.
.
 
"Hmm, Irvine Lang is it...?" The university student in front of him took the invitation letter and ID card that Irvine had prepared beforehand as she tried to input his data to the computer.
 
When she'd heard his name the first time, the female student had felt that it was slightly familiar, a feeling that had caused her to space out a little at the start.
 
"Is there a problem?"
 
Seeing the unusual reaction, the senior male student next to her also came to approach and check on the situation.
 
"Nn, Not really, I just found his name somewhat familiar." She whispered in a lower voice so Irvine who was standing in front of them couldn't hear.
 
"Maybe he's a famous athlete, ours is a reputed university in many fields, there's bound to be a few well-known people coming here every year."
 
"Not that! You know me, I don't follow any kinds of sports."
 
"Well, still. Just process him first alright?"
 
"Right."
 
.
.
 
"...There, it's done! And with that, I officially welcome you to Ravenville, freshman!"
 
"Thank you."
 
"Is it all over? Or is there still something else I should do?" Irvine thanked his would be seniors for their services before asking what to do next.
 
"You're welcome! We've assigned you to Building-19 for your dorm this year, all you need to do now is just to connect your student ID with the building and your room, the building manager on the first floor can help you with this."
 
"You see, the student ID is used for pretty much everything here in campus. They double as a key card to many of the accessible facilities, and you can also put money in it to pay for most things." The male student added a little more explanation on the ID's function.
 
"Oh, and here it is. Your student ID card." At the end, he took out a plate of plastic card fresh from the printer with Irvine's photo, name, year, and student number on it.
 
"You can take it to your dorm first. You need to put away your luggage before doing anything else right?"
 
"Yes. Once again, thanks very much for this." Irvine gave a light nod to his two seniors.
 
"No problem. We're already schoolmates here so good luck!"
 
Irvine promptly proceeded to walk away from the counter after receiving the card and the documents back.
 
As advised, he was planning to go check out his dorm room and walk around the campus for a while before going to the prearranged meeting with the Battle Arena team in the afternoon.
 
'My first destination is the dorm building. Where is it again, Building-19...'
 
Irvine took out a brochure-shaped map of the campus ground from his pocket. An indispensable item for any new students unfamiliar with the school.
 
'Hm, it's not that far... I could just run there from here--'
 
"AH!"
 
However, before he had the time to walk outside of the administration building, a loud yell was heard from the direction behind him.
 
At first, he thought it was from the senior student back at the counter. But when he turned around, he saw that a moustached man in a suit was looking at him anxiously.
 
Following the shout, the man walked quickly to his side as he put out his hand for a shake.
 
"Mister Lang! Very sorry I'm late, I'm supposed to be showing you around the campus after you've finished the registration!"
 
"Ah, don't worry about it. I don't think there's any need to--"
 
"No no! I insist! This is the least we could do since you've decided to come to our humble university. Hahaha!"
 
"Well--"
 
"The name's Robert, but you can just call me Bob! No need for honorifics, I'm one of the university's staff in charge of handling the student athletes here in Ravenville."
 
"...Nice to meet you Bob."
 
"Now, let me take you to your dorm first before we go around the rest of the campus. I'll introduce you to all the important facilities until the afternoon when you're supposed to have your gathering with the team. Shall we go with my car?"
 
The whole time, Irvine hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise with the man. He ended up getting dragged outside by him following Bob's own pace.
 
After the moustached man, Bob, successfully pushed Irvine out the glass door, he gave a quick sharp glance back at the direction of the two university students who had processed Irvine's registration previously.
 
The glint in his eyes gave chills to the female student at the counter.
 
"...Oh no!" She suddenly shouted.
 
"What was that?"
 
"I-I think I remembered where I've heard the name... During the briefing yesterday, the teachers have given me a list of people to notify them about if and when any of them come to register."
 
"...And that Irvine Lang just now is on the list?"
 
*nod*
 
"I was supposed to share the list with you too, but the morning turned out to be rather hectic and-- Oh god..."
 
"..."
 
"W, why don't we first make sure that there's no other people on the list from the ones we have processed!"
 
"I'm dead... I hope the school won't take away my extra credits for this."
 
.
.
 
Just as the map had shown him, Irvine's drive with Bob to his dormitory building was relatively short from the administration hall.
 
Instead of partitioning the dorm based on the students' status, Ravenville University put the students of the same faculty or major in the same area block. This had been the way ever since the school's establishment.
 
For Irvine himself, it meant that unless there were other Arena student athletes with the same major as him. It was not very likely to meet another invited players around at least during this period of time.
 
All the rooms in Ravenville were 2-person bedrooms with shared indoor bathroom space and a small cozy living area with a compact dining table at its center.
 
All in all, the design was actually quite luxurious if compared to other colleges that had up to 4 people crammed together in a room.
 
*beep* *click*
 
In front of a room with his name on the plate, Irvine swiped his student card on the sensor lock, making the light on the door handle to turn green allowing him access inside.
 
"Wow."
 
"What do you think?" Bob stood behind him on the hallway and asked with a smile.
 
"Very spacious for a 2-person dorm, I think I'll like it here." Irvine replied politely to the question.
 
"You say that now, but you probably won't be here past your 1st year Mister Lang."
 
"Hm, why is that?"
 
"I've pointed out to you our Arena training field and stadium just now right? The one we drove by?"
 
"Yes."
 
"Did you see the mansion-like building on the side of the stadium too? The one that looked like a private villa?"
 
"..." Irvine seemed to vaguely remember the building that Bob was describing,
 
"Are you saying the Arena team members get to live there?"
 
"Haha, no of course not. Though it looks like that, the place is our Ravenville Illusions athletic facility. The interior was filled with cutting edge technology to both train and maintain one's health." He explained,
 
"From restoration pods, to cryo chambers and saunas, the place have everything an Arena athlete would need."
 
"Like a gym then, so why did you say I won't live here past my freshman year?"
 
"Well it's not JUST training facilities. The building provides many entertainments such as game room, snack bars, and cafeteria. Most importantly, all the 1st string players in the roster are allowed to spend the night and live there during the season. Which is what usually happens."
 
"And considering your title as a Starseed Mister Lang, I just think that by this time next year or even next semester, you'll most likely be part of that same list of players!"
 
'Next year?'
 
"I'm planning to play in the Warrior Crown this year though..." He replied honestly.
 
"..." Bob turned silent for a while at his statement.
 
Not only was Irvine planning to become a 1st string, he's also planning to enter the Crown Tournament as a starter.
 
"Hoho, that'd be something! I guess you can try that too, but."
 
"...I think you'll find that our 1st string players are not so easily replaceable by the freshmen even if it's someone who already got their genes modified like you Mister Lang."
 
What he'd said was not mere provocation because it's true that there're a lot of sophomores who had gone through Gene Mod but stayed in the 2nd string.
 
Even though Bob was not someone who's specifically in charge of Battle Arena student athletes, with how Ravenville was most well-known for that one sport, the entirety of the university paid much attention to the Arena team's development.
 
