"Saint what?"
The name holds familiarity yet no memory is jogged as I try to recollect it.
"This is why I told you to stop training all the time and start exploring the city at least once." Simon shook his head in disbelief. "It is a prestigious school for talented kids and one of the top 3 schools in this country."
"And what am I ever gonna do in that place? You know we only have five years left until the next catastrophe arrives."
"What else, kid? Learn magic," he claimed. "It used to be an academic school until five years ago. Now, they teach things like swordsmanship and magic."
"And how did you know these?"
"I know because some of my clients are parents of children who go into the same academy so I've heard good things about the place."
"Magic, huh?... if that's the case, this changes everything. " I claimed, sitting on the couch of the living room.
As far as I remember, magic was indeed used by one of my people aside from the players. The magic the people were using, although it wasn't as strong as the players, it was enough to keep oneself alive.
Gabby and Nate were one of the people granted the ability to hold magic however, I never had the chance to discover how it was possible to begin.
I was too late to ask her.
"Magic is essential in surviving the next wave, Simon. And we won't be able to rely on Ellie this time."
"What do you mean?"
"Mana overflow," I replied. "When a powerful rift breaks, it leaks strong mana which renders non-mana user's mobility. We were lucky the mana leaking in the last wave was weak and didn't reach the land but it is a different story on the next one."
I could remember what happened when a wave broke into the small settlement I stayed in. Everyone was immobilized and none were able to flee the raging breath of the frost dragon. And among those deaths was a friend I gained and lost.
The doorbell suddenly rings followed by knocking. And in surprise, I hid my face under my jacket's hood. It was the one from earlier. The one whose bag got snatched.
"Good morning, Ma'am. How may I help you?" Simon asked.
"Hello, I'm the granddaughter of the old lady next door. I heard you've been a good neighbor for my grandma and for that, I am grateful," she replied. "But unfortunately, I won't be able to grant the sudden promise she had spoken to you regarding the enrollment."
"What do you mean?"
"My grandma kept forgetting that I am the principal, not the president. I don't own the school to just enroll anyone. There's a system established that one must pass an exam every year in order to get into the academy…" she replied. "But I can send a formal recommendation to which you can apply for the upcoming special exam"
"That seems fair."
"Hold on… you look familiar…" she ponders then snaps. "Oh, I remember now. You're the kid from earlier!"
It was a little late to notice but it was her. She was indeed the woman earlier.
"Thanks to you, I got my bag back without missing anything. Seeing your abilities to be able to apprehend those thieves, I think you'd do fine in the exam."
"Can I join as well?" from the staircase, Gabby descends carrying Sam in her hands. "Sorry, I overheard your conversations. If Cipher's entering, I'll enter the academy as well."
"Y-young miss… is that your child?" the lady asked.
"Oh, no. That's my other niece's son. She's just babysitting him." Simon assured, and somehow, the lady sighed in relief.
"Well, it will be hard but if you can hit the average requirements, I'm sure you'll pass." the lady claimed but her gaze was still sticking to Gabby, observing something on her before grinning. "I'll be heading back now. I'll send the letters in a few hours so bye for now."
She had left, but the grin on her face as she looked at Gabby gave me a strange feeling. Something tells me she was seeing something I couldn't.
"Cipher. My room. Now." she glared before heading upstairs.
Simon and I looked at each other, confused. We don't know what she was up to but all I could do was follow her into her room, She sits on the edge of her bed.
"What is it, Gabby?"
"You don't have to keep it a secret, I already know. I just heard it earlier," she claimed.
"What did hear exactly?"
"Don't play dumb. It's about the incoming danger. I already heard it" she claimed, staring with such gaze while I couldn't respond in surprise. "And I want to help too so please tell me, what can I do?"
"Gabb…" She looked pretty eager, and knowing her personality, I can't really deny her. "Fine, let me just check your status."
She brushes up the air in front of her then the floating marble materializes.
