Before Ravyn and Kanji could continue their conversation, Marika's excited voice rang out, filling the entire floor.

"And now, the moment we have all been waiting for!.. Here comes the highlight of our Airburst’s Selection exclusive live teaser. The best of the best in skills and talents that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the active Airbursts; trainees with the most promising performances from the 8 nominated continents. The long-awaited sight of them gathering together is now happening here in Themeise, to an audience around the globe. Introducing… The 8 Rising Star Trainees!!"

The MC girl pulled out her notepad and took a quick look at it as the cameramen moved their cameras away from her.

"Starting from No. 8, the former elite bodyguard from BLOCKER, the world-class bodyguard organization, his rich professional experience combined with his high level of Airtech wielding skills made him the Komveena's most anticipated rookie, alias: Putter!"

As Marika narrated, a young man, dyed green-haired, partner on one of Ravyn's field missions, in a warm suit, stood tall and confidently kept his chin up in front of the camera.

"Next up is a tough warrior with a record for the longest non-stop participation in Airburst field missions of 89 hours. You are not going to believe this, but being an Airburst Trainee is just a hobby during her free time! Member of the Special Forces from the continent of meadows, No. 7, alias: Sekai"

A gorgeous black woman with deadlocks in a gym outfit turns to the camera, stretching her arms.

"No. 6, the perfect strategist who has not been hurt even once in all of his past missions. The Genius Prince from the Land of Perfumes, alias: Vartyss"

A lad with glasses and a refined body under his sweaty casual wear greets the camera with a smile. Then he turns back and puts his virtual chess piece to checkmate his opponent on the AB Ring’s hologram board. On his shoulder was a barbell.

"Strong as a rock, fast as a thunderbolt. Alias: Tim and alias: Thwar, brothers from the realm of the Vikings. The record holder for clearing 47 Knight-level missions equally, which is the most among any trainee, follows as joint No.4!"

Two hardy figures wearing only sweatpants collide with their fists while running on their treadmill. The square face and blonde braid mustache belong to Thwar, and the reddish-brown braid beard belongs to Tim.

"Arriving at No. 3! A guy with a golden ratio face, like a glass mask. But even the perfection of his face couldn’t eclipse the 98.7% success rate for his Airburst field mission. The sweet-faced knight, alias: Zamonte!"

A gent with an aquiline nose, curly hair, and a weighted tank top was doing the side-plank, waving his hand and flirting with the cameramen and live audience.

"A beauty with a fierceness that even monsters have to succumb to. The one that put an end to Rime Slayer, a Queen-level dangerous serial killer, on her own. No. 2, Demon Princess, alias: Gabrielle!"

A slim girl with a faded sixpack between her sports bra and blue leggings is wiping post-workout sweat from her hair ends with a towel draped over her shoulders and briefly staring at the camera.

"And finally, No. 1! The man is said to be the future grim reaper for the underground world after the legendary hero Fusen. The only trainee who has ever cleared a King-level mission since Airburst was founded, alias: Angus!"

A lad with a supermodel physique and a short ponytail sits and drinks mineral water, ignoring the camera. His constantly emitted hostility creates a barrier that neither the cameramen nor Marika dare to approach. Ravyn asked her friend after she clearly noticed Kanji's panic when MC Marika mentioned this No. 1 guy.

"You're afraid of the man with the ponytail down to his shoulder, aren’t you?"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Kanji pretended he did not hear Ravyn. He walked over to the other trainees, giving out the acknowledgement letters and briefing them about the details with a stuttering voice. Ravyn then proceeded to hand out the papers to the next person in front of Kanji. After pressuring him by handing out a few papers in the same manner, the young man finally gave in.

"Yeah! You’re right. Just stop getting in my way already.. I've been here a few times to discuss budget with AB Trainer. Of course, in a very friendly way. But every time I came here, I would feel Angus staring at me with those terrifying old-red eyes staring at me every time. Also, his not-so-friendly atmosphere does not make me want to walk around him, let alone avoid the conversation. It's good that someone else gave him the paper instead of me."

