"Hello, is anyone there?" Hana yelled as she stood before the massive doors of a European styled mansion. This place was actually a dorm. It was the farthest from the school campus, on the edge of the city.
After she had finished her registration procedures, Elder Yuan had given her a piece of paper with an address and name. With a mysterious grin, he said,"All first years must enter a dorm. I think you will find this one extremely satisfactory."
So here she was. The dorm actually did look decent. It vaguely reminded her of the Polar Star dormitory from Food Wars for some reason, except that it was less run down.
The door creaked open.
"Hi . . . " The girl who opened the door had a frustrated expression. She glanced at Hana with a look of pity? The girl huffed before storming away angrily.
Hana caught a few of her angered curses as she walked away. "Stupid old fogey, who tests students like this. Why the hell should a dungeon hunter know how to do such miscellaneous things?"
The girl stomped away down the sidewalk in fury.
Well, ok then . . . Hana poked her head through the door. "Hello, is anyone here?"
"Are you here to try as well?" An old man with a walking stick hobbled over from the hallway.
"Um, I came to register as a student? Are you Elder Lan?"
"I am." Elder Lan focused on her with a strange intensity. "Girl, did no one tell you the rules?"
"Ah, no?" Rules? Hana was stumped. Elder Yuan didn't say anything like that.
"I am the patron of the Bluewing dorm," the elder introduced. "Currently, there are no students staying here because someone has yet to passed my test. Since you came, I assume you should known this."
Hana purses her lips. She actually didn't. "I will pass you're test."
The old man laughed. "Your confidence is stronger than most," his eyes narrowed, "but can you back it up?" Despite his weak demeanor, his eye radiated a sharp domineering presence that oppressed the surrounding atmosphere.
Hana's eye twitched. "I can." She held his eyes firmly, refusing to back down.
As they held each others gaze in a battle of wills, Elder Lan silently approved of her. This girl had guts. Her aura was quite heavy for someone her age, indicating she had endured through some experiences. Heh, very similar to that child.
"Then come." Hana followed him through a maze of hallways. Her gaze lingered on the walls. The architecture style was actually really old, but well-maintained. The floors were void of dust to an absurd degree. The walls were bare and hallways lacked decorations.
It was obvious that no one lived here, but why was everything so meticulously maintained? Did the housekeeper have cleaning OCD? Her mind traveled to a certain blue hair anime soccer player. Eh, probably it wasn't important.
"Elder Lan," Hana decided to ask, "you don't live here, do you?"
There was a small pause in his hobbling. "I do not." His voice was heavy. "You probably have noticed that this dorm is somewhat peculiar."
Hana nodded. 'Care to explain why?' she thought inwardly.
"The Bluewing dorm has not been occupied for twenty years." The rough voice of the elder continued on. "I was an alma mater of this dorm. After the school decided to sell this old place, I bought it and became the sponsor or whatnot."
He sighed. "In my day, the Bluewing dorm was the strongest in the school. However, it has declined to such a point."
Hana nodded. "I see, then are you trying to restore its prestige?"
Elder Lan snorted. "Of course not. Why should I care about such trivial matters?"
Hana had black lines on her head. Then why did you phrase your words like that. It's very easy to misunderstand you know!
Now that she thought of it, this old man was very eccentric. He clearly had the aura of powerful person, but portrayed himself as a weak old man. She knew from observing his gait that he was actually not dependent on that stick of his at all. So he was just using it like some prop.
Not to mention his mysterious act and all.
She decided to shut up and just follow him silently.
"Your test will take place in here."
Hana refocused. She had been led into . . . a kitchen?
The place was a mess. Multiple bowls of gloppy brown gunk were scattered over the marble countertops. The sink was overflowing with burnt pots. And there were baking trays full of unidentifiable objects. Even the island was covered in some purple substance.
She had seen bad anime food for the first time. Apparently you can cook something into a purple gunk . . .
"Elder, don't tell me your task is to clean the kitchen?" Is that why the rest of the house is so clean?All the other applicants must have been assigned to clean the place.
"You can if you wish." Elder Lan took a seat at the table next to the kitchen. "It may will probably be best if your workspace if neater."
Workspace? Hana blinked. "Elder, you're not . . . testing me on my cooking skills."
Elder Lan gave her a deep look. "Your task is to create an ancient dessert."
" . . . "