3 The Mark

Alexander came to a halt when he noticed the woman in the hallway staring at him from the far end of their classroom.

Benjamin murmured in a low voice, "She will be joining us in class."

"Would you two gentlemen, Mr. Creed and Mr. Smith, please come in so we can start our class?" As he stood behind them, Professor Valdez made the statement.

"Please forgive me, professor." Alexander was pushed into the classroom by Benjamin as he entered.

Even though Alexander was seated in the front row, he was still acutely aware of people looking at him from behind, which bothered him. Then, as he clutched his chest, Alexander felt a peculiar heat draw deeper into his flesh. (What is it this time? Damn it! Why now when I have a tryout ...)

Because the pain continued to be so severe, he started to sweat. (It's begun again...) Alexander had been experiencing pain for weeks and was at a loss to determine the source of the discomfort he was feeling.

Alexander was in such excruciating discomfort that he was oblivious to the fact that he had fallen into his seat and lost consciousness.

Everyone in the room immediately rushed to his assistance and helped him get to the clinic so he could be examined.

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Alexander let out a low growl while being treated and rested at the clinic. The sweat that was gathering on his forehead was of the grainy variety.

"Go find your guardians; you'll need them because the Dark Knight is on his way." "The Dark Knight is on his way." Concern can be heard in the tone of the voice.

Suddenly opening his eyes, Alexander reached out and touched his chest. He couldn't help but be taken aback when he thought back on the agony.

"Your power is beginning to awaken, and on your 16th birthday, you will soon obtain your full potential."

Alexander was taken aback when he recognized the voice as belonging to a woman, and he quickly looked... Alexander suddenly became aware of a hand pulling back the curtain. "It's you," he murmured as he took in the appearance of his new fellow student.

The young lady introduced herself to the man as Neriza, stating that she was one of his archangels as she stood up and moved closer to him.

"Could you please clarify that for me?" Alexander asked with a frown on his face. He hurriedly sat down, slipped his shoes on, and then stood back up.

"You don't have time because the Dark Knight is getting closer; if you want to live, you must find your other archangel." "If you want to live, you must find your other archangel." The solemn explanation offered by Nerissa.

"Do you write, I wonder, Ms.? If you are currently working on a fiction novel, that appears to be promising. Nevertheless, I kindly ask that you leave me out of your story." Nerissa was interrupted by Alexander. Before leaving the clinic, he stared at her intently before walking away.

Nerissa's gaze followed Alexander as he walked out the door. She was well aware that he would seek an explanation from her before disclosing his power to anyone else.

In the meantime, Alexander makes a mad dash to the soccer field where the tryouts will be held.

"I was worried that you wouldn't be able to attend the trial! What the heck happened? Did you just black out?" Benjamin enquired while handing him the garments to wear during the trial.

Alexander retorted, "I felt ill earlier, but I'm fine now," as he stripped off his clothes to change into tryout attire. "I'm fine now."

"Put a halt to that right away! What exactly does it consist of?" When Benjamin saw the engraving that was on his chest, he forbade him from wearing the clothes that belonged to him.

"What exactly is the problem?" Alexander inquired while observing what Benjamin was looking at on Alexander's body and then turned his attention to Benjamin. He then yells out, "Fuck!" That is the reason why Alexander is feeling so uncomfortable! Someone is removing chunks of skin from his body.

"I had the impression that I was your closest friend. Why didn't you just come clean and tell me you would get a tattoo?" Benjamin inquired with great enthusiasm.

"Are you deaf? Is this the kind of tattoo you want to get? It looks almost like a scar on the face! "said Alexander. After dressing, he walked over to the majority of the players on the soccer team and introduced himself.

If it's not a tattoo, then what is it exactly? Benjamin questioned him later while he was chasing after him quickly.

"Do you remember the new student in our class? She is currently at the clinic, and she is making inexplicable statements. In addition to this, she is aware of the discomfort in my chest, "Alexander remarks.

"Is she coming up behind you? I have no idea how you are feeling; I have no idea how she knew! "said Benjamin. As soon as their coach started talking, their conversation ended abruptly.

"Your first order of business will be to acquire the skills necessary to kick a ball. Please, Captain, demonstrate how we can get the ball into the net despite the great distance between us and the goal." The head coach explained that while Dylan, the team captain, received the ball, he passed it to him.

Dylan flashed a grin as he made his way toward the center. "Take note of how you should be kicking." The final cautionary note from Dylan before things got serious. He moved one step forward before unleashing a powerful kick into the back of the net.

The regular players cheered as the ball made its way into the middle of the goal net.

"Thank you very much for your assistance, Captain. Therefore, my opponent in the next game will be whoever is capable of getting the ball into the net from this distance, "remarked the head coach. The announcement jolted the group of players awake and brought them back to the present.

Even though it was impossible for them to get the ball that far, they did not give up. The participants started kicking the ball, but surprisingly, not even half of them successfully reached the ball into the net.

The coach comforted the players by assuring them, "Don't worry, almost all of you have good footwork; maybe in a few years of practice, you can also enter the game."

The coach beckoned for Mr. Benjamin Smit to come forward and said, "Please step forward."

"Focus your attention and kick the ball with all your might!" The reassuring words of support Alexander offered to his companion- Hoping the ball would be able to travel through the air. He also kept a close watch on everything that his friend did.

"Mr. Benjamin Smith, are you certain you wanted to join soccer team? Or you're just lost?" Dylan's question caused everyone in the room to burst out laughing.

Benjamin paid them no attention and instead concentrated his attention intently on kicking the ball. "I can do this! If I want to help Alexander, I need to enter this crazy team!" When he felt ready, he gave a powerful kick to the ball. (for him it's powerful ... but for the other?)

On the other hand, the witnesses couldn't help but laugh when the ball slowed down and moved more slowly after it had traveled almost half the distance near the net.

Benjamin did an about-face and then went back to where Alexander was standing. "I'm a failure..." he utters sulking.

Alexander sighed as he observed that the ball had not come to a complete stop. "Ben, don't give up... the ball is still moving," he told Ben.

As a result of the ball going into the net, the onlookers were unable to believe their eyes.

"Wahhh!!! Thank you, Lord! It enters the net!" Benjamin couldn't contain his excitement as he yelled it out and raced over to give his pal Alexander a hug.

"It would appear that you are very fortunate; I am completely baffled about how the ball found its way into the net. As I mentioned earlier in the conversation, you have the opportunity to take part." Before calling the next play, the coach voiced his disbelief at the previous one.

The coach addressed and read his book, "Next, Mr. Alexander Creed." All the members of the soccer team focused their attention on Alexander.