Is this the one? Is it finally happening?

Wu tried to contain his excitement at the hints of an actual beach episode, but he didn't want to get his hopes up, plus he still got Augen's whole ordeal still lingering on his mind.

"When you say this...is it coming from a rematch with Fatera perspective, or..." Wu asked, glancing towards Lera who nodded back at him, "Or is this a way to arm ourselves against the PORA?"

"Lera told me about PORA." Lily confirmed, "Like many others that she said were captured, I had no recollection of what happened, but after that, I did some digging within the Union, and I came to realize how many of the Union members, particularly those from the Boarded had been associated with this...PORA. However...they seemed to be waiting for something, someone, or some chance to act. I do now know what, but if anything, we can always get stronger."

Then, she slowly glanced towards Augen, a confused look forming over her face. She clearly recognized Augen's features from somewhere before, but it wasn't memorable enough to her to pick up right away.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Lily asked, and Augen waved his finger at Lily and her unmistakably intense Wave.

"In the Union somewhere, maybe yes." Augen said, "I was a cleaner."

"Right." Lily forced a smile of politeness before turning her attention back to Wu, "John had been keeping tabs on our activities far more closely since the end of the Winter Wars. So whatever it is that we plan to do, we cannot do it here. With the Winter break approaching, I think a training camp with you all will serve multiple purposes.

"Wu, you are spot on with my rematch against Fatera, as I cannot deny that is one of my key motivations. However, I would also like to pit my five-man unit against yours during the training camp, and the individuals on your side had more than demonstrated their capabilities."

"We already got five out of ten." Augen reminded, smiling as Ver stood up with her arms crossed.

"So what, he's in?" Ver asked, "We are just trusting him now?"

"Trust can be earned." Wu said, "I think a camp like that might be a good enough opportunity for you, Augen. Kind of like a tryout for being on the squad. How's that?"

"Seems good to me." Augen and Fatera both said, and everybody in the room looked to Fatera strangely, "What? He's just another one for me to beat up during sparring. You can never have too many of those."

"You can beat me up at anytime, I’ll just heal myself back up." Augen said as Fatera looked at him funny before laughing.

"I like ya!" Fatera said, "Don't quit on me after one round like Wu!"

"HEY! I never..."

"Ok. You seemed lively enough." Lily said, turning around, "Meet me outside of Illiol in the morning at 9 at the start of the winter break. Bring your summer wear. It's winter up here, but like I said...it's a tropical island."

"YES!" Wu cheered, throwing his fists into the air as Lily raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. Then, she kept that confusion to herself before departing.

With that sudden interruption out of the way, the group then focused inward once more on what they are going to do with Augen. After Wu gave him the okay, he then shared what was once between the two of them with the group. To be honest, Wu felt like he needed that reminder.

What they are really here to do is to investigate the PORA, but they have been distracted by all of the other shit ever since the beginning. However, life eventually finds a way, and Wu now sits here with four of his companions as an uncertain future slowly sneaks upon him.

"Like we said before, a tryout." Lera said as Augen nodded, "Also, no more secrets between us. If you are our friend, then you can trust us with your life, and we need to be able to do the same with you."

"Ya three are intense." Fatera said, her finger gesturing towards Lera, Ver, and Wu, "I am no snitch though, but just saying."

"We have been through some shit." Ver said, shrugging, "Once we get out of this little wonderland bubble, you will see."

"No, we will see even here in the Academy." Augen said, "The PORA now know of our existence, and they will attempt to sniff us out before anything comes to be if we are not careful. And their best chance to kill us all without facing any official consequences will be during the Summer Selections."

An official match is where accidental killing is forgiven. During the Winter Wars, there were a handful of casualties, but all of those deaths are from when the students were too gravely injured for the Medical Guild to help them afterward. Due to the difference in formatting, the Summer Selections always had a far higher body count in the forest-spanning team battles.

