The man called out the names of a few teachers who stood up and introduced themselves. It was simple to applaud, and he would move on to the rest.
He called the last teacher's name and suddenly stopped.
"Now we are thrilled for the new recruits but this year we are lucky enough to have some Retired Mobsters within our establishment that spent 2 of the past years in Roam."
The crowd collectively gasped when.
Goteng Ju nodded expecting their reaction.
"You all know that this year's students are very talented and have all proved themselves in one way or another. Some being in the 10 strongest families in Guram, with this being the case we spared no effort in finding the Most qualified Mobsters to teach this year's new students.
I hope no one sees this as special treatment but they are well-seasoned fighters within their own rights and have a lot of experience."
The crowd let out some dissatisfied grunts, but it was only natural.
Junya assumed he was referring to Alice whose name had not been called yet despite being a teacher, and she was still shovelling food into her mouth
"You eat up to a kid, quit staring at me," Alice said seeing him looking at her. He glanced away and continued eating while the man droned on.
"Without further Ado, I would like to welcome Augustus Myres, Leon Dawes and Alice Wonder— please stand so everyone can see.
As Goateng's words left his mouth sudden lights flashed and shone down on three figures. Alice managed to get the food down her throat before quickly standing up.
There was a small round of applause, partly because of their lavish introduction. Goateng allowed them to sit before continuing about the future of the school.
"I think we should leave now, it's getting pretty late," Alice looked over to Junya and he could tell she was dying of boredom.
Coincidentally the lights came back on signalling the end of the event.
Alice stood up to leave but was quickly approached by someone looking to make a link.
"Alice, thank you for your service beyond the walls, I know it must have been incredibly difficult for you" The man rubbed his fat fingers together with a smile. "I would love to introduce you to my son, he will be in your care next month, I thought it was a good time for you both to meet"
"Hello Madam, my name's Elliot, It's a pleasure to have someone as talented as you here" Elliot stretched his hand toward Alice with his chest high.
"What a coincidence, my nephew is the same age as you, Junya have you met Elliot?"
Junya still hadn't gotten up from his seat yet, when he finally did, he saw Elliot who was rather shocked, to say the least. His face grew slightly pale and Junya felt a sense of accomplishment.
"Junya, have you met Elliot?" Alice repeated. Before looking around and giving Junya a cheeky grin. He decided to play along, what damage could it do?
"Oh, I definitely have. If I correctly recall all I wanted to do was introduce myself, but he wasn't fond of my attire, He ridiculed me with his friends. I simply wanted to establish a friendship, but he was cruel to my kind gesture," Junya sighed feigning sadness.
"I see, I never would have imagined..." The father said slightly disappointed at his son's behaviour.
Elliot was shooting Junya, with a glare that could kill them. His cold stare was enough to let Junya know he was stronger than him, but ignorance was key.
"It's fine sir, I'm rather tired and would like to retire. So, if you'd excuse me, goodnight." Alice bowed and dragged Junya into the elevator before anyone else could approach.
The door shut freeing her from her act.
"It would have been a lot better if I wore something formal" Junya pointed out.
"I didn't wear anything like that, what's the problem?"
"Everyone sucks up to you cause you're strong. I can't just leach of your status"
Alice just nodded. "You wouldn't understand my plan anyway. Don't worry, School starts in a few weeks, I was planning on letting you get some training in and get your rating to at least D-, I can't have you being weaker than some rich snob"
Junya nodded with a smile, "I like the sound of that."
As they reached outside, their driver was already waiting to pick them up. They stepped into the vehicle before leaving the venue.
"Madam, where will you be going"
"Take me to my house"
"As you wish" The man turned off at an intersection at her words.
In today's day and age, even billionaires found it hard for a mansion. It was a daunting task to get a house because of the scarcity of land and expensive resources. Since loaning agencies hire Mobsters to collect money when payments are late— people have resorted to renting houses and squatting in government-owned buildings.
As they drew near, Junya felt lucky to have Alice as his caretaker, he wished he could have thanked Amus personally for pulling strings.
"We're here madam," The driver said, pulling into the building. It had a complete metal exterior with barbed wires tracing the fence line.
"Thanks Po." Alice got out of the car and walked toward the house. Junya thanked the driver as well and quickly followed suit.
Looking at the house he felt slightly disappointed thinking it would be an extravagant mansion. It was a simple box design and had tiny slits for windows. It was fenced all the way around with danger signs decorating the wire.
The only entry into the metal box was a garage door that pulled into the roof. It was activated by a remote in Alice's hand, she only cracked it a little forcing her to bend underneath.
It shut behind them, the sound echoed through the interior. Although what the interior consisted of Junya wasn't sure, as it was pitch black. He only followed Alice's vague silhouette down some stairs into a new room.
Alice's sense of direction despite the lighting situation indicated she knew the place well she stopped, "We're here"
Followed by her words was a loud electric thud and whirring of fans, the lights flickered on and illuminated a large hidden room that was 20 by 40 metres, the room was filled with training equipment and dummies that were already torn to shreds.
The walls had deep grooves in them, with bent support beams and crushed cans and wrappers all over the place. Small red splotches that resembled blood stained the walls, forming intricate patterns. A retractable cage that went inside the ground to shut off the entrance from the rest of the room sat in front of them.
"It's been a long time since I've been down here," Alice said reminiscently.
"Just where exactly is this?" Junya asked, his voice bouncing off the walls.
"This is a hell that trained the devil"