The staffs, teachers, and even many of the students here were all fans of the Ravenville Illusions just like the citizens of Zeta City were more likely to be fans of the Zeta Androids.
 
"Of course I'd expect nothing less from the top players in college Arena, but. As a player, I should also aim high for myself, shouldn't I?"
 
"...That's true!" Bob laughed at Irvine's answer,
 
"Then I truly look forward to the time where I can see you on the field with our official uniform on. Hopefully bringing victories our way!"
 
"That's the plan. I'll try my best to live up to it."
 
.
 
Irvine's room was on the 4th floor of Building-19.
 
Since there're rarely anyone else on campus who'd been back this early for the new academic year, after inspecting the room a little more and putting away his luggage on his preferred bed, Irvine also left the room to continue the rest of his tour with Bob.
 
From classroom buildings to stores and parks, he drove together in the car seeing the whole area of the campus instead of just the Arena's training field like the last time he'd come by himself.
 
The guided explanation that came with being driven around the many different green scenery of the prestigious university was a very enjoyable experience for Irvine.
 
Plus, there's also the fact that with Bob around, he had covered more ground in a short amount of time that he wouldn't be able to if he was walking around by himself.
 
The area that covered the whole of Ravenville University was huge, to the point that there were free campus buses that circled the premises regularly for students without any means of transport inside.
 
Irvine himself personally thought that he'd rather get a bike after saving some money so that he could get a little exercise in between commutes.
 
.
.
.
 
Closing in on the afternoon.
 
Inside a wide and futuristic-looking locker room with warm lighting, various parts of black, white, and grey exosuits were hung on each of the racks that were a part of the private lockers.
 
Each locker consisted of an equipment rack that took up a large part of the mid-section, the drawers on the left-right and top side of it, and the low seat on the bottom for the player to sit and prepare during briefings.
 
Aside from the locker attached to the room walls, the center area of the room was also filled with rows of padded benches stacked together.
 
Inside this wide empty room, presently there were a few people sitting around and watching a certain video on the wall-mounted large screen TV on one side of the wall.
 
*BUZZ*
 
The hustles and bustles from inside the television were spreading outwardly, filling the whole room with many different topics and discussions.
 
"Goddamn, Adrian Crowe is freaking crazy!" A man with a pair of sharp and slanted eyes commented while munching on snacks in his mouth as he kept watching the match on TV.
 
Currently it was showing the replay of a last-minute saving play performed by the Sigma Conqueror's Ace Fielder.
 
"You know, there're some rumours before that he's coming to play for the Androids." One of the people beside him responded with his own news that he'd heard from somewhere else.
 
"Ah, I heard that too. But the trades and transfers season's over now, if he's coming it could only happen next year."
 
"Hng..." The guy with slanted eyes let out a little groan in response before speaking his own thoughts to the others,
 
"I don't think he's ever going to leave the Conquerors."
 
"Oh, why's that?"
 
"Just my own analysis... If he really does leave by himself, he might not be as great as he is now." He answered.
 
"Well, if you're the one saying it, Clint..."
 
"By the way, where's the captain? Is he registering?"
 
"Old students like us register online idiot."
 
*CLICK*
 
Their casual bicker quickly ended when they heard the door to their locker room being turned open from the outside.
 
*swing*
 
Two silhouettes came in through the open door.
 
As they walked, the two people were instantly noticed by the rest of the players in the room.
 
"Oho, here comes our 2 new star players!" The guy with the sharp and slanted eyes called Clint greeted the oncoming figures from his seat.
 
"It's the pre-season, you guys coming up to the 1st string right...?"
 
"Wallace, Clayton."
 
On the back, the dark-skinned Derrick and bulky Greg slowly walked forward to approach their seniors.
 
"I'm planning to. These 2 weeks will be the final sprint for that." Derrick replied honestly.
 
"How's your new Ability? Adapting well?" Clint grinned.
 
"Yes."
 
"What about you fatty?"
 
"Where do you even see fat in this magnificent body of mine?" Greg felt offended at his remark and showed his bulging muscles even more.
 
"Uwah... Please don't say or do stuff like that, I think I'm gonna hurl."
 
"What are you watching?" Derrick changed the subject with a wry smile.
 
"It's the OPL pre-season friendly match." One of the guys in the room answered.
 
"Oh! The all-star match!"
 
The OPL pre-season match were widely known as the all-star match, where all the notable pro players from the previous season were called out to play against each other.
 
The players invited were all coming from different teams, so the friendly match was hosted using the random draw format between each position to create an impromptu team of all-star players facing each other.
 
It was less of a serious match and more like a service for the fans.
 
"But what about the new recruits? They're coming in shortly and the 3rd years are in charge right?" 
 
"Yeap. We'll take care of them just like how the Captain and the others took care of you guys last year."
 
"..."
 
"By the way Wallace, do you know someone named Irvine Lang from the License Exam?"
 
"Hm? Of course! He's the--"
 
"4th Starseed. I know."
 
"But why are you asking suddenly--" Before he could complete his sentence, an idea started to form inside Derrick's head,
 
"D, don't tell me..."
 
Clint's smile got even wider at this point with his eyes turned into a slit, "Hmhmm, It won't be long before our Ravenville could take the Silver Crown that's for sure."
 
Clint had already seen Irvine's video on the License Exam and were very interested in his playstyle.
 
'That guy's coming to Ravenville!? ...Such coincidence.' Derrick could still remember his performance during the Practical Exam a couple months back.
 
Of course, he knew that the coincidence was only from his point of view because Irvine was one of the very few people titled as a Starseed this year.
 
The other side was probably choosing a college in Zeta City for his own personal reason.

Inspired by the previous era's Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games, a new Sport was born!

As humanity reached the age of space exploration and [Genetic Modification], the sport of competitive team fighting experience known simply as "Battle Arena" rose to prominence!

Irvine Lang was an older and retired pro player of Battle Arena.

Being a mediocre player throughout his whole career, his retirement life was tinged with regrets over many things.

Lost matches.

Broken relationships.

Unreachable top.

With the hope of entering the pro scene for one last chance at glory, he decided to volunteer for a genetic experimental drug trial that's been said to be able to rejuvenate the recipients to their peak state.

Unexpectedly, the trial ended up giving him more than just a simple rejuvenation as it brought him back to his teenage years!

"This...!"

Follow Irvine as he relived his youth to erase his past regrets and become a top player in Battle Arena!

"Mila," a girl's voice says, shaking me as I slap the hand that was on my shoulder away. 

"Five more minutes," I say.

"You said that ten minutes ago," the girl's voice replied, ripping my blanket away from me. 

The morning chill hit my legs immediately trailing up my body until it reached my sleep hazed brain and I immediately sat up, making a grab for my blanket. 

Elizabeth Saunders stood smug in front of me, with my blanket in her hands. I made an attempt to grab it but to no avail, she kept my warm and comfy blanket a foot away from me. "Time to get up, we gotta head to school," she said with a teasing smile on her face. 

