****
[The Next Day]
Amon got up quickly in the morning, contrasting his normal schedule.
This was because of how eagerly he had been waiting for this day.
Yesterday, he had visited Athena in her office just a few blocks from the City Centre.
The teacher's offices had a completely separate area for them in the academy.
It was closer to the main classes and the grounds so that if any mishap arose, they would be quickly present for the situation.
When he arrived there, he got straight to the point.
He asked for permission to use his spatial ring in today's FULLDIVE.
Athena thought about it for some minutes before finally agreeing.
Usually, this wasn't allowed as elements like [Water Manipulation] or [Fire Manipulation] didn't require a spatial ring.
However, his case was very rare.
Blood itself was an extremely rare element, and a manipulation class of the element was even rarer.
After explaining to her how he couldn't fight without a spatial ring that carried blood and he would have to injure himself to do so, she finally agreed.
She even went as far as to agree that she would arrange a spatial ring for him after informing the management, the expenses of which would be covered by the academy.
But she told him that it wouldn't be possible to do it till tomorrow and that was a problem for him.
Fortunately, he quickly told her that he already had a spatial ring for that purpose and showed her the ring, surprising her that it was from HOU.
Though she might have thought how he got it from his average strength and background, she didn't ask.
After checking it thoroughly, she told him that he was allowed to use the ring.
But, only 50L of blood and no more.
After that, he left the office and returned home at night where he made food for his sister and then went to sleep early.
Before closing his eyes, he made sure to check up on the strategies with Charlotte, and at the end, she wished him luck for the match tomorrow.
Returning to the present, Amon dressed himself in a tracksuit and quickly headed outside for a normal jog.
Returning after 1 hour of exercising, he took a quick shower and ate a simple breakfast.
Unfortunately, he had missed the chance to talk with his sister as she had already left by the time he returned.
After being done with the dishes, he headed outside towards his class.
****
Strangely enough, Amon didn't meet Michael or Ren at the entrance of the school which was what always happened before.
But, he did meet Athena at the entrance.
Since the latter always arrived with her together, he asked her why he wasn't here today.
"Greetings Miss Athena, may I ask why Ren is absent today?"
She looked at him for a second before facing forward.
"He told me that he wanted to skip the first class of today for some important reason so I allowed him to do so." She explained.
He sighed internally in his head.
Normally, skipping the first class of Athena was a grave offense and punishment yet she so casually allowed Ren to do so.
'She isn't even hiding her favoritism…'
Entering the class, Amon looked up at the last seats in the back and saw no one sitting there.
Numerous gazes were cast his way, some filled with mockery and disdain.
'The weakest guy in the first match? Miss Charlotte's team is totally going to lose..'
'I know right, especially with that lame control over his element.'
They weren't even trying to hide their whispers.
Sighing and ignoring them, Amon was about to head up the stairs when suddenly he was called out by Charlotte, who was sitting right next to them.
"Greetings! We meet again Amon." She greeted him with a warm smile.
Putting on a smile as well, he nodded.
"Ah, yes. Good morning to you, it's a pleasure to meet you again." He scratched the back of his head.
"I would have liked to talk more with you but it seems the class is going to start. I wish us luck for the FULLDIVE." She said and he nodded.
"I wish the same to you."
In tandem, she focused her gaze up ahead and he started heading towards his seat.
Right as he sat down on his seat, the door opened and Athena entered.
Quickly settling down her files on the podium, she started taking attendance.
"Elizabeth Snow-" She was interrupted as the classroom door opened.
SLIDE!
It was Michael.
Then it all clicked in Amon's mind. The man must have woken up late and when he got to know about his FULLDIVE, he had instantly started training for the match.
'He must have been training till the last moment…' Amon thought, observing from the large pants that Michael was taking.
Athena looked at him.
"Student Michael, since this is your first time being late to the class, I shall let this go. But the next time, please be on your seats before I enter the class." She informed him then nudged him towards his seat.
"Ah yes! I apologize Miss Athena." He bowed and started walking towards the stairs.
As he was walking, Amon observed him and Alya sharing a brief glance in tandem.
But the former quickly averted it as soon he noticed her looking at him.
Coming and sitting next to Amon, the former quickly asked him about how he was.
"Yo, you good now?" He asked, taking a casual tone.
Michael smiled and nodded eagerly.
"Y-Yeah, I recovered at a fast pace actually." He answered, still adjusting to the tone.
Amon smiled and nodded.
"That's good, excited about today?" He asked and the blonde-haired body nodded excitedly.
"Yes!"
After being done with attendance, Athena told them all to form a line and they were led out of the classroom.
She took them behind the clovist and armenist grounds, where another building just as large as one of the grounds stood forth.
Entering the building, they were greeted by a spacious wide interior, covered in white.
Everything from the walls to the furniture was all white.
There were long stairs at each corner of the floor that led up to the upper floors.
But the main focus right now was the wide rows of large vertical white pods that were erected from the ground.
"I'll explain the mechanics of the FULLDIVE later when you enter the space. Before that, will the first match contestants please come forward and stand in front of each other." She called out.
Out of the large crowd of class, Amon and Michael together walked out.
From the other side, he saw Charlotte and Alya walk out together.
And then, a boy with pitch-black hair and bright blue eyes emerged from another side.
His facial features were slightly above average but Amon instantly recognized him.
He was Klein Sinclaire, the second son of the former Sinclaire Barony.
Then, from another side, he was a boy with golden eyes and wheat blonde hair come out.
His facial features were quite beautiful, leaning more towards the noble side.
He was Adam Ravenfield, the first son of the Ravenfield County.
Both teams came to stand in front of each other.
With Amon in front of Michael, Alya in front of Charlotte, and Klein in front of Adam.
"Perfect, now please each one of you settle down into one of the pods on the front lane." She pointed out.
But before letting Amon do that, she quickly checked his spatial ring and separated all the blood in a separate space, leaving him only with 50L.
Then she allowed him to go.
Following her instructions, everyone arrived in front of a white pod and immediately, the entrance of the pod opened, as if sensing their presence.
White cold air emerged from the interior and Amon was greeted by a comfortable brown chair inside of the pod.
"You all may sit down now." She ordered and everyone settled down in their pods.
"There should be a helmet above your heads. Please put it in on your eyes and close them, so that the simulation may start."
Looking up at his seat, Amon saw a white headgear dangling from the top.
Grabbing it, he put it on his eyes and closed them just like everyone else.
Instantly, yellow golden screens started to appear in the darkness of his closed eyes.
[STARTING SIMULATION….]
[2%]
….
[10%]
…
[34%}
…
[56%]
…
[78%]
….
[92%]
…
[96%]
…
[99%]
…
[SIMULATION LOADING COMPLETE. PLEASE PREPARE YOUR BODY.]
Suddenly, Amon's body shook, placing a distorted feeling on his body.
It was the same feeling he got when he stepped through a portal.
The feeling that he was being teleported.
And after 2 minutes, the feeling finally disappeared and Amon felt as if he was standing right now.
He heard Athena's voice in his head.
[Alright, you may open your eyes now.] She informed them and he opened his eyes, and as they opened, he saw the final golden screen in the darkness.
[WELCOME TO FULLDIVE!]
It was finally time.
The time for Extra VS MC.
_____________
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