" Hey.... did you see that?"
Erika asked with a confused look.
" Don't worry, the Overseer won't harm him."
James replied in a relaxed manner as he kept his focus on Steele's battle.
" How are you so sure?"
" From what I know, Overseer is a former student of our academy so he won't do anything. On top of that Principal himself is present at the academy, with his perception stat, there's nothing that can be hidden from his eyes."
" That's true but perception stat also has its limit."
" Perception stat is like our eyes. Let's take an example, currently my field of vision covers almost 5% of the stadium. But my focus is on the match which makes other things blur. Meaning even though they are in my field of vision, I can't tell what they are doing.
Let's take another example, I am walking down a street with varities of shop. Now my field of vision covers a small area of 5 shops, does that mean I can see everything? nope I can't tell how many items a shop is selling or if a window is open, someone dropped something. Our eyes focus on things we want to see and the same goes for perception stat."
Erika and James fell silent for a moment. Small winds blew past them as the atmosphere got serious.
" Hey James, are we really going to do this?"
" .....It's necessary."
-------------------------------------------------------+-
I am sitting on a VIP chair, watching Steele's match. He is fighting quite fiercely as his opponent is just that strong. Beside me, sat a person who I thought was an Overseer but he refused and didn't say anything.
" I heard that the principal of the academy brought another kid home. Are you the one?"
" ....Yes, but I am not a kid."
I replied while keeping my eyes on the match.
" Hmm.. I wonder if that old geezer is hiding his harem away from his wife. Whenever that guy goes out of the academy, he always bring back a child or two like souvenirs."
" Pffttt."
The guy who sat beside the figure who I thought is Overseer barely held his laugh and composed himself quickly. The conversation ended here and all of us focused on the match.
The best thing about this arena is that use of magic is restricted and the results depend upon your fighting skills and judgement. You aren't a man if you don't love Fist fighting. The thrill of punching your opponent, the way your blood boils while fighting, the sensation that spreads with every punch is just that amazing.
The match ended and a break was announced for fighters to take a rest.
" My friend, can you leave us alone for a while?" the figure who sat beside me politely asked the Overseer. If that guy refused being an Overseer then that other dude must be the Overseer.
The Overseer just nodded his head and left.
The atmosphere between us grew quieter as no one spoke. I wonder why this guy called me out? Should I use the transportation spell card and run away?
" When I was younger, my parents forced me to take education required for nobles, taught me how to handle territory and passed all that burden on me, married me to a girl I never met before. My life was being completely led by them."
Azeroth sighed as he spoke-
" When I rejected them, they scolded me and told me that's how the society works. I didn't want something like that, I just wanted to live my life leisurely drinking, hanging out, watching my favourite movies. But I couldn't find time for myself out of these things from my busy schedule. Then a question came to my mind.
What is the purpose of my life? What do I live for? I spent many days thinking about the answer but couldn't find any."
" Am I going to spend the rest of my life without ever being able to do the things I want to? My life became so bored that even I couldn't believe, the world around me felt darker than before. It was like only I existed in this world, doing all the meaningless things because my parents told me to."
" ...Until I saw you. The look in your eyes, it's faint but familiar. It's just like me. I never thought I would meet a person like me."
Azeroth who sat beside me spoke in a serious tone
" Mind if I ask you something Rudra?
" ....Yes."
" What is the purpose of your life? What do you live for?."
I was suspicious of this person as he wanted to talk to me alone. He even sent his friend away. But after hearing him speaking so emotionally and sincerely, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to answer his question.
What do I live for? Huh...
It's a question which plagued my mind back on earth. Going to school, studying things I don't want and the busy schedule of classes. If nothing had happened, my condition would have been the same as his. Marrying someone you don't know, meaningless struggle of life, working over time for cash. The questions this guy asked, these same questions kept ringing in my mind at that time.
What do I live for?
Do I live for my family?
No. I was simply doing all those things just so that in the future I could support my parents by earning money. Truthfully speaking, I wasn't doing it because I wanted to.
In an anime series, one of my favourite character said that no matter what you become, no matter how much money you earn, no matter how strong you become, no matter what amazing thing you achieve, home/ family will always be your final destination. A final place to rest.
That's the reason I wanted to save my family so desperately.
I have friends, but none, which I could say, will stay with me no matter the situation. I don't have a girlfriend as I was always busy studying and what little time I could manage to save, I always watched anime. So I didn't even have time to spend with someone. I had nowhere to go. So I choose to live for the sake of my family, who always gave me a cold shoulder.
I had lost all the reason to live.