3 Scouting Jobs and Competitors

The canteen was bustling per usual.

It was filled with students and their pets. The school only allowed pets that came from the Orcus since they are programmed to be intelligent, unlike the real animals that were rowdy and tend to be more dangerous.

Plus, the Animal Protection Unit won't allow any animal to be kept as a pet unless they're domesticated and went through several safety tests.

While waiting in line, Si Fan browsed on the menu for today's breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He did not hesitate to choose the fried chicken since Snow would not eat anything unless it was the same kind as him. As for Luna, he gives it more thought and after a while, he decided on the sashimi.

He lamented about his continuously decreasing savings.

He definitely has to find a part-time job. Maybe he should apply as a library assistant? Or a student tutor? Bad idea. He's not good at interacting with people and most of them find him intimidating because of his stoic expression.

When it was his turn, he quickly said his orders, paid for it when it was packed, and went back to the dormitory building.

On his way back, instead of walking through a shortcut, he took the long route. The long path is not often used by the students and not for the reason that it is a long way, but because venturing through this distant track is equivalent to seeing the principal's garden.

Si Fan vividly remembered the garden being the popular hangout of his schoolmates. Couples and friends would frequently go to that place in order to have a lone time. It was also their favorite confession area.

As soon as he stepped inside the garden, the familiar grouchy and rough voice of the gardener was heard.

"Get out. The garden is a quiet place for viewing and peace of mind, not for your rambunctious and idle chatter."

"Good afternoon, Mr. An," He greeted politely.

The middle-aged and vigorous man looked up. A thin scar could be seen from left upper eyelid all the way down to his lower eyelid. He had a square face, a thin mustache, a crew cut hair, and a tanned skin. He was in the middle of digging holes on the soil to plant the sprouts.

Albeit his face shows indifference, Si Fan can tell that he was surprised.

"It's you," Mr. An went back to digging tiny holes, "Fortunately, it's not those noisy kids."

Ah, he remembers now; the reason why the students immediately abandoned the garden as their hangout venue.

It's because of Mr. An.

Before, Mr. An was a part-timer so he occasionally tended the plants and would only stop by once or twice a week, usually on Monday and Friday. His peers steered clear from the garden on those days. However, three weeks ago, Mr. An became a full-time gardener and this caused most of them to feel displeasure.

In addition, they are terrified of him, either because of his unapproachable bearing or the scar on his face, which makes him a bit scary-looking.

Si Fan wondered if he could apply as a part-time gardener. It would be perfect, for him anyway.

___

Meanwhile, at the Legacy of the Knights' Headquarters, Main Branch.

"And... the registration is officially closed. As you predicted, they have a total of 300 participants, and most of them belong to some strong guilds."

"Do not focus on little things. I heard there are plenty of good players participating in the competition."

A few taps on the keyboard and eight pictures show up on the large monitor.

Click.

One of the images zoomed in and it showed a youth with an average face and wearing a circular glasses. No one will think he's the super rookie of Blue Haven.

"Blue Haven's super rookie, Min Yoon. He surpassed the Zombie Apocalypse within 1 hour and 38 minutes. They hailed him as a genius."

A baby-faced teenager sucked on his lollipop as he pressed a few more keys and the data of the person they were looking at was exhibited. He added, "Several guilds scouted him after he broke the all time record for the clearance of Zombie Apocalypse. Although I don't quite understand why the brainless fans of the Blue Haven called him a genius, frankly speaking, I do not see anything that is worth being hailed as such."

His words were arrogant and demeaning, but he said it so casually it almost made one doubt their knowledge on the super rookie.

"I think it was about the time when he got first place in the entrance exam of Cornelia University. It was one of the hardest schools to enter, after all," the person beside him said. It was a girl, about the same age as him, and she was playing with her phone while conversing with her companion.

She had a short, brown hair and a pair of dark brown, almost black eyes. Her figure was slim with an average height.

"That has a lot of sense. To be referred as a genius, they first must be Senior Huang's relatives or something."

The next portrait replaced the former. The young woman in the picture had a fiery red hair that was dazzling as a sun and her eyes a pretty shade of amber.

"Hiroshi Akane, they called her the next Song Jia. On her debut, she led her team to victory against 10 powerful teams from different guilds."

"Was it during the Exchange Pointers Program? Hardly worth the hype. The teams she faced were all noobs, anyway," he added.

"Can you not spout a single insult for once? They're like us, you know? Give them a little slack, A-Luo."

The aforementioned 'A-Luo' snorted.

Click.

"Chyanne Laurier. The youngest among them. Also known for being the youngest daughter of the Laurier family. Said to be beautiful, smart, and talented."

The baby-faced teenager scrutinized the blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty on the screen and sneered, "Her beauty may be true, but I do not see the 'smart and talented' part. Rumors exaggerated way too much. I bet it was even spread by her family."

"She's part of the Lioness Guild," she interjected as if that's all the explanation he needed.

He pouted, "Fine, so what if she's in that guild? She wasn't even scouted by the guild master."

Abia, the short brown haired girl, rolled her eyes and points out, "She's in the main guild instead of the branch guild. That's got to be something."

Then, she lightly mentioned, "Don't be jealous just because you're ranked last among us."

His right eye twitches and vehemently denies, "I am not!"

She simply gives him a bored glance.