"Behind this door is the Dojo, right?"
[Affirmative, Elias Verdan. Although you took five wrong turns and got yourself lost a few times, it's commendable you eventually arrived at your destination.]
"Why does it sound like you are calling me dumb, Nova?"
[...]
Elias rolled his eyes, mumbling irritably under his breath.
"Lost, what the hell do you mean by lost! It never really crossed your mind that I was just taking a quiet walk?"
Now that was a lie, but still...
He would rather die than admit it, okay?!
He took a deep breath, pushing the door open.
The room was wide, wide enough to have a section for a bar, and another separate area that was padded with thick floor mats covering every inch of its surface, numerous weapons arranged in racks that aligned the walls.
Elias entered inside, his eyes narrowing at the brown-haired boy who sat leisurely on one of the designer cushions at the bar place.
He was dressed casually, one leg crossed over the other with his shirt unbuttoned and free, displaying a six-pack.
On his right was a white-haired girl with her hair cropped short to reach just beneath her shoulder blades, her eyes a dazzling emerald green, flashing so coldly it seemed as though she was alien to the concept of emotions.
Her arms and forearms were wrapped in a golden wire gauze, extending upwards to reach her neck, surrounding it like a collar.
One of those arms was raised now, pouring a drink with a nice fragrance from a bottle into the empty tumbler grasped by the brown-haired boy, who still hadn't turned his face away from him ever since he stepped inside the room.
Amusement seemed to dance in the depths of his sky-blue eyes.
Walking just enough to stand in front of him, Elias narrowed his eyes, asking carefully.
"You called for me?"
"Your name?" he asked, taking a sip of his drink before dropping the glass on the table, the white-haired girl standing still behind him.
Elias raised an eyebrow. Shouldn't he already know this?
"Elias Verdan."
The edge of his lips narrowed into an imperceptible smile, his face twisting into a sneer.
"Verdan. No one of Noble blood goes by that name, so I take it that you are a commoner, aren't you?"
Before Elias could reply, he cut in immediately, proceeding to stand on his feet.
His posture radiated sheer arrogance, his eyes glinting with disdain.
"Let me guess, you are at the Novice stage with common-ranked strings, or maybe they are at the uncommon rank, if you are slightly better trash."
Elias blinked once, looking at the guy like he would an idiot.
He knew the disregard most nobles had for commoners, but wasn't this a little too much?
"You have no Sonic skills, possess no artifact and your knowledge of combat is practically inexistent... and that's putting it nicely."
He took a few steps towards him, stopping till he was just right in front of his face.
"With your worth in the negatives, why would I let you join the team when you would only drag us down?"
Elias ran a hand through his hair, a tired sigh escaping his lips.
This just felt so childish.
"First off, buddy, let's keep some space between us, okay?" Elias said, already taking two steps backwards.
He let out a relieved breath. "Now that's much better. Ever heard of anything called boundaries?"
Elias watched as his eyes twitched, a much-needed confirmation that he wasn't a dummy.
"Let's cut to the chase and put an end to this back and forth; it's exhausting. There is no way that you called me all the way here to rant off like an idiot, right?"
The white-haired girl turned her emerald eyes towards him, and for a moment, it looked as though they flashed with killing intent.
"You shall watch your tongue, vermin—"
"Quiet now, Leona," Henry said, looking at him amusedly before turning away to rest his back against the designer cushion.
Elias spared the girl a glance, tilting his head slightly. This was the first time they were meeting, yet the hatred radiating from her was palpable enough for him to take it seriously.
He turned back to Henry, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"You should learn to keep your dogs from barking."
Henry merely took another sip of his drink, savoring it like it was delicious.
"Don't take offense, Leona simply doesn't interact well with strangers. You might not know, but from birth, scions of high noble families are given a companion of sorts. We call them Echo. For them, socializing outside their masters is..."
He smiled. "Well, you see how that turned out with you."
Crossing one of his legs over the other, he continued.
"I will stop beating around the bush and go straight to the point. If you can at least force an Intermediate Apprentice like her to manifest her Resonance String in a fight, then I will call it a win and allow you to join the rest of the squad."
He narrowed his eyes in disdain.
"If you fail with just that, then maybe you should stop aiming so high and set your sights on the defense team. They have a history of protecting weaklings within their ranks."
There was movement like the blur of wind, Leona already moving to stand in the other section of the room padded with thick floor mats.
She ran her hands through the weapon rack before choosing a curved dagger with its edges gleaming with sharpness.
Her face was expressionless, but the eagerness in her eyes was unmistakable. Elias could tell that she was already impatient to bash his head in and trample on his face with the sole of her heels.
Which was unfortunate because he had no desire to act as her personal punching bag.
He turned away from Henry, recognizing the fact that engaging in more conversation was only going to be a waste of time.
'Thinking about it, why does a scout even need to be strong when they spend their time either running or hiding? This guy has fucking misplaced priorities.'
But Elias also recognized the fact that he needed to join the scouting team, no matter what. So this was a hurdle that he needed to overcome.
An Intermediate Apprentice, huh?
He stepped within the region of the padded boundary, his lips curling slightly.
It's just so-so.
"You won't pick up a weapon?" Leona asked, but the tone of her voice was as though she was hoping he didn't bother picking one.
While Elias would have wanted to get himself a weapon, embarrassingly, his knowledge of the sword was no better than a woman wielding a kitchen knife.
It's way more effective doing things the old way.
Keeping silent, he ignored her altogether, placing his hand behind his back.
'System Profile.'
Hearing the familiar melody of the Song, he watched as the familiar screen lit up in front of him. He let his eyes hover over the section for his mental strength.
[Mental Strength: 3505/7000]
He slapped his hand over his forehead.
'I really need to learn to shut up.'
The interface flickering out of existence, his eyes turned towards the girl.
Leona's expression was now rosy, a crazed grin appearing on her face.
"Gutting you will fill me with deep pleasure."
Elias grimaced, speaking internally.
'Weirdo.'
"Begin now!" Henry shouted, his voice failing to hide his interest.
Henry had barely finished talking before Leona disappeared in a violent burst of speed, the sound of air whistling left behind her as she kicked up bursts of wind like a fierce storm.
A second later, she was in front of Elias, her gleaming dagger already in front of his face.
SHANG!