The New Era Project 3 The City Of Aven

Feng Ye, after browsing on the web until the sky darkens, was able to get a general understanding of this new world.

He is currently in the city of Aven, a world leader and contributor to technological breakthroughs particularly in infrastructure and computing. The city of Aven is the approximate size of Tokyo from his old world. An approximate area of around 2,188 km². According to the web, Aven was originally Tokyo but was renamed to Aven to honor the Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology. Besides this deviation, the world map, names of countries, and continents are still the same. The city of Aven is located in j.a.pan.

The planet of this world is also called Earth. What is interestingly different from Feng Ye's world, are the multiple technological breakthroughs that have been discovered which were thought to be impossible. It seems as though Feng Ye was s.h.i.+fted to the future 50 years later. Artificial intelligence(AI) and its applications is another technological breakthrough that differs from Feng Ye's world. AI is incorporated almost in every aspect of technology such as in vending machines, and alarm clocks.

Feng Ye suspects that in government inst.i.tutions and in Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology, there may be research progress in the domain of true artificial intelligence. True artificial intelligence in a true sense means the program has self awareness.

Strange details which catch Feng Ye's attention are the reports of individuals with supernatural abilities and activities of magician organizations.

"Espers?" Feng Ye thought.

If so, the risk level of this world exponentially increases. Feng Ye decides to further research the topic.

Feng Ye, in his world, was a freshman in his first year of university studying biochemistry. Before his last final exam, he was unfortunately transported to his world. His life in his world was repet.i.tive and quite carefree. The Earth which Feng Ye lived had no known supernatural abilities or peculiarities. Feng Ye logically shouldn't have been able to encounter the disruption in s.p.a.ce which had caused the fissure. It is all still unknown. Perhaps, he can get answers one day on what the cause was.

From his first year and the nature of the biochemistry undergraduate program, Feng Ye was able to sharpen his a.n.a.lytical skills which will aid him in his research of this world. In the first year, biochemistry undergraduates are required to take all introductory courses which include general chemistry, biology, introduction to physics, general english, and calculus.

From the booklet given to him, Feng Ye notices that the entrance exam is divided into five categories which consists of chemistry, biology, physics, english and mathematics. As he was already in the midst of exams before crossing over, Feng Ye is more than prepared for each. Therefore, he doesn't need to study for the exam.

Feng Ye will be concentrating his efforts on learning as much about this world and any deviations from his old world. Besides using the complimentary free food delivery service that is offered to examinees, the majority of the time Feng Ye is browsing.

After day and a half of research, Feng Ye was able to familiarize himself with the differences between the two worlds.

On this Earth, there is a ranking system that is utilized to cla.s.sify individuals with supernatural abilities. Each individual with supernatural abilities is referred to as an esper, one who has awakened their hidden potential. A normal person with no abilities would be a rankless. The nature of the ability, the user's comprehension, and applications of the ability are factors which determine its rank. The lowest tier is Rank F which then increases until Rank A. Finally, there exists a further rank known as Rank S. Rank S espers are a rare existence and usually they are celebrities or are hidden by influences which keep their details top secret. Rank S espers have abilities that could potentially threaten entire cities. Notably, most cities have espers as the core of their security. There are restricted areas in the city which are designated specifically for espers. These areas block entry from all people who are not referred to as an esper. There isn't any information about what these areas contain on the web.

In addition to the existence of espers, there seems to be organizations of magicians which wander about. Unfortunately, there isn't enough information about magicians either as Feng Ye could only find articles of past events which have reported their activity. Other details are all unknown.

From the information found online, Feng Ye also has a full understanding of how the city of Aven and the Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology operates. Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology actually fully controls the city. At the apex of command, a board of directors hold the authority over all matters concerning both the inst.i.tution and the city. Under the board of directors are ten officials who are each in charge of a district in the city. In addition, they are in charge of a department which is necessary for the city as a whole to function. These officials do not have authority over matters concerning the Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology campuses.

The ten departments are the following: law, education, public security, recreation, emergency, public health, engineering and construction, transportation, waste management and research. These districts surround the Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology and are where the majority of residents stay. The districts are specialized and differ from each other as they contain the department headquarters that the official is in charge of. The department of each district is reflected in the district's characteristics.

In the Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology, there exists a different chain of command. Under the board of directors, a student council exists which oversees all activities of the Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology. To apply to become a member of the student council, one must either be at least a Rank A esper and obtain scores within the top ten rankings in the post-secondary education entrance exam. To be accepted, the current student council requires at least fifty percent of the votes gathered from current council members favoring the individual to join. The only way to bypa.s.s these requirements is if the student council sends out an invitation to the student. The student council also works alongside a student enforcer team who are responsible for maintaining order and public security. All members of the student enforcer team are Rank C and above espers.

The Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology has two sections. One for secondary education for individuals of the age seventeen to eighteen, and another for post-secondary education to the individuals looking to further pursue studies. There are five campuses for secondary education. Each campus is located such that a star pentagon shape is formed. Each is on a corner vertice of the star pentagon. Located in the centre of the star shape, is the campus for post-secondary education. There is only one campus for post secondary education and it is also where the board of directors reside.

In secondary education, there are two years of study. Those with outstanding merits or grades will be offered admission to further studies at the post secondary campus. Studies in post education typically requires four years of time. Rankings of academics are throughout all campuses. There are two ranking lists which are released after examinations. A city wide ranking comparing results from all campuses and a local campus ranking which consists of only the results obtained from a specific campus. During the time of study in secondary education, students are a.s.sessed on their potential to become an esper.

The Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology offers an additional program for espers. Those who have awakened their abilities will be invited to the program in which researchers will examine their abilities and provide instruction/guidance. Each esper will be registered under a codename which is related to their abilities. The program provides those who are in the program additional benefits, extra permissions and an allowance. Areas that were previously inaccessible also will be available. The only request is that those in the program will need to occasionally a.s.sist researchers in their studies of such abilities. The Aven Inst.i.tute of Technology also provides a list of tasks on a digital board for espers to complete and obtain rewards for upon completion. Conflict among espers are resolved in a specially designed arena that is meant for combat. As part of the program, espers also have the option to undergo trainings to improve their coordination, ability usage and physique. There is also a esper ranking list which displays the esper's code name and rank. Naturally, benefits increase the higher the rank of the esper.

Many events such as compet.i.tions with high monetary rewards are also held. Some specifically are for espers, while others permit entry to all students.

"That's a lot of information. However, I was right to remain low key." Feng Ye, ever since he had arrived, has been as cautious as possible. He is quite an outgoing individual and friendly. However, the change of environment has forced him to stay under the radar in regards to any exposition of his abilities which are out of the norm. He is forced to restrain his true personality with a mask. Luckily, his 20 INT attributes really help him to stay calm and focused.

He recalls the attribute panel in his mind.

Host Attributes

SP Remaining: 0 Utilize Skill Points(SP) to increase host attributes.

AP Remaining: 0 Utilize Ability Points(AP) to Strengthen abilities

STR 20

SPD 10

INT 20

VIT 10

Abilities

Hidden Wanderer (LVL 1)- The ability to disguise as another individual perfectly.

Limitations: Only applies to the everyday individuals with no peculiar abilities.

Upgrading this skill permits host to disguise as individuals who are stronger than the everyday individual. Next upgrade requires 5 AP.

Host Inventory

The normal person usually has stats of around 7-8. So, in all aspects, Feng Ye already is superior to the typical everyday individual. However, Feng Ye feels that it is inadequate especially after learning about the existence of espers and magicians.

Feng Ye inquires the system, "How can I gain skill points or ability points?"

System: Feature inaccessible due to low energy. Main CPU in state of energy recovery. Features accessible once total energy reaches 50%.

*Sigh

Feng Ye thinks about the system status menu and it appears in his mind.

System Status

Total Energy - 20% Energy Remaining

Recovery Rate - 5% per day

System Log - View System Logs

"I still need six more days to reach 50%.. I guess I'll check later..."

Feng Ye glances at his phone and notices that the time is 11:00 pm.

"Tomorrow is the examination day. I should get some rest and do well to obtain the extra benefits."

Feng Ye decides to try to score in the top 50. The top 50 enjoy the benefits of a $3000 USD monetary reward and entry into the campus of their choice. The entrance exams are very compet.i.tive and during the examination, there are ten different test locations each holding up to 500 examinees. Each secondary education campus only accepts 100 students. Thus, there are only a total of 500 spots. The top 500 in the overall rankings are accepted while the rest will be declined and may try to retest the following year.

The five secondary education campuses available are Toukai Academy, Fito High School, Kami Inst.i.tute, Serin Inst.i.tute, and Houtei Academy.

Toukai Academy is a girls-only school and is second most prestigious of the five. Kami Inst.i.tute is the at the apex of all the schools in terms of prestige and education. It is also the secondary education inst.i.tution that Haruta, Akihiko, and Yotsuba are trying to be admitted at. Feng Ye decided to aim for the top as well and will select this one. Serin and Houtei are decent schools as well, but rank third compared to Toukai and Kami. Fito High School usually is ranked last, however, in the recent years it has gained some interest due to renovations of its campus and an influx of new teachers.

With a clear goal, Feng Ye sets an alarm for 7:00AM and retires for the night.