"Please, keep your ID cards at hand!" Said a man in the HSA uniform with a megaphone as the hundreds of espers entered a big hall. On the other side of the hall, several HSA crew members could be seen on different posts with computers as they proceeded with the first part of the identification process.
After some minutes Seth finally got to one of the posts.
"ID card please," asked the man.
"Here," Seth said as he handed him the card that Miss Leywin had given him. The man took the card and put it in a box-like machine that scanned it.
The card shone for some seconds as the machine scanner's light passed through it.
Beep
"Knox Academy, please head to the West wing hall 230 to continue with the identification process," the man said as he read the data on the computer's screen and handed Seth's ID card back.
"Thank you," Seth said as he took his card before walking toward the doors that led to the inner part of the stadium.
An HSA operator wearing its classic military uniform opened the door when Seth approached then closed it behind him.
Seth found himself in a large corridor where only one sign could be seen. The sign had the words "South wing" written on it.
'If this is the South wing then the West wing should be on the left,' he thought as he chose between the two possible options.
The HSA stadium was one of the largest buildings in terms of area in the whole city, with an area of 343 000 meters squared and a perimeter of a little bit more than 2 kilometers.
'With such a large perimeter it's weird that there isn't any kind of fast transportation method inside the corridor,' Seth thought as he looked around the empty white corridor.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The HSA stadium was also one of the most modern buildings in the city, alongside the HSA headquarters, so there wasn't any reason why they wouldn't install such a transportation method. Those were the kind of thoughts that crossed Seth's mind until
Swoooosh!
A person passed by Seth so fast that he was only able to see a blur before it disappeared in the long corridor.
'I guess you don't need transportation when you can move that fast yourself,' Seth thought with a sigh before starting to walk.
After some minutes Seth finally arrived at a door in the West wing with the number 230 above it. Just like all the other doors, this one had a little scanner next to it.
Seth passed his ID card in front of the scanner and the door was unlocked.
The hall wasn't empty, at the side of the room a couple of HSA crew members could be seen as well as several other students from Knox Academy. They were all scattered around the room, talking or looking at their phones while they waited for everyone to pass the identification process.
"Who's that?" asked a boy as Seth crossed the room.
"I don't know, I don't remember anyone having that mask at the guidance meeting," answered another boy.
"Could it be that guy that enrolled at the last minute?" asked a girl.
"You think so? I thought it was just a rumor."
"ID card and inscription documents please," said one of the HSA crew members when Seth got to the counter.
Seth took out his ID card as well as the rest of the documents that MIss Leywin had given him and handed them to the HSA crew member. After confirming the different documents he returned them to Seth and told him to wait until everyone has passed the identification process.
After finding a place to sit, Seth waited. During the next couple of hours, more students arrived one after the other, slowly filling the hall.
Finally, after 2 and a half hours, the HSA crew members stood up and left the hall without saying a word, leaving everyone confused. They had expected them to say what would happen next or at least tell them to wait there but they hadn't bothered.
Another twenty minutes passed and another person entered the hall. It was a woman in the HSA military uniform, an HSA operator. When she entered the hall fell completely silent.
"Since everyone is already here I will proceed the explain some things," she said while looking at everyone. "First of all, the tournament began from the moment the identification process finished. Right now and until the end of the tournament or your elimination, you are all under strict evaluation by the recruiting committee. It goes without saying that you won't be able to leave until you finish your participation," everyone already seemed stressed by these words. "In case you don't want to continue participating you can forfeit at any moment by pressing the button in the holographic screen projected by your ID card," everyone took out the ID cards which projected a hologram menu where different options could be seen such as "Forfeit", "Emergency", "Chronogram" and "Classification", among some others. "The 'Emergency' option will teleport you to safety in an emergency situation and disqualify you. However, such emergency teleportations are really expensive and you will have to pay for them, so use them wisely. Your ID cards have no replacement so don't lose them. Finally, even though your evaluation by the recruiting committee has already begun, the first phase of the tournament doesn't start until tomorrow but don't worry, you will not be waiting here until tomorrow. The HSA has prepared accommodations for all the participants to stay at until the beginning of the first phase, I will proceed to escort you there right now," as she finished saying this she turned to leave, without leaving room for questions. Everyone followed her out of the hall and into the large corridor.