The halls were crowded with people, and the chaos was so perfect, like a movie. There was the couple that was always making out on the left side of the hall, and about ten feet farther down, the cliquey girls. Opposite them, Thomas and the cliquey jocks, and between them, the parade of geeks with their huge dungeon and dragon book. There were the aerospace tech kids who never did anything but make paper airplanes and the fashion kids that wheeled mannequins and clothing racks down the halls. And then there was Kurata, nonchalantly walking in the hallway as if nothing wrong.
Hm? Shouldn't Kurata in the police station?
Well, he got out. The authority just didn't believe a teen like him able to do that kind of crime without a weapon of some sort. Luckily, they didn't manage to find something that could be used as a weapon on the crime scene, not to mention the two garbage man had some sort of short term amnesia and couldn't remember the accident.
All in all, Kurata high school life had just begun, but there was one small problem.
Kurata was standing in front of his locker, staring seriously at the brochure. With a long sigh, he ripped the party notification brochure from his locker and grabbed his textbook.
Did he hate party? Pizza and drinks? Music that was as loud as thunder, and the sexy outfit? Who knew, maybe he would get a girlfriend.
Too bad for Kurata, as right now, he could only imagine that.
Even though Kurata got out pretty easily from the police station, but oh boy, just the thought of his mom picking him up from the police station with throbbed vein was enough to make him shuddered.
Yes, to simplify it, although his parent still knew it wasn't his fault, Kurata still got grounded.
Which meant...
No wandering off after school.
No pocket money.
And the worse of them all...
Kurata still had his phone and laptop, but for every five minutes or so it would get cut off from the wifi.
As Kurata wondered what kind of sorcery that his parent used to do that kind of feat, a day had passed. And another day, and another...
Luckily, to kill some time Kurata had spent most of his days grinding his 'Talent'.
After a week of grinding, Kurata had improved his Cat's Movement to Lvl 5, and both Merciless Flick and Stone Feet to 3.
By the end of the first week, when Kurata checked his Talent's card, he noticed several changes.
[Talent Name: Cat's Movement.
Level: 5
Owner(Owner's Status): Saku Kurata (Str: 4 → 3 Con: 4 Agi: 4 [11] Dex: 4 [11] Int: 4 Wis: 4 Cha: 4 Wil: 2)
Limit(Recovery rate): Passive (None)
Effect:
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The owner of this talent becomes more graceful, agile, and coordinated. The owner steps (if he chooses to) won't create any sound when he walks at his normal speed. The owner of this talent doesn’t take damage from falling 20 feet or less if the owner lands on their feet. This talent grants a +7 bonus to Agility and Dexterity.]
[Talent Name: Merciless Flick.
Level: 3
Owner(Owner's Status): Saku Kurata (Str: 3 Con: 4 Agi: 4 [11] Dex: 4 [11] Int: 4 Wis: 4 Cha: 4 Wil: 2)
Limit(Recovery rate): 12/12 (1.2 per hour.)
Effect:
After shouting/thinking "Merciless Flick," The next time you flick with your finger, it will inflict 4 x Str damage on the target.]
[Talent Name: Stone Feet.
Level: 3
Owner(Owner's Status): Saku Kurata (Str: 3 Con: 4 Agi: 4 [11] Dex: 4 [11] Int: 4 Wis: 4 Cha: 4 Wil: 2)
Limit(Recovery rate): 12/12 (1.2 per hour.)
Effect:
After shouting "Stone Feet," Your feet transmute into menacing, rocky lumps capable of inflicting deadly wounds. Your weight is increased by 6kg per 1kg of the foot, but it doesn't impede your movement. Duration: 1 minute 20 seconds. Can be cancelled at any time.]
Kurata did wonder why his strength decreased from four to three, but he just let the thought went from his mind. Maybe it was because he barely did any activity that required him to use his strength in the past few weeks.
But, at some point, Kurata stopped grinding his talent. He didn't know why, he just did. Maybe it was the wrong kind of escapism for his situation, or he suddenly realized he acted like a fool by jumping around all by himself in his room.
Kurata started studying instead. He began working his way through it, one subject at a time. After finishing them, he would go back for more. Surprisingly, he found that he liked studying and he thought he even became a bit addicted. Before Kurata knew it, his Intelligence had risen to 5 whilst his Willpower had increased to 3.
Little did he knew, the days became increasingly harder to distinguish from each other, differing only by the question Kurata was solving and the weather outside. It felt like time blurred into some kind of gooey mess he was trapped inside, instead of moving within. A day could go by without him really noticing it. Sometimes, he'd pause in realization that he didn't know what time it was. But other times, he would just lay down for a whole day, looking at the ceiling as if it was a starry night. But that only happened rarely.
Kurata had started to think his first year would just go like this, until...
Today, a girl with long, wavy blonde hair, sapphire-blue eyes, and a very fair complexion and had thick yellow-brown eyebrows that remind Kurata of pickled radishes came to him and gave Kurata a smile. She seems excited, but not very.
"Hello~ New Kid!. Are you free this Saturday night~?"
(...Who?)
Kurata didn't answer her but he smiled a little back at her. It had been more than one month since he came to this school and people would still be calling him New Kid. He guessed that was his nickname until a new kid came to take that title from him.
"Wow! Is that the latest model?! How nice!"
After praising Kurata's phone, she casually sat down on the empty bench in front of him.
(...Who is she? Who is this girl!? Wait! Is she trying to pick me up!?)
She took her time, sorting her papers, then setting them aside as if to make a point of the pointlessness of what she just did.
Then she leaned forward and looked Kurata in the eyes for a moment.
(Her face... To close!)
Kurata felt his face had gone hot. It felt like he'd just suddenly having flu with 40 degrees fever body temperature.
"So~ You're free this Saturday night, right?" The girl handed a sheet of paper to my Kurata, whose expression turned bright as he read it quickly.
How was Kurata supposed to react to this? He had received a few party invitation on his locker, but this was the first time, someone, and particurarly a very beautiful girl came to him and personally giving him a party invitation.
On that afternoon, Kurata had made up his mind. No matter what happened, even though there was a storm, his parent prohibited him, or a weird freaking monster attacking him, he would still come to her party.
(...But, who is she?)