Chapter 23- Game. Set. On.

Guilds were a familiar term that Paxton was aware of, though the purpose of the organization was different from others. 

There were a total of ten, starting from the top three down to the last three, with different bodies of Players directly under them. 

Starting from number one was the Regal Hall, then the Trojan Hall, Radiant Hall, Violet Hemlock, Dahlia Alliance, Hollow Whisperer Clan, Moonglow Haven, Guardians of the Black Basilisk, Sunny Peak, and the Mistfit Guild. 

The reasons for their names were related to the Guild Masters and their lieutenants, and the Ranking of Guilds was determined by a tournament, something that occurred once every seven years. Of course, the top five were owned by the seven Developers. 

'Though, the next one will be six years from now'. 

Ruby's gaze flicked at Ryan's statement, her curiosity perching up. "Which did you think he was going for?" She wondered. 

"Probably the Trojan Hall; I heard his father works for the Bolyx Household," Bryan answered with a yawn. 

With the exit of one of them and some others, four of the students were left in the Building. 

"Oh," Ruby muttered as she glanced at him. "Aren't you going to meet the President? He asked you guys to go see him". 

Bryan groaned lightly, his expression turning difficult to discern. 

"I don't know…it's difficult to trust these people. They didn't even give us any information….I know they said we can't enter the test with prior information". 

His gaze glanced at some students that remained. 

All members of the Developer families. 

"But I feel like the developers have a way of finding a loophole. How else would they continue to foster legendary and mystic heroes". 

Paxton raised a brow as he glanced at Bryan. He was impressed by his statement. 'He really uses his brain'. He thought when he heard footsteps approaching them. 

His sensitive ears picked up the sound really quickly, causing him to turn around. 

"Mr. Rodis is on his way…let's prepare to leave since we're staying…" he turned back to Bryan. "It is your choice in the end, but do what's best for you. We will be in a new world soon, surrounded by glitches with unfathomable strength. Priorities your growth….for now". 

With that, he stood up, heading towards the door. He might as well get this over with so he could test out his character. 

He had been edging to change his appearance to that of his battle character and test out its abilities. Wasting time would only increase his impatience. 

Ruby and Flora, startled by his sudden action, quickly stood up to follow after him. 

Bryan hesitated for a moment, his gaze shifting between her and some players that headed to the President's office. 

'The president must be giving us a choice…..choose to hide your number of character slots or be open about it'. 

It was common for players to show off their multiple slots by changing to the different battle characters, but that was only when they were strong enough to protect themselves. 

'After all, additional slots can be stolen…' 

He sighed, stood up, straightened his resolve, and headed towards the Chairman's office. 

While he went his way, Paxton, Ruby, and Flora arrived in front of Mr. Rodis in front of the escalators. Other players were seen using the escalator to exit the Building while some representatives were with other players who had decided to stay. 

Mr. Rodis glanced at the three Players, a smile forming on his face. 

"Your principal and teacher are aware of your good news and decided to leave," he said with a soft chuckle. 

"They weren't happy about the death of Ronny and Bum though?" Paxton asked. 

Mr. Rodis breathed heavily, scratching the side of his neck as he walked past them. 

"Come with me; let me take you to your rooms." 

Paxton glanced at Ruby and Flora, their puzzled glances fixed on him. 

He shrugged and walked after Mr. Rodis as the two girls glanced at each other, sighed, and walked after them. 

"Did Ryan make it before they left?" Ruby asked, her tone laced with curiosity. 

"No. It seemed like he went with another school….something about joining a guild?" 

"Oh….he's going headfirst into that, huh?" Flora muttered, her tone laced with intrigue. 

"....sometimes losing a friend or two is the push we need to get our shit together….sadly, it works". 

Mr. Rodis sighed as they walked into a corner to an elevator. 

He tapped the button and walked in as the door slid open, while the others went in after him. 

Soon, the elevator descended. 

"What kind of room is it?" Paxton asked. "And where are we receiving lectures? I heard there will be training as well" 

Mr. Rodis chuckled lightly. "All those will be resolved with time, Paxton. There are facilities for sleeping, training, and eating, and all this will be provided for free within the time allocation". 

Ruby glanced at the flora, their gazes filled with curiosity. 

"Can we call our parents?" 

"I assumed you came in with your phones?" Mr. Rodis asked with a raised brow. 

Paxton nodded, pulling his hands in his pocket and checking for his phone. '....right here…not that I need it'. 

Ruby and Flora though, we're left in a bind. 

"We left ours on the bus". Ruby explained. 

"Oh….then I'll have to call your teacher to get them tomorrow…for now…make use of the phone provided in your rooms". 

They both nodded when the elevator suddenly dinged, followed by the door opening. 

Coming out, they walked down a hall where other Players like them were seen with their Representatives and headed towards the end. 

At the end, there were two corridors, one painted blue and the other pink. 

"I assume you know which is which?" Mr. Rodis asked as he turned to the students, pulling out some keys from his pocket. 

His gaze suddenly flickered in realize/ion. 

"Where's Bryan?" He asked. 

"He went over to the Chairman's office". Ruby replied while Mr. Rodis widened his eyes in shock. 

'....that would mean…he obtained more than one slot?' He wondered, but he preferred to be certain. 

"How many slots?" He asked. 

The three players glanced at each other before replying in unison. "Two". 

Mr. Rodis nearly fell from the surprise, his body jerking in excitement. '...the probability….the probability of two slots is 49%! 49!'. He thought as he adjusted himself, coughing out lightly. 

"Well, good for him. You guys are not any less. Ruby, you have a legendary battle card; Flora, you have an epic; and Paxton, a Heroic…..Damn. What does that school teach you?!" 

He blurted out the last statement absentmindedly but shook his head to snap himself to reality. 

"A–Anyways….be on your way". 

After distributing the keys to them, they all said their goodbyes in their different ways and walked away. 

Paxton just nodded while they waved at him, Mr. Rodis remaining in the middle while they left. 

A few seconds passed and he suddenly skipped in the air as he walked towards the elevator, a player staring at him in surprise. 

'Hell Yeah! I'm getting promoted tonight!'. 

****

From What Paxton observes, the rooms were like cubicles, placed side by side in multiple rows. 

He couldn't have guessed how many, since his surroundings were extremely technological with iron-like ceilings and walls. 

His gaze caught the attention of other Male new players like him, but he couldn't care less about socializing. 

With a certain goal, he searched for a white door with the number 107 and soon found it; well, it took a while, but he was quick on his feet. 

He placed the card near the entrance of the door as a scanner beeped and scanned through the card before a click echoed and the door opened. 

On entering, the door closed behind him and the lights turned on automatically. 

Thin, almost imperceptible strips of LED lights were attached to the alloy roofing, serving as the source of radiance that brought life into the room.

There, he found a single bed with a white sheet at the edge, a cell phone on a drawer next to it, a door on the opposite side of the room, and an open space in the middle. 

'Not bad…Not bad at all'. He thought, a small smile forming on his lips as he walked towards the open space. 

"Alright….how do they turn on the characters again?" He muttered, as his thoughts reeled in. There was a sentence that Players needed to say to activate their character, a popular term used a lot in the Tournaments. 

"Oh yeah". He muttered as he stretched his hands forward. "Game. Set. On".