They arrived at the port city of Habisin, which was now Orthlys territory, at 11:00 AM. They managed to catch the last ferry leaving to the port town on the opposite side of the gulf, the town of Stogue. To gain entry to the island, you had to show the pamphlet to the helmsman, who would specifically take the ferry there for you. The group was dropped off at a small, metal platform in the middle of the water, and left there, seemingly stranded.

“Rein, I believe the term for what just happened to us is ‘pranked’.” Stated Saphrilla.

“Hm, I coulda sworn Leona used to come here… Let’s look around. There must be some sort of mechanism.” Rein scratched his head. They began looking around the platform, checking for any hidden keys or levers.

“Hey, guys! I found a button! What do you think it does?” Emria pointed at a small bump sticking out of the floor, which the other 2 came to inspect.

“Only one way to find out. If it’s anything dangerous, I’ll take care of it.” Rein said as he pressed the button, causing the platform to start descending into the water. Somehow, there was a forcefield that created a dome around the platform, allowing entry to no water.

“Wowwww!! We’re going down!”

“Indeed. It seems as though the headquarters are located underground.”

They quietly descended, all of them entranced by what they were experiencing. Eventually, they descended past the water into a humongous cavern, lit with glowing stones. That’s where they saw it, Ranger Academy. A large, red school-looking building with countless different facilities such as the academy field, the auditorium, and the fighting stadium, which the tournament would take place in. The elevator continued to descend, eventually reaching the floor of the cavern. The two girls looked around all they could, while Rein headed straight for the stadium, focused on one goal. He didn’t bother taking in all the scenery. He saw this place as a tool, a stepping stone to becoming a Ranger.

He arrived at the stadium and saw that there was a line up to the booth. He stood behind a girl wearing a white hoodie, black shorts with red leggings underneath. She had her hood up, looking suspicious in the eyes of the receptionist. When it got to her turn to sign up, a problem arose.

“Miss, please take your hood off. We can’t have any suspicious individuals going into the school.” Demanded the receptionist.

“You can see my face just fine. You can tell I’m the same person as in the ID.” Refuted the girl.

“Sorry, it’s regulations. You either take it off, or I disqualify you.” The girl stood there silently, for some reason not wanting to take her hood off. Rein glanced over at the time, it was almost noon. He didn’t have time for this. The girl continued to stand still, doing absolutely nothing but clenching the sleeves of her hoodie tightly, her hands subtly beginning to tremble.

“Miss, I’m sorry, but you’re dis―”

“Just sign her up under my party. If anything happens with her, I’ll take responsibility. You can do that right?” Interrupted Rein, making the girl turn around, revealing her blonde hair and purple eyes, half full with tears. The receptionist sat there with a confused look on her face.

“Yes, I suppose I could,” said the receptionist reluctantly. “Please let me see your ID.” Rein handed her the fake ID that Voron forged, hoping that it passes.

“Look’s good! So is this girl the only one in your party?” Asked the receptionist.

“Nope! We’re here too!” Appeared Emria and Saphrilla. The receptionist asked for each of their names and IDs and wrote them all under Rein’s name, then allowed them to pass.

“Hey, Rein was it? Thanks for that. I was rea―”

“I didn’t do it to help you. It was 11:59, if you had taken any longer I would have missed my chance.” Rein said coldly, making the girl slightly sad.

“I’m sorry…” Muttered the girl. Rein’s response received him a punch on the shoulder by Emria.

“What he meant to say was ‘you’re welcome’! My name’s Emria! What’s your name miss?” Emria asked the girl cheerfully, causing the girl to lose her cool, suddenly hugging Emria and Saphrilla.

“Awww, you’re both so cute! My name’s Chloe, I’m from… Daster!” She says, continuing to hug the two girls tightly.

“My name is Saphrilla Xilris, as you can tell, I’m a half-elf. P-please release your grip on us. I can hardly breathe.” Said Saphrilla.

“Oh, sorry! So, you’re Emria Xilris, you’re Saphrilla Xilris, and he’s Rein Xilris? So you’re siblings? You don’t exactly look alike…” Said Chloe, putting her finger on her chin in a thinking motion. While examining Rein’s face, she grew a surprised expression.

“What?” Asked Rein.

“O-oh nothing! I just thought you reminded me of someone…” She said as she averted her gaze. He sighed and began explaining himself to avoid future questions.

“Emria and I were adopted by Saphrilla’s dad due to some circumstances. We’re not blood-related. Anyways, I haven’t eaten yet. Let’s head over to a food stall before I pass out of hunger.” Said Rein, as he motioned towards the stadium’s food court.

“Ummm Rein, didn’t you say we didn’t have any money?” Said Emria, Stopping him in his motion. He turned around and smiled wearily, all of their stomachs growling simultaneously as they all skipped breakfast. Chloe giggled, taking out her wallet from her shorts pocket.

“How about I treat you guys, as a thank you for helping me.” They all make their way towards the food stall, each person ordering a boatload of food, putting a strain on Chloe’s funds.

“So you’re from Daster? I’ve been there before! The shopping area there is huge! It took miss D8 and me all day to finish shopping.” Emria started a conversation with Chloe, eventually including everyone in the group. They all talked while they ate, the girls laughing at some of the stories Saphrilla told about Voron. Though, throughout the conversation, Rein noticed that something was off with Chloe. It was like she was hiding something more than what was under her hood.

After about 15 minutes of talking, a sudden booming announcement was made to signal the beginning of the preliminary round, the sound being so sudden it made Chloe, who was looking at her near-empty wallet with regret, drop it from her hands, causing all of the loose change to spill out.

“Sounds like my cue. Emria, Saphrilla, you both go up the stands and watch. You’re participating too right Chloe? Here, I’ll help.” Rein helped Chloe pick up her money. With no time left, Chloe handed Emria her wallet and ran towards the arena, forcing Rein to store the rest of the change in his inventory. Chloe and Rein made their way to the arena, passing through the belonging check gate, a magical gate that filters items through the passing party, allowing no blacklisted items, such as weapon rings, into the arena. Rein and Chloe stood idly, along with countless other people in the arena.

“Testing, testing. Can you guys hear me? Perfect! Welcome, all contestants to Ranger Academy! If you look into the stands, you’ll be able to see the people that you aspire to join, your possible future classmates, hahaha! Anyways, allow me to explain the preliminary round. This will be a battle royal style round, where only the top 8 will remain. You will each be given one 25 Pen coin to hold on to. These coins will be your keys to success because if you drop under one coin, you’re out! Steal other’s coin’s until you’ve reached 1 Dol, which for the mathematically challenged among you is four coins, hahaha! You may also choose to go through the death course, which leads you to a 1 Dol coin. I don’t recommend this, as there is a very high probability that you will die. Oh, and one more thing! Whoever qualifies first gets one a one million Dol bonus prize, so try your best because second place gets nothing!” Third-year students walked around, handing each participant a coin. Once everybody received a coin, the voice began to speak again.

“Now that everyone’s got their coins, you qualify by banking 1 Dol in the terminals on the sides of the arena… and with that, let the preliminary round begin!”