.
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Friday afternoon.
"...It's your second year now, how's being the Head Coach feel?"
Two person, one younger and one older, shook hands with each other on one side of Magnolia University's Battle Arena training fields.
"There's still much to learn from coach Lark of course."
"Hoo, what a sweet talker."
Reyner was the newly appointed Head Coach for the Magnolia Thorns.
The man had succeeded the position from his predecessor when he was still just an assistant of the previous Head last year.
Although he was quite considerably younger amongst the others of his position, his skill was quickly recognized when Magnolia still managed to maintain their usual Top 32 position in the last Silver Crown under his first-time leadership.
"on the contrary, I should think it's around the time the new bloods start to surpass us old-timers right?"
"Haha, don't joke about that Coach Lark, you're still far younger compared to some of the Tier-1 coaches you know. I bet you still have a few years left in you!"
"Haha..."
'A 'few' huh? This kid...'
The pleasantries were filled with undetectable tensions between the two Head Coach. Contrary to that, the interactions between the other coaches had seemed far friendlier in comparison.
"How's the harvest this year?" One of the coaches from Ravenville asked.
"It's a rather fine year for us. Of course, no school is as fortunate as Ravenville this year. Haha, how're those Starseeds doing?"
"They've been remarkable. Still a bit green I should think, but it's really plain luck for us to get them both."
"I'm really looking forward to it..."
*chatter* *chatter*
.
Though the 'managers' of the teams had already started trading their greetings amongst each others, the members were not quite blending in, if at all.
Each of them was just standing quietly behind their coaches in front.
It's not really because of hostility or any form of bad blood between the two teams.
It was more that unlike the adults, the two groups had had no obligations to interact with one another beyond the realm of the match.
Of course, it's not as if ALL the players were particularly opposed to the idea of more interactions...
"Godd*mn, there're so many girls here!"
"More like almost half of them are girls, perhaps even more..."
Currently, both Dan Young and Greg Clayton were chatting with each other from behind the 1st string group with their eyes sparkling.
"How are they all so good looking even though most of them should be the sporty type?"
"Well-- Technically speaking, the girls in our team aren't really losing in that department themselves."
"Yeah, but think about it. The Captain, Dormer, none of 'em are easy to approach..." Dan explained with a serious face.
""...""
"...You know, as both rivals and people who walked the same path, we should maintain amiable relationships with other schools' players don't you think?" He then proceeded to grin from ear to ear.
"Y, you mean...?"
*serious nod*
"Let's ask for their numbers be--"
"--before the match, Is it? ...Can you two act more proper? Quite frankly it's embarassing. Especially the one with the same face as me."
"Greg..."
But before the two of them could continue on with their schemes, both Dennis and Derrick had suddenly approached them from the side.
"Come on, Der, loosen up! What's wrong with a bit of bonding?"
"Please don't say 'bonding'." Derrick pulled his head back a little while feeling creeped out,
"Second of all, even if you want to do such things, you should wait till after our match!"
*tsk* "Buzzkill..."
"Hey, we're saving you here. Do you think you two are speaking quietly enough that the Captain can't hear you?" Dennis chided.
""!!""
With such a realization, both Dan and Greg immediately turned to the front of the group, finding the figure of their Captain standing straight and silent without looking back.
Weirdly enough such lack of gestures from her had instead given the two a very ominous feeling.
""...""
"...Let's win this sparring match senior Young!"
"You got it Clayton! For Ravenville!"
"..." This time, it was the other two's turn to feel speechless.
.
.
On the other side of them, which was the Magnolia Thorns' own camp.
The impressions that the players had of Ravenville were actually not that bad.
The 2nd and 3rd string players who saw the black and grey blazers worn by the Illusions' regulars had felt rather intimidated by their sheer presence from afar.
"So those are..."
"Yeah, the Ravenville Illusions. How domineering."
*gulp*
"Doesn't that guy looks familiar, is that--"
*whispers* *whispers*
Various types of conversations were taking place between the Thorns' players at the same time that the guys from Ravenville were looking around.
.
And on a place far closer than those others,
"That's... The untouchable, Renee Morgan. So it's true that she was appointed Captain after the last season."
The girl who regularly hung out with Sylphie also took note of the other team's players while standing amongst the Magnolia's 1st string regulars herself.
"Of course, if even she's not worthy of the mantle, nobody else is." Sylphie replied,
Just like the rest, she too was subtly scanning the oppositions with a rare look of seriousness on her face.
"...See, I was right."
"What about?"
"Isn't that Irvine Lang right there?" Sylphie lightly pointed her chin towards the middle of the Ravenville group.
Amongst the many famous figures of Ravenville's 3rd and 4th years around him. Irvine's unfamiliar face could be said to be standing out in a different way.
"That's him? ...Huh, so that's how he looked like." The friend beside Sylphie nodded as she also noticed another new but more familiar figure.
"Woah, that Medea Dormer's also here. Both of the Starseeds have made the Ravenville's 1st string team within the first week??"
"They should've greatly improved their specs after the License Exam. We should consider any available data we have on them to be obsolete by now."
*nod*
For a second, the girl had thought that her Captain's face had darkened because of the gravity of the situation. But then,
"...Huhuhuhu." A creepy laugh quickly broke out from under her breath,
"Hey, do you think I should greet him? Ah, maybe ask for his contact first, or--"
"...No. Stay still. Don't move an inch from here."
