrounded by older, more seasoned-looking sponsors.

  Part of Nate’s training with Jarris included a traditional classroom style learning where Jarris went over a wide array of topics. He had learned almost every species in the galaxy and could identify them by their key features. Luckily for him since the galactic standard language was English so most species were named after the animal they evolved from.

  Jarris was a Cattan from Cattania for example. Specifically he was a Pantheran, but after the Vortani wiped out most of the galaxy all the cat species banded together as a unified body and renamed themselves. Except for the Leonids of course. There were other species that didn't have anything close to what was on earth so Nate figured what he learned was the actual name for that species, at least one he could pronounce.

  As they waited in line, the looks and murmuring continued. They got to the front, and without looking, a Quallen, a long and lanky blue-grey-skinned alien, asked for Nate’s name with a sigh that only a tired worker could give.

  “Nathan Foster.” Nate replied.

  The Quallen flipped through his registry until it got to Nate’s name. “Sponsors?” he said.

  “Jarris Kel Thane and Kalazan Tomlin.” Nate replied.

  The alien paused and looked up slowly. Once he set eyes on Nate’s sponsors, he shot up from his seat and got very formal very quickly.

  “Ah, gentlemen, thank you for joining us for Orientation Day. Would you be so kind as to present your certification cards to me?”

  Jarris and Kalazan each pulled out a black metal card that looked similar to a driver’s license back home, minus a picture. Their names were engraved across the top, below that Nate assumed was their team name, The Arcane Operators, and below that was their rank, which read “Master.” The admin held a device about the size of a link, but with a smaller screen, up to each of their cards. The device made an approving-sounding beep and the small screen turned a bright green indicating their credentials were accepted.

  “Gentlemen, as this man’s sponsors, you present him for contractor certification and enrollment to the Contractor Academy of your own free will and choice, taking responsibility for his preparedness to endure the full training and course load of said Academy?”

  Nate’s friends and sponsors answered yes.

  “Excellent!” a voice from behind the trio exclaimed.

  Everyone turned around to see a Cheetaran Cattan, a humanoid species that resembled a cheetah from Earth but the spots were much smaller.

  “Jarris, looking as handsome as ever. My my, it has been some time since we last met. You do remember the last time we spent together, don’t you?” the Cattan said in a sultry, seductive voice.

  Jarris, the normally hard and grumpy man, squirmed where he stood. Was he… blushing? Nate thought to himself.

  “Mistress Helena, it’s uh… good to see you again.”

  Nate had never seen Jarris unflinching in confidence in the last three months they spent together, but now he was stumbling over his words and looked like a nervous nerd who couldn't talk to a girl to save his life.

  Mistress Helena got closer to Jarris and placed a half human hand half paw on his chest, slowly feeling her way up to his shoulder, down his arm, and held his hand.

  “I bet it is good to see me… J.”

  Jarris was crumbling, and as a good friend, Kalazan stepped in to save him.

  “Mistress Helena, it’s been too long.” Kalazan said with a loud, interrupting, but warm tone. Mistress Helena was successfully distracted and turned to embrace Kalazan.

  Jarris was taking full, deep breaths again, getting over his anxiety.

  “K! How is my sweet Dalma? It’s been too long since we’ve gotten together. I’ve just been so busy with the school.”

  “She knows. We were just talking about you the other night knowing I would be here today. I’ll tell her you asked about her and I’ll get her to reach out to your assistant for lunch.”

  “That would be so lovely. It’s been so long since the girls have been together. Now, who do we have here?” Mistress Helena said, looking at Nate.

  “This is Nathan Foster.” Jarris chimed in with an overly masculine voice, probably a little bit louder than he intended.

  Mistress Helena held a hand up to her chest, shocked by the volume. “No need to shout, J.” she said with a sly smile, knowing the effect she had on him.

  Jarris grumbled out an apology, turning away in shame.

  “He is from Earth. H and Peggy took him on a tour and he came to me for attunement.”

  “I’m surprised H and Peg let him come here after… anyway. It’s good to have you, Nathan. Are you looking forward to classes starting?”

  “Absolutely. Jarris has had me training very hard in preparation.”

  “I’m sure he has." the Cattan said, looking over to Jarris. “Tell me, what did K have you attune to?”

