♫ (Novo Amor – Haven) play this while reading if you want to ♫
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The misfits started entering their house. On the outside, it looks tiny, but the space inside is much bigger. As you enter, you will first notice the floating W2K just below the ceiling light. There are a few sofas made of leather and there's a thick sturdy table in the living room, a small kitchen on the corner, a small dining area with 6 stools, and a small bathroom. There's a stair going up to the bedrooms. The house was quite simple, but for Grian it was the biggest house he ever stayed in.
Ove immediately went to the kitchen and opened the cabinets to check for food, but there was none. He checked his rucksack and took out a few packets of cookies, biscuits, and a few bottles of water. Imogen sat at one of the sofas and checked his rucksack for cleaning tools while Heida was just standing shyly behind him, fidgeting her fingers.
Grian was just standing by the door observing the outlines, auras, and movements of his group. A loud slammed door echoed through the tiny house, it was Aria, she shut a bedroom door. "About the rooms, I think it's clear the boys will stay here on the left, you girls can stay there on the right. We'll just move the extra beds to our room later." Acastus exclaimed while standing on one of the steps pointing at each room. "Being pretty doesn't allow you to be a fucktard! Bitch should've asked first!'
"B-but Heida must b-be with-" Heida stuttered while glancing at Imogen, but he cut her off, "It's okay Heida, just stay with Aria in the room. Girls should stay together."
'Yeah, whatever fucktard, no one wants your fucking prince ass here anyway, scumbag.' Thought Acastus while imaginary rolling his eyes. "What about the group name? What are you doing there Grian? Close the door already."
Grian was thinking about what to do with his free time. He doesn't have anything to unpack, and his rucksack only has the clothes he used to wear inside. He went inside and sat on another sofa, adjacent to Imogen. 'I should just do the quests and try to gather exps. But nothing is showing yet, even the daily quests, I wonder why?'
"What do you guys want to do now?" Imogen asked the group while scanning the room, restless. "How about we think of a group name? as the instructor said." Contrary to what he wanted to do, 'I want to clean! Damn it! This house is so dirty filled with dust.'
"Soooo, guys, what about the tele tabbies?" Ove suggested while chewing a mouthful of cookies, standing in the kitchen.
"What kind of name is that?"
"I don't know it just popped in my head."
Acastus was thinking about a name for a kid's hideout and ended up with, "Hmm, I think 'enter the kid's hole' a good group name?"
"Are you serious? That sounds so wrong on so many levels." Imogen laughed and was followed by Ove, then Grian started to snicker too. 'Fucking bitchass, I suggested a good fucking name like a good fucking member of a fucking group, and those shitheads fucking laughed at my fucking idea. I'm not even going to talk anymore. Bitches!' Acastus faked a laugh with the group as he clenched his fists and sat on the sofa too.
"Hummingbeards, Firesin, Sun Oath, Sungarde, Chaos, Deviant, Come on! I'm running out of vocabulary here." Ove suggested as he wiped his mouth and sat beside Grian.
"That's just lame, let's think about it later, first we need a leader," Acastus suggested. 'Mine's a better name than fucking any of those idiotic lowlife fuckers.'
"Then, I vote myself. Are you okay with that?" Imogen ruffled his hair again out of habit. Then suddenly, Aria went down the living room smelling like smoke and stood at the stairs listening in on the conversation. Grian then noticed a shift in Aria's usual aura, it used to be steady and calm, now it shows him that Aria's feeling a bit ecstatic. Which is a bit unusual since she's usually angry and irritable.
'Did Aria burn something in the room? I wonder what happened to her?'
'I know Imogen's the strongest, so I don't think there's any problem with it. Well, aside from his name, I should ask him about it sometime.' Grian thought to himself, "I have no problem with it."
"Heida i-is okay with Imogen too!" She shyly spoke in almost a whisper.
"Me three! Alright since that's settled, I'm gonna head out, see you in a bit." Ove hurriedly went out and was followed by Aria going in separate directions.
'Whatever dickheads! I don't even want the fucking response-fucking-bility anyway.' Acastus stood up and said, "You'll make a great leader! I'm also going to check some stuff for my pet, see you later."
"U-uh Heida w-will also co-come back later. Heida w-will go now."
Then all that's left was Grian and Imogen, "What about you Grian? Anywhere you want to go?"
'Out of all the Arleiths I met, he's the one I can't read. What's he thinking? I can pretty much understand the other auras but him, his aura is just weirdly steady the whole time. What should I do? I'd like to be alone to check out the system.' Grian then came up with an idea that he can learn how the system works without being suspicious. "I haven't played games before; do you think they have it here?"
"I love games! Let's go! I think there are games you can play even if you can't see." Imogen first had a disappointed face then it suddenly lit up and advanced to the door.
When they both went outside, other students crowded the sidewalks, coming out from different houses. Different shades of aura in different sizes were seen by Grian. All the other structures were also glowing faintly, but the Libraria was the only structure that shone. He couldn't even ask anyone about it or go to investigate immediately. It was because he thought it was common sense, if he got into any trouble, no one would have his back and he's not even that powerful yet. Unlike his group that was Meiths and has a high rank.
Although swamped by the new experiences he was having, he decided to tackle a problem one at a time. He still doesn't have a clear goal because the 13 years of emotion he had were blocked. He knew he had to find who caused the death of his parents and avenge them, find who his real parents were, where is the old man, what's with Imogen having a fake name, the system, and ranking up. But he wasn't feeling up to the tasks yet.