I pouted at her, extending my hand and she shakes her head. "Go change first and then I'll think about handing your blanket back," she says, walking out of my room with my prized possession within her grasp. 

I frown, making a face at the closed door. Sliding off the bed, I head to the blanket and grab a random set of clothing with me. I quickly do my business and change into the shirt and shorts I grabbed. The white shirt with the dark blue cut off shorts weren't a terrible pick. Next, I tie my hair into a sloppy bun and swipe some random moisturizing lip balm on my lips. 

I headed downstairs, slapping a fake smile on my face to give off the appearance that I was fully awake, but internally I was ready to pass out at any moment now. "Ah, here is the most exhausting girl in the world," Elizabeth says, tossing my blanket at me. She resumed cooking breakfast as I took a seat, and folded my blanket before placing it on a chair next to me. 

I let out an absent minded yawn, "What are you making?"

"Pancakes," she says, twirling the spatula in her hand, "With some blueberry- peach compote. A side of apple chicken sausage, turkey bacon, and some orange cream scones."

I blink, trying to take in all the exoctic and unfamiliar sounding food items after 'pancakes.' 

"That sounds great," I say, as she starts putting plates on the table. 

The sight of the finished pancakes activated my mouth-watering skill, which always irritates Elizabeth. Wiping my mouth, I help her set the rest of the plates. Elizabeth, unlike me, knew what she wanted to do with her life. As one could tell, she was a culinary food major while I was still undecided. Being a freshman in college, it wasn't that terrible and unfortunate to have no declared major, but it will be challenging to have no major by junior year. 

"This smells seriously good," I compliment as I take a whiff of all the food together, "Thank you for breakfast."

She nods, "Of course, as long as you keep your promise to stay away from cooking in the kitchen, I'll provide us with some decent food."

My smile slightly wavers as a hint of irritation takes over. Okay, so what if I couldn't cook. So what if the last time I tried to make us a meal, I broke the oven and blew up the microwave. I didn't know you were supposed to take aluminum foil off the plate I was trying to heat up. And it wasn't my fault that nobody told me you had to dry a whole turkey before sticking it in the oven. From that point on, we made a pact or rather Elizabeth forced me to promise to never touch the kitchen. In her own words, I "deflowered" the innocent kitchen and left a huge mess behind. 

I grab about everything I see onto my plate and begin to shove my face with food. Elizabeth cleared her throat, visibly disgusted at my eating style, "Are you excited for school?" 

I nearly choked and grab the nearby mango juice to help wash my food down, "Excited? Nope, I'm never excited about school." 

"A shame, since you actually do well academically," she comments, elegantly eating her food in contrast to my barbaric eating style. 

"Only because I feel like I've learned about everything the professors taught already, so it's like muscle memory," I say, shrugging.

"Or because it's because you have a photographic memory. Do you know how lucky you are to have that?" Elizabeth says sighing, "While I'm barely passing my classes, the only one I haven't failed is Culinary History which I actually am interested in." 

"I could always tutor you if you want," I suggest, eating another pancake. 

"No way!" she says, "Last time you so called tutored me, you threw out a kitchen utensil for every answer I got wrong. Half the kitchen was in the garbage by the time we were done."

I try to remember that day, "Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

"Anywho, we have a speaker in class today. So that means no homework, thank goodness," Elizabeth says thankful, and takes a sip of her tea. 

"Yay," I say indifferently, eating another scone. Elizabeth checks her stainless steel watch for the time.

"We should probably leave now, or we'll miss the campus bus," Elizabeth says, standing up.

If someone looked upon our relationship, they would probably have no idea why we were roommates. Elizabeth dressed to impress with her fancy silk shirt, medium length skirt, and matching blazer. She was a green-eyed and blonde beauty (at least that's what the guys who've liked her called her). In contrast, I had unmanageable brown hair, that looked slightly copper if it's in the sun too long and dull brown eyes. I wore a shirt and shorts, and barely looked like a proper college student in comparison to Elizabeth. 

However, our friendship stemmed from middle school where both of us joined the school's astronomy club, and the rest was history. 

"Earth to Mila, are you done with your plate?" Elizabeth points to my plate and I silently hand it to her and she dumps our plates in the sink. I help wrap up the rest of the food. 

We both slip our bags on and Elizabeth links arms with me, "I have a feeling today is gonna be a good day."

I nod, giving her a tortured smile as she pulls me to the direction of the bus stop. The campus bus was always prompt, which was surprising because city buses usually never took the time in consideration. Right on the dot, the campus bus pulled in at 8am, and the students including Elizabeth and I got on. A simple ID check was our "metrocard" to get admission to the bus; it had after all one stop which was our college campus. 

The thirty minute ride was always pretty peaceful as the student stayed silent and did their homework or continued to sleep. I was part of the sleep group and I knocked out once the bus doors closed, so the ride was extremely uneventful. Once the bus pulled into our campus, I was jolted awake as Elizabeth nudged me awake. River College was pretty prestigious itself with a big campus that was in the center of a thriving metropolis, and was basically the only thing out of place in the neighborhood. There were many houses that were close to the college, so a lot of local people applied to the college. However, the school is pretty selective and only 40 people of the 500 that applied got in. 

"Mila, look at that," Elizabeth points to the left of me. 

I look to where her finger was pointed and was surprised at the amount of students gathered around the school's study hall. Like literally, people's faces were pressed against the glass wall separating the inside and outside. 

"Weird," I remarked, as I headed toward my first class of the day.

"Do you think we should check it out?" Elizabeth asks. 

"Nah, I think it might be some sale on some food thing. You know how the sale for ramen ended that one time," I say, waving my hand in dismissal. 

"Okay," she says, and we head to our first class. 

Being one of the early people, we take our seats. Our freshman schedule was pretty much identical to each other, since the schedules were mandatory and blocked. 

"What do you think the guest speaker is going to talk about?" Elizabeth asks, curious. 

"Dunno, possible majors or internships?" I say. 

"Maybe, I hope they bring up a culinary scholarship or something. I would totally sign up for that," she says excited. 

More people started to trickle in, and the conversation among them seemed more livelier than usual. "Did you see them?" a girl whispered.

"Yeah, I did. They are so hot," another girl gushes. 

"I like the one with the multicolored eyes, that's so rare," another girl joins in.

Is there a new K-pop group or something?

"They seem to be the same age as us," the first girl says.

"I hope they are transfer or maybe exchange students," the second girl answered. Then the three girls laughed and started to talk more about these mysterious guys that were "hot." 

"Did you hear that?" Elizabeth whispered to me. 

I nod, "New possible K-pop, transfer or exchange students."

"Oh my gosh, wouldn't that be exciting to have new students. There hasn't been a transfer student in ages," she comments, just as our wonderful professor strolled in. 

Despite his nice appearance, and the brand name coffee in his hand, his face contradicted his appearance. A permanent scowl was implanted on his face, and his sturdy yet bulky briefcase was basically thrown on his desk. He set his coffee down delicately before turning his back to us, and wrote something on the board in a quick fashion that allowed everyone to hear the exasperated squeaking of the tormented chalk piece. 