  “Void.” Nate replied with a resolute tone, knowing how most people reacted to that answer.

  Mistress Helena looked to Kalazan with squinted suspicious eyes.

  “Well well, you’re going to cause quite the stir this year, aren’t you?” She said, chuckling through her words. “It has been many years since we’ve had a Void user come through. Most of the families that pass those gems down just bribe their way straight to a certification; if they even get one at all. This is going to be a very fun year indeed. I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do, Nathan.”

  She then looked back to Jarris, whose arms were folded defensively by his chest.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “Very interested.” she added with a soft purr at the end.

  “I’ll leave you with this fine admin to wrap up registration, and I hope you’ll join us for commencement in a couple hours. K, it was good to see you. J, give me a call, would you?” She walked away while letting her hand glide along Jarris’ chest on her way to greet other students.

  Kalazan nodded, and Jarris let out an unintelligible agreement to call Mistress Helena.

  Nathan completed registration, got his room number and key, his course schedule, and some other informational brochures added to his link. The most interesting thing he received in his handout though was his Contractor card. It was a similar material to Kalazan’s and Jarris’s, but his was green. Instead of a team name, it said Un-Certified, and his rank was listed as Attuned.

  As it was time for the trio to part ways, Jarris and Kalazan had proud looks on their faces.

  “Don’t forget your training, greeny. We will be able to monitor your progress and grades, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything. We won’t be able to watch your fights until the tournament, but we will see you on the leaderboard. I expect you to maintain number one at—”

  Kalazan interrupted Jarris. “Now now, let’s not put too much pressure on him. J has given you more tools than any one of these other greenies will have had coming into this. Don’t forget your training and you’ll exceed.”

  Nate nodded. “Thank you again.”

  The trio waved and parted ways. Nate, feeling more determined than ever, made his way toward his dorm. As walked away from the large registration tent and towards the academy he noticed others were saying goodbye to loved one’s like it was their first day going to college. It reminded him of when he drove 20 minutes from the house to the local community college and had the same experience with his parents. His Mom had cried rivers that day because her baby boy was a man going to college. She had a plate of pasta waiting for him later that night though when he came home because he still lived there.

  Nate was on his own now though, walking towards the large academy structure. Its architecture was made of an off-white stone with an office building feel. The only thing that looked interesting was the center of the building, which had a large clock tower and an arched opening beneath it that allowed the central walkway to go under it.

  Once Nate made his way through the short tunnel, the campus opened up. Nate looked at his link to orient himself, the building he just walked under with the clock tower was the administration center with a few classrooms. To his left was the student housing, and to his right was the full lecture hall and other classrooms. In front of him, down the main path, was the school’s stadium. It wasn’t as big as the arena he had been to before with Yoli and Jarris, but it wasn’t small either. All four of the buildings were made of the same stone and were designed similarly to that of the administration building.

  Nate started walking towards the dorm building when he could hear whooping, yelling, and laughing echoing from the tunnel behind him. A bunch of younger students of varying species were running towards the dorm, obviously excited to get started with their first time away from home. One of them blasted fire from their hands and did a barrel roll from one side of the group to the other, continuing to run as they landed.

  Nate, who was 32, was excited but was feeling out of place as he wasn’t exactly a college-age youth anymore. When Nate finally got to the dorms, it was as expected—the floors, ceilings, and walls were not anything to write home about. The furniture and artwork was like what you would see in any doctor’s office and were all bolted to the floors and walls. The walls were stone and at least a different shade of white than that of the floor and ceiling. The scenery was the same all the way up to the door of his room.

  Nate opened the plain wooden door and found everything to be neat, tidy, and bland. The bed was raised up and pushed into the back left corner with shelves and drawers beneath it. On the opposite wall was a small desk and lamp. Next to him, behind the door, was a built-in closet with some shelves and a clothes rack. On the clothes rack, however, were 3 outfits of a similar material to that of his training suit Jarris had him wear every day. They were different though as they were green and had short sleeves and short legs. Nate took a look at his link to make sure he didn’t miss the opening ceremonies, and when he saw he had plenty of time he unpacked his small amount of belongings before heading to the arena.

