"Okay, this meeting was called because of someone."
"I believe you all know Nathan Langley."
The look on their faces changed immediately they heard Nathan's name.
"The non-human?" A lady wearing a white gown asked.
Celine wasn't surprised that they knew that Nathan wasn't human.
The people in the room were the headmasters and headmistress of the different academies in the stronghold. They weren't by any chance weak.
"They must have sensed the energy he used," Celine thought.
"He nee~"
One of the cloaked figure was about to say something but Celine cut him off.
"No one should lay a hand on him," Celine said.
"But he's a threat that needs to be eliminated," the man that Orion was staring at said.
"Do you think you can do that?" Celine asked while glaring at the man with her sharp eyes making him look down.
Celine knew that apart from Siena being inside him, there was something off about Nathan.
They were all confused because they were stronger than Nathan yet she was telling them to leave him.
"Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes," they all replied but some of them were still annoyed by her order.
"There's a report I have to make," one of the men in the room said.
"The scout team has not~"
"I know." Celine cut him off.
"That's also one of the reason I called this meeting," she said.
She slowly closed her eyes and a smile appeared on her face.
"It's drawing closer…it'll soon start," Celine thought before opening her eyes.
"So what do we do?"
"The special unit still has some spots, right?" Celine asked.
They all had shocked expressions on their faces.
"Wait…don't tell me.."
"Isn't it too early?"
"We just initiated the new teaching project now we have to do this?"
They were all voicing out their complaints one after the other.
"Silence," Celine ordered.
"Do you think they'll wait for us? They've started making their move so it's only natural for us to do the same," Celine said.
"Moreover, they're some pretty interesting students this year that'll be good for that spot," she added.
They all kept quiet and swallowed their complaints.
"Are we still doing it in a tournament format?" One of the cloaked figure asked.
"Yes, just like last year. But this time, another academy will host the event," Celine said.
They all looked at her, waiting for the academy that will be called.
"Zur academy will host the event this year. So, Verne, start making preparations," Celine said.
Verne was the man Orion was staring at before Celine came. He had neat white hair and little wrinkles on his face.
A smile was on his face after hearing that his academy will host the tournament this year because they were certain privileges that came with it.
"I will make sure everything goes smoothly," Verne said.
"That's all. Remember what I said," Celine said.
All of them stood up and bowed their head. Celine stood up and walked out of the room with the masked girl walking behind her.
After she left, they all started walking out one by one. Orion glanced at Verne one more time before he left.
The five cloaked figures left the same time and they arrived in a room that was completely empty.
"Does Celine think we're weaklings?" The figure with a moon tattoo asked.
"No, she's just being careful," the figure with a ball tattoo replied.
"I don't think so. We can easily eliminate that vampire. It's as if she's insulting us," the figure with a star tattoo said.
The last two figures didn't say anything and just watched them.
"I don't know what you guys are thinking but don't count me in," the figure with the ball tattoo said.
"We just have to prove her wrong. Are you with me?" The moon tattooed figure asked, completely ignoring what he just heard.
"Let's do it," the star tattooed figure replied.
They both left the room under the gazes of the other figures.
"They've just made a big mistake," the ball tattooed figure said with a sigh.
***********
Nathan look at his uniform that now had five and half stars behind it that signified that he was now a half-step high rank gifted.
"I need to unlock more elements," Nathan thought.
He sat down on his bed and opened the system screen. He started checking out his skills but he suddenly stopped when he saw something.
"Wait…what?!!....how the hell did I forget this?!
Nathan got 600 points for completing the quest to defeat the rogue beast and 200 bonus points for defeating a special beast but he completely forgot about the hidden reward.
He got the training space the last time a hidden reward was given so he was expecting something good.
[Congratulations, you have gotten "points card"]
[Points card: Points card can be used to double the points received after completing a quest or killing beasts]
[Note: Points card can only be used twice a month]
Nathan had a grin on his face. The hidden reward didn't let him down.
Without wasting time, he entered the training space and continued training.
Night quickly came and Nathan was a little bit tired. He lied down on the bed and closed his eyes.
***********
In the darkness of the night, two figures were swiftly jumping from roof to roof.
They continued until they stopped when they reached the middle of the forest.
They were both wearing black cloaks and the first one had a moon tattoo on his wrist while the other one had a star tattoo.
"Clark, this is close enough," the first figure said.
The other figure called Clark replied.
"I guess it's time to start."
"Trent, take this," Clark said while passing Trent a little knife.
Trent used the knife to make a small cut on his hand and he let the blood drop to the floor.
Nathan's eyes snapped open. He could scent it..the pleasant scent of blood…and it was strong.
He got up curiously and walked to his window. He sniffed the air and noticed that it was coming from the direction of the forest.
"What is going on there?" He thought as he jumped out from the window.