A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 59: Badge Collecting
Chapter 59: Badge Collecting

The next day, the usual training ground was packed with military students due to the contest.

Surprisingly, many members of the Fifth Legion had also shown up.

Arix was standing among the students of the Hecaris Military Academy.

When she counted the number of soldiers, she was shocked to find that there were nearly a hundred people from the Fifth Legion.

She knew something must be off. They wouldn’t just send so many soldiers here to see students competing with each other.

Taking a deep breath, Arix prepared herself mentally. Her intuition told her that today’s competition would not be as simple as she thought; it would definitely be full of surprises.

”Arix, stay close to me during the competition, I’ll take care of you,” Rei said seriously, with a hint of worry in her eyes.

”You can also come with me,” Maya smiled as always, like a warm senior.

”I can help, too,” Lilou pushed her glasses up and offered.

”If you don’t mind, you can join me as well,” Leyla said, her delicate face lighting up with a smile. She just made the whole world brighter.

”And me too,” Calista added, her eyes earnest and firm as she looked at Arix.

Rei and the others did not yet know that Arix’s physical power had improved, so they were all worried about her upcoming challenges.

Seeing her roommates caring for her, Arix felt a warmth spread across her chest. She assured them, ”Thank you all, but my physical power has already broken through to Star-Class, so I will be fine in this competition.”

At Arix’s words, all her roommates stared at her with wide, astonished eyes.

Rei gasped in amazement, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, ”Wow, Arix, how did you improve so quickly? Do you have any tips for us?”

”There’s no secret really. I had some damage in my physical foundation, which got repaired at the legion a few days ago, and that’s why my physical power increased so quickly,” Arix explained, tapping Rei on the forehead with her finger.

”Ah, I see,” Rei realized, and then happily congratulated her, ”Congratulations, Arix! You won’t have to worry about physical training anymore.”

”Thank you,” Arix said softly, touched by her roommates’ joy. Suddenly, she remembered something. Rei and Maya, both from Planet Waste, probably had some foundational physical issues due to their poor conditions.

Just to be safe, she decided to learn how to make Star-Class physical boosters after the training ended, planning to surprise them later.

With a smile, Arix joined her roommates in looking towards the podium, quietly waiting for the competition to start.

”The head of the instructors, please come forward,” said the training base manager, Aden.

Ortiz and other instructors walked up to Aden and saluted. Then Ortiz said clearly, ”Sir, everyone is present.”

Aden nodded. Then he took out five sets of documents and handed them to Ortiz and the others. ”Here are the documents for today’s contest. Please review them and carry out the instructions within half an hour.”

”Yes, sir.” Ortiz took the documents, looked them over himself first, and then passed them to Virtanen and Bauer.

”Isn’t this a bit difficult?” Virtanen said sympathetically after reading the documents.

”Who came up with these? Aren’t they afraid of being kidnapped by students in the restroom?” Bauer rarely agreed with Virtanen.

”I think it’s fine. They would have to face this sooner or later. We’re just speeding things up a bit,” Ortiz raised his eyebrows, his tone carrying a hint of interest.

”Should we contact a psychologist first? I think a lot of students will have some mental issues today,” Bauer seriously suggested.

Ortiz raised his wrist, showing his opticomputer and smiled. ”I’ve already contacted them. I do have a bit of sympathy. Enough talk, now it’s time to collect the students’ Space Buttons. Let’s distribute these cards too.”

After speaking, Ortiz led the instructors back to the Hecaris Military Academy’s side. They following the document, collecting Space Buttons and other items that could aid in the contest.

After collecting everything, they distributed a badge-collecting card to each student.

”Sir, what is this for?” a curious student asked, holding the card.

Ortiz’s mouth curved into a rare, kind smile. ”Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon.”

”Okay, thank you.” The student was surprised to receive a smile from Ortiz and felt rather flattered.

He was even thinking to himself that the instructors seemed quite gentle today.

Once all the students from the five military academies were ready, Aden finally spoke from the podium. ”Hello, everyone! Today is our weekly training contest. The contest is simple. You all see the card in your hand, right? The badge location on the back of the card will update to the next point after you collect a badge. The goal is to collect five badges to complete the contest. The faster you collect them, the higher your score. The first ten to collect all badges will receive an extra ten points. No more talking, I now declare the contest officially started!”

As soon as the competition started, the students scattered instantly, each heading to the locations indicated on the backs of their cards to collect badges.

Arix quickly ran towards the first badge point, which was the cafeteria.

Along the way, she passed a few students with the same goal, and she felt unusually calm, making her wonder if she had been overly concerned earlier.

It seemed like today’s contest wouldn’t have any surprises after all.

However, as soon as she reached the entrance of the cafeteria, Arix knew her worry is coming true.

At the door, there was a long table with ten large bowls filled with various disgusting things. Each bowl was attended by a chef who was energetically encouraging the students, ”Taste all ten kinds of lovingly prepared dishes and get your badge stamped. What are you waiting for? Get moving!”

The chef at the first bowl on the left had a bowl full of live worms. Trying to suppress his excitement, he smiled benignly at the students, harmless as an old lady, ”Eat up, eat up. It’s very nutritious, just a bit ugly, that’s all.”

One student had psyched himself up for a while before he finally mustered the courage to approach. But as soon as he saw the greasy, sticky worms and smelled the earthy odor they emitted, he completely broke down and rushed to the side, retching.

His miserable state caused the surrounding students to step back in disgust. Some students even turned around and gave up on the cafeteria’s badge, deciding to collect the other badges first. They would later decide whether to sacrifice their dignity for victory or to give up winning to save their dignity.