After wandering around the building for a while, Elion finally found the locker room. He was surprised to be the first one there, which proved that his decision to leave quickly had been the right one.
He was greeted by a large space designed to accommodate hundreds of students. Lockers numbered one through fifty-four and comfortable seats covered in blue fabric were everywhere.
Elion remembered his locker number; he recalled only that he was last on the list. Today, he learned that there were 54 people in the class.
Without thinking too much, he went to locker 54, turned the already-inserted key, and opened it.
Inside was a suit consisting of a tight-fitting, long-sleeved black T-shirt and loose, dark gray pants. The clothes didn't look very nice, but they were certainly practical and most likely made with the help of artifacts.
After examining the new clothes for a moment, Elion took off his clothes and began to change. His chest still looked a little compressed from the terrible injury, but he never paid attention to it. He folded his clothes and put them in the locker. He then heard his male classmates enter the locker room. Without waiting for them, he headed for the training area, grabbing a blue hair tie on the way.
The locker room and the hall were connected. When he opened the door, a new space appeared before him immediately.
The large hall, surrounded by three-story stands, contained two courts of the same size set one meter apart. The platforms weren't enclosed by walls or other barriers but were separated by a two-meter net made of elastic material. The platforms themselves were not too complicated, and the surface was suitable for both stable and sliding movements. Away from the platforms was an area where students could retrieve weapons of any type. There were two separate racks, one for steel weapons and one for wooden ones. There were huge windows towering above the stands. Elion chose a suitable spot and sat down in the sunlight.
"..."
"..."
Only then did Elion notice a man with slightly grayed black hair, a small beard, and a relaxed demeanor. He sat on a high chair between two platforms and looked at Elion with slightly closed eyes. Elion looked back at the man silently.
"..."
"..."
They said nothing; they just looked at each other. Minute after minute passed, and it was unclear what the man was thinking. Elion, however, was thinking:
I don't want to go gray... The man looked relatively young but already had gray hair, so the boy couldn't help but fear that possibility.
Finally, Elion grew tired of it all and closed his eyes, relaxing slightly as he sank into his own world.
The man continued to stare at him, his expression unchanged, as if looking inside the boy.
*Thump*
*Thump*
But the boy's immersion was interrupted by the sound of two locker room doors opening and voices following.
"Hey, do you think they'll give us weapons yet?"
"I've been training with a sword-fighting teacher since I was a kid. If I get the chance, I don't think anyone will be able to resist me."
"Well, I actually hired a private teacher for training, too."
"Me too."
"Hey, come out against me, and you'll see how I fight back!"
"Why do you think they'll give us weapons?"
The men were chatting animatedly until they noticed the girls coming out of the other locker room. The thing is, they were wearing tight-fitting outfits too, so...
"..."
"Damn it, I have to win quickly and then enjoy the other matches!"
"I didn't even think they looked like... that."
They stared at the girls, who pretended not to notice but actively showed off by striking relaxed yet mesmerizing poses.
Elion often observed such strange relationships between the sexes, so they didn't even arouse his scientific interest, let alone anything else.
He continued to remain relaxed, paying no attention to the voices or figures around him. This continued until...
"Is there anyone ruder than you? Who runs away in the middle of a conversation?!" The voice indignantly asked, coming closer to Elion.