"Hey, Lumina?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it just me, or do I feel like something bad is gonna happen today?"
"Meh, I think it's just you, sis. Look, the sky's so clear and bright today."
"..."
***
"Hey, Adrian. So... want to explain to me why you're trapping me against the wall on such a lovely morning today?" Lumina asked as she raised her eyebrows while looking at the young man half a head taller than her.
Standing in front of her was an unbelievably handsome young man. His soft dark brown hair accentuated his deep blue eyes and charming face. Both his hands were on the wall behind the girl, who was consequently backed up without anywhere else to go.
Currently, the girl was staring at the boy with an unimpressed expression. Getting bored, she easily slipped out from under his arms and moved closer to him, her hot breath tickling his ears.
"Try again next time~"
Then she leaned back and walked past him. The young man stood frozen in place for a moment before turning to face her back, saying, "If you keep doing that, I won't be able to control myself anymore."
The girl turned around, her long black hair swinging in a large arc behind her. She smirked and replied, "From which movie did you learn that line from?"
Hearing that, the young man scratched his head awkwardly.
"I heard a lot of men saying it to woo girls in the movies and they all looked so cool, so..."
Lumina really had to fight the urge to facepalm herself at this moment. She ignored the young man and walked over to a table with two girls in the back of the classroom instead.
"Hey, sis. Oh hey, Sirena."
"Oh, Lumina. How are you?" the girl named Sirena asked while pinning up a lock of her blonde hair with a gold hair clip studded with a red ruby in the center.
"Eh, just bored. Is that another new hair clip?" she asked incredulously.
"Yeah, it is. Hey, you wanna go with me to buy the new videogame later after school?"
"Oh really?" Lumina asked, immediately interested.
"Lumina..." Lumina's twin sister, Luna, looked up from her phone and spoke up.
"Hmm?"
"Mom asked you to choose a color dye with her after school today."
"Sure sure, tell her I got it. I'll just be a 'little' bit late."
Rolling her eyes, Luna turned her attention back to her phone and started typing.
"So... how long did it take you to finish the assignment given to us on Friday?" Sirena asked.
"Oh that? Around half an hour or so. Why?"
"Seriously? I did it last minute last night and it took me all night. I didn't even get to sleep!"
Lumina looked at Sirena blankly for a second, then replied, "I just skimmed the questions..."
"... But it was math..."
"Uh-huh?"
"How do you skim through math problems... you know what, just forget it. Here, help me with this stage. You know my password, and I play 'Mage'. Just help me clear this stage. I've been stuck on it all week," Sirena said as she tossed her phone over to Lumina.
Lumina quickly tapped on the screen for a few seconds, and after she saw the screen, she turned to look at Sirena. Seeing her raised eyebrow and unspoken question, Sirena answered in her own defense, "What, it was hard! I'm been trying to go for an 'Elemental Mage', and you know that class has complex upgrade requirements!"
Lumina only pursed her lips before turning back to the screen. Her fingers tapped on the screen quickly as a rainbow of colors flashed on the screen. Sirena leaned over to watch. and she only saw her own character moving across the screen while shooting energy beams. Within several minutes, the stage was completed. Lumina threw the phone back to Sirena without saying a word.
Sirena didn't know what to say either.
"So uhm... what level are you at now?" was what she asked instead, changing the topic.
Taking her phone out of her pocket and turning it on, she clicked on the game icon and logged into her account before turning the screen around to face Sirena.
At the very top right corner was a two-digit number: Level 99.
"I still have to finish two Dragon Quests before I can upgrade my class though." Lumina added while starting a new game with Sirena.
"Oh my gosh... you're kidding, right? We were only 20 levels apart last time... now, I'm only on level 43..." Sirena said, her lips twitching as she joined Lumina's game.
"Eh."
"So anyway, what class path did you choose to go on again?"
"Astral Rank Mirage Swordswoman."
"Astral Rank? What sub-rank is that? I don't think I've seen it before?"
"Ah..." Lumina paused as she eliminated several players on the game before continuing, "It's a mixed rank, a mix of the Celestial Rank and the Mystic Rank."
"Uh... and what two ranks are those?"
"Seriously? Did you even look into the details of the game?"
"Uhm... I know the basics, okay? But seriously, I didn't even know mixed ranks were a thing in the game- ah! Save me! I'm dead I'm dead eeek!"
"I can't believe you," she said as she moved over to Sirena's character, wiping out her pursuers. "Mixed ranks are, simply put, a rarer and more advanced version of two original ranks. Mystic is a combination of... uhm... uh... Spiritual and Illusion. Celestial is a mix of... of Heaven and Stellar."
"Ohhh I see. The class I was going for is a Spiritual Rank, if I remember correctly. Can you see if there are any mixed ranks for me? I also something cool, Lumina~"
"Hmm, you can just boost your rank to the peak and choose one of secondary ranks. Then boost the secondary rank to the peak as well."
"... Y'know, I'm not even gonna ask about how you got six whole ranks to the peak..."
"Meh."
"Aaand... game over. Playing with you is so anticlimactic. I barely did anything."
Lumina smirked as she thought, 'Of course I'm good at this game. I'm one of the main developers for it.'