The next day, Drew woke up around eight. Looking around at his surroundings, he'd nearly forgotten that he moved into Uncle Ryhard's place the day before. Removing the sheets, Drew rolled out of bed, put on some slippers, and went downstairs. As he arrived, Drew saw Uncle and Auntie Ryhard rushing to get ready for work. Uncle Ryhard was running up and down the stairs with boxes to get the shop ready for opening hours while Auntie was frantically cooking breakfast which consisted of sunny-side-up eggs, thick-cut bacon, toast, and some avocado while answering a call from the medical facility.
"Morning," Drew yawned while scratching his head.
"Morning," they both replied while frantically running around the house.
Seeing as both of them need to get to work Drew offered to finish cooking breakfast for Auntie Ryhard. After all, it's not like he was in a hurry. Grabbing a plate, Drew removed the sizzling bacon strips from the pan. Meanwhile, Auntie was putting on her coat, her makeup, and her purse all at the same time Drew was kind of amazed at how she could do that. Noticing that Auntie hadn't eaten anything and that she was in a rush, Drew quickly assembled a breakfast wrap with a piece of white toast, an egg with a broken yolk, a slice of bacon, and a few pieces of avocado. As she was about to leave, Drew stopped her at the door and shoved the wrap into her hands which she greatly appreciated.
Thank you. She mouths to him before she stormed out of the building.
Smiling, he went back up to the kitchen and assembled a similar second wrap for Uncle Ryhard. As he was assembling the wrap, a corpulent figure appeared at the dining table. His eyes looked even colorless than the day before.
"Morning Elias!" Drew greeted placing down the plates of food.
"Morning." Elias greeted with a nonchalant attitude. He was still wearing the same clothes as the day before but now, he heavily reeked of BO.
"Oh, Elias what a rare sight to see you down here so early!" Uncle Ryhard exclaimed as he was about to go downstairs with another box.
"I guess." He muttered looking down at his plate with a mouthful of toast before asking, "So what are your plans today?"
Drew turned around as he grabbed a glass of milk. He did not expect Elias to be the one to initiate the conversation. What made him change so suddenly? It's only been one day! Isn't that a little too fast? Did dinner last night have some sort of drug?
"Just going to some thrift shops to sell and buy some things. Why do you ask?"
"I haven't left the house. I'm suffering from a severe Vitamin D deficiency." He mumbled as he bit into a piece of toast.
Now that he'd mentioned it, Elias did look really pale. Almost all the pigment from his skin was gone and he looked like a ghost. That wasn't a healthy complexion to have. Maybe it would be a good idea to bring him along.
"Are you saying that you want to come?"
He nodded.
"Why didn't you say that from the start?" Drew laughed with a mouthful of egg.
Silence. Placing his piece of toast down, Elias left the table. He had barely eaten anything. Drew let out a troubled expression.
"Thanks for the food. I'll see you in an hour." He said then marched back upstairs to his room.
"Sure," Drew replied looking down at the mostly full plate.
As he disappeared, Uncle Ryhard popped into the kitchen. He sighed then rubbed his beard.
"It seems like Elias is returning to his old self."
"Old self?"
"I believe Auntie told you a bit. Elias wasn't like this until the day he graduated from Compulsory Education. He was a smart kid, a very social one too but on the day he graduated, he looked as though he had lost all purpose in his life. I don't know what happened on that day, he wouldn't even tell me or Auntie. I'm a failure as a father."
"I don't know what to say..."
"I believe you can do what Auntie and I have failed to do. You and Elias are the same age so I presume that's why he's starting to warm up. He hasn't interacted with anyone his age since that day and just shut himself in his room."
Drew stared at him intently, trying to understand. What was Elias hiding? Why did he hide it? If so, how bad was it to make him hole up in his room for the past few months?
"You should get ready. I don't want to burden you with any more than you already have."
"It's fine."
"I'll see you later, I've got to prep the shop. One more thing, I'll talk with you tonight about your father and your Abilities."
