Inside his room, Arlo stood vertically upside down with just one finger for his support. He was so still in this position, and surprisingly he wasn't sweating. There was no single tremble or movement, he was just like this, still as death. His eyes closed and if you were to look close enough you would notice the faintest yellow glow around his body, and from the ends of his eye, there was a small wisp of transparent blue energy flowing out in the form of a very serene dance, disappearing after a distance of 0•3cm from his eyes. If not for the bright lighting in his room the glow on his body could have been seen more clearly because it practically blend with his skin, but the wisp was more clearly seen
After a couple more minutes, Arlo finally had some movement. His one finger which was his only support was folded. But, he didn't fall. Instead he began rising a bit higher into the air and slowly turning until he was now levitating vertically in the air.
If you think he was training then you were both right and also wrong at the same time, in what he did there was actually no intention to train, all this was just a literal flex. Due to his sharingan he would always have perfect to near perfect body coordination for anything he tries even if he was only just doing or seeing it for the first time.
He opened his eyes showing his activated Sharingan and then he suddenly dropped down to the floor but there wasn't a single bit of sound. The faint yellow glow around him was gone and his eyes returned to a normal beautiful and oceanic light blue, it wasn't glowing this time because he wasn't using activating his ability. He heaved lightly and turned his gaze towards the door;
**Knock knock**
"Come in" he answered as he turned around and stood in front of his mirror fixing up his hair as his tail swayed gently behind him, he heard his door being opened a second later and turned to see his guest.
The butler came forward and took a light bow "it's time for your home school class young Master" said he.
Arlo turned back to do the final touches to his hair and set his collar right "yes, thanks for the reminder Youseph, I'll be down in a minute" replied Arlo calmly.
The butler gave a light nod and turned to leave the room closing the door gently behind him, Arlo absentmindedly touched the tip of his fingers with his thumb on his left hand and still regulating back and forth between them whenever he reached the last finger. This was just a small habit of his, sometimes it was different, he would sometimes tap the side of his thighs with his middle finger, preferably with his left also.
He turned around and left his room, walking through another fairly wide hall of 6meters with and a length of 30meters with beautiful expensive and classic paintings decorating the walls on both sides, plus a luxurious red carpet made to adorn the ground he walks on.
He navigated his way around the house until he reached the study and stood before the door which was just slightly opened for him, he couldn't reach this particular door without standing on tip toes so his butler was considerate enough to open it for him. In fact, most doors around the house were almost never locked actually, this was because he was too short to reach the door knobs/handles so for the sake of him they had to keep the doors slightly opened most of the time. The door to his room was always like this too, it was never closed properly hence why people just push their way in and out.
Stepping inside the study which was almost like a mix of a library and office of sorts but with an addition of a large screen half the size of the ones found in cinemas on the wall facing him directly. He walked towards his chair and sat down, it rose higher to meet the desk above. Now he was ready for class, the Butler came in seconds later with a stacked pile if books on him.
He walked with grace and his look was one of ease as he placed them on the desk before Arlo, cutting the stack down and putting them in a semi circular form around him. Then standing up properly and taking a small bow "these are the ones for today master" said the butler.
Arlo gave a light nod and drew one book to him looking at the cover
The screen changed as a presentation was put forward, and so class had officially begun. The session wasn't just some normal teaching, at some point it had actually turned into a philosophical debate of two ideas, Arlo calmly criticized the flaws of past leaders and their government even outright calling them stupid. And then he also spoke a bit on the current system;
"Do you really believe that young Master" asked Youseph leaning forward and crossing his legs.
Arlo whom was face down in his book with the calmest of tone replied "this isn't something i believe in, it's just something I know. "The hierarchy isn't perfect, even though it actually is. Although it follows the natural law of the world where the strong stand above the weak no matter how it may try to be denied, this is a rule both sides know of and have accepted. The problem comes from that small abnormality, rebels if you would call them" said Arlo closing his book and now giving his full attention.
"The ones who think that ability users and Cripples should be able to stand on the same ground, in essence their version of equality.
A cheetah although belonging to the same family of cats as it bigger family still naturally has no right to wine and feast in the presence of Lions, unless an exception is introduced whereby a cheetah can be taken a liking to by one of it's higher family members. But this mostly never happens, hence why the weak all see high-tier ability users especially high tiers and above as practically tyrant gods.
