REAS entered his dormitory room.  He had already settled his registration and was told to go to the dormitory building.  The room assigned to him was for two people.  Meaning, he had a room-mate.  He actually wanted a single room.  But he was told that there was no single room at the freshman dormitory of the military academy.  There were only two-person room and four-person room.

The number of two-person room was even limited and only available to those who scored high at the entrance exam of the department they applied in.  It’s a good thing that Reas’ score was pretty high.  He didn’t know his rank amongst all the applicants in the Mecha Department.  Since it’s not really revealed in the acceptance letter that he received.  But he was sure that it was one of the highest. 

He’s not being arrogant.  He’s just that confident in his skills as a Mecha pilot.  It was also to his advantage that the test was done via the VirtualNet.  But it would probably be a different matter though if the test was conducted using real life Mecha.  After all, he had no experience in using a Mecha in reality.  All his experience was just based on him fighting on the Mecha Hall.

There would definitely be a difference between piloting a Mecha in VirtualNet and doing it in real life.  But that’s why he’s here.  To have that experience.   

Reas looked around the room.  There were two loft beds on each side.  Underneath each loft was a study area.  There was a sliding door at the side, which would probably lead to the bathroom.

Overall, it was certainly a good dormitory room.  If one ignored the fact of the lack of privacy.  But at least all the needed amenities were present.  Now, he just hoped he wouldn’t have an annoying room-mate.

As if on cue, the door of the room opened and a tall guy walked in.  He had slightly long gray hair that was tied on the back and a pair of light-green eyes.  He was wearing a simple black shirt and pants, showing his good physique. 

He seemed to be surprised when he saw Reas.  He probably didn’t expect that someone was already in the room.  But he quickly got over that and smiled in a friendly manner.

“Roommate?”

Reas nodded.

“I’m Assil Brewer,” the other said, introducing himself.

“Andreas Townsend,” Reas simply said.

“Your name is quite a mouthful.  Do you have a nickname?  Mine is Ash.  I preferred to be called that actually.”

Reas didn’t feel any malice from the other’s comment about his name being a mouthful.  It’s clearly was just that, a passing comment.  He still couldn’t gauge the other’s personality.  But he seemed to be the straightforward type. 

“Reas.  You can call me that.”

“Cool.”  Ash looked around the room.  “So, which will you choose, the right one or the left one?” he asked, gesturing towards the bed.

As a response, Reas simply sat on the chair of the study area beneath the loft bed on his right.

Ash did the same.  “Are you the type who doesn’t like to talk or are you simply the type who takes time to warm up to people?  Oh, I’m not trying to offend you, by the way.  I’m simply curious since you haven’t said more than eight words to me.”

Reas looked at the other side and sighed.  “It’s both.”

“Hmm… I see.  It seems I have to work hard if the two of us shall be friends.”

Reas stopped, listening to this guy, it seemed that he’s quite serious.  “You’re very optimistic.”

Ash grinned.  “I’ve been told that quite a lot.”

He looked at his new roommate.  Although the other seemed to be cold and indifferent, he wasn’t arrogant or dismissive.  Ash believed that the two of them would get along just fine.

“Are you also from the Mecha Department?” he thought of asking.

Reas nodded, hearing that this guy – Ash said the word ‘also’, it meant that he was also from the same department. 

“That’s good.  If you’re from the Command Department, I might not have any topic to talk with you.”

Somehow, Reas doubted that.  Even if the one here was from the Logistic Department, he had a feeling that this guy would still be as talkative as he was now.

“You probably play at the Mecha Hall, right?  What’s your handle?  Mine is [Ashes],” when Ash said that last part, his tone was quite proud.  He was even looking at Reas as if he was expecting the other to recognize the name.

Well, he’s not entirely wrong in that.  Reas indeed had heard of [Ashes].  The handle name was like a username that people who logged into the VirtualNet used.  Anyone who played at the Mecha Hall had to use the same handle name that they used to log in. 

[Ashes] was currently at the top 30 of the Mecha Hall.  If he remembered correctly, he was number 27.  A little lower than his rank.  One might think that that wasn’t so high.  But one should consider that most of the high rankings in the Mecha Hall were made up of old guys.  And it’s really hard to beat their record. 

Even if most of them no longer played anymore, the records they made were still there.  One record in particular had been unbeatable for the past 15 years.  That of Wulfric de Lunaris.

“My handle is [Astreas].” 

His handle was obviously the name of his family’s farm and also his and Astrid’s name combined together. 

Ash’s eyes widened a bit when he heard his handle name.  “No way, that [Astreas]?  The current number 25?” he said, a little bit excitedly.

Reas nodded.

Ash suddenly laughed.  “This is great!  The two of us should definitely have a match once training starts.”

“That’s fine with me,” Reas said, having a sparring partner would definitely be good.

“By the way, have you heard that one of five armies would be in charge of our department’s training?”

Hearing that piece of information, Reas suddenly remembered something when he and his brother accidentally met that prince and his two lackeys.  That that guy would be present at the academy’s opening ceremony.  Surely, that wouldn’t mean that they would also be involve in the Mecha Department’s training.

Right?

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