There wasn't much else to say. After that night, we went home, with Lin Xue showing up to pick us up and send us back to our apartments, and then life went on as usual.
However, there was one thing that changed. I was to attend Caliban Chao University, which was supposedly in the United Kingdom, and on an offshore island at that. But they provided me a train ticket, assuring me that there would be a train that would take me directly to Caliban Chao University.
"Huh? Not a plane? I'm not supposed to take a plane to the United Kingdom, and then a boat to the university?"
"No," Lin Xue replied with a knowing smile. "The CC1000 train is the only way to reach Caliban Chao University."
"…did you just say CC1000 train?"
"Sorry, I mean DD2000 train."
That was pretty much the same thing. So we were ripping off Dragon Raja now, weren't we? What's next, was I expected to fight alien dragons or something?
"Fine, it's the Galaxy Express 1000. It's a space train that only comes to Hua Xia once a year. Well, technically twice a year – to drop you off for summer vacation, and then pick you up again once the fall semester starts."
"That's convenient," I remarked. And then I frowned. Galaxy Express 1000? That sounded pretty familiar. I was sure I had heard of it before. I wouldn't be surprised if the conductor happened to be Vivian, with her long blond hair let down and under a classic hat.
"Anyway, just go to the train station in Bei Central Station. Do not board any of the trains there. Instead, take this ticket and go to the very bottom level. You'll see an aisle that only students admitted to Caliban Chao University can see, so go through there. If there's anything, you can ask the guard. If he doesn't know what you're talking about, then you're in the wrong place. Otherwise, he'll show you right in."
"Okay."
I still had no idea what she was talking about, but I figured I would find out when I got there. There was no point asking too much because I wouldn't understand anything until I was actually doing it. sometimes, the best way to learn was to experience it with your own physical body.
And so the day came, and I found myself dragging my luggage to the train station in Bei City Central. Unfortunately, I was to go alone. Sandora…I mean Vivian had her own means of transport that I wasn't privy to, and Lin Xue had returned to Caliban Chao University much earlier because of her role as a student mentor or something. I had to make my own way there by myself, through the train that Lin Xue informed me.
"Uh…this is the right place, right?"
I looked around nervously, feeling out of place with my luggage. I didn't intend to bring a lot of things, but I ended up packing plenty because I was going to need them for the next four years. To be fair, I wasn't going to spend all four years overseas. I would be returning every summer vacation to visit my parents and stuff,
Following Lin Xue's instructions to the letter, I descended to the bottommost level and looked for the aisle. I couldn't find anything, and when a train staff approached me, he had no clue about the Galaxy Express 1000 (or CC1000 when I quoted Dragon Raja). He did hear of Caliban Chao University, but he didn't know there was a train leading to it.
"You should just go to the airport, kid," he said with a chuckle. "Take the train to the airport, and book a flight to the UK."
"Um, okay."
I thanked him and wandered off again. I looked around for a student who looked like a beggar, but no such convenient plot device showed up. Instead, a normal looking student appeared instead, also lugging around his luggage. He grinned and waved at me.
"I'm guessing you're a new student?"
"Huh?"
"Silly me. I mean, you're a new student at Caliban Chao University, right?" He nodded at my luggage. "Sorry, I should have provided more context. But you are wandering around with a lot of luggage while looking lost, and that's pretty much how most first year students going to Chao University for the very first time look like."
"Ah. Yeah, thank you. Do you know where the Galaxy Express 1000 is?"
"Yeah, I do. Follow me." The older guy chuckled and beckoned for me to follow him. "Don't worry. Once you've reached the same year as me, you'll be familiar with how this whole thing works. In fact, it'll be your turn to guide new students next year!"
"Oh. Thanks." I nodded. Now that I had a good look at him, I saw that he was only a couple of years older than me, a handsome guy with his long silver hair tied into a stylish ponytail. I frowned. "Are you Finger Von Frings? The guy who somehow managed to stay in Caliban University for eight years without graduating?"
"…huh? What are you talking about?" The senior stared at me blankly. Then he burst out laughing. "Did you watch too much Dragon Raja or something?"
"Huh? You watched Dragon Raja too?"
"Yeah. Why do you think I adopted this hairstyle? I thought the character with this appearance looks really cool! Anyway, I'm not Finger whoever. I'm Friedrich Hans. And I'm only a third year, so please don't let your imagination run wild and think I'm a repeat student who can stay in Chao University forever. I don't have any tragic backstory or secrets, I'm just an ordinary student at Chao University…well, as ordinary as psychic students can be."
"Oh? What's your psychic power?"
"Nothing impressive. I'm just an ordinary telekinesis user." Friedrich flicked his fingers and his luggage began hovering. "I can perform some fancy tricks with knives, but that's about it."
"Ah, that's still pretty cool, though. I don't have any psychic powers."
"What!?" Friedrich gaped at me, his luggage falling back to the ground when gravity reclaimed them. Apparently, he was too shocked to maintain his telekinesis. But he was too outraged to pay any attention to his scattered belongings. "There's no way that's possible! Chao University wouldn't accept you if you aren't a psychic!"
"Oh…apparently, they say they'll help me awaken my psychic powers." I recalled what Lin Xue and Vivian had told me a couple of days ago.
