In the brief moment that he was in the gateroom, he was thinking of what he should do from now on. Joren was still hesitating, he was still a bit far from doing what he wants since he lacks power.
He knew and was clearly aware of it. He may have still cowardice within him, but in another perspective, this could also be seen as intelligence. The fish thought so.
If Joren just thick-headedly challenged everyone in his path, he will not only be defeated, he will also possibly die. Although he was yet to be aware of that, Joren had already developed the instinct of what is safe and what is not.
Furthermore, Joren was still innocent in the fish's eyes. He had yet to see the horror of the world. Even murder, he had not seen yet, how can he kill?
The fish knew that killing is necessary in this place. Although it seemed more organized than modern society, behind it was the rule of the jungle. In the end, monsters were still monsters.
When the gate opened, Joren was bewildered. No matter how many times he saw the location change with just the close and open of the gate, he was still amazed.
But this was not the time to be amazed. Joren's girl just got "taken" away from him.
'I have to know the reason why she was replaced.'
In front of him was a dark and eerie place of nature. Fog so thick that sunlight cannot go through. Pine trees were everywhere but unlike his school, there's a cemented road as they stepped into it.
"This is the First Level Principal's Office." the man introduced.
'This feels like a final boss stage to me.' Joren kept his vigilance up.
He cannot be sure of his safety. He had seen organized establishments and strict policies but every new location brings new danger.
"Please, follow me. Also, do not make a lot of noise." the man said. Although he was scared of Joren, it was obvious he was more fearful of where they were headed to.
As they passed, there were lamps that illuminated the road. This place had become an abyss from how thick and high the fog is.
Joren felt the creeps in this place but he never hesitated to take another step after another. Eventually, he saw a big black gate in front of him. It just appeared out of the fog. It seemed that they were rather close in the first place and it was only hidden by the fog.
The man cautiously went to the side and rang the doorbell.
... there was no sound but soon, a person appeared behind the gate out of the thick fog. This person was clad in black as the hood hid their face. Couple with the lack of light, Joren couldn't see what's behind the shadow of the hood.
"Agenda?"
A woman's voice rang out under the hood. The man bowed and replied.
"Secretary Virena, I have brought an Abnormal who has a question regarding Scarlett Fross."
"Hm, Scarlett Fross, which means you're the Braindead Abnormal. This is strange, are you sure he came here for a question?" the woman called Virena, the secretary of the school board, doubted so she asked.
'What does that mean?' Joren raised an eyebrow, 'And Braindead Abnormal...?' but before he could speak, Virena continued.
"I don't think an individual like him has the ability to even come up with a proper question."
'What?...' Joren was gravely insulted but he let it go.
"Yes, Secretary Virena, he has a question." the man replied.
'Oy, oy, are you not going to deny anything?'
Joren wanted to complain but soon realized that he should just speak for himself. Alas, before he could the mysterious secretary responded with her sharp tongue again.
"Let the brainless enter. We can't waste any more time as we will need a lot of it to make him understand the situation."
"Hey!"
Joren scolded as he felt like his image had gone to literal poop.
"Don't talk to me like I am not capable of basic communication!"
"Ah, Mister Joren, please be respectful..."
The man politely reminded while Joren got a glimpse of the secretary's reaction.
Her supple red lips made an "o" as if she was startled.
"You can speak?" she said.
"I can..."
Seeing her genuine shock, Joren was reminded that it was his fault back then for failing the tests. He got zero for the Strength Test and he was still able to remember that part which means he was still conscious. How about the Intelligence test then? How badly did he do there?
"This... this is unexpected."
The faint image of Virena's lips, Joren could see it and he noticed that she frowned.
"Did the test go wrong? We were informed that your intelligence is the same as a crackhead who got too high."
'Wow, that was an accurate report.'
Joren didn't expect to get high just from going to the Gangsta Heaven so how could the others expect either? For all Scarlett knows, that must be one of his personalities that greatly disappointed her.
Only after a few clearances did she understand that it was just a misunderstanding.
"So you have a question for Scarlett Fross? You're lucky that as an Abnormal, you have the privilege to be entertained, come in."
As those "welcoming" words came out of Virena's mouth, the huge black gate opened. She then turned around and moved as if she's floating inside that cloak instead of walking.
"I can only wait here. But Mister Joren, as a kind reminder, there are no guards here for the reason that it is needed. Please keep that in mind."
Joren heard the man's last words before he followed Virena. He suddenly felt that this was unnerving. It was not hard to understand the man's words.
'He means that either there are some defense mechanisms here, there is no one to harm here, or that this secretary is very strong.'
The last option should be the most plausible one. However, Joren still couldn't wrap his head around this fantasy setting where an individual can be that strong. In secular words, no matter how strong one is, they can be taken down by an army.
Although Joren is an army, he is fairly confident in his combat skills. Fortunately, he was not that narrow-minded. He forgot about Scarlett's introduction to the men he can choose to fight back then in the Strength Test, however, from the story that she told him back then and the sudden raise in his strength, it is very much possible that there are real monsters there who could carry mountains and destroy cites with its breath.
Joren shuddered at that thought. The best he can do now was punch through walls. It may be amazing on the outside world but if his imagination is correct, that is basically useless.
'I can't believe I'm starting to believe what the fish was saying. This is like a slap to my face. After I ignored its words, I'm suddenly placed in a situation where I need strength.'
While Joren was deep in his thoughts, he finally saw light in front of him. Seeing that even the sunlight was getting blocked by the thick fog, this light must be very bright. However, that was not the thing that he focused on. His eyes widened as, in front of him, there was a long towering figure that was looking down on him.
It was just a silhouette but from that alone, one thought surfaced in his mind.
'A dinosaur?'
Joren subconsciously took a step back.
"Principal Ness," Virena bowed in greeting before pointing her hand onto Joren, "This man is an Abnormal who has a question."
A bead of sweat glided over Joren's cheeks. When he heard what the secretary just said, he was greatly bewildered.
'This thing is the principal?' he looked up to the head of the beast on top of its long neck, 'Principal Ness?'
Dinosaur-looking...
Monsters...
Long neck...
Principal Ness...
Now that his thoughts were directed there, he could hear the splashes of water. One creature popped out in his head.
'The loch ness monster!?'
This was the first time that he encountered a real legend. Although the danger was still vague, Joren remembered what Scarlett told him the first day. Coupled with the fact that he had met a God... the Gangsta God's pants... this was all becoming more believable.
He waited for the voice of the monster that he assumed as the loch ness. Joren stared at where the monster's eyes he assumed to be.
A moment later, Virena turned to him casually and said.
"The principal said that you can ask now."
"Huh?"
Virena ignored Joren's puzzlement.
"I didn't hear anything though."
"I'm the principal's interpreter. The principal also said that hurry up and asked, it doesn't have much time."
Joren found something fishy but he still asked.
"Where's Scarlett Fross? Why is she suddenly replaced?"