My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives

Tuesday September 4th, 2274. Inheritence Ability Users Jungle Obstacle Course and Combatives. Aka, J.O.C.C.'s.

Once again, Rex slept around three hours. Only this time, he was alone. While all the other students affected by Remulus's lulling howls went to sleep earlier than scheduled, the young Werepanther was up. Fighting. Being mauled. Finding himself exposed under the scrutinizing eyes of Imani.

At least they were nice eyes. If only the mouth wasn't so robotically sarcastic and snarky.

He dreamt about her. He wished he dreamt about Panther instead. He had questions. But he wouldn't get a chance to find answers until night came and sleep followed once more.

All he could do now was continue on as a Drift-Soldier in training. Only the training goals were different now.

All of his fellow Inheritence Ability users were training for the usual.

As they flipped and performed in front of cameras and discussed sponsored Drift Dimension incursions, he was reminded of Imani's words.

They were present for fame— even as the monthly Drift-Run event closed in. To see who could slay the biggest monster while striking the coolest pose. It was all that mattered to them.

For money. To see what exploit they could make with their generations cultivated power and turn into a money making machine.

Rex now trained for one reason. And it was no different from the old one.

Survival.

Once in a world teeming with monsters.

Now against a unified force of multiple possibly god-level monsters.

And he almost died to a pack of low level lizards.

"You're fired up today, Rex! Good! Did the group nap give you a nightmare yesterday?" Syrus asked as they ran through the obstacle course.

Rex was in fourth place. He couldn't use his claws on the smooth metal grooves and twisting platforms— and the lack of sleep affected his healing and agility. Not to mention, the sun was also out— barely. The three ahead of him were also generational talents. Literally. Among them was Caspien Errant. Said to be the best Inheritence Ability User.

"If you continue to ignore me I'm gonna tie you up and tickle you with serpent venom soaked feathers." Syrus stated.

Rex was shaken from his purposeful battle lust and gave Syrus his desired ounce of attention as he swung on his mana webs beside him.

He wasn't even trying. Just casually swinging and flipping to keep up with Rex. All the while, his muscles glowed beneath his skin in areas, making him look monstrous in motion.

"Is that a pun?" Rex asked.

"What pun?"

"Fired up?"

Syrus thought on it before smiling, "Oh shit—"

Rex spit a fireball at Syrus cord of webbing, causing the lanky WolfSpider to fall to the bottom of the course.

Sgt Dream slept on the floor below them, waking with a startled jump as Syrus landed face first on the metal beside him.

"You little r-"

"FAIL!" Sgt Dream yelled and yawned at the same time, "How the hell does the one person with spider adjacent powers fail a climbing and agility warm-up test? *yaaaaaawn*— Are you... are you a worthless lazy ugly stupid pale skinned and fasted behemoth with a hair gel fetish?"

Before Syrus could say anything, Sgt Dream was sleeping again with a finger pointed at the ground. In between snores he mumbled, "Start pushing, recruit."

Syrus conjured his mana webs and bit them in a rage before dropping down into the push- up position. With one arm. "You're dead, Rex."

Rex heard the trainees promise as he continued across the massive unfolding course. "I know. I am if I keep on as I am. I need to….. level up. I'm keeping my bed…. And my dinner. Warm."

Rex vaulted a six foot tall wall with the other trainees. As he fell to the floors on the other side, he focused his jungle fire in his hands. He hit the ground in an explosion of heat, turning the metal grounds untouchable as they glowed an angry shade of orange and red.

"Hey— what the hell are you doing?!" Someone yelled as another few students coughed and stumbled from the wave of fire.

"Shut-up. You all want me dead anyway." Rex took off, now surrounded by less competitors.

Complaints about cheating quickly died as they all realized Sgt Dream was still asleep— counting Syrus's push ups with his snores.

Immediately after the others began to fight amongst themselves to slim the herd and better their chances.

Rex and the three were already ahead, pushing against the speed at which the geometrical steel folds of the obstacle course could move to expand through the jungle. Above, the jungle monkeys followed like…. Monkeys.

Above them, Sky-Scream jets blazed across the early morning sky, running clouded routes with guns Rex could smell the death on even down wind.

But his focus was elsewhere.

On him.

Caspien Errant. He ran in first place. There was no flash or pizzaz to his movement or powers. It looked like he was just sprinting. Except something was off. There was no drag. No wind to ruffle his black messy curls of hair. No shuffle and jingle of the two sledge hammer-like weapons sheathed at his back. He moved like he was somehow physically disconnected from friction physics.

Just slipping along.

Rex sped up as the stretch of flat ground allowed his baseline agility to shine through.

Victor was suddenly beside him at third place. Horrifyingly fast in spite of his size and brute strength.

Ahead of him were two other students he didn't know.

But that didn't mean much. An elemental construct of a bruiser-ape was suddenly charging at him, spawning from the second place runner's finger pointed at Rex.

Rex cloaked his body in fire and ran through it, still feeling the muscle tightening shock of the figure as it dissipated in the face of his bizzare heat.

