The next morning, Vale was not eager to get up. After freeing up his morning schedule by visiting the Ability Testing Facility the day before, he had hoped to get some well-deserved rest.
Unfortunately, his peace appeared to be short-lived as a loud knock banged against his door.
"Ugh—what is it?!"
Grumbling, he dragged himself toward the door, cursing in his mind at whoever dared to wake him up this early.
He swung the door open, a deep frown on his face—only for it to be replaced by surprise as he saw the familiar student representative.
"Vale," said Luna. "I thought you ran off! The group listings started an hour ago. If you don't get there ri—"
"What!? What time is it?"
Vale's sleepy eyes shot open.
"It's noon. Get dressed—you need to get there. Now!"
Wasting no more time, Vale nodded, shut the door, and rushed to get dressed.
The whole process took no longer than a minute. Just as the door had closed, it swung open again—this time, with Vale fully dressed and ready to go.
The pair walked hurriedly, wasting no time on conversation or pleasantries.
Vale wondered how he had managed to sleep for so long. It was true that he had no clock or alarm to wake him, but he hadn't expected to oversleep this much. Blaming his built-up exhaustion from the Demon Realm, he quickened his pace.
Soon enough, they arrived at the hall, where groups for the upcoming expedition into the Demon Realm were being announced.
"Group 8:…"
Just as the announcer was about to introduce Group 8, Vale sat down. Scanning the projected screen, he confirmed that his name hadn't appeared in any of the previous groups.
"Okay, good. I didn't miss it," he thought, his heart still racing from the rushed journey and lingering nerves.
The announcements were being held in the same hall where he had first been introduced to the academy. The announcer, a man seemingly in his late twenties or early thirties, didn't look particularly strong or distinguished.
"Group 9:…"
As Vale glanced around the hall, he spotted two familiar faces besides Luna.
One was a slender girl with dark violet hair—Ayla. He briefly wondered what had happened to her after she was rushed out of the testing facility.
The other was the oversized student, Dain, who was staring intently at the announcer as if trying to bore a hole through him with his gaze.
"Is he that eager to see his group?" Vale wondered.
"Group 11: Ayla…"
Vale's attention snapped back to the announcer upon hearing the familiar name.
"…Ayla, Dain, Vale, and Klein."
"Huh."
A flicker of confusion crossed Vale's face. Not only was he grouped with one familiar person, but two—the only two students he had come to know, even slightly.
He noticed Ayla and Dain looking around the hall, as if searching for other group members. Vale, already aware of their locations, instead focused on the last name—Klein.
He did not know who that was.
Not knowing anyone else, he couldn't even guess.
"…That concludes the group announcements. The groups cannot be changed under any circumstances. Please cooperate with your groupmates and work together—your lives will depend on it. Now, please find your group and head to the training facility. There, you will find an instructor that's assigned to your group. Good luck."
With that, the announcer closed his notebook and left. The moment the doors behind him shut, chaos erupted.
The hall filled with chatter. Some students jumped in excitement, some cried, and others looked lost or abandoned.
Vale sighed, watching the scene unfold. Was this the Central Academy or a kindergarten?
Shaking his head, he made his way down the stairs. At the far end of the hall, he spotted Ayla and Dain.
"So it's you, old friend," Dain said, a wide grin spreading across his face as he noticed Vale.
"Old friend?" Vale thought.
"Uhh, yes. We meet again. Dain—was it?"
The massive student nodded enthusiastically.
"You two know each other?" Ayla asked, surprised to see them greet each other like long-time companions.
"We've… met," Vale replied.
"What about Klein?" he asked next.
Both Ayla and Dain shook their heads.
A few minutes passed before a lanky young man appeared in front of them. He was about the same height as Ayla, his posture slightly slouched. His messy brown hair nearly covered his sharp gray eyes, which held an unreadable expression. His uniform was wrinkled, the sleeves unevenly rolled up, giving him a careless look.
"I'm Klein. It's nice to meet you all," he said.
After quick introductions, the group set off toward the training facility.
They had no idea what kind of training to expect—the announcer had given them no details.
As they walked, Dain and Vale conversed—well, it was mostly Dain talking. He shared anything and everything, from his favourite foods to random thoughts.
What use did Vale even have in knowing that Dain's favourite food was pasta?
Still, he tried to humour the conversation as best he could, not wanting to seem rude. Dain, however, took this as Vale enjoying the talk and continued chatting the entire way.
"Why does he talk so damn much?" Vale thought, his patience wearing thin.
Just as he was about to reach his limit, someone spoke up.
"We're here," Ayla said.
Before them stood a large metal door, emanating a strong presence—as if a highly condensed pool of mana essence lay hidden behind it.
Dain was the first to step forward, pressing his massive hands against the door to push it open. But it didn't budge.
"You need to scan your student identification to enter," a female voice informed them.
Turning toward the sound, the group noticed a faculty member sitting on a nearby bench, writing something in her notebook.
"Oh, Thanks," Ayla said before taking out her ID and placing it against a designated scanner.
A metallic hum filled the air as the door unlocked.
With a heavy groan, the massive doors swung open—revealing the vast expanse of the training facility within.