Lee Seng followed the path back towards the telepad. He could hear Akio quickly following behind him.
"Lee!" Akio called out to him. He ignored it and continued down the path. Akio's footsteps grew closer, Akio's arm reaching out and grabbing him. He spun around as Akio gave him a worried look. "Are you okay? I didn't think they would do that." Lee Seng stepped away and turned around.
"I need to get back. I gotta wake up early and meet the others." Lee Seng told him as he continued down the hallway. Akio sighed and jogged after him. He followed his brother until he got to the telepad room. Akio slid between Lee Seng and the door. He gave his brother a knowing look as Lee Seng didn't look at him. He was mad. Akio could easily tell because he had spent so much time with Lee Seng, but he made similar looks the Creator made as well.
"Get some rest, 'kay?" Akio patted Lee Seng's shoulder. Lee Seng nodded. "Text me when you're home."
"I'm just teleporting to my dorm room. You don't have to be too worried." Lee Seng told him.
"Still," Akio gave a small smile. "I just want to make sure you got home safe, 'kay?" He ruffled Lee Seng's hair which made him retaliate and look up at him.
"Stop!" Lee Seng stepped away from his brother to fix his hair. Akio chuckled and stepped off to the side.
"Bye. I'll see you at Dr. Valentin's thanksgiving party on Thursday." Akio waved.
"Mmm, see you then." Lee Seng waved. He opened the door and stepped into it. The door shut behind him and thirty seconds later, the room lit up and Lee Seng disappeared.
The Next Day
Lee Seng stood off to the side. He crossed his arms together as he watched groups of people move by. He had gotten some sleep, but his mind kept him awake. He yawned as the voices of his friends alerted him.
"Man, I'm so ready for today!" Evan spoke, happily. "I feel well rested like a well oiled machine!"
"You were literally crying about being thrown into the air yesterday and now you're fine?" Ritsuka asked.
"W-what?" Evan puffed his chest up like he was trying to act tough. The smallest dude amongst them was trying to be tough and Ritsuka thought it was cute. "I can cry yesterday and be totally fine today! What's wrong with that?" Ritsuka nodded and patted Evan's back. Evan jogged forward towards Lee Seng.
"Yo." Lee Seng tiredly waved.
"Did you get back late?" Evan asked.
"Nah, I couldn't sleep." Lee Seng rubbed his eyes.
"Where's Manny and Liz?" Ritsuka asked.
"I don't know. Manny left before me." Lee Seng yawned.
"Yo! Did you guys wait long?" Manny's voice loudly boomed to the group. Lee Seng, Ritsuka and Evan looked up. They all waved at the two as they showed up.
"Nah, Evan and I just got here." Ritsuka pointed at Evan. "Lee Seng was chillin' here first. He said you left before him."
"I did." Manny nodded. He gave Lee Seng a look. Lee Seng rubbed his eyes as he yawned. "Didn't get a good rest? You came back fairly early too."
"I'll be fine." Lee Seng waved him off. "I should've got some tea or coffee, but I thought I would be late."
"Ahh, well hopefully you'll be awake when we head out." Liz patted Lee Seng. Lee Seng nodded and blinked his eyes a couple of times. "By the way, where's Olivia?" Lee Seng pointed over to one of the groups nearby.
"She's talking to some friends." Lee Seng answered. Liz found Olivia chatting to an all girl group.
"Alright, everybody!" Scarlet's voice boomed through the speakers. "Third Years, quiet down!" The Third Years slowly quieted down as Scarlet waited for them. "You're embarking on the first Field Test assessment today! You'll be randomly taken to a different Guild. Your group will be pinged a telepad room number. You'll go to the telepad room and be transported to your destination. The Guild workers are aware of your arrival and will be guiding you to your missions. This is the best time for any of you who are interested in Guild work. You'll be instructed on what you're doing. All of you are leaving the city and will be handling whatever Guild mission you've been tasked with. Any questions?"
Nobody raised their hands, so Scarlet continued on with her explanation. Phones and watches started to ping. Numbers of the telepad room were starting to show up.
"Alright, if that's it, you should be getting your telepad room numbers now. Once you get them, find your telepad room. You have all day to handle your mission. If you don't come back by…" Scarlet looked at her watch. "Tomorrow by this time, you will have failed and a rescue team will be sent out to get you. Let's start!"
Students started to filter into the telepad rooms. Lee Seng and the gang glanced down at their watches and phones.
"It looks like we're Telepad Room 17." Olivia spoke up. The group looked up and noticed she had wandered back over to them.
"Hi, Olivia." Liz waved.
