The closing ceremony was about to start, and Oliver wasn't happy at all. Not by the fact that he was drop kicked an hour ago, but by the fact that he had to sit beside a nervous wreck for most of it.

"I know that they split up the seating by ranks so that it's more organised, but did they really have to make me sit beside her..." Oliver thought to himself as he looked beside him.

The girl beside him was also a C tier recruit named lily, but unlike Oliver, she was extremely grateful for it. He knew that for certain because she had been telling him that the moment he sat next to her.

"Ah I really can't believe I made it this far! This must be pure luck or something! Omigosh I'm so scared, what if I fail or something? What if I fail or something Oliver?!" Lily said practically shaking Oliver.

"Oh... so this is how Olivia feels... dang I really am the wo- nope stop thinking like that. You promised Mr Sieg you'd change!" Oliver thought to himself.

"O- oh I think the ceremony is starting!" Lily said to Oliver.

"Y- yeah I can see that..." Oliver said, laughing so she doesn't feel bad.

The ceremony began with a nice congratulations from Senior investigator Kiel. He thanked everyone, including those who didn't manage to pass the recruitment exam, for their efforts, but in his own, "unique" way.

"Yes, all you children are so special! Those who survived this exam, I hope you all don't envy the ones who have failed, because from now on... you'll be walking a path straight to hell..." Senior Investigator Kiel said, laughing rather ominously.

"Can this guy not act like a twist villain for once in his life?!" Oliver thought to himself, gripping the hem of his shirt.

Up next for the closing ceremony, was an announcement regarding which cadets would be in which squad. This part of the ceremony was hosted by Penelope, which actually brought some relief to Oliver.

"If senior investigator Kiel did this... " just the thought alone was disheartening.

Penelope got up on stage, and began shuffling through her papers frantically. 

"U- um... oh okay! For squadron A, temporarily being led by Investigator Captain Ren, please stand up A tier cadet Olivia Rand and B tier cadet Katherine-" but before Penelope could say Katherine's last name, Katherine stood up and raised her hand.

"I'd like for you to keep that confidential please" Katherine said.

Penelope was confused, but Katherine's confidence and assuredness instilled fear into Penelope.

"O- okay..." Penelope said meekly.

Katherine smiled with satisfaction before turning to Oliver. Oliver's nose scrunched up as he looked at Katherine with an "are you serious right now" look on his face.

"What? I told you it was a secret, didn't I?" Katherine said, laughing mischievously.

Oliver continued to glare at her causing her to pout condescendingly.

"You're no fun..." Katherine said, turning back around.

Lily leaned into Oliver's ear and asked him who she was.

"Just a Psycho..." Oliver whispered.

Katherine threw a pen behind her which perfectly hit Oliver's head.

"Ouch!" Oliver said, rubbing the part of his head where he got hit.

"I heard that you know?" Katherine said, chuckling to herself.

Oliver mumbled to himself before turning his attention back to the announcements.

"... for squadron C, led by General Ying Yue, please stand B tier cadet Sebastian alabaster, and C tier cadet Oliver Rand" Penelope said.

As Oliver stood up, he noticed the disapproving glare coming from Sebastian. Oliver gulped before waving at Sebastian with an awkward expression on his face. Sebastian flipped him off.

"Dang I'm fucked..." Oliver thought to himself, laughing out of fear.

Lily looked up to him, and gave him a wave.

"I'm sad we couldn't be a part of the same group Oliver. But I'm glad you're in the C squadron! Hehehe... this probably means I'm in the lower squads... I knew that it was just a fluke for me'' Lily said, laughing.

Oliver felt bad for lily. Mainly because she reminded him of himself. So as a farewell to his seat partner, he gave her some encouragement.

"I'm sure you'll be able to become someone great. Never stop trying, got that?" Oliver said, giving her a thumbs up.

His encouragement caused her to blush a bit, as she had never gotten encouragement from anyone, let alone one from a boy.

"G- got it! I'll do my best!" Lily said, looking more confident.

Oliver smiled, feeling a bit good for helping someone.

"Heheh maybe I should treat myself since I'm such a good person" the sense of superiority immediately rushed to his brain.

After Penelope had finished reading squad G's members, those who were standing were escorted to sit with their squad leaders. 

“Oh wait yeah before I forget! For those in Squad A - D, from now on you will be classified as investigators. Those in E - G meanwhile, are allowed to choose any field other than the previously mentioned… Did I get that right?” Penelope said as she read from a script.

She had totally forgotten about this part of the script, which brought upon a lot of embarrassment for her.

Luckily for Penelope, everyone was too busy moving to their squads to care about her mishap. One of these people was Olivia. She rushed to Ren, immediately cupping his hands together.

"Omigosh it's really you!!! I'm such a big fan! Can I get your autograph! No better yet, can I get your hair?!" Olivia said, sounding quite insane.

"U-um... I don't think that's appropriate to ask..." Ren said, trying to not upset her.

In contrast, to Olivia, Katherine stood further away from Ren, and didn't even look at him. It's as if she was disgusted to be in his presence entirely.

Meanwhile for Oliver, he made it to where squad c was supposed to be, only to find a piece of paper reading:

"Squadron C is busy on an expedition in Germany as of the moment, so we are unable to attend. Please forgive us for the trouble we have caused.

-Signed, Squadron C"

"Not only do I have to be in a squad with you... but our entire fucking squad are a no show? This is the fucking worst" Sebastian said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Oliver was getting tired of Sebastian's narcissistic personality, but in an attempt to be the bigger man, he put his hand out for a hand shake.

