Chapter 5: Aim for the Top

The current Grandmaster of the Association, said to be the strongest Hunter alive, Theo. That very man stood before her, or crouched before her. He let go of her hilt, and his Ego reeled itself back, relieving Elisa of that insane pressure. Before he turned away from her, she caught a quick glimpse of his eyes, which were once pitch black and are now a deep crimson. The audience cheered louder for him than when they were watching the fight. She didn't really care, but yknow, he didn't even do anything. The people were recording the fight with their phones, something she had never seen before coming to an empire. Small rectangular devices powered by magic batteries, they were everywhere, aside from the lesser villages, of course. The Grandmaster spoke a little, and with that, the fight ended, and they were allowed to leave since they had finished the exam. Or so she thought; an attendant guided the trio down a different hall, informing them that this was part of the closing ceremony. The attendant led them to a closed room. At the back of the room was a raised platform, where the Emperor sat, along with some of his ministers, and, of course, the Grandmaster joined them shortly after. Lined against the wall was the Emperor's most trusted guard, the Honour Knights. The trio stood in line. Lucas and Elisa both glared at the other, eager to continue with the fight. The Grandmaster stepped forward, forcing them to focus their attention forward. "That was quite the battle you showed. You all have promise as future hunters and... all that other bullshit I was supposed to say, I kinda forgot," he said with a chuckle. The king behind him was rubbing his face. She had never expected the Grandmaster to act like this, but she was kinda glad he wasn't super strict.

" NOW." He suddenly boomed, startling Elisa and Lucas.

" I'll ask you one question, any of you are free to answer, after that, you're all free to go," they nodded. He paced the room as he asked the question.

" The association is an organization made by Hunters to manage Hunter and monster activity. We manage the safety of all Yu'rian alongside the Empires and the Rian Union. What do you say is the best course of action to take if you found out there were a couple of corrupt officials within the Association? What would you do?" Silence filled the room; the sudden question startled everyone. "It's simple," Elisa had a pretty good answer, though it didn't apply to the Association; she would make do with it.

" Cull those who go against what the Association represents." Her answer warranted shocked stares from her two companions and the Emperor; some of the Honour Guards' grips tensed over their weapons. The Grandmaster simply remained smiling, " And if the Grandmaster or the Emperor himself were a corrupt man, what then?"

"As I said before, I'll simply cull them both. I'd cut the Grandmaster and take his place."

It happened again; the eyes of the Grandmaster were those of an endless night. She stood firm, refusing to back down. Her final response had the Emperor on the edge of his seat, like he was gonna jump on the Grandmaster to hold him back from killing me. The tension was broken by his abrupt laughter, though. " 'Simply kill the Grandmaster,' huh? If you want to do that, you'll need to reach the level of a Grandmaster. However, if you were to kill the Emperor, not even the status of a Grandmaster would save you...But if you were strong enough to kill me, then you'd be the strongest?" He rambled on, stroking his chin. He didn't seem too upset by her answer; if anything, he seemed more pleased by it. " I apologize for the Grandmaster's attitude. I wish you all the best in your studies. Continue to prove your worth as Hunters, soon enough, we will meet again," The Emperor had cut in before letting them leave. Elsia acted like she was all that with her response, but truthfully, she was terrified out of her mind. She half expected the Grandmaster to smite her on the spot or to arrest her.

" You're a damn idiot, you know that? What if he had killed you? Or us for that matter! You'd do well to watch yourself now that you're a student," Lucas reprimanded her with a total of five pokes to her shoulder. He walked off muttering to himself. The girl stayed behind; was she also gonna yell at her? "I'm Slyia Velonis. I look forward to seeing you in class," she said with a smile before walking away. At least she seemed nicer than Lucas. Elisa had decided to forgive Lucas for now, at least until she found the next opportunity to battle him. For now, she made her way to the Academy's main building. Inside, she would find out where her dorm would be. Her room was in the west dorm building on the second floor. The doors were kept locked by a scanner; they took her photo and made her an ID to access said scanners. Elisa wasn't sure if she had any roommates since she finished the exam earlier than everyone else. The room was relatively spacious, with two beds on either side. A small space featured a couch and a table. In the back was the kitchen, and next to it was the bathroom door. Elisa tossed her bag onto the end of her bed and carefully set her swords aside before flopping down onto her bed. She lay there for a while, staring up at the ceiling. She had done it, cleared the entrance exam with relatively great marks, and she was getting closer to her goals. She closed her eyes, exhaling a deep regret.

Soon enough, they'll be within my reach.

She fell asleep. When she woke up, it was dark out, and her roommate had already dropped by, as there was a suitcase on top of the other bed. It seemed like they had already gone out, presumably to celebrate with friends; she'd have to get to know her better when she gets back. It was safe to assume her roommate was a girl; that would be odd if not. Elisa made her way to the cafe, and, fortunately, it was still open. Cafeteria food was free to students, and until she found herself a stable income, this was where her meals would come from. Tonight's dinner was a pasta dish with some kind of sauce; she wasn't sure, but it was steaming, so it seemed to have been made fairly recently. It was pretty good. Elisa had managed to find an empty table. Someone was approaching her table, but unlike last time, she knew who it was. Dan set his tray of pasta down before he sat down. "How'd it go?"

" Eh, it was alright. I definitely aced the written portion, not sure about the other areas though," He said sheepishly. She had a hunch his score on the other tests wouldn't have been as good. His Ego energy was somewhat small; it seemed like he barely used it or had any training with it. " I also did pretty well," she replied. She wasn't sure what it was called, but her grandma used to make that sound whenever she said something stupid. It was kinda like a laugh, but without opening your mouth.

" EVERYONE knows you did well, practically all the new students have been talking about the big 3," He explained in between bites of his pasta. She had noticed that on her way to this table, people had been glancing at her. To think word spread this quickly, and she's part of a group? Cool.

" A dual Ego, you should keep a close eye on your swords; some people would die just to know anything about them." Elisa rubbed her shoulder, just in case she had strapped her second blade to her back so it hid beneath her coat. Irakami was still resting on her bed back in her dorm; it should be fine. They continued to talk about their upcoming classes until Elisa departed for her dorm.