Lisa ‘Dark Horse’ White

  Versus Legend

  Level 2,015

  XP: 58/100

  HP: 100/100

  EP: 67/100

  RP Status: Teacher- 456 RP

  Weakness Lvl 4

  Lisa massaged her neck tiredly. The process of admitting new students was quite rigorous, especially with the admissions officers’ laziness this year. It seemed like they wanted to give the staff extra work by passing those who just barely scored 60 tacks. She’d try to tell them, “Just because they are a reputable species doesn’t mean they’ll get anywhere.” But with Chrisman running the academy, a human woman’s word meant nothing, even if she was a Dean.

  She passed over the gyms, where the Practicum courses took place. She stopped on the indoor bridge she was crossing and looked down at an ongoing Teamwork course. They were currently playing a classic round of Capture the Flag. The team on the left was winning as the school’s only Ilamikoan student carried their enemy’s flag to their post.

  Most of the spectating students were cheering for the team on the right, shouting for them not to lose. Unfortunately for them, the Ilamikoan’s flexible limbs carried her forward, allowing her to win. Her teammates cheered, but many students groaned in disappointment.

  On her planet, Lílitha was only eight years old, but on Earth, she was already twenty-three, a young woman. Still growing, but she was certainly not a child, despite her appearance.

  Then came the other ‘outcast’ of the school: Harrison Smith. Lisa struggled throughout her entire career to get to first place in her final Versus. Unlike her, Harrison climbed to fourth place in his very first official tournament. That was enough for Versus fans to cry foul.

  “He is always smiling despite everything, isn’t he?”

  Lisa gasped, startled by Benson’s sudden appearance. “You scared the bugs out of me,” she said.

  “Sorry about that,” he chuckled, continuing to observe both Harrison and Lílitha. “He is a positive soul. I’ve never seen him without that smile of his.”

  The two went down the hall, then exited the building and headed to the Hall of Affairs. Students around them politely greeted them. Lisa noticed his tag and said, “When did you Level up so much?” His Level had reached 2,020, which was a big leap throughout the weeks. Once Legends started on administrative work, they barely got to actually fighting anymore.

  “Level up?” Benson seemed confused, then smiled. “Oh, I’m always practicing. So… what do you think of the new class?”

  Lisa wondered about the sudden change in subject, but answered anyway. “Hard to say. A lot of tryouts, good potential in most. How do you think Josephine will handle this?”

  “My bet is that she will simply choose the strongest species. I know she wants a good reputation right now.” Some subtle resentment entered his voice, which most wouldn’t notice, but Lisa did.

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  “There weren’t a lot,” Lisa remarked. “I was surprised. I thought more of the ‘tops’ would apply.”

  “A few of them piqued my interest. Particularly that one human girl.”

  “When you requested her, I thought… well, I expected more, honestly.”

  “You underestimate her.” Benson shook his head.

  “Benson, she barely got past sixty on the practical exam. She’s a Level 2, which is barely a beginner. I feel like you’re cutting too much slack just because she’s human. I appreciate that you’re trying to give my species more opportunities, but they still need to put in the work. We can’t operate off the same logic Josephine does.”

  “She put in plenty of work. With the proper training, she’ll do better.”

  They entered their soundproof meeting room and sat in their respective hover-chairs with their colleagues. Everyone had the same exhausted expression, their eyes bursting with the desire of a comfy sleep capsule and melatonin tea, or whatever other sleep hormone their species produced. Even though Energy Levels weren’t public, it was obvious they were at around 50 points or less.

  Task Acquired: Admit new students— 300 E-Digits

  When Josephine entered, she looked exhausted beyond measure, a rare occurrence for her. “Well.” She sighed, slumping into her chair. “How many passed with a score over eighty?”

  “One hundred candidates, ma’am,” one of the professors replied, scrolling on his AIDA band.

  “How many passed with a score over ninety?”

  “Um…” He paused, sifting through the list. “Sixty.”

  “Very well…” Josephine’s long, sharp fingernails drummed on the table as she frowned in thought. Her large, golden eyes shimmered as her pupils expanded and contracted.

  “There’s three-thirty spots, right? We can admit these one-sixty candidates as a start. That leaves us about half to fill in,” one of the coaches suggested. “If anything, we can merge some of the other applicants into the School of Combat so they can go for a non-Versus career.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.” Josephine connected her AIDA band to the table. “Well, prepare for a long night. We can admit the top hundred and sixty and decide on the other half.”

  “I have a suggestion,” Benson began.

  Everyone knowingly looked at him. Benson was as kind as he was predictable, yet sometimes, he was unpredictable. “I’m going to turn down that suggestion,” Josephine said coldly.

  “Come now, hear me out.”

  “The last time we heard you out, we wound up wasting our time with a Level 2. Here I was thinking you’d present us with someone more skilled.”

  “That’s the thing; you’ve admitted many fighters that did much worse in the pressure exam, regardless of Level. They were as much a ‘waste of time’ as my candidate, in that case. Why is it that my suggested applicant is a ‘waste’ while the other ones you passed had no potential whatsoever?”

  “What are you implying?” Josephine asked defensively.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were deliberately dismissing my word in these decisions. And as Vice President of this academy, I should have a say in who I deem fit for our school.” Some firmness crept into his voice. “After all, you have nothing against me… or my family, correct?”

  A tense silence loomed over them. Lisa folded her lips, deciding to say nothing.

  Josephine had definitely been biased when it came to decisions about the new class. Emitonians weren’t very friendly towards humans, or any other species that didn’t have any ‘special ability’. Even though Josephine was born and raised in England, she was as close-minded as those from her planet of descent.

  But implying a personal vendetta against his family after his sister’s murder last year was walking the line. It had been just over a year, so the wound was still fresh for Benson, and having to work with his late sister’s rival would understandably weigh on his temper. Lisa didn’t think he’d bring it up, though.

  “Each of us on the board has requested one candidate, correct?” Benson continued. “Let’s admit them. All of them have passed all three tests. Now we have five less applicants to analyze.”

  Josephine sighed, rolling her eyes. “Fine. We’ll do that.” She brought up the applicant files, which hovered in a circle on the table. Sifting through them, she found the five applicants each member of the board requested; an Emitonian, whom she requested herself— that should’ve been obvious. A Mercearthian that the Evaluator, Mr. Estalen, requested. A Paesearthian Lisa’s cousin Gina took a liking to.

  Lisa’s candidate was a Paeseoan boy that got third place in the most recent Junior Versus. He was adept in Krav Maga, which Lisa herself knew like her own ID code. She could easily coach him in classes.

  And finally, the human girl Benson wanted.

  Lisa wasn’t about to refuse a candidate of her species in front of the board, especially with her reputation. That would go against everything she believed in. But she couldn’t fully support giving this girl a spot among the 330. She had potential, but she needed a lot more training to qualify for the Versus school. She could’ve tried out in the regular School of Combat for a couple years until she was ready, at least at Level 10.

  The human’s reflexes were sharp, her body was flexible, and she evidently retained muscle memory from previous training, but she was too clumsy and unbalanced. She also kept wiping sweat off herself, which was distracting to both herself and the judges.