--
Mr. Eden led them to a series of hallways deeper into the school in an area that's usually restricted to students like them.
At some point, he said,
"With how things are going, only you two will be allowed to pass this year's training camp for warriors."
That was a surprising statement. TJ and Sieg looked at each other and saw the surprised look on their faces.
"You might think that I'm the one who gets to decide who moves on, but you'd be wrong."
"The Gale Phantom Preparatory School is the only prep school in the entirety of District 13. It has been for about 500 years."
"What does this mean? It means that every District 13 professional you see and hear outside who was born and raised here walked these very walls and graduated from this very school."
"We are the middleman between you and the professional universities. If we say that you're not ready, then you're not ready. End of discussion. Even the District Lordess can't rule against that."
"However, as much authority as we have, we're also under immense pressure. We're held up to a high standard because we are the only preparatory school around; we can't compromise because we are directly involved in the future of this district."
Both TJ and Sieg already knew this. They learned of Gale Phantom's history in their early years and were relatively quizzed about it. Still, they listened carefully and didn't interrupt since they didn't want to be rude.
"From six to sixteen," Mr. Eden continued, "you enroll in a prep school at six years old and graduate at sixteen years old. That's what everybody tells you. However, there are fine details hidden beneath that."
"Technically, you have already graduated," he revealed. "The single requirement that is generally accepted anywhere is that you must've experienced your awakening ceremony at the age of sixteen, not early nor late. Since you two have already achieved that, there's technically nothing left for you here. You should be thinking about choosing a professional university by now, not stuck in a camp like this."
"You are kept here under the collective agreement of the District Management and the Deans of the University Belt."
"Before, upon enrolling in universities, you would be placed in a probationary period. This was done to judge whether you, as an applicant, showed promise and were fit to be a part of their academic lineage."
"So, in other words, they'll put you in a camp and will observe your activities for a bit before deciding whether to accept you into their fold or not. And usually, this process takes about three to six months."
"This, however, was incredibly inefficient. Moreover, it's a vexing process for students like you because if you happen to not meet their criteria, then you just wasted a lot of time for practically nothing and would have to go through another round of probation for another university."
"It's a huge waste of time. Time that could be put to better use."
"That's why the District Management and the Deans agreed that the probationary period will start during the final semester of students in the prep school to save everybody time and effort."
"And as you might've guessed by now, that's exactly the purpose of this camp."
Now that's a piece of information they didn't expect coming from Mr. Eden.
"It's for this reason that I can say that I'm not the one who decided whether you pass or not. I'm only here to write my observations and to supervise you lot, making sure that you brats don't accidentally set everything on fire around here."
"By no means am I the only one watching. In fact, many people have been secretly observing your batch from a distance, and some of them have already sent their verdict."
"So far, only you two will be allowed to move on to the second semester; the others will have to repeat another semester or a year."
Repeating a year...
At a time when everybody's excited and looking forward to visiting dungeons and experiencing the life of a true combat professional, repeating a year was no different from a death sentence.
Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but it would still hurt them a lot.
"Sir, you said that the actual probation happens during our final semester; how is it that we're being judged now?" TJ couldn't help but ask.
And his concerns were valid. They weren't in their second semester yet. This camp was happening during what's supposed to be a long vacation for them, so what's up with that?
"This camp was included in that probationary period," Mr. Eden confirmed. "And it will extend until the start and end of the second semester."
"The reason why the verdict is so early is because the ones observing you are all experienced people. They've seen it all, so much so that they start predicting your future prospects after watching you for a bit."
"Besides, not all of you had been judged as failures. Some still have a chance, and that chance is extended until the second semester."
"However, when that time comes, things are expected to be much more hectic for you. And it will only continue to remain hectic even after you've enrolled in your desired university. The grind has already started, and it won't end anytime soon."
"We're here."
Any questions TJ or Sieg might have had have been set aside because Mr. Eden told them that they've arrived at the place they needed to go.
Mr. Eden pushed the doors open, and it brought them to a spacious and modern-looking training ground that's currently empty of people except one.
"Oh! TJ! Sieg! What are you doing here?" Lily's bright and cheerful voice greeted them both.
"Ahem!"
"Ah, hello to you too, Mr. Eden," she said, laughing shyly after noticing the instructor.
TJ paused to inspect Lily's appearance.
She was sweaty. Her training clothes were absolutely soaked; her body was even steaming a bit due to the intensity of her exercise. TJ could also see the residual flicker of mana from her, which only faded because she got distracted.
"You two, from here on out, you will be training here." Mr. Eden ignored Lily and started explaining why he brought these two here.
"Those from your batch can't keep up with you, and they also couldn't match your enthusiasm; staying with them is meaningless, so instead of wasting your time there, come here instead."
"As you can see, we've got equipment here that can aid you in your training, ones that can actually help you at your skill level, and some more."
"Here, take this."
Mr. Eden handed them a chip and said, "Install this into your ID; this will be your pass to use this room, so next time, you won't need me to take you here; you can just go straight here."
"This place is open from 8am to 8pm. Not a minute early nor late."
"In addition, you two have been added to a free meal service for young warriors. You'd be notified of it soon, and you can start customizing your diet according to your preference."
"If you're unsure, ask me. I'm your instructor, after all."
TJ and Sieg received their chips and began installing them on their IDs. From their expression, it's clear that they're surprised by the sudden upgrade of their training experience.
"You can earn exp by training here, by the way," Lily added from where she stood, as if that information wasn't the biggest and most important part of this whole thing.
"Ah, right. I forgot about that. Nice catch," Mr. Eden confirmed.
"That's crazy!" Sieg was shocked.
TJ didn't say anything, but he too was surprised. He opened his system interface and saw the alert he was looking for.
[Notice: You have entered a professional training room.]
[This Professional Training Room will grant you 10 exp. per day if you use it for more than four hours.]
"Ten exp per day," TJ repeated out loud.
This exp goes straight to his star ranking. To reach 1★ Novice officially, he'd need 100 exp. So, he needs to spend 4 hours inside this training room each day for the next ten days to reach that rank.
TJ's heart soared. Then, he thought about something and proceeded to look at Lily, asking her,
"So you're a 1★ Novice now?"
"Yeah," Lily admitted. "I couldn't tell you right away because the teacher didn't want me telling anybody."
"That makes sense." TJ nodded.
He wasn't really envious; he had his own fortune anyway. Besides, he'd be able to catch up because, unlike her in the future, TJ doesn't need to spend EXP to level up skills.
"Well, it seems that you three knew each other well, so Lily, you take care of these two. Make sure they don't break anything," Mr. Eden ordered.
"Sure, Instructor. Leave them to me. They're good boys, anyway, so there's no need to worry."
"It's like you're talking about your dogs when you say it like that," TJ deadpanned at her.
But really, he wasn't too mad about it. After all, the idea that he could not gain exp simply by using this place overwhelmed the rest.