After two days.
"Are you sure that you're going to be alright by yourself?" Helen didn't know what to do when Ren suddenly said that he wanted to move out to live closer to Fate Academy.
She and Troy somehow expected it but coming from their son's mouth was a different thing entirely. She cried that night after hearing the news. Ren was with them in his nineteen years, and now, he would live alone. She was both proud, happy, and sad at the same time.
Ren nodded. "It's easier for me," he said as he packed his clothes while being aware of his mother's burning gaze on his back.
"Does it really have to be a university in Zone A? And why so sudden? Classes wouldn't open until two months."
"Helen," Troy reprimanded his wife. "We already discus this and said that we will support Ren's decision. And besides, graduates in the universities in Zone A have a much higher chance of being accepted in big companies."
"Dad's right, mom." Ren zipped his bag and faced his parents.
When did his parents look old? Why did he only notice now the flocks of grey hairs and wrinkly skin? The hunches of their backs and the difficulty of their breathing.
Ren blinked away the tears in his eyes and forced a smile. He wasn't emotional, and most even said that he was unsympathetic and cold. But anyone would shed tears at the sight of their parents getting old and weak.
"I have to go to Zone A as early as possible to find a dorm and to apply to Fate Academy." Ren flung his bag over his shoulder. "I'll call every day."
Helen pressed her lips and didn't say anything more while Troy patted his son's shoulder. "I've wired the money into your account. Don't spend it all and be careful in the big city."
"Don't go out partying all night. Avoid bad crowds and eat healthy foods, exercise, and study hard so you can get a decent job after you graduate, buy a house and marry a kind girl," Helen chimed in.
Ren smiled. "I will."
Though he doubted about the marrying part, he was sure as hell he would buy them a house. Not just a house, a mansion in one of Zone A's most prestigious neighborhoods with top-notch security and views. And his parents would live like King and Queens surrounded by servants.
It was his promise to himself, and he would fulfill it this time, no matter what.
----
Upon reaching Zone A, Ren was instantly hit with the sight of flying cars, train pods in the sky, towering buildings that projected 3d images, and fresh air that was made possible by multiple filters from every establishment.
The scenery was very different compared to zone C, where it took in the architecture of the old. Everything in Zone A looked new and futuristic.
Ren walked out of the airport and rode a bus to his destination. He was familiar with every zones because of his past life. And out of habit, every time he rode a vehicle, he took the window seat and stared down at the sights below.
Roads for public transportation were now weaving the skyline while the ground took space for landscapes, bicycles, and other forms of non-vehicle transport. The people looked like ants from above as they went about their daily activities, and the sight of the open spaces, fountains, plants, and trees was breathtaking as always.
After his stop, he proceeded into an all-male dorm called Ravens near Fate Academy. It was also the same dorm he used to stay in the past. It was the cheapest dorm out of the many dormitories and apartments near the Academy.
Upon completing the papers and checking in, Ren fixed his things and called his parents before he took a bath and finally had the chance to rest on his bed.
Dorms and apartments in Zone A were high class. The one he was staying in was a wide ten by ten-meter space complete with a foyer, toilet and bath, a mini kitchen, a single bed, a student desk, a filter, and an air conditioner.
But of course, the price per month reached from five hundred to ten thousand dollars depending on the quality of the room.
In the past, aside from his school workloads, he had to juggle multiple jobs to pay the rent and his living expenses.
Ren chose the cheapest room, like where he was staying in the past. He had no use for carpeted floors, granite walls, leather sofas, chandeliers, and Jacuzzis anyway. He had lived with a faucet and a cup and a ceiling fan his whole life. So he could get by without the luxury.
He closed his eyes.
He'd apply for a student loan in Fate Academy and process all the paperwork tomorrow. Once he confirms his enrollment, he'll immediately buy the gaming pod in the city.
It was of the utmost importance that he was among the players who made it in the first opening of the game, COVENANT.
Exactly seven months from now, due to the booming popularity of the game, private establishments, millionaires and billionaires would invest in guilds, and these guilds needed a base of operations.
Their tiny plot of lands that they were renting from the government would be sold to these uprising of mass construction.
Because of the influx of rising demands on lands, the rent skyrocketed, and his parents were left with no choice but to live in the slums with a makeshift house from scraps of wood and discarded metal sheets to save money just so he could live in comfort in Zone A.
It was also the time when his father's health deteriorated because the house couldn't even protect them from the rain and cold.
A blazing desire hit Ren's stomach, driving him to achieve his goal faster.
Knock!
Knock!
Ren opened his eyes and groaned. He had a feeling that he knew who was at his door at six in the evening.
"Ren!"
Ren took a deep breath and calmed his nerves as he opened the door. A boy his age with semi bald brown hair and muddy colored skin was grinning at him from ear to ear.
But Ren knew that behind his smile hid an opportunistic character.
"Roni." The son of Ren's neighborhood.