Mikhail was left on his own as a familiar group of rowdy young adults made their way over.
At the head of the group was the man that Mikhail vaguely remembered seeing fighting against Glasha during the Weekly Gatherings. The lean young man's skin had golden undertones, similar to Atticus. And his spiky hair was gray.
His clothing was unique in comparison to everyone else's.
He was wearing a white toga that went down to just under his knees, embellished with shiny silver threads, sewn into the fabric to resemble vines.
And his left shoulder was partially exposed.
From beneath the toga, three leather straps wrapped over his exposed shoulder before going back under the cloth on the other side.
The man also wore detailed leather cuffs on both of his wrists, and a large leather belt around his waist.
And his leather boots were more detailed than the others. On top of all that, he had worn a few articles of jewelry.
For one, he had a pair of black earrings that were reminiscent of the gray swirl patterns he had seen on several avian beasts in the past.
He had also worn three rings on each hand, but that wasn't all, as he even wore a necklace with what looked to be jagged beast teeth.
The other five young adults looked extremely plain by comparison.
And speaking of those other five…
There was a much more imposing man among the group.
The huge dude with brown skin, who towered over them all. Even Mikhail, standing at around six feet tall, would have to look up in order to see his face. His frame was fit for an orc, absolutely bursting with large and pronounced muscles.
He also had curly black hair, cut so short that you wouldn't notice the curls without an exceptionally keen eye.
And, he and the rest of that cohort all wore the same kind of clothes. In fact, Mikhail wagered it was a sort of standard training uniform. And that was because his young acquaintances also wore such clothes.
Namely, short-sleeve T-shirts, shorts, and leather boots.
The hulking human for instance, was wearing an azure shirt and white shorts. And Mikhail couldn't help but notice that like the fashionisto of the group, all of their otherwise simple shirts and shorts all had similar silver vines sewn into their fabric.
His eyes then went to the last man of the group. A rather scrawny looking white fellow with long blond hair that was very well maintained. Which was made obvious by the way his hair was reminiscent of long strands of metallic gold, reflecting the light from the floor very well.
He was wearing black shorts and a light gray shirt.
As for the other three? They were extremely beautiful women.
The first to catch Mikhail's eye was a short woman with fair white skin and an aloof expression as the others talked about something or another. Her hair was an icy blue, reminiscent of the petals of the flower just outside of the building's entrance.
Her frame was rather diminutive, and her womanly features were… Just as diminutive as her frame was. Which is to say… There wasn't much to see. But still, her slender figure was a graceful one.
And she was wearing a light blue shirt along with black shorts.
Mikhail's inspection of that fair lady was over, and as such, his eyes were drawn to the next woman over.
She appeared to be just a smidge taller than he was, and her frame was on the lean side of muscular. Only, every single one of her muscles were extremely well-defined. She had deep and dark black skin, and her braided hair was a dark blue.
Her womanly features weren't too impressive, but the shape of her frame certainly was. And outlining her frame was a torn olive green shirt that revealed her midriff, as well as beige shorts.
Mikhail then inspected the last member of their cohort.
She was a woman that seemed just as tall as he was, with tastefully tan skin, and long jet-black hair that could've been strands of obsidian. And her womanly features were above average, complimenting her curvy frame.
Just as he finished inspecting that lovely looking lady, the man leading the group pointed at Mikhail with a shocked expression, having just turned forward after sharing some dialogue with the scrawny blond man.
"Yo, it's the Great Devourer!"
At that utterance, that group of pals changed their casual walk into a quick jog. And mere seconds later, Mikhail was face to face with the group.
And of course, he had one question on his mind…
"Great Devourer, really?"
The fashionisto chuckled. "What? Not a fan of your nickname?"
"It is rather fitting," the blonde man said with a snort. "I honestly see no reason for the gluttonous kid not to like it."
"Indeed… Lirim even took the initiative to upgrade it after seeing you here," said the man that towered over everyone present.
"We've just been calling you the Devourer over the past two weeks," the black woman with dark blue hair said.
"Uh-huh… So, your name is Lirim?" Mikhail asked as he turned his attention back to the fashionisto.
"That's right! So, what the hell is your name, huh? I'd bet the Great Devourer has a pretty solid name!"
"...It's Mikhail. And what about the rest of you folks? What are your names?"
The short blond man was about to speak, but the black woman quickly covered his mouth. "His name is Amir. And my name is Valeria."
She then kept Amir's mouth pinched shut as she gestured to the tall brown dude.
"You can call me Myles."
There was an awkward silence after that. The last two women of the group remained silent. Mikhail saw how the tan woman looked at him with a neutral expression. Was she disinterested in what was going on?
It was definitely questionable as to why that woman remained silent. But, the annoyed look on the icy blue haired woman's face made it obvious that she definitely wasn't interested in being friends.
Let alone introducing herself.
"I'm Azalea… She's Lily," the tan woman finally said.
Lirim snorted.
"Yeah… Don't mind those two. Lily is a grumpy-ass and Azalea's pretty shy."
Azalea threw a glance at Lirim, but there was no indication of it being a glare… Somehow though, Mikhail felt as if there was a vague aura of annoyance seeping out of her.
Before a conversation could follow those introductions, a cacophony of many different voices began reverberating throughout the fourth floor.
"Ah, damn… Sorry Mikhail, it looks like we'll have to talk later. Go pick a room before the crowd gets here."
Mikhail nodded, and the group split up. Everyone quickly got into position, standing in front of randomly selected doors.
And as the crowd made its way in, Mikhail could hear shocked murmurs from down the hall he was standing in. There were heaps of people surprised by his presence… But they were given no time to walk over and see what the young looking lad's deal was.
"Alright, now that everyone's present, I'll be opening the doors! Best of luck, everyone!" Atticus's sudden shouts gave everyone the cue to face their respective doors and await the beginning of their training.
Everyone except for Mikhail, that is.
He watched as silver flames began to ignite all over Atticus' body, before getting pulled into the inscriptions beneath him. Like this, streams of those glittering silver flames began flowing into the silver lines below.
And he watched as the vine-like lines surrounding the last ring of the magic circle began to glow before spreading across the ground. Smaller offshoots began to spread from those vines, reaching for the doors. And once they connected, the slabs of black stone barring off the Refinement Rooms shot into the ground.
When Mikhail's door opened, he finally turned around.
And then, he entered the Muscle Refinement Room.