While Leon was re-experiencing his past trauma in his awful nightmare, Mako narrated his entire altered story of their Terra Beetle encounter to Iris who was listening with great interest.
She was quite impressed with the feats that Mako had told her about even though he had cut out several bits of information to make it look less suspicious.
After that, Mako asked Iris to share a bit of her own experience on the island and why did she even sign up for the test in the first place. Iris was quite shy at first about telling her own story and Mako could sense her uncertainty.
He assured her that if she didn't want to talk about then that was perfectly fine as well. Iris appreciated the gesture but said that it would be unfair after all she got to hear so much about him.
Iris started off by explaining that she and Erin were both childhood friends and that they both lived together ever since they were little in a city called Rivenwood City.
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Rivenwood was located approximately 800 miles north of Emerald City.
Emerald City was a coastal city while Rivenwood was closer to one of the mountainous regions of Mundivia. Since all the continents of Earth had been merged into one big continent, it would have been unfair to the people if it was called something that was only related to a single culture or nation, so they decided on the name "Mundivia".
The name Mundivia combines "mundus," meaning world, with "via," meaning path or way. It meant a continent that is home to many different cultures and civilizations, each with their own unique paths and ways of life.
The entire geographic makeup of the Earth had been changed with new mountain ranges and deserts being formed. Brand new cities were built everywhere and the concept of nations and countries was abolished. Each city was connected with at least 5 other cities and all of them link back to the capital city which is located at the center of the continent.
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Iris explained that she and Erin were from an average household and that their parents earned enough to support them, but they couldn't afford to buy them ability books. She and Erin didn't have an ability until last year when their luck finally turned around.
They had shown the greatest amount of skills in acrobatics, sports, and academics that a non-ability user could show during the trials that had taken place in their high school. The following week, she and Erin both received a letter stating that they had been selected by a company who is willing to sponsor them in their journey to military school.
About 30% of the students that were taking part in this test had also been sponsored by a company.
Mako had heard of this scheme before when he was in his junior year of high school and he had even attempted the trials, but he didn't get selected because he only excelled in academics and was quite lacking in sports and acrobatics.
Before Mako got the system, the only way for him to get an ability was to sign up for military school and using the alternative route, he would get a free ability via the military but he would have to serve in the military for 3 years before moving on with his life. The abilities provided by the military were the absolute bottom of the barrel.
For many people like Mako, they had no other choice than to accept those low-level common abilities and try their best to climb up the ranks and become strong; however, for some people, they were another option.
Many companies such as TIM's Laboratories (where Mako bought his first ability) that research abilities and skills and would hold annual trials at high schools and other academies to scout out the best candidates to sponsor. They would look for exceptional students who weren't ability users and offer them sponsorship contracts.
Those contracts stated that the company is willing to provide them with decent abilities and offer them training as well and in return, they would have to work at their company for an agreed-upon amount of time.
It was the same deal as the military but this option ensured the person would get a decent ability and that they would get free training beforehand. However, after they graduated from military school, they would have to work at the company at an unfair wage until the time their contract is over.
It was quite beneficial for the company as they didn't have to invest much at all. They just had to provide their beneficiaries with a decent ability and some basic level training so that they could pass the military test with decent grades. After that, the military would do all the hard work of training them and making them strong.
Once they graduate, they would have to provide their services to the company in whatever way they see fit until the contract expires. It was definitely a scam as the companies would profit a whole lot more than the person, but people still opted for this option because once the contract expires, they are free to do whatever they want, and since they had better abilities, a lot more opportunities are opened for them.
Iris and Erin had both signed that contract and were aided by a company called PowerCore Industries. They provided them with abilities and put them on a training program with three more individuals who would end up becoming their teammates.
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Iris, Erin, Sven, Finn, and Andrew had all landed on the island together. They were given training on how to survive on the island ever since the military had announced it at their high school. Andrew was made the leader of the group and everything was going fine up until the time that the bear beast attacked them.
The beast had attacked them while they were setting up their tent so they were caught off guard. Andrew and Finn had tried to attack the beast but it was too strong and it had the fire ability. It tried to attack Erin with a giant fireball but Sven blocked the attack by coming in between it and Erin.
However, what Sven didn't expect was that the fireball would simultaneously combust on the impact creating a small explosion and launching him in a random direction. Iris explained that she and Erin were also caught in the radius of the explosion and launched away in a random direction.
After a rough landing, Erin suffered from multiple injuries since she was closer to the blast than Iris and she was bleeding from several areas. Luckily, Iris was also launched in a similar direction and she was able to find and heal her before her condition worsened.
They had been trekking through the island alone from that point onwards and couldn't stay in one location for too long as beasts were everywhere and wherever they moved to a new beast would appear. They were hungry, cold, and tired from being continuously on the move and having barely anything to eat.
"That was until we ran into you guys in the cave, and we came here," Iris said as she finished her story.
Mako was feeling quite emphatic toward Iris after listening to her entire story. He was having a rough time on the island ever since he had stepped foot on it, and he was barely able to survive some of the encounters, so he couldn't even imagine how these two girls would have felt being all alone on the island since they were far weaker than him.
Mako had asked Iris whether she had found a tablet on the island to which Iris said that she didn't. This was not ideal for Mako as the main thing that he wanted from Iris was information but she didn't have much either.
Suddenly, Mako had a good idea pop into his head. He asked Iris what would have been their plan if they hadn't come across him in the cave.
Iris was a bit confused at first but she replied that she would continue to head up the stream because that's where she and her teammates had decided to set up their permanent shelter.
A smile finally cracked on Mako's face as he finally had something to work off of. A plan already started to form in Mako's mind but before he could discuss it, the sound of coughing brought him back to reality.
Mako and Iris looked back toward the tree to see that Leon had woken up and was trying to move and sit up straight. Mako quickly rushed toward him and stopped him from moving too much.
Leon was confused as to what was happening as he had just woken up from a terrible nightmare and he didn't expect a change in scenery nor Mako rushing toward him and holding him down.
"Easy there, Leon. Don't move around much or the stitches will tear," Mako said as he pointed toward Leon's chest.
Leon looked down and noticed the giant bandage wrapped around the majority of his chest. Slowly, he started to remember what had happened before he was knocked out.
'I was hit by the giant beetle's lightning attack. I thought I was dead. He must have saved my life.' Leon said in his thoughts as he started to remember everything.
Iris had now approached the two boys as well. She was at first surprised at the speed at which Mako rushed over to his friend, but she quickly got over it and joined in on their conversation.
Mako was telling Leon about the damage that his body had suffered and that he would have to find more healing pills in loot crates to heal him completely.
Iris overheard Mako's last sentence and a smile appeared on her face. She quickly approached Leon and calmly placed her hand on his chest.
"It's time, I returned the favor. I can help you out with the injury," Iris said as her hand started to glow green and she began healing Leon's body.