"Peasants, err I mean students please welcome our presenters, Malcolm something and Erik forgot-his-last-name who have come to talk to you about something important," the professor says disinterested as he settled in his seat, and placed a textbook in front of him. However, we all knew he was just going to be on his phone the entire time to try his infinite time on some adult dating app. 

Two guys came in and immediately a lot of the girls were chattering among themselves and giving each other knowing glances. I looked at their weird behavior, and eyed Elizabeth who was in awe. "Good morning, my name's Malcolm. I'm from the internship program at Nightingale Academy," Malcolm introduces himself with a wave. Malcolm looked like an easy going guy with green eyes and dark hair, his clothes wasn't so fancy but just a light shirt and matching jeans. In all, he wasn't that unfortunate looking.

"Good morning to you all, my name is Erik. It's a pleasure to meet you all," Erik says, "My associate, Malcolm will be passing around some flyers for our internship. We are excited for interested members to help better the society and be a participant in doing so. Please look at the requirements thoroughly." Unlike Malcolm which gave off friendly guy vibes, Erik was the complete opposite and it seemed to know it. But at the same time, he didn't seem to give a damn. His hair was gelled yet his presence seemed to emit a dangerous vibe which interested many of the girl who held to each word that he spoke. His dark eyes matched his equally dark hair. He wore all black attire, and he seemed too pale for a city boy. 

Chatter began again, but with more noise and the professor seemed to get more agitated by the second. "Shaddup losers," he yells and the classroom goes dead silent. Malcolm, with a war smile, clears his throat and begins to talk again, "Well, our internship as can be seen is for the rest of your college years. This means you have to balance the expected mandatory requirements of River College along the expectation of Nightingale Academy."

"Of course, accepted students will get the chance to stay in out dorms in the majestic setting of the forest and the infamous Elder Library. This program does require commitment and to do so pays as well. For students on board and committed, involving participation, they will be paid for their hard work," he continues, "For every day a student actively participates in the program, they will be paid $500 per day, excluding weekends. Now, Erik will explain the requirements and the objectives of the internship."

"The requirements of the internship are quite simple. You need to be an active student, attend River College, College freshman, 3.0 GPA, and have a lively or unique personality," Erik says with a charming smile, "In addition, it is mandatory to attend the group interviews so the rest of our scout group can get to know you. Questions?"

A girl raised her hand, "Umm will we be seeing you two if we get accepted?" 

Erik smirks, "Of course, dear, we are after all teacher assistants. If you're new at the academy, you'll have to take one of our mandatory starter classes."

A guy raises his hand, "Do you accept guys?"

Malcolm chuckles, "Everyone is welcome as long as they abide by the requirements."

"Hey, Mila, ask them what's the scout group?" Elizabeth whispers to me.

"Why? I'm not interested in applying though," I whisper back.

"Please," she pleads, "I'll do the chores for three months."

"Deal," I say, quickly raising my hand.

Erik nods for me to speak, a smile forming on his face. "What's the scout group? You mentioned it before," I asked plainly. 

"Well, aren't you inquisitive, my dear. It simply means that there select students who are internship that exceed the standards that was placed on us and thus, we also take on the responsibility to find others who want to join the internship," he responds, "Are you planning to apply, my dear?"

I shake my head firmly, "Nope, just asking for a friend."

Some girls to look at me disapprovingly, but I shrug, "I think I might be too busy to take on the internship." 

"Well, that's too bad," Erik says, "You would probably make an exceptional candidate."

"Any other questions before I explain the goals on the internship?" Malcolm cuts in, sending a quick frown at Erik who keeps smiling my way. Talk about creep. 

Nobody raises their hand, so Malcolm continues to talk, "Our goal is to basically help society through various experimentation and understanding of all kinds of things, whether it be a myth or reality. For instance, one of our popular classes is if Santa Claus is a real person or just a myth personified."

"We strive for hard workers who are curious and willing to understand things before jumping to conclusions," Malcolm concludes, "And so I hope, those curious students apply and hope for the best. We would enjoy having new recruits."
Someone in the class began to clap which prompted the rest of the class to start clapping as well. Erik and Malcolm grin at the class, as they do a dramatic bow. They thank the professor before exiting the classroom. Thankful, the creepy Erik doesn't do anything creepy when he leaves. 

Elizabeth grabs onto my arm, "I think I'm gonna apply."

"What? Don't you think the whole thing is a bit shady?" I say, "I mean, their objectives were a bit vague in my opinion."

"Don't be so sour, it seems like a really cool internship. It might be one of the easier ones for students who attend a specific school," Elizabeth comments, "And you get paid to be there, basically."

"To participate," I corrected her.

"Right, which can be as simple as raising your hand once in each of their classes and poof, participation is checked off," she says simply, "Come on, it might be fun. And we both get accepted, we can dorm together."

I frown, unconvinced. 

"If I get accepted, I won't be able to dorm with you and we'll our college years at different places, you don't want that do you?" she says with a doe eyed look.

"And if you get in and I don't that outcome will still happen," I grumbled.

"But the point is, we can increase the chances of both of us getting in, and then we can both experience something new," she argues, "I mean we basically get paid to stay in a really cool place that has an infamous library by the way and we get to see those two hot guys on campus."

"They do have the Elder Library," I say, slightly swayed, "That would be cool to be able to visit that."

"And they might even have more exotic food," she adds, "I can pull up a list of what they serve in their cafeteria. One sec."

She pulls out her phone, and quickly hides it from sight from the professor who was teaching. Or rather the professor was basically reading his lecture straight from Chapter 4 of the textbook. "See, check it out," she gives me her phone which was open to a menu page.

I skim the list, seeing the usual food until I get to the really interesting food names. Nutella hot chocolate. Milk tea with condensed milk. Earl grey muffins. Pesto and garlic chicken wings. Handmade ramen with pork and chive dumplings. Spaghetti with egg and scallions. Curry rice with soy sauce chicken. My mouth watered as I read down the list of foods that were not served in our cafeteria. "They sound delicious," I tell her, slightly drooling. 

"Right? So can we both try to apply?" she asks, eyes pleading.

I sigh, "If I must." 

I really wanted to try the Nutella hot chocolate.

Mila Ellis and her longtime best friend, Elizabeth Saunders are given the opportunity of a lifetime to an internship at Nightingale Academy. Nightingale Academy is a prestigious school that is hidden within the fantastical landscape of rural land and it's ideas revolve around helping, if possibly even saving the world from itself. On the brink of a new life and beginning for Mila and Elizabeth, they learn of a devasting secret that resides within the academy-- the academy is for the supernatural!

Can they survive their new life at the academy or is the call to going back to ordinary life much more persuasive? And what happens when Mila runs in with an especially handsome student, who under unknown circumstances, just can't keep away?

*Credits to Google for the cover image & Canva*

~Back at the University, the dorm NEXT to Easton's~

Light was blocked from the room by thick curtains. There were slender candles placed here and there, illuminating the dark room ominously.

