In front of Drai and his friends was the Valiant Ventures' booth. Its exterior was wildly decorated with numerous strange-looking plant and animal parts. Although lacking in aesthetics when compared to the nearby booths, it definitely succeeded in conveying a sense of wildness and exoticness.
The four of them looked at the various bones, scales, and leaves with intrigue. Some of the plant decorations were obviously part of the group's old collection, seeing as their leaves and branches were quite withered. But there were some that looked rather pristine too, perhaps deliberately gathered for this year's decoration.
But the most conspicuous object was the huge skull of some kind of beast which was hanging above the entrance. Its shape was elongated and it supposedly had four horns, but one of them was broken.
The booth was surprisingly sturdy, since it was able to bear the weight of these decorations. Perhaps putting up heavy decorations was the norm among the activity groups, so the academy had to accommodate it.
While the group was immersed in the novel sight, out of nowhere, a male voice interrupted them.
"Do you guys like Old Bob?"
The four of them turned toward the voice. Standing closely behind them, an extremely fat man was looking at them with a grin. His eyes were naturally squinted due to their loss in a territorial war against his chubby cheeks. In fact, the group felt that more than 70% of the man's face was under forceful occupation by these tyrannical cheeks.
When Drai had his fill of chubby cheeks and moved on to the man's belly, he was stunned.
'It's the dude who got beaten up during the ceremony!' Drai inwardly exclaimed as he recognized the man—his belly, to be precise. He then recalled that peculiar scene and wondered whether he would also be allowed to hit the man if he asked nicely. After all, Drai was quite curious about the man's defensive prowess.
Meanwhile, the other three didn't show signs of recognition. They were silently looking at the man, slightly dazed by his extreme chubbiness. It was Auri who spoke up first after a few seconds had passed.
"Who's Old Bob?" she asked.
This question woke up the others from their daze. Catching up with the situation, they also wondered who the man was referring to, as they hadn't noticed any old man anywhere near the booth. And why did he ask whether they liked him?
The chubby man didn't answer but instead pointed toward the group above their eye level. Following the direction to which his finger was pointing, Drai and the company finally realized who Old Bob was before bursting into laughter.
It turned out that Old Bob was the huge skull above the entrance.
"Hahaha! Hi, Old Bob!" Auri greeted, exaggeratingly waving her hand.
"I guess we do like Old Bob. Hehehe," Christo remarked, answering the man's question, albeit with a chuckle.
"This Young Master is truly ashamed, for I have eyes but failed to recognize Old Bob! Hahaha!" Jian laughingly exclaimed.
While the others were laughing out loud and chuckling, Drai only smiled. He didn't have much of a sense of humor and common sense, so he didn't find Old Bob's being the skull funny but only a bit surprising. His smile was instead due to his friends' reactions which he found interesting.
"It's good that you guys like Old Bob. He looks quite menacing, but he has been supporting VV for quite a while. We might have to celebrate his tenth anniversary soon," the chubby man informed the group with an appreciative look.
"Speaking of which, are you here to join VV?" the man inquired.
"If by VV you mean Valiant Ventures, yes, we're here to register," Christo replied.
"Yeah, Valiant Ventures. It's quite a mouthful when you have to say it multiple times a day, so we members just call it by its initials, VV. It just rolls off the tongue, right?" said the man.
The four tried pronouncing "Valiant Ventures" and "VV" repeatedly before agreeing with the man. It was definitely a convenience, especially for the members who would often refer to the group's name during their conversations.
"Alright, fellows. My name is Boben Clifford, but you can call me Big Bob. I'm part of VV's staff and was supposed to stand by at the entrance, but I left for a bit due to a personal matter," said Big Bob, smilingly introducing himself while patting his belly.
Hearing Big Bob's introduction, the group's faces turned weird. In particular, Jian and Auri's faces were tinged with redness while their expressions contorted.
"Eh? What's wrong with you?" Big Bob asked, as he saw the peculiar reactions of these first-years, especially those of Jian and Auri.
"Please forgive us. I think these two find your nickname funny," Christo apologetically said, as he understood the situation. Even he thought that it was very amusing.
"F-funny? It's… n-not funny… C-Christo…" Jian very slowly said while stuttering, showing how much he was holding in. His hands were pressing hard against his red face.
"If it's not funny, then why are you like that?" Drai asked, staring confusedly at his friend's strange behavior.
"B-because… it's… IT'S F***ING HILARIOUS!!! HAHAHA!!!"
Jian finally couldn't hold back anymore. He let his emotions run rampant as he laughed his ass out, his body bending back and forth in all directions. Auri also joined as her light laugh filled the area; tears could be seen in the corner of her eyes.
This scene attracted the attention of the passersby and the people in the nearby booths. They looked at the group curiously, wondering what had happened to make this young man and woman laugh so brazenly.
"Old Bob! Big Bob! Everyone's a Bob! What about Young Bob and Small Bob? I want to meet them too, hahaha!" Jian blurted ridiculously, making Auri, who was trying to calm herself, snort loudly.
"Hey! Don't be rude!" Auri suddenly shouted at Jian, stifling his laughter as he turned toward her.
"Sword Bob! You'll make Smart Bob angry! And look at Muscle Bob there! Don't you see you're traumatizing him?!?"
"HAHAHA!!!" Jian resumed his laughing frenzy as he heard Auri's "scolding". Beside him, Auri was giggling mischievously, satisfied with Jian's reaction.
Meanwhile, Christo was looking at Big Bob, his eyes asking for forgiveness. He feared that Big Bob would take this matter to heart, which would end up with either an awkward situation during their stay at VV or the rejection of their application.
