The work at the motel begins already. A lot of people crowd the counter, returning their keys.

  Men and women. Some appear to be one-night visitors, others seemingly responsible travelers checking out.

  I walk to sit at a table, observing the crowd vanish. Soon all are gone.

  "Hey, Tora, is it always this busy here?"

  "Is that how you say good morning?"

  "Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?"

  "Of course. I can't find the other human being."

  "Hmm hmm." I lean back mysteriously.

  "What, all of a sudden?"

  "I was just thinking, when it comes to Filip, you're quite conflicted."

  "Yeah, so what?" Her gaze intensifies.

  "I forgot what they call it."

  "Call what?"

  "Sister syndro-"

  Cling!

  "I found it!" Filip barges in, interrupting us completely.

  "Hey, Everest, get up from there and come help me with it." He pulls me along.

  "And what is it? Also, I hope it won't become a habit for you to pull me around like this."

  We step outside the motel.

  "This." He presents a tree trunk as big as both of us. "It can be useful for training, huh?"

  I didn't expect that.

  "Help me carry it to the back. You're pretty strong now, aren't you?"

  "If you say it like that, it can't be helped."

  I carry the tree around the motel, placing it in the backyard in front of the storage shed.

  Filip brings the necessary tools to plant it, and now it looks like a decent combat training dummy.

  "It looks nice, doesn't it?"

  "I agree. By the way, how did you get here with it?"

  Filip thinks for a moment and crosses his arms. "There are some shady operations in this city."

  "What are you talking about? That has nothing to do with the question I asked."

  "What were you talking about with Tora?"

  "Well, just trying to extract information about your dark past."

  "Is that it?"

  "Hmm, kind of."

  "Then fine." He looks relieved. "I know she won't tell anything."

  "You're pretty confident."

  Creak.

  The door at the other end of the field, the toilet door, opens.

  A dazed Martin walks out. "Oh man, that was torture."

  "Did you really last that long?" I comment.

  "It seems to have been quite an exercise." Filip adds sharply.

  "Morning routine." We both say before laughing.

  "Hey, that was an emergency."

  Filip is quite mysterious. Maybe he can't tell me everything. Well, he can keep his secrets.

  Filip treats us to breakfast. Tora maintains that serious expression around him.

  We have a pretty refreshing morning.

  But now I have to be serious. With only four days left, I better get ready soon.

  I keep visualizing, but the dragon doesn't manifest.

  I take out the notes Ernest gave me.

  I remember him saying that after a first connection, the physicality of the host increases to fit the needs of the spirit.

  Carrying that tree trunk by myself would've been impossible a while ago. But now it's clear I've established a connection. That also means Ernest has been holding back on me.

  These are a lot of discoveries.

  Time for training.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The book contains a lot of drawn sketches and combat techniques written down in detail.

  I apply everything written in the notebook. Day after day, until the time eventually arrives.

  On the morning of the recruitment day, Filip and Tora give me motivational support.

  "You can do it, man."

  "Is that all you have to say?"

  He nervously places his hand behind his back. "You see, I'm not a very good motivational speaker."

  "Hah, I see."

  "By the way, I heard they're checking about spirits already. What's yours?"

  "It's hard to say." I reply nervously.

  "Surely you already have a form of manifestation."

  "Manifestation? What's that?" Tora questions.

  Her question is followed by silence. I expected him to tell her since he knows.

  "It's like seeing an animal in dreams or experiencing a miracle." I answer.

  She claps. "Ohhh. A miracle."

  "Where's Martin?"

  "Yeah, about him." He pulls a paper from his pocket. "He asked me to give you this."

  I unfold it. 'Same thing Filip said.'

  Both of them are a lost cause.

  "Well, with that, I'll be going."

  "Let me come with you."

  Tora grabs Filip by the shoulder. "You're not going anywhere today. You're taking care of the place."

  "Oh really?" He shows pleading eyes, but she replies with no mercy. "Well, guess we're feasting tonight then. Don't miss it."

  "Of course not."

  I take my leave, walking across the streets before making it to the recruitment area.

  The registration happened in a small building around here, but now we're entering a kind of stadium. The guards ask the participants to confirm their identities before giving them light plate armor with a number.

  It's my turn.

  The guard before me asks, "What's your name?"

  "Everest Fogue."

  "Hah, another delusional teenager."

  "What do you mean?"

  He looks at me with a grin. "Nothing. Just don't come back at me crying." He hands me my armor.

  Number 171. I didn't know this many people entered.

  After entering, I see a lot of different individuals. Men and women, but barely anyone around my age. The place itself looks like a colosseum from history books and has a lot of training equipment.

  Someone pushes me from behind.

  "Hey, you're blocking the way." A bald muscular man speaks.

  I forgot I'm still standing in the entrance.

  "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

  He walks past me without even looking back.

  Number 184.

  "How rude." A girl follows behind him with sky-blue hair in a ponytail and ruby eyes. She's slightly taller than me.

  "Maybe he's trying to focus."

  "How tense can this be?"

  "I don't know. It's my first time." She extends her hand. "Melissa Regalia. Nice to meet you."

