After a while, they left the building they were in and arrived in front of the town's main road.
When they got there, the participants were startled by the number of people they saw on it. After all, the first time they saw it, it was utterly deserted.
Now, although the road was still somewhat deserted due to its large size, hundreds of people could be seen on it.
Hes then said, "Well, now that we've arrived, I'll explain the first mission to you. It's quite simple. All these people on the street are members of schools."
The tall man said, "Schools?"
"Yes, but it's not the kind of school you're thinking of. Instead of teaching you subjects, they teach ways in which you can develop your body."
"Our bodies? In that case, wouldn't it be better to call them a gym rather than a school?"
"No, because, unlike a gym, where you can learn and do the same exercises in any of them. Each of these schools has its way of developing the human body."
"Hm, got it."
"Well, continuing what I was saying before. The aim of the first mission is to get into one of these schools. It's probably going to be pretty easy for most of you to complete."
At this point, everyone glanced at Rohan, which made him a little tense, and Hes continued, " But don't be in a hurry to finish it. Explore as many schools as you can until you find one that fits with what you believe is the best way to develop your body."
All the participants then nodded in agreement, and the guard said, "Well, the first mission has begun. Feel free to go."
On hearing this, all the participants, except Rohan, started walking towards the schools.
Hes then turned to Rohan and said, "Are you still worried about your grade?"
Rohan said, "Yes, I am, but there's nothing I can do about it, is there?"
"Unfortunately not. The only thing you can do is try harder than the others."
"... I understand. Well, I'll be going then. I can't afford to waste time."
Rohan then started walking towards the schools like the others.
Seeing this, Uson turned and said, "Well, let's get back to the gate. The next batch of participants should have arrived by now." but Hes didn't answer him.
He was silent for a while, looking thoughtful as he watched Rohan heading down the road towards the schools.
Uson then said, "Hey, what's up? Why are you standing there?"
Hes said, "I was wondering if I should do something to help Rohan."
"You already did everything you could to help him when you explained the situation he was in."
"Not necessarily."
Hes shouted towards Rohan, "Hey! Rohan! Come back here for a moment! I forgot to tell you something!"
Hearing this, Rohan turned around and began to walk back while thinking, 'What did he forget to tell me? Let's hope it's not another negative point on my grade.'
He then walked up to Hes and said, "Hi, what's up?"
Hes said, "If you can't get into any of the schools you find, look for the Palace of Death. They'll accept you there."
"The Palace of Death? The name isn't very welcoming, but I probably don't have much choice. Thanks, if I need to, I'll look for that school."
"Excellent. That's all."
Rohan headed down the road again, and after he'd gone a bit, Uson approached Hes and said, "Are you crazy? Why did you recommend the Palace of Death to him?"
"It's like he said, he doesn't have much choice. It may be that none of the schools will accept him. In that case, don't you think it's better for him to at least have a chance, even if it's risky?"
"... Well, you're right, but even so, I don't know if he'll think you helped him once he's in that place. He'll probably resent you."
"That's true, but there's nothing else I can do. I've made my choice. I hope everything works out for him."
...
Rohan was walking along the road leading to the schools. By the time he reached the area where they were, all the members of the surrounding schools noticed his arrival and started talking to him.
A young man at the door of a school then said, "Welcome my friend. Why don't you come and see our school? We have the best techniques for taking care of your body."
An older man said, "Don't listen to him, young man. My school is far superior. You can be sure that only we will be able to exploit all the potential your body has."
"Don't waste your time," said a woman at the door of another school. "That young man clearly doesn't want to spend his time surrounded by men. Come to my school, my love. The vast majority of our members are women. You won't regret it."
The situation then began to escalate, with several people from different schools trying to show why their school was better.
Rohan was a little lost watching this happen and then thought, 'It looks like I was worrying for nothing. Even though I got the worst grade in the test, these schools still need students, so they have no choice but to accept even people like me.
The members of the schools continued arguing amongst themselves for some time, and Rohan was considering which one to join when suddenly a very tall and muscular man appeared and said, "Hahaha, don't waste your time. He's clearly made for our Iron Castle school!"
Hearing this, the members of the surrounding schools started arguing among themselves, saying, "Damn, what's a member of the Iron Castle doing here."
"Weren't the more advanced schools supposed to wait further up the road to give us a chance of getting some students?"
"Yes, but it seems that as this is the first batch, they don't plan to let us get the good seeds."
The man from the Iron Castle school then said, "What do you say, boy? Are you ready to evolve your body to the next level?"
Hearing this, Rohan thought, 'The guard told me to evaluate several schools before deciding to join one, but from the reaction of the members of these schools around, it's obvious that this school called Iron Castle is special.'
He then said, "Yes, I'm ready."
Upon hearing this, all the surrounding school members frowned, and then the man from the Iron Castle school said, "Perfect, just what I thought, hahaha. Follow me, I'll take you to our school."
"Okay."
The two then started down the road, but before they could take too many steps, the man from the Iron Castle school said, "Oh, before I forget, I'll need to see the sphere you used to take the test. It's just a formality at our school."
"All right. Here it is," said Rohan, stretching out his hand with the sphere towards him.
The man then took the sphere, looked at it quickly, and said, "Perfect. 'F' Grade. I couldn't expect anything less from a participant in the first wave. Follow me ... wait a minute! 'F' grade?!"
As soon as the man from the Iron Castle school said this, all the members of the other schools started arguing.
"What?! He got an 'F' on the test?!"
"Wow, how bad must his body be?"
"I can't imagine."
"I was about to accept him into our school. It's a good thing the Iron Castle showed up."
"That's true. I almost made a bad decision, too."
Rohan then said, "Do you have a problem with my grade? I know it's the worst grade possible, but it's not like it matters that much, is it? It's just a test grade."
The man from the Iron Castle school said, "Unfortunately, this grade is extremely important. You'd better give up on getting into any school for now, kid. No school is going to waste its spots on a person who got an 'F' in the test. At least not in the first round."
The members of the surrounding schools then began to agree with what The man from the Iron Castle school had said.
Seeing this, Rohan thought, 'Looks like I underestimated how important the test grade is. Damn it, what do I do now? There's the place the guard mentioned, the Palace of Death. He said to only go there as a last resort, but it looks like my situation has reached that point.'
Rohan then said, "Thank you for explaining my situation."
The man from the Iron Castle school said, "You're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to my school."
"Wait a moment, please."
"Kid... you need to understand that there's nothing I can do. The Iron Castle will never accept you with that grade."
"I understand, but that's not what I want to talk about."
"Hm? What do you want then?"
"I wanted to know where the Palace of Death is."
As soon as he said this, silence fell over the place. He then looked around and realized that everyone was staring at him. Some looked scared, others worried, and others surprised.
The man from the Iron Castle school then said, "Why do you want to know about the Palace of Death?"
Rohan said, "Well, in case I ran out of options of where to go, like now, I was advised to look for the Palace of Death."
"Hm ... well, forget that advice, boy. Trust me."
"Why do you say that?"
"Nothing good will happen to you if you go there. At best, you'll die, and at worst, you'll suffer a lot. You'd better stay in the city for a few months. There's a training center set up for people like you. Stay there until you get a 'D' grade in the assessment. That way, many schools will be willing to accept you."
"I appreciate your advice, but I don't intend to stay here that long. I need to get back to my world as soon as possible."
"...Are you sure you want to go there?"
"Yes, after all, I have no choice if I want to complete the first mission."
"Well, I tried to warn you. Come with me. I'll take you there."
"Okay."
The two then made their way down the road.