Scarlet

The rest of my exams go by quickly as well, with Blood Magic’s exam being particularly cruel. But I do manage to get through it, with an even higher grade than last time on the Blood Magic exam as well.

Also, the relatively small class size for many of my classes definitely makes things nice when the exams are graded extremely quickly. Like, by the end of the day quickly.

A speed that I can very much appreciate.

I can’t help but grimace though as I step out of my room wearing my stupid Lion’s Heart uniform. Because we’re apparently supposed to wear it for the opening ceremony in a few hours.

At least it isn’t a dress…

My thoughts are interrupted when I hear someone running down the hall before turning around to find Aria running straight at me with a faint smile on her face. So I catch her when she jumps into my arms and then proceeds to whisper into my ear, “Good luck! I know you’ll win!”

The little one then wiggles her way out of my arms and continues running, leaving me slightly confused as to what happens.

Or at least, confused until I hear another set of running footsteps only to turn around and find her butler and manager chasing after her while heaving heavy breaths, the man just being a regular human at the end of the day and not able to chase a Guardian even if she’s only 9 years old.

Eventually the man stops next to me, heaving as he tries to say, “Greetings… young miss… did you perhaps… see… the young lady?”

I have to hold myself back from quirking an amused brow at that before pointing in the direction she ran off in and saying, “She went that way after wishing me luck.”

The old man nods to me in appreciation and wishes me good luck as well before taking a deep breath and slowly beginning to run after her again.

Good luck, old man. Still not sure why you’re calling me young miss though.

From what Aria told me, the butler isn’t actually her father’s. He apparently works for her grandfather and has taken care of the family for as long as he’s been alive. Which, with the help of magic, has been a very long time.

But magical supplements like that only last for so long before the regular non-contractor will die, unlike contractors who can live as long – in their prime no less – as they keep killing demons and stealing their life force. And it looks like he’s starting to get on in years even with those supplements.

A rather sad thing to see, which Aria seems to agree with.

Well, anyways, I continue walking through the hall in the direction of the manor’s entrance.

Time to get this over with. And get out of this uniform as quickly as possible afterwards.

It doesn’t take long for me to reach the pod dock hall, where the various pod docks are for entering the Interschool Tournaments Official Magical Reality. Or ITOMR for short.

The only magical reality that is always in existence.

And after a brief inspection by the Class III Guardians stationed there for security – some of which I actually recognize from the Silver Association, meaning they likely outsourced personnel for this as well – I enter the large room filled with thousands of pod docks before going to the very center of the room.

The pod docks are all located based on both ranking and participation for the tournaments, with the top one hundred rankings being in a large ring around the bottom floor of the vast room filled with several floors each going down a little from the ones above it and having pod docks lining the entire wall of the floor. Meanwhile the eighteen pod docks at the very center of the room assorted in a fancy looking ring looking outwards at the other docks around them are meant for the students chosen to participate in the Primaries.

Including me.

As I walk down the stairs, I unfortunately – and expectedly – draw attention to myself from the other students who are at their pod docks preparing the things for them to enter. And a lot of them begin whispering.

At this point, I’m pretty sure there isn’t anyone going to this university who doesn’t know about me. Which is a disturbing thought, since I’m not exactly the most social butterfly.

“You’re neither social nor anything like a butterfly,” Tar comments, making my eyes narrow slightly before I ignore him.

Anyways, I ignore the attention sent my way along with the quiet and few not so quiet conversations that’ve come about from the students regarding me as I make my way down the stairs, eventually reaching the bottom floor of the vast room where I then walk up to the center pod docks.

If I remember correctly, I should be pod dock number three.

Number one goes to the participant for the Class III Solo Primary, with number two and three going to the participants for the Class II and I Solo Primaries respectively. Then the team participants for primaries are after that, starting with the Class III team, then II, and then I.

I walk over to the pod in question before remembering the emailed instructions sent to us for how to work it. Which basically came down to press the start button, wait a minute, follow the authorization instructions that include checking your mana and palmprint, then simply touch the pod to open it, with it closing again after you step inside.

Not very complicated, thankfully.

The process doesn’t take very long, and soon enough the pod dock opens for me. Then I glance around the room to find most of the conversations about me having moved on at this point.

Fortunately.

I turn back to the pod dock before getting inside and lying on my back, the thing closing again soon after.

Good thing these pod docks use magic to keep you clean and safe should you stay in them for a long period of time. And they’re not like the original pod docks where you had to go in naked.

Otherwise, we wouldn’t exactly be having them all in one room for obvious reasons.

After a few seconds of the machine humming in my ears, everything begins to go dark until I suddenly find myself standing in a large plaza.

And almost immediately, I hear a familiar voice shout, “Yo Scarlet!” bringing my attention to Anthony, who is using the same informal language he was using when we first met. Something he’d stopped using at some point for some reason.

Wonder why that was?

I shrug at that thought after a second before noticing that he’s not alone and is actually with Michael and Emily’s sister.

This’ll be interesting. Probably.