"He who gambles doesn't rely on good luck; he who gambles makes his own luck." -Vincenzo Peruggia Lynx
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After the battle, I went to the healing zones with Jinn. It’s a number of rooms next to each other which heal people who are in it. The healing class of the academy is very surprising; Aizawa sure did a good job. There weren’t people inside these rooms since our battle was the first. I helped Jinn sit down on a chair and then took one for myself. I sat parallel to him looking at him and asked,
“How are you feeling?”
“I’ve had better battles.”
“I’m…” I’m not usually a guy that likes to apologize or does so easily, but this is unacceptable from my part. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there earlier.” He looked at me, smiled and said,
“We won, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, but…”
“Don’t worry about it, man. I’m fine. That battle helped me unlock a power I once used a long time ago.”
“The shield?”
“Yes. Diamond Knight is one of the strongest ability Astral Guardian has.”
“You know, I’m surprised your singularity has so many different abilities.”
“That’s what’s unique about it.” He looked to the side, then looked back at me and said, “Talking about singularities, what’s the deal with that sword? And the headphones?” I chuckled and said,
“Let me explain.”
“We got time.” I leaned back on the chair and said,
“I went back to the inn before the battle. I bought good quality headphones along the way and arrived at the inn.”
“Is Nightshade ok?”
“Yes, thankfully she heard what I said and stayed inside. I’m glad she is not rebellious.”
“Actually… she is rebellious.” Said Jinn with a disappointed smile.
“What do you mean?”
“Before we met you… along the way, she kept complaining and starting arguments with other people for silly reasons. But it might have been insomnia, I don’t know.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t expect something like that from her.”
“It might also be that she doesn’t want to look like a bad girl in front of you.”
“But of course! She is my little sister; I wouldn’t tolerate something like that from her.”
“No, Kaiser… I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Anyways, back to the main topic. I asked if she has done any music throughout the morning, and she did, but only one song. Which is… really good.”
“Oh really?” Said Jinn.
“Yes; I’m surprised she learned this quickly.”
“What genre?”
“Drum and Bass.”
“That so much different to what she usually does! That’s amazing! I want to hear it too when she comes out with a full album.”
“Right?! She told me that she uses her vocals remixed to further enhance the emotional manipulation.”
“Is that what helped you with your PTSD?”
“Yeah, every time I battle now, I just have to put the headphones on and play her music.”
“That’s so cool!”
“While listening to it on my way back-”
“Did you give her a ‘thank you’ kiss?” I took a quick breath and repeated,
“While listening to it on my way back-”
“You must have given her a kiss, she basically helped you with a huge problem.”
“JINN!”
“What?” He said chuckling.
“No, we didn’t kiss, now, can you let me finish?!”
“Ok, ok. But you’re rude for not doing so; she deserved it.”
“While listening to it, on my way back, I felt a weird power in me. It was a burning feeling in my arm. I focused on the energy on my arm and I unlocked the singularity.”
“She also helped you unlock it?! Boy, when is the wedding?!”
“SHUT UP! I don’t like her like that!”
“Then why are your cheeks are getting red?” I walked away and said,
“Heal by yourself, I’m going to watch Sora’s battle.”
“You two would look so cute together though! The cold-hearted beast and the delicate little flower that needs protection who tames the beast.” I looked back frowning with a smile and said,
“Wow, I never took you for a romantic.”
“I’ve had my dose of poems, want to hear them?”
“I-I’m good. Happy healing!”
“W-wait!” I closed the door and walked away. While walking in the corridor towards the arena, I heard someone say behind me,
“Rukito.” I turned back out of instinct and saw Aizawa looking at me. When I turned back her expression changed from serious to surprised. “W-why did you turn back?”
“Huh? I-” Oh crap… she got me, what can I make up now?!
“It was a rhetorical question.”
“Well, anybody hearing the name of a bloody demon who killed thousands of people would turn back.”
“You turned around a little too quickly…”
“Are you really suspecting me of being such a person?”
“I saw your devil wings as you were arriving. I was never told by anyone that you were a devil.”
“No, it’s not something I easily share with people I don’t know. Unlike you, I don’t use my genes to gain popularity in this world.” I don’t know why I said something so mean to her, but she was getting on my nerves by getting into my life out of nowhere.