The center of the room was the brightest.

"yaoi...yaoi...yaoi..." (I couldn't think of any cult chantings XD)

Deep chantings filled the solemn air. There was a small crowd of no more than three people. All wearing dark sheets over their heads... due to the budget of not being able to afford cultish cloaks... (you know typical college student problems -_-).

"The Unwanted one has arrived." The largest of the three said with disgust once the chanting was over.

"The Unwanted one..." The other two lackeys repeated in whispery voices.

"What do we do with the unwanted ones?" A sinister intent lay not so hidden in his voice.

"Eradicate them!" Came the simultaneous response. 

Suddenly the light switch flicked on, all three heads whipped towards the entrance to the dorm. A very much scared and traumatized freshman was awkwardly standing there on shaking legs.

"I-I seem the have gotten the wrong room... bye!" Then the door was slammed shut... only to be opened again. The same freshman forgot to turn off the lights.

"Boss... what do we do?" One of the lackeys asked. Their secret society was so secret... that neither do the three of them know the other's identities!

"Eradicate him!"

Then they each left the room one by one, just to make sure that neither sees the other. Only one returned to clean up the mess then proceeded to do the dishes. 

What? It's his dorm!

~Easton's Dorm~

So here's the gist of Easton's day so far:

Arrive to school with identification papers...check
Find dorm...check
Unpack suitcase...somewhat can be checked off
Be friends with dorm mate... OH HELL NO!

Easton flopped onto his now made bed. He only unpacked the bedding necessities... his parents were worried about the creepy crawlies and whatnot.

Let's just say that THAT made his dorm mate have worser impression of him. Oh and right! He never bothered to introduce himself. Easton only learnt his name after seeing the name tag on his side of the room.

Dolan. 

Just Dolan. Is that a first name or a last name? Easton was too tired to find out. Being the spoiled "secret love child" of the family Easton never had to a single chore in his life. 

Not something to be proud of. 

He sat up and tiredly looked at the surroundings. To the right of the door is an opening to a very small and dingy bathroom. Easton was horrified at the thought of no privacy when going to the loo, but fortunately he noticed the sliding door.

To the left of the door is the smallest kitchen Easton ever saw. Lastly, the bedroom space was made smaller by the ridiculous pink duct tape on the floor. Dolan obviously gave Easton the smaller half of the room.

"Not bad for my first day." He said aloud to no one in particular. He didn't have to worry about Dolan overhearing. The latter excused himself once he saw all of the bedding Easton brought.

A small ding from his bag caught Easton's attention. It was Donovan, telling Easton to call as soon as he sees the text message.

"That... brother of mine." He couldn't help but let out chuckle. Naturally Easton dialed his number.

"Easton!" Donovan's voice was urgent.

"What's up cousin?" 

"Have you met anybody yet?"

"Is that what you're so worried about?"

"I'm being serious here!" 

"Okay, okay. Yeah I met someone."

"Oh no I'm too late." Donovan muttered under his breath. Luckily the crappy phone microphone couldn't pick that up. 

"So would you mind telling your big bro here who?" Donovan tried to keep the panic out of his voice. He had been driving himself crazy whether or not to call Easton or not. Pacing around in his room to the point his downstairs neighbors asked him to stop. 

"He's my dorm mate. Not sure if Dolan's a first or last name."

Donovan let out a sigh of relief. Easton hasn't met Maverick yet.

"Alright you stick by me if you want to survive university, understand?"

"Eugh, I can take care of myself."

"...I doubt that very much. Remember to come to the freshmen orientation tonight." Then Donovan hung up with a click.

"The freshman... what?"

In a world where there are two primary genders and six secondary hierarchical genders, life can’t be easy-especially when an omega has to live as a beta. 

Easton Oaks (Omega) has never stepped foot outside of his home. He hides his secondary gender while his older brother, Donovan (Omega) has no need to. From a young age, Easton was forced to train his feminine body until he nearly breaks it, achieving a Beta C-like physique. All his life he never questioned his mothers’ strange paranoias.

Until one day he receives an envelope addressed to him. Inside a woven wristlet and a brief note.

Hiding the ornament from his mothers, Easton manages to convince his parents 18 years of hiding is enough. He's safe now.

Getting permission to enter university for the first time, Easton takes advantage his newfound freedom to search for the sender... 

...unknowingly handing himself to the very hands of root of his mothers' fears.

—————————————————————

In the Morris household, the family motto hereby states:

“Opportunity is only granted to those who make opportunity.”

And they did. Spending billions upon billions for intensive research for the past three generations, what seemed to be a futile and wasteful investment.

But alas! The successful birth of Maverick Morris (the third Alpha X) arrives. 

Maverick Morris, the boy who has it all. Wealth. Power. Looks.

Maverick Morris, the boy who has nothing. Privacy. Choice. Happiness.