With that, Uncle Ryhard disappeared to the shop floor while Drew cleaned up the dishes, placing Elias's leftovers in the fridge just in case he wanted to finish it later. An hour passed and Elias was waiting in the living room for Drew. He didn't do much except for putting on a grey sweatshirt and gel his hair which made him look somewhat normal.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Yup. I don't know this area too well so I guess you'll be my tour guide." Drew smirked putting on his father's hat.
Leaving the building, the duo was greeted by the unpaved, dusty road which divided Glass Road from the slums. The crumbling cement buildings that lined the street looked as though they were going to collapse any minute while the trash on the ground rolled like tumbleweeds, picking up more dust as they passed.
Across the street, the same thugs as yesterday were standing in a dark alleyway across the street, leaning against one of the building's walls holding smoking cigarettes between their fingers. They glared at Elias and Drew like wolves, patiently waiting for their prey to fall right into their claws. Walking across the silent street, Drew noticed the thugs emerging from the depths of the alley, stamping their feet on the cigarettes to put them out. They were going to tail them. Drew turned to Elias.
"Is this normal?" He asked.
For the first time since his arrival, Elias gave him a full reply.
"Yes, they will follow you as they have nothing better to do. They're lowlifes who flunked out of Star and all they do these days is pick on those who are weaker than them."
"I see." Drew nodded as they continued to walk, "what about you? Have they ever picked on you before?"
Elias shook his head, the fat surrounding his cheeks bouncing up and down.
"No, they know that my father will give them a nice beating if they do. Even if they did attack up, I can fend for both of us."
"Those thugs over there are Low F-Class Genetic Warriors. Speaking of which, what Class are you right now?"
"I'm the same as you," Elias said.
"Mid F-Class!" Drew exclaimed.
"Yeah," He nodded then looked down at the ground as if he were trying to recall something, "if it weren't for that setback, I would have been High F-Class and admitted in Star right now."
"What was that setback?"
He froze. He stopped dead in the middle of the road. Luckily, there were virtually no cars. His face twisted into one of pain and sorrow, one of loss, his muscles scrunched up underneath the layer of fat. His face was the same as Drew's when Uncle Winter died. Full of regret. Regret that he couldn't save someone because he was too powerless. His hand clenched into a fist, nails digging into his skin creating small indentations. He bit his lip to the point where it was about the bleed. His eyes welled up, and small streams of tears began to fall. Drew understood this feeling quite well. He was shocked. It was as though he had experienced PTSD. Everything goes silent. The world stops moving. Time stops and it feels as though you are all alone. Drew's emotions were brief but Elias was a different case. Elias was a bottle. He could hold his emotions in but once it reached a certain point, with one trigger, one word, those emotions could spill out. Drew, had accidentally, with his curiosity, pulled that trigger. Suddenly, Elias began to run. Run! He was running from his past. The past which he couldn't tell his parents, the past which traumatized him to the bone, the past that forced him to hide in his room, alone.
Drew chased after Elias. He followed the footprints left in the dust each one leaving a part of his story behind. The corpulent teen picked up his pace, sweat drenching his clothing, the heat from his face fogging his glasses. His face turned a tomato red from the heat. Drew was even surprised at how fast he could run. He could barely keep up despite his enhanced stamina and speed! They kept running, occasionally, Drew looked back, the thugs that were tailing them earlier have fallen too far behind to keep up. The next thing he knew, the thugs were no longer in sight but Elias was still running at the same pace. They were reaching the end of Glass Road. The clear division between the poverty-stricken road and the bustling metropolis was growing clear with every stride they took. The paved cement roads and the high rises were now in their line of sight.
Then, they came to a stop. It had been twenty minutes and now they finally stopped, right in front of a small, crumbling, brick, three-story inn that sat on the corner of Glass Road right across from a gas station. Elias turned towards the entrance of the inn and crouched against the wall of the entrance, which was covered in smudged graffiti, the paint dyeing the ground like a rainbow. Drew had finally caught up with Elias who was now rocking back and forth in his balled-up position. His arms were folded around his knees and the faint sound of sobbing could be heard. Drew crouched down to Elias's level and stared at him. Elias had broke.
