Chapter 168: Endless Horizon "What happened?" Chuck asked as soon as he joined Alex, Charles, and Lavinia at the cafeteria table. "Alex and Dim Dim look... different." "I know right?" Charles grinned. "The two of them are practically glowing." "Dim Dim and I just got some therapeutic therapy in the Infirmary earlier," Alex explained. "Isn’t that right, Dim Dim?" "Dim~" Dim Dim, who was casually drinking its fruit juice through a straw, replied cheerfully. "Therapeutic therapy?" Chuck blinked. "They offer that kind of service there? Maybe I should go visit sometime." "You should," Alex replied. "It might be painful at first, but I guarantee that it will be an amazing experience." "I’m already looking forward to it." Chuck smiled. Now that Chuck was here, Alex finally asked Charles and Lavinia the question that had been nagging him ever since waking up in the infirmary. "What happened during the sparring match?" Alex inquired. "It was a one-sided beat down," Lavinia replied. "But, we managed to win four times out of fifty. For some reason, Professor Darius was already very pleased with that outcome." "Last year, the First Years only managed to get one win," Charles pointed out. "And it was all thanks to Cassian. Since we managed to beat last year’s record, Professor Darius decided to give the whole class 100 Academy Points as a reward." "Wow, he must really be happy to spend all those points in one day." Alex was quite surprised that the Professor hadn’t batted an eye when giving out such an award to his students. Actually, the Professors didn’t have an infinite amount of Academy Points that they could give to their students. They had a monthly quota and once that was used up, they could no longer award points to their students till the next month. This was to prevent favoritism and point inflation. The system could be easily abused if academy points could be given freely without restrictions. Each Professor only had thirty thousand academy points per month at their disposal, and Professor Darius had already used up a third of that quota by rewarding his First Years with 100 academy points each. Of course, there were other ways for students to earn academy points. They could sell or trade their points to their fellow students. In addition, they could also complete missions found in the Academy’s Quest Hall, which was similar to how an Adventurer Guild operated. As long as the mission was completed, the academy points would be automatically transferred to the student’s personal account, which stored their merit points in the academy. "Just in case you guys forgot, the club recruitment will start in two days," Chuck reminded. "Although there are many clubs in the academy, the only clubs that matter are the Twelve Crest Clubs. We’re going to join the Obsidian Fang, right?" "Right." Alex nodded. "We should aim to pass their trial. That way, the Lionheart Club will not be able to bully you." Chuck coughed lightly because this was indeed the main reason why he wished to join one of the Crest Clubs. Once he was part of Obsidian Fang, his older brother wouldn’t be able to casually bully him because it would cause friction between their two clubs. Even if Caspian came from a Ducal Family, he would not dare to mess with anyone who belonged to one of the twelve Crest Clubs. The members of these clubs had the backing of powerful families that played important roles in the politics of the Kingdom of Avalon as well as its surrounding kingdoms. Alex had invited Nessia and Renard to join the Obsidian Fang, but only Nessia showed any interest. Renard had simply told him to "mind your own business!" and walked away like the lone wolf that he was. It was during the first months of the school year that Renard would get an explosive growth, allowing him to become Rank 4 Berserker Juggernaut before his first year in the academy drew to an end. ’I better patch up my relationship with him before then,’ Alex realized. He didn’t want to be Renard’s enemy because he was one of the Heroes of ELO. With that in mind, he planned to try to befriend Renard as early as possible so that he wouldn’t end up on top of Renard’s kill list. Two days later... The Academy became very lively as various stalls were set up on the plaza. This early promotion of the various clubs would last for a week. After that, the students could apply casually at their own pace. Dozens of clubs did their utmost to gain as many new members as possible during this time of the year. Some of them went as far as giving out freebies as well as "bribes" for those who would join their club. The Academy gave each club a budget, proportional to their size and the activities that they performed. Naturally, the twelve Crest Clubs received large amounts of funds every year, allowing them to stand above the other clubs. Although there were many stalls in the