“… I never asked for popularity. I just wanted to prevent a disaster by opening this Academy and use my knowledge to good use.” It was only her and I in this corridor.
“Aren’t you supposed to be watching Sorafhto’s battle?”
“The battle is already over. He finished in less than a minute and won. Up next, he goes against his own partner to see who makes it first out of our class. You will go against Jinn. But I'm still not sure, I might just make you and Jinn go against Sora and Violetta.” Already over? Wow… he must be really strong. She got closer to me, about two feet in front of me.
“Your eyes… even though they are brown, they seem familiar.” Damn, she is pretty… I can’t stare at her too long without looking away, the boys were right. We gazed into each other’s eyes for three seconds and then instantly looked away blushing.
“D-don’t you think that it’s a bit weird to walk up to someone and say that?” I asked.
“I-I have a feeling that you’re the person who I’m looking for; I just need to find evidence.”
“Please don’t stalk me…” I said.
“What?! No! I’m not a weirdo!” She said while blushing.
“Good, good.” I can’t admit being Rukito… who knows what she could do to me right now, she is powerful, she could probably kill me if she wanted to, I should probably gain her friendship and trust, so she doesn’t look more into the matter. She looks like a delicate fine woman… what could she be interested in? “Hey, after the contest, mind taking some coffee or tea together? I would like to talk more about this misunderstanding.”
“Y-you’re asking me for a date?”
“Uhm, yeah?”
“Me?” Why is she acting so surprised?
“Yeah, you, who else? The wall! Yeah, wall! What about going to a date where I would have a lovely conversation about your construction.” She started giggling, but then stopped herself. She brushed her hair behind her ear, crossed her arms while slowly blinking and said,
“Alright. But don’t think of it as a date! It will be an appointment to talk about the investigation I’m doing.”
“S-sure… today is Friday, right? how does Sunday sound? At that local cafeteria beside the forest? Maybe at 2 PM.” She started walking away, then said,
“Sure, whatever.” She is clearly making up an act to protect her persona. “But I… look forward to you being there.” I then heard her mumble, “My first date…” First date?! Has no one ever had the balls to ask her out?!
“Yup, I’ll be there.” Damn, she is cute. I walked over to where Sora was in his preparation room, he was relaxing. As soon as I opened the door, he looked at me with a smirk and asked,
“So, did you watch it?”
“I had to take Jinn to heal, sorry.”
“Aww… that sucks. Alright, next battle then.”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“So, I…”
“Hm?”
“I have a date with Shizuka.”
“WHAT?! The heart breaker herself?!”
“The what?”
“Every time someone asks her out, she dumps them. This has been happening for a year now, so she gained the title of ‘Heart breaker.’” Oh... that’s why she was so surprised?
“Oh, ok.” Damn, but it really wasn’t that hard. Does she like me? Hmm… I better not jump to conclusions.
“Hahaha, but come on man, you’re joking about the date though, right?” Asked Sora.
“No, I’m not.”
“Well, I’d be damned… I never actually tried with her, she seems too uptight and serious to me.”
“That’s the type of girls I like, but I need to get to know her more.”
“Calm down bud, you still don’t know if she is slightly interested in you.”
“Isn’t accepting my date request a big hint?”
“Yes, but…”
“I know, but whatever, we’ll find out this Sunday.”
“How’s Jinn?” He asked me with a concerned look.
“He’s alright.”
“He is really strong! I never expect a quiet boy to hold such power.”
“Hahaha, trust me, neither did I,” I said while I got a text message on my phone. It was Nightshade. That’s right, on the way back I bought her a phone so I could use mine since I need ways of communicating with her, I need to know if she is safe or not.
Nightshade Text [https://i.imgur.com/SSW8qKl.png]
“Who is it? Could it possibly be Shizuka?! You got her number?!”
“No, it’s my little sister.”
“Oh yeah, you mentioned her before. Is she alright?”
“Yeah, she is good, I just feel like I worry too much sometimes…”
“It’s alright,” He came closer and patted me on the back. “I know the feeling. I have a little sister too.”
“Oh yeah, I heard that you also have a little sister.”