"Hiya. You weren't here when I woke up so I figured we'd meet here." Olivia greeted back.
"Ah, Manny wanted to figure out some minor things so I went with him."
"Alright, Room 17. Let's go." Manny motioned. They all followed Manny to Room 17. Four other groups were waiting for the teleporter as a group teleported out to their destination.
"I hope we get one of the big Guilds." The first group spoke. "Bigger Guilds mean easier work, right?"
"Yeah, but I'd like something that'll test us." Another member from group one spoke up. "We wanna look good compared to the others." The first group waiting stepped in and stood on the telepad. One of them hit go on their watches and they disappeared. The groups quickly filtered in and teleported out.
Lee Seng and the others stepped up onto the telepad and Lee Seng let out another yawn.
"Damn, are you sure you'll be okay?" Ritsuka asked.
"Y-yeah. I'll be fine." Lee Seng lied. He had little sleep cause he was so worked up about what the Creator and Dr. Valentin pulled yesterday. His mind couldn't help but wonder about if he was going to turn out just like that 'failed experiment,' too. The teleporter lit up and the next thing Lee Seng knew, they were standing in a rustic room.
A man in a black suit stood on the other side of the glass. The door opened and a woman stepped into the room. She took a good look at them and spotted Lee Seng. Her eyes widened.
"Ah, Lee Seng Chang." The woman spoke. "I didn't think you'd show up at our Guild, again. Follow me everyone. We gotta get your briefed." The group stepped down the telepad and exited the room. "He'll be in charge of you while you prepare for your assessment."
"Thanks." Manny bowed.
"No problem. Good luck, students." The woman smiled. They began to walk when the woman pulled Lee Seng to the side. "You pull some strings to get you to this Guild?" The woman asked.
"What're you talking about, Isabelle?" Lee Seng yawned. "I didn't do anything. All I did was not rest well." Isabelle sighed and removed her grip from Lee Seng.
"I saw your application. You really think you'll get into CEO's Guild company because of connections?" Isabelle asked. "Think again, kid. You'll have to show us you've earned it."
"Don't worry, Izzy." Lee Seng smiled. Isabelle's eyebrow twitched as soon as he used her nickname his brother called her by. "I'm here for my Academy test. If I do well, you'll have to pay closer attention to me, right?"
"You wish, pipsqueak." Isabelle turned to face him. "Just cause you've had a good string of luck as of late, doesn't mean it'll always be there. You're bound to run outta it sooner or later."
"Ah, Izzy! The next group is waiting for your instructions. What're you doing talking to Mr. Chang?" Akio's voice loudly asked. Isabelle turned and began to immediately switch her attitude. Lee Seng knew Isabelle liked to suck up to his older brother cause she found him attractive. Honestly, he couldn't see how Akio could be 'handsome.' He looked like a gremlin to him.
"Ah, sir, I'm so sorry. I just wanted to give Mr. Chang some advice, that's all." Isabelle bowed.
"Get back to work. Mr. Chang has to keep up with his group if he wants to do well." Akio raised his eyebrow.
'He's such an ass when he's CEO…' Lee Seng thought as he turned. He spotted the man waiting next to an open door. He was waiting for Lee Seng.
"Mr. Chang," Akio called his brother out. Lee Seng turned and saw the smug smile on his face. Akio didn't know how his older brother could sour his mood so easily. He walked over and lifted a coffee drink up. "I thought you might be tired so I got you some coffee." He pushed the coffee into Lee Seng's hand. "Good luck. If you do well on this quest, I'll have HR look at your Guild request closer."
'I hate it when he's in business Akio…' Lee Seng took a sip of his coffee. It was just sweet enough for his taste buds. Lee SEng gavee a small bow.
"Thank you, Mr. CEO." Lee SEng forced a smile. "I hope you consider my application. I have to go, my team members are gonna kill me if I waste any more precious time." Lee Seng turned around and started to walk away.
"Good luck, Chang." Akio waved. Lee Seng lifted his hand and waved. Akio smiled and shook his head.
"Why do you always act like that when he's in your Guild?" A male voice asked. Akio turned and spotted a man in a black suit like the rest of his Guild employees. He had platinum blonde hair and looked like a Korean idol (a celebrity). His caramel eyes looked directly at Akio like he was disappointed in him.
"Why do you always give me that stare, huh?" Akio raised an eyebrow. "It's like you're trying to make me feel some type of way, Chan-Yeol?" Chan-Yeol sighed and shook his head.
"Come on, sir. We don't have all day to play with the students. Let's get to work."
"Fine, fine."