'I'm finally here!' Yami thought. He stood in front of the Defense base's enormous building with Shun and Mei on each side.
"The base is massive!" Mei exclaimed. It was also her first time seeing the base up close.
"Let's go," Shun gestured for them to follow him.
It was the start of the Warrior rank tournament, where trainees would fight against each other for points.
Yami looked around and saw hundreds of people lining up to participate. He didn't expect that more individuals would be willing to fight against the Soul Beast even if they had seen how dangerous and powerful they were.
But among the crowd, Mei and Yami were wearing different colored clothes. The regular Warrior rank clothes were white, while both wore black with the Tsuki branch symbol, a crescent moon on their right shoulder.
"I feel nervous," Shun muttered and held his chest. He was breathing deeply to calm his nerves.
"Why are you nervous, Shun? You're already an official combatant," Yami chuckled and patted Shun's shoulder for comfort.
"Give me a moment," Shun whispered and exhaled heavily. He grabbed Mei and Yami's shoulders and pulled them closer to him.
"Let's state our objectives," Shun added. "You two are currently in Warrior rank and aiming for Master rank..."
"And when we move up to Master rank and form our squad. We will aim for Legend rank. Then take the selection test for the Expedition squads to go into the Raider's world and to find my sister," Yami continued. He clenched his fist while thinking about Suyin.
"And look for my brother that was abducted," Mei added with determination.
"Okay, that's good!" Shun explained and looked in front. They were at the hall where all the trainees were gathered. "This is our first step to achieving our goal!"
After 15 minutes of waiting, all incoming trainees were completed and lined across the hall, waiting for the orientation to start.
A man dressed in a navy blue suit appeared behind the red curtains of the stage. He stood in front of the podium and waited for the hall to be quiet.
"I am Defender base Commander of Defense, Zou Junjie. We welcome your enlistment to the base. Today, you become Warrior rank Combatant, which means you're all still trainees, but the future of this city will be in your hands," Junjie stated firmly. His words were clean and delivered well.
"I want you all to work hard every day and aim to become Master rank Combatants. I'm looking forward to the day we'll fight together as a team!" Junjie saluted after his speech, and the rest of the trainees followed. "I'll leave the rest to the Guardian Squad."
Zou Junjie left the stage, and the Guardian Squad took his position.
"That girl," Yami muttered when she recognized the girl at the side. "It's Sun Ting."
Yami's thoughts were disrupted by the loud squeal of the ladies around when the captain, Ma Song, took the podium.
"They are really popular," Yami commented based on the crowd's reaction.
"They were actually the face of the Defender base. You can always see them on television," Mei leaned and whispered to Yami's ears.
"I see," Yami nodded and brought his focus to them.
"Hello everyone, we are the Guardian Squad," Ma Song stated and presented his squad members. "Now, let's begin the orientation, but first, we'll sort you out depending on the classes you choose."
"For those who choose Mage and Support, stay at this side with Sun Ting," Ma Song gestured in Ting's direction.
"People who wanted to become Tank and Fighter, follow Hou Bohai in the training room."
Bohai waved at the crowd. He went on the left side, and several trainees followed him.
"And lastly, I'll be the one in charge of Assassin and Marksman trainees!" Ma Song smiled and pointed at himself. His eyes scanned the crowd and saw Shun's squad from afar. They could easily be noticed due to the color of their clothes.
"Now, you guys are still trainees. If you can't move up to Master rank and become an official Combatant, you won't be able to do missions and use the vessels outside the base. The question is, how can you become a Master rank?" Ma Song chuckled. He enjoyed giving a speech in front of the crowd.
"First of all, look at your right-hand glove," Ma Song stated, and everyone followed his instruction.
Yami looked at his glove, and the number '0' appeared.
"You guys will use a rookie vessel with only one skill of choice. The number on your hands will be the points you earn during the tournament. Bring that number to 5,000 points, and you'll become an official Combatant and form a squad."
"There are two ways to earn points. Get a good mark in the group training session or earn points by scrambling in the ranking tournament," Ma Song sighed in satisfaction after he finished his explanation. The crowd of trainees talked to one another about what they should do to gain points.
"Now, let's experience the trainee world! That's all for today!" Ma Song added and winked at the crowd, making the girls squeal gleefully.
"Then, I'll go now," Mei stated and waved at the two men before she went toward Sun Ting's team.
"How about you, Ying? Will you be okay?" Shun stated with worry. He was anxious that they were inside the Defender base, and Yami's identity as a Raider wasn't helping him to calm down.
"Shun, I'll be fine. Besides, you'll be with me after you finish processing your transfer papers," Yami stated and gave Shun a thumbs up to assure him everything would be fine.
"I don't intend to harm myself too," Yami added before he went to Ma Song's team. "Catch up with me later!"
"Okay," Shun waved at him before he ran to the office to finalize his papers as quickly as possible.
'I need to be careful now that I'm here,' Yami thought and placed himself at the end of the line along with other trainees.