Chloe looked over at Rein, perplexed as to what he did the night prior. He suddenly asked to switch rooms, claiming that the girls would feel more comfortable with another girl sleeping with them. She thought that she’d question him later, putting the issue at the back of her mind. They were lined up next to the other participants in the arena’s main hall, in front of the receptionist. There were only 7 of them in total now, following the leave of Weiss. There was silence in the hall, as they waited for the arrival of a very important person.

Suddenly, the large, wooden door slowly opened. A woman, who looked like she was in her late 20s walked in accompanied by a man with glasses. The woman had long, wavy brown hair, blue eyes, and ever slightly tanned skin. She wore a long cerulean blue coat that reached her knees, and a white shirt underneath that outlined her voluptuous figure. The man behind her had black, unkempt hair with green eyes. He wore a white buttoned-up lab coat, with brown pants, holding a rectangular device in his hands. The woman stood cross-armed in front of the group of participants, with the man standing behind her. She took a breath, then spoke with her loud, assertive voice.

“My name is Julianne Starsage. I’m a 12th prestige Ranger and the principal of Ranger Academy. I would like to formally congratulate you for making it past the preliminary round. It would seem one of you has dropped out of the contest, which means that one of you will have a free pass into the second round of the tournament. Getting this pass will also automatically guarantee you a top 5 placement and a free ride to the Academy. Luck is a skill as well you know? Only two of you will be going home with nothing, meaning that even if you lose in the first round, you will still have the chance to pass the tiebreaker for 5th place. Now, I’d like you all to introduce yourselves. Let’s start with you, with the scarf over his face.” Everyone was entranced by her powerful voice, except the scarfed boy, who answered her calmly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mistress Julianne. I was the first qualifying participant during the preliminary. As for my name, I’d rather not say. As for where I’m from, I’d rather not say. As for my hobbies, I’d rather not say. As for my reason for being here, I’d rather not say. That is all.” The boy did not introduce himself at all. Everyone looked at him with great confusion.

“Alright, next. You, with the piercings.” Julianne continued down the line as if the previous introduction was something normal. The bespectacled man behind her screamed out.

“Mistress, please! The boy did not even state his name! Surely you don’t count that as an introduction!” The unkempt man implored her to further question the mysterious boy.

“Wallace, he has chosen not to share that information, therefore it is not within my power at the moment to force him to comply even if I wanted him to.” She explained, the man she called Wallace realizing that the boy was not a student at the school yet, meaning they did not have authority over him.

“Let’s continue.” She looked at the tall delinquent, making him clamp up and stand up straight.

“My name is Quint Vossen and I was the second person to qualify ma’am! I was born and raised in Zacrozir. I came here because I heard that I could get a luxury suite if I won. That’s it…” Quint talked carefully as to not let any informal words slip through. To people he saw to be above him, Quint talked directly opposite to how he talked otherwise.

“Ah, the central city in Orthlys. We always get some interesting students from there. Anyways, hooded girl, you’re next.” She glanced at Chloe, then she took a closer look. “Oh?” Julianne remarked, followed by a soft laugh. As Wallace looked at her face, he grew a surprised, then furious expression, calming down shortly after, releasing his tension with a sigh. Chloe straightened her stance.

“My name is Chloe Aska and I was the third to qualify.” She stopped talking. Silence grew over the hall as everyone expected her to continue her speech, but she didn’t.

“Very well, next is you.” Julianne looked at the next participant, catching him off guard.

“Oh! My name is Reggie Greybrewer, I’m a master martial artist from Bacaros and I was the 4th to qualify. This may not sound very confident of me, but I believe I got lucky in that no weapons were allowed during the preliminaries.” Said the brown-haired male.

“Ah, you’re from the Greybrewer dojo. I’ve visited it before, it’s a very nice place.” She looked at the next person “You’re next mirror boy.” The participant wasn’t paying attention, looking at themselves in the mirror. Wallace stomped his foot, causing the ground to shake and catching the uninterested participant’s attention.

“My my, calm yourself fool. My name is Dwayne Collins, son of the noble family of Treaq. It’s only natural that I would qualify in the top 5. I’m sure I do not need any further introductions. Frankly, I would rather save my breath.” Said the pompous blonde-haired man. He infuriated Wallace, but not because of the comments he made. It was because Dwayne was part of the infamous ‘Collins’ family, which was known to conduct vile and inhumane experiments. Nobody knew what they were, but the Collins family didn’t deny the accusations, in fact, they were proud of them. The principal did not comment on him and simply moved on to the next person.

“It would seem as though participant number six has dropped out due to unknown circumstance…” She looked over at Rein, who pretended not to notice her suspicious glare, then looked at Clyde.

“My name is Clyde Morioh and I was the seventh qualifying participant. I hail from the island of Aj’ess in eastern Orthlys. I’m here simply because I want to become a ranger. That is all.” He said with a respectful tone, which gained Wallace’s approval.

“The island of Aj’ess, home to the legendary Kazaha school of swordsmanship. Interesting, I look forward to seeing what you can do with a katana. Anyways, our final participant, you’re up.” Julianne looked at Rein.

“My name is Rein Xilris and I was the eighth to qualify. I was born and raised in Orthlys, then moved to the Elven forest around the time the war began. My guardian forced me to come here when he left my sisters and me with no money. I figured I might as well win a free luxury room, you know?” He said confidently, provoking some of the other participants. One of them spoke out.

“Hohoho! You’re oddly confident for an eighth placing maggot. I will have fun crushing you under my heel.” Exclaimed Dwayne Collins. Rein gave no reaction to his remark, which further infuriated him.

“Interesting, you’re name is Rein, yes?” Asked Julianne curiously, seeming as though she wanted to confirm something.

“Yes ma’am?” He responded worryingly, thinking she may have seen through his lie.

“Do you, by any chance, know the name ‘Leona’?”