41 Turning Gears

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15:00

Inside one of the classroom buildings in Ravenville University.

An afternoon class was currently underway for the freshmen of Sport Science major that Irvine was in.

On one of the lined-up seating rows, Wilson and Ella were attending the lesson diligently without being late this time around.

Wilson was looking around the classroom trying to find a certain familiar figure, but to no avail.

"Hm, that guy's not here."

"Who're you looking for?" Ella replied with another question when she found this friend of hers had finally stopped turning his head about.

"You know, that Irvine guy."

"Ah."

Hearing the name, she showed a face of finally remembering the guy from this morning.

"Maybe he's skipping? Though... he doesn't really seem like the type."

"And what kinda type is that?"

"Well, people like you for example." Ella answered straightforwardly.

"Urg..." Wilson had no comebacks for that, he truly was a rather truant student in high schoool.

"...Or maybe,"

"Hm? Or maybe what?"

"...Is he an athletic scholarship student? He was asking us about that this morning too." Ella herself sounded a bit unsure.

"Oh... Wow! Really?? Doesn't it mean that he's a very good athlete then!?"

Wilson felt like he would be very astonished if it were true.

Even if you tally up all the sports teams available in Ravenville, the number of invited student athletes in the school most likely wouldn't even reach a hundred.

And if one took into account the thousands and thousands of total students in the university itself; Athletic scholarship students could truly be considered a rarity in the school.

"It's just a guess." She shrugged.

"Aah, but if it's true, then it's no wonder he was asking us about that..." Wilson vividly remembered their encounter this morning,

"Damn, should've asked him what sport he's playing when I had the chance."

"And why would you care? It's none of our business anyway."

"Wow, you're VERY cranky right now... What's the matter?"

"...Nothing in particular."

"..."

"...to play..."

"Nn?"

"I said I want to play alright! I need to practice for the try-out the day after tomorrow! In fact, WE need to practice!"

Ella spoke a bit louder when confronted with Wilson's unflinching gaze.

"That's true..."

The open try-out for the Ravenville's Arena team was already set to be held on wednesday afternoon of the first week.

Both Wilson and Ella had long since applied for the Battle Arena team of this school. The Illusions had been their target from the start.

This occasion was especially important for Ella since she'd already rejected a Tier-2 invitation just to come to Ravenville.

'I have to get in!' She once again firmed her resolve.

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"...Right then, how about this! Let's go to some of the public Arena fields after class? We can train and prepare ourselves. maybe even have some pick-up matches!"

"..."

Wilson's suggestion seemed to have caught Ella's attention.

Unlike the fields used by the school team, although the public Battle Arena fields were not free, they were at least open for normal student-use.

The prices would differ based on if the field was for single-tower or full standard matches, and if the players would want to rent the equipment or not.

In Ravenville, any students could pay to enter these fields with their ID cards as long as the Credits inside were of sufficient amount to get deducted after a simple scan on the entrance gate.

'Will playing pick-up matches against amateurs even be of any use?' Ella wanted to retort, but in the end,

"..."

"...Fine, let's go then." She nodded.

After taking some more time to think, Ella had agreed to his suggestion.

'At least it's better then getting rusty before the try-out.'

"Great! Then..."

Wilson was about to say something else but he suddenly turned silent for a few seconds.

"...Hey Ella, why do you--"

"What?"

"...No, nevermind."

He had tried to initiate a question but stopped midway through and retracted it.

"Just spill it, will you!"

"Well..."

"You know, career-wise it doesn't make sense for you to be throwing away that Tier-2 college's invitation right... I was just wondering why you did it?" He eventually braced himself and asked.

If Ella had chosen to go to that school, she could've already prepared herself to play in some Uncrowned competitions right now.

And after a year max, she would most likely be slotted into the team's regulars and compete for the Fighter and Bronze Crown of the Tier-2 League in her 2nd year.

After knowing her for so many years ever since middle school, Wilson knew that Ella was very much capable of this!

But now that she's in Ravenville, even if she managed to get in as a walk-in, there's no guarantee for her to ascend past the team's 2nd string and play for the Silver Crown within a year or two.

