—Hey, shit, come outside.
At the sound of Charles' voice Arlen froze in place for a second before turning and looking Charles in the face.
—Why don't you tell me here what you want, Charles?
—Hey, no blood, who gave you permission to say my name. Do you want the whole dining hall to know that you have no power?
In front of Arlen, Kevin got up from his chair and stood in front of Charles.
—The only one who can call Arlen, no blood, is me. So go find yourself another nickname.
—And who were you? Get out of the way.
—I know, why, instead of playing with Arlen, don't you play with me?
Charles was angry and it showed. They kept getting in the way of his goal of breaking the toy he had been breaking for many years. But he also knows how the combat department works.
—It seems that until I have an official fight with you and denigrate you in front of everyone you won't be happy, bloodless. But don't worry, I'll make it clear to you that this is not your place.
Making that clear Charles left for the second time without achieving his goal. When the atmosphere had finally relaxed Kevin turned to Arlen.
—With official combat no one is going to be able to defend you Arlen. You must become strong.
—I know.
"I think I have the solution."
[Keep me warm(2):
Stay under the sun for two hours straight.
Rewards:
2 experience points (level up).
¿?¿?¿?]
'Edgar? Interrogations? Really?'
"A surprise, a surprise. I assure you it's to make you strong."
'But is keeping me under the Sun really going to make me stronger?'
"Please trust."
Arlen sighed and turned his head to look at Kevin.
—I'm going for a walk, do you want to join?
—Hey, now? It's nap time now.
—Nap time?
—After eating, one always falls asleep. Between 20 minutes and two hours, but you always fall asleep.
—Eh... Sure?
—That's my advice. Sleep makes you strong.
And with that Kevin left the dining room while yawning. Arlen was taken aback by his friend's advice.
'What do you mean sleep makes you strong?'
"Maybe he means that since you rest your body rests and is more prepared for what's coming during the day. But truth be told, I didn't know that method. I think at some point we should try it."
'I think you and Kevin would get along very well.'
As the two of them talked Arlen stepped outside. The truth was that he didn't really feel like being out in the sun. It was a summer month and as such the temperature is quite high. Normally Arlen would now play some video game or watch some movie or series, but at the moment he doesn't know where to do that here, so he's bored. Just talking to Edgar in his head is a bit of fun.
Arlen started walking out of the academy, following a route he climbed a hill from which he could see the whole city. The view was breathtaking and it was really worth the effort to climb up there to get that view.
Ignoring the quest he had, he sat down under the shade of a tree to rest. When someone else appeared to enjoy the scenery.
—It's beautiful, isn't it?
—Yes.
Arlen could barely answer the question Olivia Wolf asked him.
"Don't be nervous kid. Just be yourself, you'll be fine."
—What are you doing here?
Arlen asked in an attempt to break the ice.
—I can't?
—No, no, it's not that. It's just, I wasn't expecting it, sorry if that sounded a little rude.
—Hahaha, the truth is, I wouldn't normally be here, but I was following you.
"Ou."
'Ou?'
Arlen was doubly surprised. First, Olivia's smile had charmed him. Second, following him?
—Following me?
—You see, yesterday you said you wanted to be strong and that's what you came here for, right?
—That's right.
—How are you going to get strong?
—Well, today I am already different from yesterday.
Arlen lifted a small stone with his new skill. For which he received a round of applause from Olivia.
—But you know that's not enough, right?
—I know.
A moment of silence formed as they both looked at each other. Arlen was still sitting under the tree while Olivia stood a few steps away from him. A gust of wind blew past and the two were still looking at each other.
Arlen wondered what Olivia had come for, but passed on asking. Instead he got up and walked to the edge of the cliff.
—Are you strong Olivia?
Olivia walked over and stood on the edge of the cliff next to Arlen.
—I think so.
—What is it to be strong?
—The power to win battles.
—A rather ambiguous answer.
—And for you, what is being strong?
She said in an attempt at revenge.
—The power to fight for yourself in the face of any danger. Without depending on anyone.
—That's pretty ambiguous too.
Arlen laughed at Olivia's response.
—I think it's rather complicated.
Olivia looked at Arlen rather curiously. He was something different from what she was used to. There was no hesitation in his words and he seemed brave enough to be talking to an heiress without hesitation or flirting. But there was something about him that made him special, like a sixth sense that told her, but she didn't know what it was.
—How did you know my name?
Arlen froze after hearing Olivia's question. He couldn't tell what it was because he'd had a system installed in his head for a couple of days now so he went for the simple answer.
—Olivia Wolf, heiress to the Wolf family. A lot of people know you.
—I'm not the heiress, don't tell me that. The heir is my brother.
That took Arlen by surprise.
—I'm sorry.
—Don't worry about it. And you? Do you have any siblings?
—No. I have no family.
—I'm... I'm sorry.
—It's okay, I didn't expect you to know. But you still haven't told me why you followed me.
—Eeeeh, well, I was just a little curious about you.
They both blushed when they heard that.
—You're quite different from how I imagined you.
—Me?
—Yeah. I imagined Olivia, an heiress, as a more distant person. Like she'd do anything for power. Well actually not just you, but all the heirs, but I've already met two heirs and you've totally changed the idea I had.
—They call us heirs, but we are people, just like you or anyone else.
Arlen was happy and noticed how the conversation was waning. So he decided to ask about yesterday.
—By the way, what was yesterday?
—Yesterday?
—Yes. In the first part you kicked the ground 5 times, but it was as if your foot was swallowed by the earth. What was that?
—Because of my ability. My family is also known for the ability of shadows. I can create a small portal and make a part of me pass through it.
Immediately I noticed someone tapping my shoulder on the opposite side where Olivia was and I saw a black hole with Olivia's hand coming out of it. When I saw it, I was surprised.
—What happens if you close a portal and your hand is still on the other side?
—I would cut it off.
—Uh, that sounds dangerous.
—Haha, I guess. But we can't fixate on how dangerous life is otherwise we wouldn't do anything.
—There you got me.
They both laughed as they continued talking until a message appeared in front of Arlen.
[Quest Keep me warm(2) completed.
Delivering rewards]
Then Arlen began to get cramps all over his body and broke out in cold sweats. He didn't know what was wrong and he was afraid.
Next to him Olivia reacted a little later, but because she was surprised. The two of them were talking quietly when suddenly Arlen started to suffer.
—Arlen! Arlen! Breathe Arlen. Tell me what's wrong.
But Arlen could not answer her. Suddenly all over Arlen's body marks began to appear, but they immediately disappeared as if they had never been there. A moment later Arlen lay motionless on the floor unconscious and Olivia stared at him in disbelief.
—What just happened?