Moss walked straight over when he saw Alan, Mill, and the others chatting happily in the pavilion nearby.
“I wonder why Director Elroy called Moss over.” Alan tilted his head and looked into the distance with a puzzled expression.
“My goodness, Alan, you’re too energetic. You should participate in the annual school professional competition again,” Baylon looked at Alan and held in his laughter, “You’ll know why when Moss gets here.”
“What is it?” Moss put away his smile and pretended he didn’t hear Alan the first time.
Everyone turned around and looked at Moss when they heard his voice.
Alan stood up from the bench and rushed over to hold Moss’s hand, asking anxiously, “Why did Director Elroy call you over so early in the morning, Moss?”
“He talked to me about the elite training program.” Moss maintained his seriousness.
Mill and the others guessed what had happened when they saw Moss’s expression. They thought they couldn’t participate in the elite training program because Elroy and the third-year teachers had a special meeting to discuss the limited slots for the training program.
However, that was an understandable presumption because the training program was more crucial for the third-year students.
If a third-year student obtained a graduation certificate from the elite training program, it would grant that student an opportunity to attend an ideal college. Even if a student failed to get a graduation certificate, the 50% who could maintain a good track record in the training program would be recorded in the local elite student catalog.
“Sigh, I thought it would’ve been great if we could participate.” Alan knew Moss wanted to participate in the training program, so he quickly comforted Moss, “It’s just a lousy training camp. We don’t need it. There will be better things to come in the future.”
“Alan is right. Although the training program isn’t as pointless as he said, there will be better opportunities to show our strengths in the future,” Mill also comforted Moss.
“Actually, Director Elroy said the training center has agreed to our school’s appeal to increase the number of slots for the training program,” Moss explained calmly, “However, the training center only granted us five more slots.”
“Oh, they approved the appeal…” Then Alan regained his senses and continued, “W-Wait. So, how will the school allocate these extra slots?”
The others shifted their gazes on Moss when they heard Alan’s question.
“They considered Team Moss’s performance in the professional competition and decided to give the five extra slots to us.”
Before Moss explained the extra slots, a sense of disappointment appeared on Mill and Bass’s faces. Still, it was fleeting, and Moss did not notice them.
Mill was about to congratulate Team Moss when Moss continued, “The school has decided to transfer Mill and Bass over to form a new team since Kohler and Moore are injured. We’ll be participating in the training program together.”
The usually calm Bass could not remain calm and exclaimed in disbelief, “Wow, is that true?!”
Mill also cast a questioning gaze toward Moss.
“It’s true. Director Elroy has already signed the public notice and will release it in a moment.”
Alan finally reacted to what everyone said. It turned out Moss was teasing them the whole time. “Good for you, Moss. When did you learn to be a bad boy? You teased us!”
However, Mill’s thoughts differed from Alan’s. She always thought Moss was a cold and arrogant person. Only through the professional competition did Mill discover Moss was responsible, courageous, and a capable person who lacked a sense of humor.
But through Moss’s actions just now, Mill felt that Moss had changed again. No matter what others thought, Mill preferred the Moss that teased them. She wanted to tell Moss about it but didn’t know how.
Then Moss, smiling just a moment ago, became serious again. He said, “Although Director Elroy won us a slot, he still feels we need to improve before we set off, especially if we want to gain something from the training program.”
Baylon and the others heard what Moss said and fell into deep thought.
Indeed, those who could attend the training program were the elites of the province, and the vast majority were third-year high school students.
If Team Moss wanted to survive the first stage, they needed to ensure they could make it to the top 50%. It was not a small feat.
Moss knew everyone’s concerns when he saw his teammates’ troubled expressions. Thus, he said confidently, “Don’t be discouraged. Principal Na’er and Director Elroy have recommended an excellent place to improve ourselves—a three-star Mystic Realm in Black Panther City.”
“A three-star Mystic Realm?! Can we handle that? That’s a bit cruel coming from Principal Na’er and Director Elroy, isn’t it?” Alan was excited when Moss said they had to improve themselves, but his heart started rapidly beating when he heard they would do it in a three-star Mystic Realm.
“Yeah, isn’t a three-star Mystic Realm too tough for us, Captain Moss?” Baylon said frowningly.
“I believe Director Elroy and Principal Na’er have reasons for doing so. It’s just as Moss said. We should improve ourselves as much as possible if we want to gain something from the training program,” Mill thoughtfully said as she shifted her gaze toward Moss.
“Mill is right. Also, I think we can conquer a three-star Mystic Realm. Although we haven’t experienced one before, we have gone through a two-star Mystic Realm during the professional competition while continuously growing.”
“The overall strength of our team has increased with the addition of Mill and Bass. We can undoubtedly conquer the three-star Mystic Realm if we can work well together.”
Alan became more confident when he saw Moss’s determination. He had supported Moss unconditionally before, and after experiencing the professional competition, he became even more trusting toward Moss.
“Yeah, the Mystic Realm won’t be a problem as long as Moss is there!” Alan shouted as he raised his arms.
The others also became confident when Alan inspired them. “Yeah, it’s just a three-star Mystic Realm. It’s not a big deal! I think it’d be an interesting challenge!”
“We should go and make some preparations before heading out since everyone is feeling motivated. Then we’ll set off for Black Panther City tomorrow and enter the Mystic Realm when it opens the next day.”
“Yes, sir!”
The cheers ended, and Team Moss went to make their preparations accordingly.
…
Moss had lived in the school throughout the professional competition, so he had a different feeling when he finally returned home. All the honors in the world were insignificant to a person who had lived two lifetimes. Moss only wanted to enjoy his time with his parents.
Moss saw his mother, Alexis, busy preparing food smilingly. She looked better than ever with a proud smile. Moss felt that his mother was the happiest person in the world at that moment.
After the meal, Moss told his parents about his experience in the professional competition in detail.
Although the process of claiming the Future Star award was nerve-wracking to Moss’s parents, they were still proud and couldn’t help but shed tears of joy and excitement.