"Wake up. The sun has almost risen."

Aleister heard Syn's muffled voice through his spell book and a pillow lying on his face. He groaned as he stood up and got ready to head out. "Wouldn't it just be easier if you talked to me telepathically instead? In act, you could even screech and act as an alarm."

"I'm not your personal alarm clock. If anything, you can have that maid girl act as one."

"Eh, yeah I could, but I would feel bad for her."

"So you don't feel bad for me?"

"Of course I don't feel bad for you," Aleister said through a yawn as he walked out the front door. The stairs outside were still wet and a mild layer of dew covered the grass outside, even though it was the middle of summer. "Besides, you're almost always right next to me so its much more convenient."

"Now I see how it is." Syn shook her head. "Even after all I've done for you, this is how you treat me? Your behavior is unacceptable."

"Then don't accept it."

"Ok."

"That was a joke, by the way."

"Was it really now?"

Aleister rolled his eyes and flipped open the folder Luo Yun gave him yesterday as he walked towards the dojo.

"I'll even take a simple sorry."

"Oh?" Aleister raised his eyebrows as he stared at the first page. "Who would have expected one applicant to have been Malozar."

"Hmm?" Syn perched over his shoulders and looked at the illustration and details written on the page. "You know this half-orc baker? When I was stuck fighting for my life, you were out here enjoying cakes and pastries? Your shamelessness knows no bounds."

"Yeah, right before you came back, too. He and his father own a bakery, that's where I bought the cake from. And you can drop the whole offended act you're doing."

"It's not an act."

"Ok, fine then. I'm sorry for not feeling bad for you."

"That's right. If you truly didn't feel bad, then why would you apologize in the first place? So I, in turn, accept you apology."

"For the record, I only said sorry to stop you from doing the annoying voice and therefore increasing the quality of my life."

"And then after that statement you need to do something weird and scare a passerby who is actually a noble that ended up filing a complaint about you."

"I still can't believe something so dumb happened." Aleister shook his head. "But yes, I have interacted with him. Nice person. I was just surprised to see him out of all people."

"Anyone else you recognize?"

He flipped through the other pages. "Well, this dwarf looks familiar, but I think its just the braided red hair giving me flashbacks."

"What if this is the dwarf lady's brother or something?"

"Well, they don't share the same last name and Luo Yun vetted him, so I don't think that's even anywhere within the realm of possibilities unless the longest con ever is being played out right now. So while it is possible, it isn't probable."

"But that half-orc you knew showed up."

"I refuse to get into this game with you. We could literally go all day talking about events happening or being true. Everything that happens each day to not just me, but to everyone else is an infinitesimal chance of the potential outcomes."

"Unless its all ordained by fate and each person has their own destiny?"

"That is also a possibility, but I'll never really know—will I?"

Syn sighed. "True. But then doesn't that make you wonder if anyone is to control them."

"Yeah, I'm stopping this conversation right now. It's just a bunch of philosophical questions that I've already thought about and don't have consistent answers on because everything I know about the world keeps on changing. But you know what hasn't changed?" Aleister raised his voice to a quasi-yell as he arrived at Luo Yun's dojo. "The fact that the sun hasn't even risen yet and I'm standing outside this place."

Just like he hoped, Luo Yun heard him and unlocked the door.

"No passcode this time?"

"Oh, so now you want it?"

"Haha—no." Aleister slipped past him. "Surely you will not make every member of this place have to give you a stupid passcode to get in. And holy hell, this place is completely different."

Instead of the almost empty dojo Aleister remembered, there were now rows of training dummies with wooden swords, shields, and spears in buckets next to them. Alongside those dummies were training weights and benches to perform various exercises. The room next to it, which was previously full of crates and hay, was now completely transformed into a mini archery range.

"I received help from some of the talent that applied but didn't quite make the cut into my last list of four. Gave them their application fee back along with an additional two months of membership for free."

"I'm sure to them it feels like a decent deal."

"It was a good deal for them and me. I got convenient and fairly priced labour done and they got their hard earned money back." Luo Yun ran his hand through his hair. "And speaking of the four, you looked at the list, right?"

"I did, but I'm more of a look at them and ask questions to gain a better understanding. However, I have interacted with the half-orc personally so I'm taking him for sure."

"Your nepotism is quite blatant, but I will not say no. The only problem is that even though it's my dojo, they are mostly here for you, and to prevent any dissent, I told them that in order to make sure everyone got a fair shot, I would have someone associated with the Lillium Empire randomly select the two people each of us got. So I need you to make your choice right now because they are currently waiting in my office. And quick because if I heard you, they also heard you."

"Wow, I really have that much of an appeal? I was joking about becoming a model, but I just might."

"Apparently, but they aren't judging you based on your appearance, just your supposed legend."

"Alright then, it's time for me to judge people based on their appearances and how I feel about them," Aleister said as he opened Luo Yun's office.

Luo Yun rolled his eyes as he forced a smile.