"Dead body?" Rolex was shocked and looked beside the guy and saw a corpse there. "What the hell… you killed him?"
"I didn't, but some other guys did," the man replied casually as he stared at the body.
"Huh…" Rolex was confused, if he didn't kill him, then why he what was he doing here?
"This isn't the first death. Two guys died yesterday too, and teachers here don't care about our death." the man said without a hint of remorse.
"W-what?" Rolex stuttered. He just wanted to ask about the place he was supposed to sleep, but clearly… things were not that good here.
"Anyway, do you want to help me bury this corpse?" the man asked.
"Hmm, I don't know… but okay," Rolex was still confused about this, but he first decided to help bury the corpse.
The man nodded, stood up, and extended his hand. "My name is Sham Rock."
Rolex stretched out his hand and shook it. "Rolex Xal'tharoth."
"Xal'tharoth?" Sham had a strange expression on his face and thought. 'Why does it feel familiar…?'
"Yes," Rolex said.
After a moment, Sham asked, "Can I ask you one thing? What is your parents' name?"
Sham was curious—he had an extraordinary memory and felt he had heard that name before, though he couldn't quite place it. Which took his interest.
"Uh," Rolex's face faltered. He wasn't sure how to answer. "It will take some time to explain… but first, let's bury this," he said, pointing at the corpse.
"Haha, I want to hear your story," Sham said, moving aside. He helped hold the corpse while Rolex supported its legs as they walked into the forest that bordered the garden. Others watched silently as they carried the body.
In the forest, they found a shovel. It took them about forty minutes to dig a hole and bury the body. Afterward, Rolex and Sham quickly washed up and returned to the same garden. During that time, Rolex learned some shocking news: there were no dormitories for them. They had to sleep outside, as the Academy only provided shelter for outside students.
"The real students of this Academy might be using the blood of those who paid money," Sham said while eating a fruit. "I heard about these Blood Ruins before. With human blood, they can empower weapons using the Blood Ruin technique."
"Wow, not that surprising," Rolex remarked as he also munched on a fruit.
"Now tell me your story—you said you would," Sham said with excitement.
"Well…" Rolex began, recounting what had happened to the city he once lived in, the Dimensional Beast that devoured his parents, and how the world had no records of that beast.
Sham listened to everything without making any noise.
"So that is the reason I can't remember that name. Your family must have been popular because I feel like I know your family name," Sham remarked after a pause.
"I guess so. I studied at Netilo Kio School—one of the best schools for the non-talented in the five cities—but they threw me out as soon as my parents died. I couldn't even remember where I lived, and no one remembered… well, it's all in the past," Rolex said, his tone tinged with resignation.
"I see," Sham nodded, patting Rolex's shoulder. "My story is somewhat similar, though I remember everything—even the one who killed all my clan. It wasn't some Dimensional Beast; it was a human."
Rolex looked into Sham's eyes, then patted his shoulder. "You're strong. You should definitely take revenge."
Sham smiled and said "I don't know about that… the killer was my uncle, the person I was the closest to. And it was not like my clan was good or something. I think they deserved to die for things they did."
Rolex was momentarily speechless; This happened quite a few times since he met Sham. He didn't know what to say anymore.
"Don't worry about it. First, we need to get stronger. I'm three months older than you, so I'll be the leading one," Sham declared confidently.
"Haha, sure." Rolex was also fine with it. Alone in an unknown place was always dangerous, so having someone to rely on was a relief—especially since the Academy had its own dangers, and they didn't even have proper rooms to sleep in.
At night, Rolex and Sham walked toward an empty area with good grass where they could rest. It was cold but not unbearable, so they decided to sleep there.
"Hey, Sham…"
In the middle of the night, while staring at the stars, Rolex spoke up.
"Hm?" Sham who was trying to sleep murmured in half-sleep.
"I wanted to ask you something… why don't you wear any footwear?" This had been bugging Rolex for a while, but he hesitated to pry too much into Sham's personal matter which might remind him of his past.
"Well… it is nothing big… it is a waste of time to wear them since they will tear apart, and I also have a close bond with the earth…" Sham replied casually.
Rolex wanted to ask some more, but hesitated, and in the end, he decided to ask it later and he also wanted to sleep as he learned too many things today which flooded his brain.
Next morning, they awoke to the sound of a bell.
"What the hell is this?"
"Damn, scared the fuck out of me"
"Woh"
The bell sounded so loud in their mind, but they didn't hear it once they woke up.
"This is a unique way to wake up…" Rolex held his head with both hands and said.
"Yeah… I am still not used to it" Sham also held his head with his left hand. He had experienced this yesterday too. "Anyway, we should go to the auditorium now. The class will start."
"Okay, let's go"