Beep, beep, beep!

  Click. Slowly getting up from the bed, I look at the clock hanging on the wall of the room. It’s currently 6 in the morning. Good thing I didn’t oversleep this time.

  I make my way to the restroom as I grab the dark-red pendant that’s hanging on the bed frame, bringing it with me. I clean myself up.

  Closing the restroom door, I hear a knock on the door. I walk to the door and unlock it, seeing no one in sight. Looking down I see a neatly folded bck colored uniform wrapped in clear pstic. Leaning out, I look to the left and right. This is probably from the school. I grab the uniform, closing the door. I walk back to the bed and y the uniform down.

  Ding!

  I walk over to the mp desk and grab the phone that’s id ft. There’s a notification from the management team. Tapping on the notification, it opens up an email: Temporary combat uniforms have been sent to your dorm rooms. Please wear these before the start of phase 1 (occurring at 12 PM this afternoon). If you still haven’t received one in the st 5 minutes, please contact us or if the uniform assigned to you doesn’t match the measurements you provided with us. Scrolling down further, I see a reminder saying that the time limit to find an opponent isn’t over until the first phase begins.

  Turning off the phone, I slide it into my pocket.

  They didn’t say that we need to wear the uniform right now. Seems like I’ll have to store it somewhere for now.

  I grab the uniform package and slide it under the bed. That should be fine. Finishing up some miscelneous business, I exit the dorm room, locking the door. Standing in front of the door, I can hear the faint buzzing and whirring of the building's infrastructure throughout the empty corridor above me. Doesn’t look like there’s anyone up yet from the looks of it. I still have to find an opponent as well, hopefully I’m not the only one up during this time of day.

  Making my way down the corridor I see the silver doors of the elevator. As I approach the elevator, I stop in pce.

  Click. I click the button to bring the elevator up. There’s no sound coming from behind the elevator door. I look above the elevator doors, seeing the illuminated number of 2 making its way to 3.

  I see, this is a fully magic-utilized elevator. I don’t often come across these types of elevators in the cities. It always surprises me how deafening these elevators are.

  Ding!

  The silver doors passively open up. I step inside. Looking at the floor selector, I press on the first floor. The doors quietly close, only leaving behind a faint bump as both of the doors close in on one another.

  If memory serves me correctly, fully magic-utilized elevators use gravity magic crystals to operate. It’s no wonder I don’t feel any changes in my gravity as it’s going down. It also expins why fully magic-utilized elevators are so quiet.

  A few seconds ter, the silver doors open up. I step out of the elevator into the lobby. The sweet coffee-like smell is present throughout the pce. It reminds me of the times when I would visit Xavier and see his mom drinking coffee in her room. I walk over to the reception desk and pce the room key onto the center of the table. A very faint whir comes from the key as it glows. A gss box manifests bottom up around the key from the table, bringing it inside.

  Turning around, I head straight for the doors, exiting the dorm building. I might as well roam around the park. I have nothing better to do until people start waking up.

  As I arrive at the park, I look around. No one in sight. Continuing my path down the cemented grid-like patterned path I see the faint appearance of a water fountain coming into view. I hasten my walking speed.

  Spsh, spsh, spsh, spsh. I hear the sounds of water spshing from the fountain. I look around. There really is no one here.

  Rustle, rustle, rustle.

  Where’s that sound coming from? I turn to the left, facing the tall compacted bushes and shrubs.

  Rustle, rustle, rustle.

  Taking a few steps closer, I lean inwards. Is there an animal here? I slowly bring my arm towards the sound.

  Pop! Seeing a white rabbit pop out from the bushes, I jolt my arm away. “Woah,” I say. The white rabbit sits in pce, chewing on the grass on the ground. I look at the white rabbit. There’s a bck colored gem embedded onto its forehead. A rabbit with an attribute of dark magic, that’s a rare sight to see.

  The white rabbit suddenly dashes in between my legs, passing me. I quickly turn around. Wait a minute, I’m not done with looking at you. Lifting my feet off from the ground, I chase the rabbit to the other side of the fountain. Rustle, rustle, rustle. It jumps through the tall bushes and shrubs. This is going to leave some scratches. Closing my eyes, I bring up both my arms to shield and jump through the bushes and shrubs.

  Landing on both my feet, I open up my eyes and see the white rabbit a few feet away from me. I start feeling the wind around me pick up. Is something happening? I look above the rabbit and see a dark ball of matter floating above the white rabbit.

  I can’t believe that I’m seeing this. It’s rare to see an animal cast a magic spell in front of you, but the fact that its attribute is non-affiliated with the 4 elements makes this even rarer.

  BAM! The dark ball of matter shoots towards me at high velocity. I swiftly dive to the side, merely dodging the attack. Gushes of strong wind follow behind. The dark matter curves up towards the sky and disintegrates. Still on the ground, I look at the white rabbit, it hisses at me and hops away into another bush. I guess chasing after it caused the rabbit to become agitated.

  “Hmm…”

  I hear a soft groan from behind the small bushes in front of me. Getting up on one knee, I peer over the bush. There lies a petite girl with glossy brown hair on the green grassy ground. She’s wearing a gray slim long sleeve shirt and a long bck skirt. There’s a light-gray bucket hat lying on the center of her chest. She’s sound asleep.

  This is the girl from yesterday. She was sitting near that male student with square gsses. What’s she doing sleeping out here?

  I lean in closer. I can smell a sweet apple-like fragrance entering my nostrils.

  Her slightly pale skin and her beautiful face gives her a doll-like appearance. I begin noticing the small jittering movements of her eyelids. She slowly opens up her eyes. The colors of her eyes are a beautiful light brown. Our eyes immediately make contact with one another.

  Oh wait, this isn’t good for me is it?

  Widening her eyes along with her eyebrows, she frantically gets up.

  Bump! Both our foreheads hit each other, forcing me to lean backwards. “Ouch,” I say. Patting the pain away I look at the girl, her hand on her forehead.

  “Owwie…” says the girl quietly.

  She notices me and looks right at me with a scornful expression. I should say something. “Uh, are you fine?” I awkwardly say. The faint burning sensation is still present on my forehead.

  “Do I look fine to you?” She sighs, “State your name and purpose for being here,” says the girl with her scornful expression.

  Looks like she’s not in a great mood, I’ll just py it slow for now. “My name is Jun, I’m also a first year student like you,” I reply.

  “Continue,” she says. Her voice is slightly high-pitched and It has a unique tomboyish demeanor, giving her sentence end-offs a distinct tone.

  “I was chasing after a white rabbit,” I say.

  “No wonder why I kept hearing the sounds of grass being crushed,” she says. I see her scooting around, her back facing me. She’s getting up from the ground and grabs her light-gray bucket hat on the ground next to her. She pats her attire and then the hat, ridding of any dirt and grass strands. She gently puts the bucket hat on, it looks to sit loosely on top of her silky brown hair. She turns to me, swiping her side bangs to the side. Her facial expression is slightly smug. “Since you gave me your name, it’s only natural for me to give you my name too. I go by the name of Luna Laevinus. You may just call me Luna,” she says as she points her right hand towards her chest, “And you said you were Jun, correct?” She asks.

  Her personality is… how do I say it? It’s quite unique in its own way. “Yeah, I’m Jun,” I say.

  “Hmm…” Luna utters as she takes a few steps closer to me, inspecting me.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask as I reluctantly take a step backwards.

  She stops and takes a step back. “Hm, it’s nothing of importance. For some odd reason, I feel myself gravitating towards you. I can’t really put my finger on why though,” she replies.

  “You’re probably imagining it,” I say. She’s an interesting character to say the least. “Hey, Luna, why were you sleeping out here?” I ask.

  “Hoho, I’m gd you asked me that question. The reason as to why I slept out here is obvious. It’s because…” she pauses for a brief moment, “Nature is beautiful! Who wouldn’t want to sleep out in the wilderness and be one with Mother Nature?!” Luna enthusiastically replies, her arms spread open to emphasize herself.

  Silence fills the air.

  Luna definitely is an interesting character. She’s starting to remind me of a particur someone back at home… “Ahem, so, did you sleep here for the whole day?” I ask.

  “Huh? No, that would be disgraceful,” she bluntly replies. “I decided to wake up early today to bask in the beauty of Mother Nature, that’s all,” says Luna.

  Thinking about it now, this could be my chance. “Luna, do you already have an opponent?” I ask.

  “No, I do not have an opponent, unfortunately. Whenever I try asking people, they all decline me. I don’t know why. They should be honored that I’m the one asking them to be my opponent,” replies Luna, her expression bnk.

  That’s probably the reason why they declined you. Well, looks like she doesn’t have one. “Turns out that I don’t have an opponent myself. Do you want to pair up?” I ask. I look at her, seeing her bnk expression slowly turning into a faint smile.

  “Hoho. I gdly accept your offer,” says Luna as she elegantly bows, holding the sides of her skirt up.

  We both leave the park and begin heading towards the auditorium building.

  Click, cck, click, cck. I see Luna’s light-gray bucket hat slowly bobbing up and down with the motion of her walking. Now that she’s next to me, she looks taller than I initially thought. “Luna, I’m just curious, how tall are you?” I ask.

  “That’s one way to start a conversation with someone you’ve just met. Huh, st I checked, I was around 165 cm tall,” says Luna.

  That’s taller than Noelle.

  “Now then, since you’ve asked me about my height, it’s time for you to tell me yours too. It’s fair, no?” Says Luna.

  “I’m 183 cm tall,” I reply.

  “Looks like your appearance isn’t lying. You are certainly tall for a 16 year old,” says Luna.

  “Aren’t you also 16 years old?” I nonchantly shot back.