"I'm sorry." He wailed. "I'm so sorry."
"What happened?" Drew asked calmly.
Elias looked up. His eyes were starting to get red and puffy. Rubbing them, he looked up at Drew.
"Does it have anything to do with this inn?" Drew asked.
Elias nodded. Suddenly, the door of the inn opened, the little bells hanging off the doorknob chimed.
"What's going on?" A voice asked.
Drew looked up. The voice came from a girl, around their age. She had aquamarine hair that was tied into two ponytails, one short one that came up to her chin on her left side and one on the right side that went down to her stomach. Her eyes were darker towards the top and lighter towards the bottom, segmented heterochromia. Her skin was fair, but what really stood out was her ears. They were pointier than a Human but less than a Lielf. She wore a black windbreaker with a green tee underneath which paired well with her brown khakis and black sneakers.
"I was just walking with him earlier. We had a bit a small talk before he began to sprint off in this direction." Drew replied standing up.
He noticed the girl was about 160 cm, a good 15 cm shorter than him. The girl took a look at Elias who was in a pitiful state.
"We should take him inside." She said wedging the doorstopper into the gap between the door and the sidewalk.
"Thanks."
It took three minutes to get Elias inside. Luckily, both Drew and the girl were patient and they waited for him to stop crying before they took him inside. The interior of the inn was run down. The walls were cracking and water was dripping from the ceiling. Wooden beams were supporting the crumbling building and one could hear the sounds of some of the people in the other room. Sitting at a wooden table in the corner of what seemed to be a miniature lobby, Drew waited with Elias as the girl brought some paper cups of water over on a tray.
"Sorry about the building, we're about to go under some renovations in about a couple days." She apologized placing the tray down on the table then taking a seat.
"It's okay," Elias muttered, "I'm sorry for breaking down in front of the inn."
"It's fine," the girl smiled folding her hands over a paper cup, "I've seen worse."
Drew looked at the girl, beginning to speak.
"Thanks for doing this..."
"Wan," the girl said, "Wan Louis. I'm the daughter of the owner of this inn."
"Thank you, Wan."
"You're a Siren." Elias interrupted.
She clicked her tongue.
"Bingo!"
"Are you an immigrant?" Drew asked, "you have a slight accent when you speak. It doesn't sound like it's from Kraus."
"Nope." She grinned, "I just happened to pick up my parent's way of speaking. My parents are both Sirens from Sierra."
"Sierra. That's pretty far!" Elias exclaimed as he made a dry cough. It seems he used too much energy running and crying.
"Yup! And where are you guys from?"
"I'm an orphan and I've lived my whole life on Kraus," Drew said then pointed to Elias, "His family runs a second-hand medicine shop a few blocks away from here. By the way, we never told you our names. I'm Drew Li and he's Elias Ryhard."
"Nice to meet you."
"Anyways," Drew turned to Elias, "you said something happened here a few months ago. What happened?"
Elias was silent. He took a sharp inhale and began to speak.
"I think you guys know."
"What do you mean?" Wan asked.
"Wan, do you remember the incident that happened here a few months ago."
"Yeah," she nodded.
"My friend, he was from the slums, committed suicide on the day I graduated from Compulsory Education. He jumped off from the third floor of this Inn and died. Since that day, I fell into a slump and holed myself up in my room for the past few months."
"That means," Wan gasped dropping her cup, "you were that kid who left the scene in tears. That was you!"
"Yes," He nodded.
Wan lowered her head, crushing the cup in her hands. She silently cursed.
"I remember the incident vividly. The authorities didn't take his body away though..."
"Just because he was from the slums." Drew interrupted finishing her sentence.
"Correct," Elias said biting his lip. His cup of water was still full. "They let him rot in the street until his family from the slums picked him up."