"That's the other reason that Lily proposed this training camp." Augen said, scanning around the room before he closed the blank Manuscript on the table, "It is to prepare for the Summer Selections. Historically, this is where the Boarded members were decided each year. It's the highest performing teams and individuals that are being considered new additions to the top 50 strongest Wave users within the Academy. The format of the competition is a battle royale."

"And that means all of the Boarded members will also be participating in the Summer Selections." Ver nodded her head, following Augen's logic, "Including John."

"A majority will be participating, yes. Though I think John would be held back by the organization part." Augen said, "But we want to take down the a majority of PORA’s forces through official means, then there are no matter times to act than during the Summer Selections."

"Or if we want to stay safe and out of the way...we can just skip the Summer Selections and go investigate the Union headquarters..." Wu said, looking towards Lera, "That would be the ideal tactic if we do not know anything about the PORA, but that's not really the case anymore. We now know far more than we did before, and we have a chance to stop them here and now."

"Then, we can stop the coming war here, and now." Lera said, her hand reaching towards Wu's as he took it, "We will not only resist, but we will take the fight to them."

"How do we know they will not activate the Revolutionary Manuscript before then?" Wu asked, looking down at the blank book in front of them.

"Because during the Summer Selections, the leaders of many Kingdoms will be present on a floating arena, watching the matches in real-time, conveniently." Augen said, "Almost all of the students fighting in the Summer Selections have potential to become at least a general for their home country, therefore, many political leaders will be gathered here.

“Secondly, when the PORA activates the Revolutionary Manuscript, they would want to activate it all across the globe at once, not allowing any of the countries to form an effective resistance. The Summer Selections provides a perfect starting point for both of those reasons. What's even better, is that the winning team will gain an audience with the leaders in the after-party..."

"So the world is just walking straight into a trap set by PORA?" Wu asked, "Shit...if I was summoned half a year later, they would have already succeeded then?"

"Guess we will never know...perhaps someone the PORA could control would have been summoned instead if not for Lera’s interventino." Augen replied, "I...am going to take your advice and live my life one second at a time. So, assuming that we truly have power to control our future, we will make sure that the Manuscript will never be activated, by winning the entirety of the Summer Selections and vastly weakening PORA’s forces.”

"What's preventing the PORA from taking action in the middle of the Summer selections?" Ver asked, "I wouldn't wait for it to be over to act. I will act when everyone's attention is focused on the match itself!"

"A sensible suggestion, yes." Augen admitted, "I cannot offer you anything concrete, but if they act too early with the majority of the fighting forces in the Summer Selections still healthy and capable, those units that are fighting in the Selections might turn around and join the resistance, knowing their country leaders are in danger."

"And where does Principal Khan play in all of this?" Lera asked.

"No clue." Augen threw his hands up in defeat, "He is the ultimate X factor, and...there is no knowing which side he is truly on. Not right now, at least."

"Then we must focus on the factors that we can actually control." Wu said, "With this, our plans for the future should be clear. We will train with Lily's group in the foreseeable future, and we will prepare for this Summer Selections thing in...how long?"

"Five months." Augen said, "So yeah...plenty of time to become stupidly strong."

"Sounds good to me." Wu said, standing up as Lera followed right after him, "In five months, we take the battle to PORA!"

"Now we are talking." Fatera said, laughing and clapping her hands together before Wu reached his fist to the center of the group.

"So really, nothing has changed?" Ver asked, her hands reaching forward and resting above Wu's, "Get strong, beat up the bad guys? Rinse and repeat?"

"Yep." Augen said, reaching his hand in too the pile.

"This sounds lame." Fatera said, placing his hand on the very top.

“But is actually hella fun.” Wu smirled, and Fatera couldn’t help but agree.

"I was summoned to this world Through Space and Time by the tablet, and I was told that I have to be the Fourth Savior of this world, saving it from turmoil and the impending war." Wu said, his eyes slowly moving from Lera all the way to Augen, "But nobody can do anything alone. And for one, I am thankful to have all of you by my side. Now, with the party of five fully assembled at last, this fantasy story is finally starting to roll...Let's get to work."