Something felt amiss.

Not long ago, Jack, a boy who had escaped from the Star of Nagran's southern stronghold, now a successful candidate in the first round test of the Cavalry's second recruitment, looked at the scenes unfolding before his eyes and thought to himself.

'It seems like things are going well, but why does something feel off?'

To the boy, yesterday seemed like a day where all hardships were washed away, leaving only success.

He had successfully escaped from the base with his older brothers and sisters who were with him from the west, arriving at Charloin without anyone getting hurt, and confidently submitted his application to the Cavalry. He was very nervous just before entering the branch building, but the anxiety disappeared like washed away after receiving the first round acceptance.

Later, returning to the lodging, the owner suddenly said, “With many visitors to the city, we are running out of space. Either pay more, or you'll have to leave,” which did strain his finances, but luckily, he found a good solution.

In this bustling southern metropolis, there existed a betting arena where anyone could earn money by winning fights.

With no difficult rules to follow and just winning to earn money! For them, who had survived the harsh western jungles and even faced monsters, this seemed all too easy.

'We owe a lot to Dagon and the others for bringing us this far. It's our turn to repay them! I just need enough money to stay until the final pass of the second test. A few fights should do it. It won't take long, and nobody will notice.'

Jack went to the place with several other Awakeners of similar age. Upon learning they were Awakeners, the arena suggested they participate in an exclusive fight for Awakeners. Apparently, it was much riskier for non-Awakeners to fight against Awakeners, hence the separate arena, and the prize money for winning was incomparably higher there.

'This should be enough with just one fight!'

The young, naive Awakener, not yet tainted by the world, excitedly agreed to participate and signed the contract. The manager, Regina, who helped them with the contract, seemed somewhat distrustful of their ability, asking several times, “Can you really fight?”

It was fine. Once they saw them fight, they would realize how needless their worries were.

'So, it was good to come here today under the pretext of looking around the lodging...'

Regina, whom they met yesterday, had taken the first-time participants to the underground waiting room for fighters. Seeing their faces, she made a slightly complex expression and said, 'Well, now that you're here, you have to figure out the rest,' and then she took the lead.

From that moment, Jack felt a subtle sense of strangeness.

Upon arriving in the waiting room, they received slightly embarrassing clothing, like something out of an old tale. They were told to wear it because today's fight was set in ancient times. The costume, revealing the chest, belly, and legs, seemed odd, but they wore it, thinking it was just for once.

While they struggled with the clothes they had never worn before, Regina was also very busy moving around.

"It should be about time for them to come up. Why haven't they yet? Something's odd..."

Looking at the inner door of the waiting room, Regina kept saying something felt strange. Jack approached her and asked quietly.

"What feels strange to you?"

Regina suddenly turned around, startled. For a moment, her figure seemed to blur and distort before becoming clear again, leaving Jack blinking in confusion.

What was that? But before he could voice his question, she warned him with an uncharacteristically cold face.

"Sorry, but it's a very busy time right now. Could you refrain from approaching without notice? You might startle someone enough to get stabbed to death in a place like this."

"Ah, yes... I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. The problem lies with the participants who haven't arrived yet."

"Ah... So we weren't the last ones?"

"Of course not. If there was a problem, we would have been notified. But I can't go beyond this point..."

Regina, with her hand on her forehead, murmured something, her eyes darkening for a moment. Jack felt a chilling sensation, but she soon regained her composure.

"Anyway, this is not something first-time participants like you should worry about."

Jack acknowledged her statement, but internally, he still felt something was off.

What was this feeling? His friends and he were here in this grand and magnificent place for just one fight to earn some money and leave. But everything, from the attitude of Regina, the manager, to the atmosphere of this space, felt strangely eerie.

He was about to express his uneasy feeling to his friends when the door to the waiting room opened.

Several people entered all at once, their experienced aura indicating they had spent a lot of time in a place like this. The eyes of the first-time participants widened in awe.

'Wow... Are we supposed to fight against these people?'

Suddenly, the monsters they faced in the great wilderness seemed trivial. While Jack and his friends were feeling intimidated, Regina approached them. It seemed these were the 'yet-to-arrive participants' she mentioned.

She looked around the back of the participants as if searching for someone, then sighed in frustration.

"Did they send up the participants and go off to drink again..."

Apparently, another manager who was supposed to escort them hadn't shown up, and that annoyed her. Regina counted the newcomers with a sharp gaze. They all looked extremely dark and exhausted, brimming with a killing intent.

Jack felt an indescribable chill as he observed them, all silent as if bound by a rule of absolute silence.

'...Why does this feel so wrong? Is this arena really okay?'

Suddenly, he felt a piercing gaze. Turning, he saw it came from a particularly grim figure among the silent Awakeners, wearing a dark hood, exuding an ominous presence.

'What... Why is he staring at me?'

It felt like a persistent, sharp gaze, as if he had caught something that shouldn't be there.

Jack, overwhelmed by the intense and frightening scrutiny, the likes of which he had never felt before, discreetly hid among the others. He sincerely hoped that this dark-hooded Awakener wouldn't be his opponent in the fight.

"Everyone's here now."

After counting all the participants, Regina clapped her hands to gather attention and began briefing them on several points. Her words, seemingly rehearsed and emotionless, appeared well-packaged on the surface but subtly implied, 'If you die here, the arena is not responsible.'

"Right next to this place is the weapons depot. Participants who need weapons can choose from there. Once the fight starts, those who are called can head out. There's no one to guide the proceedings; you'll figure it out once you go out. That concludes my role here."

Regina no longer smiled. Turning her back on the participants, she left without any formal farewell, her demeanor as cold and unceremonious as could be.

As if she would never see them again...

The waiting room, now left only with the participants, became as quiet as the depths of the ocean. Jack, rubbing his sweat-dampened palms on his trouser legs, seriously considered whether he could still withdraw from the fight.

'...But I can't. Dagon and the others have put in so much effort to bring us here...'

Jack reflected on how much he and the others owed to Dagon and their older companions. He also thought of their happy faces when they would return with the money earned here.

'My parents abandoned me, calling me a monster, but my brothers and sisters accepted me. I can't run away. How can I become a Cavalry member with the spirit of someone who runs away even here?'

Clenching his fists, he looked around and saw other Awakeners from the Star of Nagran nodding in agreement. They took deep breaths and wished each other good luck.

Suddenly, the sound of a large instrument burst from the concealed stage, accompanied by a noise like exploding fireworks. Enthusiastic cheers penetrated even the waiting room.

Startled, Jack quickly calmed his racing heart with a hand pressed to his chest.

'I just hope I'm not the first one up...'

"The first up is~!! A special guest that everyone here is eagerly awaiting~ The second gender! The second gender Awakener~!!!"

Exclamations of surprise, cheers, applause.

And then, Jack looked up in shock.

'Second gender Awakener? Who is that?'

The answer came quickly from a loud voice echoing from afar.

"Whether he's an Omega or an Alpha, you'll see with your own eyes! His name is, Yudrain!"

"..."

In the waiting room, cold as if in another world, one person let out a low, short breath. It sounded almost like a scoff. Turning his head, Jack realized that it was the same Awakener who had earlier stared at him for no apparent reason, and his shoulders tensed in alarm.

'That person...?'