They both hate, fear and also most especially envy us because to them we are the most free" Arlo paused and leaned back a bit "this is a lie and also the truth, sure we are free to do almost anything we want, get anything we want, but we also are the ones with the most responsibilities. The strong are the ones who have the most expectations placed on them, especially the geniuses.
And it's not that there's anything wrong with it, the problem arises when it's taken too far beyond and pushed too quickly on those whom it doesn't suit their natural character. That's when we begin to slowly and truly feel so distant from everyone including those like us, we feel trapped, at some point we may actually rebel and go against everything we've learnt. All it will take is just a small spark, and by that time it's too late to stop it. Because the ones whom would be rebelling isn't just some low-tiers no, the ones whom you would be dealing with are the elite and high-tiers.
So i'm not saying the elite high-tiers and god levels should be completely void of responsibility, as royals we already know what we have to do, the examples we have to set for the lower-tiers, I'm just saying not to push too much expectations onto them, perfection shouldn't be expected every second of the day of their entire lives. Because then instead of it becoming an achievement, it becomes an actual burden.
They should learn to celebrate their success and actually have fun, for those whom have no interest in this and are just satisfied, then that's just how they are". Arlo finishing his thoughts pushed his desk away and dropped down to the floor barely making a sound and just head towards the exit and placed his hand on the door but he paused and turned his head slightly "as for the weak population and their vision of a better world, it will only remain nothing more than an illusion, but just because it's an illusion doesn't mean there's no threat.
If there's one ability the weak possess, it's the ability to make a retarded illusion feel like an achievable and sane reality. That's how out of touch with reality they are, their delusion is their means of comfort, normally there would be no problem with this if it only affects them. The problem however arises when it begins to infect and spread to people with actual power, because they would try to achieve this impossible dream of Thiers. And they will carry on the torch and keep trying to spread this cancerous disease of theirs, then at some point when it becomes too big to ignore, for the sake of balance, a more powerful force will have to stand up and take care of the pests which would give both good and bad results.
The good news is the pests have been exterminated, the bad news, we just lost a good number of powerful people who actually have something to contribute to society if taught right. But the good outweighs the bad in the eventual long run of things so it can be forgiven. And as a final note know this, one of the worst things you can do is give a weak minded person power over you. Their delusion becomes your problem, your reality. And you have no choice but to accept or be destroyed, unless a stronger power interferes then you would have lost" and after that last sentence he walked out the study leaving the butler Youseph staring into empty space lost in thought.
The kid was just too abnormal, "did you receive everything sir" asked Youseph in a low tone as he stood up, walked over to Arlo's desk and arranged the books in a neat stack once more.
???: ......[Yes, the boy is clearly something else, this is surprising even for me] the distorted voice replied after a moment of silence.
Youseph after packing up everything properly stood properly pausing a bit before asking "do you agree with his view sir" he asked as he leaned against the desk.
???: [I have no problem with anything he said, we ourselves are already aware of the same problem he pointed out. But it's not an easy thing to resolve, the overly stubborn and strong-headed traditional ones within the authority are the group who have to convinced of this also].
The butler nod his head in agreement to his words and put his hand into jacket bringing out a folded magazine, a small smirk crept upon his face as he looked at the image on the cover "Sir, if I may. In my honest opinion, i truly believe the kid will become a good king if truly cultivated right, maybe the best one actually"
???: [.....I share something of the same sentiment as you Youseph, but it is for this same reason and his unnatural abnormality that he is a prime target for elimination for those guys at the top who may not be willing to give up that power].
Inside a dark space, a figure sat looking at a blue floating holographic screen that detailed a box showing the image of Youseph, and another long rectangular box underneath it detailing sound vibrations when he spoke. The shadowy figure leaned forward and clasped his hands as he looked to be in thought "I really do pray their paranoia and stubbornness doesn't make them do something unforgivable in the future, for it shall be the greatest loss we may ever come to experience with this boy....*fuuuu* a true loss indeed"
Youseph: [Indeed Sir] he replied in agreement.
The figure nod his head also and then leaned back in his chair "that will be all for now Youseph, till next week. But if anything happens that you may feel the need to report before then, do no waste anytime in doing so" the figure said to Youseph and the small box which held his image was gone.
He sat in silence for some moments before typing on the screened surface keyboard, bringing up a file and examining it again.
A new image propped up on screen and it was of Arlo, it was the readings they had gotten of the boys power.
[image]
Name: Arlo.
Age: 3.
Reported LVL: 5•3-[suppressed]
Original LVL: 8•9
Ability: Impenetrable Barrier/Domain, ?????.
Passive/Sub ability: Invulnerability & immense strength+Enhanced speed
He eyed the power level and mark indicating unknown, the kid was really a anomaly. To be awakened directly as god level almost reaching the peak, what exactly do they want to classify his potential as right now. During his awakening they were able to sense two different abilities within him, but it looked to be dormant and not yet awoken. But something was telling him the kid might have already awakened it by now, it's not that it was impossible to bear two completely different abilities in one body, it's just the rarity of it. In fact it couldn't even be called rare, it could be called unnatural and a near myth.
Unironically that woman Valerie was a living myth possessing two different abilities, her first ability was a physical transformation ability called 'Flaming claws', the second was the same as Arlo's which was a barrier ability. Her power level was a 5•8, an elite high-tier.
There was usually something of a sub ability of one particular that may be counted as two abilities but they were just a sub part in reality, and they weren't common also, and then there was 'That' particular ability, it hadn't been seen in years and there's no data if there's someone currently holding that ability.
The figure closed the file and leaned back, crossing his legs and looking to be in thought '/The kid is smart, too smart actually. There's almost no way to get him to reveal his ability assuming it's been awakened, and the available ways aren't too favorable for anyone....do we call for a second testing of power level...No. That is inevitable at some point, once we remove his dampeners we'll see if he still actually grew underneath. We have to keep improving the power of the dampeners Incase of unforseen future events/'
'/But at some point also, we have to get his blood. That woman Valerie will not allow it, she has the rights to the child. But she's not the main problem, the problem is how we deceive the boy. He's well aware of his abnormality and will most like not be willing to offer it up, hmm....i guess there's no choice but to use 'them'. The kid may be the key to future advancements if given the chance to thoroughly study his abnormality/' the figure nod his head in agreement to his thoughts at the end.......
//2 Years later//
Arlo sat in the back of the car with his eyes closed with his aunt besides him as Youseph drove them to meet the one who would train him, he was now five years old and today was also the day Seraphina's parents would bring her to apply for training.
There were very few people this agency took in, they only agreed to train the absolute geniuses of the younger generation and today was the opening day for application. Arlo was actually two years late to his training because it's advised to start ability training a minimum of a week after awakening, but his aunt only agreed to start on his fifth year.
She wasn't actually on board with this actually, she preferred to hire a trainer from the organization so he/she could teach him at home. It took a whole lot of convincing and bribing in order for her to agree to this, ot wasn't going to be some sort of back an forth training no. That would have made her even more stubborn, he was going to be boarded in there for months. Years actually, of course she and any other parent had the freedom to come check up on them at anytime they wanted because it was just moving into a new house.
"Were here ma'am" Youseph alerted, Valerie raised her head and looked outside and Arlo was alerted too. The place was really damn cool, just from the outside alone he could see how outstanding it was. The are was incredibly wide and stretched about 250meters for the entrance alone, this was all just for free moving space for cars and people, plus some space for a huge statue and some beautiful plant life decorations.
They got themselves into the correct space for parking and began their walk toward the main building, it was huge and had a futuristic design about it. Youseph was left inside the car while Arlo and Valerie walked into the building themselves, everyone who laid eyes on Arlo noticed it.
He could feel their gazes on him, hear the comments;
"Oh my what a beautiful child"
"How is his hair that long"
"Wow, I didn't know boys could be that beautiful, or is that a girl"
"Damn, I'm feeling a bit jealous" ..........
"Valerie".
Arlo and his aunt paused, that last one caught their attention. Both looked to the side to see a tall mature bod pinkish-purple haired woman, and on the left of her was a small purple haired child styled in a ponytail and short wavy bangs falling on both sides of her face just above her eyes. She had beautiful bright blue eyes and a cute chubby face, she was of the same height as Arlo, just a centimeter shorter but that was negligible.
Her eyes just wandered around, so innocent and curious about everything around her. She locked gazes with the boy standing in front of her and her curiosity was massively peaked, '/pretty, why would a boy have such long hair/' she asked mentally in full curiosity. They both were at the waist level of their respective guardians, both hand a bang on one side of their faces except hers was shorter and just a bit lower than her brows, while Arlo's was sharp with little defined curves and reaching all the way to his neck.