The appeal of Crowned Tournaments and competitions was that they would be broadcasted all over the Olympus Station for college Arena fans to enjoy.

These broadcasts were the tickets for players to get noticed by various pro scouts and fans during their college years.

When Wilson had first heard of Ella's decision, he'd felt that she was throwing away an almost sure-fire way to get to the Bronze Crown just for a risky attempt at Silver Crown.

If she ended up not getting into the 1st string until her senior year here, it would make it that much harder for her to get noticed or drafted by the OPL later than if she had been a Tier-2's Bronze Crown participant.

That's because Uncrowned Tournaments could only be watched live.

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"Blegh, this again..." Ella mumbled in annoyance.

Wilson could tell from her face that she had heard the same type of questions multiple times before this.

"Look, I know it's a bit of an all-or-nothing gamble on my side, but this is what I want!" She explained.

"My brother's a Ravenville's alumnus, it's been my dream to come here as well ever since I was a kid."

"Plus the Illusions' a great team! Especially this year!" Ella continued to explain herself with a smile in the middle of class.

"THE Renee Morgan became the Captain this season! There're also rumours that said we managed to recruit a Starseed this year!"

"Clint Silver, the Ranger, has also become a starting player, there's literally no better time than this to come here, really."

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"...I see."

'She certainly has put some thoughts into this. And it seems like she's a big fan of the team from the start.' Wilson quietly thought in his mind.

He remembered that this classmate of his had always been a big fan of college Arena herself.

"--Do you get it? If we can make it into the 1st string of this generation's Ravenville, we wouldn't just be playing in the Silver Crown anymore, we'd be winning it!"

After a few more words, Ella finally finished her thorough promotion of the team, but she then continued talking with a concerned look on her face,

"You should really worry about yourself, if it's this risky even for me, I can't imagine how you'll perform in here."

The two of them had been Arena teammates for 3 years since high school, they knew each other strengths and abilities fairly well.

And in all those times, Ella had always been the Ace of their high school team, standing a cut above Wilson who actually wasn't that bad of a player himself.

"Don't worry about me! I'll keep up!" Not getting dejected, Wilson just pumped his fist in the air with assurance.

"Hmm." Ella didn't react much to her friend's declaration after that and started thinking about something else.

*sigh*

"The seniors are probably already planning their strategies for the Warrior Crown right now, huh."

Just like that, she started spacing out from the lesson again, thinking about what would be in store for her in Ravenville for the next 4 years.

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*CREAK*

The large double door to the Arena Facility's conference room was opened with a swing.

Coach Thompson arrived from the outside. with 7 other people following behind him.

They were Irvine, Medea, Derrick, Greg, Naomi, and the 2 other 3rd years from the 2nd string. All the newly promoted players were gathered on his tail.

They all walked quietly behind Thompson without talking or asking anything all the way from the training fields.

As they arrived inside the large hall filled with chairs, the eyes of the people in the room naturally got attracted towards them.

Heads were turned fixedly on Irvine and the rest's direction.

"Oh."

"The new players..."

"So those two are..."

*chatter* *chatter*

When the 3rd and 4th year's old regulars saw the faces of the new people coming in, some of them began to converse with one another.

They were expressing various opinions without bothering to mask or tone down their voices.

Fortunately,

Before the room could turn into a forum of unnecessary discussions regarding the new 1st string, a short-haired woman stood up from her seat and approached Thompson and the 7 of them.

She was followed by a hulking bald giant with height way more than 2 meters tall standing close to her. The two only stopped when they were just a couple paces away from the newly arrived players.

"Good afternoon, guys."

Except for Irvine and Medea who hadn't gotten acquainted with the 2 figures first-hand, the rest of the 7 people greeted the woman back at the same time with a seemingly rehearsed gesture.

""Good afternoon Captain!""

'So she's... Captain Renee Morgan.' Irvine thought in his mind.

'A player with higher position than The Baron in Ravenville, and yet was nowhere to be seen in the future Pro League...'

Before Irvine could stipulate further, the young woman's voice continued to come out.

"Since we have new faces here, I'm Renee Morgan, a senior. The Solver and current Captain of the Ravenville Illusions." She introduced herself,

"This is Baron, the Vice-captain and also our starting Guard on the team."

