"Laz, wanna join our group?" Yan, with four students from different Halls beside him, approached Laz.

Laz looked at the four participants that at the sides of Yan. There was Cite from the Artisan Hall and Sul from the Poison Hall, both of which were familiar to him. The other two were foreign to him.

Understanding Laz's gaze, the two introduced themselves. "I'm Sada from the Fighter Hall. I came from the Blue Cloud tribe. I was just admitted to the Fighter Hall half a year ago."

He wanted to point out that he was a new student. Traveling from their tribe to the Lakan Family took half a year at most. If Kalipsi was there, he would recognize the place, but not the young man. Their place was far from the capital of the tribe, after all.

"I'm Atu from the Apothecary Hall. My story is just like Sada's. I came from the Red cloud tribe" His words were slow and showed a tinge of nervousness.

'A timid one,' Laz commented in his heart.

"There's no issue for me," said Laz.

"Good. Now we're only short of two."

Yan surveyed his surrounding and found two students wandering around. They looked like new students too! He decided to ask them in the group.

As expected, they were really new students. They were Dawag from Physician Hall and Ali from Education Hall. Yan asked the two because he knew how hard it was to fit in a new environment.

Yan's action was as clear as day to Laz. New students were hardly noticed by the other students. They usually end up alone until they achieve a certain degree of fame. In short, they are invisible. Yan decided to ask them to join their group out of pure concern.

Cite also thought about it, but she didn't voice it out.

'Though they are new students, passing the first round means that they aren't simple.' Cite thought.

If they knew that except for Laz, the rest of them were recommended, they would surely think they were destined to meet.

Just as they finished forming groups, the students of Butuan Kingdom arrived. Laz immediately hid behind Yan, who was taller than him a little. This made Yan suspicious his action.

Kalipsi started his speech to give them courage. As his speech went on, Uno was busy with surveying the participants. He saw familiar figures as well as new faces.

After his speech, the middle-aged man led the participants to Grey forest. The elders didn't show up for they were preparing inside the Grey forest. They were planting radars everywhere so that they can monitor the movement of each group. If an accident occurs, they would be able to rescue them.

The middle-aged man materialized a wooden bowl and said, "Representatives of each group gather here and pick your representative number."

Cite volunteered. She picked number seven.

To make sure that each group will not have an early clash, the middle-aged man, with the help of the students of the Butuan Kingdom, divided the participants into four and sent them in different paths, the North, East, South, and West with a time interval.

Before Tala could do her job to overlook the competition, she heard a muttering sounds of a man in a spasmodic manner. It was like a child that was just starting to read word after word.

Even though she listened carefully, she could only vaguely hear the words being whispered into her ears.

'The White Incantation,' she perceived.

..

In a distance place, inside a vestige, three young scholars were deciphering ancient text that was written under an old gigantic rock statue of a man with his two pairs of wide-open wings.

It's 10 meters in height!

"Senior Habagat, are you sure it isn't a cursed incantation?" A lady in her early twenties asked.

Her stature was slim, curly yellow hair and dark yellow eyes.

"Lady Add, Habagat is busy. Stop asking him." A blond-haired man commented.

"I'm not asking you, senior Az. I'm asking Senior Habagat. Right senior?" Add crossed her arms whilst twinkling her eyes.

"Lady Add, I wouldn't be able to concentrate if you will keep bothering me." Habagat said with a tinge of displeasure.

Add shut her mouth hearing his displeased tone. Seeing Add finally behave, he continued to decipher the ancient writings. Habagat murmured the words he read, slow and stuttering. Add and Az, couldn't hear him, so they decided to close their distance and listen carefully.

"White Incantation." Habagat planted these two words to his mind.

He continued reading in a spasmodic manner, "You are the most blessed entity of heaven. You are the source of peace, the strength of Justice, and the key to heaven. Lend your strength and be our light."

Finishing it, Habagat took a deep breath. Before he could gather his thoughts, an energetic voice asked, "What does it mean, Senior Habagat?"

"Yah, what does it mean?" Az asked again.

Habagat turned around and faced the two. Organizing his thoughts, Habagat parted his lips saying, "This kind of incantation, well, it's like calling the presence of a guardian. More precisely, it is asking for their help."

Add's eyes widen as she listens to his explanation while Az surfaced a serious expression.

"This is really the vestige of Guardians! This is good. Let's report it to my father. I wonder what will be his expression when he learns that you finally deciphered it, senior Habagat."

Add was excited. She couldn't imagine how will her father react if he knew about their discovery.

But unlike Add, Az reacted differently, "Senior Habagat, what do you think of it? Is that still effective?"

"I'm not sure. An incantation should create an effect after reading it, but 'till now, there are no changes to our surroundings." Habagat explained as he surveyed their surroundings.

"Senior Habagat, should we try chanting it whilst meditating. You know that powerful chants need energy, right?" Az suggested.

"That will do. Good point Az."

"Then who will try? Az?" Add looked at Az then at Habagat.

Az was caught off guard. Though he wanted to, he couldn't take a risk just to satisfy his curiosity. With an awkward smile, he said, "Senior Habagat, Lady Add, let's just forget what I said."

"I will try it," Habagat said confidently. He faced the two with a serious expression and said, "If something goes wrong, leave this place immediately and inform the Datu."

He wasn't sure what will happen if he chants the White Incantation. Though a little nervous, he couldn't just leave this opportunity. In his heart, he knew the incantation was really related to the Guardians.

Seeing their Senior Habagat being serious, the duo could only nod.

"Good!"

Habagat sat cross legs. Surging his energy out of his body, the surrounding air was disturbed, making their robes float gently. Again, Habagat read the words, "You are the most blessed entity of heaven. You are the source of peace, the strength of Justice and the key to heaven. Lend your strength and be our light."

This time, the trio saw the words emitted golden lights that pressed together midair until it was only the size of a pea. Then, it flew towards his forehead and seeped through his skin, until it vanished. This sudden event made the trio fall into a daze.

The gigantic statue rumbled and cracks were kept popping out from every part of the statue. The cracks spread 'till the statue couldn't hold anymore. It broke into smithereens. This made the trio snap out of their daze.

They waited for more than ten minutes, before deciding the leave the place because they were waiting for the arrival of a guardian.

"Seems like the guardian has truly vanished?" Az commented.

"We couldn't be sure about that. What if the guardians knew that we didn't really need their help? So, they decided not to show up," Add refuted. She's fanatic when it comes to the guardians after all.

"You can think what you want to think and I will think what I want inside my mind," Az responded.

"Tsk!" Lady Add rolled her eyes.

"Let's go!" Noticing no abnormalities or changes in the surrounding again, Habagat decided to leave the place. 'I wonder what was that pea size golden energy about?'

With mixed feelings, the three leave the vestige and planned on reporting it to their Datu.

..

When the chanting subsided, Tala looked at her wrist and surfaced the three asterisks she has painstakingly gathered.

'Fortunately, the chanter seemed like he deciphering it for the first time. If that chanter really needed help, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to help.'

She let out a deep sigh.

Tala let her asterisks vanish. She then started doing her job.