plaza, the majority of them were practically indistinguishable from one another. Why? Because at the center of the plaza were twelve stalls that stood out from the rest. Each one of them hung a banner representing the emblem of their club. Alex, Charles, Lavinia, Chuck, and Nessia stood in front of the stall where a banner of a black wolf, head raised in a silent howl against a crescent moon, could be seen. All of them were very excited to take the trial, but after seeing the notice in front of them, their excitement turned into dismay. "Obsidian Fang will only recruit one member among the First, Second, and Third Years this year. Only the best student of each grade will be allowed to join our ranks." Alex blinked once then twice before his eyes widened in shock. ’How could I forget this condition?!’ Even in the game, Obsidian Fang only recruited one member from each grade. So, the players who wished to join this club must excel in its trial, because only one of them would be allowed to join them. This was the so-called "exclusivity" that the twelve Crest Clubs enjoyed. Unlike other clubs which preferred quantity over quality, the Obsidian Fang only wanted the best, and nothing else. "This..." Chuck was at a loss of words because he wanted to join the Obsidian Fang with his friends. If only one of them could join this prestigious club, then what was the point in joining? "Are all of you going to take the trial of our club?" a young lady with a sharp gaze asked. "If not, please don’t block the front of our stall. Only the best will be allowed to join our ranks." Before Chuck could even say something, a familiar voice spoke from behind them. "So, are you going to join it or not?" Renard, who had decided to check the Obsidian Fang, inquired. The corner of his lips was curled up into a smirk. Renard knew that Chuck’s and Alex’s happy-go-lucky group was in a dilemma because not all of them could join the Obsidian Fang at the same time. "Are you going to join them?" Alex asked. "Of course," Renard replied. "They say that only the best among the First Years can join them, and I am definitely the best among all of you." "Wow." Nessia chuckled. "His skin is as thick as the walls of this academy." Renard shrugged, not minding the young lady’s taunt. "So, what now?" Charles asked. "Should we try the other Crest Clubs?" Since all of them couldn’t join the Obsidian Fang, he would rather look for other clubs so that he could still stay with his friends during their club activities. Just as Alex was thinking of what to do, Lavinia spoke up. "Do we really need to join these clubs?" Lavinia asked. "If we can’t join the Obsidian Fang, then how about we just make our own club? That way, we will be able to do whatever we want." "Nice idea!" Chuck was immediately onboard. Frankly, Chuck was a very lonely person who wished to have many friends in the academy. This was why he wanted to make friends, as well as be part of the same club as them. Alex knew that there was indeed an option in the game where one could create their own club in the academy. However, they had to sign some documents and send them to the student council to get their approval. There was always the possibility that their application could be denied. Also, the current president of the student council secretly hated the scholarship students, so any application to form new clubs made by them would have very little chance of getting approved. "Don’t think too much, Alex," Lavinia, who saw the young man’s frown, said. "My grandfather and the Headmaster made a bet during the second trial of the academy and my grandfather won. "Because of this, the Headmaster will listen to one of his requests. It just so happens that before he left this city, he told the Headmaster that he will give me permission to use the favor that the Headmaster owed him." The young lady smirked and leaned in to whisper in Alex’s ear. "That means that I can also ask that the Club we want to create receive the same funding as the Crest Clubs," Lavinia revealed. "Won’t that be a better alternative than joining them?" Lavinia’s words instantly convinced Alex. "All you need to do is think of the Club’s name, and I will go fill up the documents for you," Lavinia said with confidence. "So, do you have a name in mind?" Alex was unable to give an answer right away. However, after organizing his thoughts, he remembered a name that had made its mark known in the gaming industry. "Endless Horizon," Alex replied. "Let’s make a club called Endless Horizon." That was the name of Alex’s Guild back on Earth, and was also the number one guild in the world of ELO. Even though he was lightyears away from his own home world, Alex believed that the legacy of his guild that he had carried on his shoulder back then would once again make its mark in the pages of history in the world of Arcana.