He returned fire and slammed a fireball into the recruits back. The veins of power in his martial-skin bulged as the student went down.

Rex ran past, picking up the recruit to use him as a meat shield in case Caspien decided to also join the fight-run.

He didn't.

He never turned.

Even as Rex tossed the lightning elemental conjuror aside and dropped to all fours. He didn't question the movement. His powers were all about being the predatory age old force he was. Simple.

His speed and strength climbed. His claws grew denser until they dug into the metal, allowing him to propel himself across the metal ground. His black martial-skin went rigid as new mana flowed and spun around the mana stone in the nape of his suit.

Caspien continued.

Rex hunted.

A flag plunged into the ground ahead stood tall.

Sgt. Dream snorted, "Three-hundred push-ups!"

"It was four-hundred and eight." Syrus snarled with a smile as sweat beads dripped from his chin. "Now I'm fired up!"

Rex was already airborn, unleashing a pounce at blurring speeds.

He collided with Caspien and the flag. The two hit the ground and rolled until they found themselves on cold morning dew lined jungle grass and dirt.

The two disconnected on the way to their feet.

"Spar me." Rex didn't have much of a plan— or patience. Just desperation as his thoughts rationalized his word, "If he's like everyone else here, my lowly status even approaching him is enough to get me what I want. Come on Caspien. Be an elitist dickhead."

Caspien's curly mop of hair hung over his eyes, hiding what he viewed from the world.

"ERHM— uh….. no thanks…. please." Caspien mumbled, "Where's Trish—I would like to know."

Rex felt his mouth go dry.

"Hey!" Someone yelled in the distance. "Hey, jerk!"

Rex turned around and found a giant of a woman pushing through the the crowd of Inheritence Ability users. She had to be over eight feet tall and five hundred pounds of muscle. He was wondering how he missed her before. It seemed a few others were as well.

"Trish— haha…. Hi! I guess I got carried away again." Caspien mumbled.

"She can't hear you, dude." Rex said back to him.

"Oh…. Right." Caspien blushed.

The strongest first year blushed.

Trish loomed over Rex, "Great job turning the morning run into a warzone."

"It's what we're supposed to do isn't it?"

"There's a time and place for everything. Learn that."

"Right after I learn why the strongest recruit here needs a chaperone." Rex replied.

Trish growled and one of her eyes went reptilian.

Rex raised an eyebrow in confusion— and then fear when she quickly blinked away the transformation.

"There was one missing Awakener in Remulus rank. Could it be the reptile totem? No….. yes?" Rex thought.

"Don't make me lose my cool, runt." Trish pushed past him and stood beside Caspien.

"Alright, gossipers. As much as I've enjoyed all the *yawwwn* naps lately….. my eyes are closed but I'm winking because that was a pun. Anyway, it's time to get to work. Find your ability groups and begin limit testing." Sgt. Dream said.

Rex watched the recruits spread out and get to work while he was left bewildered.

A hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to hiss.

"You don't have a clue in the world, bro." Victor said.

"I don't."

"I don't either." Victor said.

"Bastard should be fired anyway after what he did yesterday. Then I can kill him and avoid treason charges." Syrus approached them. "Rex. You'll pay. And I'll love it."

"You're a freak." Rex replied casually.

"You have no idea, baldy."

"Did you say Sgt Dream should be fired?" Victor asked.

Syrus nodded.

"Why?"

"Sgt Dream wasn't at his guard post last night. I overheard it while hanging from the ceiling of the debriefing room this morning."

"Where was he?" Rex asked shakily.

Syrus shrugged.

Rex gagged. Internally.

"Remulus has the ability to put everyone to sleep. He knows about my abilities and Imani thinks it's someone in the school. Why not a Sgt with sleep powers— who already doesn't seem to like me?" Rex thought before turnining around and finding Sgt Dream standing in front of him nodding off like a man on a hideous blend of drugs.

"Your flag." He pointed as Rex tried to contain himself.

"Right…. I uhh…" He studied the SGT's face, trying to see the wolf within. Past the messy bun of hair and lazily put on uniform. "I won…." Rex raised the flag.

Only to find he held one half of it.

"You uhhh…. Lost." Sgt Dream mocked him before pointing behind him.

Caspien held the top half of the flag in his hands, blushing as the attention came his way.

Rex threw his hands up, "That's it. I should've ran away."

Sgt Dream rubbed his eyes, "Poor poor Rex. You're like a sad puppy. Or kitten."

He stiffened.

"You need to get stronger. Find that….. yawwwn…. bowl of milk. Eat up. Just don't get fat. Fat soldiers are dead soldiers. Dead soldiers get to sleep forever. I'm gonna go raid the mess hall. EVERYBODY START FIGHTING!"

Sgt. Dream ran off in a hobbling trancelike gait.

As Rex watched him leave, the sleeve of his poorly fit martial skin slithered upward, revealing a wound.

His mind flashed to the night before when he hit Remulus on the arm.

But he couldn't be sure.

Shouldn't he have healed.

But the correlations.

The coincidences.

"I need answers. I need to find Imani."y