** Character Information **
Name: Gabriela Celestine
HP: 57/57 MP: 0/0
Str: 2.4/10 Agi: 3.6/10 Vit: 5.7/10 Int: 4/10 Magi: 0/0
Aura: D
********************
"Gosh, you definitely need exercise," I claimed, but at least she got her vitality up to more than half and it's all thanks to her having a decent three meals a day. "… A-aura? Hang on, how long is that there!?"
She had something I didn't have on my display. An extra status. But her eyes turned gloomy upon the topic as if something was amiss.
"Gabby, what's wrong?"
"... Cipher… can you keep a secret?" she asks, worrying me somehow. All things we kept from everyone else, we shared. We know each other's hidden secrets but up until now.
"I... I promise. I won't tell a soul."
She struck a slight grin before turning sullen again. "I remember the time I had been thrown into the slums and way before that. It is so vivid, it sickens me."
"I'm from the household of Celestine, a group of noble who lives on the island of Cevan. Well, I was. But when Nate came into this world and our abilities failed our kin's expectations, we were outcasted and disowned, even by our own mother. We were treated as if we didn't exist. But not father… he fled with us into the shore of Ferdial, the slums, and settled with the little money he had saved. And he didn't give up and taught us everything he knew about Aura. B-but…" Her eyes were starting to get wet, yet she keeps them from leaking. "… he died working to feed us, and Nate and I were chased out of the house we were living in. We had no one and everyone didn't even care about us…"
"... sorry to hear that…"
"It's fine. There was at least someone who stretched out a hand even though we couldn't offer anything in return," she claimed.
"Really? I guess someone still had a heart in such a place."
"Can't you remember, silly? It was you," she stated while it left me confused and clueless.
"We were starving for days, and the leftovers we were able to rummage in the trash were stolen by other kids." She then locked eyes with me then said "And then we stumbled upon you. You were munching a large drumstick so angrily, that none of the kids back then could dare to take it from you and just gave up. But when you saw us, you suddenly handed over your food and left without saying anything."
Oh, gosh. When did that happen? My childhood was so far from my real age, that I couldn't remember a thing. "Sure you didn't threaten me?"
"What are you implying?" she glared.
"Nothing, I'm just joking," I replied. "But this aura you have… what can it do?"
She paused and then replied "At first, I can't do anything with it but recently, after getting out of the slums, it changed something in me. It helps me focus on… things. I can improve my senses to see, hear, and feel better but only one sense at a time."
"Oh, so that's why you were able to hear us from downstairs."
"Exactly. But unlike my kin, my… capabilities are still far too infant compared to theirs. If I can hear you from downstairs, my kin can probably detect you from four to five blocks away. The elder could hear you anywhere in the globe" she claimed.
"No kidding? You serious? That far?" she just nodded in response. "No way, even if I whisper?"
"Yes. As long as she knows your voice and focuses only on you, she can hear every word you say," she claimed.
"Whoa, that's useful… I know! Show it to me. Your aura."
"... you mean, right now?" she asked. I nodded then she rested Sam on her bed. She then faced me and as she closed her eyes, the pressure within the room felt heavier and a barely visible smoke was steaming out of her then she opened her eyes. "This is aura. I could barely use it in the slums but somehow, I could keep it stable now…"
"Hmm… probably because of your vitality. Living in the slums with a poor diet? No wonder you couldn't use it properly."
"I'm planning on mastering my own gift even if it is weaker than my own relatives. And Cipher… I want you to help me own this gift."
She looked persistent, and when she had those eyes, there was no telling her no.
"Oh, you mean right now? This exact moment?" She just nodded in response, adamant about her words. "Okay, but not here. It's too cramped in here the mansion and furniture cost too much to replace if accidents happen. How about outside?"
She averted her gaze then said "Can't. Too many eyes…"
It was just the old lady next door and the other is an uninhabited house of who knows where they've been, so worrying about being seen shouldn't be an issue. Yet she persists in her claim.
"I guessed it can't be helped…" I sighed. "Follow me. I know a place."
Confused, she followed me outside and onto the walk-in closet at the end of the corridor, adjacent to my room. Inside the closet is a secret door covered with hanging clothes, and behind the door leads to a small tight room where the portal glows.
"T-this… what's this doing here!?" she scowled.