Chapter 12: Day One
A disheveled boy made his way toward the entrance of a towering 20-story building. His clothes were in a complete mess, his hair unkempt, and droplets of blood occasionally drenched the bandages beneath his t-shirt.
He noticed the weird and disgusted looks people gave him. Some even stared with outright contempt. All he could do was hope no strange rumors would start to spread.
Lami's whole demeanor was disheveled, but his presence gave a different feeling than two weeks ago.
Meow~
"That's right, Jack. We're almost there," Lami said to the black kitten trailing behind him.
Ever since Lami saved him, Jack would follow him around. Lami was also quite fond of the little guy, leaving him only behind once he went deeper into the forest to fight.
Lami and Jack walked through the lobby and went into the elevator. Lami quickly pressed on the 17th floor and waited to reach his floor, closing his eyes.
Even a moment of break felt rewarding.
Gaia Hall, one of the main dormitory buildings, was where he would stay.
'Room 17024.'
Arriving at his floor, Lami started to look around for his room, with Jack following him. With 20 floors and 25 rooms on each floor, Gaia Hall had the capacity of a thousand students.
Entering inside after scanning his fingerprint, Lami noticed how bright his room was. It was directly facing an open space with greenery, giving a comforting feeling.
The room wasn't too spacious, but it had all the essentials he needed. His bed was set directly in front of the window, allowing natural light to filter in.
Beside the bed, to the left, stood a small bookshelf. A desk was placed nearby, conveniently close for late-night work or study.
Between the desk and bed, a mini-fridge sat tucked into the corner, ready for midnight snacks.
Across from the bed, against the opposite wall, was a sturdy cupboard for storing clothes and other belongings.
On the right side of the room, near the entrance, another door led to a compact bathroom.
Lami didn't linger around checking the room and instantly went into the shower, leaving Jack in the room.
Every time the warm water touched his back, it emanated a sharp burning sensation.
His back was full of scars, and with him not having a healing potion it was now too late for him to get rid of them.
Lami quickly got out of the shower with a towel on his hair, simultaneously checking his body. His previously skinny body had gained a decent amount of mass with him continuously working out.
Although he was by no means muscular, he was getting leaner. After quickly changing into a fresh set of clothes and drying his hair, he threw himself onto his comfortable, soft bed, and his consciousness slowly drifted away.
Tomorrow was the first day of the Academy. Even though he hadn't reached the Beginner rank in the last two weeks, he was now sitting at the threshold of the next rank.
…
Yawn-
Groggily waking up, Lami rubbed his eyes and stretched his whole body.
Meow~
"..Yeah, morning to you too, Jack. Did you like our new place?" Lami asked, still lying on his bed.
Jack jumped on Lami's chest, and rubbed his face against Lami's, purring.
"I'll take it as a yes."
Lami slowly got out of his bed while petting Jack. He filled the kitten's bowl with dry food and headed into the shower.
He was waiting for the metro to arrive with a straight face, contemplating whether he made the right choice by not wearing the academy uniform or not.
He styled himself with baggy dark-gray pants, an unbuttoned, oversized blazer with a white t-shirt inside, a silver necklace that had two silver feathers on its tip, and his now fully cleaned white sneakers.
He was fully confident in himself just mere minutes ago, but now he was getting cold feet. However, he couldn't change his decision now since he didn't even get his academy uniform.
'What could go wrong?'
Academy uniforms were actually quite decent to his liking. He liked the golden etching on the blazers and Nexus' logo, which depicted two figures looking at the thrashed landscape from the top of a hill.
They were Blake Steinhart and Aurelio.
The two heroes of the human race also ended up helping demons end elves by stopping the nonsensical war that was started by the pure greed of the humans.
He hopped onto the metro, observing other students.
Male students wore black pants, the same color as the blazer, while female students could choose between different-length skirts.
Though it seemed most opted for the shorter variants, Lami didn't know why. He simply put on his earphones and enjoyed the music.
...
Lami stood in front of room 1 - C which was on the top floor of the Athena Hall. Unlike some other rooms, which were numbered with a different system, this one was specifically for his class.
Clank!
Opening the door, he slowly entered the room, and as his face was revealed to the other students, many eyes fell on him. The room was already full; it was almost time for the first lecture.
Lami was the type of person who always appeared at the latest minute possible. If a thing or two went wrong, he would most definitely be late.
'Well, I'll be damned,' he thought, his eyes darting around the classroom, trying to find his savior.
No one seemed to wear anything other than the school uniform—he stood out completely.
'Shit.'
Even more eyes fell on Lami; he felt a tidal wave of anxiety washing over him.
'Good that I went for basic stuff.'
Lami started making his way toward the back of the lecture room, his whole being pierced by judging eyes. Soon after, his eyes fell on a familiar figure.
Lumia was waving in his direction. She was as striking as he saw her last time. Glancing around her, he searched for a free spot nearby, but sadly, there wasn't one.
Nodding in response to Lumia's initial greeting, he scanned the room for another place to sit. A moment later, his eyes landed on a familiar face
Like Lami, he wasn't wearing the Academy uniform either. The tall, dark-skinned boy sat nonchalantly in his chair, looking bored out of his mind.
He was wearing shorts and a white graphic t-shirt.
"Can I sit here?" Lami asked, pointing at the seat beside Lucian.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone