Shin slowly rose to his feet, returning the greataxe and shield to his inventory as he reequipped his greatsword and returned it to his back.
Allison, James, and Karina rushed onto the stage toward him as they congratulated him when suddenly Director Kim appeared beside them.
"Congratulations are in order, my boy!" Kim said, brushing the dust off his coat casually with a smile.
"Thanks." Shin said with a sly smirk, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Great job, kid!" James said, throwing his arm forward as he gave him a thumbs up.
"Since the rest of the class is already underway with dungeons, we will make the announcement first thing on Monday and we can get you into a team." Karina said.
"Go on and get some rest, you deserve it!" Allison added as Shin thanked everyone and departed.
"Sheesh!" Director Kim exclaimed, arcing his back and grabbing his lower back after the young man had vanished.
"Quit your playing, Director!" Karina giggled, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah!" Allison added, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest, "You held back too much! You're favoring him!"
"No!" Director Kim shouted, "I only restricted myself to the attributes of a level twenty in the beginning!"
"You don't have to keep denying it!" James laughed, wrapping his arm around Director Kim as they walked away from the arena, "It was still a brilliant match!"
Shin went to the student dormitories within Academia City, logged out, and exited his pod, still smiling at his victory.
He tapped the screen of his wrist device, noticing he received a message while he was in the pod.
"13579 North Central Ave."
"Tch." Shin clicked his tongue as he deleted the message. He quickly put on a pair of jeans and a teeshirt, throwing a leather jacket on as he exited his home.
He pulled the sleek motorcycle helmet over his head as the hoverbike roared to life. He pulled the throttle a few times before launching into the air.
He rapidly flew through the capital of the World United Federation until he arrived at the headquarters of the Secret Federation Agency, an unsuspecting building in the middle of some unknown abandoned office park.
He flew into the underground parking garage, passing the meticulously placed abandoned vehicles before parking.
Shin removed the helmet, placing it on the handlebar of the hoverbike as he looked around briefly before making his way to the secret entrance.
He placed his hand on the concrete wall, and a bright blue light appeared, scanning his identity as the elevator doors opened before him, and he entered, pressing the only button and descending.
The young man exited the elevator when it finally opened and walked through the pristine white hallways, knocking on a closed door as it slid open.
"What do we have?" Shin asked, entering the office of an older man with greying hair, wearing a suit, and sitting across from him at his desk.
"Potential NWO threat." The man said, opening his desk and tossing a file drive, "We've been hearing a lot of chatter about a remnant cell."
"You called me in over something basic like that?" Shin asked, raising his brow and tossing the drive back, "Pass. We get hundreds of them daily."
"This is different." The man sighed, sliding the drive across his desk, "They're gaining far too much traction too quickly. A reliable source says they've influenced some very powerful guilds."
"Phalanx..." Shin said, reaching forward and grabbing the drive as he stared at it intensely, "You can't be serious."
"Everything you need will be on the drive. Stay focused, and just like all the training, you'll do just fine." Phalanx replied, waving his hand and dismissing the young man.
Shin exited the headquarters and hopped on his bike, returning home. He studied the drive all weekend before waking up on Monday morning and returned to the game.
The World United Federation and New World Order come together with Nexus Schools worldwide and host the Graduating Tournament every year.
It was split into three phases: a display of intelligence, a display of endurance, and a display of strength. Each of the three phases is equal to the others.
First, the display of intelligence was an overall competency knowledge check on various roles and information a player needs to be an effective guild member.
Next, the display of endurance tested a player's ability to survive within a dungeon. As the dungeons have a vast and expansive range of requirements to exit, a player must be able to live for days to weeks on end.
Finally, the display of strength was a one-on-one single-elimination tournament. There were two brackets, one for fighters and one for mages.
The two finalists then face one another in the finals. Every guild would be in attendance and would then begin bidding for the players they were interested in recruiting or specific roles to fill out their roster.
His thoughts raced as he formulated his intense schedule for training over the next couple of months as he walked through Academia City to the training hall.
A smile spread across his face as he increased his pace; his excitement to finally enter a dungeon couldn't be contained as he ran through the cobblestone streets.
He entered the training hall and slowed to a brisk pace as he walked through the hallways to the large gymnasium at the back of the massive building.
He walked through the double doors and approached his class, split into small groups surrounding the three instructors.
"No!" One of the teenagers shouted.
"It's not fair!" Another yelled.
"We don't want to!" A third leader spoke up for their group.
"Now, now!" James said loudly, holding out his hands and motioning for everyone to calm down.
"He needs to join a team, you all need to come up with your own fair way if no one wants to step forward and add him." Allison ordered, her eyes widening in shock as she noticed Shin standing behind the crowd.