Inside a Personal Training Room, Dormitory Room 03.
A woman with red hair in twin tails and ruby, crimson eyes held tightly with her hands the middle of a chained sickle. A few swings later, a training dummy was cut in half as though her weapon was as light as a child's toy.
Rirriirrriiing-!
The sound of a call from her smartwatch on her right wrist prompted her to stop training. She sat on the ground in a lotus position before answering the call.
It was her father.
"How's my daughter?"
With a gentle voice, the man on the other end of the line asked, though it was the kind of voice that possessed authority.
"I'm fine, Dad. What do you need? You're disturbing my training, you see."
Her words were quite harsh from other people's standpoints, but, as the daughter herself, she was glad to have a conversation with her father.
"Hahaha! Forgive my intrusive call, my daughter. I just want to tell you about the opening of the Obelisk Central Hall."
The man on the other end laughed, amused by her daughter's behavior as if their relationship were more of a comradeship than a father-daughter one.
"Dad, please don't put my name in there! Your name alone will suffice to gather enough attraction."
This girl's father was proven to be a doting one. She was provided with everything she needed, but the downside, at least for her, was that her father wanted her name to spread like wildfire as if their family name didn't have enough reputation throughout the Orion Continent.
"Alright, alright! Don't worry. I'll see you next week, okay? I love you, Anya."
Without waiting for Anya, the man's daughter's name, to respond back, he ended the call.
...
The day of the Banquet of the Obelisk
Classes were suspended for this day in preparation for the event. Seniors — who were not participants in the banquet — apart from the seniors that were members of the Student Council and Disciplinary Committee, were given at least a day of rest.
Russell visited his younger sister, Freya, who was residing in the extravagant dormitory. He made an appointment in advance since there was a restriction on meeting a student from the A-1 class.
Russell thought that the Rigel Building was like a five-star hotel, while the Andromeda or other dormitory building was like a public resort, especially when referring to heavy restrictions.
...
Knocking on the door, with Room 26 written on a golden plate atop it, a click sound was heard from the inside, followed by a creaking sound. Soon after, Russell found himself inside the dormitory room of his younger sister; the other two, Amery and Amelie, were sitting on a cozy, long couch beside a study desk, watching something on the television, a piece of furniture that was also provided by the academy.
"Good afternoon, Russell!"
Amelie greeted him with her usual cheerful demeanor, while Amery, on the other hand, just nodded at him; it was the form of her greeting. Russell then nodded at both of them in response.
'I don't even have the will to open my mouth.'
He lampooned inwardly, slightly scratching his deep black hair. Though it wasn't evident in his expression, he was deprived of sleep for a few days, thinking about the shadows lurking behind Rumia.
"Oppa, have you already prepared a formal suit?"
Freya asked, wondering if her older brother had made any preparations for the banquet. Unsurprisingly, a student could buy casual or formal attire in a clothing store inside the academy itself.
"Yes, I've got one; how about the three of you?"
He asked back, glancing at the three of them.
"We bought dresses together; do you want to check them, Oppa?"
Freya asked, a bit embarrassed, but she was expecting an answer from her older brother.
"No."
Russell replied plainly, causing Freya to pout subconsciously.
"You two are really close siblings, aren't you?"
Amelie interjected, voicing her thoughts regarding the siblings' interaction.
Seconds, then minutes had passed, and the four of them casually chatted about some academic matters, but it was mostly Amelie and Freya who did the talking. Then, for a moment, a piece of news screened on the television prompted them to look and listen attentively.
— Breaking News: Crescent Weaponry Company will soon release a new set of weapons and armor on the market! The efficiency of the prototypes of this equipment has been magically proven by some renowned scientists, magic engineers, and blacksmiths!
"Phew. I hope some of their equipment is affordable, or else it'll always be the rich who'd get them."
Freya voiced her thoughts, which simply resembled the gap between the rich and the poor.
'I guess it's time for the first incident outside the Obelisk Academy.'
Russell thought, remembering some details of his unpublished novel.
'This will be sort of evil on my part... but I think it's time to make some money.'
He thought of what he did best in his previous life: trade stocks, though he's not stupid enough to walk through the company's door.
"Weapons..."
Amery whispered, cutting off Russell's thoughts and prompting Freya and Amelie to look at her.
"This girl..."
Freya said in resignation, remembering the promise she made with Amery.
"Russell, what's it like in your class?"
"Freer."
Russell succinctly answered Amelie's random question regarding the academic difference between the A-1 and A-11 classes.
"Ah... Is that so? Ours are strict as heck. It's like there's no tomorrow to learn. Almost everyone is serious. Right, Freya?"
Amelie let out a sigh of dejection.
"What are you on about?"
Freya tilted her head at Amery's words; she then took a glass of water from the glassy table she had prepared before her older brother arrived.
"The academy treats us as more special compared to others."
Surprisingly, it was Amery who spoke, to which Russell agreed.
"Amery's right. Well, it's evident with the privileges you have."
According to his unpublished novel, the A-1 class was considered more special than other classes since the students or players from the A-1 class had something in them that made them qualified to be in that class. It's not just about the blessing of the System that Freya possessed or any other reasons for the other students. The Obelisk Academy was also looking for players with the potential to be affiliated with the Obelisk Organization.
