.
.
"Hmm, Irvine Lang is it...?" The university student in front of him took the invitation letter and ID card that Irvine had prepared beforehand as she tried to input his data to the computer.
When she'd heard his name the first time, the female student had felt that it was slightly familiar, a feeling that had caused her to space out a little at the start.
"Is there a problem?"
Seeing the unusual reaction, the senior male student next to her also came to approach and check on the situation.
"Nn, Not really, I just found his name somewhat familiar." She whispered in a lower voice so Irvine who was standing in front of them couldn't hear.
"Maybe he's a famous athlete, ours is a reputed university in many fields, there's bound to be a few well-known people coming here every year."
"Not that! You know me, I don't follow any kinds of sports."
"Well, still. Just process him first alright?"
"Right."
.
.
"...There, it's done! And with that, I officially welcome you to Ravenville, freshman!"
"Thank you."
"Is it all over? Or is there still something else I should do?" Irvine thanked his would be seniors for their services before asking what to do next.
"You're welcome! We've assigned you to Building-19 for your dorm this year, all you need to do now is just to connect your student ID with the building and your room, the building manager on the first floor can help you with this."
"You see, the student ID is used for pretty much everything here in campus. They double as a key card to many of the accessible facilities, and you can also put money in it to pay for most things." The male student added a little more explanation on the ID's function.
"Oh, and here it is. Your student ID card." At the end, he took out a plate of plastic card fresh from the printer with Irvine's photo, name, year, and student number on it.
"You can take it to your dorm first. You need to put away your luggage before doing anything else right?"
"Yes. Once again, thanks very much for this." Irvine gave a light nod to his two seniors.
"No problem. We're already schoolmates here so good luck!"
Irvine promptly proceeded to walk away from the counter after receiving the card and the documents back.
As advised, he was planning to go check out his dorm room and walk around the campus for a while before going to the prearranged meeting with the Battle Arena team in the afternoon.
'My first destination is the dorm building. Where is it again, Building-19...'
Irvine took out a brochure-shaped map of the campus ground from his pocket. An indispensable item for any new students unfamiliar with the school.
'Hm, it's not that far... I could just run there from here--'
"AH!"
However, before he had the time to walk outside of the administration building, a loud yell was heard from the direction behind him.
At first, he thought it was from the senior student back at the counter. But when he turned around, he saw that a moustached man in a suit was looking at him anxiously.
Following the shout, the man walked quickly to his side as he put out his hand for a shake.
"Mister Lang! Very sorry I'm late, I'm supposed to be showing you around the campus after you've finished the registration!"
"Ah, don't worry about it. I don't think there's any need to--"
"No no! I insist! This is the least we could do since you've decided to come to our humble university. Hahaha!"
"Well--"
"The name's Robert, but you can just call me Bob! No need for honorifics, I'm one of the university's staff in charge of handling the student athletes here in Ravenville."
"...Nice to meet you Bob."
"Now, let me take you to your dorm first before we go around the rest of the campus. I'll introduce you to all the important facilities until the afternoon when you're supposed to have your gathering with the team. Shall we go with my car?"
The whole time, Irvine hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise with the man. He ended up getting dragged outside by him following Bob's own pace.
After the moustached man, Bob, successfully pushed Irvine out the glass door, he gave a quick sharp glance back at the direction of the two university students who had processed Irvine's registration previously.
The glint in his eyes gave chills to the female student at the counter.
"...Oh no!" She suddenly shouted.
"What was that?"
"I-I think I remembered where I've heard the name... During the briefing yesterday, the teachers have given me a list of people to notify them about if and when any of them come to register."
"...And that Irvine Lang just now is on the list?"
*nod*
"I was supposed to share the list with you too, but the morning turned out to be rather hectic and-- Oh god..."
"..."
"W, why don't we first make sure that there's no other people on the list from the ones we have processed!"
"I'm dead... I hope the school won't take away my extra credits for this."
.
.
Just as the map had shown him, Irvine's drive with Bob to his dormitory building was relatively short from the administration hall.
