44 Try-out

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"So where were you during yesterday's afternoon class?"

Inside a classroom filled with both light chatters and casual lectures, Wilson confronted Irvine regarding his previous day's whereabouts in a relatively low voice.

Thankfully, unlike the first day of morning class, their current subject had a very lax professor as the teacher-in-charge that didn't seem to really mind a bit of noise during his lectures.

"Hm? Ah, you mean daily practice? I already got my leave permission so don't worry about it."

"So it's true! You're an athletic scholarship student??"

At first, Irvine was a little bit confused at the guy's surprise reaction. But then he remembered that their conversation yesterday had gotten cut off by the bell before he could tell them anything.

On Monday, Irvine had asked the two people who're late to class if they were student athletes.

Upon receiving the negatory answers, he proceeded to guess correctly that the both of them had played Battle Arena competitively before, much to their surprise.

At the time, Wilson and Ella had let the short conversational topic out of their mind as soon as the second period began because the three had only just met.

Only when they'd noticed his absence in the afternoon did the two talked about him again and started to casually guess his reason for 'skipping'.

This was mostly started because of Wilson's friendly initiative in finding Irvine amongst the crowd.

And because of Ella's theory that said he was probably a student athlete, when Wilson had seen Irvine entering the classroom just now, he couldn't wait for too long before asking the question to confirm.

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"Yes, I am. Sorry about that, I forgot to tell you yesterday." Irvine nodded and confirmed the conclusion drawn by Wilson this time.

"Isn't that awesome then! Hey, you were right Ella!" He hyped himself up and turned to Ella who'd been sitting beside him.

"...So what sport do you play?" The girl quickly followed through with her own question.

She already had her own suspicions when she'd remembered how Irvine had guessed that the two of them played Battle Arena yesterday, but she wanted to be sure.

And sure enough...

"Arena of course. What else?" Irvine smiled and answered without hiding anything.

"As I thought." The indifferent look that Ella usually had shifted slightly at the revelation.

In front of her was someone who had gotten what she'd wanted most during all her years back in high school. Becoming a member of Ravenville Illusions.

'A strong player who'd managed to attract the top Tier-1 school of Zeta City... He must've already gotten sorted before the semester started. Should be in 3rd... Or even a 2nd string member?'

As someone who had been planning to come here since long ago, Ella had researched the university's sorting and recruitment process in details.

And to her knowledge, even invited new recruits shouldn't be able to get into the 1st string directly due to their lack of Gene Mod Abilities.

Noticing the glare from what he'd thought was a calm lady, Irvine was not perturbed at all. He remembered yesterday's conversation quite clearly.

'Coming here after giving up a Tier-2 invitation letter...She must have a lot riding on tomorrow's tests.'

Managing to attract even a Tier-2 college had at least meant that her quality as a player was on par, if not higher than Grant.

Actually, the only reason Grant couldn't attract any Tier-2 scouts was simply because Greenwood High and its Arena team was too weak to get past the High School Championship's qualifiers.

Otherwise, with his abnormally fast charges, any high school powerhouse attempting the Championships would've gladly welcomed a player of his caliber.

Unfortunately for him, college scouts wouldn't usually go to the championship's qualifier rounds.

'In this aspect, this girl has higher luck than him, but her ambitions are higher too.'

As Irvine was contemplating, what he didn't notice was the reaction of the other person who was sitting directly beside him.

"..."

Wilson had been stunned silent with his mouth opened ever since he'd learned that Irvine was a student athlete of Battle Arena.

Becoming a student athlete of Tier-1 school was hard enough, but in Ravenville, a university known for its achievement in Arena, becoming part of its team had a far larger significance.

"WOW!"

"You're an actual thing then! A Ravenville Illusions' player!"

Had he not been in the middle of a class, Wilson would've long stood up to emphasize his emotion.

Although he had come to Ravenville partly because of the girl next to him, and that he didn't have as strong a feeling in having a career in Arena as her, Wilson was nonetheless an Arena fan through and through.

Because of Ella's influence, he even followed not only the OPL but also the college Arena scene. He knew that every year, a fraction of the new pro players were always borne by this very school.

"Yes, if you pass the try-out tomorrow, we'd not only be classmates but teammates as well, so good luck." Irvine encouraged the two of them.

"Ooh, this is so great! You can just tell us the content of the try-out!! This way not only will you help me in schoolworks but also in Arena-related stuff as well!"

Wilson suddenly thought of the benefits of having an official team member as a classmate.

'Wait, when did I say I'll help him with schoolworks?'

Ella who usually scolded him when he got like this also couldn't react in time right now and instead flinched when she thought of getting some leaked info on the try-out herself.

'M, maybe it's not so bad? Like this I can prepare mentally and physically...' She stopped to think of such thoughts before suppressing her reflex of scolding her friend.

Wilson quickly noticed that the usual reprimanding voice hadn't arrived this time around.

When he looked on towards his friend and found the hesitant expression on her face, his own expression naturally formed into an evil one, with teasing tone coming out of his mouth.

"Oho~ What's this? You want the try-out content too Ella? But that would be cheating, no~?"

'Ugh...'

"W,why!? A player should do their best to prepare!"

"I very much agree with you~ And so's a student right? So you'll have no right in scolding me when I copy homeworks later~"

"You lazy b--"

"Eh, but I'm just doing my best to prepare?"

"..."

The furious expression on Ella's face frozen up fast. She really lost to him this time.

To the side, Irvine was watching the two's interaction with a smile.