>>>
In Ozwarth, those from the slums are not recognized as official citizens. Because of this, they are often discriminated against when they are trying to apply or receive some sort of services from the government. In this world, they are classified as the lowest class, even lower than Untouchables If one dies, no one will care. After all, it's considered taboo in Ozwarth to be associated with someone from the slums. In all of Ozwarth's glory, there are still some hidden flaws underneath their so-called perfect society.
>>>
"I witnessed his fall, his death." Elias cried then slammed the cup on the table. "His body was torn in all directions. Blood spilled from his body. The police just stood there. Laughing. Laughing. They were glad he was dead. I remember one saying: "Finally, another street rat is dead. He deserved it after all the trouble he has caused us." Then he spat on the ground right next to him. I was standing there, looking at the scene in horror. It was too despicable. But what could I do? I was powerless. I couldn't prevent his suicide which I know was caused by those police officers. Ozwarth's heroes of justice? Don't make me laugh. They're all just freaking pigs who abuse their power to bully others!"
Wan inhaled then leaned back in her chair.
"I won't deny you on that part. I mean, my brother was arrested for a crime he didn't convict. He was trying to save a girl from being raped but the man who was about the rape her was a powerful politician in Ozwarth's High Council with most of Ozwarth's police force backing him up. So with a bit of bribery and some cherry-picking, he altered the evidence and placed the blame on my brother."
"What happened to him after that?" Drew asked.
"He was eventually released after spending some time in prison but once he came back, he ran away. He couldn't bear the insults coming from the people who knew him. Some of them were his 'friends'. What friends?" Wan scoffed. "They were just some jerks who stayed with him because he was powerful. Look what happened? I haven't seen him in two years."
Elias slammed the table.
"He did nothing wrong. But the worst part was that the people who were his 'friends' treated him like trash."
"That's awful." Drew sighed, "I guess it's my turn to share. I'm an orphan. Both my parents died for unknown reasons. When I was an infant, I was placed in an orphanage then a few months ago I was taken under the wing of one of my family's friends. Unfortunately, he passed away a few days ago after being killed by a member of the Scorpion Horde. After he passed away, Elias's father took me in and I'm currently living with them. Just my whole situation is a mess right now."
"I knew your situation was a mess but not this messy, the Scorpion Horde?! They're one of the best Assassin Guilds in the universe." Elias said with a hint of surprise.
Wan's jaw dropped.
"That's messed up. How did your Guardian get involved with them?"
"I'm not sure. Honestly, my story is not as messed up as your guy's. I feel a bit more relieved talking about this." Drew smiled folding his hands together.
"Same, I'm glad I could get a weight off my chest. I kept it in too long." Elias sighed. He looked much better.
"This was a productive group therapy session, glad I could talk to you guys despite being complete strangers." Wan grinned.
"Not anymore," Drew laughed, "we were all brave enough to share our stories. I think we can get along well."
"I second that," Elias smirked. "We're all the same age and we plan to take the Entrance Exam to Star in a few months. I think we could form a team out off this and take the Team Exam instead of the normal Entrance Exam."
"I agree." Wan agreed.
The Team Exam is different than the Entrance Exam. As implied, the Team Exam can be taken by a team of 3-5 members while the Entrance Exam is a solo exam. The Entrance Exam had different requirements than the Team Exam. While the Entrance Exam was split into three parts the Team Exam was split into two however both tests share the same first part which was the Written Exam. The second part of the Team Exam is the Practical Exam. A team will walk into an arena and robots which imitate Genetic Warriors will be sent out into the arena. The goal is to wipe out as many robots as possible before the team surrenders. The minimum to pass is twenty robots and that was not an easy feat. However, even if a team passes this round, all team members must pass the Written Exam in order to be accepted into the academy. Despite this being the easier exam, it is the written exam that kills everyone that's why not many people take team exams unless they are really confident that all their members can pass the written exam.
Drew was aware of this so he brought up this concern.
"The main question is are we confident that we can pass."
