The troll was beating his clubs on the floor, the principal was enjoying a sip of her wine, and all the candidates were despairing. But for Kaito this was worse than for everyone else. He really was alone.

Around him several groups were formed with the five members, and as a first step they all turned away from him immediately. But he took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and tried to muster up some courage. He knew it would be difficult, but a test like this could not bring him down.

Kaito went to a more secluded group with a cleric, a warrior, and two boys, a mage and a warrior. He took a deep breath and rehearsed a line in his head, but when he just approached he got the suspicious looks from them.

"So... you guys are there with four and I thought if you had one more there might be five."

The three of the group turned to the warrior, who was the highest rank among them. The girl fiddled with her hair, looked the Bloodless in front of her up and down, and gave a wicked laugh.

"You're just lucky that the principal is here. Otherwise I would have kicked you out, you disgusting worm!”

Disgusting worm, Kaito thought. That wasn't new, but it was certainly one of the heavier curses. The other three followed along with it and started throwing insults at him without at least opening up to listen what he had to say.

"Get out of here, you contagious pest!"

"If I run out of skills I will kill you!"

Kaito turned away and looked around once more. First he needed to know who was in that room. C ranks? B’s? Kaito highly doubted that anyone of A rank who hadn't already entered the academy straight away.

"So that group is B rank... and that one has some C ranks..." he examined everything around, seeing the more confident groups that exuded strength in their expressions, until he reached the groups in the corners, with fewer people and more isolated "And over there we have the weaker ones."

Kaito smiled. Maybe he wasn't that lost. Maybe he could get into a lower rank group. The challenge was not to beat the monster, but to hold out against it for a while, and if there was one thing Kaito trusted it was his ability to stand up against a strong opponent. Taking courage, he took a deep breath and went to one of the more isolated groups, and to his surprise it was a trio he knew well.

"Wait a minute... Bairon? And the other two too...?"

Bairon, a rich guy who hung around district A with his two goons abusing those who came from other lower class districts was right there. Kaito had lost count of how many times he had to hit this idiot to help his brother before the Activation. It seemed that today he should put his disagreements aside.

The three delinquents looked at Kaito and Bairon soon took the lead with a cretinous grin on his face.

"I thought you weren't going to talk to me, maggot. I saw you walking around, but with your brother around it got hard to say hello..." Bairon snapped his fingers as he clenched his fists "but I guess I can say hi to you now, can't I, trash?"

"Are you really going to try to beat me up and get expelled? And if you get expelled will your father be happy? As far as I know a C rank cleric with no academy or guild doesn't do very well in our society."

"That's right, Bairon! We have to pass!" said Carls, Bairon's thieve henchman.

"Your father will kill you if you fail the exam," added Elias, the warrior henchman.

Bairon stared Kaito down and shrugged, turning to his group.

"That's too bad! Since I can't say hello to you, then I guess you have to hunt your course, bloodless pest."

"And lose a team like that?! No way! To get to the point, Bairon, I've come to propose an alliance you can't refuse to defeat this troll. What do you say?"

The cleric stared at Kaito with his big yellow eyes and turned to the other two for a moment, as if he didn't quite understand.

"By the blood... look at the shit I have to listen to! Us? Teaming up with you? Us with an F rank Bloodless? I’m sooo sorry, but I'm going to have to turn down your offer that I can't refuse. We're better off with just the three of us anyway." replied Bairon laughing even harder.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. But let's face reality here. Carls and Elias are B rank and they are with you, who is a C rank. A very nice friendship, if you ask me." Kaito blinked at Bairon, knowing that in truth his goons were only together because Bairon's father paid them well "In your situation I find it very difficult for anyone else to join. I am F rank? Absolutely! But you can bet a team of four is a lot better than a team of three."

Bairon stared at Kaito with disdain, but soon Carls pulled him close, saying in a low voice.

"What if we bring him in?"

"Are you out of your mind? He'll slow us down!" replied Bairon angrily.