Instead of partitioning the dorm based on the students' status, Ravenville University put the students of the same faculty or major in the same area block. This had been the way ever since the school's establishment.
For Irvine himself, it meant that unless there were other Arena student athletes with the same major as him. It was not very likely to meet another invited players around at least during this period of time.
All the rooms in Ravenville were 2-person bedrooms with shared indoor bathroom space and a small cozy living area with a compact dining table at its center.
All in all, the design was actually quite luxurious if compared to other colleges that had up to 4 people crammed together in a room.
*beep* *click*
In front of a room with his name on the plate, Irvine swiped his student card on the sensor lock, making the light on the door handle to turn green allowing him access inside.
"Wow."
"What do you think?" Bob stood behind him on the hallway and asked with a smile.
"Very spacious for a 2-person dorm, I think I'll like it here." Irvine replied politely to the question.
"You say that now, but you probably won't be here past your 1st year Mister Lang."
"Hm, why is that?"
"I've pointed out to you our Arena training field and stadium just now right? The one we drove by?"
"Yes."
"Did you see the mansion-like building on the side of the stadium too? The one that looked like a private villa?"
"..." Irvine seemed to vaguely remember the building that Bob was describing,
"Are you saying the Arena team members get to live there?"
"Haha, no of course not. Though it looks like that, the place is our Ravenville Illusions athletic facility. The interior was filled with cutting edge technology to both train and maintain one's health." He explained,
"From restoration pods, to cryo chambers and saunas, the place have everything an Arena athlete would need."
"Like a gym then, so why did you say I won't live here past my freshman year?"
"Well it's not JUST training facilities. The building provides many entertainments such as game room, snack bars, and cafeteria. Most importantly, all the 1st string players in the roster are allowed to spend the night and live there during the season. Which is what usually happens."
"And considering your title as a Starseed Mister Lang, I just think that by this time next year or even next semester, you'll most likely be part of that same list of players!"
'Next year?'
"I'm planning to play in the Warrior Crown this year though..." He replied honestly.
"..." Bob turned silent for a while at his statement.
Not only was Irvine planning to become a 1st string, he's also planning to enter the Crown Tournament as a starter.
"Hoho, that'd be something! I guess you can try that too, but."
"...I think you'll find that our 1st string players are not so easily replaceable by the freshmen even if it's someone who already got their genes modified like you Mister Lang."
What he'd said was not mere provocation because it's true that there're a lot of sophomores who had gone through Gene Mod but stayed in the 2nd string.
Even though Bob was not someone who's specifically in charge of Battle Arena student athletes, with how Ravenville was most well-known for that one sport, the entirety of the university paid much attention to the Arena team's development.
The staffs, teachers, and even many of the students here were all fans of the Ravenville Illusions just like the citizens of Zeta City were more likely to be fans of the Zeta Androids.
"Of course I'd expect nothing less from the top players in college Arena, but. As a player, I should also aim high for myself, shouldn't I?"
"...That's true!" Bob laughed at Irvine's answer,
"Then I truly look forward to the time where I can see you on the field with our official uniform on. Hopefully bringing victories our way!"
"That's the plan. I'll try my best to live up to it."
.
Irvine's room was on the 4th floor of Building-19.
Since there're rarely anyone else on campus who'd been back this early for the new academic year, after inspecting the room a little more and putting away his luggage on his preferred bed, Irvine also left the room to continue the rest of his tour with Bob.
From classroom buildings to stores and parks, he drove together in the car seeing the whole area of the campus instead of just the Arena's training field like the last time he'd come by himself.
The guided explanation that came with being driven around the many different green scenery of the prestigious university was a very enjoyable experience for Irvine.
Plus, there's also the fact that with Bob around, he had covered more ground in a short amount of time that he wouldn't be able to if he was walking around by himself.
The area that covered the whole of Ravenville University was huge, to the point that there were free campus buses that circled the premises regularly for students without any means of transport inside.
Irvine himself personally thought that he'd rather get a bike after saving some money so that he could get a little exercise in between commutes.