…That guy's eyes didn't seem red to me though.. I never thought there would be someone Kanji didn't want to talk to. That’s odd. He wasn’t like this even with Weiss...

Ravyn, observing Angus from a distance, didn't know whether she should be surprised by Kanji's unexpected faint-heartedness or the person he was afraid to talk to. On the reporter of ABWeekly's side, she is now exhilarated and enjoying her moment of representing the pre-qualifiers live broadcast.

...I get to meet Mr. Idorund in person along with the best Airburst Trainees from around the world. It's a dream come true!...

Marika thought and started walking up to interview other trainees, a little clumsily. She forgot to see that her legs were getting tangled with the mic cable. When one of the airing staff informed her, MC Marika bent down to pull out the tangled cord.

*clink*

One of the MC's silver coins dropped from her pocket, spun, and landed on the floor. Kanji, who had previously stood terrified, immediately reacted to the money by jumping and snatching it. Even the top trainees were amazed at the speed of that reaction.

"Lucky!.."

He held the coin in his hand as if it were a precious treasure and exclaimed in joy, before realizing that he had made a bad habit in front of the broadcasting camera and that his voice had weakened. The MC there, who had just encountered something like this, just stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

...Kanji, where has your fear vanished?...

Ravyn facepalms herself with the secondhand embarrassment and is about to rebuke the boy who, when it comes to money, other things are most likely trivial matters.

"Kanji, time and pla.." "Ouch!!"

Right before Ravyn could say anything, Kanji screamed out in pain. Angus' feet, the ponytail man, stomped on the little thief's wrist forcefully. But Kanji still clenched his fists due to the habituation of the body to not let go of his belongings easily. So, Angus stomped his feet again and dragged his feet to the side, sweeping out the fingers of Kanji that held the coin to force open that hand.

"A dirty rat like you is ruining the reputation of this place."

Angus still stepped on Kanji's fingers to pin down his arm and bent down to pick up Kanji's blood-stained coin. He then tossed it over to the MC.

"Kyaa!"

Marika was shocked by the event that just happened that made her let the blood-stained coin slip from her hand. Ravyn, also surprised by these unexpected actions from the potential future hero, looked at Angus angrily. The man with short ponytails glanced back at her.

"Why are you looking at me? It's a thief. Plus, an insider. He has to be severely punished. Is there any problem?"

Angus crouched down and slapped Kanji in his face over and over, as if he was a toy.

"Ah, uh...it's because he's from a country where the law has absolute punishment for perpetrators.." "LIFT YOUR LEG UP NOW!"

The MC, panicked of trying to tone down the situation in front of the camera but was interrupted by Ravyn's furious shout. The purple-haired girl rushed over to Angus, who had gone too far with his punishment.

"Like this?"

That short-ponytail man raised a leg that hadn't stepped on Kanji and stood on one leg. This caused the 6-foot grown man's weight, tightly packed with muscles, to crush the boy's hand.

"Argggh!!"

Kanji screamed and squirmed in pain.

…This is too much…

Marika decided to stand in front of the camera block and end the AB Weekly live broadcast despite how much effort she had put into the MC rehearsal beforehand and how much this event meant to her. The other trainees couldn't intervene because Kanji was caught red-handed for stealing money in the first place. Moreover, physical contact with other trainees during the training campaign is prohibited, and any violation will result in points being deducted enough to have them disqualified for the Airburst Selection. Acting rashly on emotions would not benefit their reputations as representatives of the place they came from. With that in mind, Putter can only clench his fists and watch his little friend get hurt.

"You!!"

Ravyn had nothing to do with the rules and didn't care, so she swiftly charged at Angus as fast as her partially recovered body could afford.

"What an eyesore."

*bash!*

Angus used his feet to lift Kanji from underneath and kick him off to Ravyn. The purple-haired girl caught her little friend and spun around, kicking at Angus' neck with the reciprocal momentum and all her might.

*BWAK!*

"Candidates for the new Airburst, the hero of this city? Are you all kidding me?!"

Ravyn raged out of disappointment in AB Trainees.