"Not if we use him as bait. The troll will catch him and we'll use that to make the final blow!" said the thief.

"Carls, you bastard... your plans have gotten much better since you became a thief!”

The cleric turned to Kaito and extended his hand with a broad smile on his face.

"Welcome, worm! Make sure you don't get in our way!"

"You got it, buddy! I promise not to get in your way at all." Kaito greeted back, already understanding the whole setup that was being proposed there.

"Hey, you four there! I'll join your group!"

The four of them looked away, and it was at this moment that Kaito felt an enormous pressure. The speaker was a beautiful girl with a fierce look, orange hair, and eyes like fire. Her arms showing through her sleeveless shirt were of wiry muscles with shiny, smooth and black skin. He didn't even have to think to know she was strong.

Getting no response, she looked at the group one more time and settled on Kaito, who was the most different one there.

"Oh yeah, I have to introduce myself, right? I keep forgetting these things..." she pulled a pair of black leather gloves from her jeans and put them on confidently "I am Opame Palindar, B rank, monk class. I just want to borrow your group to solo that troll over there. You can rest assured that Opame here will carry you through this test."

                                                                                     * * *

"So, are you just going to watch me? I don't have all the time in the world!

In theory the leader of the group was supposed to be Bairon, but since there were no answers from the boy, who was awestruck by the beauty of the monk, it was Kaito himself who answered.

"You can come in, yes! That would be very nice, wouldn't it, Bairon?".

"Yeah... he’s right! Just stick with us and our group will help you pass!" Bairon answered, waking up at that moment.

The girl denied with confidence and pointed at her own chest.

"Are you deaf, huh? I told you I'll carry you! You can leave it to me, and I can handle a troll or two. Then you'll just stand there and do nothing to get in my way. Agreed?"

Kaito didn't like what he heard, and his amazement with the girl vanished in that instant.

"Look, Opame, I think it's cool what you're trying to do, but it's a group test and the group has to pass. Trolls are very strong, and they need an experienced C rank grou-"

"Sorry, but I'm not going to hear a lecture from an F rank."

Her look was not oppressive and the way she spoke had been natural, yet that seemed to bother Kaito more than usual.

"So you won't listen to me because I'm an F rank? Is that it?"

"Don't get angry. I don't think you're radioactive or that you'll steal my abilities or anything like that. I just think you're crazy to be out here killing yourself with nothing to help you in your blood. That's why I only listen to those with rank above C." Opame tapped Kaito lightly on the shoulder "And since I listened to you I know you are C rank and the others are B. I'm B rank too, but my class is rare and I've trained hard, so I'm in charge here. Can it be like that?!"

That infuriated Kaito, but before he could answer Bairon stepped forward and spoke with a silly grin on his face.

"Yes, you can! Fair enough! You're certainly the strongest, so it's only fair!"

Kaito stared at the cleric in front of him angrily, but said nothing. He didn't want to be kicked out of that group, but facing the challenge with people who wouldn't listen to him would prove to be difficult.

As soon as the groups seemed formed the principal stood up and clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention.

"Groups formed? Great! Why don't we start with the higher ranks then? You there!" she pointed to the group Kaito had initially talked to, which now had one more member, a tall girl with green hair "From what I see you are a group with four B ranks and one A rank. You guys start out to set an example."

The group looked confident. They were high rank people and even had an A rank. Kaito assumed that she must be the only A rank person there, which was very unusual, but it could happen. When the selected places were completely filled there were always a few high ranks left out. Many go to other academies, but there are always those who try the Phoenix Academy betting that their high rank will make everything easier. The vast majority of the time they were right.

The group took their weapons from the vast selection on a long table and entered the cage. The troll roared and slammed its clubs into the ground, making the floor shake with its force. The group was startled at first, but soon the A rank took the lead with her two daggers and advanced alone. What Kaito saw at that moment left him dumbfounded.