Grian was happy he gets to make friends and meet kids his age, but he was also feeling exhausted by what was happening around him. Sometimes he thought that he just wants to go back to helping his mother make mud cookies, where days go by faster and easier. But it seems like as days pass, Grian notices that there's a huge part of him missing. It's like he didn't live for the past 14 years. He remembers everything but he couldn't feel anything, and it was slowly taking a toll on him.
Still, he was feeling pretty excited and dismissed the thought he had, not knowing the endless hidden potential he has. If Grian wanted to, he could easily rule the Mor. The system works mysteriously with desire as a factor. Due to it still suppressing Grian's pain and past experiences, he doesn't really have any strong desires, yet.
Imogen was just observing Grian who's in deep thought. He was amazed by how casual Grian was about everything. At first, he thought the blindfold was just an accessory, but when he got close, he knew it wasn't see-through. 'It still feels weird looking at him do things normally. I still can't over the fact that he was blind. Grian Ignis, huh, I wonder what's his connection with my family.'
"I think you can play this game; do you know this? It's called a VR, it's from an island called 54." Imogen was pointing at a thin skeletal-like helmet. "You enter this shell and put it on your head like this, and you'll be transported to the game. Don't worry Island 54 has really cool technology so this game is for everyone even if you have a disability. Almost every technology we have in the capital and here in the academy came from there." Imogen was helping Grian wear the thin headgear and assisting him in the cocoon-like tiny room.
Grian dismissed his thoughts and went inside the shell, as Imogen was closing the lid he said, "Maybe when we finish the academy and went on the practical you'll get to visit Island 54, they can even restore your eyesight there."
"Wait! What do I do?" Grian panicked at the last minute not knowing what to expect inside the pod. "Don't worry about it, it's just like a dream. You'll know when you get there." Imogen said as he punched a few settings on the machine.
Grian woke up with normal eyesight and felt weird, he was already used to seeing auras. He tried using the system but there wasn't any screen showing up. He looked around and he was standing on a branch of a gigantic tree. The cold winds suddenly hit his face, it was the freshest air he ever breathed. He could see the horizon clearly, it was in the shade of indigo with a hint of purple. There weren't any suns or moons in sight but there were endless dots of sparkly objects filling the sky. Although he could see before, his memories of sceneries were the vastness of the sea he sees every day when picking up mud.
The scenery was breathtaking, a sea of tall trees that seems endless were below the majestic skies. A few glowing tiny birds suddenly flew past him. White mountains in his west and a purple sea on the right. It was like he's really on a different island. His senses were overloading, he felt like a free bird. It seems like the thoughts he was having earlier weren't really important.
Even if the past few days he got to experience traveling from different portals and islands, he couldn't see everything he saw for what it was, he just saw it in white lines and auras. He sat down on the branch and looked down to what seemed like an endless abyss covered in fog, and he couldn't see the ground. 'I thought games were like the system, but I guess this is pretty fun too.'
"aaaAaH I want to stay here forever!"
Little did he know that Imogen purposely put Grian in a disability shell. It's a VR game for Arleiths with disabilities, for example, poor eyesight, lost limbs, obesity, distorted speech, it's a game where it restores everything one lacks. Inside you can play sports, eat, sleep and even fornicate. It is mostly used by stressed students to better their mental strengths.
Imogen knowing Grian would stay for a while inside the shell so he took the opportunity and rushed back to their house. When he got back, he took out the contents of his rucksack, put a towel on his nose, took a broom and a rag, and started cleaning. 'Finally, I'm alone!' he thought while whistling a happy tune.
**
The next day,
Grian and the others woke up to a loud announcement on the W2K. "Everyone gather at the Academy grounds this instant, failure to attend will get units deducted on their cards."
All the students one by one started going out of their dorms and started gathering at the grounds, located at the central part of the island, surrounded by buildings where classes will be held. The grounds were covered in gray open bricks, and cute little plants peeking through the crevices.
Imogen was already sitting on the sofa with Heida standing behind him when the announcement was made. He woke up even before the ray of the 1st sun shone and already finished cleaning the whole house. There wasn't even a speck of dust left, not even the crumbs left by Ove yesterday, the house was sparkling.
Acastus rushed down with a bed hair and Ove immediately followed, with his clothes that aren't buttoned. "What did you guys do yesterday? You guys look like shits, we'll go first hahaha. See you at the grounds." Imogen was relieved he hasn't seen Grian yet. 'He must be mad I left him yesterday hahaha.' He thought and Heida went out which was soon followed by Aria, who's already properly dressed and ready.
Grian soon walked down the stairs and saw panicked outlines, rushing from here to there. 'It's Acastus and Ove, I guess they woke up late.' He didn't bother the two and silently went out.
Unlike when they were tested and the students were scattered in, when he reached the grounds, the students were already lined up in different rows, with a meter of space in between. A few glowing auras were seen standing at the stage, but what got Grian's attention was a white flame, similar to the old man's.
He lined up with the others but immediately got bored when an instructor with a strong yellow flame started speaking.
"Good morning everyone! I am Instructor Clear Redall, and I oversee the flame affinities' class. I hope you had fun with your free time yesterday, exploring the islands and using your allowance to your heart's content."
Instructor Clear, the one with the yellow flame was very young and handsome. He has blue eyes and short brown hair with a clear cut. His smile was enough to swoon the ladies and melt their hearts. Some female students were already regretting that they possess a different affinity because it means that they won't have him as their teacher.
"First, a welcome ceremony will be done, everyone should listen and understand everything carefully because this will be only done once. Once the ceremony is over, that's where all the fun begins."
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