At the other end of the camera, President Kim Filo sat cross-legged on his office table. His gaze flickered at the many monitors present before him.
He had a contemplative gaze, his attention drawn to one of those monitors.
He clicked his gaze to the men lined up in his office, all in office suites, the intensity hung firmly in the air as he left them in suspense.
The interior of his office was pristine, with glass walls and a ceramic floor.
He had a condescending gaze fixed on his workers.
"How many good Players did we have this year?" he asked.
The Representatives, sixteen in total, glanced at each other for a while when the 1st representative stepped forward.
"Star Academy had three legendary, five heroic, ten rare and the rest, epic". He stated a satisfied expression on his smug face.
He had dark slick punk hair and shades over his eyes.
The President scoffed. "The prestigious schools don't count. Those disgusting developers wouldn't let their kids get into that Test without a sort of assignment"
Assignments were a method used to bypass the rules of the Server, something difficult to concoct as the Server was usually strict on things like this.
"I'm not done sir" he said, his smile widening and the other Representatives turned to him, surprise etched on their expressions.
Could there be more? What's better than the results he obtained already?
"Dollina Olton obtained a Mythic Card".
The President raised a brow, surprise etched on his expression as the other Representatives receded to their thoughts.
"Interesting….I already knew she showed promise, but this is a good result. What are her future goals? Does she wish to join a guild, perhaps even the association? She will be welcomed with open arms".
The man sighed, scratching the back of his head. "She hasn't shown any of her intentions thus far, but she trained with Cristopher Bolyx and Melinda Valenzine.
I assume she would join the Regal or Trojan Hall"
President Kim sighed, stroking his chin as he shifted his gaze to the others.
"Well, I have seen some promising Players over the last few days, but I want to hear from you.
Who else had their Assigned school score a rare and above"
None of his representatives seemed to come forward after that.
It wasn't a surprise to President Kim. After all, there was a reason why Star Academy was extremely expensive and difficult to enter.
'it would be a shame if they couldn't get at least a rare if they've from an academy like that'.
He thought, glancing at his monitor when one of his representatives stepped out.
His brow raised on turning to the Representatives, the same surprise etched on the other Representative's faces.
"President Kim, I don't know if it counts, but I had a school of seven. Two died, but we got a legendary, a heroic, and three rares".
'Huh?' President Kim raised a brow in surprise, his gaze turning to the monitor once again. There was a particular student that had gotten his attention over the course of the week.
He wasn't a registered student in his database, so he had assumed it was another developer household messing with him, but what if.
'There was also Bryan Chen'.
"What's the name of the school?" He asked.
"Treefell Institution of Learning" Representative Rodis replied, his tone dropping on repeating the name in his head. 'Who came up with that shit?'
"That's also where Bryan Chen schools?"
Rodis's eyes widened slightly before he nodded his head.
President Kim sighed, turning his attention to the other Representatives.
"I asked those with more than one Character slot to meet me; guess how many came this time?" he asked.
The others glanced at each other, the answer lingering in their mouth.
It had always been the same since they started it, and that was usually zero.
Players were generally secretive about their abilities, mostly because they stood a chance of losing a lot when their abilities were exposed.
Especially when they planned on going to tournaments, it was a matter that had grown too far from their reach.
"We received three this time". He replied to his question, the Representatives turning their heads at their President.
"Who are they?" the first asked, curiosity laced in his voice but the sudden glare from the president kept him in place.
"Information like this, especially when they're our firsts, should be kept secretive, but…"
He turned towards Rodis, nodded his head and resumed his watch over the Monitors.
"Luckily, all three will be amongst our new members, so treat them all nicely".
"Yes Sir" they chorused in reply.
"Also…Paxton Zen, is he also a student of your school?" President Kim asked, a replay of Paxton's fight replaying on his monitor.
It had been a while since he saw a Novice Player like him, someone so adept at learning.
In just a week, he had defeated five of his Dummies; his curiosity was at an all-time high.
"Yes…." Rodis replied, his surprise and confusion etched in his voice.
"Has he revealed which guild he wishes to join?". President Kim could tell that Paxton wasn't someone who would be easily tamed. He was a talent on his own, someone he would rather have on his side, than any more of those guilds.
Rodis shook his head.
"Good. Try and persuade him to join us. You all are dismissed, take care of the rest of your members and ensure they have their Player certificate and ID created before they leave".
He lazily waved his hand away, indicating to them to leave.
They bowed in unison, before heading towards the door, Rodis lingering behind.
He stopped just when the others had left and turned towards President Kim.
"What do you want, Rodis?" He asked.
"...is there a reason you're interested in Paxton? Why bother with someone from the back alleys when they're other stars out there?"
A brief tension held between them, telling tales of a former comradeship between these two unlikely fellows.
"Those stars…will join the Guilds, furthering their numbers and overall abilities. They will become a nuisance that can no longer be controlled by the government. Why bother with them when we can start with the small fry"
He asked, his tone laced with dismissiveness and distance. "Well, you should also see why I said so".
He indicated to Rodis to come closer with his finger and turned one of the Monitors towards him.
There, the two Players replayed the training scene once again, amazement etched on Rodis's expression.
****
Paxton sighed deeply as he walked out of the World Player Association building, his gaze lingering on the laminated card on his right hand.
It was an identification card showcasing his name, level, status, date of birth, player ID number and Character name.
'Nice…though, I won't be using it much'.
Just then, he heard familiar voices approaching from behind.
He glanced behind him to find Ruby, Flora and Bryan walking up to him.
"You guys have yours as well?" he asked, waving his card at them.
The girls giggled, showcasing theirs while Bryan did the same with a smug.
He chuckled lightly as they walked up to him.
Over the course of the week, these four had grown closer than they had ever done throughout their school lives.
The constant training, lectures and losses they faced in duels brought them together. They always encouraged each other, edging one another to perform their best in absorbing the lessons they were taught.
And eventually, they did. They began to do better on their drills, outrunning themselves, pushing their strength to the limit, using their abilities to a certain level of mastery, and many other improvements.
Progress was a satisfying feeling, a result or bonus to one's effort.
These four had seen progress and they would continue to see such. A bond had been formed.