“Yes, her name is Zue Fastarhan, she is fifteen years old.”
“Oh, just like my little sister… well… technically.”
“Technically?”
“Nothing, nothing. I’ll go look at the brackets, bye!”
“Alright, let me know how they look.” I walked over to the brackets and noticed that next up it was Jinn and me against Sorafhto Fastarhan and Violetta Altanheim. Damn, this is not good, I need to know his singularity before we battle, or else he will have a huge advantage over us. Apparently, our class has beaten every other class, so now it comes down to a battle between ourselves to see which duo comes at the top. Whoever wins between Sora’s duo and mine, will go to the finals. I better start practicing with Jinn; our battle against Sora is at 10 PM (In 40 minutes).
Walking back to the healing zones, I noticed that many people were missing on the corridors, is there an interval show? Walking across the stone pavement, I looked forward and noticed a… cat? No, that’s a lynx! A Satana Lynx to be precise! They are fully covered in black fur and have glowing yellow eyes; legends say that they come from hell itself. I know that we are in the north and this is where they live, but it’s strange seeing one in the school; how did he even get in here? As I slowly walked up to him, he instantly noticed me and started backing off.
“Hey buddy, I’m not going to hurt you.” He seems pretty young. If I had to guess, he was born 3 months ago. He looks like a kitten but knowing the Satana Lynxes they don’t grow as big as other lynxes, so he could definitely fit in my bookbag.
“Yeah, right!” I heard someone say. I looked around but I didn’t see anyone.
“Huh? What was that?” Whatever, I should probably take this lynx out of here before he causes any troubles. I kept slowly walking up to him not to alert him until I saw his fur and tail rise, and then heard growling, he definitely thought of me as a threat. “Listen, cat. I’m not here to fight.” Even though… I could sell him instead… they go for really high prices on the market based on their rarity, and the group is running short in money… hmmm. Priorities Kaiser, priorities. “Alright, cat. I’m selling you.” I said while walking up to him.
“WHAT?!” I heard. Am I imagining things? I should probably go heal with Jinn too just in case.
“You’re a kitty too, so they will pay more.”
“You can’t just sell me without my consent! This is Greenterra!” Alright, I’m not crazy, this lynx is actually talking.
“You can talk?”
“Yes, I can talk! Who do you think I am?!”
“A lynx?...”
“… Well, yes…. but I used to be the greatest gambler and thief ever! Everyone knew who I was in hell! My name is VINCENZO PERUG-” I picked up the boasting lynx and closed him into my bag.
“Good for you buddy, now you will be the greatest source of money I ever had. You can talk? They will pay a fortune for this.”
“Hey! Let me out!”
“Sorry bud; looks like the one who hit the jackpot was me.” Man, a talking lynx? This sure is strange. I’d have to ask Shizuka and see if she knows more about the Satana Lynxes. I walked over to Jinn’s healing room with the lynx in the bag. I left the zipper a bit open so he could breathe.
I opened the door to the room and saw Jinn on the ground with a laptop.
“Since when you had that?”
“Oh, I always did, I Just never had a chance to use it. In the ship, there was no Wi-Fi either.” I dropped the bag on the ground and heard the lynx letting out a yelp.
“What was that?” Asked Jinn, alarmed.
“Oh right, I completely forgot.” I took the lynx out of the bag and showed Jinn.
“W-what is that?”
“Our pot of gold, Jinn… our pot of gold.”
“Pot of gold?”
“I’m not a pot of gold!” Yelled the cat.
“IT TALKS?!”
“Yup, it sure does.”
“Is this your new addition to your harem of Nightshade and Shizuka? Is she going to turn into a cat-girl and sleep with you?” Asked Jinn with a serious face of a man of culture.
“No, but that would be amazing. And there is no harem!” I looked back to the lynx and asked, “You’re a boy, right?” The lynx jumped back and said,
“Of course I am a boy, you morons! Does Vincenzo sound like a girl’s name?!”
“Just making sure.” After settling, Jinn and I sat Infront of the lynx as he started telling us his story. He apparently was a really popular gambler in hell which once lost a bet. The bet was set on a game of poker, the conditions were that if he lost, he would have been stripped down from his fortune and sent to Greenterra to live with the other Satana Lynxes.
