The Gathering

Before the morning sun leaked its rays into the horizon, Acer was already wide awake, sitting on a couch in his dormitory while thinking of how much his life was messed up.

He swiftly ignored the chat between two of his dorm mates who were indulged in their conversation.

His head currently pondered on the next step he was going to take, and while hunting whoever did this to him was necessary, it still contributed nothing to reviving his mana core.

'What if the Elite Serenity want a physical display of what we can do… they definitely would!'

'Then I'm screwed!'

Lost in a fit of panic, Acer's mind only spiraled, paying deaf attention to his environs.

His dorm-mates, two boys looking at his age - one with an almost bald head, and the other with a brown curl, had stopped in the middle of their conversation, staring at their mate's eyes that only spoke horror.

"Acer! Any probs?" The brown-haired guy with curly hair asked – almost as if forced, still lying in the comfort of his lower bunk bed.

His other counterpart, however, sat up from the upper case of the bunk, staring intensely at Acer, "He doesn't look okay."

He added, "He's been like that since afternoon. Might be tensed about what's gonna happen in an hour."

Acer however lost in thought only heard the last two words of his roommate, 'An hour.'

Beads of sweat rolled from his forehead as his eyes shifted to the digital clock that rested on one of the desks in the room, '4:59 a.m!'

At the next second, Acer felt a cold touch on his shoulders, prompting him to jerk out from his gaze.

"Tensed?" The ghostly and huge palms that waved in front of Acer's eyes instantly vanished out of sight, and the teenager with a clean crew cut waved.

The boy - Alex kept stroking his pale beard, looted under a compassionate gaze.

The other - Luis, however, stared blankly at Acer, almost as if uninterested.

He had no reason to as they only communicated sparsely, the reason for Acer's nonchalance and tight routines.

But still, in all the four years they'd lived together, Acer had never looked the way he currently did.

"T-tens.. Tensed?" Acer was barely able to make out a word.

He looked at Alex with teary eyes hidden in the darkness of the room.

"Yeah," Luis responded, "Thought you'were more tough."

Acer formed up a chuckle, his cheeks high like he found the words humorous.

"You definitely ain't alright." Alex schemed in his own words, ignoring Luis who laid back on his bed bearing a sinful frown on his face.

Both were irked by Acer's softened reaction towards the meeting with the Elite Serenity. But while he decided to be more lenient, Luis obviously felt exhausted.

Both he – Luis, and Alex were mage students of class 6B, two years above Acer, and yet they and everyone in their class were tripled over by him.

"Being fucking soft 'cause of that. Pfft! Little piece of shit." After which, Luis decided to not utter a word but to listen.

"The academy restocked the library though. And they increased the amount of Skill shelves." Alex said,

"You could learn a pretty decent skill there!"

Acer's mind blackened for a second, and he turned to Alex with a shady stare, "The shelves were restocked?"

"Yeah! All the books were transferred to a local library in Moorloch and replaced with new ones."

Acer remained silent afterward.

The revelation caused him and headache, confirming his suspicion that he had been set up.

"Still, you look different… and certainly tensed – like extremely." Alex added.

A pale silence towered the square room at the calm gaze of the lads – one staring at his disturbed roommate, and the other at the green bold numbers on a digital clock.

'5:53 a.m?'

Time traveled rather quickly as even Acer looked stunned by how fifty minutes clocked with what seemed like a blink.

He stood from the couch, dressed in his school uniform that was now equipped with a three-set of star-shaped clips.

Although embarrassed to adorn the item, it was compulsory for something such as a meeting with important officials.

It would set him apart from his peers as a three-starred student - a representation of his functionality in the academy.

Slowly, he walked to the brown door, ignoring the first ray of morning sun that began to illuminate the room.

"Good luck!"

He heard Alex's farewell once he exited the vicinity, headed for the school field as instructed.

But unfortunately, the farewells would have been useless - unable to negate the fact that he was moving toward his doom.

When Acer reached the green plain whose area stretched above a hectare, he sighted a massive gathering somewhere amidst the field.

Each students were dressed in their uniform, tightly gathered together and even creating an excited chatter.

A cold caressed his skin pores as he walked into the crowd, his midnight eyes almost reflecting the sun's rays.

He wished he felt the excitement that boiled in the other students, but unfortunately, all he felt was a panic attack that threatened to destroy the poker composure he managed to attain.

He glanced at Adam who stood calmly in front of the students - a three-starred clip also adorned on his shirt.

"Students!"

From thin air, a man with a pale blonde beard and hair appeared in front of them - in the company of seven other adults behind him.

A single word from his pale pink lips ceased the immaculate chatters on the field, leaving the students attentive to his authoritative demeanor.

He was the principal - Mister Ferron, striking at gaze in his stunning purple robe atop a heavenly-looking costume, only deserving for a wealthy and spectacular guild master.

The teachers behind him, be they male or female looked no different, although less striking in their modern shirt, trousers, and boots, nicely designed and armed with multiple metallic parts.

The students, though impressed by the parade still gazed around, searching for the entities who caused the gathering.

"There are more than thirty of you here! Respectively chosen from your class."

"But the Elite Serenity needs only a maximum of twelve students… all from a mix of the various faculties."

All the students nodded at the reveal. It was sensible for the Elite Serenity to not want a crowd because, in the end, barely more than five students would be chosen.

"From the Martial Artists, Nicholas Denson, and Robin Kerman!"

Mister Ferron's cold gaze glanced at both students and he called the name from memory.

Both boys looked excited once the revelation unfolded, but upon their immense excitement, few other students could only feel dejected, and hate at them with scornful looks.

"From the Tech-Bots, Cairo Kan, and Adrien Pol."

"Spencer Black, Miller Jonathan, and Emily Penn from the Soul Artist."

"And finally from the Mage Class,"

Acer's heart constricted. He wished for only one thing now, he wouldn't be called. That would protect him from an embarrassing future.

The principal gazed at the crowd of students who were steaming in an assemblage of emotions.

"after many streamlining, Luis Miguel, Yung Chinto, Adam Coe, Acer Pierce, and Larry Jonas."

Acer looked down at the ground, already at the peaking of wailing out loud.

"I'm so screwed." He mumbled, wanting to say something, though not at the hearing of his mates.

"At the round off of that," The principal heaved a breath, "All other students can retire to this dormitory!"