Chương 34: A Table for Four

Ch 34 - A Table for Four A loud metallic clang echoed throughout the entire area. At the same time, everyone's attention shifted toward the source of the commotion. At the center of it all stood two participants. One of them held his sheathed sword to his right, effortlessly blocking the slash of another sheathed sword wielded by the participant standing directly behind him. What made it even more impressive was that the boy in front blocked the attack without ever looking back.

The two participants looked incredibly young, probably somewhere between thirteen and fifteen years old. One of them wore a full set of battle gear that looked expensive and high quality, although his face itself was nothing particularly impressive. The other, however... It was obvious at a glance that he came from a wealthy family.

"A fight before the selection test has even started? This is going to be interesting."

"Yeah, I want to see how this ends."

"What actually happened?"

"Not sure, but it looked like the kid from House Valcrest attacked that unknown boy first."

"He blocked the attack without even looking behind him? How's that even possible?"

"That's not even the strangest part. That boy pulled out his sword from nowhere. Does he have a Dimensional Storage?"

"No way. He doesn't look like someone who could afford an item that expensive."

"Exactly. There's no way someone like him owns a Dimensional Storage." As the crowd continued watching, several of the blond boy's companions began moving. They approached from both the left and right, slowly surrounding Zeph.

"Look who's trying to act tough." Zeph kept his sword in place. He had no intention of lowering it while the blond boy still had his weapon raised against him.

"I was clearly the one who got attacked first. If you really want to take this further, I'll deal with it. But don't get it twisted. Everything I've done so far has been purely defensive." The blond-haired boy behind him immediately shouted again.

"You started it, you idiot! You weren't watching where you were going, and you kicked my leg."

"My apologies if simply walking managed to offend Young Master. Maybe Young Master should try sitting properly next time." The sarcastic reply instantly triggered the blond-haired boy. His expression twisted with anger as he grabbed the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it completely.

"You really don't know your place. That mouth of yours is going to get you killed." Before he could do anything, one of his companions grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"Calm down. We can finish this after everything here is over. He's just a nobody. We'll make sure he learns exactly where he belongs." Zeph only responded with a faint smirk before lowering his sword. A moment later, the blade dissolved into countless particles of dark energy before disappearing completely. The entire crowd froze. Even the blond-haired boy stared with wide eyes. After all, a Dimensional Storage was an incredibly valuable item.

Its price alone put it out of reach for most people, and it was extremely rare for anyone below Rank 3 to own one unless they came from a powerful family or had been lucky enough to obtain one from a Rift.

"He actually has a Dimensional Storage."

"Is he from some famous family? His clothes don't have any family insignia."

"Maybe he stole it."

"If it was stolen, there's no way he'd openly use it in front of this many people."

"Could it be some other kind of artifact? I've never seen anything like that before."

"That doesn't make sense either. Artifacts with similar functions are just as rare."

"Then... who exactly is that kid?" Zeph was still standing there in silence, not even bothering to look back at the group that had been trying to provoke him with all their pointless remarks. Eventually, they wore annoyed expressions before giving up and returning to their own seats. The conversations around the room slowly picked up again. A few people looked disappointed that the argument they had clearly been hoping for never went any further.

Still, quite a few of them seemed convinced that the conflict would continue once everyone reached the Selection Test Ground. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. As the attention on Zeph gradually faded away, he finally started walking again, hoping to find any table with an empty seat. That was all he wanted. There was no way he was going to walk from table to table asking if anyone was willing to let him join their group. But...

Why was every single table already full? He glanced to the left, then to the right, searching once more. Someone was waving a hand high in the air. He turned away and started walking toward another direction instead. Wait... was that person actually waving at him? He stopped again and looked toward the table where three people, each wearing outfits that looked completely different from one another, were sitting together.

The one waving at him was a girl who had even stood up from her seat, enthusiastically motioning for him to come over. Zeph tilted his head in confusion. The girl immediately nodded with a small smile, as if to say, Yes, I'm calling you. Okay, it looked like a bunch of people who hadn't found groups had gathered at the same table and were inviting him to join them as well. Well, that was perfectly fine. It was definitely better than ending up with nowhere to sit.

Zeph started walking, passing one table after another while clearly feeling the stares from several people following him wherever he went. This was annoying. He probably shouldn't have responded to that idiot's provocation earlier. But somehow... he actually didn't mind doing things like that. It was more like, if someone wanted to fight, then sure, let's fight.... Yeah. He seriously needed to sort out whatever was going on inside his head. Because lately, he had been feeling more and more obsessed with battles.

