I stood at the door of a massive room. When I entered, I expected it to be a single room, but this was almost an entire house. A large living space with a sizable living room, a small kitchen, and four other doors, I assumed, were our rooms.

I jogged over to the large window that gave an overhead view of the academic district.

“Allan, is this where we are supposed to be?”

Allan, who had just entered, glanced around and then back peddled to look at the wall on the outside of the room.

“Well, your names on the card.”

Though I understood little of what happened, it turned out the trial was way more difficult than the school wanted it to be. Too few students had made it through, so another trial had taken place to fill the empty spots, but to recognize the achievements of those who passed, they gave us some extra rewards. I couldn’t be mad, though. This was awesome.

“Don’t feel too conceited.” He said before messing up my hair. “These aren’t set in stone. Even though people here believe in giving everyone a fair chance, this country is also a meritocracy and those that are talented or hardworking get the most resources. So many others will be gunning for your spot.”

“Oh, right, I completely forgot.”

Adding in the first place person from the door-over trials, the top forty-eight students of each term get these facilities and extra benefits. Every new term, only the top 48 of the previous term gets these.

“Any way I have to get some stuff done, so let’s get you settled in.”

Allan helped me bring some of my belongings in and set them in the living room. He then went through every door, knocked, and entered.

“What are you doing”? I asked, while sorting out my weapons.

“First come, first serve. You got her first, so you get to pick the best room.”

He searched around for a while, checking each room more meticulously than I would have cared for. I occasionally glanced in his direction before I went back to sorting out my things. It was a little shameful, but I wasn’t completely against the idea.

“They’re all the same size, and since there’s no air conditioning, this room should provide the best ventilation. Although the sun may be an issue in the late morning hours, you should be out during those times.”

“You really take this seriously.” I said, genuinely shocked by this level of thought.

“And you should too. Now get your things in here quickly.”

 

……………..

About an hour had passed since I had set everything up in my room. Unlike most people, I don’t really carry all that much things, so it was fairly quick, which allowed the always busy Allan to leave on time. 

I looked at the large pill in my hand. It fit in the center of my palm and I could feel the energy that came off of it. It was stable and didn’t react at all to the surrounding mana.

I placed ninth at the last trial, with my team placing fourth amongst the twelve teams that passed. Getting the last hit on the sentinel, shoehorned me up in the rankings.

Yawning, I dropped onto the colored sheets, my arms stretched over the soft fabric, my legs dangled over the edge of the frame. Rumors about a red-haired human had already spread throughout the academic district. Allan already warned me, the usual “don’t be reckless” speech, so I guess I needed to lie low for a while. 

I sat back up, deciding I should meditate for a while, but got intercepted by the front door opening.

“Are you really sure about this, Alana?”

“I know, but not only did you lie to me, but what you did was very irresponsible. What if the sword had activated outside the trial? I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

I sensed two people coming through the door, but only one of them spoke. The name Allana also sounded familiar.

“I know, but please promise me you will never, ever enter these gates,” the voice continued.

Thinking I had impeded on their privacy enough, I exited the room and came face to face with two human girls. Though they bore a close resemblance, the taller girl had shorter brunette hair, with red strands that ended at her chin. She wore tight fitting leather clothes that had a fair bit of cuts and scratches, maybe even some faded blood stains.

They turned to look at me, their eyes widening for a moment. “Oh, someone was already here.” the taller one said.

 The person who stood next to her was shorter, and then I realized it was Alana. She held a large notebook close to her chest as she stood behind her taller companion.

“Hello, my name is Amy chrome, and this is my younger sister Allan.”

“Hi my name Is Atsumi, nice to meet you.” I looked at Alana, who cowered behind her sister.

“Hey Alana, how have you been?”

Amy frowned and glanced towards her sister.

“Oh, you two know each other?”

“Yes, we were in an alliance during the trial.”

“Really? What a coincidence?” She said, before nudging her sister forward. “Don’t be rude Alana. Say hello to your new roommate.”

Looking wary, she opened her large notebook and started scribbling down something. 

I frowned, thinking that she just ignored her sister and just started drawing. Oh, how stupid did I feel when I realized what was going on.

She turned the paper to face me and it read.

“Hello Atsumi, all is well. I appreciate you looking after me during the trial, and I apologize for not being able to contribute. Unfortunately, my condition doesn’t allow me to communicate verbally, so any communication between us will be like this. I hope I won’t be too much of a burden to you.”

 

No wonder she didn’t say a single word during the trial. It’s not that she was just quiet, she couldn’t speak at all. I thought it was strange that a person had such little presence, even if we were in a group of eight people. 

“Oh no, not at all. Thank you for letting me know.”

Not knowing what to say next, I let my eyes wander, eventually falling onto the sword on Amy’s back. It looked like the same one Alana had used.

“Are you a student here as well?”

“Ah, yes, I am a third year..”

I was curious to know how powerful someone in her year was, so I couldn’t help but ask.

“Hope I’m not being rude, but what realm are you?”

“Hmm? I'm in the Intermediate realm second layer.”

“Oh, weaker than I was expecting.”

Amy’s face suddenly tensed and she smiled awkwardly while Alana looked at me, annoyed and was furiously scribbling.

Realizing I said that out loud, I wanted to bury my head in dirt.

“Big sis isn’t weak. She’s actually very strong.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way, it’s just…”

Alana stood there writing up a storm.

“What realm are you then?” she asked.

“Beginner first layer.” 

She scoffed and patted her sisters back proudly. “You're not even close, so don’t talk.”

I stayed quiet, not wanting to anger her any more than this. Saying anything now would probably make things worse.

Everyone in my group during the trial was just entering, so I expected her to be at least mid-adept. But she was similar in strength, based on her realm.

“That’s enough. You don’t have to get angry on my behalf.” 

“Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Atsumi. Sorry about my sister.” She said before turning to Alana. “Let’s unpack.” She said, while dragging her pouting sister away.

I was about to offer help, but decided against it. 

Another knock on the door prompted me to walk towards it. 

“Come in, the door’s unlocked.”

The mana signature that seeped through the door made me stop in my tracks. It was her.

“I spy with my little eye, two new roommates.”

 The door then opened, and a young pinked haired elf strolled in, her retainer not too far behind her. She approached, and I looked up at her to meet her eyes. 

“Hey there.”

“So you’re also my roommate?” I asked.

“You don’t seem to be excited to see me. After going through that gruesome experience together, I thought the two of us bonded the most.” She said, while pretending to sob.

“I’m just surprised, is all. Though us bonding is a bit of a stretch.”

“How mean. I personally think we are going to be great friends.”

“Let’s let time decide that.” 

She turned around and faced her retainer.

“I’ll be fine from now on, Silva.”

“Are you sure you don’t need help to unpack?”

“No, I’ll be fine.”

The black-haired Elven woman reluctantly bowed and then left.

Lyria then looked at all her things, frowned, looked at the door and then at me, an awkward smile on her face.

“Wana, help me unpack?”

“Didn’t she just……… 

I couldn’t even form the words to express my disappointment and disbelief.

“Sure why not.”