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THE STADIUM WAS ALREADY filled with students when Max, Ari, and Felix got there. The students were divided into four levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors. Each level is then divided into four classes; Class A to Class D. Everyone is seated at the bleachers according to their year and class, but there are empty seats in the middle. For anyone who has a brain, it's obvious that the brotherhoods would be seated there.

    Everything still looks like a school gym, but they call it a stadium to keep the medieval theme of the school consistent.

     "How many years did they even construct this?" Max asks as he continues to admire the structure of the building.

     "It took them five years. But worry not, you'll know about it eventually. There's a special class for it." Ari explains with no further detail.

     "Our class is seated there." Felix then tells them as he points at the bleachers where the other 2nd year students are seated.

     The three of them walk their way to the bleachers. And while they were walking, students stared and whispered at each other like earlier, but this time Ari knew that it wasn't about the tire-stained peak cap. It was about Max Sinclaire.

     Others might not know the gravity of how powerful this boy is, but Max holds the balance of the business world in his slender fingers. His father owns the most successful hotels and casinos in the world, while his mother is known as one of the super elites who was once a member of the famous group Crème de la crème like Max. They're old money, so their riches branched out from generation to generation. Max is the only heir to both riches, so imagine the power and wealth that he will obtain once he inherits it all. Presidents and CEOs would bow down on their feet if he wanted them to.

     "Max, I've always wondered; why did you decide to enroll here all of a sudden? It's obvious that you don't even know about what's going on in this school, so why?" Ari asks when they were already sitting on the bleachers with the rest of their classmates.

     Felix looks at Max, curious about what his answer would be too.

     Max was staring at the students who were finding their seats as he answers them, "I respect our family and bring pride to its name. I am not ashamed of being a Sinclaire because there is absolutely no reason for me not to. But with all the advantages and responsibilities that come with it, I still want to prove myself without people shoving into my face that I did it because I'm a Sinclaire. My uncle told me this was the right place to start."

     "So you want to prove your worth?" Ari asks, and Max nods his head as an answer.

     "If that's the case then maybe you should raise your rank first." Felix suggests, but then Ari butts in and says, "Raising one's rank is the ideal plan for every student in J.S High, but if you really want to make a name for yourself, you have to—"

     Ari was interrupted by the sudden roar of the students. They turn their heads toward the stage and spot a familiar face. It's the president of the Elites, Ian Rothman. Ian made a huge impression during the Freshmen orientation. The way he spoke and the way he presented himself was enough to make Max respect him.

     "Good morning House of Kings!" Ian shouts, causing the students to shout even louder.

     As the students continue to hype themselves up, Ari leans closer to Max and increases the volume of his voice so he could hear him. "That's what you have to target if you want people to see your worth."

     Felix realizes Ari's point and immediately nods his head in agreement.

     "The Elites?" Max asks.

     "The Elites hold the most power over the students and the school's system. And the reason is that they contain the top five highest-ranked students in J.S High." Felix explains.

     "That's why there's no election. You only have to climb yourself to the top." Ari then adds.

     Max scratches his chin and stares at Ian who was happily talking to the crowd. Now Max understands why Ian has such a strong presence. He literally worked his way to get there.

     "You said you need merit points to increase your rank right? Then how many points do you guys exactly have now?" Max asks next.

     Ari thinks about it for a while, trying to remember how many points he accumulated in the past. "Since I'm ranked #294, I have at least 3,600 points in my name."

     Max was impressed by the number of points that Ari has already gathered, but Felix was more impressed by it since he knows the average point that their year has, and it's definitely not over three thousand.

     "How about you?" Ari then asks while looking at Felix, making Max look at him too.

     Felix starts looking flustered as the two waits for his answer. He scratches the back of his head in embarrassment and explains, "I'm not really active in school activities so I'm only ranked #408 with 1420 points."

     It was Ari's turn to be surprised by the sudden reveal. A student needs at least 1500 points before ending his freshman year. Felix is literally 80 points short of becoming a dweller.

     "It might be rude for me to ask but how did you get in an A-class then? Are you like the smartest guy in our year?" Max asks, but Ari immediately debunks it. "Unlikely. I got the second-highest score during the entrance exam. The guy who tops in our year is the other gaffer that I mentioned earlier."