But as much as he found the two's banter amusing to watch, he's afraid he had to disappoint them,

"Well, unfortunately, I don't really know the content of it, sorry guys." Irvine scratched the back of his head as he told them,

"Though you're welcome to copy my class homeworks if I finished them earlier."

"...Aren't the invited new recruits supposed to help the coaches in carrying it out?" Ella asked cautiously.

She clearly remembered her brother telling her this point.

Because of her ambition in getting into the same university as him, she had taken note of every little details that could help in giving her the edge.

It's just that every year, the test's content would differ depending on what the school's looking for in individuals that could benefit the current team.

For example, if in the future, the team was severely lacking in Fielders, they would be more inclined in passing the aspiring Fielders first.

This was why learning the try-out's content even a day earlier was something that was too enticing for Ella to pass up.

"Hm, is that the case?" Even Irvine hadn't known as much as her regarding such things,

"I wasn't told anything about the try-out though?"

Like Ella had said, new freshman recruits did actually need to help out during the try-out. But obviously, 1st string member of the team was exempted from such activities.

In the event that the 2 status coincides, the person's responsibilities as a regular member would of course trumps over his position as a fresh new recruit.

This was why neither Irvine nor Medea was ever bothered by the coaches regarding the try-out procedures.

*sigh* "Oh, well. No luck there I guess." In the end, Wilson just shrug it off and nudged Ella beside him who's still showing a blank look.

"Don't worry, just do like you usually would and the results will follow. In the first place, even if you know how it's going to go, if either your physiques or your skills are not up to par you still wouldn't be able to force your way in."

Although his words were a bit harsh, Irvine would rather the two of them face the try-out with realistic expectations of the university's standards.

"..."

"...You're right. I should only rely on my accumulated experience and training." Ella nodded her head with resolve.

She had done all she could up to here, and tomorrow shouldn't be any different.

"Yea... So once again, good luck!"

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After the matter of him being an official member of the team was over, the three of them continued with the lesson faithfully.

During which, sometimes Ella and Wilson would ask him things related to Arena such as his position or his impressions on the team in a casual manner.

Irvine would answer each and every one of them honestly but without digging in too deep.

Just like that, the morning of Irvine's second day of college went by peacefully.

In the afternoon, he went for his daily practice with the 1st string team inside the Ravenville Stadium as usual.

Him and the rest of the regulars continued their morning's routine with formation training and post-session meeting one after the other.

It was like he's back to last week's training camp atmosphere but with significant upgrades on the location and care he received as an athlete.

If there was one specific thing that had changed drastically for him,

It would be that unlike the time he'd spent during training camp, right now Irvine had started his first day of living inside the Arena Facility!

It was the same with Derrick, Greg, and Medea. All of them had picked an empty room on the premise and put all their school necessities there alongside several of their clothes.

For Irvine, he had at least left some stuff back at his original room to show his roommate that he was there and hadn't really moved dorms.

Still, after Tuesday's daily practice, most of the newly promoted members of the 1st string didn't choose to go back to their place anymore and stayed there instead.

They were even advised to do that by all the coaches.

Not only would it be more convenient for their morning practice, there were far more entertainment for them to access there as well!

From arcade games to home theater, the whole place did carry the holiday villa vibe with it, if not for the advanced training facilities included within as well.

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Evening,

Irvine had just got out of trying out the cryo-chamber when he walked into Clint Silver on the Facility's hallway.

"Feel at home?" His slit-shaped eyes twisted upwards even more when he'd seen Irvine coming out of the chambers room with a towel hanging around his neck on top of his long-sleeved shirt.

"Yep."

"Good. It took a while for some people." Clint laughed lightly, "Doing anything after this?"

"Yea, I'm on my way to the 2nd floor training room right now."

"Nn? Training room?"

"Solving practice."

"Wha-- Pfft!" Clint was stunned for a couple seconds before he burst out laughing.

"Haha! Seriously, the more I look at you, the less convinced I am that you're a prodigious Starseed!"

"Astute observation." Irvine just smiled back at him.

He was stating his honest thought, Clint's power of observation was nothing to scoff at. It was true that Irvine had gotten this far mostly relying on his accumulated experience in Arena rather than talent.

'My spatial awareness, the mastery of my position... All of them still need a lot of work.' He pondered.

But that's exactly what he counted on! A limit higher than his previous future!

More things to learn would mean more room for improvement.

"...Rather than just solving, want me to help you with some disruptions?" Looking at him for a long while, Clint suddenly offered Irvine to practice together.

"You don't have anything to do?"

"More like I think this'll be more productive for me. Hey, it's your fault you're too diligent." He shrugged.

"...I suppose so, I'll take you up on that then. Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Clint mumbled softly, 'If I'm right, you'll be the key in helping me reach a higher level of my play anyway.'

"What's that?"

"Nothing. We'll have to use the stadium field and the equipment there for disruption practice."

"Ah, right."

Irvine was once again taken aback by the difference in privilege between the 2nd and 1st string.

It's not enough that the living accomodation disguised as 'borrowing' the Arena Facility's space was that luxurious, even the availability of any Arena-related facilities such as the one and only stadium was easily accessible so long as it's in the after-hour.

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Time passed quickly with the tight schedule between class and team practice continued for Irvine.

After the night training with Clint, even the morning match and subsequent classes flew by in a flash.

Before long, Wednesday afternoon soon arrived.

Three days after the semester started, Ravenville Illusions' training fields finally saw their largest excess of people ever since the long break for the new academic year last June.

The number of players on the field marked the start of the coming try-out for all the new walk-in players of year 218-219 UD.

And also the moment of truth for both Wilson and Ella.