Nero studied her expressions thoroughly. Although there was initial shock, she calmed down fairly quickly. Then her eyes lost focus, as if she were thinking a few things over. But it did not last long, and she immediately focused back on Nero, her expression becoming unreadable.
"You don't seem too surprised," Nero commented.
"It was quite predictable," Vanessa commented. "The last ruins literally changed the whole world for us, and we're still benefiting from it. I have been expecting it from the moment the rumours turned into facts."
"Aren't you worried about being taken as a prisoner, or treated like a spy?"
Vanessa rolled her eyes at the question.
"If you attended any normal classes, you'd know that as per your own foreign policy, Nova is your closest ally. Kolar exports all the ores that they need, and in return Nova sends you technology and finished products. The trade ties expand beyond just that. They're the perks of being the farthest two countries from each other."
Nero did not point out that allies could also spy on one another, and simply shrugged.
"Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know. The word is bound to spread sooner rather than later, but I thought I'd let you know in case you needed to talk to whoever is incharge of the foreign exchange program. If you get in any trouble, let me know. I'll see what I can do."
"You're a student Nero, what can you do?" Vanessa asked, tauntingly.
"Let's hope we don't have to find out," said Nero and just smirked. Whether he could help her or not depended on the kind of trouble she got into. But what he could or couldn't do didn't really matter as much as the fact that if she did get in trouble, she would think of him.
He picked up his plaque and got up from the table.
"By the way, I think it would be more effective if instead of imbuing weapons with spells, you directly make weapons that can utilise cards. No point in recreating the wheel, start thinking about what else you can do with it. But then again, theory is not really my field."
Vanessa kept sitting there as Nero left, and could not help but smile. She thought back to how excited he had been to receive the plaque. More than anything, she felt an immense amount of relief that Nero still had some normal, teenager feelings left in his body. It seemed to make him seem more human.
Over this period of time, she had looked into him. His grades were great, his expertise were beyond comparison, his instincts were great, and his ability to continuously stick to the never ending tedium of consistent training made him appear more like an alien than anything else.
She was almost grateful that he didn't have the backing of any large family or organisation - yet. So far, everything he had been doing was based on his own design. But if experts with limitless resources began pouring everything they had into him, she could not even imagine what he would become.
The crazy part was, she was almost certain that he was restraining himself so as not to reveal everything he had. From spending time with his friends, learning about his goals, and analysing him herself, she came to the conclusion that he did not just want to join the army, he had a very specific aim or goal within the army.
It was as if, as a kid, he said he wanted to become a sage, but instead of leaving that desire to the realm of daydreams, he began to put every ounce of his free time and effort into making that come true. Of course, becoming a sage was not something anyone could achieve just because they wanted to. But that did not mean that Nero's sheer force of will was not remarkable.
Vanessa suddenly blushed. She couldn't believe she called herself a sunkissed warrior! She buried her face in her hands as the embarrassment began to gnaw at her. What had she been thinking?
Nero, meanwhile, was walking towards the cafeteria. He'd had his fun. Now it was time to get back into routine. The future had suddenly become unpredictable, and all he could do was stay in top form and be ready for anything that came his way.
Mrs. Aedile was, as usual, happy to see him, though she never let it show. Nero, likewise, was very happy to see his very hearty breakfast of eggs, sausages, bacon, some buttered bread and milk with honey.
After eating, he found Gabriel and updated him on the situation. The redhead did not handle the news nearly as well as Vanessa, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Nero quickly fell back into his routine of training, since there was not much else he could do.
The news spread by late afternoon, and that's when the changes started happening. The environment changed rapidly.
There was a tense atmosphere all around the hostel, as well as the school, but Nero could not help noticing that there was also a strange hint of anticipation. Any time he came across a veteran, who was preparing to go to the draft notice, he could not help but notice a certain spark in their eyes.
That was around the time where Nero questioned the sanity of the people around him for the first time, but then shrugged it away. A Kolars death was written on the battlefield. That also meant that so was their life.
The next day, as Nero was beginning to wonder how this would impact his school and the rest of the students, a number of army vehicles drove up to campus, followed by a few buses. Nero, Gabriel and several hundred other students received a draft notice that would go into effect immediately.
The kids that lived in the hostels were given thirty minutes to pack any essentials, while those who didn't were told that if there any essentials that they absolutely needed from home, they'd be allowed to send for them at a later time.
Nero didn't have much to pack - he just grabbed his card case and knife and he was ready to go. He kept his emotions muted, and remained composed the entire time. He asked no questions about the draft, partly because he could anticipate what was required, but also because a simple observation told him that these soldiers were only carrying out orders, and didn't know much else.
Not everyone else could remain as composed as him, however. Many students panicked, and some even tried to resist. Even though everyone knew they would have to do service in the army at some time, being drafted during war was a different experience entirely. In the end, it was futile. Everyone whose name was on the list got on the buses.
What did surprise Nero, however, was that Silas' name was also on the list. The pale, extremely nervous child stuck close to Nero, as if that would somehow protect him. While such a thought was absurd, considering Nero himself was just another draftee, it was true that the mood on the bus he got in was completely different from the rest.
After all, everyone was just asked to get on the bus, but there weren't any specific seats assigned, so all of his friends stuck to him.
Nero was not as talkative as he usually was, but it was clear that he also wasn't overly concerned. Gabriel, likewise, was calm. He had enough time to mentally prepare for this. Harold and Wendy were completely nonchalant, and continued to flirt with each other even now.
Harold had confessed to Nero a couple of days ago that the two had actually kissed! Since then Nero treated him as a gone case. Long gone was his friend whose only passion was fighting every day in the gym. Now his mind was preoccupied by another kind of battle.
Hansel and Malissa were, similarly sitting together, talking about their future professions. That left Maverick and Shelby, who were speculating on what was about to happen to them. None of them actually seemed all that worried.
It did help, though, that from a young age most of them had been infected by Nero's desire to join the army, and so had decided on a similar trajectory. This was naught but an early start to their careers, which was not necessarily a bad thing.
The rest of the bus was also filled with students Nero was well acquainted with. While they did not hang out everyday, before Nero became a Neophyte they used to interact quite often. The most important thing was that, whether on purpose or by coincidence, all of them were the top performers in their school.
While not all of them necessarily had the best grades, all of them were very gifted when it came to controlling aether.
The soldiers who were accompanying them felt strange. Why did it feel like they were accompanying a bunch of kids on a field trip rather than a bus full of draftees being taken to base?