"Narissa" Valerie greeted back as they both now stood opposite of each other. They both cracked a smile on their faces "it's nice meeting you here, looks like we came for the same reason" said Valerie.
Narissa nod her head and looked at Arlo "Ohh, so that's him, your little nephew, he's quite peculiar isn't he" she said.
Valerie smiled and looked down at him "this is Narissa, an old friend of mine" she introduced, Arlo smiled and looked up at her "hello miss Narissa, I'm Arlo, nice to meet you" he introduced with an outstretched hand and a beautiful smile on his face.
Narissa smiled and took his little hand "it's nice to meet you also Arlo" she let go and looked up "he's a gentleman, you're raising him well Val" she praised.
Valerie laughed lightly at the praise and both carried on walking so as not to be late, discussing as they went. Seraphina occasionally turned her head to take a peek at Arlo, something about him was eating at her curious mind.
Her attention was called to when they suddenly stopped in front of a man sitting at an empty desk, a particular banner was besides him and he was not the only one like this, there were multiple rows of people same as him sitting at their desks and waiting.
People were standing in rows for application but only this one was free, the man looked up at them "ahhh, hello. I assume you're the ones I have for today right" he asked in a very friendly and polite tone as his gaze wandered between the two kids before him.
Narissa turned to Valerie "oh so you made an appointment here too, so that means--".
Valerie cut her off with a smile "yes, he's a god level potential ability user same as your daughter Narissa" she said.
The man behind the desk had a look of surprise "ahh, no wonder i just had a feeling, you're miss Narissa, different generations of your family have been here before" his gaze went towards Seraphina "i assume a new god-level potential has been added to the family huh"
Narissa nod her head "yes, and she's the greatest genius we've ever had in all generations so I expect the best of the best from you" she said to the scout.
The scout laughed lightly "oh for sure ma'am don't worry, i guess her sister's been dethroned huh" he said in a light-hearted tone and turned his attention to Arlo and Valerie who had been standing in silence the whole time. He realized his error "oh please forgive me miss Valerie, i got lost in my fondness" he apologized.
Valerie waved it off "it's okay, anyways I assume you've been....thoroughly informed about him" she asked, her voice carrying an underlying chill within it as she stressed the thoroughly to him.
The poor man gulped and dropped a nervous sweat "y-yes, we're well aware of it ma'am" he stuttered out and looked down at the little boy besides her and gulped again. '/So that's the monster we have to train huh, fucking lucky bastard, it looks like he's never going to struggle for anything. He's a walking chick magnet, so jealous (TT)/' he cried mentally with an imaginary clenched fist.
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Narissa smiled internally seeing the cold-bloode expression in Valerie's eyes '/I guess some things never change huh/'.
Some small matters were settled and it was now time for both guardians to release their children to the organization but before that they both had last words to say to them.
"Remember Seraphina, you must become the strongest. Carry yourself gracefully at all times and study hard, just be perfect. You're the future face of our family and the greatest it has produced till date, don't embarrass me....like your sister" Narissa said to her daughter in an authoritative tone, her demeanor had totally changed from when she was
Seraphina nod her head, a bit of solemnity overcame her but on the outside her face was stoic. Her gaze focused, that childish curiosity was gone now.
Narissa nod her head mentally and turned to Valerie who was pressing her forehead against Arlo's telling her goodbyes, she flashed a smile to him one last time and stepped back.
Narissa gave a last look to her daughter and then stepped back also, the scout came forward and stretched his hands towards both of them but was only left looking the fool when none of them reacted to his gesture. He gave a fake cough to hide his embarrassment and smiled nervously. He looked up to the two guardians of both Childs "don't worry ma'am, we have a reputation of creating absolute monsters" he looked towards both "and these two... might be the greatest ones we ever make" he promised them '/it's not like one isn't already/' he thought internally at the end.
Narissa and Valerie nod their heads and watched as the scout led them out deeper into the building, this place was sort of a joint place for different factions to meet and collect applicants, the real deal was inside.
As he walked them deeper and deeper into the building he smiled "by the way i don't have your names yet, please introduce yourselves" he asked. Of course he knew their names, he just wanted to start a conversation and ease the atmosphere around him.
