Chapter 3: The Briefing

This building wasn't something you'd usually see. Its architectural design was unique, and Aymon deduced the building's height to be 32.0 meters. It is a timeless modern structure with columns and arches reminiscent of millennia ago, yet, all in all, it doesn't look 80 years old. With right angles and straight lines, the Z-building gives off a sense of perfection, something that Aymon appreciates like no other student. On the sides of the tall passageway that leads to the building, artificially grown plants shower down the astral alloy walls. The building is also decorated with perfectly generated vines.

As Aymon admires the architecture, the person responsible for the welcome ceremony of the Z-building appears. Aymon's attention shifts to this human who is 1.91cm tall and rather pale. His eyes are gloomy, and he doesn't have a single strand of hair on his face. His hair is white, and he doesn't look like a warm person whatsoever. He looks like a ghost. As he reaches the center of the gathering area, which is a circle of no less than 20.0m in diameter, he claps his hands loud enough to startle all the students, except Aymon and a few others, one of whom is DBsh-1888643-wb.

"Enough with the chit-chat for now! Pay close attention because I don't repeat myself, and I will only allow for three questions at the end of my briefing. This is Institut de l'Éclat Astral, and no matter what you thought of this place before coming here, I can tell you one thing: this place does not tolerate weakness. If you are weak, you are out, as simple as that. You think that everything is fine now; you got accepted, and there is nothing for you to worry about until the partial exams because that is what the neighbor of your neighbor told you happened 20 generations ago from a friend of his friend. Nonsense! You are not in yet, kids."

The last few words of Ghost (as Aymon decided to address him until he figured out his name) shocked all the students. A few of them thought it was a joke, and a part of them thought he was just saying that because they didn't pass the first partial exam, but Aymon wasn't on either side. He thought differently.

"His expressions were constant, and so was the tone of his voice, so there is no way that he is lying. That means that there must be some sort of test or something that would filter the students once again."

Throughout the whole time the instructor was talking, Aymon analyzed his every move. He didn't move at all. His tone was constant, lacking emotion. His gaze didn't falter, not even for one second.

After the 10-second break that he gave the students to process what he said, he continued, in the same unwavering tone.

"You are not in. In 2 weeks, you will undergo the 進路判定試験 (Path Determination Test). It doesn't matter whether you were assigned to the War class or the Peace class; all of you will have to take part in the combat ability examination as well as the knowledge test. Your results will determine the rankings. Starting this year, students will be allocated points based on their ranking. These points will allow you to select the classes you want to attend... this will be it for now. I will tell you more once you pass. Now I will answer three questions."

After the instructor finished the briefing, the students were frozen in place. Some looked as if they didn't believe what they just heard, others were laughing, but not even one was crying. Why? Because they were supposed to be the cream of the crop. Had something like this made them cry, they would've been kicked out on the spot.

A hand was raised. It was a girl's. A girl, too short for Aymon to see in the crowd and positioned on the opposite side from where he stood. Her hand, devoid of calluses, which meant that she didn't train her physique through regular means, was noticed by the instructor, and he invited her to ask away.

"How well do we need to perform on this test to pass?"

A gentle melody accompanied her words as she spoke, her voice carrying a melodic quality that resonated through the air.

Ghost's answer followed almost instantly. Still, devoid of emotion, he answered.

"As best as you can."

His short answer left all of those present speechless, so Aymon decided to take advantage of this silence and proceed with a question of his own, thus he raised his hand and asked.

"Who are you?"

There was a subtle intensity in his voice, reflecting his determination to extract the necessary information. Aymon's demeanor exuded confidence, his posture revealing the disciplined individual behind the inquiry.

Aymon's question made Ghost smirk.

"Good question, kid. I am Leif Bjornsson, and I will be the one in charge of Z-buliding's 進路判定試験. Looking at your eyes, you don't seem satisfied, but as you've piqued my interest, I will tell you more. I am an S-rank veteran from the SR (Specialized Reconnaissance), and my talent is... you know what? I'll tell you if you pass."

Aymon nodded in acknowledgment but was far from satisfied with the answer he received. This response only fueled his curiosity, making Leif Bjornsson an even more intriguing subject for his analysis.

Everybody's attention shifted to Aymon after the small interaction between the two.

The center of attention shifted after a couple of seconds, as the last question was about to be asked. A familiar hand was raised; it belonged to DBsh-1888643-wb. Aymon expected him to ask something, as he looked like the type of character that wouldn't hesitate if there was something he wanted, in this case, information about what Aymon presumed would be training... he was right.

"I expect that you would tell us about how we can prepare for this test, won't you?"

The question was delivered with a confident and assertive tone, reflecting a high level of confidence in his own right to know.

Leif's answer was short, just as you'd expect.

"Another good one. You will have full access to all of the facilities of the Z-building until the day of the evaluation, whether we talk about the library or the combat simulators. With this, we have finished the briefing, and you are dismissed. Make sure to prepare well."

As he gave one last piece of advice to the students present at the briefing, he left the gathering area through the right entrance of the Z-building.

Some were confused, others looked displeased, but Aymon looked intrigued as he left the circle whilst heading to the left entrance.