It was obvious that his friends had made it. The glow on their faces spoke volumns. Nevan looked at them as they excitedely talked about how much their evaluators had actually praised their abilities. Nevan couldn't say, he wasn't happy to see his friends make it. No, he was geniuely feeling with them. It was just, he felt left behind. This was a bittersweet feeling. One, that was hard to explain.
The excitement subsided after a few moments of them catching up. Their attention turned to Nevan who had stayed seated. They looked serious at their friend. "You are so quiet." Dax remarked.
Nevan opened his mouth but was cut off by Keisuke. He looked devastated. "You didn't make it?" It was merely a gasp. His words hung between them as he looked like his world just crashed.
Nevan pressed his lips to a thin line before he simply shook his head. "I was not really good enough for SPC." He spoke before smiling. "Well, guess your hard work paid off in the end?"
"What about yours?" Dax asked, equally disheartened, all of the sudden. They had dreamt about it together, hadn't they? And now, two of them made it while one would stay behind.
Nevan still had that smile on his face. A flat smile which didn't reach his eyes. "Well, I guess, I have heard about three times today how this is not the end." He stood up and placed a hand on each of his friends' shoulder. "You don't actually think, I will sit here while you are at the camp?"
Dax shook his head. "No. You will probably keep going. Though, I find it hard to believe. You are always so quick to get bored and start something new." He was as honest as ever. It made Nevan laugh.
He patted their shoulders and slumped back. His head rested on his hands which he had placed behind it while interwining his fingers. "So, where is the camp, anyways?"
Dax and Keisuke looked at each other. Even Keisuke was not smiling anymore. "Iceland." He replied, taking a seat beside Nevan. Dax sat on the other side of him. "Athlete Zone has branches in other countries too. And this is a project that will bring all the rookies around the world together. On that one spot in Iceland."
"Wow. Iceland? I heard it's cold there." He commented, sounding light-hearted. "When are you guys leaving?"
It was awkward. How Nevan made sure to change the subject. To take the attention away from his loss to their win. This time, Dax responded. "In a week."
"You got a lot of shopping to do, don't you?" He questioned, spreading his arms behind his friends.
"We will be provided by Athlete Zone." Keisuke whispered. There was a silence, then Dax broke it, being the direct person, he was. "It's fine, Nevan. Talk to us. There is no need to act like, it doesn't affect you."
His breath hitched. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Please. I don't want to think about it."
Silence again. It was uncomfortable. Even more so since all of them were awkward with emotions. Keisuke always showed his emotions but if someone else's emotions were laid bare in front of him, he was easily overwhelmed.
Dax kept his emotions to himself. If someone was to talk to him about their feelings, he would be unsure about how to react to them. He was perfect, if you needed someone to listen to but one couldn't expect consolation from them.
"See? Now, let me be like I am being now." Nevan's point had been proven.
They had only spent a few minutes together after that. It had gotten too unpleasant for all of them. They parted ways at a certain spot. Nevan didn't want to go back to Keisuke's place just yet so they seperated too.
"I will be back by dinner." He had informed before leaving for a quiet place.
There was a park near the place where Sato Family's residence was. It was very peaceful at this time of the day. A perfect place was just go through some thoughts.
This meadow was perfect for a picnic, even more to just chill and do nothing. He had slumped onto the ground and idlly watched the sky. It was clear, showing the sky blue color that made the whole day seem magical and peaceful.
At some point, his eyes had closed and he had simply dozed off. How was it possible? To fall asleep when his mind was nothing but a storm of thoughts?
The warmth provided from the sun was anything but uncomfortable, perfect to enjoy the day despite all the hardships. And an even more ideal to calm down from the turmoil of emotions.
It was all of the sudden that he woke up. He was rather confused. It had been a sudden urge to sit up and look around. His gaze caught a glimpse of the display.
[Penalty available in [5] seconds.]
[i: Host must be ready to use the key.]
The seconds were counted down so quickly, there was no way the time was actually five seconds. A ticklish feeling spread through his body. As if thousand ants walked on his skin. He had never felt such a thing before. Suddenly a darkness spread out. His vision went blank and his mind numb.
He heard voices. They were in a distance but close enough to be heard. Cars. Was he somewhere near the highway? Footsteps could be heard too but there were not many of them.
A coldness crept up his skin, making a cold shiver run down his spine. He opened his eyes and looked around, hastily. Was he dreaming? Where was he? He slowly stood up from the cold ground and cleaned his hands by rubbing them together.
Nevan still hadn't clarified whether he was dreaming or not. He was probably still asleep and this was just a very realistic and therefore convincing dream. After looking at his surroundings for another minute, he realized he was in one of the side alleys instead of the main street. That was why the footsteps were less prominent.
He wanted to move to the main street to wander around and explore this place that was being shown in his dream. Instead as his eyes fell onto the blue display － that haunted him, even while he was unconscious － his course of footsteps changed.
Instead Nevan started to walk in the other direction, deeper into the alleyway which got darker the more he stepped inside. His footsteps echoed. This reminded him of the less visited areas of the city, he lived in. A place where delinquents reigned. The lawless people who were at the verge of poverty. Or people who played a part in the underworld, such as Yakuza.
He kept moving forward. The darkness was making it hard for him to navigate through the alley. He had noticed it. Nevan didn't have his phone. All he had was the key, he had once gotten as a reward.
He turned to the left. Nevan paused. A dead end? He looked around once more. This felt like a horror game. One he didn't want to play along with. The street that he had turned into was just a few meters long. Then it was simply cut off by a wall. On his right side, trashcans stood there as if it was their home. On the left hand, there was a house. An entrance.
He moved towards it and simply inspected the door. There was a doorbell but he didn't have to use it. The door was ajar. Like an unwelcomed guest, he deliberately entered the house. A hallway laid out in front of him but there were only stairs that welcomed him.
Something irritated him. The building had three floors but the stairs only went downwards. Now, since he was already here, he would go down and see for himself what was hidden there.
They seemed unstable. He carefully stepped down into something that seemed like the next level of darkness. He held his hand at the wall. The paint had crumbled down, the stairs creaked beneath his weight, filling the place with the ugly sound mixed with his breath.
After twenty steps, an iron door blocked his way. The only way to open it was a key. He saw the keyhole. A key. His key? He quickly grapped it and slipped it into the hole. With a 'clack' the door creaked open.
He went down another staircase. They were made of stone instead of wood. And they were well-lit. Nevan was surprised to see such light here. Where had he arrived?
He heard distant voices. The place had seemed abandoned but now that he had gotten deeper into it, he figured out it was rather lively.
Nevan entered the place. His breath hitched. His ears filled with the sounds of a while crowd cheering onto a match. He heard someone comment the soccer play that unfolded in front of himself as well as the crowd. What was going on? Down here?
He lingered at the edge, his eyes scanning the display once more. His hand slid down the wall as he read through the instructions.
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[Penalty Task]
Deadline [100 minutes.]
Status [Active.]
[Instructions]
1. Find a way to the underground.
2. Register to take part into the match.
3. Win.
[Please note:]
⇢ If the host is unable to complete this task, he will lose his rights to use this system.
⇢ If he wins, he will be able to continue operating it.
⇢ Winning will give additional skills and attributes.
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