"Is everything there?" Martin asked uncertainly, looking at his daughter standing in the doorway. "Are you sure you're not forgetting anything?"
"Yes, Dad. It's all here," Lena replied curtly.
"Great, just making sure." Martin let out a deep sigh.
"You've already asked that a thousand times, and the answer is still the same as the first one." Lena said with a smile, despite her harsh words.
Martin chuckled at his daughter's severity before patting her head.
"I'm just worrying about my daughter. It's my job, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for at least sixteen years now."
Then Martin couldn't help but glance outside the house, where the night still reigned.
Every time he looked, there were more and more young people like his daughter walking with heavy backpacks and their familiar spirits close to their bodies.
"Anyway, safe travels, my daughter." Martin said with teary eyes, but he quickly wiped them and smiled at her, while she just nodded back.
Lena took a deep breath and, with slow but steady steps, walked into the night alone, the heavy backpack on her shoulders.
"Good morning, Lena~" A girl approached mid-yawn, with a glorious-snake coiled around her neck.
"Good morning, Nyla." Lena replied naturally as they kept moving forward.
"Nervous?" Nyla asked with a grin. "Or scared?"
"Neither, I think." Lena looked down for a few moments. "Just… uncertain."
"Uncertain? About what?" Nyla pressed. Lena sighed before glancing at the little kitten weaving around her feet.
"Early Hatchling. I don't believe I'll be able to make it through the path alone, let alone get a good evaluation."
Nyla laughed, amused.
"You've got what most of us have. We may not be the most talented, but if we stick together, we can still get a good score."
Lena took another deep breath and nodded confidently. Her friend was right.
Slowly, they walked through the silent night. More and more young people left their homes, all converging toward a single place.
The city gates.
Once there, Lena looked at the crowd of youths ahead of her, each with a creature more fantastic than the last, and she couldn't help but feel small again.
But once again, her friend gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Lena smiled once more, her confidence returning.
"We need to form a group. Do you already have someone in mind?" Nyla asked, scanning the area as small groups slowly began to form.
"No… but at the second notice board, there should be someone also looking for a group." She pointed quickly toward the gates, where two boards stood.
The second was especially crowded, while the first seemed to be avoided at all costs.
Nyla nodded before walking to the board to look at the many recruitment flyers.
Lena followed her and became tense as she scanned the papers, most of them had minimum spirit requirements she didn't meet.
Nyla laughed again, snapping her out of her pessimistic daze.
"Hey! Most of these requirements are fake, the groups just want to reel in some talent."
Still, Lena's gaze didn't lift so easily this time.
"There are also family requirements…" She couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness thinking about that.
"Well… that's something I can't do anything about. I mean… they really do have an advantage over us."
Both sighed for a moment.
Suddenly, someone tapped Lena on the shoulder.
"Kitten girl." Nell approached her with a smile. "Trying this year too?"
"Ah, y-yes." Nell grinned at the girl's surprise.
"And I imagine you need a group as well." Lena nodded several times in succession.
"Yes, my friend and I need one!" She smiled brightly.
Nelliel laughed in amusement.
"Well, in that case, I guess that makes three of us." Lena glanced at Nyla for confirmation, which quickly came.
"Do we still need more?" Lena asked them, and they both just shrugged.
"That depends," Nyla said, and Nell agreed.
"Do any of us know magic?" The three looked at each other for a few moments, then sighed.
"We're all from non-mage families, so it's expected," Nelliel concluded.
"But adding another member means splitting the points even more." Lena pursed her lips. "Three is already a big number, any more and…"
"Unless…" Nyla suddenly spoke. "We recruit someone either talented or from a mage family."
"Do you know anyone?" The other two shook their heads.
"Then let's put up our flyer on the board. We'll try to recruit up to two star members, and then we'll take on a mission."
They nodded in agreement.
Lena quickly grabbed a sheet of paper and began writing:
"We are a group of three and looking for two more members. Requirements: Hatchling familiar at peak stage or knowledge of magic."
She then walked over to the board and pinned the paper. Her eyes tightened as she saw just how many groups like hers already existed.
Everyone needs a star… She swallowed hard and returned to her group to wait patiently.
"What do we do if no one comes?" Lena asked after more than thirty minutes had passed and no one had approached them.
"Try to take on a basic mission and just worry about making it out alive on the other side," Nelliel said heavily.
"I don't like the idea, but yeah, that's it," Nyla added, her expression growing darker by the second.
"Look on the bright side…" Nyla began suddenly, but then her eyes fixed on the gate ahead, where a dense snowstorm raged.
"Forget it," she muttered, glancing back at the warm and comfortable surroundings. For a moment, she thought about turning back.
"We're not the weakest group," Nelliel said, pointing at a greasy-skinned boy. "He is. And that's a positive point."
"Wasn't he the city's prodigy?" Nyla looked at him for a moment, and at the horned woman who always walked a step behind him.
"Wasn't he supposed to be more… imposing?" She asked, puzzled by the sight.
"Simon was never much to begin with," Lena said coldly, staring at him. "No family background and completely dependent on that disgusting familiar of his."
"If he survives, that will already be a lot." Lena's voice was heavy, her disgust toward him far beyond what words could express.
"He's doomed to be alone in this trial, or at best, stuck with other rejects."