New Start

The alarm clock went off, and Alexandre woke as easily as he always did. He was surprised to realize that there was an unfamiliar emotion tumbling around in his head and chest, an emotion he hadn't felt in years. It was the feeling that children have when summer vacation is over and the new school year is about to begin, the feeling that something new and life-changing is about to begin.

With this furtive excitement within him, Alexandre got up, took a shower, and packed his belongings. He left the room key on his pillow and left, heading for the breakfast buffet with an empty belly.

As he walked through the hotel halls, Alexandre recognized a lot of other first-year students. That made sense, as the second and third-year students would long since have been situated in the huge castle that served as the academy campus.

Alexandre ate his fill of fresh fruit, pancakes, and a ham-and-egg scramble that had been sitting out for too long and had begun to get dry. Nonetheless, he was grateful for the huge number of calories his Hunter body needed to function. 

After eating, he left the hotel. This facility wasn't like his previous, luxurious one in Hunter's Paradise, but a hotel that was close to Hunter Academy for the sake of accommodating students. It was close to the academy, and that had been the most important trait to Alexandre for this morning. The previous day, he'd received a text message that he had to be at the academy by 6 a.m. sharp, and that any latecomers would be dismissed without another chance.

It was still dark when Alexandre and dozens of other students left, but as he walked to the academy, the sun began to rise, spreading its amber rays over the treetops and spilling down onto the road. It was like the world itself was rolling out a carpet for the new Hunters.

They moved quickly, and barely ten minutes later, Alexandre arrived at the main gate of the academy. As before, it was guarded by members of the Academy Militia. Alexandre showed his student ID and was allowed inside, where a large crowd of young people dressed in civilian clothes were already gathered. Rather than talking to anyone, Alexandre found a seat on a stone bench that was a good distance from everyone else and simply observed the scene. He checked his watch. "Still ten minutes to go," he muttered.

The first-years continued to stream into the main courtyard until a muffled noise blared through the loudspeakers in the four corners of the courtyard. Then a man's voice rang out, "First-years! Get in line for the Headmaster's arrival!"

Everyone made a mad dash to line up before the Headmaster arrived. Alexandre did the same. As he came into close range of the other students, he noticed something that surprised him.

Many of these first-year students had more serious expressions than they'd had during the exams. It seemed that the students who had gotten to this point had come to terms with the severity of their decisions, and had furthermore realized that things wouldn't be any easier from now on. Those who had survived the trials and were now standing inside the academy's walls were variously the strongest, the most determined, and the most intelligent that the candidate pool had to offer. Though most of the people wore normal civilian clothes, some already wore armor or carried weapons.

Not long after the line had formed, several people emerged from one of the academy's inner buildings and mounted a nearby speaking platform. Alexandre immediately recognized General Pantherson and Professor Omega, but there were also quite a few unfamiliar faces.

General Pantherson leaned close to the microphone and began to speak.