Fortunately for the group, Big Bob was a playful person. He even laughed upon hearing Auri's words. After all, if not for his playful personality, why would he let his peers abuse his body during the ceremony? A proud or serious person would probably find it humiliating or unnecessary regardless of their capability to withstand it. But Big Bob went with it because he enjoyed seeing his friends happy. This was also why he asked the group about Old Bob in the first place.
"It's okay. Just let him be," Big Bob smilingly said to Christo. "It's not every day that one can laugh wholeheartedly. I'm just happy that I could make someone laugh like that even if it was unintentional."
"Thank you," Christo nodded gratefully, feeling relieved. It seemed like this event wouldn't disrupt their plans. He looked back at the others and decided to wait like Big Bob had advised.
A few moments later, Jian finally calmed down. He was actually feeling rather embarrassed due to being stared at by Christo and Big Bob. But seeing as they didn't reprimand him, he didn't feel bad about it.
"Well, that was quite a sight, hehehe. Now, why don't we enter, so you guys can register and meet the others? Not all of the members are here, though. Some are still out there doing their stuff. Luckily, the academy doesn't mind our tardiness much as long as we can provide an acceptable reason," Big Bob said to the group.
The group nodded before entering the booth under Big Bob's lead. On the way in, Drai unexpectedly said to Jian, "Try to restrain yourself a bit, okay?"
Jian, who didn't expect these words coming from Drai, stared at him briefly before nodding. He understood the reason he wasn't reprimanded before was due to Big Bob's not being offended. If it were any other person who weren't as magnanimous, perhaps he would have already ruined their chances of joining VV.
Jian was just slightly baffled that Drai was able to infer this. In Jian's eyes, Drai seemed to be unaware or not care much about these things unless they obviously implicated him, such as Jian's antics during their first meeting. In the end, Jian just shrugged.
In fact, if not for witnessing Christo's worried face and apology, Drai wouldn't have cared. But after realizing the trouble Jian could've caused, Drai decided to say something to him. After all, he was indebted to Christo. Drai didn't want him to get banned from joining VV, a group that he seemingly was really eager to join.
"Don't worry. I'm sure he understands," Auri whispered to Drai, feeling a bit guilty for participating in the ruckus earlier.
"I hope so," Drai replied. He knew that Jian was quite reckless, especially considering that peculiar prodigy personality of his. But he had already "warned" Jian, so if something similar were to occur, Drai would take the matters into his own hands.
Upon entering the rather large booth, the group was greeted by quite an astonishing sight. Displayed on both the right and left walls were various objects of which many looked so foreign as if coming from a fantasy fiction.
There was a row of weapons that Drai thought were a bit too fancy, as most of them were embellished with shiny and colorful ornaments. To name a few, there was an azure bow that seemed to be carved out from sapphire, a huge double axe with runic patterns on its head and scales on its handle, and a slightly curved sword with an ivory hilt and sheath which Jian couldn't help but get drawn into.
On a three-story shelf were small objects that Drai couldn't recognize. Some looked mechanical while others seemed to consist of minerals, wood, or animal parts. Drai even spotted an animal doll that slightly resembled a bird. Drai wondered if the doll was something found during an adventure or just a personal belonging left there by a member.
There was also a set of armor displayed on an armor stand. The set of armor didn't resemble anything Drai had seen, as it wasn't shiny and metallic but instead dull and dark-gray, and was covered in jagged edges. The helmet was particularly intriguing to Drai, since it was shaped in a fearsome face resembling a demon, which included two curved horns. The armor set was in a relatively good condition, showing only several shallow marks.
Lastly, there was a shelf that seemed to display various awards. There were plaques, framed certificates, and even trophies. Drai wondered how these awards compared to those of other groups and whether they were something to aim for or merely collateral rewards.
Meanwhile, Big Bob led them past several chairs and before stopping at the reception table. Sitting beside a VC, there was a young lady who looked delighted to see them. She was a pretty red head who was wearing a blouse and skirt.
"Yay! New members!" she excitedly exclaimed with sparkling eyes.
"All thanks to Old Bob," Big Bob replied merrily.
"Ah, praise Old Bob. It's about time we had some applicants, or else it would be just like last year when we had to find new members for weeks after the expo," said the lady, smiling bitterly.
"Hahaha. Don't be sad, Gemma. It's not the new students' fault that they're scared of the past incidents," Big Bob said, appeasing the lady.
Drai and his roommates reflexively glanced at Auri, who was feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Well, it's true that there's nothing we can do about it beside trying to recruit them on our own. Anyway, it's nice to meet you guys! I'm Gemma, a third-year just like Big Bob. We can have our introductions later at our first gathering, but you need to register first by scanning your IDs," Gemma said as she pulled out a virtual screen.
Drai and his friends proceeded to scan their IDs. In the meantime, Big Bob asked Gemma, "Where are the others?"
"There's only Ross back there," Gemma replied as she gestured toward the partition behind her. "The others left when you were gone. They heard that Bismar and co were returning, so they went ahead to receive them."
"Aw, I wish I were there too. But we can't have the booth empty, can we? Especially since we just received some new members," Big Bob said, looking slightly regretful.
"Yeah. I know that it's exciting to see an expedition return, but haven't we had our share, Big Bob? Let's just hope we'll get to see their loot before they send most of them to wherever."
As Big Bob nodded, the four had just finished with the scan.
"Great! Now, please take a seat and wait for your name to be called. There will be a short interview back there with Ross. Don't worry, it's not us trying to eliminate you or something, so you can take it as a formality. But it could give us relevant information that otherwise couldn't be known just by relying on your IDs, so try to be truthful, okay?" Gemma said as she winked at them.
With that, the four of them sat on the nearby chairs, waiting to be called. Meanwhile, Gemma disappeared briefly behind the partition before returning to her table. Looking at her VC screen, she chose a name to call.
"Kevin Hunt!"