Like, he genuinely enjoyed the thrill and tension of a real fight. The pressure, the struggle to survive, the moments of despair, the pain, the uncertainty. For some reason... all of it fascinated him. Was it because of the Core he possessed? Or had he always been this kind of person? He eventually stopped in front of the table where the girl had called him over. She was still standing there, waiting.

"Join us over here. You don't have a place to sit, right?" the girl said, offering her hand.

"Yes. I need a place to sit too," Zeph replied, not taking her hand right away.

"My name is Suki," the girl introduced herself.

"Zeph." Only then did Zeph nod and shake her hand. She was wearing simple, practical light armor, while her long black hair was tied halfway up at the back of her head.

"Zeph? Alright, that's a pretty cute name," she said with a smile. She gestured for Zeph to take the empty seat beside her, where two other people were already sitting. After sitting down, Zeph only gave the other two a brief glance without bothering to remember anything about their faces or appearances.

"Let me introduce them to you, Zeph," Suki said, looking toward the other two. Then again, it would have been strange if they had been sitting at the same table without introducing themselves first. Zeph finally turned toward the boy sitting directly across from him. He looked about the same age as Zeph, with blond hair and a pair of glasses resting on his nose.

"My name's Malon." Zeph nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Melon."

"... Sorry?"

"Melon. That's a pretty interesting name." Suki let out a quiet laugh beside him.

"It's Malon. M-A-L-O-N."

"Ah, right. I heard Melon. Sorry." In truth, Zeph had heard the name perfectly. He had just felt like making a dumb joke, even though he knew it wasn't particularly funny. The boy adjusted his glasses and lowered his head slightly.

"Well, it's okay. It's not the first time someone's called me Melon. Although I know you did it on purpose. You clearly heard my name." Hm. Zeph studied him for a moment. This one seemed... smart. Or maybe he just wanted people to think he was smart. Either way, the glasses definitely gave him the impression of a bookworm. Not a bad thing, honestly. Having someone like that on the team could be useful. A walking library was never a bad addition. Suki then pointed toward the last person at the table.

Zeph shifted his gaze to the boy sitting beside Melon. No. Beside Malon. The guy was almost twice Malon's size. Judging from his appearance, he was probably around eighteen, but he was far too chubby for an Awakener.

"Hello, Zeph. My name's Hugh. It's nice to meet all of you. I hope we can get along." His voice was calm, and he gave off the impression of someone who was easygoing and pleasant to be around. It was a complete contrast to his enormous, chubby build. However… His name was Hugh? Seriously? Zeph almost responded with another terrible joke, but he stopped himself. Instead, he simply smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too, Hugh. I hope we get along." With the introductions out of the way, Zeph realized his assumption had been correct. The three of them had only just met each other as well. It was an interesting combination, considering how different their personalities already seemed.

"So, Zeph, have you heard anything about this Selection Test?"

"No. I don't know anything." Suki smiled before turning toward Malon.

"Malon, can you tell us everything again? Start from the beginning. You were talking way too fast earlier, so I barely understood half of it." She laughed softly.

"Besides, now that Zeph's here, we can all hear it together. Or do you think we should wait until we have another person?" Malon's serious gaze shifted from Hugh to Zeph, then finally to Suki. His eyes moved thoughtfully for a moment before he slowly shook his head.

"Four people might seem like a small group compared to the others, but I think we can manage with the team we have. A smaller group is easier to coordinate, especially when we're working with people we've only just met. Bringing in another stranger would only make things more complicated." Oh. So Malon was the analytical type. Interesting. Zeph gave a slight nod, genuinely curious to hear what the boy had figured out.

Malon cleared his throat before lowering his voice slightly, though it was still loud enough for everyone at the table to hear.

"Sorry if I have to bring this up," he said, "but I'm open to hearing everyone's opinion, especially now that Zeph is sitting with us." Zeph? Why him? He stayed quiet and continued listening.

"It's already common knowledge that the Hunter Association encourages every student to become both a capable fighter and someone who can fit into any kind of team. Because of that, it's normal for people during the Selection Test to form groups as quickly as possible. They'll also try their best to eliminate groups with fewer members, or even people who don't have a group at all." Zeph unconsciously straightened his back. That was exactly what had been happening.

The groups with more members had already started provoking those who were alone.

"Now, Malon," Suki said, "explain it to us. Why do you think four people are enough for us? Most groups have at least five or six members. Even expedition parties usually have a minimum of five. Aren't you worried that we should recruit one more person?" Malon shook his head.

"We might have needed a fifth member before," he replied.

"But not anymore. Not after Zeph joined our table." The moment his name was mentioned again, Zeph's attention sharpened.

"And why does Zeph change that, Malon?" Hugh asked, voicing the question for everyone. Not that Zeph was curious about the answer or anything. Alright, maybe he was. Just a little.