     "Then what about you?" Max asks Felix again.

     Felix doesn't say anything, but he shyly shows them three fingers.

     Ari furrows his brows, confused about what it was about. But after sinking it in a little, he finally got what he was trying to say.

     "You're top 3?" Ari asks, but then he remembers their first-year medal ceremony. There was a small guy who stood beside him who wore glasses and had his hair down that almost covered his eyes. He looks back at Felix who didn't fit the description anymore, but the height was no doubt the same.

     "I kinda changed my look this year," Felix explains when he noticed Ari's confused expression.

     Max smiles and pats Felix's head, "Good for you then."

     Felix blushes and Ari just continues to stare at Felix who he still could not believe was top 3. He remembered that Felix fell asleep during the entrance exam and woke up at the last minute. He finished the exam in less than 20 minutes, and he still ranked third. Ari heard he couldn't finish a few items, so what would have happened if he didn't fall asleep?

     "Is there any way to rank faster?" Max then asks.

     Ari snaps back to his senses and scratches his chin again to show that he's already thinking about it. "There is, but other than underlings, no one has done it before."

     "What is it?" Max insisted, and Ari was left with no choice but to tell Max about it. "The brotherhoods. They're the only ones here who have the power to give insane amounts of merit points." Ari reveals.

     Max wanted to know more, but their conversation was cut short when the students started screaming.

     "To officially start our assembly, let me first welcome, the House of King's very own, and the council that I am honored to be in, the Elites!" Ian announces, and the student council joins Ian on the stage.

     The rest of the students that Max met during the freshmen orientation were there, but there was a new additional member amongst them. And to Max's surprise, it was the guy who told him to wear his peak cap during the time he interrupted his conversation with sir Barron.

     "That tall guy with black hair, he's a member of the Elites?" Max asks while his eyes were glued to him.

     "Oh him? That's Gavriil Ivanovich Alexeev. He's the vice president." Felix answers and Max finally understood why he had the nerve to scold him like that. And since Max wasn't able to look at it earlier, he squints his eyes to get a better view of the vice president's collar. On his right collar is a brooch of an ionic column, which was similar to what Ian Rothman and the rest of the Elites are wearing. On his left collar was a roman numeral two (II), which obviously means that he's rank 2. It only made Max realize that all of them had numerical brooches that corresponded to their ranks.

     "I met him earlier. He called out for sir Barron while we were talking. He must be a senior since he's comfortable talking with our homeroom teacher like that." Max reveals, making the two boys sitting beside him look at each other before looking at Max.

     "Max, he's in the same class as us. He's the gaffer that I was talking about." Ari tells him, instantly surprising Max. He couldn't believe what he just heard. He couldn't even think of what to reply. How did a mere second year get that so high up in the ranks?

     "That guy is one of the scariest White Uniforms you'll ever encounter." Felix comments.

     "And why is that?"

     "The vice president has power over the white uniforms. He has the power to suspend us and bring us to deliberation." Ari explains, surprising Max even more.

     "My uncle gave someone that much power over his students?" Max thought to himself as he looks back at the two. "Hopefully he's not some kind of lunatic." He asks, hoping he wasn't wrong.

     "Gavriil is a man of justice. He was almost born to rule over us. But what you have to worry about is the president." Ari explains while his eyes were fixed on president Rothman.

     Max doesn't say anything and stares back at Ian Rothman who was still happily waving at the crowd.

     "He's nice to us white uniforms since he doesn't exactly have power over us, but as soon as he faces brotherhoods, everything about him changes. He's the only student in our entire House that is equal if not higher than brotherhoods." Ari explains further, shocking Max even more than he already is. The hair on his skin even stood up after hearing about it.

     "Then how many points do those guys have to be able to hold so much power?" Max asks, and Ari did a thinking pose before answering Max's question. "For what I remember, Ian has at least twelve thousand points."

     "Twelve thousand?!" Max accidentally shouts.

