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[2:41 A.M]
*Gasp*
He woke up, desperately trying to catch his breath. The same nightmare he had last night, and the other nights before it. No, it weren't just a nightmare for him but worse. He knew that everything he saw was real.
Children confined in large transparent tubes. With countless apparatus connected to them.
Some were awake, crying and screaming. But not a single voice came out.
And some were deprived from consciousness without signs of waking up.
He, himself, was in a similar state as those children.
Caged in a seemingly impenetrable tube where wires and devices were attached in his body and the tube itself.
He was awake.
Deprived from any bodily movements, he was desperately trying to release himself from the chain-like apparatuses. But nothing happened.
His neck, arms, and legs, nothing responded. He was completely immobilized. Nothing but tears fell from his eyes.
What can a 3-year old kid do is to cry and watch every horror unfold in front of him.
Innumerable tests of inhumane trial and error. The pain of countless needles, syringes, struck into him which seems to get more painful every time. There would be no surprise if most of these children who undergone the same tests breaks or become completely crazy.
Every night, the same stinging pain wakes him up, the horror of 10 years ago.
…
But this time something was different.
A three-dimensional box, a size of a thumbnail, holographic in nature, was outwardly floating in front of him. At first he thought he was just seeing things as he was trying to adjust his vision after waking up from a bad dream.
After clearing his eyes, the object was still there. He tried to shoo it away like an insect or move away from it to the point where he fallen out from his bed yet the object did not even budge a little. Rather, it followed his movements or specifically his vision. Whenever he averts his attention from it, the box was still followed, fixed in his line of vision.
He was confused, trying to comprehend what was happening in front of him.
He closed his eyelids and tried to calm himself.
Inhale…
Exhale…
A quiet atmosphere subjugated the room in that a brief moment. He opened his eyes and at this instance he already collected himself.
The holographic box was still in front of him, flashing every second.
The box seems harmless anywhere he look at it. He realized that nothing will happen if he will just stare at it forever.
Curiosity gradually replaced his doubts and without thinking deeper, his hands acted. Slowly, while being cautious, he reached his fingers, closer to the floating three-dimensional object. A rectangular window appeared, replacing the three-dimensional box.
[Invoke System initializing…] 1%
He was surprised as to what he saw in front of him. It is now clear that these floating windows or rather dialog boxes are analogous to holographic display he had seen in the city yet different to the fact that the city required a systematic holo-projector machine, in which this one needed none. He wasn’t aware of any technology that is capable of doing this; attaching its functions into the line of vision of users without any machine or gadget running it, until this moment.
He thought that maybe he was just a little late to this kind of innovation.
But now that he is experiencing it first-hand, Erol thought this wasn’t possible. He himself knows every new technology that is made and established in the City of Teskia. So for something like this to appear in front of him, it is just extraordinary yet unbelievable.
Erol was completely lost in his thoughts when the ‘Invoke System’ completed its installation.
[Invoke System Initialization complete.]
[Persona Stats and skills can now be accessed.]
[Awaiting command…?]
When another window appeared, again he was confused and lost in thought. Questions keep popping out in his head.
“Persona… Stats?”, he muttered unconsciously.
A large digital panel came into view, giving him a slight surprise.
Persona StatsName:Erol FrouscheAge:13Rank:InitiateClassification:Invoker FSkill Level:Basic% Brain Utilization:9.61+ (0.11)% Brain Storage:3.45+ (0.12)Health:100%% Health Regen/sec:0.14+ (0)Mana Capacity:100%% Mana Regen/sec:0.15+ (0)Stamina:100%% Stamina Regen/sec:0.16+ (0)Physical Damage:8.75%Spell Damage:9.03%Physical Resistance:0.8%Spell Resistance:1.8%Physique:10+ (0)Psyche:10+ (0)Strength:7Intelligence:6Vitality:4Wisdom:5Agility:5Acuity:4.5Alacrity:2.5+ (0)Affinity:Fire:0+ (0)Water:0+ (0)Wind:0+ (0)Earth:0+ (0)
[Stats values are set to system default.]
[Awaiting Command…]
‘Wha.. Is this.. a game??’
A list of figures came into Erol’s view which at first did not make any bit sense for him. When he looked at it closely, he recognized that these figures were similar to most online games he played in the past. Still, he thought someone was playing a prank on him or he was still in his dreaming state, and soon all of this will disappear when he wakes up. He tried pinching himself a few times and it hurt! But none of it seems to have any effect on him which clearly meant he was already awake!
Erol was still flabbergasted in the sight as he tried to take the information in front him. But such information was a little bit much for him, mainly because he just woke up from a really bad dream and his mind was still in a mess. Irritation got to him and wanted to make the floating panel disappear.
…
“How do you close this thing??!.”, he said with voice filled with annoyance.
[Command accepted.]
[Standby mode ON.]
The system responded to Erol’s ranting and in just a spilt of a second, all windows began to shrink, disappeared into the empty air.
“Huh??”
Another thought of confusion hit him, as he once again pondered as to what triggered everything to close. Was it my thoughts? Or my choice of words?