"Of course, it will be a virtual duel on Skynet!" The boy said. He sneered. "Frankly, I have no idea why a student from the academic department can be given Alpha status?" He waved a hand at the growing crowd around them and raised his voice.
"I'm sure I'm not the only one curious about this? There has never been an Alpha class student from the nerd department after all. I'm sure Miss Zhao wouldn't mind humoring us to a demonstration of your capabilities."
"Hey, who cares what department Hana is from?" Renae pushed herself forward. "What are you implying you bastard. Say it again to my face!"
"Calm down," Song Qi stopped Renae from waving her fists. However, her expression was guarded as she looked at the boy.
Hana observed the numerous eyes on their group. The situation was pushing them to fight. She had felt these judging gazes before. People sizing her up.
"You two must be from her dorm too? Perfect, let's have a three on three. Take your pick of opponents." The boy gestured behind him. There was a small group of about 30 boys loitering by the stairs.
"The atmosphere around them practically screams delinquents," Hana muttered. "Renae, what do you think?"
Renae huffed. "The Phoenix Coalition is a newly formed dorm. Most of their levels are B and C, hardly a threat. To most of the older dorms, they're practically upstarts. They probably want to use us as a stepping stone to boost their reputation. While Bluewing is a dorm with history and prestige, it hasn't been active for many years. It's an ideal target for them and many other fledging dorms." She coughed. "Plus they probably see the dorm leader as another weakling. The academic department isn't exactly, uh, as respected."
"I see," Hana frowned, "how troublesome. Then, are you two ok with a fight?"
The two girls nodded. Hana smirked. "Good, then let's make a statement so this doesn't happen again."
"Hey, are you done?" The boy scowled at them impatiently.
"Yeah, let's do it," Hana said.
In the end, everyone ended up at the training center. The smart assistant quickly took care of the proceedings, and soon a notification popped up in front of her.
[Dorm Duel: Bluewing VS Phoenix Coalition
Duel Number: 01
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Stake: 50% annual dorm resources ]
Hana signed her name swiftly. "Heh, not even gonna negotiate the stakes?" The boy grinned as he agreed. "Your loss."
"We'll see."
[The battle has been approved between dorms leaders Hana Zhao and Fu Yin. Please confirm the number of participants.]
"Hey, you made a mistake. There's an extra zero." Fu Yin pointed out.
"It's not a mistake," Hana's gaze pierced through him. "We'll take you all one, 3 vs 30."
"Are you crazy?" Fu Yin gaped at her.
"Boss, if they're looking to lose, who cares," one of the boys muttered.
"Fuck, you idiot. It'll look like we bullied them by numbers. That breaks the who purpose of the battle." Fu Yin gritted his teeth. "How sly. We'll come out looking like hooligans who bullied three girls. How will be change our image in the future?"
Hana, with her enhanced hearing, sweat-dropped. So they were aware that they looked sketchy?
"Boss, who cares, just think about the resources. We can always fix up the loose ends afterwards?"
Fu Yin growled. "Fine." He regained his arrogant look. "If you want to die faster, who am I to stop you?" He scribbled his assent.
[Confirmed. Participants, please commence to you assigned pods. The battle will begin in 15 minutes.]
"Hana, are you planning to do ~that~ plan?" Renae asked as they prepared. Even though they were outnumbered, she didn't look worried.
"Yeah, let's test it out," Hana said. "However, if the environment is not suitable, then we'll do something else."
"You got it," Renae laughed. "If you didn't show us your newest artifact, I'd be worried. But now, I'm laughing at those idiots giving us free resources."
Song Qi nodded. "Their pride will be their downfall."
"Hehe, if the lamb walks itself into the wolf's den, who are we to stop them," Renae giggled as she climbed into the virtual pod. "See you on the other side."
Hana moved herself into her pod as well.
The technological advancements here were commendable. The sleek white virtual pod was able to scan her entire being and abilities, transferring her to a virtual space. It was terrible effective for training and mock battles.
People could fight to their hearts content since pain was reduced 50% and no one could die. The computer automatically simulates and calculates damage.
Hana mentally prepared herself for the oncoming battle.
Outside, hovering drones projected massive holographic screens around the college. The loudspeakers blasted out as well.
"Hey hey hey, guess what, it's your friendly AI announcer EVA." On the screens, a blue holographic girl greeted the world with a smile. "Welcome to A.S. Academy freshman. I am the official announcer (unofficial mascot) of the academy. As many of you explore the campus, you may find the urge to follow the tradition of challenging other dorms to duels.
Today, I'll be hosting freshman dorm duels until midnight. Now, let's see the very first dorm duel of the semester, Bluewing versus Phoenix Coalition. If you somehow miss the battle, remember all battles today will be recorded on the school website. The battle will begin in 5 minutes. Stay tuned!"
The crowds of new students erupted upon seeing the screens. Bets flew as many turned their attention to the screens.
Among the older students, many stopped paying attention to lessons and opened their laptops to size up their juniors.
"Brother, look EVA is announcing already." In an abandoned classroom, two twins leaned against the open window, watching the holographic screens.
The boys smirked. "Let's see if we find can find some interesting toys this year."

Hana Zhao never thought reality would change after one night. She fell from the top assassin in a peak organization to a powerless teen straddled with debt. 

Transmigrating into the mysterious Tower Between Worlds, she is now part of a world where humanity has supreme abilities. Dangerous dungeons are an integral part of life on every floor. Within this New Age, Hana will climb her way to the top as a dungeon hunter. 

Who cares if they can tame beasts? Her Pokemon will dominate all in battle.

Elemental weapons? Check out her Zanpakuto collection.

Hell if she really wanted, she could drown a city with her Djinn equips. 

While her predecessor thought her ability was useless, Hana knows she has the ultimate cheat. This will be the time when otakus reign supreme!

Note: Cover photo isn't mine.

On the other hand, Jade had finally climbed down the big tree safely, protecting her stomach the whole time to make sure her baby wouldn't be hurt. The basic martial arts that she had learned as a child, although wasn't useful in protecting herself in a physical fight, still made her body nimble and quick.
When she managed to get on a bus heading to her parent's home, she breathed a sigh of relief and slumped onto one of the empty seats near the back.
The college she went to was in Elmrow City, North Carolina, an hour away from where her parents lived, in Perillion City. During her freshman year, she had stayed in the dorms since the college gave her no other choice, and near the end of the year she began dating Nell, a man that was in his fifth year of college. He had to take an extra year to finish his courses since he was triple majoring.  At the end of freshman year, she began to live with him in his apartment since dorm life was very messy, and she wanted to be able to spend more time with him.
She had never expected that she would be raped one day at a party and become pregnant, and that Nell would turn on her in such a terrifying way. The most horrifying part of the whole incident was that she couldn't even remember who it was that had taken advantage of her on that night 3 months ago.
When she found out about her pregnancy a few weeks ago, she was disgusted and her first instinct was that she wanted to abort it, but after she began seeing a psychologist to help overcome the trauma that the incident had left her with, she found herself growing to love the life within her. The idea of not being able to mother this baby scared her.
She had told Nell about it because she was hoping he would support her and encourage her through this difficult journey, but he seemed to have other ideas. He hadn't even let her tell her side of the story. About how she didn't even know the father of her baby. About how this unknown man had grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in a room during a party and had put a knife against her neck to keep her quiet as he tore off her clothes and took advantage of her. About how she had been crying the whole time, because she felt guilty for having a man do this to her when she hadn't even let her boyfriend go this far yet. About how she had been traumatized from this incident and would instinctively kick anyone that held her arm without warning. And about how much effort it took her just to accept this baby as her own, and the courage she had been building all along to tell Nell about it. 
He didn't care about any of that. Because he had already painted her as a cheating slut in his mind the moment she began speaking.
The hour long journey came to an end rather quickly, with Jade deep in thought the whole time. She was finally in Perillion City, where her parents were.

After finding out that she is pregnant, Jade's life takes a horrifying turn for the worst. She loses her boyfriend, her family, and is forced to transfer to a different university in a different state to bring a fresh start to her life. However, will this new beginning be what she was hoping for, or will it drive her life even further down the cliff than it already is?

Today is the start of a new semester at college, every freshman must come at 6 AM because they need to prepare their MOS, MOS is a new student activity that must be completed by freshmen if it fails they need to retake it next year, every freshman has been assigned to a group contains ten freshmen from different faculties and three seniors as their mentors.

"ALL FRESHMEN QUICKLY GET INTO YOUR ASSIGNED CLASS RIGHT NOW" Xin shouted at the front gate with his icy cold eyes. He is the head mentor for MOS this year, with his slanted eyes he looks very cute to someone as a head mentor, every girl is stunned by his appearance. 

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS LOOKING AT, YOU DON'T HEAR WHAT I SAID? QUICK GO TO YOUR ASSIGNED CLASS RIGHT NOW" Xin shouted at the girls who were looking at him, the girls quickly ran to the classroom.

"What's wrong with the freshmen this year, all of them looks very relaxed" Xin sighed at Meng who is counting the number of freshmen who arrived, "calm down, you will scare all the freshmen if you keep yelling at them" Meng tried to calm Xin.