Wan propped her hand against her cheek.
"We have almost six months. What rank are you guys right now?"
"We're both Mid F-Class." Elias replied.
"Same. If we want to guarantee a pass, we need to reach High F-Class."
"What are your Abilities? If we want to pass, we need to know each other like the back of our hands."
Wan opened her hand and a small golden sigil with a symbol of a lighting bolt hovered above it.
"Mine is [Panel] it's a D-Ranked Support Ability. I can create Panels with different effects and change their size. The only ones I can make are [Sleep] and [Paralysis]. The biggest flaw with this ability is that I have to have a clear mark on my target before I use it. If I don't, my Ability won't activate."
Elias stared at the panel.
"How long does each panel last?"
"It can last for however long I need it to. Once it's cast, it won't disappear unless I'm dead or if I want it to. But the price for that is the cost of Otrio required for each cast. Each cast requires 30 Krasos no matter how big or small it is."
"Okay, how about you Elias?"
Elias smiled, "I have two Abilities. The first one is the one you saw earlier [Speed]. It's an E-Ranked Enhancement Ability. That's why I was able to run faster than Drew earlier to this inn."
"That makes so much sense!" Drew exclaimed wondering how Elias was able to do so earlier.
He continued, "The second one is [Weapons Swap] it's a C-Ranked Cheat Ability but it works best when I'm in a team. As it implies, I can swap weapons with anyone and I can use the skills in that weapon. I could potentially take the skill as well."
"A Cheat Ability! But it's C-Ranked so there must be some weaknesses. What are they?" Wan asked.
"There a quite a few. The first one is that I can only swap weapons that have been used by someone else as there are skills embedded in them. The second is if I wanted to take a skill permanently, that would require me to take the weapon and practice with that weapon ten thousand times for a guaranteed take. If I were to take a skill in battle, it would only come down to luck, the chances of me taking a skill in so slim that it's not worth mentioning. Third, I can only use the Skills in the weapon if I'm holding the weapon. Finally, my body has to be able to handle the strain of the skill, if not, I could get severely injured."
"The conditions for your ability to work are very strict. No wonder why you suggested we do the Team Exam." Drew nodded placing his hand under his chin.
"Well, that's why it's a Cheat Ability, to an extent. Because its effects are so good, there's a high price to pay for it. How about you Drew?"
"Don't laugh, my Ability is [Aegis]."
"Hahahahaha." Both of them laughed.
"I know, I know it's an F-Ranked Ability but it's actually on par with a D-Ranked Ability if you know how to use it right."
Drew activated a disk-sized [Aegis] and let it float on his palm.
"I can move [Aegis] away from myself at a speed of 50 kph within a ten-meter radius. I can also change its size but it's limited. Furthermore, I can use it as a platform and move things around. Even myself."
"Can you attack with it?" Wan asked tossing up a cup as him.
Drew flicked the disc-sized Aegis at the cup at top speed. To his surprise, it cut it cleanly in half like a knife cutting butter.
"I didn't know [Aegis] could be used offensively. I've only seen it used defensively." Elias said in awe.
Drew stared at the sliced cup.
"I guess so. I didn't know that either."
"Are there any flaws?"
"Aside from casting time and the amount of power it can absorb. I don't think so."
"Bullshit," Elias cursed. "Who called [Aegis] an F-Ranked Ability. From what I've seen, it seems more useful than a D-Ranked Ability!"
"It's the screwed up System that classified it as F-Ranked. What matters is one's ability to utilize their Ability, not their rank." Wan said picking up the tray from the table.
Drew smiled.
"I like your thinking Wan."
Elias applauded.
"Good words."
"Anyways, we've got over five months to prep for the Team Exam. Starting next week, we should make a plan."
"I agree." Wan nodded.
"Same here," Elias said rubbing his bulging stomach, " I need to get back in shape. "
The trio sitting around the table grinned. With a new friendship formed and a defined goal, the trio did not know at the time, that they would become history makers.
"Let's do this."