After the banter between Jonathan and Goliath, neither side approached the other.

"This was supposed to be our meeting day," Jonathan sighed.

"Well, look from the bright side, you sort of stopped all first-day challenges," Yulia pointed towards the other kids. "Look how they assess their powers." She said one hand over her mouth, hiding her grin.

"Should I have accepted the duel?" Alice said, still feeling guilty.

"Nah, you are good," Jin said, the back of his hand pushing out with a flick of his wrist.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Jonathan said to Alice. He then glared at Jin. "But you can worry about it!"

"I mean, you could have just declined the duel."

"He attacked me!"

"You could still have. I first planned on throwing Yulia anyway."

"Pardon me?" Yulia stepped forward and smacked Jin's back as fast as she could. The sound of the slap echoed inside the training hall.

Jin jumped in pain, holding his back. "Tsk!" He moved away from her. "Control your strength a little."

Yulia turned to Jonathan. "Come, we are beating this guy."

Jonathan cracked his fingers and neck. "With pleasure." He said, with a sly grin on his face.

Jin stepped away from the menacing duo, "Come on, it was just a joke!"

Yulia rushed forward, swinging her saber. "I know, I am responding with a joke of my own!"

"Me too," Jonathan followed her with a punch.

Jin dodged the attacks. "It's not fair when you two gank up on me." He looked at Alice. "A little help, please."

Alice shook her head. "Best can do is emotional support. Want me to cheer you up?"

He then turned to Jack, who stayed with Jonathan. "I guess you won't help either."

"Yes!" He answered.

"Much different environment than first you saw, isn't it?" The sword spoke in Alice's head.

"Yeah, they looked menacing, but they are just kids like me when you see them like this." She smiled. "Wonder if other kids will be like them when tension drops."

"Who you are talking with." Said Jack, suddenly appearing in front of her.

"Oh, no one, just to myself."

"Really?" He moved closer.

"Yeah-"

"I am just teasin' you. But don't worry about others. I am not sure if you fully understand your position here, but let me tell you, you were the last big player to join the program, and many of these powerful and talented students hoping to be Horizon's representative found their dream spot stolen by you."

"Considering my nickname was shut-in princess, it is understandable they were angry." Alice looked at the other kids. Some were glaring at her. "At least hide your hostility!" She glared back.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Yeah, but they won't challenge you, at least for now," Jack added, looking at the annoyed kids. "After all, glaring at someone is better than losing to them and getting embarrassed." He loudly said, eyes closed, mouth adorned with a big smile.

Alice rolled her eyes, "I see why Jonathan looked so annoyed." She turned back to the bickering trio. They almost cornered Jin.

And just as the first attack was about to be landed, a wall of sand appeared between them and stopped it. "Alright, you three had enough fun already. Now gather in the center."

With the advisor's command, students gathered around him.

"Now, today should have been a short, cheerful, and happy one. But not even ten minutes into the first meeting, you people punched each other."

He smirked. "You all troublemakers."

Another advisor entered the room, holding a large file.

"We decided since all of you were so eager to compare each other's strengths, you all were ready to see your first stat cards." She began handing papers from files to each student.

"Don't protest about your stats to us. Center gathered them through the official combat tests you partook either here or during academy entrance exams."

Alice opened and took hers.

"It looks simple." She commented.

It was just one paper. On the front page was her name, surname, age, gender, and affiliation, and under was a radar chart of six statistics. "Strenght 65 out of 100, speed 60, durability 55, technique 70, Anti-Oxygen count 75, and will 65." She read out loud.

"Hey, why your average is higher than mine?" Yulia approached Alice. "Look, I only got 40 in strength and 50 in durability." She showed her paper.

"That's probably because your ability focused on stealing others' stats, dummy," Jonathan said.

"But didn't they say they gathered these stats through official matches and sparrings we had here?"

Alice nodded. "She has a point."

"Yeah," Jonathan showed his stats. His hand closing will, technique, and Anti-Oxygen count. "Well, anyways, it is good to know how weaker you are than me." His strength was 85, speed 70, and durability 80.

"Woah, good stats." Alice made a thumbs-up gesture.

"Yeah, yeah," Yulia pulled the paper from his hand. "40 technique, 45 will, and 55 Anti-Oxygen count." She looked at Jonathan and smirked, one hand above her mouth.

"Well, I am happy with my stats." Jin suddenly jumped in. "Strenght 50, speed 55, durability 80, technique 55, Anti-oxygen count 60, and will 55."

"Why is your durability the same as mine?" Jonathan asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps absorbing and deflecting all energy-based attacks could have helped me a little." He answered, his sarcasm not hidden.

Alice turned her paper and read through it. "These stats are not fully accurate, and even if two people have the same stats, it can mean very different things." She read it aloud.

"So, I answered your questions then." She said, her nose up.

While they bickered, a small group of students approached them.

"Hello." Said a girl with long black hair adorned with jade pearls. She wore a long, white, and green Hanfu* cut in a traditional style.

"Ah, cousin, you are here!" Jin turned around and moved to hug her.

His cousin walked around him and greeted others with a bow. "My name is Lian Feng."

"You are hurting me," Jin said.

Lian ignored him. "I am happy to see young talent of our age group here. Without any arrogance in my words, we would like to have a friendly spar with all of you."

Alice moved forward and offered her hand. "Of course! It is good for everyone that we train together."

Jonathan nodded. "I might have gone harsh on Goliath, but it was out of necessity. I accept all friendly challenges."

"I agree with them. If we don't test each other, why are we even here anyway? But why do you ignore the lizard head?"

Lian straightened and glared at Jin. "All due respect, and by all, I mean you three, not him. The lizard head asked for a duel the day before he left for the program, never told me where he was going, and made me spend an entire day inside a forest arena."

Alice chuckled and looked at Jin. "What can I say? You deserved this one."

While the group from Dragon got closer to the representatives and Jack. Other students watched them with envy.

"Sold outs." A short girl wearing a violet dress and a giant witch hat said. "Can't believe they bowed down to them."

"Didss they?" Said a handsome boy, his forked tongue slithered. He had long, well-groomed hair, massive fangs hidden in his mouth, and long nails where a black poison dripped.

"We will see." An athletic kid added. His mahogany skin glistened under the training lights. Bone platings covered some parts of his body and his attire like a boxer about to enter the ring.

They and Goliath glared at the representatives. Right behind them, a boy with large, hawk-like wings sighed as he pushed his palm to his face. "Why did I have to choose Horizon."