"You don't have any psychic powers, though technically, I think your status as the commander of some intergalactic empire and your ability to summon hi-tech weapons and call down orbital strikes far surpasses any psychic power." Lin Xue had told me. "But from what we can see after Sprue's diagnosis of you, you do have some latent potential. We just need to awaken it."
"All humans have psychic potential," Vivian had said with a nod. "And for commanders, it's necessary for you to awaken yours. I believe Caliban Chao University has the facilities and resources required to tap into your dormant psychic potential and activate it. You should enroll in it, no matter what. I'll make some arrangements prior to your arrival."
"Really?"
"Yes, really." Lin Xue had nodded. "Your case is not unique. In fact, it's pretty common. Throughout the centuries, Sprue has located many promising candidates with latent psychic potential that they have yet to awaken, and nurtured them into powerful psychics. Of course, there are other factors, such as personalities. It would be a calamity if we help a psychopath awaken his psychic powers, for example, especially if he has incredible potential. He will turn into a mass murderer and wreak destruction everywhere."
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Anyway, we'll help you with that. I don't think we've ever failed before. So don't worry." Lin Xue had patted me encouragingly. "Just make sure you get to Caliban Chao University in one piece."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Another thing." Vivian had spoken up with a smile. "Here's another reason for you to be motivated about awakening your psychic potential. I know you are looking for a world that might contain an ancient technological relic in the form of a mecha or knight armored suit. I have the coordinates of one possible world, though whether it's still intact is another question. We'll find out eventually. But before we launch an expedition to that world, I want you to first awaken and then learn to harness your psychic powers. Because the dangers we'll face on that armory world will be beyond anything you've encountered thus far."
That sounded pretty ominous. But I was willing to do anything to get my own mecha. So I had nodded and agreed to that shady deal. And here I was, looking for the train that would take me to Caliban Chao University.
I realized that Friedrich was watching me.
"Oh, I see. Yeah, I've heard of students like you before." He nodded understandingly, his finger on his chin. "Your case isn't rare. You probably belong to the Dormant batch and will have to go through rigorous training to force your potential awake."
"Yeah, that's what my senior told me."
"Hmm." Friedrich cocked his head to the side and then waved his hand to lift his luggage with willpower alone again. "Follow me, my new junior. Allow me, your senior, to show the way!"
He brought me to an aisle that I hadn't noticed before. I could have sworn that it was a wall when I was staring around earlier, but suddenly it was a chrome barricade with biometric scanners, shimmering energy barriers and a security guard seated in an advanced platform surrounded by holograms.
It was almost as if I had stepped from contemporary society and into a hundred years in the future. it was surreal.
"Ah, Mr. Hans?" The security guard recognized my senior immediately. The silver-haired handsome guy raised a hand and waved.
"Hey, uncle! Good to see you again."
"Same, same."
By the way, the security guard wasn't actually Friedrich's relative or blood-related uncle. It was just that he was speaking Chinese instead of German for some reason, and so he was addressing the Asian security guard as uncle because it was an…East Asian thing to do. Just for your information for non-Asian readers.
We were then led to a luxurious section of the station, which featured couch-like benches, glowing windows that showed the outside city, and automated vending machines. It resembled more an airport than a train station, to be honest, the kind of transit area for travelers.
"Do we have to wait for two days and two nights?" I asked, looking around. Friedrich gave me a stare.
"Of course not. What gave you that idea?"
"Um…no, never mind."
"Just a couple of hours. Relax, kid. We'll be there before you know it." He stifled a yawn and lay down on one of the comfortable benches. He patted the cushioned seat and gestured to the bench opposite his. "Lie down and take a nap. The conductor will wake us up when the train arrives. There's no point stressing over this. They have such great facilities! Make good use of them."
"Huh, okay." I was half expecting Friedrich to borrow money from me and that we would have to share a cup of soda, but I guess we would get into trouble for plagiarism. Instead, I sat down and chilled while Friedrich began snoring softly. Looking around, I stared out of the windows and noted the slowly setting sun, which cast the bustling districts of Bei City in orange. So many bright lights and people moving up and down the streets, occupied with their lives while I appeared to stay in stasis inside this isolated space that looked as if it came out from a science fiction novel.
I must have been more exhausted than I thought, for it appeared that I dozed off. The next thing I knew, I snapped awake, blinking bleary-eyed and adjusting my glasses. To my shock, I saw that it was already night, with the sky outside dark. Looking around, I gasped when I saw that Friedrich had disappeared. Neither he nor the security guard was present, and I felt panic flare inside me.
"What the hell?! Did I miss the train!? That Friedrich dude…did he board the train and leave without me!? Did I just get pranked!?"
I had no idea what to do now. Was I supposed to go home? How was I supposed to explain to Caliban Chao University that I overslept and missed the train, and now I had no way of reaching the institution? What should I do now?
And then I froze.
Opposite me, seated on the bench where Friedrich formerly occupied, was a couple. A boy with black hair and dressed in leather, and a girl with blue hair and clad in a lovely dress. They were both staring out of the window intently, gazing at the full moon high above.
"Um…" I swallowed and tried to call out to them, but for some reason, my voice caught in my throat. And the moment both the boy and girl turned toward me, I gasped.