"But... how?" asked Bairon beside him.

The rogue had disappeared and in the next instant appeared behind the monster, digging her blades into its back. She was confident, and her move had been a sharp one. Unfortunately, this confidence was her mistake. Ignoring the attack, the troll turned at once and struck her with his club right in the ribs, throwing her violently against the railing. The girl fell unconscious and her group was left without any reaction. The warriors took the lead while the cleric tried to heal the rogue, but it was too late. The troll advanced against them and with a few blows defeated them all.

It was all fast, raw and effective. In less than a minute the strongest group had been defeated. The wounded candidates were taken out of the cage while the troll stood there without showing any reaction, which caused Kaito to wonder how that creature could obey like that.

"That's the result of trusting rank alone! Too much trust, too little training!" Opame laughed to his group with a confident look: "I'm pure training, on the other hand! I have much more value than any A rank!"

Kaito wanted to tell her she was wrong, but he couldn't be kicked out of the group now. If everything continued as it was his group would fail too. Slowly he heard the other candidates begin to complain.

"Was a troll supposed to be strong like that?"

"That's absurd! We have no experience against monsters!"

"If they can't do it, no one can."

"This test is dangerous... I think I'll give up."

That was all Selize wanted to hear. The principal sat down in her comfortable armchair and ate a piece of cheese before saying anything.

"If you want to quit, you know where the exit is. In fact, I totally support it, see?"

The mob that was already shaken now was infuriated.

"This challenge is not fair!"

"You're just a A rank!"

"This troll is too strong! There's something wrong there!"

The principal listened to the complaints, took a deep breath and then stood up, silencing everyone with just her gaze.

"I don't know if you understand where you are, but this is the Phoenix Academy! Our purpose here is to turn our students into the best fighters in the world! If they can't defend themselves against a simple Tower troll they will be considered failures, and I will not let a failure into my academy! If you don't have confidence that you can pass the test, drop out and save my time."

Everything quieted down for a moment, but soon Kaito began to see a hand go up, and then another, and another. One by one they were all giving up, and gradually only his group was left. However, as he looked to the side, Kaito saw that Carls and Elias were giving up as well.

"You can't do this! My father paid you to help me-" Bairon tried to protest.

"Shut up, you fat disgusting C rank!" said Elias knocking the cleric out with a shove.

"We're going to leave and join another academy. You have to get by if you want to win now," added Carls.

Bairon had no answer as he watched the two turn their backs to him and walk away. This way there would be no one left to take the exam. Kaito bent down to help the cleric, and in his head he thought about how to get around this unfavorable situation. It was at that moment that Opame's voice came through the room loud and clear.

"Director, is it all right if we can do the exam with three people?"

The groups that were arguing among themselves slowly followed that petulant question and soon saw that it came from the Bloodless group, which generated hate-filled comments.

"Look, it's the Bloodless group. Let's stay and watch him get smashed!"

"What a joke...a cleric and a Bloodless...that girl doesn't know what she's asking for."

"I wish it was as duel test... I'd love to kill that worm."

The principal thought about the question and gave a smile filled with curiosity.

"My dear, it might even be just one. If you take the test and last five minutes you pass."

Opame smiled excitedly and turned to Kaito exuding confidence.

"So, what do you say? Are you going to let me beat up a troll?"

Kaito allowed himself to think for a moment. He felt something growing inside him. It was a huge urge to provoke, to prove them wrong. It had been the same feeling when he had faced his brother, and it was coming back now. He looked at the creature, re-examined the battle that had just occurred, and smiled taken with impetus.

"Principal Selize, I also have a question."

Everyone heard the clear voice of the F rank address the principal, who looked him up and down and noded cryptically.

"And what would that question be, my dear?"

Kaito looked around and saw that everyone was holding their attention on him. But more importantly, he saw that Opame was watching him taken by curiosity and doubt. With a smile imbued with challenge, he raised the stakes.

"What do I get if we win?"