Grouping up!

Tap! Tap!

The dead silent room was filled with Pedro's taps on his phone while waiting inside room 405, Pedro checked the forums to pass some time. A pinned post caught his attention immediately.

[Server Announcement!]

The open beta phase will proceed tonight at 9:00 pm, GMT +8! Thank you for your efforts in playing for the past two days. As compensation for turning the Closed Beta phase to Open Beta phase on such short notice, your existing characters, and the overall game progress would not be deleted and reset.

Also, A system update would occur at 12:00 noon, GMT + 8! The servers would be down until the Open Beta phase launch! To settle you're existing accounts, we allow Closed Beta players to log in tonight, ahead of time at 8:00 pm, GMT +8!

Given this opportunity, the game company requests that you lead the players in exploring Bearth! To support you further on this conquest, this forum would only available among closed beta players and a Developer Hosted Item Auction would be hosted after three 'real-world' days! This is only available to closed beta players and any item bought from the auction would be soul bound to the character! For more information about the auction please refer to the DHIA post.

Good day!

...

'Yes!' He chuckled inwardly. He was not worried about the character deletion since the whole game would be reset. He can just repeat all the things he had done and get the same progress. The only loss he would gain was the random generated skills and rewards.

Creek!

The door opened and made a sound that broke the silence in the room and got Pedro's attention. A cute girl, around 20 years old, wearing glasses and a typical shirt and jeans peak slightly inside the room. She had black hair and tan colored skin.

'Pedro? He's early! Must be because of the announcement' The girl smiled at Pedro as she went and sat opposite to Pedro's side.

'Sabrina always arrive ahead of time!' He recalled that the girl was the one who always arrives first whenever he goes to the university early accidentally in his past life. Pedro waved his hands in response as he returned back to his phone.

Minutes later, their classmates arrived one by one.

Creek!

The door opened and a man wearing a yellow hoodie and jeans entered the room. He looked lost and was looking for someone. When he spotted Pedro, He walked towards him and continued to play the Portable Game Console, PGC, he held in his hands.

Pedro lifted his bag and the man wearing yellow hoodie sat beside him.

"Still playing first gen. games, Aldo?" Pedro uttered as his attention was caught on the PGC of Aldo.

"Yeah! I just finished a couple of them, this past week! I could have finished more, If not for the need to personally go to the university for some 'announcements'!" Aldo was a bit irritated and his pressing of the buttons in his PGC. His actions caught the attention of many of their classmates.

"Yo... If it isn't Mr. Weird!" A good looking guy walks to Aldo with a smug in his face. Two other guys walked behind him with a mocking look.

'I pity Aldo! He's gonna get humiliated again!' The two guys behind the good looking guy smirked too each other.

The good looking guy grabs the left shoulder of Aldo and slowly tightens his grasp. Instinctively, Aldo tried to stand and fight back. Unfortunately, When Aldo was about to stand the guy pulled Aldo back to his chair.

'What a guy... He can only talk with his disgusting attitude!' Their other classmates, mostly girls, gossip around as they look at Aldo with disgust.

"You!" Aldo could only glance at the guy with anger. He struggled and tried to punch the guy in full force.

Swooosh!

Pedro pulled Aldo sidewards as the guy escaped Aldo's full force punch by a hair's breadth. Pedro stood up and gestured Aldo to stop.

"It's quite a busy day for our professors, Lukas! Let's not add up to their problems, shall we?" Pedro uttered in a calm demeanor as he pulls Aldo away from the Lukas and his two friends.

"Tsk... Tell your friend to behave his self! I wouldn't mind causing trouble if he acts up again!" Lukas turned around and sat to their seats at the back of the classroom.

'You're lucky that the son of the president of a company was your friend!' Lukas stared at Aldo as he seat.

"Just play your PGC! It wouldn't be wise to cause trouble now!" Pedro and Aldo sat back to their chair. On the opposite corner of the room, cute girl with glasses chatted with her friend and occasionally looking to Pedro and Aldo.

Minutes later, Engr. Garcia entered the room and started the briefing.

"Professor! can you announce it quick? I need to go home fast to do something!" Aldo shamelessly uttered to Engr. Garcia.

'This guy! Something's wrong with him...' Engr. Garcia could only shake his head feeling that Aldo has some case of Autism.

"As I have said earlier to some of you, even us don't know anything about the announcement! What I am going to tell you was to make a group of five and make sure that you all head to the University Arena in an orderly manner. Now, we were instructed that the group of five should at least have one boy or girl in it and be sitting next to each other in the University Arena. Decide your groups now! I'll just get my things in the faculty room and we'll head together to the University Arena!" Engr. Garcia gave no chance to the students to ask a follow-up question and immediately left the room.

'This is troublesome... why not let the students head straight to the University Arena!' Engr. Garcia scratched his head as he walks towards the faculty room.

...

Bag!

The door slammed closed as Engr. Garcia Left the room. Pedro's classmates erupted and started to panic selecting group mates. However, Aldo and Pedro remained calm on their seats. Pedro was contemplating things while Aldo was uninterested.

'If my memory was right... this group of five was a battle team that will contend to other battle teams to get the right to represent their school in the National Student Bearth Competition! Although I need to choose the best teammates, these hastened events were due to my actions or the so-called butterfly effect! Hence, anyone among them will do! I don't want that same old me who depended on sheer luck and others. If I am gonna win... I want to be confident that I can do it alone!' Pedro has no problem of who his teammates would be, he aimed to be the best player on Bearth. If he couldn't even face an enemy of five alone, how can he even face an army of the enemy, even a god! Hence, he had a resolve that no matter who his teammates were, he must be able to fight even alone.

"Sis... What should we do! Almost all other groups were complete! We lack two more members more!" Sabrina's friend asked her and another girl, that was in their 'group'.

"We lack one more!" Lukas shouted in the classroom as his group composed of him, the two guys who were with him and a beautiful Filipina girl lacked one last member.

The third girl from Sabrina's group gazed towards Aldo, then switched back to Lukas and his group.

"I'm sorry Sabrina and Loren... I'll join Lukas' group!" She bowed slightly and approached Lukas' group.

"Kel..." Sabrina's friend could only wear a grim look as if their fate was sealed. Her gaze was now only focused on Pedro and Aldo who were the only ones left with no group.

"I'll join you guys!" Kelly uttered as soon as she joined Lukas' group.

"Sabrina and Loren sure are unlucky... Although Pedro was a fine groupmate, Aldo..."

"Shh... do you want to cause another ruckus? Others might hear you!"

Their classmates who had a settled group could only glance to Sabrina and Loren with pity.

"It can't be helped then!" Sabrina smirked inwardly as she walked towards Pedro.