Arlo and Sera still did not respond until they had gotten into a elevator all the while still quiet as they descended lower and lower down. The moment the lift opened they both had a bit of awe in their eyes, the scout eyed them and smirked internally feeling pride "welcome...to Nexgen, the home of monsters" he introduced.
There was an increase in the mass of space around them, different cool styled buildings and different kids walking around. Hundreds of meters away from there was a peculiar building which looked to be the coolest of all, they sky was a literal dome and it spanned tens of Kilometers according to their estimate.
Beautiful vegetation surround the place and there was more they couldn't see yet from this point, "come, let's go meet the principal of this place so he could get you settled nicely" he called to them to follow him as he continued on.
Arlo and Seraphina turned their gazes to each other and followed him...
[Inside the head office]
A light blue haired man in his mid fifties sat at his desk as he eyed the files before him, these two were his new students. He rubbed his beard in thought as cold sweat formed on his face "hmmm, very abnormal indeed, but still welcome. These two really will be the best I've ever had" he smiled and gave the files one last look before closing them.
1 [image]
Name: Seraphina.
Age: 4 years old.
Reported LVL: 4•6.
Ability: Time manipulation.
Potential: high god-level.
2 [Image] #CLASSSIFIED#
Name: Arlo.
Age: 5 years old.
Reported LVL: 5•6 [suppressed].
Original LVL: 8•9--9•0[current].
Ability: Barrier.
Potential: ..........
'/A real monster truly has appeared huh, those guys aren't going to take this lightly, when was the last time an upper god-tier was seen in this world and now one has appeared right before us. The youngest god-tier in the history of the world, no doubt the boy already has a target on his back. Either for those who want to train him so they can use him or...those who want to kill him. The greatest abnormality we've ever had, the threat levels of this kid is going to be really off the charts if not handled properly. It's really a surprise he's allowed to move as freely as he is now/' he thought internally. His attention was drawn when he heard his intercom come on. "Speak".
[Sir, the new recruits along with the scout sent to retrieve them are here] the voice reported.
The man had a smile form on his lips "send them in" he ordered and leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands in wait.
**Knock knock**
"Come in" he answered, his heart pounding a little faster. He couldn't deny it, he was excited. The greatest talents he will ever cultivate are here, this will be his greatest record before retirement. No one who comes after will ever be able to beat this for years and years to come, the door opened and he finally laid eyes on them both. "Hello...Children" he said with a smile.
The both of them quietly looked at the man, Seraphina was the first as she took a light bow "hello Sir" she spoke in a polite tone.
The scout stood there lamenting mentally, is she for real? What is he, chopped liver?.
The headmaster smiled and looked at Arlo who was still just standing with a calm look and one hand in his pocket, he bowed his head a little also but nothing else. "Can I know your names" he asked using the same tactics the scout guy used before.
'/Heh, keep dreaming old man, these two will--
"Seraphina"
"Arlo"
'/Eh?/'
The principal smiled "it's nice to meet you Arlo, and Seraphina. You may call me Dawn, Edward Dawn" he introduced and looked at the scout "you may go now, thank you for your time".
The scout half opened his mouth as if to say something but the closed them and nod his head in compliance as he turned around and left the room.
The headmaster turned his attention to them and outstretched his hand pointing towards the comfortable couch behind them "please take a sit" he instructed.
Arlo and Seraphina respectfully complied even though it felt more comfortable for them to stand as they were and listen to what he had to say.
"Good good, now I'm just going to give a brief summary of how things a run here so as not hold you any longer than I have to" said Dawn to them, he could feel their waning interest and decided he had to make this quick.
"So first things first, the basic rules of this place are very simple. The strong eat the weak, and at the end of every month there will be a wide stage battle tournament, of course there's the daily battles that happens from time to time during the day, and then there's also mastery classes. Both of you will get teachers specifically suited to train your ability types" he listed and they both nod their heads in understanding.
The principal's demeanor changed a became a lot more serious "there's many more things i can't list yet but of all things, there is one rule that you can never break during your time here. Remember this, you're allowed to give as bad of a beating you want to your opponent's but, no matter what you do. There shall be no killing allowed" he said with a tone of finality as his green eyes glowed for second.
Arlo and Seraphina nod their heads again and the principal leaned back in his chair as a small smile formed on his lips. He reached into the small drawer underneath his desk and brought out a two maps "come" he called and they complied.
