"How much for the ticket?" I asked.
The man replied with a professional smile, "A hundred points." he said and I almost had a migraine.
A hundred points? Just how much did low-rankers even earn monthly? A little over a hundred and fifty.
I could have taken the mana train there, but…
...well, since Selena decided to spoil me by transferring over a thousand points, it wouldn't hurt to splurge on transport. At least I'd save time since I'd get there instantly.
But… doesn't this basically mean she gave me all my points and then doubled—no, tripled—no, tenfolded them?
I feel like I've got myself a sugar mommy.
Weird.
I actually like the feeling.
NO!
Tsk.
Where's the darkness that once clouded my heart, made me cold and hateful? Now I just feel like a normal teenager driven by emotions and… hormones.
"Alright, I'll pay," I said.
He nodded and asked, "Where would you like to go, sir?"
"Sector 14," I responded.
He began inputting something into a relic that resembled a laptop back on Earth.
"Please place your hand on the scanner," he said.
I complied, sliding my wrist into a slot that attached itself to my meta-watch.
"Ryan," he said, glancing at the relic.
I nodded. I'd changed my name from Lorelle to Ryan before attending the academy. It was some name-change form I had to fill out. Anyway, as far as the school registry was concerned, I was Ryan now.
"Alright," he said. The device released my wrist, and I withdrew my hand.
A notification instantly popped up.
[Notice]
[A transaction for 100 points has been established.]
[Do you accept?]
[Yes] [No]
I tapped "Yes," and a clicking sound followed.
The man moved to another device beside the relic-laptop. A card emerged, and he walked back to hand it to me.
"It's a one-time use card. It will expire in the next 24 hours," he explained.
I accepted the card and stepped out of the line.
Tsk.
This is so goddamn expensive. That means I'll need to spend at least another hundred points to return.
I headed toward a spatial relic, where I noticed some soldiers flanking it. They were scanning tickets for authenticity before letting people through.
"Ticket," one of them demanded.
I handed it over. He placed it in a device, and the screen glowed.
[Verification successful]
[Authentic]
[Not expired]
"You may go in," he said.
I walked forward, gazing at the swirling veil of mana before me. A flicker of anxiety surfaced as I considered the dangers of spatial distortion. Still, I stretched my hand forward.
A strange sensation washed over me as my hand passed through, and then I stepped in completely.
"A forest," I muttered when I opened my eyes.
Ahead was a gate, and the metal fence stretched endlessly in both directions from where I stood. It seemed to completely encircle the forest.
I walked forward, approaching two soldiers holding mana guns.
"Name, class, ID number," one asked almost robotically.
I presented my watch, which displayed the required information.
"A first-year," the other muttered. "You're not permitted to go beyond Area 1. Got it?"
I nodded.
"And you have only three hours left. Come back before your allocated time ends, or you'll be penalized," he added.
I nodded again.
Suddenly, I felt a slight vibration on my wrist.
[Notice]
[A sense-tracker is about to be placed on your device. Do you permit it?]
[Yes] [No]
I glanced at the soldier typing into another laptop-like relic. He turned to me and nodded.
I pressed "Yes," and the notification promptly disappeared.
The other soldier opened the gate.
"In case you encounter a sticky situation, use your Meta-watch to signal us. We'll respond promptly," he added before shutting the gate behind me.
"Alright," I muttered.
"Where do I find you, Fairy?" I thought, a sinister smile curling my lips.
....
Come on guys, help me out here. Drop a review or something, my motivation for this book is literally dying.