  As Nate got out to the central park walkway area, he examined their simple geometry. There were three walkways splitting from the front door of the dorm. One headed back to administration, another straight ahead to the lecture hall, and the last one heading left to the arena.

  Nate made his way to the arena where he noticed a throng of students waiting to get in. The line was moving fast like the first time he went to the arena because there was a stand that people were swiping their green certification cards on. Nate followed the crowd and did the same by swiping his card across the panel and received a positive response. The arena was your standard run-of-the-mill stadium with uncomfortable bench seating made of simple aluminum. Music was playing loud from a stand at one side of the center field. Thousands of students were either dancing, talking, or flying about with their various abilities. Nate found a spot on a bench a few rows up from the front and looked down at the stage waiting for the opening ceremonies to start.

  Nate failed to notice the human woman next to him when he sat down and that she was trying to talk to him. The girl was waving a hand like anyone would normally do to get the attention of someone who was totally zoned out. Nate noticed her as she got a little more animated, looked at her and smiled.

  "Hey, I’m Nate!"

  "I’m Lindy!" the girl said with a huge grin.

  Lindy had perfect beach-swept curly hair that was an unnatural shade of light pink that stretched down past her shoulders. Nate didn’t dare look down out of fear of being creepy, but he made a mental note to check her out later.

  "This place is so crazy, right?!"

  "Yeah, it’s a lot!" Nate shouted so they could hear over the noise of the crowd.

  "Are you a Hubban or from off-station?" Lindy asked.

  "A Hubban?"

  "Yeah, someone born and raised on the Hub?"

  "Oh no, I’m from Earth, I’ve been here for a few months."

  "Oh wow, cool! Welcome to the Union, or actually I guess not?"

  "Yeah, we didn’t pass the vote. But it’s not like I can’t go back or anything, just a little harder now."

  "You can always come to Mara and hang out with me!" Lindy said enthusiastically.

  "Yeah, I’d like that, I’d like to see another human planet sometime."

  The crowd started to quiet down as the music was slowing and coming down in volume as well. The electronic beat-thumping music was eventually replaced by a louder fanfare of trumpets as several people of varying species all dressed in scholastic-type robes and suits of different styles and colors walked on to the stage. Nate assumed they were all faculty and once they took their seats, Mistress Helena took the stage as the fanfare got even louder and the student body as well as the faculty all cheered and clapped while Mistress Helena walked to the podium. She got to the podium and waited for the crowd to die down before she started speaking.

  “Esteemed faculty, lovely students from across the galaxy, welcome to the Academy of Contractor Certification graduating class 201!” The crowd erupted in cheers and applause and began chanting “201” over and over again. Waiting again for everyone to die down, Mistress Helena continued on.

  “Dear Students, again, welcome. I am Head Mistress Helena, lead administrator of the ACC. I, like you, was a student here a long time ago. I too was an adventurer with my all-girl power squad, like some of you may be after graduation. I hope that you find joy and fulfillment in your training and classes over the next year here as I did so long ago. This institution was established as a means to teach and train each new graduating class the dangers that may befall you while you go and adventure amongst the stars. The lessons I learned here helped me and my friends navigate many tough situations.”

  “Many of you, like me, will join guilds, become treasure hunters, or general contractors. Wherever your journey takes you, please take heed during your training here, as these lessons were born out of experiences of those who came before you. Be strong, be brave, be true to the ideals that this academy will instill you with. Protect the innocent, adventure into the unknown, discover the undiscoverable. I believe in you, 201!”

  At the end of her short speech, she threw her hands up and waved as the crowd rose to their feet with thunderous applause again. She stood there clapping and waving to the student body before she stepped away from the podium and took a seat in the front row amongst the faculty. The entire student body was still chanting “201” when a sharp-dressed human took the podium next and waited for the crowd to quiet down.

  “Head Mistress Helena, thank you for your words of wisdom and inspiring remarks. I am Assistant Master Corlan, and I have been given the opportunity to act as officiant in opening this semester to the newest class to join the centuries of graduates before it. Before that, though, I too would like to welcome Class 201 to the ACC!”

  Nate joined the chants with Lindy and the rest of his classmates this time.