"..." The tall and bald man behind her simply nodded without saying anything.

"The Head Coach is yet to arrive, why don't all of you take a seat first." At the end, Renee simply pointed to the rows of chair in the room and slowly walked back to her seat.

""Yes Ma'am!""

But that didn't stop Derrick and the rest to reply with the same amount of enthusiasm. Once again, they all responded simultaneously.

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Taking a seat somewhere on the back of the room and with Medea beside him, Irvine continued his observations against the rest of the old regulars.

'Dan Young. And that's his twin Dennis... But where's--'

"Hello you two." A voice was suddenly heard from behind the two of them before Irvine could finish his thought.

As they turned their heads around, a person with sharp slit-shaped eyes was standing crookedly while leaning forward against their seats' backrest with his hands.

It was the exact person Irvine had been trying to locate previously.

Clint Silver.

Amongst all the people in the online roster that Irvine had looked through before, he was someone who'd be the most famous player in the future Pro League had Medea not come to Ravenville.

"Good afternoon." Irvine greeted back with a polite attitude while Medea just nodded along.

"I was so surprised when I heard that 2 out of the 7 Starseeds of the year joined Ravenville you know." The Ranger started speaking,

"Though, all that's left of the feeling's just excitement now." Clint was smiling wide as he spoke his lines.

"Thanks, I'm plenty honoured myself, truly."

Clint Silver's fighting style as a Ranger was one that was pretty unorthodox as well, so Irvine truly thought that the chances to learn from him was a great opportunity.

The skills and senses to synergize well with many different types of Rangers was something rather sought after in the pro scene.

When one had reached the level of the Pro League, there would be no more half-baked Rangers around. Most of them would be the Aces of their teams, calling the shots for each different match.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that a player who couldn't work well or keep up with his team's Rangers would not even be put in matches no matter how exceptional their skills were.

"You flatter me... You know, I'm probably the one person who've watched your two's recordings the most aside from the Head Coach," Clint spoke again,

"Can't be helped really, after all, one has a very peculiar playstyle while the other holds the same position as me."

Only at the mention of Clint's position did the quiet Medea finally react just enough to contribute to the conversation,

"You're Clint Silver?"

"...Ah?"

*pfft* Suddenly a held down laughter burst out from the seat upfront.

"Hahah! She didn't recognize you!" Dan Young who had been sitting quietly without looking back laughed out loud at the development happening behind him.

"...Well I guess it's sort of my fault." Clint smiled stiffly, holding back the veins threatening to pop on his forehead while looking at Dan's figure.

But without the mind to confront him immediately, he quickly turned back to the two freshmen directly in front of his nose and asked again,

"Hey, before the coach gets here, tell me. What do you two think about our chances in the upcoming Warrior and Silver Crown?"

'Nn?' Irvine looked at Clint in the eyes trying to discern his intentions with throwing such a question.

"...Well, we have a lot of homeworks for sure. And a very limited timeframe at that. But if chances could be calculated this early, there wouldn't be any need for matches at all right?" In the end, he chose to just answer with what he thought.

'Hmmm.'

"...And you?"

"...What he said."

"..." Clint couldn't do anymore follow-up with that kind of answer, but his smiling face didn't change one bit.

Actually, he had rather expected such a dominant attitude from a genius Starseed. After all, every one of them was someone who's pretty much at the top of their generation.

Rather, Clint thought that Irvine who's speaking very politely to everyone around him was the odd one here.

'Well it's good enough that one of them seems teachable.'

As Clint was thinking that, the door handle at the front of the conference room was turned and swung open.

*CLICK*

"Everybody take your seats." From outside the door, the Head Coach, Lark, had finally arrived.

He appeared through the front and was walking towards his usual podium with thick folders in his hand.

With his command, Clint also walked back to his seat, no longer standing around behind Irvine and Medea.

In front,

Lark only started scanning the whole room when he had finished taking his stance behind the podium.

"Everyone's here. Then we'll start the meeting on this year's Warrior Crown preparation." He seemed to not want to waste any words to either the older players or the newer additions.

His attitude was very different compared to when he was casually approaching Irvine during the first day of training.