“Well, a fitting end for the carrier of the best gambler,” I said.
“What do you mean?! I’m sure he cheated! But everyone was in on the plan, so they didn’t say anything!”
“Gambling is a risky thing to do, you should have expected something like this to happen.” Said Jinn.
“Again! It’s not my fault!”
“So, you mean to tell me that you can turn into a human?”
“Yes, but I can’t do so until I’m older. When I was sent here, my age restarted for some reason, so I’m a kitten again.”
“Wait… I read about this somewhere on the internet.” Said Jinn.
“Hmm?” He turned around and started typing on his laptop.
“Here it is!” He showed us the monitor and said, “Published by a research paper of Shizuka Aizawa six months ago, here it says if a non-divine being travels through heaven or hell, they will be reborn in the new world with their memories. Their memories will only be wiped off if they die.”
“Ah, so basically to be sent to Greenterra I had to be reborn again.”
“Did you have a family?” I asked.
“That’s what worries me…” He looked down.
“Hmm? What is it?” I asked.
“I have a twin sister, the reason why I was gambling was to leave third class.”
“Third class?” Asked Jinn.
“Yes, hell is divided into three levels, First class, middle class, and low class. They are pretty self-explanatory. At the top, there are the royals, the rich, and famous. While at the bottom there is the poor and the slaves. In the middle, there is a balance.”
“Hmm, so the only way to ‘upgrade’ from low class to the middle class was to gamble?” I asked.
“Yes, I see you’re not dumb as I thought. The only way to upgrade from third to second class is to gamble and win pay the expensive price or win as the champion of the Colosseum.”
“Those sound like extreme and rare ways of doing so, how come is it so difficult?” Asked Jinn, “Wouldn’t that make the population of the top classes low?”
“Well, once you’re reborn, you have a 25% chance of being middle class, 70% chance of being low class, and a 5% chance of being high class. This is how the devil queen keeps her society in control, by lining up new people in a file line, and pointing where they should go.”
“That’s… horrible.” Said Jinn.
“Yes… and the worst part is that the Satana Lynxes are treated as a slave race in hell. And the only way to free yourself is by paying the royal family an amount of money that no normal citizen could pay.”
“So, you won the jackpot and bought freedom for yourself and your sister, correct?” I said.
“Yes, that’s correct. I needed a little more money to upgrade to 2nd class, but those bastards cheated me into losing all my money!”
“That sucks…” said Jinn, “Is your sister alright?”
“She should be fine for the moment. She has half my money, but I need to go back to free her, or bring her here, one of the two.”
“Can’t she just come by the same means you came?” I asked.
“No, those high-class bastards transported me here so I would keep my mouth shut from their cheats if they killed me it would have brought too much attention to the matter… so by now people probably noticed I went missing.”
“Well… I would be glad to-” I quickly stopped Jinn before he finished his sentenced and said,
“Jinn, we can’t afford to add more weight on our shoulders, we already have to heal your brother, get back my memories, and find the gemstones.”
“… You’re right.”
“It’s fine, I’ll deal with the matter myself.” Said the lynx.
“You sure?” Asked Jinn.
“Yeah.”
“You can stay with us until you find a way to get your sister back. But we won’t help you until we deal with our problems first.” I said. It might be mean, but we can’t afford playing heroes. The more connections we have, the better; we need to find all the divine gems after all.
“Fine, if you insist. You don’t look like evil people, and you two could be helpful.” I got closer to Jinn and whispered,
“Little does he know; I’m going to straight up sell him on the black market.”
“Hey! I heard that!” Someone knocked on our door and said,
“Jinn, Kaiser, you’re up against Sorafhto and Violetta.”
“It’s time,” I said.
“Vincent, you can wait here for us, it might not be safe out there for a baby lynx.” Said Jinn.
“Now you’re just intentionally trying to piss me off! And it’s not Vincent! It’s Vincenzo!” Jinn and I walked away. On the way there, Jinn looked at me with a concerned look and said,
“You know, you never told me why you wanted to search for this gemstones thingy… what are they going to do for us?”