  “I would like to echo Mistress Helena’s inaugural remarks: be strong, be brave, be true to the wisdom and lessons we will share with you this year, and you will be able to go confidently into your adventures knowing you will have the tools to combat whatever obstacles come your way. As part of your orientation class tomorrow you will be introduced to how you will be tested this year and how to set yourself up for success in the Draft. I encourage you to look through your orientation materials you received at registration and familiarize yourself with the keys to your success this year.

  “Now, students, again, it is my pleasure to fill the role of Assistant Master for ACC Class 201. With that title, and the authority and permission granted to me by Head Mistress Helena and The Union government, I hereby open the ACC to Class 201!”

  The crowd erupted as fireworks lit the sky with a dazzling display of colorful explosions. Nate was caught up in the energy of the event and let himself go as he cheered and clapped and danced with Lindy. The event was going to go on through the night but Nate, being a little older and with his college years behind him, partied for a little longer and then attempted to head back to his dorm. Lindy noticed he was leaving and pulled on his arm. Nate looked back and saw Lindy with her beautiful smile inviting him to dance a little longer. Nate smiled back and did so, unable to resist.

  Lindy showed signs of getting tired after a little while and finally whispered to Nate that she wanted to leave. Nate, being a gentleman and wanting to go to bed himself, walked Lindy back to the dorms. The pair reminisced about the excitement of the event that had just taken place, still feeling the spark of excitement from the party.

  Nate and Lindy arrived at her door, and Lindy embraced Nate in a hug. “I hope we have some classes together. I don't know anyone here, so that would be awesome. Thanks for walking me back.” she said with a smile.

  “No problem." Nate replied. “I'll see you tomorrow. Even if we don't have classes, we can always meet up for lunch.”

  Nate held out his link, and Lindy tapped hers to his. They bid each other goodnight and parted ways—Lindy back to her dorm, and Nate back to his.

  It was already midnight, but Nate had a feeling he should know what to expect for his first actual day of classes. He laid down on his bed and expanded his link to a large tablet. The orientation brochure laid out a timeline of events from week one to week fifty.

  Week one is assessment week where your physical capabilities and knowledge are tested to see where you need help improving. There was also a note that said week one was for Solo and Team Arena registration. Nate highlighted that note, and the brochure took him to another page labeled ACC Success.

  The program is a pass or fail certification course that results in receiving a license to become a contractor. There are government-mandated exams that are split into three parts.

  First, physical—to show if you can physically meet the demands of the contractor jobs out there. Second, knowledge—to show if you can demonstrate your ability to problem-solve many scenarios through a series of essays. Third, ethics—to demonstrate where you stand on the ethical spectrum through a written and multiple-choice exam. If you pass, you are licensed to operate as a contractor within Union space and are admitted to The Draft.

  The brochure explained The Draft like a reverse job fair, where contractors approach candidates and interview them or outright offer them a job. There was an asterisk with this text on the brochure that Nate clicked on, and it zoomed into another part on the same page called Keys to a Successful Draft.

  The brochure laid out that there is a leaderboard that populates at the end of week two. Your standings in the leaderboard are composed of your ongoing knowledge assessments and physical prowess. Although the exams are pass or fail, you still receive a score on your exams that indicates where on the knowledge and physical spectrum you are. You could pass the physical test but be the weakest member of your graduating class if you didn't have high scores in other areas. This would ultimately matter to a contractor organization looking to hire you.

  As an addition, your arena record is taken into account. The brochure explained that competing in the arena was optional but could dramatically improve one’s Draft success. There were two leagues to compete in: solo and teams. Each league only allowed you to compete once per week, so you couldn’t pack your record. Nate was sure he was going to compete solo, but he would want to compete in the teams league too. He would have to figure that out this week.

  Looking at the clock, it was half past midnight. Panicking a little bit, he quickly went to his class schedule and made a mental note of how to get back to that page quickly. He took a second look at the time and clocked that orientation class started at 6 a.m. Nate was relieved by this, as he got up at 4:30 every morning to train anyway, so he wouldn’t have a problem getting to class. The supplements that Jarris had given him three months ago helped improve sleep so much he now only needed about four hours instead of the normal seven to eight.

  As Nate was drifting off to sleep, his thoughts turned to glory in the arena, excelling in class, and of course Lindy.