On Monday, I had a free period which I am spending with Cassandra. After my very effective tutoring last session, she had come to ask if I could continue, and I agreed. Once again, we were lucky that Mr Sherman - a geography teacher - didn’t have any classes currently, so his class was currently free.

“What is it?” I ask as Cassandra suddenly sighs.

She shakes her head. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking… we’re going to have to start applying to colleges next year, plus there’s all the examinations and well, I feel like we haven’t spent much time in high school.”

“But we still have like… two years.”

“I know, I know. But still. Do you have an idea what college you are going to apply to?”

I stop and think for a moment, then I shake my head. “No. To be honest, I’m not even completely sure what I want to study yet. I haven’t thought much of even school stuff in the past few months. Yeah, I probably need to start doing some thinking.”

She lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, things have been pretty crazy for you recently, haven’t they? First your accident, then the concert.”

I shrug. Those events may have contributed a bit to the craziness in my life, but the Laen takes the cake. With their summer school, training, and the Majin the past few months have been a bit packed for me. “So, what about you? Have any idea what you want to study?”

“Yes,” she nods, “I want to be a doctor.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to be one to be honest, but after the concert I am now determined to be one. No matter the cost.”

“Why?”

When she looks at me, I see some sort of sadness in her eyes. “You weren’t in the hospital the day of the attack. I woke on the way there, and when we got there it was terrible. To be honest I knew it would be bad, but I didn’t expect it to be that bad. Some part of me still doesn’t quite believe that so much pain and suffering can exist in one place. And the staff, yeah, I pitied them. Anyone with eyes would have been able to tell that they were stressed out and tired and probably sick of all the suffering they just saw, yet they had to keep working or more people would die.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She lets out a slow sigh. “Either way,” she continues. “I decided that nothing would stop me from becoming a doctor that day. If there had been more staff, maybe some people who died that day might still be alive today.”

Silence settles between us. I had never thought of how things must have seemed to her that day. One moment having fun in a concert and the next suddenly panicking as something explodes on stage. Next, she probably tried to escape only to end up losing consciousness from the toxic gases caused by things burning up around her. Next thing she knows, she’s on her way to the hospital where she learns the full extent of the disaster that had just happened.

“You’re quite admirable,” I say, honestly. While she was thinking of the suffering other people had been going through, I had been mostly focused first on her, then on Fasurus. It wasn’t until I visited her in the hospital that I truly understood the damage that had been done that night.

She shoots me a coy look. “Says the guy who saved me and other people.”

“It was nothing really.”

“Sure.” She doesn’t sound convinced.

“So, what area do you want to specialize in? Neurosurgery? Something else?”

She pauses, then says, “I have no idea. But I have around year to figure it out, so, yeah, I won’t worry about it too much yet. Anyway, let’s continue.”

I nod and continue teaching her.

After school closes, I debate whether or not to go to Luoi but decide against it. I might as well spend the rest of the day filling up the Mage Bracelets with my Psuedo-Ultimate Roes. And I do exactly just that.

The next day, classes can’t pass by fast enough. It is the day when we Pre-protectors were instructed to come to the Lands. I know the reason we were asked to come has something to do with us becoming Pre-protectors, but I am not entirely sure why yet. I would have asked Drew, if only he were present in school.

The moment the closing bell rings, I practically fly out of my class as I rush home. When I get home, I keep all my school stuff before immediately heading to the bookshop. Hugo doesn’t seem to be around today, but that doesn’t stop me.

I activate the portal to the In-between and move inside it, then I begin to move toward the portal to the Lands. I am not the only one. Coming out from various portals around me are Pre-protectors, and quite a lot of Protectors too, all heading in the same direction. After a quick glance around shows me that I know nobody here, I quickly focus on the path in front of me.

The portal to the Lands doesn’t drop me in the woods it usually does, instead it takes me directly to where we had had the Rankings. Apart from the Trump stands, the place is completely barren, a large open field the only thing left. Roughly at the center of the field is a small stage where most people are gathered. I move in that direction, guessing that that is probably where we are meant to be.

I join the crowd and wait. After fifteen minutes, a stern looking Teacher appears on the stage. After giving the crowd a quick once over she begins listing some names. Once she is done she continues speaking. “Those whose name I just mentioned have yet to register with any of the courts. To keep things moving, we judged your performance since you’ve been here and assigned you to temporary courts, should you wish to change your court later on you are free to do so. When we are done today, you can meet Mr Adrian to find out the court you were assigned to.”

She pauses then states. “During the registration process, you were all asked to choose a Mentor. Some of you were unable to decide so once again we chose for you.”

Next she begins reading a much longer list of names, stating the Mentors those mentioned were assigned to. I wait impatiently for this to end. It can’t be the only reason they gathered us here, right?

Finally she is done. “Now,” she says. “For the reason you are all here. You all managed to pass the exams to become Pre-protectors, and while I assume some of you know what that entails, I am sure the majority of you don’t. The Pre-protector stage is one which aims to prepare you for all that comes after. It was created to give you an idea of exactly what you need to thrive as a Laen. I won’t go into too much detail since you will figure out most of this on your own. And if you don’t, your Monitors will explain it to you.”

Monitors? What exactly is she talking about?

She claps. “First things first, we are going to separate you all into various teams and assign a temporary leader to each one. When you become Protectors, or even before then, you can choose the one best fit to lead you. Now, team one…”