Hae-sung, Song-hee and Junseo decided to take a break from the design puzzle that had them stumped. All the pieces should have fit but somehow the mechanism did not want to go together. They knew better than to force things. Still, it was frustrating since it felt like they might have to go back to square one.

Song-hee admitted feeling a bit nervous about up coming open competition. "I don't have the same experience as you guys and I don't want to disappoint Manager Doak or Scout Jie. Better rankings will make it easier for them to find more recruits."

"We could go check out the venue," Junseo offered and the other boys immediately agreed. His usual tail from the palace scowled as the boys decided to loosen up with run. When they got to the stadium, Hae-sung walked the perimeter of the field and then looked up at the stands. He shook his head. "I haven't competed in front of an audience like this before. This place is way bigger than where they held the senior qualifiers."

"I guess since it is an open competition, they expect more spectators to show up. Not just school representatives and immediate family," Junseo shrugged.

"I really don't like this. I mean I am glad we checked it out but this is really too much." Song-hee looked much paler than his usual light hue.

"San Jin told me the first thump on your head helps remind you where your attention needs to be during the matches. I also know it is better not to think about anything but the match you are in." Junseo tried to sound reassuring but had to clear his throat a couple of times. Hae-sung suddenly grabbed Junseo's hat and took off across the field. Junseo sprinted after him but as soon as he got close Hae-sung tossed the hat to Song-hee who then sprinted up the bleachers.

"Guys. Come on." Junseo said after he had chased for several minutes. "This isn't helping."

"But it probably is." San Jin said from behind Junseo then added, "We all need to blow off steam sometime."

"Well, this isn't working. Not for me." Junseo sat down on one of the bleachers and sighed. The other boys came over and handed back his slightly scuffed hat. He thanked them and asked San Jin what had brought him to the venue.

"They decided the named champions should put on exhibition matches and I wanted to see what the footing might be like." San Jin then led them back down to field level where they check the lay out of the fencing strips. The sun broke through the clouds drawing a sharp contrast between the side in the light and the one shaded by the grandstands. San Jin nodded to himself and turned to the others. "Good to know things could get a bit tricky in the late afternoon. Now we should probably head to the forge. I sent along the messenger who caught up to me a while ago." The two house-guards standing next to San Jin looked at each other then over at the palace guard who was still a bit out of breath.

By unspoken agreement Song-hee led the way with Hae-sung and Junseo taking their places on either side of San Jin. The guards stuck to the corners of a loose box around them. The boys did not notice how much their rear guards lagged until the first attacker came in from behind. Fortunately, Hae-sung sensed the attack and was able to trip the man before the next attacker was upon them.

As a noble San Jin travelled fully armed within the city precincts and had a short sword to pass over so Junseo could help shore up their defenses on the right side while they maneuvered together to get their backs to a wall. One of the Go family guards toppled over but Song-hee picked up a discarded weapon to reinforce their forward defense. A few minutes into the clash they could here whistles being blown nearby and soon a contingent of the city guards were there to chase off the attackers.

The boys held their defensive positions for a couple more minutes while the city guards tied up the fallen attacker. Then Junseo switched into healer mode, quickly making a torniquet for the guard's deeply slashed leg, then surveying the scene for more of the injured. Hae-sung had skinned his knuckles but assured everyone he was fine. The city guards took charge of seeing the boys safely to the forge and getting the most seriously injured proper care. They also took the palace guard who had opened the hole for the attackers into custody.

Once the boys were safely behind the gates at the forge the remaining Go family guard came forward with his apologies. "Things seemed to have settled down so we started to get lax. We should have been on both the point and the flank and not trusted the others. Not when they were complaining about fitness duties."

"The most important thing is we came through everything okay. Your partner will be laid-up for a while but we are all safe. Go write up your reports but don't be too hard on yourself," San Jin squeezed the man's shoulder and sent him along to the workshop.

The other boys crowded in and wanted to know what happened but Junseo put up his hand. "We will have to tell our versions to the investigators separately. It's better if we try to think through things by ourselves before we start re-making the events into a story."

As he finished his apology a dry voice said, "You have far too much experience with investigations." Junseo spun around to bow to the palace investigator who was flanked by a city guard captain. After some negotiations with Manager Doak, each witness was called to the small dining room.

Junseo was last and the investigator made a remark about the number of different incidents he had on record since coming to Leuso. "If you were this much trouble in Ilidan, I can understand why your family shipped you off," the man said to test Junseo's reactions.

"I'm certain if my family understood how poorly ordinary citizens were protected in the capital, they would have been more reluctant to have me come here for the qualifying rounds." Junseo used a high court accent to delivery this criticism.

"So, you are only staying through the qualifiers?" the investigator probed.

"Nothing will be decided until my final standing is determined. I am under contract to the forge until then."

"Just the forge? What about the Royal Medical Academy aren't you on their roster?"

"Not formally. It is more a special arrangement because my father is a graduate. The other students call me baby-legacy." Junseo blushed when he shared this nickname. He was used to being teased about his age but when this slipped out, he realized how much it still bothered him. Manager Doak had been listening in and muttered something under his breath. The investigator scowled at this interruption but soon wrapped up the interviews.

Manager Doak took Junseo aside and said, "I can't believe medical students behaved so rudely."

Junseo shrugged. "You know how hard it is to be admitted and I just come waltzing into their classes pretty much on the whim of the Headmaster. Of course, they are going to resent me, especially when I get to choose which lecturers to follow." He was embarrassed he had even mentioned the nickname.

"Still, it is so rude. No wonder you are jumping at the admissions offer."

"Oh, I don't think I have one. At least not yet. Professor Yip told me the board it set on the minimum age requirement so I may be loose ends for at least a couple of years."

"Dibs." San Jin called from behind Junseo.

"What?" Junseo spun around to face his grinning friend.

"If you are at loose ends, I am calling dibs. You can come to our estate and help our Master-at-arms. You should hear the way he talks about you."

"Uh... Thanks? I will take it under advisement." Junseo did not know how to explain why this would make for a very awkward job. Instead, he just handed back San Jin's short sword.