Excitement filled the hearts of the seven youths. They all came here because they dreamt of being members of The Keynote Journalists. It is not every day that you will see an organization stand this high while being at odds with The World Force. Even Laigiel pursued a career in journalism in hopes that one day, he will be here.
All of them answered yes without any hesitation. If fact, they had no fear in their hearts.
'The world is full of dangers. It is beyond it where the opportunity lies. There is no chance I am missing this out,' Laigiel thought.
"Good. Dianne," Eve said while looking at the lady that greeted them.
"Of course, madam," Dianne sarcastically said with a smile that earned a death glare from Eve.
The seven ignored what happened for fear of being scolded by Eve. They still looked at Dianne with respect and a hint of admiration.
"The Keynote Journalists have a lot of members, but the majority of them are external members or affiliates. In truth, there are only 12 of us. Well, 19 since you are a part of us now. There is Eve, the kind and gentle lady that fetched you," Dianne said while turning to Eve.
Keith could not prevent his smile, but he immediately went back to a serious facial expression.
'She is gentle, alright,' Laigiel thought.
Dianne then turned to the final person in the room. He had cleanly cut short black hair and was wearing a full black suit and was calmly watching them with his deep black eyes.
"This is Thorn. If you ever need help, you come to him," Dianne said with a bright smile.
Thorn sighed helplessly before answering, "Hi, and yes, you can come to me."
"See? I told you. There are three of us that are on the field, but you will meet them soon enough. The six of us make up the Second Room. This is the center of affairs and we handle almost everything that goes on here. There, in front of you, is the door that leads to the First Room. There are also six of them. They are our bosses. Of course, by extension, your bosses as well. If there is anything we need to be consulted about, we give it to them. However, for you, you bring it to us. The seven of you will make the Third Room. Your main function would be to run errands and train. You must know that all of you are too weak to play in the real world, so you will undergo rigorous training while practicing your job as well. It will be fun," Dianne said with a bright smile.
'Why did her last words send a chill down my spine?' Laigiel thought.
"I did not lie when I said that you are too weak to join us. Even running errands for us at the moment would cost you your lives. Therefore, you will first enter a joint training camp. Any questions?"
"Uhm, executive, who will we be joining with?" Keith asked.
"The Paragon University."
"Wha--?" Audrey almost blurted out words in shock.
'What!!?' Laigiel screamed in his mind. Everyone was shocked by the announcement Dianne, making everyone doubt their hearing.
"We are talking about the university that is directly managed by The World Force, right? The one where all of the best talents of their every member go to," Ethia asked.
"You got it. They will send 18 of their best individuals for the ten-year-long training camp."
'Ten years? I have never spent ten years doing anything! I'm barely 19,' Lagiel thought.
"If I may, aren't The Keynote Journalists at odds with them?" Aliza asked.
"We are, but we are also on a treaty. Besides, the goal of this training camp is not just to enhance your strengths, but also to compare our prodigies. This will be a show-off between all participants. So, don't let us down," Dianne said with a smile.
'Don't let you down? I can barely be considered a good fighter! Damn!'
"All participants?" Dylan asked.
"Yup. Eighteen participants from The World Alliance, seven from us, three from The Sound, two from Shadow, and two from World Bank," Dianne added.
'That's basically the entire power of the world!'
Everyone looked at Dianne dumbfoundedly. They did not know what to say after such words casually came out of Dianne's mouth. They felt extremely pressured, especially Audrey, Dylan, and Lagiel. They were the only ones among them that did not have any notable backgrounds.
The members of the Third Room were still in daze when Thorn spoke. "Don't worry about the competition. In your squad, there would certainly be those that would play the support role. For instance, Eve is the weakest in the Second Room."
Suddenly, a gust of Arcane surged toward Thorn. Lagiel could not help but grit his teeth as he tried his best to endure the pressure. What bothered him more is the fact that it was him who was being affected the most.
"Do you want to try?" Eve asked with a menacing look.
Thorn smiled helplessly before saying, "Fine, Ms. Head Executive, I will back off." However, he shifted his gaze towards Lagiel and his squad and mouthed, 'She is the weakest' which prompted Eve to just sigh.
"Come on, newbies. I will introduce you to the First Room," Eve said while gesturing to the door.
'I wonder what they are like. If the weakest member of the Second Room is already such a powerhouse, how much more would those at the First Room be?' Lagiel thought.
Before they could get to the door, Dianne spoke, "As your senior I would advise all of you to be on your best behavior. Address them as sir and madam except for the person sitting on the seat parallel to the door, address him as chief. Oh, there will be a lady there wearing a black dress with violet engravings on them. She has deep and dark purple eyes with long wavy black hair. She is very beautiful and she also has a seductive aura. Do not leer on her or piss her off. I don't want to tend to you while you are comatose in a hospital."
Thorn audibly laughed after hearing Dianne. "She is right. Do not...Just don't," He added.
'Why do I feel like I am going in for a trial.'