In her mind, she was thinking on how her captain couldn't be as dignified as the other team's.
'The Untouchable... She has the cool Captain aura alright, but here...'
.
.
In his group, Irvine had also noticed the piercing glare of one person in front that seemed to be directly aimed at him.
And he could even recognize who that person was.
'That... it's Sylphie Hunter? The Sigma Conquerors' Fielder. So she's from Magnolia...'
"You know the new Captain of the Thorns?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice that he hadn't heard in a long time reached Irvine's ear.
He looked back to see the figure in his mind overlapping with the person next to him.
"...I know her as a player, but we're not acquainted in any way. I do wonder why she's glaring at me?"
"Huh. Interesting."
"And why're you here Mister Lambert?"
The man beside him sported his usual bedhair style with casual clothes covered in blazer.
It was John Lambert, the Ravenville's scout who Irvine had first met during his License Exam with Medea.
"It's my job. As a scout, I need to go from one sparring match to another, collecting enough data of the enemy to use during the season."
"Ah, now that you mention, this is the most hectic period for you guys, isn't it?" Irvine nodded in understanding.
Before the Warrior Crown, every schools in Olympus would be scheduling their own friendly matches in pairs of two against one another.
And because these would be informal matches, scouts of many different rival schools had to run around at a moment's notice the second these matches' schedules were to be leaked or announced.
"That's about the gist of it, but wait... Don't tell me you didn't notice me taking the same bus as you during the 3 hours travel it took to get here?"
"Ah, I was watching some of Magnolia's previous matches the whole time we were on the bus."
"..."
*SIGH*
"Anyway," John continued after letting out a few seconds of his exhaustion.
"You should keep your wits about you in these matches, Lang."
"Hm?"
"...Other scouts, huh?" Irvine understood what he meant after putting together John's presence here with some other factors.
"That's right. With two new 1st year Starseeds that have little to no data suddenly appearing on our main team, no colleges worth their salt in Arena would let this chance to evaluate you and Miss Dormer there go by unattended."
"..."
'So that's why coach told me not to use the [Impact Armor] here... The audience won't simply be limited to Magnolia, huh.'
"Keh, and I bet that uptight guy will also arrive here sooner or later."
"Ah, him." Irvine knew that John was talking about the scout from Verdant who he'd also met previously.
"Well, enough about that. What I'm more interested in is why that young new Captain of the Thorns seems so interested in you."
"...Who knows, maybe she likes me." Irvine gave a blatant answer with a straight face.
*PFFT*
"HAHAH! Yeah, good one!"
"Either that or she's seen me during or after the License Exam."
Either way, Irvine was convinced that the him before the return wouldn't attract the attention of a future pro team starter like her.
"...Gotta say I truly didn't expect you to be part of the 1st string this quickly."
"What would you think if I also help us won the Silver Crown this year on top of that?"
"I'd think that I'm gonna be rich just from my additional bonus of recruiting you."
"Haha, then I should get some commission from you just in case." Irvine suddenly showed a rare glint in his eyes.
"Teenagers shouldn't think about money."
.
.
And on the other side of the campus.
Just as John had predicted, the people that were arriving at Magnolia's campus ground were not just limited to the team from Ravenville alone.
In front of the main gate of the university, a middle-aged gentleman wearing a monocle was walking side-by-side with a slightly younger man sporting a slicked back hair and formal suit.
One of them was precisely the anticipated scout that John was most reluctant to meet today.
Rex and Rory Smith were each representing the other current top schools of Zeta City, Verdant College and Eastern Zeta University. And their purpose for coming here today was quite obvious.
After all, Ravenville would become their main competitor the moment the Warrior Crown Tournament officially began.
"Hoho, we're not late. It's a good thing the traffic was tolerable today." Rex commented with a relaxed face.
"Yes. We can't very well miss the first display of Ravenville's lineup for this season." Rory pushed his glasses up while also replying to him.
"Hmhm."
"How's the Windrider though, really. Some news told me that 'that guy' finally come back from the military and resumed his college degree."
"News spread pretty fast... I hope the Silverbacks' not having too much on their hand from getting the Starseed Medea Dormer stolen."
"Hoho... You don't have to worry about that Mister Smith. Our own Starseed is already at his 4th year after all. That is the peak of a college career."
"Then I guess Ravenville is not really the biggest threat for at least another year. I'll make sure to report to the coach to put more focus on Eastern Zeta."
The two's conversations were laced with direct and blatant probing of each other.
Rex didn't reply to Rory's last words but simply smiled.
"By the way, what are Eastern Zeta's scouts team doing? Aren't you supposed to be the assistant Head Coach?" Rory asked rather curiously the one important question on his mind.
"Hmmm... We're a bit shorthanded in that area right now. It's actually rather troubling. But as you said. We can't very well miss our homework in this department, so I volunteer."
"Most exemplary. As expected of you, sir."
"No no, scouting's more of a younger men's game. I'll pass it back on sooner or later once we've filled this hole in our structure." Rex waved his hand and continued,
"But until then, I'll be counting on you to take good care of me for at least this half of the season. And John as well, we're all representing Zeta City in the end."
"Agreed."