"Normally someone will come take you on a tour around before eventually showing you your dorms, but I want to see the both of you do it yourselves. The area marked with your names are the places where you'll be both staying, but i want you to find it yourselves, this is something of a first challenge for you. I'll be watching to see how long it takes you to find your ways" he said as he hand them the maps.
Arlo and Seraphina stood outside looking at the maps with blank expression on their faces, what in the world are they supposed to do with this. '//Who reads maps in this day and age//' thought both simultaneously as they faced each other "we should probably settle down a bit and figure this thing out so we don't get lost" Arlo proposed.
Seraphina nod her head in agreement and both sat down on a bench outside, studying the map and figuring out it's directions. It took them about 4mimutes before both figured everything out and got up simultaneously which surprised both a bit.
"I guess we go that way then" said Arlo pointing to his left, Sera nod her head in agreement and so they started their way of navigating through the place, they sometimes stopped for some sightseeing if something caught their eyes but they moved on soon.
They noticed older kids running around and some fighting going on but they just steered clear of it until suddenly.
A stray beam shot right in front of them stopping them in their tracks as tiny debris flew, they turned their heads to see the kid who shot it continue his fight with the other kid. Ignoring this they moved on, they kept guiding each other through until they finally arrived at their destination.
It was one massively wide building and on it they located the wings for each sex, there was plenty of space outside for daily activities, there was an actual run track and pretty professional field. Seraphina turned her gaze to Arlo, they both folded the map and tossed it. Everything they saw was already memorized within their minds "let's go meet the person responsible for assigning us to our various wards".
She nod her head and walked in with him, but she was alerted when Armor suddenly paused in his steps '/wait, did i---oh wow 'sigh'/' he felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned to her.
"It's nothing don't worry, let's go" he eased her and carried on, seconds after they stepped into the building someone already came to meet them. He and his acquaintance took both of them to their separate wards without even letting them say goodbyes or anything;......
"Here you go Arlo, this is where you'll be staying" the man said showing his own dorm. He would still be living in Luxury after all it seems, he looked up at the man "thank you, can i have the keys now please" he asked politely.
"Oh yes yes, here you go" he reached out and dropped the key in Arlo's palm who gave him a thankful nod and was about to step in when-
"Just a reminder, in a few days your trainer will be assigned to you soon, they'll be the one to give you a schedule for when it's most convenient for them to attend to you. But for now just roam around if you wish, interact with the other students here alright. And also the cafeteria is downstairs to the right, both sides are allowed to use it" said the man in a hurried tone as he left seconds later.
Arlo walked into his room and locked the door behind him, so luckily he wasn't sharing a room with anyone. '/Aunt Valerie really did take care of everything huh/' thought Arlo opening his wardrobe and seeing the mighty amount of clothes brought. This is what worried him before, he thought he really didn't come with anything but his aunt proved him wrong.
Arlo eyed each and everyone of the clothes in his closet and closed it, turning around as he walked into the bathroom. The clothes on his body started fading off him and disappearing into air, his tail was let loose and now swayed feely. The innate ability of every incubus, the ability to manifest and unsummon their clothes at anytime they willed it.
Stepping into the bathroom and turning on the shower he stood, eyes closed as the water fell over him. His tail swayed gently, it was becoming a pain having to keep his tail wrapped up around him, it felt so uncomfortable for him as an incubus so from now on he would let it free. This is why the ability the materialize his clothes is important to him, he didn't have to ruin his pants by putting a hole through it, instead his tail just phased through it through materialization because his clothes are just an extension of his being, and most importantly it would also prevent him running many shirts in the future due to fights.
Half-n hour later he stepped out of the shower with steam rising all over him as the water dried away and clothes began materializing into him, his tail was not wrapped this time and he allowed it to be free as he intended. He reached the bed side table and picked up the prepared tab for him, but losing interest a few seconds later he dropped it and decided to take a walk outside, but soon he heard a knock as he was getting up.
**Knock knock**
Curious about who it was he opened the door and in front of him were two kids he had no idea who they were "is there something i can--
"Holy shit is that a tail!" exclaimed one of them seeing the swaying tail behind Arlo, he was about 4inches taller than Arlo and had green hair, same color as his eyes and the other one next to him had deep orange hair and greenish blue eyes standing at the same height as the kid next to him.
