"Ha," Femi exclaimed as he sat down on the grass. He had been running since 4 AM. It wasn't just him; a few other students were running too. It had been a tiring week for him, and it was only Saturday.
I lay down, utterly exhausted. Why should I be running? Even in my previous world, my school didn't take physical education practicals seriously. We just read the theory and passed.
You might be wondering how I got here. Well, after the fellow woke me up, he directed me to a class. The class was called 1D, the last class. I had no issue with that since I came from a B- class in my previous world, and I knew not to underestimate this class, as it had many bright students.
I was scolded by the homeroom teacher for skipping class. She instructed me to find a seat somewhere. I was still dazed, transitioning from lockdown to a school environment. I needed someone to explain things to me. There was a free seat at the front by the window, and I sat there, placing my book on the table. Suddenly, I felt uneasy, as if a thousand eyes were on me. I looked around and saw all the students staring at me—some with anger, some with mixed expressions, and some with pity. Even the teacher gazed at me with pity. What could be the reason? Was it the seat? I had always loved sitting in the front due to my short stature and proximity to the blackboard.
"Well, that's a first," I heard the teacher say. "Should I call you bold or foolish? You must know that the first seat by the window belongs to the strongest student in this class, as the Mana around that seat is potent. You've got guts. Well, consider yourself lucky for now. The strongest student is on an assignment, but when he returns, you'll have to duel him because sitting there is a provocation of war. Anyway, let's begin the class, shall we?"
Potent Mana? Duel? What on earth is happening here? I just woke up in this world, and now they're telling me I have to duel because of a chair? Potent Mana? I just felt a refreshing breeze.
I was only half present in the class. From time to time, I felt a strong pressure from the girl beside me, but the teacher dismissed it. She continued to talk about the basics of Mana usage. After an hour and a half, she concluded the class. I wanted to stand up, but I couldn't. What had happened to me?
"Don't worry, he won't move," I heard a guy say.
Seeing the girl beside me approaching, I tried to speak, but my mouth wouldn't cooperate.
"You! Do you think you're clever? That you can do as you please? You're trash. I've worked hard to sit there, and you just took that seat for an hour and a half. You..."
"Let's leave it there, Ife," I heard another voice, deeper this time. "The duel will settle everything. Clearly, he knows what he's doing to sit there."
Huh? Why was this Ife girl speaking like that? I didn't even know that seat belonged to the strongest student. I was just attracted to the window. And now, they want to fight me over fresh air? My mind was in turmoil.
"Release," I heard, and I could move again. What escaped my mouth was a deep breath. Everyone in the class stared at me for a while. Was it because... I quickly stood up from the chair and ran. I ran as fast as I could, out of the class, out of the school building, and I kept running until my legs could carry me no further. After a while, I stopped in a secluded place. Nobody was around. I just stood there and shouted at the top of my voice. I thought, it's better to be bored than to be killed. When I ran out of strength, I collapsed, breathing heavily. I tried to remember anything about me, this world, or this school.
As I sat down on the grass, gazing at the clouds, I saw a ring flying toward me from a distance. It came to rest on my leg. What is this? Did someone throw it here? Those were my thoughts when I saw a force field emanate from the ring, covering me. The force field moved from the ground to the sky, and for a moment, I was seeing the ground from up high. Then it descended, landing in a strange hut. Surprisingly, the ground opened up and began moving downward until it reached the ground.
"Welcome, successor," I heard. I looked at the blurry figure in front of me. His face gradually became clear. An old man, from who knows where, was standing in front of me. "I've been waiting a long while for you."