  I shake her hand. "Everest Fogue. Nice to meet you too."

  "It's a strange name you have."

  "Aren't you scared I could be the reason for your loss?"

  "There's no way. Besides, we can be friends. If we lose after this, we can have some interesting stories later." She laughs.

  "You're pretty optimistic."

  "Sorry. But you look young. Baby face?"

  "No, I'm sixteen."

  "Sixteen? You look fifteen. Anyways, you're pretty young. Why the hurry to join?"

  "It's simply because I had a bet with my father. What about you?"

  "Haven't they told you asking a woman's age is improper?"

  "You just brought it up."

  "Okay, fine. Since you're a kid, I can let it slide."

  "Now I feel insulted."

  "Haha. Well, I'm eighteen, and my reason for being here is simple. It makes good money."

  "That's it?"

  "Yup, and don't forget I'm not going to let you win if you go against me, even if you have a sad backstory."

  "I hoped you'd have a more serious reason."

  "What's wrong? Can't you see? There's no war, and monsters are literally going extinct. We're not in the land of the dead, though some say it exists. With all that, what do you expect soldiers to do?"

  "Huh? What do you mean? Of course, we're meant to protect." I frown.

  "A naive one, I see. I'll overlook it. You're still a child." She pats my head.

  Number 196. I hope I can teach you a lesson.

  "Stop looking at me with that scary face. You're not tough."

  I have a scary look?

  "Well then, I'll show you how scary I am another time."

  Ding dong!

  The gong rings, getting everyone's attention toward the stage above.

  A middle-aged man appears with a lower layer of sky-blue and an upper layer of dark blue hair. He has blue eyes and scars on both sides of his lower lips. His expression suggests someone who desperately needs sleep.

  "I saw him at the bar this morning. It seems he spent the night there." Whispers spread through the crowd.

  "Cough, cough." The man clears his throat. "Well, hmm. To be honest, I don't want to be here, and I'm sure a lot of you don't either."

  We all look at him, confused.

  "Well? Nobody? I didn't know I could be that off." He wipes his face. "To begin with, uh, we're recruiting because we're having an inspection soon. Yup, that's the only reason. And you'll ask, then why are we so diligent? Well, that's because the person coming for the inspection is actually someone serious."

  Well, the contrary of you.

  He continues. "The reason I focus on spirit users is because I want him to think I'm seeking quality. But that doesn't mean I'll exclude physicality. With that said, we're going to have four trials. Three physical to check your stats and one for your spirits. So now let's begin. Everyone, run around the track ten times."

  What?

  As if everyone thinks the same question, we stay immobile for a moment. Then a boy starts running.

  Melissa follows him. "Hey, don't lose now."

  I follow her, and every other participant starts running.

  We complete all ten laps.

  Everyone runs as fast as they can, so it's normal we're all somewhat out of breath. We all come to the conclusion this is a speed contest to eliminate the slowest.

  Looking at Melissa, she surprises me. I couldn't tell she had such impressive stamina.

  "What are you looking at? Is puberty kicking in?"

  "No, I'm just surprised. You're fast."

  "Thanks for the compliment. You too."

  We both smile at each other. We may have different views, but she's not a bad person.

  The man appears again.

  "Who's that guy even?" I look up at him.

  "Don't you know him? He's Captain Mylo Agricent. You're not a local if you don't know him."

  What? That guy's a captain? He's so unprofessional.

  He's about to make a speech. "I'm satisfied. What about you?"

  Silence follows.

  "Maybe next time I'll ask for people who don't take this all too seriously."

  "Sir, they can hear you." A soldier whispers behind him.

  "Oh really?" He wipes his face. "I must still be daydreaming. Oh, my bed. Anyways, I'm going to eliminate some of you based on your current performance."

  His hand moves across the crowd before he points at someone. "You."

  Number 092.

  "What, me?"

  "Yeah, get out of here."

  "But why?"

  "You're the last to finish."

  "I finished faster than most of them. It's unfair."

  "Life is unfair, but not everyone wins. Look at me. I don't want to be here, but I'm not complaining."

  "That's different and unjust."

  Mylo looks up at the sky before looking at the man. "See it like this: I'm giving an order, and everyone acts before you do. What you're saying is all the orders I give will be delayed more than everyone else. I don't need someone like that under my command. You can leave unless you want to face me, and it's the same for all those I'll be pointing to next."

  The man falls to his knees. "Please, another chance. I promise I'll do better."

  Mylo ignores him and continues pointing at other people.

  "You. You. You. You. You. You. Youuuu."

  The reason changes, but he always finds something to dismiss someone, while others just assume the reasons and leave on their own.

  My heart pounds. Heat fills my lungs. My hands sweat.

  I can't lose like this. I haven't even faced the real challenge yet.

  My breath intensifies.

  Please stop already.

  My prayers aren't heard. He keeps pointing out people.

  "And you." He points at a girl on the other side of the field.

  "Why me? I'm pretty sure I was diligent."

  He thinks for a moment. "No particular reason. I just don't like your face."