"Let's get along, okay?" Oliver said, forcing a smile.

Sebastian looked at Oliver's hand, then proceeded to spit on it. Oliver expected this outcome, but he was still pissed.

"I'll kill him, I swear!" Oliver thought, wiping the spit away.

Sebastian took his seat before glaring at Oliver. Oliver sighed, wondering what he wanted now.

"Are you just going to stand there? You look like an idiot...." Sebastian said.

Realising that everyone has already sat down, Oliver felt a bit embarrassed. He took his seat, mumbling profanities, trying his best to keep quiet so as to not get caught.

"Huh what was that?" Sebastian said, raising his eyebrows.

"Focus on the ceremony!" Oliver shouted, sounding frustrated.

Sebastian was startled by Oliver's aggressiveness, causing him to unconsciously heed his words.

The final part of the closing ceremony was a short speech from General Sieg. Before speaking he cleared his throat, as if he was pushing out his nasty personality.

"New recruits, this is a turning point in your lives. From now on, all of you will become guardians of humanity who will protect it from the threat of Festers. These creatures have brought despair and hardship for millennia, so it's our job to stop them, so that the children of tomorrow may live in a world without suffering..." Sieg said.

Oliver was completely taken aback by Sieg's gentle tone. From his short interaction with him, Oliver had thought Sieg was a cold hearted bastard who found pleasure in making fun of people. Well, that was an exaggeration, since Sieg was quite kind to him, but the complete change in the way he spoke weirded Oliver out. What was more creepy, was that Sieg didn't seem to be faking it. Nothing about his body posture seemed fake, in fact his body posture was the exact same as before. However, Oliver couldn't help but feel creeped out.

"... I hope that you all don't regret your choice in joining F.A.T.E... because at the end of the day, you're sacrificing your precious time for the future of people who'll barely remember you in 50 years. However, I believe the satisfaction you'll get from helping people will make up for it. But that's just me!" Sieg chuckled.

Ren watched from below, finding the speech a bit repulsive. Not because it was bad or anything, nor did it come from his frustration with his father. However, the reason he felt so disgusted was because he had heard this same script over and over again. No matter how good Sieg could sell it, it was still just the same empty words each host had spoken before him. They were like words from a siren, leading foolish sailors to doom.

"... I think that's all I have to say... oh, one other thing. If you ever get injured please come to the medical department! It's twice the hassle for us when you ignore your injuries and let it get worse..." Sieg said, sighing.

Sieg cleared his throat once more before smiling.

"Since everything's out of the way... welcome new recruits, to your F.A.T.E!"

The ceremony hall filled up with the sounds of clapping as the ceremony concluded. Some of the recruits rushed back home immediately after the ceremony concluded, while most stayed back for a bit to get to know their new squad members. Oliver tried to escape the venue as well, but unfortunately Olivia dragged him back in.

"Why do I have to stay? My squad isn't even here, excluding him..." Oliver said, looking over at Sebastian.

"Because it's not just your squad members you need to get to know. An important aspect of being an investigator is to be able to work with other fellow operators, regardless of if they're a part of your own squad or not" Olivia explained.

Oliver paused, looking dumbfounded.

"Who are you and what did you do to my sister?" Oliver asked, looking suspiciously at Olivia.

"Nothing happened to me you idiot!" Olivia said, sounding frustrated.

She calmed down a bit before continuing to speak.

"Captain Ren told me I need to be more calm, so as his subordinate I wish to heed his words" Olivia said.

Oliver paused once again, looking even more displeased. Olivia was getting frustrated at this point, and was about to yell obscenities at Oliver, but Ren arrived in time to stopped her.

"Investigator... at ease" Ren said, in a commanding tone.

"Y- yes sir..." Olivia said, sighing.

Oliver looked at Ren, then gave him a thumbs up.

"Whatever you're doing… keep it up! This is the first time Olivia has ever backed down" Oliver said, sounding extremely enthusiastic.

Olivia was about to lose it, but was stopped once again by Ren.

"I know you don't mean it in a bad way, but please treat your sister with kindness. Not only because she's family, but also because you'll be working as fellow soldiers in this war against Festers. The last thing we want on a battlefield is a battle amongst ourselves" Ren advised Oliver.

Hearing him say that caused Katherine to scoff. Ren noticed this, but didn't say a word, only turning his attention back to Oliver.

Oliver couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed; but if he wanted to change for real, he'd need to take criticism whether or not he likes it.

"I'm sorry... I'll do better!" Oliver said.

Olivia was surprised by Oliver's maturity, but didn't show it since she was still mad at him.

"Very good. I'm happy to see your progress in the future..." Ren said, smiling.

Ren was about to say more, but he was interrupted by a call from General Sieg.

“Renny come ere! The new recruits are fighting!” Sieg yelled from across the hall.

Ren rolled his eyes before bowing.

"My apologies, let's talk again some time..." Ren said.

He then turned to both Katherine and Olivia, with a serious expression on his face.

"Training will start at 7am to 4pm tomorrow. So you two better not come in late, got that?" Ren instructed.

"Yes, sir!" Olivia said enthusiastically, even saluting.

"Yeah yeah whatever..." Katherine said apathetically.

Ren sighed at Katherine's reaction, but at the end of the day, he can't force her to change. Though it still stung. Ren walked away, feeling a bit disheartened.