翁公和媛媛在厨房里猛烈进出

Know your enemy better than yourself.

That was a line I took to heart... and one that I could actually use, considering I had read and followed the adventures of the very characters I was fighting for over two years.

Slumping into bed, I glanced at the windowsill where my cat was sleeping before closing my eyes.

Tomorrow was the first day of official recruitment, and my days of relaxation would come to an end.

...

...

...

Awoken by the sun\'s rays beaming down on my face and the sound of chirping birds from outside the window, I sighed.

It was false!

Today was the first day of snow, yet the sun was still shining as brightly as ever, and clouds were not even visible in the light blue sky.

Not only that, but light blue skies and bright suns usually represent a good day, but I was sure this was going to be the opposite!

Shaking my head, I walked over to the kitchen before preparing a quick meal for my cat, which was still asleep in its bed.

Washing my hands, I headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready.

Putting my academy uniform on and tightening the collar around my neck, I glanced at the clock out of the corner of my eye.

Thankfully, I was on time and had some spare time.

Though I wasn\'t planning on getting recruited, the people in our classrooms would be powerful people with tons of connections, so arriving late and making them have a bad first impression of me would be stupid.

I straightened my hair in the mirror and applied a product similar to chapstick from Earth. I checked the email application on my smartwatch.

[Dear Students, this is the first official day of recruitment, so please behave in the best way. Not only are you representing the academy, but you are also representing yourself today.

You are a marketer trying to sell your product, yourself in this case, to the countless recruiters around the academy.

With that in mind, here are some basic instructions and rules that will be followed for the next week.

1. If you are recruited and accept the offer, place a pin on your academy uniform so you can signify to other recruiters that you are taken and their time is not wasted on you.

2. Weather expectations. As everyone knows, we are officially entering the season of snow... despite the unusually sunny skies right now, so please wear extra clothing to avoid being cold.

3. Once recruited, you have three days to accept the offer. If you don\'t accept or don\'t reply within three days, it will be considered a rejection of the offer.

4. On your school smartwatch, an app has been installed that gives you information about all the guilds that recruiters are coming from. Please use this make an informed decision should you be recruited.

5. Consider the recruiters around you as teachers. Do not disturb them if it is not necessary, but you may ask questions. It is up to the recruiter whether they would like to answer you or not.

6. Finally, the courtyard will be under maintenance for the next few days, so do not come near to the surrounding area unless you would like to be punished.]

Shaking my head, I grabbed a piece of toast before heading out the door and down the stairs of my dorm building.

Maintenance?

That was the best excuse they could give to prevent people from going to the courtyard?

Surely, just saying you had to water the grass for the next couple of days would be more logical and believable.

Taking a bite of the toast covered with butter, I winced upon seeing countless unfamiliar adults walking around the academy with clipboards.

The visitors have arrived...

The student around me, usually rushing and running to get to their classes on time, were walking with their shoulders pushed upwards and chin up, overly showing their jawlines off.

Also, looking around, I realized that I was the only one with food in my mouth...

Cramming the piece of toast into my mouth, I wiped the crumbs off my hands before following in their example.

But... after only a moment, I gave up, lowered my shoulders, and adjusted my posture for the worse.

Walking like a pretentious prick was harder than I thought...

Arriving at the first-year building, I opened the door, immediately seeing the hallways practically empty except for a couple of scrambling students.

"...was five minutes early to class too late...?"

Enjoying the silence, I walked through the halls, nodding my head at each recruiter who passed by.

However, most of them simply ignored me or were too busy writing on their clipboard to reciprocate my nod.

Unfazed, I arrived at my classroom and took a glance inside through the open door.

Inhaling as my gaze swept across the fully crowded classroom that resembled those college lectures with a one-teacher to over two hundred students ratio, I stepped back for a moment.

All of the top-ranking students, including Liam, Lily, Irene, Ruby, Kevin, Alya, and even Zach, were in this classroom, so I shouldn\'t have been surprised.

Yet, as I stared at the sheer amount of recruiters crammed into the small classroom, my mouth opened in shock.

"ALL OF THIS FOR SOME HIGH-SCHOOLERS!?"

Besides the ton of recruiters crammed against the classroom walls, all of the desks... beside mine were filled.

Even Professor Zia was there early as she stared at my empty seat with an expression that I couldn\'t even decipher.

Putting my head down, I walked into the classroom, already expecting everyone to stare at me.

However, as I looked up, I noticed that instead of staring at me, the last person to arrive, my classmates were looking at the whiteboard behind Professor Zia.