The next day, Derek and Freya were walking around the Stella Public Training Grounds.
It's a massive training ground that's available to every student and mostly used when the subject was about physical training like the Player Physical Education (PPE).
There were five arenas inside that were made of solid material; four of which had the same dimensions and were situated on the four corners of the training ground, while the remaining one was more massive than the other four and it's situated in the middle; this one was mostly used for mock battles.
"Brother, it's 10 minutes remaining."
Luna seemed restless that she kept tracking the time with her smartwatch.
"Don't be nervous, okay? Just do your best."
Russell cheered her up genuinely.
"By the way, Luna, come closer."
His next words confused Luna as she looked towards Derek, regardless, she did what she had just told.
Derek's action caused his younger sister to feel bewildered; he gently patted Luna's head three times.
…
[Activating Skill: Mark of the Night (EX)]
[Your Trait: Nihility has completely concealed the Chaos Aura.]
[You have successfully used the Skill: Mark of the Night (EX) to the designated target.]
[You can now track the target's location.]
[You can now feel the target's situation if the target is in danger.]
[You can now teleport to wherever the target goes.]
…
A few minutes had passed and the time for the Disciplinary Officer Trial Exam started.
There were four Rank Brackets: F- to F+ ranks or the F Rank Bracket; E- to E+ ranks or the E Rank Bracket; then there were the D and C Rank Brackets.
With 40 participants in total, there were 10 students for each Rank Bracket, and the trial exam would simultaneously occur in the four arenas of the four corners of the training ground.
Then, with a holographic screen that's placed on a bulletin board, the match-ups were announced.
– Participant Freya Moon (E) vs. Participant Karl Cromwell (E+).
…
"Brother… I thought it's only us first years… why are there higher brackets?"
'…That bastard… Was he trying to find a possible matchup between a first and second year?'
He thought of the Student Council President, as he scrutinized the match-ups of other participants in different Rank Brackets; there were 20 students for first years and 20 students for second years.
'I see… it's somewhat balanced, even the Rank Brackets.'
"Hmm… Look, from D and C Rank Brackets, all of them are in the second year, so don't worry."
He pointed to the holographic screen, prompting Freya to thoroughly look at it because all she did was find her matchup, not minding the others.
"Okay! Let's go Brother, the first match will begin soon."
They found two seats in the benches for the E Rank Bracket arena.
…
"Good afternoon participants. I know that the rules haven't been explained to you before, so I'll start explaining them first, and please, listen carefully. I will not repeat it the second time."
Spoke by the man in his mid-forties; with short black hair, golden eyes, a well-built body, and around 180 cm in height — the referee that's designated to handle the E Rank Bracket matches.
Based on his words, there would be 8 new Disciplinary Officers, 2 for each Rank Bracket; the battle would be divided into two categories, 1 against 1 or the individual battle, then a battle royale for the remaining students, in which the last two standing participants would become a member of the Disciplinary Committee.
The participant could either surrender if he or she was losing. Then, to win, the participant needed to subjugate or knocked the enemy out of the arena. Apart from that, the participants were restricted from consuming potions of any kind.
"That will be all, now… the first pair of participants, please step inside the arena if I call your name."
…
Two girls were facing each other at least 10 meters apart.
On the one side of the arena, the girl, waiting for the referee's cue, has mid-back length ponytail blonde hair, slightly round, deep blue eyes, and quite a slim fair-skinned body. Her height was around 167 cm.
On the other side of the arena, the other girl has a mid-length ponytail deep black hair, hooded deep black eyes as though it's devoid of emotion, and a fitted, slightly fair body. Her height was around the same as the other girl.
The former was holding a Training Shortsword, while the latter was holding a Training Broadsword.
"Ready…! Begin!"
The signal of the start of the Disciplinary Officer Trial Exam went off as the first two participants clashed with each other.
...
In the morning,
Derek strolled around the academy market, where the older students were peddling their leftover gear and stuff from missions they'd been on.
He was on the hunt for this one weapon that he thought would be totally rad for him. So, every day, he'd swing by the market for an hour or two, hoping to spot that special weapon.
Now, he was all about checking out the swords. The one he was after had a freakin' red blade and a cool white handle.
It had this cursed vibe going on, and yeah, it was actually cursed. That's probably why not many folks were eager to snatch it up.
Cursed weapons might pack a punch, but they'd probably do in their wielder before any demon could.
In the future a student who was about to be kicked out from Stella academy would get it. And guess what? This sword would supercharge him, help him graduate, and he'd be this top-notch player for a bit.
But then, things would go south, and they'd start offing innocent folks left and right.
Derek turned that market upside down, even checked out those hidden nooks. But man, that sword was playing hard to get.
Thing is, Derek wasn't the main character in this story, just a sidekick. So, even though he wanted that sword bad, it didn't mean he'd score it.
He knew it had a date with destiny and all, but when that'd happen? Nobody had a clue.
Maybe the sword would hit the stands the exact day that senior student came around.
Fast forward to to this day, and Derek had a crappy night's sleep. Thank goodness for that mental exhaustion from training, or he'd have been up all night staring at the ceiling.
So, here he was, giving the market one final once-over. But guess what? No new weapons.
His katana would have to do for now. It kicked more butt than most of the other junk in the school market anyway.
Derek was getting a real crash course in reality. In this story, just wanting something doesn't cut it.
The sword he pined for had its own schedule, mingling with the fates of other peeps.
As he left the market, he couldn't help but shrug it off. He was just playing his part in this wild tale, where life tossed curveballs and not everything went your way.
In the morning, Many adventurers, along with four badass adventurers, were gathered, waiting for our next move.
These adventurers were like the Super pros, each a master in a different type of magic for us newbie players.
I sidled up to Bets and threw out a question, "Hey, which of these adventurers do you think is the ultimate powerhouse?"
Bets didn't even pause to think. "Definitely Mr. Chain," he growled in a way that made a couple of folks back off involuntarily.
Seriously, this guy's tough demeanor was getting old quick.
Considering how long he'd been dealing with it, it's almost impressive he hadn't transformed into the very thing people pegged him as.
"Yeah, I'm with you on that," I agreed, nodding. "But you know how these battles between players can be, right? Sometimes it's not just about raw power. Abilities can have some bizarre limitations, and what one can do, another can totally counter."
I left it at that. Mr. Chain had this Ability that he kept super hush-hush about. Word on the street was it had some big weakness, but against demons, it was like a cheat code.
"Alright, time to get this show on the road. You knuckleheads, stick close," Adventurer Chain barked, and he didn't waste a second before taking off.
We all hustled to keep up. "Oh, and if any of you chitchat, I promise you'll regret it. We're heading to the Haunted Forest nearby.
Yeah, you guessed it, it's creepy as heck. I won't miss a demon ambush 'cause you can't keep your traps shut."
So there we were, sprinting behind Adventurer Chain. Stamina-wise, we were like Energizer bunnies, hardly even breaking a sweat.
I caught a few people smirking at Agon, probably thinking he'd lag behind because he couldn't handle his magic, or whatever it's called – Mana. Well, they were in for a surprise.
Speaking of surprises, I had a sneaky plan. See, I slipped out of the academy last night to catch a glimpse of this huge event that was gonna be a game-changer.
It was all connected to the Occurence of "Cursed Regressor," and I just knew it'd shape his character ar.
Now, Agon, he's got dreams as big as the universe, but his mana game is zilch. Can't hold an ounce of it.
He's like a magician without a hat, if you catch my drift. But man, he's got ambition in spades, and he's ready to hustle twice as hard to make up for his mana handicap. No magic, no problem. That's Agon's motto.