"Now that our silly formalities have been settled, it is time to start today's events. If you all would, please get into groups of 10. If someone cannot find a group, they will be assigned to one."
A few murmurs spread around the auditorium, but no one moved. Clearly, they were waiting for someone else to take the first step as they didn't want to do something they weren't supposed to.
"Today please!"
With those two simple words, the unmoving crowd burst into action. Some students stuck with their closest friends while others stayed with their gangs.
"Oi, who let this F-rank into our group! I'm not going to put my life on the line just to carry a useless weakling!"
Statements similar to this were flying all around the auditorium, some harsher than others. Those F and E ranks were slowly kicked to the side and left to form their own groups.
It was mean but understandable. After all, at the end of the day, these were a bunch of scared 14-year-olds. Knowing that there was a possibility they could die today. Naturally, they would do what they had to do to survive.
However, one group was forming that seemed to be going against the standards. Oliver had not hesitated to call Ken over to join his group.
Contrary to his typical attitude, Ken did not argue against joining.
"What are you doing? There are already two F-ranks in our group! Why are you going out of your way for a third?!" Glaring at Ken was the only girl that had joined Oliver's so-called gang. She and the two boys who seemed infatuated with her were all C-ranked blessed, while the twins were only F-ranked.
Ignoring her rude attitude, Oliver replied calmly. "Why wouldn't I help? Ken's my friend, just like you Ina."
Ina was about to retort, but the latter half of Oliver's statement seemed to shut her up for whatever reason.
Instead, it was Ken who retorted. "What? What gave you that notion? We're not friends!"
Terran was dying of laughter inside from Oliver's situation. While he seemed to be accomplishing his goal from an outside appearance, it was clear that things were not so straightforward. Under the surface, the beautiful female named Ina truthfully held more power in the group than Oliver. While Oliver outclassed her in blessing rank, she outclassed him in control. The only powerful members of the group were clearly wrapped around her finger. Still, she seemed to be playing along with Oliver for whatever reason and not shoving her weight around.
Instead of arguing with Ken, Oliver straight-up ignored him. "Alright, so far, we have 8 members. Me, Ina, Ross, Elias, Ollie, Holly, Ken, and Terran. That means we still need two.
Ollie and Holly were the twins, while Ross and Elias were the SIMPS.
While Terran had never agreed to join, he was pleased to do so. Terran quite liked Oliver as a person, even though he seemed stupid at times, and he would be lying if he said he was not the slightest bit curious to see how his gang would turn out.
It was only now that Terran spotted a familiar figure. "Oh, maybe I should get her to join. That way I can learn more about runes while on whatever this trip is."
Terran had, of course, spotted Mia. It was no mystery why she had yet to find a group.
"Oi, Terran where are you going?" Oliver shouted at Terran as he dashed away. But Terran temporarily ignored him as his actions would speak for him in the next few seconds.
"What's he doing talking to her? No, don't tell me! Please brother! I pray you have not fallen low enough that this is the owner of the carpet!"
Oliver's facial expression was mentally scarred as he watched Terran bringing over someone who had to be the ugliest woman alive amongst the leftovers of humanity. He stayed that way until Terran made it all the way back to the group.
"Everyone, this is Mia. She will be our ninth group member." Terran declared as if he was the group leader.
"She's so— ugly!"
"Hideous."
Ross and Elias did not suppress their insults as they stood in front of Ina, almost as if they believed letting Mia close would give Ina some disease.
"Tch, how can you two be so rude? You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Terran scolded the two as if he had forgotten his own comments from the other day.
"It's alright," Mia said quietly, but no one seemed to care for her input.
Instead of joining in on the ridicule, Ina asked a simple question. "So, Mia, what rank is your blessing?"
Taking out her ID, everyone, even Terran, was shocked to see a B.
Ina's eyebrows furrowed for a second, but this was only for an instant before it was replaced by a warm smile. "Welcome to the group!"
Funnily enough, the supposed leader had never even gotten a say. However, he didn't seem to care. "Welcome to the group Mia. A friend of Terran's is a friend of mine!"
"Excuse me, do you guys have room for one more?" A shabby boy wearing an E rank ID asked as he approached the group.
Without hesitation, Oliver agreed. Not everyone seemed happy, but no one argued.
Their group was now full, and compared to many others, it was a fairly stacked group. 2 B-ranks, 3 C-ranks, 1 D-rank, 1 E-rank, and 3 F-ranks. At least compared to those made of entirely F and E ranks. However, its functionality was another question.
Time passed, and soon everyone was a part of a group.
"Alright, every group will be called one after another. Once your group is called, you will exit the auditorium and enter the vehicle waiting outside."
Whispers filled the air after this statement by the chancellor. Vehicles were normally only used by government personnel. Without room for parking and the fact that traffic would be hell, cars were not sold to citizens. Instead, people could only walk or take the metro. So, of course, many people were excited after hearing they would get to experience something like vehicles.
Groups were called one by one, and soon, it was Terran's group's turn. They swiftly headed out and got into a large luxury van.
As they pulled out of the academy, everyone seemed quite nervous. That is, all except for one. Terran was too busy trying to squeeze Mia for information about runes.
Mia was clearly embarrassed, to say the least. No one besides Terran talked, and everyone in the Van was looking at her.
"Earlier, you were saying runes can only be inscribed by certain people born with the ability to. Could you elaborate on what exactly that ability is?"
"Ha-ha, well—um. You just—sort of—go—like this." Using her finger, Mia traced a rune in the air. Surprisingly, as her finger moved, a glowing line appeared. Slowly forming a rune before dispersing.
"Tch, show off." Ina clicked her tongue, and her two followers copied her expression.
Immediately, Mia's face went bright red. "No-no. I wasn't trying to. I swear! It's just. I don't know how to explain it in words.
Terran didn't really mind the conversation after Mia gave a demonstration. He wasn't really surprised she had the ability. After all, she was the only one paying attention in the class. Instead, he just wanted to try copying her actions. But unfortunately, he only looked like an idiot, drawing in the air with nothing to show.
Thankfully, no one really paid attention. After Terran stopped asking questions, everyone's attention turned out the window as they were curious and nervous about the day to come.
The streets were clear as most people were still sleeping. It didn't take long for the group to notice that they were headed deeper into the city. Terran eventually snapped out of his concentration as he felt his body reacting. Once again, he could feel himself getting closer. "Could we be headed to the abyssal district?"
Soon, they passed the wall that Terran had tried to climb over after first arriving in the city. However, this time, no guard tried to stop them.
Everyone held their breath. In front of them, the visibility was next to none. A wall of haze that one could see from anywhere in the city was right in front of them. But the lower visibility did not stop their driver from speeding ahead into the unknown.
It was hard to say how long they spent driving through the haze. Everyone's nerves were on high alert. While their anticipation only continued to grow. However, time only moved in one direction, and soon the fog cleared, and the car stopped.
Every student swallowed a deep breath of air at the magnificent sight in front of them. Even Terran was awestruck. So much so the driver had to remind them to exit the vehicle.