"Wow, what kind of ability gives someone a tail, that's so cool" the orange haired kid said to the other besides him, he looked at Arlo who had been standing there with a stoic expression "hey hey sorry for not introducing ourselves, my name's Vern" the orange haired kid introduced and the green haired followed suit "and mines Lucas, what's yours" he asked.
Arlo moved his gaze between both kids before him, he could see where this conversation was going and he was not interested. So to cut things short he said to them "sorry, I don't swing that way".
The two both had confused expressions on their faces "what? What are you talking about dude, we're not--how old are you man"
Lucas in a look of disgust interrupted and grabbed Vern "come on let's leave this weirdo, i don't know what's wrong with him but let's just go now". Vern nod his head in agreement and left with him turning to give looks to Arlo as he went.
But Arlo too was confused, what's with that look. He meant he wasn't interested in going the route of bromance, what else did they--Oh!...right....'that' meaning is what they thought" he understood them now. '/That really did not come out right did it/' he questioned to himself but then shrugged it off.
He closed his door behind him without even locking it actually, there was no reason to. So he just took the stairs down and carried on outside, he passed a number of people on the way out through the main hall. He didn't even put his ear down for the comments and just ignored whatever they were gonna say about him.
But as he was walking he suddenly halted in his movements, not by his own volition but because someone was stopping him. '/Gravity/' he judged as felt the invisible weight pressing down on him
"I guess you're the new kid huh" a voice said coming from the left of him. He turned his head to see who it was, he was much taller than Arlo and had purple glowing eyes, his hair was blond and packed in a ponytail and he had above average looks.
He had one hand in his pocket and a smile on his face as he walked towards Arlo, he had three guys behind him and Arlo assumed them to be his followers. Which means this guy was probably the king of this section according to the hierarchy, he released his gravitational hold on Arlo and let him move freely "sorry about that man, just wanted your attention for a bit" said the guy as he outstretched his hand for a handshake "I'm Vincent, what's yours.
"Arlo" he replied without answering the handshake, not feeling like it. But of course someone had to be offended.
"Is this kid okay or what, how dare he refuse a handshake from Vincent" expressed one of the guys behind him, his eyes glowed as he got ready to teach Arlo a lesson but Vincent stopped him "it's okay Mark, i think I understand the kid" said Vincent still with a smile on his face.
"But Vincent-
"I said it's okay!" Vincent commanded and the guy shrunk back, Vincent heaved a sigh and looked at Arlo "don't worry about them no one's hurting you, also is that a tail on you, is that real or a prop" asked Vincent as he just couldn't ignore the swaying tail no longer.
Arlo took a small look at his tail and then back at Vincent "it's real" he answered, he heard the small talks from everybody present in the hall but ignored it.
"haha, that's really wild. Say, would you be interested in going to the gladiator hall" Vincent asked.
Arlo raised a brow, sounds like a place of fighting but to be a 100% sure he had to ask "what's the gladiator hall".
"Oh my, did Vincent really just invite a little kid to the gladiator hall"
"It seems so"
"What do you think he's planning, isn't that too much for him"
"I don't know, but do you think he's possibly jealous of the boys looks"
"shhh you fool, why in the world would you think that"
And so the whispers went on and on among them.
"psshh, the kid really hasn't been educated huh" one of the guys behind Vincent remarked and laughed with the others following suit, but Vincent ignoring them explained to him "You see, in here. Fights are allowed to happen in almost any location, your room, bathroom and any where you can imagine. But those fights are usually just small fights with little injuries so no one takes them seriously. But the gladiator hall is special, in there is where the most brutal of fights between the strongest happens. You can place bets on who you think would win or lose. The fights don't only just happen between students no, you can also request to fight the adults too. If you want to grow your strength quickly this is the best way to do it, so what do you think. Fun right, you can refuse if you feel it's too much for--
"I'll go" Arlo interjected.
Vincent's smile became a little wider "that's good kid, but first. What's your power level and ability. Since you've been admitted to this place then you can't be a weakling right" asked Vincent, his tone gaining a strange feeling inside it.
Arlo was silent and just gazed up at Vincent "what's yours" he asked.
"What!?, seriously is this kid okay at all. It's like he doesn't know how to behave in the presence of the king"
"Yeah, is it because Vincent is so forgiving"
"I don't think he's been well educated on hierarchy at all"
the three guys talked behind Vincent who only had an unreadable smile on his lips "you're a peculiar one aren't you....well okay then. My ability name is gravity manipulation and my latest recorded power LVL is 4•0. Now, your turn".