"Oppa, I have been meaning to ask, I'm curious about your previous advice."
Freya asked, curious. Amelie, who heard her, seemed to become more excited to hear what Russell had to say, while Amery formed curious eyes.
After thinking about an answer for a while, though it wasn't the exact reason, it was enough to be equivalent to the truth, so Russell answered.
"I told Freya that she shouldn't make friends with the very famous people in your class."
"Why? Isn't it beneficial to form a connection with them?"
Amelie didn't bother to ask about the identity of the people to whom Russell was referring.
'Basically, the main or major characters mean trouble.'
Russell repressed himself from voicing out his absurd yet reasonable thoughts and then gave an answer that was within an acceptable range in perspective.
"Well, you'll be a target of hatred if you manage to become friends with them. Many people will probably get jealous."
'And some of them have shadows who will investigate you.'
He faintly smiled, continuing to repress his thoughts.
"Hmm, but I think you could befriend one of them."
Thinking about the past few days, when he was not accessing the Chaos Training Grounds because of the stressful training dummy he named ETD-1, he occasionally encountered Samantha. Russell couldn't totally justify if he made the right decision by talking to her, but considering her predicament, he thought that he turned out to be a trigger for her to be more carefree socially, at least inside the academy.
'Although it was supposed to happen sooner, I just fast-forwarded it.'
...
"Freya... Isn't your older brother kind of weird?"
Amelie asked, curious. Russell just left the dormitory room. Amelie was wondering about Russell's perspective and demeanor, which seemed mature for his age.
"You could say that, but he's right most of the time."
Freya, who didn't deny her older brother's weirdness sometimes, gave him praise behind his back.
"He has secrets."
Freya and Amelie glanced at the "most-of-the-time" silent Amery, with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
"What do you mean!?"
"What do you mean?"
Both Freya and Amelie asked, almost at the same time. Lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, Freya recalled the difference in her older brother's physique.
"Uh. I think Amery's right. I just remembered something, but forget it. We shouldn't talk about him."
"The least I could do is to divert their attention away from Oppa."
"Right... Sorry, we shouldn't pry about such things. Everyone has a secret, after all."
This time, Amery and Freya cast their gazes at Amelie, causing her to scratch her cheeks.
...
Obelisk Central Hall, the unexpected venue of the Banquet of Obelisk for the students, was located in the gigantic Obelisk infrastructure in the middle of the Obelisk Academy. Many students, or even Obelisk Staff, thought that it was only a symbol similar to a statue, but tonight, it turned out to be an outstanding infrastructure with magnificent architecture that could accommodate thousands of people.
'This is also a strategic command center.'
Russell thought, glancing around the massive, intricate interior of the Obelisk Central Hall as soon as he went in.
"Woah! Freya, why does this place look bigger inside than from the outside?"
Amelie asked, amazed. Russell, after some thought, answered.
"It's probably due to space magic or an artifact."
"Space magic? Isn't that rare?"
Amelie asked in wonder since "space-related" skills were a powerful but rare kind among players.
"Probably. But I just thought of the Dimensional Inventory that each of us has."
He answered in wonder, though he knew that this space was the effect of an artifact, the [Dimensional Square]. It was confidential intelligence, so blurting it out in the open would immediately have him arrested. The affiliated player scientists and magic engineers were inspired by the wonders of the Dimensional Inventory, and with years of research, the Dimensional Square artifact was created.
Gaining some understanding about Russell's opinion, Freya interjected.
"Right, we could store objects regardless of weight and size in the dimensional inventory."
"Hey, Freya. Is your older brother a secret genius? Why is he in A-11?"
Amelie made a cheeky remark, causing Russell to slightly frown.
'I know because I've written it!'
He laughed inwardly. He knew about it, but not how it was thoroughly made, since this world probably had a realistic or magical explanation of how this Dimensional Square artifact came to be.
...
"What a f*cking beauty, man!"
"Is that a goddess on earth?"
"The goddess has descended!"
Different reactions from the students could be seen. The noise and ridiculous remarks entered Russell's ears as the famous figures entered the Obelisk Center Hall, just a minute or two before the start of the event.
Truth be told, although the famous figures; Samantha Hall, Elizabeth von Etherion, Anya Amasawa, Rumia Flora, and Leon von Obreyon were not totally close with each other aside from the two princesses, they still formed a bond due to their respective parents' connections.
The interior of the Obelisk Central Hall was spacious, and the floor was thoroughly cleaned as though it had turned into a mirror.
Numerous round tables — a few meters apart from each other — were placed across the venue. A round table could accommodate at least eight people.
Then, at the back, near the entrance, were different kinds of delicacies from different countries. These were prepared by Obelisk Staff specializing in catering and cooking, while on the side, near the front, were the Obelisk Staff responsible for technical stuff such as party lights and music.
When the clock ticked at seven o'clock in the evening, an alluring voice that could make a person turn into a living doll entered the ears of every person in the venue, prompting each pair of eyes to look on the stage where a woman with platinum hair, purple eyes, and a body befitting a model was standing.
"Good evening, everyone! This marks the start of the Banquet of Obelisk!"