...…

After settling at their new home, the trio immediately went to do their respective jobs.

Shin headed to the kitchen to prepare for their dinner since it was his main task.

On the other hand, Arthur contacted their family engineer as Shin tasked him to deal with the renovation of the other rooms.

They were also planning to build an underground gym, so he also needed to consult their engineer about that matter as well as the training equipment that they needed. He might be musclehead, but he was quite reliable when it came to these kinds of things.

Meanwhile, Leonard went outside to scout the whole place. Doing such a thing was actually unnecessary since the neighborhood that Shin chose had a high level of security.

But being a person trained in the military, such things became a protocol for Shin and Arthur. So, checking everything about the neighborhood and making sure that they didn't miss even a little thing became a regular routine for them whenever they arrived in a new place.

…

"How was it?" asked Shin at the two who just finished their respective task.

"Uncle Sam said that he is going to visit us tomorrow for personal inspection," replied Arthur as he took a seat beside the table.

And after a slight pause, he suddenly added. "He also said that he will personally choose the training equipment that we need. So, we don't have anything to worry about. Though, I will still check the quality of the equipment if they can meet our standards."

Hearing that, Shin nodded his head before turning it towards Leonard. And when the latter saw that, he slightly pursed his lips before saying. "The security is quite tight."

"There are 5 security posts in total which are covering the entire neighborhood. And on top of that, there are also 3 batches of security personnel who are regularly patrolling the area whole every five or ten minutes."

"The security cameras are also not that bad. I've checked every corner of the neighborhood and I didn't see any blind spots that can be taken advantage of. So, we shouldn't have any problem with that."

"Though, I am not sure about their system security yet," added Leonard as he took a seat on the chair across Arthur's.

"Don't worry about it. Uncle Sam will install our own security system when he arrives tomorrow anyway," said Shin as he took his own seat.

After that, the three of them started eating their dinner before Arthur suddenly remembered something. "Oh! So, how about you brief us on our upcoming opponents?"

Shin couldn't help but rolled his eyes at Arthur when he heard that. Then he turned his head towards Leonard who seemed to be waiting for his answer.

At that point, Shin could only shake his head helplessly before asking. "Are the two of you really don't have any intention of doing your 'homework'?"

Hearing that, both Arthur and Leonard turned their heads towards his direction while wearing the same look they threw at him earlier.

Seeing that, Shin could only shake his head even further since he clearly understood the meaning of the look on their faces. "You two sure are hopeless."

Regardless, he still continued right after releasing a helpless sigh. "There are a lot of talented individuals who are going to participate in the special selection exam. And most of them even came from other countries."

"As for the main reason – I don't need to need to explain the details isn't it?" asked Shin to make sure that these two were at least not that clueless about the current situation.

Fortunately, the two nodded their heads the moment he asked about that.

Though, Leonard only knew that it was an international tournament that was being held once every 20 years. He asked his master about it before when it was mentioned accidentally. But his master never told him more than that no matter how much he inquired about it.

On the other hand, Arthur was fully aware of it. After all, he came from an Ancient Martial-Arts Family.

Moreover, how could Arthur miss such a 'wonderful' event? It was a great place where he could show his 'awesomeness' in front of the world after all. So, he would never overlook something like this.

Reading the different expressions that the two had. Shin could only shake his head even more and just continued. "Alright, then let's start with those guys that you almost fought earlier." Those three are called Three Kings around this area."

Arthur couldn't help but sneer when he heard the words 'three kings' from Shin. "Heh! Three Kings? Now, this is interesting – it even makes me become more motivated to crush them."

Then he raised his head and looked at Shin with a smug face while asking. "Which group do you think is better? The so-called Three Kings? Or us, the Monster Trio?"

Meanwhile, Leonard fell into a deep thought the moment he heard those words. "So, they are the ones that my master is talking about. Now, I see why he warned me to be careful around them."

"I am not going to discuss their strengths since the two of you are quite eager to experience it personally." On the other hand, Shin ignored their remarks and resumed eating before continuing after a few bites. "There are not the only ones that we need to look out for."

"There is also a young assassin who came from the Lost Soul Continent. He is given the nickname of 'Lone Wolf' as he is always alone. But others are also quite afraid of him since his skills are a real deal."

"What's next are the twins of the Sun-Moon Continent. Those two are a strong pair of Martial-Artist, but what made them even more noticeable is their talents. One of them is good at using all kinds of weapons while the other is skilled at creating different kinds of gadgets."

"The Dark Continent also sent a quite promising contender. He is a Kaleidoscope Mentalist with a mysterious combat talent. I heard that he also ranked in the top along with Jean Camus during the entrance exam."

After that, Shin started listing out all of the other participants who were most likely the top contenders for the upcoming special recruitment exams.

**********

Meanwhile, somewhere within the Magical Ace Academy.

A young man was traveling under the shadow of the night, dodging all of the security cameras and within the vicinity.

A few moments later, he arrived at a house within the school before entering it as naturally as possible.

Inside that place was an old man who was currently sitting on a rocking chair. And as if he was expecting the arrival of the young man, he slightly opened his eyes before asking. "I already told you that you can't come to this place whenever you want."

Hearing that, the young man immediately lowered his head and kneeled on the ground while saying. "I am sorry, Sir! But there is something that I really need to report as soon as possible."

The old man couldn't help but become interested when he saw the urgency in the young man's words. 'This kid rarely acts like this, I wonder what kind of news is it.'

"So, what is it?" asked the old man.

Seeing that the old man was showing some interest, the young man quickly opened his mouth and started reporting. "It is about the kid that you asked me to keep an eye on. I think that he finally arrived at the City."

The moment he said those words, the old man suddenly shot up from his seat had quickly asked. "Are you sure about that?"

The young man kept on nodding his head and answered. "Yes, sir! I clearly saw him in the school plaza earlier when his group encountered the 'Three Kings' of the East."

Hearing the confirmation, the old man suddenly started laughing out loud. "Finally! Someone with the 'Spiritual Embryo' special body! Finally!"

After that, he looked at the kneeling young man in front of him before saying. "Quick! Arrange a meeting with that child! I really need to persuade him to join our department."

"I can't do that yet, Sir! He is still not a student of the School. The other professors are going to misunderstand if you meet him right now," said the young man, calming the old man's excitement.

"Oh! You are right. I forgot about the so-called policy that they made right before the special selection exam," said the old man as he came back to his senses.

Though, he immediately added after a slight pause. "But it doesn't mean that I can't check at the applicants' abilities first. After all, I have some privileges."

"But Sir!-…" the young man wanted to protest about it but his words couldn't be heard by the old man any longer.

The old man just ignored him and started walking out of the house while muttering some words to himself.

Seeing that, the young man could only shake his head helplessly as he knew that it was impossible to stop the old man at this point in time. All he could do was pray for the poor soul of the new target of the old man's interest. "I hope that he will not scare the kid from joining our department."

...…