.
.
.
Closing in on the afternoon.
Inside a wide and futuristic-looking locker room with warm lighting, various parts of black, white, and grey exosuits were hung on each of the racks that were a part of the private lockers.
Each locker consisted of an equipment rack that took up a large part of the mid-section, the drawers on the left-right and top side of it, and the low seat on the bottom for the player to sit and prepare during briefings.
Aside from the locker attached to the room walls, the center area of the room was also filled with rows of padded benches stacked together.
Inside this wide empty room, presently there were a few people sitting around and watching a certain video on the wall-mounted large screen TV on one side of the wall.
*BUZZ*
The hustles and bustles from inside the television were spreading outwardly, filling the whole room with many different topics and discussions.
"Goddamn, Adrian Crowe is freaking crazy!" A man with a pair of sharp and slanted eyes commented while munching on snacks in his mouth as he kept watching the match on TV.
Currently it was showing the replay of a last-minute saving play performed by the Sigma Conqueror's Ace Fielder.
"You know, there're some rumours before that he's coming to play for the Androids." One of the people beside him responded with his own news that he'd heard from somewhere else.
"Ah, I heard that too. But the trades and transfers season's over now, if he's coming it could only happen next year."
"Hng..." The guy with slanted eyes let out a little groan in response before speaking his own thoughts to the others,
"I don't think he's ever going to leave the Conquerors."
"Oh, why's that?"
"Just my own analysis... If he really does leave by himself, he might not be as great as he is now." He answered.
"Well, if you're the one saying it, Clint..."
"By the way, where's the captain? Is he registering?"
"Old students like us register online idiot."
*CLICK*
Their casual bicker quickly ended when they heard the door to their locker room being turned open from the outside.
*swing*
Two silhouettes came in through the open door.
As they walked, the two people were instantly noticed by the rest of the players in the room.
"Oho, here comes our 2 new star players!" The guy with the sharp and slanted eyes called Clint greeted the oncoming figures from his seat.
"It's the pre-season, you guys coming up to the 1st string right...?"
"Wallace, Clayton."
On the back, the dark-skinned Derrick and bulky Greg slowly walked forward to approach their seniors.
"I'm planning to. These 2 weeks will be the final sprint for that." Derrick replied honestly.
"How's your new Ability? Adapting well?" Clint grinned.
"Yes."
"What about you fatty?"
"Where do you even see fat in this magnificent body of mine?" Greg felt offended at his remark and showed his bulging muscles even more.
"Uwah... Please don't say or do stuff like that, I think I'm gonna hurl."
"What are you watching?" Derrick changed the subject with a wry smile.
"It's the OPL pre-season friendly match." One of the guys in the room answered.
"Oh! The all-star match!"
The OPL pre-season match were widely known as the all-star match, where all the notable pro players from the previous season were called out to play against each other.
The players invited were all coming from different teams, so the friendly match was hosted using the random draw format between each position to create an impromptu team of all-star players facing each other.
It was less of a serious match and more like a service for the fans.
"But what about the new recruits? They're coming in shortly and the 3rd years are in charge right?"
"Yeap. We'll take care of them just like how the Captain and the others took care of you guys last year."
"..."
"By the way Wallace, do you know someone named Irvine Lang from the License Exam?"
"Hm? Of course! He's the--"
"4th Starseed. I know."
"But why are you asking suddenly--" Before he could complete his sentence, an idea started to form inside Derrick's head,
"D, don't tell me..."
Clint's smile got even wider at this point with his eyes turned into a slit, "Hmhmm, It won't be long before our Ravenville could take the Silver Crown that's for sure."
Clint had already seen Irvine's video on the License Exam and were very interested in his playstyle.
'That guy's coming to Ravenville!? ...Such coincidence.' Derrick could still remember his performance during the Practical Exam a couple months back.
Of course, he knew that the coincidence was only from his point of view because Irvine was one of the very few people titled as a Starseed this year.
The other side was probably choosing a college in Zeta City for his own personal reason.