Where were they heading?
To the Military Academy.
Created by humanity's leader, status held little sway there.
How do you think Otherworldly Knights came to be?
They didn't possess otherworldly status from birth; rather, through the Military Academy, geniuses could mature and reach their full potential.
After all, a genius is just that, it doesn't correlate to strength.
So, logically, Anon would be expected to yield to the demands of a high-ranking citizen like Cassius.
But to fear the great families?
The culmination of all the great and greater families combined could not compare to the status of the son of humanity's leader.
When their authority was nullified by the Military Academy, Cassius's antics, in Anon's eyes, were merely laughable.
'He's smart, but not threatening,' Anon smirked as the window closed again, ignoring Cassius's antics.
…
Catharina stepped out of the Allmond family's manor alongside the two instructors, closely followed by her three maids.
Although there were magical items capable of storing miscellaneous belongings, each of her maids carried a piece of her luggage, as the total amount wasn't excessive enough to require such a treasure.
Her vision encompassed the vehicle parked in the drive, and the area around it.
Cassius was standing before one of the vehicle's windows, with a foul expression on his face as he turned to Catharina.
This look was completely different from what he usually adorned.
Even stranger, he had such a look when taking his gaze away from the vehicle, and who was in this vehicle?
Was it not someone he continuously praised and glorified previously?
Immediately, Catharina thoughts churned as she swiftly hypothesized what had taken place, causing an even fiercer expression than the one on Cassius's face to etch itself onto her own face.
"Y-You dared!"
Catharina couldn't even express her words properly.
Approaching Cassius, she chuckled coldly, attempting to suppress the rage that coursed through her, saying, "I never wanted to believe that you were such a sly fox, but it would seem that I underestimated you."
Shaking her head, she sighed and continued with a monotone voice, "Verily, you are also father's child. Even if you're a talentless waste, I should not have underestimated you."
Not once had she ever said such harsh words to her brother, but it wasn't hard to see through what he had done, nor his plans and plots, so right now, she truly could not suppress the anger she felt.
Cassius observed his sister with a pair of indifferent eyes.
Even if he had been caught by his sister, so what?
He was someone that couldn't care less for honor and face, naturally, the opinion of another didn't matter to him.
'This is my miscalculation.'
Cassius stepped away from the vehicle, allowing his sister who actively ignored him to enter as the servants packed her luggage in the trunk.
Cassius disappeared from this scene thinking, 'I didn't expect that this commoner would dare to be this overbearing. Oh well, I was underestimated by others, and now, I've ironically underestimated the commoner's foolishness.'
Foolishness.
Cassius didn't see Anon as brave, after all, how could a commoner dare disobey the young master of a great family?
His thoughts churned, 'To make a move, that would be slightly difficult, anyway, it's impossible for him to become a stellar fighter in this two-week program.'
Cassius knew that to become a stellar fighter wasn't an easy feat.
In the time from now until the camp officially began, Anon becoming one was highly improbable.
As he was an orphan, it would be the first time that he even learned of the way, so two weeks wasn't enough time.
By that time, he who had reached the minimum requirement would also enter the camp of ten thousand.
To top it off, he subconsciously felt his perception growing more powerful, that soon, he'd become a stellar fighter.
When that happens, Anon's downfall would truly begin.
Wouldn't it be funny if the instructors went out of their way to bring Anon to the special program, only for him to not even awaken his principle by the time the actual camp came to an end three and a half months later?
'Anyway, such overbearingness, Orland family's young master is quite haughty and wicked, Anon's downfall may not even need to be urged on by me.'
Cassius thought this inwardly and couldn't help but giggle.
For him, the most pleasuring scene would be Anon suffering torment even before he, Cassius, entered the official camp.
'How can Orland family's young master watch a mere commoner go around with such aloofness?'
He thought, smilingly uttering, "Anon, oh Anon, you're in for a hellish two weeks, and then, when I come, you'll realize that the previous hell was only the lowest level."
…
"I'm really, really sorry for what my brother put you through."
As Catharina entered the vehicle, she saw Anon resting his face in the palm of his hand.
When their eyes met, his amber gold gems locking with her crystal blue orbs, he merely nodded in acceptance of her apology.
This left her uncertain and unsure of how to respond. His lack of visible emotion made it impossible for her to gauge his thoughts.
Whether he truly accepted her apology or secretly held a grudge, she couldn't tell, which made her slightly jittery.
The opening of the vehicle's doors momentarily interrupted her chaotic thoughts as the two instructors entered.
Unexpectedly, it was the moody Rolan who was the driver.
"Since you guys went to the same high school, I'm sure you know of each other. In fact, there are four of you from St. Hope high school chosen to enter this program. Well, I'm sure you know of this, Catharina Allmond." The burly Parkinson said with certainty whilst fixing his seatbelt in place.
"I do," Catharina replied softly, her eyes regaining a sense of focus as she looked around the interior of the vehicle before asking, "But are we going now, to the other four? I don't think…"
"Your worries are needless."
Parkinson interrupted and said with a smile.
"We'll be bringing you two to this year's location for the camp of ten thousand before heading for Andrew Webb, and Melissa Green. Finally, we'll go to White-sand district for Seth Constantin, and on our way back, we'll stop for Nickyle Orland."
Hearing their schedule, Catharina sighed, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
She slightly bowed her head.
At the same time, the car left the Allmond manor through the resident's gates, entering the Allmond Boulevard.
"Haha, this is what we chose. After all, we could've opted to select only three students like we did last year." Parkinson's words made Catharina feel slightly better.
"Oh, you two instructed last year's group also?" She asked.
Instructors of the camp of ten thousand didn't usually stay for long.
With time, one learns to unearth more of their strength, and once reaching a certain level, one could still apply for a more sought-after job, to more quickly accumulate merits.
"We've only been instructors since the 2078 camp," Rolan interrupted.
"Though this fool looks like a middle-aged man with three children and an ex-wife who divorced him, he's only twenty-eight, and I'm twenty-nine."
Hearing this, Catharina could place the pieces of the puzzle together.
With her knowledge, she already deduced their past twelve or so years.
'Most likely, they entered the military academy and spent nine years before... not graduating, but being released.'
'Afterward, they were assigned as instructors in the camp of ten thousand.' Catharina summarized internally.
Just getting into the military academy was difficult, still, graduating from it was many times more difficult.
Though there were only three year-groups in the military academy, there's a reason why a year 1 could repeat once, a year 2 could repeat twice more, and a year 3 could do so thrice.
Even then, like with Parkinson and Rolan, it wasn't an easy matter to graduate from the military academy, instead, they were released after spending nine years growing into more powerful versions of themselves.
The desolate era spanned ten years before the new era was then established, and the military academy was created five years after, so around thirty years ago.
The duo had spent almost a third of the academy's existence within it.