Ren and Roni were having their dinner in a restaurant inside a luxury mall. Ren didn't really want to go, but since he was hungry and it looked like Roni wasn't going to leave his front door if he didn't come to dinner with him, he agreed.
Ren wanted to eat on his favorite kebab near Fate Academy. It was a small stall on the side of the street, and they had the best hot pot in the country.
This luxury mall was Roni's favorite hang-out place together with his rich friends in the future and he insisted that they should eat here, even though they couldn't afford it.
Ren didn't like the food in here. Though it was indeed delicious, the price tag was too expensive, plastered on a fancy, hard-to-read food name. In reality, it was just a regular burger served in colorful dishes and seasonings that he could get in a regular burger joint.
"Man. I couldn't believe that you also entered Fate Academy! And the soonest I heard from my mom that you're staying in Raven's dorm, I know I just had to go see you! It has to be fate since I'm also staying there!"
"Mm . . ." Ren munched his burger as an excuse not to engage in their conversation.
As Roni was talking, Ren seized the guy's information from his memory. Roni came early to Zone A than him, and he was from another class.
They were just neighbors who had the same poor background. They weren't even close. Roni's mother would often brag about him to their neighbors and to Ren's mother. Saying that her son was a genius and was going to an Academy in Zone A. Not many could afford it and not many had the brains for it.
In truth, it was because of Roni's aunts and uncles who helped that was why he could afford to go to college in Zone A.
Roni hated his low-income family and often lied about his upbringing from his fellow schoolmates.
When the mass construction took place, both their families were forced to evacuate. Roni and his parents were safe because their relatives took them in.
But for Ren's parents . . . they weren't so lucky.
They didn't have any relatives who were willing to take in another mouth to feed.
And to make matters worse, due to Ren's looks, which he took up from his mother of mixed descent, he was popular with the ladies, which got Roni and some men jealous.
And maybe due to that or what started out as a harmless prank, Roni spread rumors that Ren's parents lived in the slums. Since then, everyone started calling Ren a rat while the ladies avoided him like the plague.
What was so good about looks without money and power?
Ren didn't mind Roni and the others, though. He even forgot about Roni in the past years. However, he was devastated by the news that his parents were indeed living in the slums.
But this time . . .
Ren looked over at Roni. He would make sure that he'll collect Roni's debt with interest.
Ren's school life was a living hell because of the rumors he spread, intentional or not. No one wanted to be associated with him, and everyone looked down upon him just because he was poor.
"I'm sorry that you have to pay, man." Roni wiped the sauce from his lips and grinned. "I was too excited to finally have someone I know here that I forgot my wallet in my room. I promise to pay you back."
Oh, you will, alright. Ren mused to himself. "Don't worry about it."
"By the way. There's a popular game coming, and I heard they used virtual reality like you're really inside the world as a character!"
"Covenant," Ren replied and offered no ongoing conversation. He was blatant about his dislike for Roni, but the guy couldn't take the hint.
Ren couldn't blame him. Roni was really thick-skinned.
"Yes! That's the one! Man, I really wanted to play it."
Roni entered the game early than Ren. Even without money, Roni used his flattering and leech-like skills to get to the good side of his rich classmates until someone actually gave him an old gaming pod.
While Ren couldn't even afford one in the past. Not even when he graduated. He had to register in a guild before he was lent one.
"Man . . . rich kids have it easy, huh." Roni was thick with envy as he eyed the passing teenagers in their designer clothes and latest gadgets.
"If I'm rich, I'm going to buy a mansion and surround myself with beautiful maids!" Roni laughed and looked at Ren. "What about you?"
Ren thought for a second. He didn't want to entertain Roni, but his mind still geared to his parents nonetheless. "I just want to give my parents a good life."
Roni's expression dropped. "You're really are a filial kid."
He then leaned on his chair and spat with pouting lips, "I mean, what good are my parents? They can't even give me a good life. But they still had the guts to reproduce like there was no tomorrow. Do you know how many annoying siblings I have? I'm glad I'm out from that hell hole."
Ren didn't comment. He was an only child. His mother had a miscarriage, and his little sister was gone before she was even born. The accident left damage to his mother's body, and she never got pregnant after that.
"Hey, look at that! That girl is a beauty." Roni's eyes shone at the sight of a beautiful girl with long blonde hair and striking blue eyes complete with an alluring frame.
She was donned in the finest designer's dress that showcased her ample breasts and long snow-white shapely legs. Her skin was adorned with the latest Bijoux jewelry, the most expensive jewelry brand in the whole world. Owning a set of this jewelry was a staple for the rich. You wouldn't belong in their circle if you didn't have one in your collection.
And her bag and boots were custom made in the most expensive leather. She was accompanied by her bodyguards in finely dress suits and ties, carrying loads of paper bags in their hands.
Ren was surprised because it was Silvia, the daughter of a tycoon in this country. She was also the guild leader of Golden Phoenix and a top beauty in the game. Though her guild was mediocre at best, she had access to rare items, tomes, and secret information due to her parent's money, placing her group in the top guilds in COVENANT.
Roni sighed in disappointment. "Guys like us could only look at those rich, beautiful girls from afar. They would never look our way."
It was true. Ren never even meet Silvia in his entire existence in the past, and they even attend the same school! Funny how he got to see her in person now. Though it was from afar.
Every eye looked her way, and even in real life, Silvia attracted attention by simply standing and breathing.
In the past, many top players were wooing her and even leaders of top guilds. But Silvia remained indifferent to them all. She only used them to strengthen her guild's position further.
Not that Ren was ridiculing her. He indeed admired her, for she was using everything in her resources to reach the top. She was competitive and goal-driven, which also contributed to why the Golden Phoenix position remained unshakable even if it was an all-female guild.
Ren drank his coffee. He had a few crushes in the past, but because he was always busy with school and work, he didn't have time to insert a woman into his life.
Though there was an exception, but Ren didn't consider her as a girlfriend because she was just using him for information, and because of that, he was kicked from his first guild.
Ren sighed. Why was his past life so miserable? And why did he let himself be surrounded by opportunistic people?
Ren himself didn't know. Maybe because he was naïve and didn't have many friends due to his lifestyle?
Ren's eyes flashed with determination. This time, he'd be more careful whom to trust. He wouldn't have a problem in that department now that he knew most people's colors both in-game and out.