"I think all freshmen must be here, it's 6 AM now, I will go to my car to get my bag, can you help me give these freshmen attendance list to Zhao, he will give a number tag to each freshman later"Xin hands over the file to Meng, he nodded.

Meng was walking to the main building while looking for Zhao, he should still be around the fountain area which is a famous spot for couples, he had looked around the area but could not find him, he opened his phone to try to call him, suddenly a group of freshmen ran toward him and made his phone fall in the fountain.

"Hey, what are you up to?" Meng looked annoyed with his clenched jaw, he quickly took the phone out from the fountain, he tried to open it but it didn't works, "what are you going to do now?" Looking fiercely at them.

"Well it's your fault for standing here" one of the students answered Meng, yawning, "what? You are wrong and dare to act arrogant" Meng looks so pissed off, this student keeps staring at meng without speaking anything.

"What's your name?" Meng asked, "Dao" he answered, "so your name is Dao, don't think I'll let you passed this year's MOS" Meng threatened him.

"oh, so a mentor can fail in the freshmen's MOS at will, it's just a phone, do you need to be like that? I can buy you a new phone, how many do you want? 1.. 2?" Dao replied arrogantly and moved closer to Meng so that their faces were very close, Meng looked angry he pushed Dao away and walked into the cafeteria. Dao had an evil smile on his face.

In the cafeteria meng found Zhao there preparing the tag that will be handed out. Meng walked there and slammed the attendance list on the table and sat on the chair, Zhao was surprised and saw Meng's angry face. 

"What is wrong?" Zhao asked, rapid blinking, "my phone can't turn on," said scowling, "why? What happened?" Zhao looked confused, he knew he wasn't the type to whine like that.

"while I was looking for you, a group of freshmen ran towards me and made my phone fall into the fountain" meng explained the situation to him, "what? How come LOL" Zhao laughed, "you laugh? Want me to hit you?" Meng took a bottle of water and prepared to throw it.

"calm down, I'm just kidding, then do they compensate you?" Zhao asked, "don't even mention compensation, he didn't even apologize, there was a guy acting arrogant and said he would buy me a new one and asked how many phones I wanted to" annoyed.

"what? Is there someone like that? Well I know you will not take it from other people like that, just ignore it, later I will accompany you to the phone repair shop" Zhao tries to calm him.

"okay then, these are the attendance list of freshmen, I will go to my assigned class first" meng stood up, "okay, I will prepare the tags at here" Zhao places the tags on the bench, "Zhao, can I get one of the freshmen's tag, I want to get that guy's tag" meng put a wicked smile on his face.

"what will you do?" Zhao looks confused, "you'll see, he thinks he can do what he wants, let's see how he can get his tag" meng quickly found the tag and put it in his pocket and walked to his assigned class, "I hope nothing bad happens, it can be scary when he is angry" Zhao shook his head while staring at meng walked away.

Meng arrived at his assigned class, Meng with Fei and Ping were the mentors for this group, all the freshmen listened to Fei explain what they had to do during this orientation, from getting signatures from all mentor and head of the faculty, they also needed to get 100 signatures of the freshmen and doing social services such as helping the recycling club or helping out at the orphanage and also going for a health check-up as well.

All freshmen look surprised as their gaping jaw after hearing what they have to do. "Hey, it's not hard and it's really fun, you will have new friends too if you have problems and questions you can find us too, we are your mentors, we will help you" Meng tried to encourage the freshmen, now they all seem to have more passion.

"Before you leave please post a photo that you took at college on your Instagram and tag MOS2020, the one that got the most likes will receive a prize from us. Okay that's all, you can all go around the college to start asking the signature and don't forget the schedule we have given you, you have to follow the schedule, if you don't have any question, you can go now to get your number tag at the cafeteria, good luck and have fun guys" Fei explained to the freshmen, the freshmen leave the room.

"Hey Meng, you're late" Ping pouting, "yeah have some problem just now, sorry" meng apologize to Fei and Ping, "it's okay, I'm just kidding with you, what happened?" Ping asked "nothing, it's okay now, let's go to the cafeteria now, I haven't eaten yet, we also need to help Zhao" meng take his bag and walk out of the room with Ping and Fei.

At the cafeteria, Xin and other mentors were already there, there were so many freshmen lining up to get their tag and one of them was the arrogant freshmen Dao.

"Hi, I want to get my tag" Dao politely asked Zhao, "what are your name and number?" Zhao replied while looking at the attendance list, "my name is Dao and my number is 1301" replied Dao.

"Oh, you are the freshmen that Meng mentioned, your tag is with him, you can get it from him, he is sitting at that table" Zhao pointed to meng's direction. Dao looked rather annoyed and walked to Meng.

"Hey you, where is my tag?" Dao asked impolitely, Meng and the other mentors stared at Dao, Meng just showed his evil smile while staring at him, "Hey freshmen, you can get your tag from there, you don't see the other freshmen are lining up at there and what is with that attitude" Xin stood up and glared at him.

"I already asked for my tag at there, but that mentor said my tag is with this crazy guy" Dao look at meng from toe to his head, "what do you mean? Hey, meng his tag is with you?" Xin asked meng.

"No, maybe the tag is in the library or maybe the toilet or maybe on the floor" Meng looked at Dao with bulging eyes on his face, "YOU!!" Dao raised his hand and wanted to punch Meng on his face but Xin quickly caught his hand, "what are you doing? Is this your way of talking to your senior? No respectful at all" Xin looked at Dao.

Continue~~

P.s: MOS is Masa Orientasi Siswa in Bahasa Indonesia which mean student orientation time, every school and college in Indonesia have a tradition that the freshmen must finish this orientation before they start the study, it normally took place inside the school and college and it happens before the school start.

A story of love between Meng and Dao because of an accident but Meng doesn't want to let Dao love him because of something he has done, can Dao win over Meng?

The summer passed in a haze of work and two close calls when Aaron was in the area but before she knew it, Keeley stood in front of her dorm building with two suitcases and her father in tow. 

It was time for her to move in because school started the following day. They used her recently acquired student ID card to pick up the key downstairs before lugging her things up to the third floor. 

As a freshman, she would be living in a traditional style dorm with no kitchen and a communal bathroom. 

Her room consisted of two beds, two desks, two dressers, a mini fridge, and a microwave. It was long, skinny, and had a single window located between the two beds. 

She decided to claim the right side of the room and asked her dad to set down the box of school supplies and wall decorations that he was carrying to help her set up a little. 

"Where do you want this?" he asked, holding out a few sheets of flower wall decals. 

She looked up from where she was putting away clothes and squinted at them. 

"Oh, I'll deal with those later. I want to spread them out across my half of the room evenly. Could you start organizing school supplies on my desk? I have a little plastic storage box with drawers for them." 

"Sure thing, honeybun. Where's your backpack? Do you need any to go in there too?"