Arlo was having some thoughts, this guy was probably ten years of age and had a power level of 4•0. Who knew how many life and death battles he's participated in, he bet his potential stopped somewhere around 7•6-8•3 at the very most. Once this guy reached his teens his fastest potential growth would occur, and after that it'll be nearly impossible to improve his level. This was how it was for every ability user, your teen years was the time where it's easiest to grow your ability. He was sure this guy had to be leaving soon which meant a free vacant seat for king.
The next strongest male would be scrambling to get the position, they all are most probably aware of this. The thing tho is why does this guy have his eyes on him, Arlo knew the very second he stepped in here, he was already king he was aware of that. Although he could be more rightly called the shadow king but that's that, does Vincent want to raise him to be his successor in the spare time he has left.
But why tho, is he desperate that he's willing to take a gamble with someone he literally just met instead of letting things take it's course.
"Hey" Vincent called snapping Arlo out of his thoughts. "It's no that hard you know, I'm just asking for your ability level" he said to Arlo.
"......I'm higher than you" he answered truthfully, not having the time to lie about his level. He wasn't going the route of pretending to be a pig so he could eat the tiger, a true dragon has no time or patience for such stupidity.
The whole hall went silent at Arlo's words, then a chain of chuckles spread followed by loud laughter.
"Oh wow can you believe this guy 😂😂"
"I swear to you that was surprising 😂😂"
"Haha The kids a comedian, who knew 😂😂"
"I like this kid 😂😂"...........
Even Vincent too was caught off guard of by this and couldn't help but laugh also, it took a full minute and a half for them to calm down. Vincent chuckled and placed a hand on Arlo's shoulder "sigh, thanks for the laugh kid, you just made my day. Come were gonna be late, I haven't placed bets yet" Vincent signaled his mates and led them out along with Arlo, sometimes chuckling as they went.
As they got closer and closer to the place Arlo could now very much see why they called it a gladiator hall although it was very much a massive stadium and he could hear the chants from even this far away.
They reached the entrance to the stadium and the guards standing at the door noticed Vincent, they seemed to know him because the just stepped aside and let them through.
As soon as they entered the chants had become much lower, seems they were in a soundproof hall. "Let me show you where we place our bets" Vincent said to Arlo as he led him towards a particular hall, it was full of people placing their bets on todays contestants or if they wished to put their names down then they could do that here too.
"Hey that's Vincent"
"What! He's here"
"Is he interested in fighting today"
"No i don't think so, probably spectating again"
"Yeah, what a shame"
Vincent walked towards a particular stand, others clearing away as they let him in front. The man sitting there raised his head as he noticed him "hmm, i guess you're here to place bets again huh".
Vincent smiled "yeah, I'm not feel it today" he replied.
The man gave a slight nod "understandable, so who's this" he said pointing to Arlo standing next to him.
Vincent looked down "oh he's a new guy, he kinda caught my eye so i decided to bring him here" he explained and turned his gaze back to the man "so who do we have today, some good ones right" he asked.
The man smiled "why don't you have a looksy and see if anything catches your eyes" he gestured towards the match board for today.
Vincent looked up as asked and smiled when he saw the names "so one of the other kings are fighting today, so a ranking match then" he looked at the man who nod his head "yup, so who you betting on" he asked.
Vincent smiled and looked up to see the name of the partaking King's opponent, his smile was wiped off when he saw the name. Instead his demeanor became colder "I should have known" he said in a cold tone.
The man behind the counter smiled "so, who are you betting on" he asked again.
Vincent looked down, staring at the man for a few seconds "this is going to be an unpredictable fight, i can't believe I'm saying this but- he grumpily snapped his fingers "I'm betting on that bastard to win".
One of his mates came forward and dropped a small bag on the counter "who are my opponents and what have they placed" Vincent asked the man.
He smiled and brought out a MacBook "hmm so let's see, about 2,400+ bet on the King winning. And for his opponent 2,119 bet on him winning. You don't have anyone betting against you now so --
"It's okay, it's not like I would have lost either way" said Vincent turning around and leaving along with Arlo and his fledglings "it's time to see some fights" he said as they walked and found their way to the seats amongst the audience "right on time" Vincent smirked as his eyes glowed along with everyone else present, all except Arlo....
EnD.