A group of excited youths boarded the flying ship. Yerive elbowed Parton in the crowd, urging his tall friend.

“Hey, Parton. Can you see who the driver is?”

Able to easily see beyond most of the crowd, Parton looked towards the front of the ship. There, only separated by a half wall sat a black-haired man with a rather lean build.

“It’s Mr. Isend.”

Immediately a few eyes lit up.

“Nice, Mr. Isend.”

“Haha, now we won’t be too late!”

“Seems we are lucky today.”

Tepo also smiled lightly. This name had left a deep impression on many of the youths. Mister Isend was known for his fast driving. But despite his memories Tepo was nonchalant. How fast could this ship be? With such a weight it was already impressive that it could fly within the wind channels.

As the crowd slowly dispersed, sitting down on the rows of seats, Tepo, Yerive, and Parton also arrived at their regular place. But the trio only looked in confusion at the empty seats.

“Ganaph and Nocia aren’t here?”, asked Parton in apprehension.

“They wouldn’t have missed the ship, right?”, spoke Yerive.

Tepo frowned slightly. Ganaph and Nocia were two of his other close friends in this world. Those five had often supported each other through the exhausting preparatory school. He also hoped that the two girls hadn’t missed the ship.

Turning his head around, Tepo scanned the crowd. While the ship already began to move slowly, he searched for his friends. Noticing the many empty seats, he asked Yerive.

“Could it be that no one else from our class is here?”

“What? Do you think no one made it?”

“There can’t be such a coincidence.”, stated Parton calmly.

“I think so, too. They probably gathered somewhere. And if not here, then above us on the deck.”

Yerive’s eyes lit up in realization.

“Ahh, you have a point. Let’s take a look!”

Without waiting for a response Yerive turned around. He quickly climbed up the stairs at the back of the ship. Tepo and Parton shrugged their shoulders before following their friend.

A few moments later the trio arrived atop the ship’s deck. The blueish shimmering barrier was the only thing protecting them from being carried away by the wind channel. The ship had just left the cloud, traveling slowly as there was a lot of traffic in this part of the city.

Tepo took a quick glance at the many youths, immediately spotting a big group to their right. He recognized many of them from his memories, realizing that all his about 25 classmates had gathered here.

“Over there!”, exclaimed Yerive as he confidently approached the group.

Noticing Tepo, Yerive, and Parton, a few of their classmates left some space for them. They all exchanged friendly greetings as Tepo came to a stop next to a white-haired young woman. The former investigator instinctively felt closer towards this girl.

From his memories Nocia was an incredibly clever woman. Her gaze was as sharp as her brain, and her combat instincts were complimented by many teachers. She was one of the geniuses of their class. Tepo felt like he would have gotten along well with this woman in his past life.

Next to her stood a lively red-haired girl. She had a childish face and wore a smile at all times. But it would be a big mistake to underestimate this lady. Her petite body was packed with muscles. She could erupt with incredible explosive strength, making her a dangerous opponent. This was Ganaph, another good friend of Tepo.

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When the three boys approached, the two girls greeted them quietly. Tepo read the atmosphere, recognizing that their appearance had interrupted something. He immediately felt an angry gazes directed towards their group of three.

Making out its source, Tepo found a tall man with slick black hair staring at him. Immediately a name appeared in his mind: Tondka Lirane.

When Tondka noticed Tepo’s head turning towards him, he frowned unhappily.

“What are you three doing here?”

“Hmm, why? Is this your private party?”, answered Tepo leisurely.

Yerive and Parton looked slightly uncomfortable while most of their classmates just rolled their eyes. They were already used to this rivalry between two friend groups. Even the teachers found it hard to suppress the stubborn youths, so the others learned to stand by idly and let them fight it out.

Nocia was also annoyed by the immediate hostility Tondka was showing her friends. She turned towards Tepo, calmly telling him:

“Tondka was just in the midst of informing us about the benefits we would get by working for his father.”

Tepo raised his brow slightly. So, this was the case? Tondka’s father was the leader of the Lirane Minerals Group. They were a rather strong organization not directly belonging to the city.

As far as Tepo knew they occupied at least three permanent dungeons, which were basically money printing machines. And now they had already sent out their son to rope in his classmates.

Those words also reminded Tondka of his purpose. He suddenly remembered what his father had told him. He had to show his best attitude today.

Determined not to disappoint his father, the young man took a deep breath before putting on a smile he deemed professional. Although Tepo would call it slimy, it seemed to work on their classmates. Many had interested looks when Tondka continued his pitch.

“That’s right. Our group will be generous if you come to work for us. This counts for everyone here!”

Tondka felt like he just came up with a great idea. If he could entice Tepo, Yerive, or Parton to work for him he would immediately be their superior. As the owner’s son he would naturally earn more than them.

Although he couldn’t come out on top at school, would anyone still care about this in ten years? Twenty? He would have long left his former rivals in the dust by then.

With such an ingenious plan, Tondka’s enthusiasm immediately doubled.

“If your core is strong in combat, you might even have a chance to be promoted into our first strike team. There, you will receive not only a big salary but will also explore new dungeons, making a name for yourself! Just ask around in the city, who doesn’t know our captain Grazu?”

With his speech Tondka managed to raise his classmate’s excitement. Even the battle hungry Ganaph was tempted. Tepo rolled his eyes, but he wasn’t in the mood to comment.

Although he disliked Tondka, their rivalry appeared rather childish to him. After today it wasn’t even certain if they would see each other again.

If some of his classmates really decided to follow Tondka, it was their own fate. The Lirane Minerals Group wasn’t really better or worse than others as far as he knew.

Only Tondka’s words were a bit dishonest. He lured the youths with the benefits of the first strike team but didn’t talk about their high mortality rates.

Exploring a dungeon was dangerous, and an unknown one even more so. Tepo’s classmates also knew this, but they were caught in a mix of nervousness and excitement about the future. If they had some time to think it through, they would surely decide carefully.

While Tondka was still giving his speech, the big ship continued towards its destination. After leaving the vicinity of a few densely clustered clouds, it entered a broad wind channel.

Suddenly Mr. Isend smiled in excitement. He gripped his control stick tightly. With a strong push the ship abruptly accelerated.

Excited laughter rang out among the youths.

“That’s the Mr. Isend we know!”

“Leave those penguins in the dust!”

Atop the deck everyone also felt a sudden jolt. Tepo wasn’t prepared. With the barrier surrounding the ship, one could easily forget that they were even moving. The sudden acceleration didn’t surprise anyone.

Usually, the same was true for Tepo, but the ‘new’ him wasn’t used to it. His foot slipped and before anyone reacted the young man suddenly sat on the floor.

His classmates’ eyes went wide. Tepo was normally known for his nimbleness. How could he fall so easily?

A snicker sounded out. Naturally it came from Tondka. How could he miss this chance to undermine his rival?

Quickly a few others followed. Some laughter even spread among the group. Tepo’s friends were confused, not knowing how to react.

Yerive felt incredulous, yelling loudly:

“Shut up! What are you laughing at, hmm?!”

However, just as everyone thought Tepo would also grow angry from embarrassment, the young man stood up and nonchalantly dusted off his ass. He smiled brightly, not faced by the other’s reactions.

Looking into Tepo’s face, the youths felt strange. Was it really this funny that someone fell? Their laughter gradually died down as they felt awkward.

Ironically the only one who continued laughing was Ganaph, while Nocia raised her eyebrow, wondering if Tepo had always been this mature.

After this small intermezzo the mood was off. Tondka was also done with his speech, so the youths separated into their own smaller groups. Tepo and his close friends gathered at the ship’s bow under his urgings.