Walking towards the gates, they watched as the cameras planted at both ends of the gate turned to face them.
Within seconds, the gates suddenly opened, revealing the tiled pavement of the interior with greenery surrounding both sides of the walkway.
"Come on," the guard said as he began to walk forward. " The registration hall is not that far from here."
He was right. They didn't have to walk very far till they came across a small building.
"Were we late?" Luke asked with a slightly worried tone as he eyed the building. A line, so long that it had already left the confines of the structure and spilled to the outside, was currently occupying the premises as numerous people waited for their turn to come.
"Relax, brother. They're just extremely early."
"Talk about taking things seriously," Tara commented as her sister nodded with a sigh.
"It seems we're going to be here for a while if we're supposed to wait in that line."
"It's not a line."
The group looked back at the guard, who only smiled and continued to walk forward.
"I think we're supposed to follow him," Harry said, making Luck glance at him pointedly.
"Yeah, no kidding, Sherlock."
They followed behind him, making their way into the hall. It was packed as there seemed to be little to no space left for others to enter.
That was until the guard walked in.
Luck watched in awe as people began to clear away, some even going outside, just to make space for the guard and the group he seemed to be escorting.
"You guys stay here, I'm gonna go meet the one in charge so we can start this thing." The guard suddenly leapt, jumping deeper into the crowd. "Hey, Clara!"
"I guess we're supposed to stay put," Harry commented, earning the ire of Luck once again.
"Quit it with the obvious, Harr-!"
Luck noticed something; it had suddenly become quiet in here.
Like eerily quiet. There was not a single chatter within earshot.
"What the fuck's happening here?" Luck muttered to himself.
"It suddenly became quiet." Harry offered.
"..."
(Fuck! knew I should have let him die in the goblin village before I butted in. What kind of teammate is this?!)
"Hey, that woman's smokin' hot, ain't she?"
"Huh?"
Luck looked at the two guys beside him. They seemed to be looking at something ahead.
(Which must be the cause for the silence.) Luck concluded.
The problem with that was that he was still short compared to those in front of him, so they were entirely blocking his view.
(No matter.) Luck's shadow rose beneath his feet, giving his body the extra boost it needed to see beyond the crowd.
There was a large podium at the center of the hall. Standing on top was a woman.
Her face was set in a cold expression, nicely framed by her short blond hair that had been cut into a bob cut.
She was short, but she made up for that with her assets being defined in all the right places; something you could see even with the loose-fitting dress she wore.
All in all, she was beautiful. Not to mention that the guard was standing behind her with a smug smile on his face.
"My name is Clara," Her tone flat and formal as it carried beyond the hall. Right now, as we speak, we're sending your exam application form to you. Please endeavour to fill in accurate information for the personal questionnaires. Failure to do so may lead to problems on the exam day. Thank you for your cooperation."
*Ding*
Notifications sounded en masse, as the form reached every person, no complications whatsoever.
Tapping his watch, it began to subtly glow, and a holographic screen soon appeared before him.
The forum was pretty basic. It asked for general information, such as name, age, race, and so on.
Then it got into some nitty-gritty stuff. Rank and Class were part of this category. Of course, they were optional questions which Luck decided not to reveal. His Classes right now weren't something he wanted to be made publicly known, even if it was made confidential information.
Once he was down, he tapped the upload button, and that was all. He had officially become a candidate for the exam.
"If only the exam would be this smooth," Harry muttered as the others nodded in agreement.
"You're done?" the guard asked as, much to their shock, was now behind them.
(I couldn't even track his presence.) Luck thought with growing awe.
"Yeah, we're done," Terra answered.
The guard nodded. "So, where off to next?"
"I guess the market?" Luck said as he looked at the others for confirmation. They nodded in agreement.
"Okay, then let's blow this place. The next batch should start filling up soon."
"Next batch?"
"Yeah?" The guard let out a small laugh. "You think those are all the people who want to participate? There's a specific quota that's filled before Clara sends the form. Anyways, that's irrelevant now. Let's go."
The group left the school and got back on the road again, as Sarah slithered for the market.
They reached there in a few minutes, as Sarah was a speed freak, despite her size.
The group was subjected to waves of noise and chatter as rows upon rows of stalls, shops, and many more, as people haggled and bargained for the best price they could get.
Of course, when I mean 'bargain', fistfights are also part of the equation.
"Okay, you guys go do what you need to do and meet back here when you're done."
The group nodded as they leapt off Sarah's head, separating almost as soon as they passed the entrance.
Luck maneuvered his way through the shops and crowd as he scoured the area for any place that suited him.
He needed to sell all the loot he had managed to acquire from the monsters they had slain during their travel through the forest.
(Then I'm off to the bank.)
Luck felt his perception ring out as he immediately ducked down.
*Whoosh*
Luck watched as a giant sword passed over him, embedding itself in the wall beside him.
Sweat poured off his back in panic. (I need to watch my back in here. This place is a warzone.)
He continued to wander through the square, careful to always be aware of his surroundings, lest he found himself pierced like a pincushion.
And after minutes of searching, he finally found a place that fit the bill.
"Tomes and Trinkets?" Luck played with the words on his tongue as he looked at the reasonably large grey building in front of him. It's name stood boldly on the roof.
He stepped towards it as a smile slowly began to spread on his face.
"It's time to make some cash."