Erol felt exhausted as he tried to figure it out. But, he realized that racking his brain about this weird phenomenon at this time of the day was clearly futile. He hastily went back to bed trying to ignore what happened. At the same time, he remembered that he has to attend his class at eight and if he didn’t get more sleep now then he might be reprimanded again as he often doze off in the middle of the lectures. The last time he slept in class, his teacher scolded him, completely embarrassing him in front of the class.
He forced himself to sleep. But unfortunately, his mind won’t let him or rather sleep didn’t get to him.
…
[7:30 A.M]
Erol took a piece of toasted bread and rushed at the door. He bit the bread to free his dominant hand to quickly put and tie his shoes. Beside him was a slightly used hover board. It was two and half feet long, one and a half wide, and an inch thick body, colored mostly by gray and black. It has a few scratches here and there but one can see that it was somewhat well-maintained.
“Bye Mom!”, he said with a loud yet gentle voice. Erol grabbed his board and went outside the house.
As usual, his eyes carried two dark bags where if anyone sees this, they would assume that he hadn’t had enough sleep like… forever. Yes, it’s worse than what you think. So because of this he never forgot to wear his hoodie to hide his cultivated mug.
To make it worse, this habit of him, made students view him as antisocial, loner, out-in-his-own-world guy, and other downbeat labels. But Erol didn’t pay any attention to it. He knew that associating himself to these kinds of people will not do him any good rather it will just mean trouble for him.
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He hates trouble similar to how he detests his teacher in History. He doesn’t hate the subject, but the way the teacher delivers it to the class.
Erol kept on reminding himself to keep his circle small. More people meant more trouble so he always avoids it. Though in reality, his circle consists of only him and his best friend Locke. But he liked it more when people treat him as an outcast. Not because he likes being alone but because it also helps him to find who was really true to him.
Erol focused for a moment, gathering his mana into his palm. After a second or two, he collected a minute amount of mana, he then infused it in the hover board’s mana terminal. The board slightly flickered and then it emitted a faint orange light, signaling that its operating system has started to function. Just a moment after that, it started to float a few centimeters from the ground. Erol mounted it right away, while setting himself at its base; the board somehow held his feet firmly. The hover board produced an unfamiliar force, making sure that it balances and stabilizes the user’s base.
Erol once again focused and gathered a bit of mana, but this time he sent it towards his feet. Suddenly, the board was once again elevated by more or less than two inches from the ground. The board started moving slowly, following Erol’s bodily movement as its maneuvering function.
Fortunately, Erol doesn’t need to constantly feed it with mana for it to work all the way or else he won’t be able to use it for long due to his inadequate mana capacity. Though it is still possible to increase its speed by feeding it more energy, but Erol was not capable of doing so. He can only sigh in defeat as he thought of his deficiencies.
Setting aside such thoughts, Erol made his way to school travelling at roughly two to three meters per second or as indicated by his hover board’s speedometer.
Erol is now in his second year in high school. Ever since the scandal of EZCorp’s company 10 years ago, Erol, as well as all the other victims like him were sent to the Special ED School. A school specifically made for all of them, at the same time, serves as a place to carefully observe their physical and mental constitutions.
Additionally, aside from free education and access to all essential information, they are also given special treatment in the society.
All of them were given special privileges like exclusive access to high class gadgets that were customized for their needs such as hover boards, focus mediums, advanced protective gears, and so on, that normal people aren’t capable of obtaining, as most of these items needed ‘mana’ to operate.
These gadgets gave them special identification in the society, differentiating them from ordinary people. Later on, it became a common knowledge to the people of Tezkia that those who possess such tools are either high ranking ‘Elementalists’ or privileged Special ED School’s students.
Elementalists are treated highly since they are the reason why the Country of Teskia is now one of the strongest countries in the world and considered as ostensibly invincible country today.
…
It only took him ten minutes to arrive in front of the gate of Special ED School Main Building. The building cannot be described by just big, but overtly huge. The crescent shaped front exterior of the school can catch anyone’s attention, not just because of its shape but because of the mixture of silver and gold that radiated when hit by the rays of the sun. Somehow, the main gate was intentionally built to face the rising sun to achieve such effect.
Erol strode inside the gate, only stopping in front of an ostensibly impenetrable, opaque glass door. It immediately asked for his identification card. It was a security system set to monitor every individual who goes in and out of the school, be it students, teachers, and visitors, each have their own corresponding passes. There are at least 10 entrance doors lining horizontally in front of Erol and he is currently on the third door from the right.
[Good Morning. Welcome to Special ED School!]
[Please place your Identification Card on the scanner.]
The opaque glass door wasn’t just a simple door. It also acts as a glass monitor that displays instructions, announcements and as a scanner as well. Erol saw a series of instructions in front of him, same information he sees every day. He gave it a short glance before immediately grabbing his identification card from his chest pocket and consigned it on the surface of the scanner, as per instruction.
[Erol Frousche - Access Granted.]
[Have a good day!]
All of the text disappeared then the opaque door slowly became transparent, revealing a spacious hall.
