An enormous brick building was standing majestically in front of him. He stepped closer and closer towards the building as his heart was thumping uncontrollably in his chest. He stopped and reached a magnifying tall white door. With the topaz hanging on his neck and his personal belongings in his beg, he slowly reached for the golden knob and gently turned it clockwise. The white door was carefully pushed and it revealed a vast hall with two sets of stairs running down the sides of the walls. A young-looking attendant was looking through some papers on a wooden table in the middle of the two staircases. The boy soundlessly headed towards the attendant.

The attendant looked up and saw a boy looking at him. He raised one eyebrow and gave him a what-do-you-want look.

“Lee Sungjong. I’m new here.” Sungjong said as the attendant realized his presence. The attendant widened his eyes and immediately shot up.

“Welcome to Sun Academy, Sir Sungjong. My name is Lee Taemin and I will be your guide for today since you are new here,” he introduced himself, “Come this way, sir. We have been waiting for you since your father informed us.” Taemin said as two people came towards him to take his things.

Sungjong slightly shook his head and politely rejected their help. He trailed behind Taemin towards the hallway as he headed to his room.

~¤~

The screeching sounds of swords clashing in the air filled the atmosphere.

Swordsmanship classes had started a while ago. Sungjong poked his head through the door and carefully walked into the big hall. He could already feel the stares he received from each and every person in the hall. He headed towards the coach and whispered into his ear.

“Alright class,” the trainer shouted as he put his palms together after Sungjong finished whispering to him, “It seems like we have a newcomer in our class. Let me introduce. This boy right here is Lee Sungjong and he will be joining our class starting from today.” He said as he patted Sungjong’s back.

The coach then told Sungjong to take a sword that was kept safely at the end of the hall since he still hasn’t brought his own sword.

Just as Sungjong took his sword and wrapped the casing around his waist, a teenage boy came bursting through the door. He was panting rather heavily. He looked a little familiar to Sungjong.

“I’m… very… sorry… coach… Park…,” he slowly said the out one by one, trying to catch his breath, “I… over… slept…” He said as he held his knees in exhaustion after running really quick.

“This is the fifth time you’ve been late with the same excuse, Myungsoo. This is my last warning. Don’t do it ever again,” Coach Park warned as he sighed heavily, “Just take your sword out and partner up with the new kid.” He ordered as he rubbed his temples.

Myungsoo took out his sword and looked around for the new kid Coach Park told him to partner up with.

“Partner up everyone!” Coach park ordered sternly, “We’ll be beginning our lesson for today.”

Everyone except Sungjong and Myungsoo had partnered up. Myungsoo turned his head around and saw a guy looking around aimlessly. He quickly headed towards him.

“Are you the new kid?” Myungsoo asked as he reached Sungjong. Sungjong softly nodded his head.

“Let’s go.” Myungsoo immediately grabbed his hand and dragged him into the crowd or trainees. Sungjong widened his eyes in shock at his sudden action.

“Now face your partners,” Coach Park’s voice boomed across the hall, “Today, we are going to do some basic training. Striking and defending.” Coach Park said.

He went to the front and taught about how to hold a sword correctly so that it won’t be too tiring to hold it up. Then, he explained and demonstrated some combinations of strikes and defenses. Soon, the whole class was attacking and defending themselves.

“What’s your name?” Myungsoo asked loudly as he moved in to strike Sungjong.

“Lee Sungjong,” he replied and swiftly blocked Myungsoo’s attack, “What’s yours?” He asked back as he changed his defending stance into an assaulting stance.

“Kim Myungsoo.” He briefly replied, ready for an attack from him. Sungjong paused and lowered his sword.

“Kim Myungsoo?”  He said, confused at where he had heard that name before. Not only does his face look unbelievably familiar, but also his name. He looked at Myungsoo in confusion.

A small blue sapphire that was hanging around Myungsoo’s slender neck caught Sungjong’s eyes. Then, it hit him. He was one of the participants. Sungjong backed away slowly. He couldn’t believe he was training with an enemy.

Since the day he knew about the quest, Sungjong thought that it would be extremely hard to find the participants. But, this boy in front of him proved him wrong.

Myungsoo furrowed his brows at Sungjong’s long awkward silence. He too had just noticed Sungjong’s yellow topaz hanging on his neck. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, Coach Park had ended the session. At that moment, Sungjong quickly dashed out of the hall.

~¤~

After a long day of classes and training, Sungjong finally had time to lie down on his comfy bed in his room. He heavily sighed and looked to his left. He’d just realized that he was sharing the room with another person.

As he laid back and started to think about the Myungsoo guy in his swordsmanship class, he heard the door creak open. He turned his head towards the door and was excited to see who his roommate was. Then, his smile turned downwards as the person entered the room.

“Myungsoo?” Sungjong asked as he hugged his pillow, frightened.

Myungsoo startled and slowly turned his head around to see who was asking. His jaw dropped. The first person he really wanted to see was in his room.

“W-What are you doing here?” Myungsoo asked, surprised.

“I am practically living here now.” Sungjong replied. “This is my room, and probably yours.” He mumbled the last sentence and forced a sheepish smile on his face.

~¤~

Night had reigned over the land. Sungjong couldn’t stay asleep. He would wake up suddenly and think about the day. He shifted his body and turned to his left. On the other bed was his first ever participant he met.

“So, this is how it feels like to have a partner.” Sungjong whispered gently to himself, smiling.

He took out the necklace that was hidden inside his shirt. Two gems were now hanging on it; the yellow topaz that he already had and the blue sapphire that Myungsoo gave him.

He recalled about how Myungsoo just gave the sapphire to him and giggled about it.

Myungsoo said that he was just too lazy and bored to don on the quest alone. So, he came up with a plan. He told Sungjong to join forces with him and create a group of two. That way, neither of them would get killed or almost get killed and they could just get the other six gems faster.

At first, Sungjong thought that it was a bad idea to join forces as there was a possibility of the both of them getting killed in one attack from a participant. Myungsoo just said that the possibility was really small and he still wanted to go on the quest.

After a long time of thinking, Sungjong finally agreed. Although it would risk his life to join forces with an enemy, he really wanted someone to accompany him in this quest full of challenges.

Sungjong soon fell asleep, smiling, after he was too tired to think anymore. What he didn’t know was that with two gems already with him, more danger would come their way.