  “Did you know that it’s not polite to assume a pure maiden’s age?” Says Luna unironically.

  “You’re not 16?” I ask.

  “No, I am,” Luna bluntly replies.

  Is she socially awkward? Or is it just me?

  Arriving at the auditorium building we register our match for the 1st phase of the assessment test.

  “Looks like we’re one of the first few ones to register on this list,” says Luna as she’s looking at the floating holographic list in front of her, the light-gray bucket-hat no longer on her head.

  I gnce at her. So she can also speak normally too. I look back to the holographic list. So far, only a total of 20 matches have been registered on the list. Looking through the names, I see Xavier’s name. It’s the 3rd name on the front page of the list. He’s matched up with someone named Sebastian Birch.

  “Do you know this person?” I ask Luna, pointing at the name.

  “Sebastian Birch? He’s a noble. Other than that, I have no more information regarding that individual,” Luna answers.

  A noble. Well, I’m sure Xavier can handle it. I look at Luna, she’s still looking through the list. Is she trying to find someone on this list? I can probably ask, but I feel like I would be intruding if I did ask her. I take a step away from the board.

  “Are you looking for someone?” I ask Luna.

  “Eh?!” Luna jolts as she notices me behind her.

  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” I say.

  “Ahem, you’re excused. I was looking for my sister’s name, is all,” says Luna.

  She has a sister, huh. “What’s her name?” I ask.

  “Aeliana Laevinus. She’s my twin sister,” replies Luna proudly.

  Twins? They do have contrasting names. Looking back at the holographic list, I see my name and Luna’s name on the list. We’re officially registered.

  As I turn around, I see a familiar figure making their way over. Their face slowly comes into view as they take a step into the Foyer.

  Would you look at that, it’s Noelle.

  Her face perks up as she notices me. She quickly jogs over to me.

  “Sup, Jun! I didn’t expect to see you this early,” says Noelle excitedly.

  She sure has a lot of energy this morning. “Sup, what’re you doing here?” I ask.

  “Oh, do you want to hear? I managed to find an opponent, so we’re here to register ourselves,” says Noelle.

  “Who’s your opponent?” I ask.

  “Oh, her name is-“ Says Noelle, stopping mid sentence.

  “Aeliana Laevinus. I will be Noelle’s opponent. Pleased to be acquainted with you,” says a gentle female voice from behind Noelle.

  Noelle moves to the side as Aeliana walks up to me. Aeliana’s hair is a smooth dark-brown, her eyes are the same beautiful light-brown color like Luna’s. She’s wearing a berry colored open jacket that is overyering her light pale colored dress. Her bck stockings complete her attire, giving her a tranquil aura. I can smell a sweet apple-like fragrance entering my nose.

  Meeting Luna’s sister this early, what a coincidence.

  “Likewise,” I reply. She gently bows.

  “Aeliana!” Shouts Luna as she runs pass me, hugging Aeliana.

  “Luna, I told you to stop doing this in front of others. It’s embarrassing. Apologize to our partners,” says Aeliana, her gentle voice is slightly higher pitched than before.

  “Ah, sorry, sorry. I just couldn’t help it,” replies Luna as she stops hugging Aeliana. Luna turns around, facing Noelle and I. “Ahem, my apologies. I couldn’t contain myself at the sight of my sister,” she clears her throat again.

  “Hm? Don’t worry about it, I’m gd that both of you are reunited again,” says Noelle sincerely, gesturing her arms to show Luna that she doesn’t mind.

  Luna and I are paired up while Noelle is paired up with Aeliana - Luna’s twin sister. Is this what people call fate? Or is it just all a coincidence? I agree more with it being more of a coincidence than fate. I’m not one to believe in fate. I find it to be foolish that one cannot achieve greater heights due to fate. It’s limiting.

  “You guys should begin registering yourselves,” I say to Noelle and Aeliana, reminding them.

  “Oh yeah, we probably should,” replies Noelle.

  “You are correct,” replies Aeliana.

  Both of them walk over to one of the test assistants across the Foyer, leaving Luna and I alone. I gnce at Luna, a cute smile on her face.

  Being an only child, I can’t fully understand their sibling bond. However, it's evident that they both deeply love one another. Anyone can tell just from spending a few minutes with them.

  I turn around and start heading towards the exit.

  “You are already leaving?” Asks Luna.

  I stop in my tracks. “Yeah, gotta get ready for the assessment test after all,” I say.

  Exiting the auditorium, the feeling of the warm sun runs along my skin. Looks like the sun is fully up in the sky now. Walking down the path to the male dorms, I see a dark figure in the distance walking towards me. It looks to be a female student with short, jet bck hair.

  Walking down the path, we both eventually meet by each other’s sides.

  I gnce at her face.

  Her straight sharp dark ruby eyes meet mine, her expression neutral, straight faced.

  We pass each other, continuing on our paths.