Five days after arriving at the black fortress, a gathering was issued early in the morning for all the project participants.
Done taking baths, Fred and I went outside of the room.
It was then that we once again met with the bald military-dressed man.
"It's been a while." (Jericho)
"Yes, it's good to see you well."
"are you going to guide us today as well?"
"Yes, let's go."
"Right now?"
"the two of you sure took your time, so we'll have to hurry or we'll be late."
Hurrying us along, the bald men led the two of us along the hallway. Since we weren't allowed to go outside our rooms these past few days, this was our first time walking these halls.
On our travel to the designated gathering area, we walked past countless staff members of varying ranks.
{It seems that most of the fortress' manpower was focused on and assigned to the project.}
Going further and further, we eventually reached an open area. The place seemed to be a park where staff could rest in-between breaks.
All over the park were trees and flowers of different kinds, with a magnificent fountain in the center of it. Walking through the cemented path we saw a couple of chairs with some staff taking breaks.
Some were taking a nap, while some were eating breakfast. But one thing was certain: we were so out of place that it seemed to lead to us gathering quite a bit of attention.
As we walked past more and more stares, we finally reached our destination as further in front an estimate of about 400 children around our age was gathered.
Noticing our arrival some looked at us with looks of caution, worry, and disdain.
It seemed that we were the last to arrive as after our arrival a man wearing a dark purple uniform with 2 armbands went up on a podium and started talking.
"Now that everyone has arrived, let's proceed."
As soon as his words ended two people with brown uniforms carried two long sheets of paper each, placing them on what seemed to be a wooden signboard.
The names of all project participants in alphabetical order were on the signboard, but what interested everyone the most was the numbers beside our names.
"Ehem!"
Loudly releasing a cough, the man forced everyone to pay attention.
"Now that I've got your attention, let me welcome you all once again, to project "next generation", my name is Philip, and I will be your main instructor from now on."
Introducing himself, the man then proceeded to talk about basic knowledge we must learn before we officially begin. One is the dividing of the common and the advanced class.
"Now as you can see, besides your names are some numbers. To keep it simple those numbers signify your rank among your peers, with 1 being the highest and 421 being the lowest. The higher the rank the better the treatment, from food to rooms, just name it."
Looking at the board I then found my name on the 2nd paper.
...
J…
Jericho, 58
J…
{58th huh, Oh, Fredrich has a high rank too.}
Fredrich, 92
"However, from rank 30 and below things will be different. Those of you who have these ranks are separated into the advanced class where you will not only receive much higher benefits, but you will also have the chance to be personally taught by high-rank members of the organization."
Hearing his words some of the kids' eyes were filled with envy for those who were ranked so highly. I was also one of them as I once again scanned the board.
Millie, 24
{There she is…..but}
Looking for the numbers beside the name instead of the names themselves, I finally found whom I was looking for.
Dahlia Barkman, 4
Nova S. Fortuna, 3
Elric V. Edwards, 2
Chao Yuchen, 1
{The top 4}
As if he could read my mind, the instructor then called out a few cadets to stand on the stage.
"Dahlia, Nova, Elric, And Yuchen! Come stand here!"
Following his instructions, four older children stood up and went to the stage.
"These 4 are the current top 4 of the project and are also the frontrunners to become a named. "
After the man's words, one kid in front of us immediately raised his hand hoping to be noticed.
"Yes?"
"What's a 'named'?"
"Ah, sorry, I forgot to mention it. For those of you who are wondering what a "named" is, it is the highest honor you can gain in this organization, with only 5 people as of now have it."
"Fi-five…"
"Yes, specifically, The king of the jokers, his majesty Asher himself, and his 4 high jesters.
Meaning that if you are 'named' you will, by rank at least, be in the same position as them, the leaders of the colorless joker."
His words lit a fire in the hearts of those who listened.
Those in the top 30 once again promised to work harder to either surpass or remain in their rank. While some of those outside of it hungered for the chance to enter the top ranks.
But among those outside, some found the situation unsatisfactory. They came here fully confident in their abilities so seeing themselves ranked so low pissed some of them off.
But before they could voice out complaints, the instructor addressed the situation before things escalated further
"For those of you who are wondering what basis we used to rank each of you, it was a combination of three simple values: The potential of gift, current ability, and finally backing.
Using these three as a basis, without you knowing, those who recruited you observed your every capability and the capability of your backers. After discussing the data with one another these past few days, we've decided that this is the appropriate rank given for each person."
As if refusing to believe him, someone tried to voice out his complaint but was shot down immediately.
"B-but"
"If you find the situation unbelievable then you can just leave. The organization doesn't want someone who can't accept reality and freeze at the thought of their weakness. If you find the situation unfair just know that if you were good enough a sponsor would naturally come, your current situation is a result of your weakness, instead of whining be better."
"…"
"If you're wondering how you can gain a higher rank, then the process is simple. 2 months from now, the project will officially start, and annually during that time, a ranking exam will be held where you can either prove yourself combat-wise or through other means."
"…"
"It can go from fighting someone higher ranked than you or requesting a duel of wits with a higher ranked opponent. As long as you prove you are more capable, your rank will increase accordingly. But of course, there are limitations. The top 4 can only be challenged by the top 10, while the top 10 can only be challenged by the top 20. The top 20 can only be challenged by the top 30, while the top 30 only be challenged by the top 50. At this point, it will just be a free for all braw with the top 50 only being able to be challenged by the top 100, 100 to 200, and finally 200 to 421."
"With that, you are all dismissed, top 30, you guys stay I need to brief you more."
Leaving the premises, instead of going together with Fred to our rooms, I instead walked in a different direction, more specifically the library.