They reached the dome shaped building, awakening nostalgia within Shay, even though he fought there just a month ago.
His fast pace calmed upon reaching the entrance. He gazed through the somewhat huge passage, revealing part of the arena.
'It's been a while,' he thought, frozen in place as amber of worry charred his heart.
"Did you reconsider the offer? Come on, let's go."
Catherine passed by him, waving her shiny hair while she stretched her hands, locked together while holding the warm drink.
The school ground was enlightened by simple lamp poles, transitioning to modern lights, when entering the academy structure, brighter than the sun itself.
While going in, he waved his hand to create a shadow for his eyes as dilating irises adjusted his vision.
As he reached the arena edges, he stood, scanning the interior.
'Why didn't I pay any attention to my surroundings before? It's…'
Even his thoughts cut off, imagining his past self.
He projected himself, staring at the confident figure, which dared to open its mouth on someone more vigorous, like he did after receiving his system. Yet, he felt his former being resembled more of an ignorant.
When he fought for his life, filling his bestiary goals, he shut himself completely, piling up negative emotions in the process.
Whoosh.
An object swished through the air, flying toward him. He killed the distraction and grasped the sword's hilt. He swung the blade, checking the quality of balance, like he always did during high school.
"Are you done with dream catching? Let's have a proper fight this time. And you should probably put down your backpack." Catherine said, glaring at him with confidence.
Her posture was firm, wielding the borrowed greatsword tilted to see her opponent. She held her weapon low, disallowing herself to fall over.
He threw his bag, landing beside the entrance hall.
"Use your Bloodline Mastery and utilize full strength, okay?" Shay suggested, taking a deep breath.
He adjusted his stance, holding his sword in his left hand, thoughts obscuring his mind.
'Why should I fear failure?'
"I'll count to three then."
'I improved, so why do I feel so weird?' his hands began shaking as time passed at a snail speed.
"One!"
'Where did my confidence and fighting spirit go?' his eyes trembled, questions appearing before them.
"Two!"
Suddenly, something clicked within, and an absolute zen surged through him. He locked his gaze on the tender figure, her lips moving as she said, "Three!"
[Mission: Defeat the opponent without getting hit. Reward: +4 p!?@#$%^&*()…]
[Fallen Hero's Resolve]
Boom!
The ground below them shook, creating deep fissures as both bolted toward each other, sending fragments of concrete outward.
Upon clashing their swords, metallic pieces chipped as sparks burst. They took a proper guard, fending off each other's attack.
"Let's see how much you improved!" Catherine shouted, mana surging into her hands.
Ice spread across the thick metal blade, thrusting through Shay's sword.
His Predator's Awareness zapped his sense, leading to a close side dodge.
"I think you should prepare your strongest defense possible!"
[Mana: 10/10]
She wished to flee, but he kept the same distance from her, wherever she dashed.
At that moment, she could only listen to his command. Thick ice walls surged from below, spikes peeking from the front.
"Bullet Punch!" He screamed, throwing a heavy blow that hit the icy surface.
With his strength only, he smashed into the wall, destroying it into pieces. His attack wasn't finished, as built up pressure released from his fist, creating a gust that beamed toward her.
The assault created a wild breeze while approaching her, sending air waves throughout the arena.
She supported her blade with her palm on the flat part as her left foot took a step back.
Kshrrr. Crash!
Although she held her guard until the very end, she was overwhelmed, resulting in a collision with the ring's perimeter.
Dust and debris surrounded her, blinding her temporarily.
'I guess it would work better if applied straight to the body.' he thought, letting out a sigh to relieve his unease.
She rose, one knee bent, and walked back to the center while holding her slender arm.
"See…" cough interrupted her mid-sentence. "I don't know what happened on your outing, but why should you worry so much, when you are able to face a second-year with serenity?"
Her legs shook while walking closer to Shay. Behind her, the field cleared, revealing the shattered greatsword, which was broken with pure air pressure. The wall revealed continuous fissures, crumbling until rocks encircled that side.
