Some of them immediately made a beeline for the exit.
Some stayed around and tried socializing with the others around them.
Some of them looked for and found the students who were in the test with them.
Some interactions were friendly, while some were hostile.
The others, like me, stood in place and observed everyone else.
Most of them wore masks like me.
I smirked at that realization and decided to look for Mary first.
I saw her having a heated conversation with Jake. It looked like he was telling her what happened after I killed her.
I decided to approach them with a friendly smile on my face.
I made sure to hide away my pistol and only carry the longsword to at least be able to pass off as a different person.
Now that my original plan had failed, and they were still alive. It was time to improvise.
"Aren't you the one who wants to kill all of the masks? Did someone give you a hard time?"
Mary whipped around and glared at me before snarling.
"It's you, isn't it? Did you come here to gloat?"
"Oh dear, why would you accuse me of something like that? Let me assure you that this is the first time we have met. You did openly show your intention to kill all the masks. You must be quite strong since you are that confident. I am just curious about you."
There was no calming her down though.
"You have the same sticky way of talking. Even if you are not him, I am sure the two of you would be best pals."
"Haha, I am even more curious about what happened. What could he have done to make you so angry."
She stared right into my eyes for a good moment before replying in a voice filled with cold rage.
"The bastard killed me when I let my guard down."
No, what I did was something way more intricate and elaborate than killing her when she let her 'guard' down.
Some people can see greatness right in front of their eyes and yet still fail to recognize it.
There was no hope for this one.
Jake also chose this moment to chip in.
"He killed me right at the end in order to get rid of future threats. The fact that I am still alive must have pissed him off to no end."
I narrowed my eyes at him.
This old ginger was a sly fox right to the end.
Yeah I am pissed alright, but don't you worry, I will kill you again once I get the chance.
"I am sure he would be. I am quite interested in this fellow. Maybe he is somewhere close by, listening in to our conversation."
I smirked as I looked around us.
While we were chatting, a few of the other masks had also approached us and were listening in.
"Haha, it's the first time I am seeing her as well!"
One of the masks immediately reacted and openly approached us.
He was a male with a lean build, similar to that of Steve's.
"My nickname is AbyssalFlameLord, you can recognize me by the twin swords that I wield."
How the hell did this chunni manage to get a mask?
Like how hard are you trying to be edgy?
Even though he was just wearing the same combat suit and mask as the rest of us, and his build was similar to mine with the most commonly found black hair and black eyes, his entire existence seemed to be at odds with the world around him.
Was it the way the two swords crossed each other behind his back?
Or just the angle of his posture and body language?
It felt like he had just stepped out of an anime convention wearing top-grade cosplay.
I nodded at him, giving him a neutral smile before looking at the other two.
One was a female with a lean and nimble build, she was carrying a chained dagger as a weapon. She had dark red lips on snow-white skin. Her azure-blue eyes peeped out from behind the mask exuding a chilling deadliness and a general disregard for life. Long black hair could be seen flowing out from behind her mask.
She opened her mouth and spoke in a frigid emotionless voice.
"Raven."
She seemed to be the quiet type.
"Nice to meet you, Raven."
Raven "…"
And a little rude too.
The other one was an extremely brawny male, looking at his size it would be hard to assume that he was a teenager. The fact that his hair was shaved into a military-style buzz cut didn't make him look any younger. He carried a halberd and a machine gun on him.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Jr. approached us menacingly giving all of us a look down before settling his sights on Mary.
"The Name's Mad Wolf. I don't care about your beef with one of the masks. Just remember, if you mess with me, you won't get out alive. I will destroy you."
He made a throat-slitting gesture and left.
Talk about rude.
Should have stayed around a little longer.
Would have been more fun.
I turned to look at Mary again.
"Looks like you have gotten yourself into more trouble than you bargained for. Why don't you tell us more about this mystery person? They seem like a strong competitor. If he is interesting enough, I just might help you deal with him."
Mary just snorted back.
"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me."
"Come on, nobody would be shameless enough to offer to take themselves out, would they? Just trust me."
Jake just laughed softly before replying.
"Given their personality, that sounds exactly like something they would do."
"Is that so, looks like I am just bringing myself unnecessary trouble. Who knows, they might have been DarkFlameMaster over here."
"Hey, it's AbyssalFlameLord, and it's not me."
"That sounds like something they would say."
"Oh, come on!"
"Haha, I am just messing with you. It's been nice to meet you guys. See you around"
Mr.ChunniEdgeLord also smiled back.
"You lot seem really interesting, let's hang out later."
Damn, I guess I came off as more friendly than I should have.
Raven "…"
Of course, she is going to remain silent.
Shaking my head I turned to leave.
"You still haven't introduced yourself."
I turned back to see that Jake had called after me.
"Call me Nagi."
"Looks like you were the last one to introduce yourself."
I smiled back meaningfully at Jake.
"I still haven't heard your name and neither that of the young lady, so I have no idea what you are talking about."
Damned fox.
Don't think you can beat me at my own game.
He was way too smart for his own good.
.
.
.
The campus itself wasn't as minimalistic and bleak as the testing zone.
That however didn't mean that the place didn't seem like something straight out of a nightmare.
It was made from an endless maze of corridors, stairs and rooms.
The theme and era were completely inconsistent depending on where you were.
It's a place that would be impossible to navigate without the help of the system.
There were open spaces and windows but the view was completely inconsistent between adjacent places.
Either they were all artificial spaces, or the academy was stretched across multiple realms all over the multiverse.
Considering the nature of the world tree and the void we were in before, it was likely for both options to be true at the same time.
After going down 7 corridors, 3 teleportation circles and up and down 5 flights of stairs I finally made my way to the dormitory and found my room.
It resembled a 21st-century single-person lodge.
It had a bed, a sofa, a television screen, a desk and chair, a bathroom and a kitchenette.
It was small but I could work with it.
Collapsing onto the bed, I called up the system.
"What is my schedule?"
[Extremely Busy]
Was the system trolling me?
It probably was.
"No seriously"
[You will spend the next few weeks cramming theory in the morning, physical training in the afternoon, combat drills in the evening, and more theory at night.]
Oh.
[Once you are done with the basic theory, you will go to specialized lessons based on your chosen classes.]
I see.
[You won't really get a chance to breathe until your first mission world]
Okay.
[Just leave the schedule to me and enjoy your last day of freedom]
I understand.
.
.
.
The system was still trolling me, right?
Right?!
I am a bloody adult here! I don't want to go back to school!
Damn it!