     Ian on the other hand continues to talk to the crowd with great enthusiasm. The vice president named Gavriil Alexeev was only standing with his hands behind his back like he was observing the crowd and making sure the students don't do anything funny. The secretary, Richard Young, and the school's representative, Dustin Griffiths, stood beside him in silence while his twin Justin happily waved to the crowd with Ian.

     "By the way, what's with the Houses? You guys keep calling this the House of Kings. Doesn't that mean that there are other houses too?" Max asks, and just on cue, the Elites step out of the stage. Trumpets start playing, and a chubby professor appears on stage and waves to the crowd.

     "House of Kings! How are you all doing today?!" The teacher slash host greets as the students cheer even louder. Max almost covered his ear because of how loud the students were. He couldn't believe these are a bunch of heirs.

     "That's Mr. Vincent Coleman. He handles the Language Arts subjects for sophomore and junior students, and he's also the advisor for the public speaking club. He's usually the host in these types of events." Ari explains as the three of them watch Mr. Coleman walk towards the middle of the stage with the microphone in his hand.

     "You wanna know what the houses are right? Well, you better get ready Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire because it's about to get crazy!" Ari shouts near Max's ear so he could be able to hear it over the loud cheers of the students inside the stadium.

     "Wow, the Elites are still looking good. Remember guys, if you want to be part of the student council, then you have to work harder than you've ever worked before." Mr. Coleman says as he gestures at the student council members who were now standing below the stage.

     "Well let's not keep them waiting. Without further ado, let us officially begin the House Assembly!"

     Welcome to the world of brotherhoods created by none other than the Brotherhood Association. Under the association are five schools that represent five houses. Each house represents different ranks of brotherhoods, starting from the lowest ranks...

     "Let us welcome, the representatives of the House of Pawns! The 8 Soldiers!"

     A banner falls from the ceiling and dangles on the left side of the stadium just near the stage. The front door of the stadium then opens, revealing eight students wearing the same black uniform as the brotherhoods in J.S High, except they wore a black peak cap like the White Uniforms.

The House of Pawns (Thomas L. High School) is considered the lowest house among the five houses. Unlike J.S High, there are no White Uniforms in this house because everyone studying there are brotherhood members. Brotherhoods are ranked up to thirty, but the officially recognized ranks stop at rank twenty-two, leaving the remaining 8 as the weakest, which puts them inside the House of Pawns. Though they are the weakest amongst the top thirty brotherhoods, these eight brotherhoods are considered the strongest of their house, a title that is impressive on its own.

     The eight students before them are the eight leaders of the top eight brotherhoods of the House of Pawns. Usually, during House Assembly, only the leaders from other houses are invited to attend.

     Everyone cheers for them as the eight leaders take their seats at the far back of the empty chairs that are placed in the middle of the stadium. 

     Max can't help but be fascinated by what he's witnessing. It's a good thing that Felix and Ari were willing to explain the details to him as the program goes on. It's also a good thing that he brought his notebook with him so he's able to write all the important things down. Through this, he'll be able to learn more about the brotherhood system.

     "Next up, the House of Rooks!" Mr. Coleman announces as another banner falls beside the pawns' banner.

 The House of Rooks (Roland's School for Boys) has four hundred students in total. And like J.S High and the other houses except for the House of Pawns, they also have White Uniforms. The only difference now is that they only have five brotherhoods.

     "Put your hands together for the Captains, ranks 22 to 18!" The host announces as the five leaders wave to the crowd. There weren't any drastic differences between them and the leaders of the House of Pawns, but they did have a different aura compared to the rest of them. Their ranks were definitely reflected in how they presented themselves.

     "Welcome to the House of Kings, gentleman. Now let us proceed to the ever so noble, four horsemen! Let us all welcome, the House of Knights!"

     A banner falls from the ceiling and hangs on the right side of the stadium this time. The door opens, and four leaders walk inside. Everyone would instantly notice the difference between them and the other leaders who were already there because, believe it or not, they had swords hanging on the side of their uniforms.

     "I'm guessing those aren't mere props," Max says as he watches the four horsemen join the other leaders.