Shay gazed at his palm, clenching it into a fist as stars of desire glimmered in his eyes, exterminating every doubt about himself.
[Quest completed. Reward granted.]
[Fallen Hero's Resolve] - Harness the residing spirit's psychological fortitude and determination in difficult times. While facing agony and death, this skill eliminates mental attacks and fear.
Although he scanned the description, his concern was somewhere else now.
"Em, are you okay? Sorry, I was captured by the fight's heat and…"
Catherine stepped right up and threw a direct blow to his head. However, he grabbed her fist, whirling the surrounding air.
"I am fine, and so is your courage. Before leaving school, you might even defeat some of the teachers, you know."
She turned, limping toward the exit as her legs weakened each step.
Her struggle wasn't unnoticed as Shay dashed under her arm, supporting her walk.
"Let me help you, since you saved me." He said, rising corners of his lips, concern escaping his eyes.
"You shouldn't say that. I am not a saint. I just did what a normal person should do, haha." Laughter escaped her mouth, blushing upon noticing his side gaze.
The atmosphere quieted down, traversing below the stellar sky that enriched their path with a picture like scenery.
However, his thoughts swam elsewhere, swiping through the transparent interface while carrying the slender girl, and his backpack which slid through the ground.
This reminded him of the old days, hanging around with Kelly.
While passing by his dormitory, the distance from his phone was less than 30m, permitting access through his system.
[Contacts - 2]
[Kel, Flint]
[Messages - 0]
[Call history / Missed calls - 0]
He had exchanged contact information with Flint, but he felt the bitter taste on his tongue at that moment.
'I'll disregard that for now. More importantly, why did Kel never text me?'
Deep inside, a sense of guilt punctured unnoticeable holes in his heart, thinking he should have sent one too. They were close to Catherine's dorm, but Shay recalled memories of Kelly, tripping because of a random rock.
He fell through his projection and rotated, saving his lady companion from hitting the rough ground.
Thud.
His back pressed against the concrete as an unusual sensation dwelled on his chest, guilt trying to reach his consciousness.
'Oh no… I am not going through this again.'
Although Catherine was about to forgive him, he turned in a lightning speed, and before the floor scraped her, he used his might and pushed with his right hand, pivoting until they both stood.
Her feelings were mixed. A touch of playfulness couldn't mask her annoyance, as her mood was scattered. One side of her lip drooped, bumping his shoulder with her tender fist.
"Jerk." She said, leaving him to rush through her dormitory's entrance.
Shay scratched his scalp and sighed, his eyes sizing up the building in front of him.
"Girls are too complex for my understanding."
He took a deep breath and traced back straight to his room. He closed the door behind him, dropped his backpack, and jumped into his bed, not minding his torn clothes.
******
Vrrr. Vrrr.
His phone vibrated in the kitchen unit, where he last left it before the hunt. It continued for five hours before, eventually, waking Shay up.
Sharp and warm sunlight shone right into his eyelids, forcing him to get up.
He felt tired, even though he slept through the night like a newborn baby. He squinted his eyes before he could see clearly.
"What time is… it?!" he said as his gaze meet with the clock's hands position.
His vision narrowed and sweat dripped from his chin. Before panic overwhelmed him, he noticed a yellow beat up letter.
Someone must have tried sliding it under the door multiple times before reaching his room.
Since the clock showed '12:35,' he could take his sweet time being fucked either way.
He went through his usual routine, finally taking care of his long hair properly and changing to fine clothing. A single day couldn't save his damaged strands, but he didn't look like a hobo, at least.
"Tell me what resides in you, letter."
As he picked it up and tried opening it, he miscalculated his force and tore a quarter of it. He obliterated the content, collecting unreadable pieces of writing.
"Kiddo, just, rest, take, a? Oh, it has to be from Blarken, right?" he said, looking at a picture of a mustache?
Just one person addressed him as "kid" or "child." And he knew only one man that would make such a silly drawing.
"Jeez, when will he stop calling me like that" He let out a deep sigh, throwing the scrambled scraps and the wrap into a hidden container, right below the sink.
"I guess I can sleep a bit more."