The embarrassment of a victory was made known throughout the expanses of the school's individual societies, causing an uproar on the topic of the replacement of the pawns. With the opportunity for joint the fabled Autom board in front of them, many students started to attend the training hall to practice their combat abilities in the hope of landing a spot as a pawn.
But of course there were still many who were not interested in joining the board. Many of the obscure societies deliberately scattered to avoid a forced recruitment, while others hid themselves at the outskirts of the school grounds. This was because of the fact that being on the board was a huge responsibility, and not everyone wanted to be weighed down by taking on the role of a board member. However, being on the board does have its own perks, such as the bonus of having a much more sparkling resume to show off to possible employers, it also served as a way to prepare influential youths before they become leaders.
Whatever the reason, the board was storming through every nook and cranny of the school; knocking down every door to make sure they found every single student. By the end of the first day of the recruitment phase, there were 400 students gathered in the main auditorium.
Vale sat at the front row next to Luna because they were part of the newspaper, surrounded by other influential students. Vale held a particularly disinterested expression on his face as he began set up his camera. As it seemed, he was no interested in joining the board, same as Luna; who held her arms crossed as she silently watched the stage.
"Is the camera ready, Vale?" Luna impatiently asked.
"I am still changing the lenses, just wait a moment, Luna Dell." Vale quickly spoke as he continued to adjust his camera.
"Hmmph, they are finally getting on stage." Luna commented.
A set of board members entered the stage first, without the presence of the king nor the queen. The board members seemed to be sweating quiet intensely, projecting auras of anxiety to the student body. At this moment Vale's camera was focused on the group of board members, with Julian in the centre.
"Ready." Vale spoke.
"Good, make sure to capture every moment."
Vale silently awaited for the board members to speak, as he stood behind his tripod.
"Good morning, students of Autom High!" A girl with white hair spoke.
"As you may already know, the board is replacing all of its pawns. We invite all students to apply- no, we insist that all students apply. Remember, the Board represents our school! Make sure to put in your best effort so that we can recruit only the best!" The girl continued.
"Okay, Fiona, I will take it from here." Julian said as he began his part of the speech.
"Everyone here today understands that nothing can work here without the guidance of the teachers and the Board. So we ask all of those that have hidden their potential to consider undertaking the roles of leaders with us. Think of what you could do for your community? Put your abilities to good use and join the board, you will not regret taking this opportunity."
Vale ended the footage from there, handing off the camera to the still sitting Luna. He then sat down on his seat and slowly retreated into sleep.
"Hey, you over there. Get on the stage." A voice called.
Vale opened his eyes to find a tall figure on the stage pointing to him. It was none other than Julian, holding a mischievous expression on his face. Kelvin and Angelica were already on the stage at this point, and the audience patiently waited for Vale to get up from his seat and enter the stage.
*sigh*
Vale got up from his seat and jumped onto the stage.
"What do you need?" Vale asked.
"Your friend, Julian, has been telling us a lot about how you would make a fine addition to the Board. You are here to duel the second rook. Do not embarrass yourself." Angelica coldly announced.
"Huh? I am not interested in fighting the second rook. Besides, I am only a mid-high rank; please find someone else." Vale responded as his eyes darted away.
ZOOM
Angelica appeared right in front of him, urging him to step back to the middle area of the stage.
"You will fight, if we do not find your performance satisfactory, you will be expelled from Autom High." Kelvin announced.
"Very well."
Vale emptied his sleeves, revealing a set of black gloves. He quickly equipped them to his hands, making sure they fitted well. This was followed by a swift movement of his right hand into his jacket, revealing a matte black mask with twin red tinted eye holes.
"Are combat equipment permitted?" Vale asked coldly as he placed the mask on his face.
"Of course."
Vale quickly rolled his jacket sleeves back to his elbows, revealing a set of cables which were attached to a disc. On the end of the cables were hooks that had intricately barbed edges that seemed to be hand done. Vale then undid a clamp on each of the discs, releasing the cables; which he held with his hands.
With his arms outstretched to his sides, he dropped his body to a half-crouching position. As he did so, the second rook walked onto the stage; equipped with a metal hammer and a set of heavy duty gloves.
"Kid, don't disappoint the king." The rook spoke coldly.
Vale stood up straight as the rook spoke this. The masked student simply loosened his tie and waited for the inevitable.
"You better not embarrass the Newspaper!" Luna shouted.
"I will show you the power of a high rank."
"Refinement and proofreading. Those are things that people must do in writing. Fact checks also determine whether a person's word can be trusted. The truth lies with the facts, and the quality lies with the author." Vale spoke.
"I wonder how a rook losing to just a Newspaper boy will sound on headlines?"