Welcome and Surprise

Before the Ninth Tower.

Dawn was longed for by the world because it symbolized light.

But where there was light, there was naturally darkness... Reg, immersed in his own growth, felt a chill run through his heart when he saw how many people stood before the tower, as though he had fallen into an ice cellar: nine had set out, and three had survived.

Waiting before the tower were none other than Instructor Hart, round as a ball, and the kabuki performer Lion Wotori.

"Not bad. Three of you survived." Hart grinned.

"Yeah, this year... someone finally survived." Henry laughed as well.

"You two..."

Colin glanced at the grim-faced Reg but did not try to comfort him... staying alive had never been easy, especially for orphans with no one to rely on.

"Reg, are you okay?" Jabra asked worriedly.

"I'm fine."

Reg quickly suppressed his emotions... class differences truly existed everywhere.

Of the three survivors, only he was an orphan with no background whatsoever.

As for Wotori and Jabra, both were descendants of P members... which made sense. If their descendants lacked the talent, they would not have been sent to Tower Forest Island for training.

"Wotori, work hard."

"Yes!"

"Jabra, you too... Don't slack off on physical training just because you've gained special abilities."

"Yes!"

After saying goodbye to their respective students, the two quickly left... after all, they had spent a full ten days in the primeval forest and needed a good rest.

Unlike the other two, Colin did not leave. Instead, he patted Reg on the shoulder. "Kid, it's time to make good on my promise."

"Thank you, Instructor Colin."

"You'll need to change what you call me..."

Colin offered no explanation and simply walked toward the wooden doors of the tower.

"Yo, yo, oi... Reg, you..."

"Speak properly... or don't speak at all."

Reg's brow twitched violently... that broken-up way of speaking sounded fresh and amusing at first, but he could not stand hearing that tone all the time.

"Yeah, speak properly."

Jabra immediately sided with Reg... he was not afraid of that Noh-mask kid's mother.

"Yo... cough, Reg... you're really close with Teacher Colin." Wotori corrected himself with a foolish grin.

"Teacher?!"

Reg seemed to realize something... back in the previous towers, that was how they addressed instructors.

"Look." Wotori lifted his chin.

Creak—at last, the wooden doors of the Ninth Tower, carved with intricate patterns, opened for the first time.

The first person to appear was not Wotori's mother, but a curly-haired, middle-aged man with an unshaven face, wearing a vest emblazoned with "Justice" beneath a black jacket and smoking a cigar.

Following at his right was Wotori's mother, Mountain Hag... then came children wearing colorful clothes on their upper bodies and uniform black trousers below, their builds varying from tall to short, fat to thin.

"There are ten of them... with the three of us, that makes only thirteen..."

"Colin, it's rare to see you act on impulse... Is this kid really worth it?" the curly-haired man asked after exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Joe, this is my choice."

Colin straightened his tie, smoothed his slightly messy hair, and stood behind Joe.

"Well... whatever. Let the welcoming ceremony begin!" Joe waved his hands in an exaggeratedly comical manner.

Clap, clap, clap... the children standing quietly behind him began applauding in unison.

Of the three, only Reg was covered in question marks, while the other two smiled bashfully.

"Welcome, probationary members of P9!"

"Thank you..."

No matter what, thanking them could not be wrong... Reg responded with a shy smile.

"Wow... so cute. My name is Eileen, and I'm ten years old."

The only pretty girl among the ten, with black twin ponytails, had hearts in her eyes... before Reg could react, she pulled him into her embrace.

And the position of his head was rather delicate... Reg could clearly feel eighteen icy, killing-intent-filled gazes locking onto him.

If looks could kill, he would probably have been chopped into eight pieces by now.

Jabra braced himself and stepped forward, blocking some of those gazes.

Seeing this, Wotori grinned and did the same... the three of them were newcomers, so no matter what, they had to stick together.

"Mhm... you're really cute." Eileen started pawing at Reg.

"Cough, cough... Big Sis Eileen, I'm Reg. I'm five years old."

Reg moved his head away and smiled apologetically at the nine people behind him... though making a face right now would have felt much better.

But for the sake of his future happiness, it was better not to become a second Momonosuke... and taking a step back, he truly had no interest in this underdeveloped little blonde girl.

Sure enough, seeing how sensible he was... everyone's anger faded by half, though they were definitely still unhappy with him.

"Alright, alright... Eileen, put Reg down. You can all introduce yourselves."

Seeing no further conflict, Joe curled his lip and moved the welcoming ceremony on to the next stage.

"..."

Reg was utterly speechless... this instructor seemed a little unreliable.

As if he had guessed what Reg was thinking, Colin couldn't help but laugh... P9's dark justice was certainly cruel, but that was directed outward.

Although anyone who failed to keep up during the process of growing stronger would still be kicked out... the atmosphere here was quite warm.

After all, unrelenting darkness... was not advisable.

"Hello, my name is Fitz."

"Hello... I'm Ada."

"Hello..."

Amid their cold stares, everyone finished introducing themselves one by one... while Eileen, the instigator, laughed carelessly and poked Reg from time to time.

I'm not some doll...

Reg sighed inwardly, but he had no good solution for the moment... this ten-year-old girl was clearly much stronger than him, and she bore him no ill will.

"Alright... training begins. Colin, Reg is yours for now. Kumadori, Jabra, fall in... run 0 kilometers with me first!"

"Yes!"

Everyone responded in unison and immediately formed a neat line... Joe waved his hand, twisted his waist flamboyantly, and began leading the way. Judging by their direction, they were actually heading into the depths of the primeval forest.

"Yo yo yi... Colin~ See you later, and you too, little guy." Mountain Hag sang out before leaving.

In the blink of an eye, only Reg and Colin were left staring at each other in front of the tower.

"Haha... what an interesting expression. Come on, let's talk as we walk." Colin rubbed his neck.

"Alright, Teacher Colin..."

Colin did not walk very quickly as he led Reg into the tower... so Reg took the opportunity to observe the classroom interior.

The desks were arranged in a U-shape, as were the chairs... there were only five in total. Based on the standard of three people per desk, the room could accommodate no more than fifteen people.

In the classroom of the Eighth Tower where Reg had been, the desks had packed the room full. Nearly seven children had to squeeze around each desk, and even the walls had added child safety seats for the older children.

With fewer people needing lessons, the back of the classroom was instead piled with all sorts of training equipment: dumbbells, barbells, punching bags, absurdly large medicine balls, and so on... Transparent glass had been set into the walls, and behind it hung black long pants in a variety of sizes.

"Teacher Colin... those pants?"

"They're weighted long pants made from special fibers... only reserve members with over 00 Doriki can apply for them. The minimum is 00 kilograms." Colin explained casually.

"Why aren't the weights marked?" Reg asked again.

"They're luxury items made for practicing Shave as well—'gravity pants.' Their weight can be adjusted... there are clothes too, but they require special applications." As he spoke, Colin climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Reg nodded... no wonder there were only bottoms. He wondered how much weight those members who were running were wearing.

This was the treatment P9 received... members of the other towers did not have specialized gravity pants for training their leg strength.