“My memory it’s still hazy, but If we don’t collect them all and use all their powers at once, we won’t be able to stop Ochiru.”
“Ochiru? Who’s that?”
“The cause of the Apocalypse… that’s as far as I can remember.”
“So, it wasn’t you?”
“It was me… but I’m sure he was the reason why I did so… I had many nightmares about that one night before I started sleeping with Nightshade.”
“Hmm, see? The relationship benefits you both!”
“Come on dude! Why do you care so much anyway?” He looked down, smiled and said,
“Before we encountered you… well, you encountered us, Nightshade and I were adventuring together for a week or so. She wouldn’t stop talking about you and how big you managed to change her life even if it was only for a couple of weeks.”
“Oh…”
“She never had any friends, Kaiser. She has always been an outcast for being too good compared to the other pixies, and I can relate to that a lot… I’m sure you also can. But that girl’s whole life has been changed by you, and honestly, all I want to see is her happy and genuine smile that she has when she is with you.”
“You see yourself in her, don’t you?” I asked.
“Yes, I suppose that’s what it could be… and sorry if I’m getting annoying for encouraging you to be with her, but I know how happy that would make her, and I know how much it could help you get better, and maybe take your mind off your obscure past.”
“Sorry Jinn, but… I think what I’m feeling for Shizuka is what I’m looking for. Yeah, I love Nightshade to death, but as a little sister. I’m sure she can be happy with just that, she is not meant to love after all.” I sighed, looked at the starry sky and said, “maybe I should just straight up have a heartfelt conversation with Nightshade before this gets any worse.”
“As long as she is happy and you’re good, it’s fine for me.” He said with a slight genuine smile.
“How about you though? Mr. Playboy.”
“M-me?! For now, I just want to heal my brother, man!” I chuckled, pushed his shoulder and said,
“Come on! You have a girl drooling for you.”
“You think so?” He asked.
“I know so!”
“Kaiser… no, Rukito.” He said.
“Hmm?”
“I… I’m sorry for wanting to kill you when we first met each other. I truly am. I hate being so prejudice.”
“It’s alright, Jinn. Who wouldn’t want to kill a mass murderer?”
“I… don’t think you did it on purpose.”
“… thanks, that means a lot. But who knows? I could be an asshole in reality. That’s actually what I fear the most.”
“Hm?”
“What if the person I’m trying to remember… the me that I’m trying to recover could live happy. If I ever get my memories back-
“No, when we get your memories back.” I chuckled.
“Yeah. Well, when we get my memories back, I just hope I don’t possibly go into another stupid rampage.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen.”
“What do you mean?”
“My diamond knight is unbreakable, you know. Plus, I’m sure Nightshade would be able to calm you down with her songs, if not, with her words, and if not, with her touch.”
“Damn Jinn, again with the poetics; I’m telling you; those ladies won’t handle you.”
“S-shut up!” We arrived at the arena. We looked around and saw the staff confused talking to each other.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Sorafhto has forfeited the match.”
“What?!” I yelled. He was so excited to fight, what happened?
“Violetta suddenly informed us about it. Apparently, a family emergency.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” Said Jinn.
“So… what will happen to the match?” I asked.
“You win by default, and since you are at the top of your class, your singularities will be upgraded.”
“Wait, I thought there was one more battle after this,” I said.
“No. The final duo emerged from each class will have their singularities upgraded. These are new rules so all classes can have a fair advantage for the next contest.”
“That’s amazing! You heard Jinn?! Your brother is going to be ok!” I said while looking at him, but he was looking down in sorrow. “Jinn?”
“This doesn’t feel like a victory though… it’s not Sora’s fault that he had an emergency.”
“Sorry, boys. But those are the rules.” Said the staff person.
“This is for the greater good of your brother, Jinn,” I said.
“Yeah… I know.”
“Jinn, go talk to Shizuka about your reward, I’ll look into the matter.”
“Alright, Kaiser. Text me if anything.”
“Yup.” I went to search for Violetta to see if she knew anything. I was expecting to see her annoyed and pissed, but she was actually pretty calm.
“Violetta, what happened?”
“Oh… Sorafhto told me that his little sister got mugged, and she is currently in the hospital in the emergency room."