The House of Knights (D & F High School) is known to have one of the calmest and most sophisticated White Uniforms and Brotherhoods among all the houses. They proudly hold the image of nobles. This house was assigned to hold four horsemen that represent the mission and vision of the school, so regardless of their brotherhoods' customs, they must follow the ideal image of the house. It is a rule that must be followed in order for them to stay.

     "Let us give a warm welcome to the Knights! Rank 17 to 14!!"

     The four leaders bow to the crowd before walking to the middle so they can join the others. The ranks were already too high that the other leaders couldn't help but glance at them.

     "It's rumored that the rank 14 brotherhood is stronger than the brotherhoods ranked higher than them, but they never tried to raise their rank because they only want to be in the House of Knights," Ari tells Max as they continue to watch the assembly take fold.

      "They really are the epitome of noble knights, don't you think?" Mr. Coleman asks, and the students cheer as an answer. The four horsemen then nod their heads as a sign of thank you for the compliment given to them. This made Mr. Coleman chuckle in amusement.

     "The stadium is starting to get packed. Are you guys ready to welcome the next house?!" Mr. Coleman asks as he points the microphone to the crowd.

     The students cheer even louder, so Mr. Coleman nods his head and finally moves on to the next set of leaders, "Well then, let us not waste any more time. Let us all welcome, the House of Bishops!"

      A banner falls beside the Knights' banner, and right after that, seven leaders enter the stadium. Not like the other houses, these leaders wore a completely different uniform. It was designed to mimic a cassock, or what priests would usually wear. Though it may be different, it still has similarities with the main uniform of all the other houses. It's still the signature black, and inside the dress-like uniform are black leather pants.

     There was just something ominous about them, and the uniform added more ominousness to that.

The House of Bishops (St. George Academy) is the second strongest house out of all five houses. They're feared at the same time respected, and their skills are at par with the brotherhoods who are ranked higher than them. And since they're a catholic school, the seven brotherhoods inside are labeled as the seven deadly sins who bring hammock and trouble in their house. They are definitely the house that should be taken seriously.

     "Put your hands together for the Lords! Rank 13 to 7!"

      Not like the other leaders, the seven students didn't wave nor greet the crowd. Some thought it was only fitting since they rank higher, but Max couldn't help but feel arrogance instead. And when the seven arrived at the seats where the other brotherhoods are, the four horsemen from the House of Knights stood and bowed to them, and so did the leaders of the House of Pawns.

     "They must be really respected," Max says as he watches the spectacle that's taking place in the middle of the stadium.

      "Well, technically they have no choice. It's in the brotherhood rules that each brotherhood must respect the ranks. House of Bishops is already a strong house, especially when four of the top 10 brotherhoods are there." Ari explains.

     The seven leaders finally took their seats. And as soon as they did, the students' cheer becomes louder than ever before, and Max knew the reason why. There's one house left, and that's none other than the House that hosted this assembly.

     "Now, before we proceed, let us once again welcome our wonderful president, Ian Rothman." Mr. Coleman says, and the crowd cheers once more while the brotherhoods who are already sitting in the middle simply clap their hands to greet him.

     Ian jogs his way to the stage and waves to the crowd like normal. But as soon as he stood in the middle to face the brotherhoods, his expression instantly changes, and the loud cheers start dying down.

     Mr. Coleman hands him the microphone and leaves the stage. When he left, Ian waited until the entire stadium became silent. When everyone was now settled, he puts the microphone close to his mouth and finally speaks. "As the Elites' president, I warmly welcome you all in our castle. Please, everyone, give them a big round of applause."

     Some of the brotherhood leaders nod their heads to acknowledge the welcome, while the white uniforms clapped their hands for them like what Ian instructed.

     When the noise disappeared, Ian takes a step closer to the point where he was only a few inches away from the edge of the stage. If he took another step, he would definitely fall.

     "We went through a lot the previous year. Some of you transferred houses, some got expelled, and some graduated and left a legacy. Regardless of what had happened before, today begins a different year. A lot of things may come our way, but one thing is for certain..."

     Ian pauses and points the microphone to the crowd.

     "We shall conquer!" The white uniforms shouted with great dedication.

     Ian smiles, and without wasting another breath, he wraps up his quick speech and says, "Well, without further ado, let us all welcome...the House of Kings!"

- END -