Erol went through it as if the door wasn’t there in the first place. He placed his hover board on a hanger located in what they called deposit area, next to the door where he got in. Immediately, under the hanger, the floor opened up, pulling down Erol’s board.
He was still amazed each day and still can’t get used to all of the school’s technology, he continue forward and let out a wry laugh.
This is only but a fragment of Teskia’s technology. Every gadgets and machines in Special ED are made only for those who are gifted with mana to help them hone each of their abilities and skills. Aside from exceptional and state of the art services, facilities and vast resources, the school also provides high level of instruction from high ranking Elementalists.
Though Special ED was specially made for the victims of the horrors of the past, to make a full use of these resources, a few years ago, the school started to also accept other people who are proven to have affinity with mana. Providing them with proper education and all the necessities they need, free of any financial requirements.
***
Erol saw only a few students outside the hallways which mean that most classes started already. His classroom is on the second floor. Grasping his situation, Erol hastily went past the corridor and then went up the stairs to the right.
[Room 2-B]
The metallic sliding door automatically opened when Erol stood in front of it, he completely failed to remember the door’s function. It startled him, halting him outside the room.
When he saw the faces of his classmates, sweat started to trickle down on his temple. It didn’t last long before he regained his calm. Seeing that it doesn’t matter anymore, he quickly stepped inside the room.
His gaze met his teachers’ but he quickly broke it and slightly bowed to greet him. His teacher was a tall, good-looking man, maybe on his late twenties. His short dark blue hair accentuated by his deep blue eyes, looked at the kid who just came in, brows rose.
“G-Good Morning Professor Keil…”, Erol said with a not so audible voice, with a trace of dejection, as if expecting another mouthful of words of wisdom…
Aside from his professor’s gaze, he also felt the stares of his classmates. Some students were whispering, and giggling, but he hastily went to his seat at the back, right beside the window, paying no attention to them.
“Again Erol?”, his professor sighed with annoyance as he watched the kid gaiting towards his seat.
Erol lowered his head, hiding his face even more. He didn’t intend to come late. But no one bothers, as they have no idea how bad his sleeping problems were.
He was different. The past was clear to him. Even though he was still very young at that time, the memory of such tragedy was etched abnormally in his mind. Compared to the other victims, most of them can’t recall what happened that year.
“You do know that this will affect your performance even more? Considering that you have slightly below average rating since the start of the semester, don’t you?”
Erol struck by the fact that among his peers, he was one of the lowest ratings in his class; he can’t do anything but nod to what his professor said. But what made him less than average is that, he sucks in practical classes. He does excel in academic courses but in terms of mana aptitude, he’s pathetic. His mana capacity was lower than the average students his age and even though he put into practice everything he learned in class, his ability can never keep up.
This is also one of the reasons why they treat him often as an outcast.
Professor Keil sighed once again, throwing another tired look towards Erol. Without another word, he took his book and carry on with his lesson about Mana Enhancement.
…
Two hours went by and the first subject ended, signaling for a break.
Some boys were rushing outside towards the cafeteria. Random chattering can be heard everywhere making the whole area bustle with noise. Erol on the other hand, remained inside the classroom gazing outside the window.
Sigh, Erol felt worn out, as he watched some students practicing their skills on the field. It wasn’t that far from where he is so he can clearly see what is happening below.
There on the center of the field was a girl maybe a year older than him, stood with flair. Silky hazel brown hair, bringing out her dazzling blue eyes, with perfect slender body, just right to be labeled as the school’s Princess, Shere Everhart, dominated the field with her strong aura. The majority of the students were cheering for the princess and the rest were jeering for her unfortunate adversary.
The screams reverberated all over the field.
Everhart’s opponent, overwhelmed by her presence, hastily threw a burst of flame without thinking. The skill was blindly aimed at her feet. Everhart casted a barrier around her cancelling her opponent’s skill like it was kids play. Annoyed by the ineffectiveness of his skill, he hurled her with a barrage of fireballs and flame bursts. Everhart showed no expression.
With just a wave of her right hand, a water ball quickly formed in front of her. She willed the water ball forward consuming everything that her opponent hurled at her. Every fireball vanished leaving only the evanescence of mist.
But the water ball didn’t stopped advancing. The boy realized what is coming for him. He tried to flee. Unfortunately, the water ball caught up to him easily. The ball of water swallowed his whole body, slowly drowning him. The boy squirmed desperately, grasping for air. But before he completely ran out of air, the princess dispelled her spell, releasing the pitiful boy, at the same time someone gestured for her victory.
Fatal attacks are strictly prohibited inside the campus especially in student duels. Though earlier the boy launched dangerous fire attacks towards the princess, it was because the princess told him to go all out. Everhart, of course, was confident that she can take all of his attacks. She was just trying to gauge out her opponent’s skills, at the same time, testing her own too.
Her expression seemed to show a hint of disappointment. The reason is that she was looking for anyone on her year that can be deemed worthy as her opponent. But, unluckily, she still has yet to find anyone.
The duels persisted, the same occurrence in the field every day. Erol, still on his seat, fixated his eyes on each of Everhart’s duels. His admiration towards her grew each day.