"The notebooks should already be in there but I have a little pencil case. If you could put a couple of pens, pencils, and an eraser in it I'd appreciate it!"

Keeley did not have nearly enough room in this dresser for all of her clothes, as suspected. It was a good thing she only brought seasonal items and could go home to swap things out in her bedroom in Brooklyn anytime she wanted. It would still be warm for another month or so before she had to break out the fall outfits. 

After unpacking nearly everything she decided to do the decorations herself and sent her dad off with a hug and kiss on the cheek, promising to come visit him the following Sunday and make dinner. He hugged her tightly and told her to call him after her first day to tell him how it went. 

Just like that, he was gone and Keeley was left alone in her new home. She finished setting up the corkboard on her desk with a few photos on it and was working on spreading out the decals of roses, daisies, and leaves around when the door opened. 

A petite Hispanic girl with curly hair stood in the doorway with three large suitcases. 

"Hi!" she greeted with a Spanish accent. "I'm Valentina Benavente. Nice to meet you!"

Keeley set her decals on the bed and hurried over to help her with her bags. "I'm Keeley Hall. Here, let me take something."

Valentina smiled gratefully. "Thank you. Have you been here long?"

"Only about an hour. My dad helped me move in. Do you have anyone with you? If you don't I can help you unpack."

"I would appreciate that! I'm here alone; my parents sent me off at the airport in Lima. I want to go to an American medical school before going back home and opening up a practice," Valentina disclosed cheerfully. 

She had been here less than two minutes had been smiling the entire time.  

"Oh, you're from Peru? That's so cool! I've lived in New York City my entire life but I've always wanted to travel," Keeley said as she finished putting up the wall decals before helping her new roommate. 

"You will have to show me all of the good places around here then."

"Sure!"

They happily chatted about their expectations for their first year of college as they set up the room and discovered that they would be taking a lot of the same science classes in the future because their majors had a fair amount of overlap. They even shared the same introductory biology class this semester.

 Keeley was thrilled to meet such a friendly person right off the bat. 

Once the room was set up, it was about dinner time so they headed to the main dining hall nearby. Valentina was fascinated by all the different types of food and asked tons of questions. 

The dining hall was similar to a buffet but not quite. There were several stations offering different meal plates that could be chosen at will, plus a dessert bar that also boasted an assortment of cereal and a waffle maker for breakfast. 

Keeley got a plate of chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans plus a blueberry muffin. Valentina wanted to try a bit of everything and got plates from multiple stations, making her roommate laugh. 

"Slow down there, friend. You'll be able to try everything by the time the school year ends. I guarantee you'll be sick of the repetition at some point." 

She remembered how tiring the meal plan got back at Boston University. They had a rotation of different meals every two weeks but that was still not a lot of variety to last two semesters. It was such a relief when she moved out of the freshman dorms into an apartment that had a kitchen. 

Valentina was a bit sheepish. "You are probably right…but I have never seen this much American food in one place before."

Keeley clapped a hand on her shoulder. 

"Don't worry, you'll get acclimatized soon enough. I have to ask…have you ever had pizza? Or a hot dog?"

"No?"

"I'll have to take you to the best places around here then!" A thought struck her. "Oh, do you have a job?"

The other girl nodded. "Yes, I have a work visa to be a TA for an upper level Spanish class in the linguistics department."

That was good. Eating out in the city was not cheap. 

"That sounds a lot nicer than my job," she said with a laugh. "I work at a Burger Barn."

"I have never had a hamburger before. Should I get one from Burger Barn?"

"Nah, you'd be better off getting a higher quality burger somewhere else. We're meant to be cheap, fast, and easy but not necessarily good. I'll take you to a nice burger place, don't worry!"

By the end of the dinner, Keeley felt like she had made a new friend. Back in their dorm, someone knocked on their door asking if they wanted to come down to the rec center and join the ping pong tournament going on. 

They decided to do it since there was nothing better to do and ended up meeting a fair number of their neighbors that way. Dorm life had officially begun and Keeley loved it.

Keeley, a simple plain Jane, hits the jackpot.  [No, she did not win the lottery!]  At least that's what she thinks when she marries the most eligible bachelor in New York City: Aaron, a wealthy cold-hearted heartthrob and Tycoon. 

She wants to show the world that she deserves her position and bends over  backward to fit into his world.

One beautiful day, Aaron hands her a document asking her to sign.  A divorce paper...

"She's pregnant, and I need to take responsibility."

That is the last thing that keeps on playing in her mind before she takes her last breath.

Keeley dies, a 'hit and run'. [End of story.  Not!]

For some unexplainable reason, she wakes up as her younger self.  A young high school girl, around the time when she first meets her cheating husband.

Remembering her life with Aaron before she died, she makes a promise to herself that she will do everything in her power to avoid him at all costs.

Will she be able to keep her promise when Aaron has his own plans as well, specifically for her?  Or will she repeat history and fall for him once more...

Why not journey with me and find out the truth behind their story.

A gentle breeze was blowing, swaying the big trees on both the sides of the road. Since it was the beginning of fall season, pretty orange and red leaves were falling all around. Two figures were walking towards the rising sun, their bodies casting long shadows behind them. 

The scene looked like something out of a painting. There was no one around either. Otherwise one would have thought that two love birds were going on an early morning date.

Both Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang were walking silently side by side, many questions about the other in their minds but no idea how to break the ice.

"So, what kind of work will you be doing here?" 

"Thank you for taking out time for this."

They both spoke at the same time. Both their lips curled upwards in slight smile at the coincidence.
Yu Tian had never been the one to take initiative to talk to others. If his friends saw him now, they would assume him having a romantic interest in this girl and laugh out loudly at him. This was too harmonious to be true and he had an ominous feeling about his blossoming friendship with this normal girl.

He couldn't forget what had happened the previous day just because he bumped into her. But it was not too bad a feeling to have another soul to talk to. She didn't look like a person with bad motives at all. Although, he did not know what this girl would have gone through in life to have similar cold personality as his.

Mei Qingyang did not have anything else to say, so she answered his question, "I will be working as a superintendent here."

"Superintendent? You mean the position which is filled by an external person from Ministry of Education to oversee the operations and has been abandoned for past three years when the last person in this position committed suicide?" Yu Tian was surprised. This frail girl looked like a teenager, who should be going to a college. 

The position she was talking about was usually taken by adults and none of the people who served as superintendent went beyond a year of tenure. Some of them either committed suicide or went mad. It was a high stress position because you were working for the school but at the same time you were acting as a watchdog for Ministry of Education. People hadn't been able to take it all and hence, it was such a bad position to be in. No wonder he was having this threatening feeling in his heart.

Mei Qingyang smiled at his analysis and confirmed, "Yes, that cursed position. I am here to serve that role and I will also be studying in the college here."

Yu Tian could not hide his curiosity. This girl was chock full of surprises. She wasn't afraid of what had happened before and what was yet to come. She also had a small taste of what it would be like in the future yesterday. She was still smiling about it. His aunt had told him yesterday how she had thrown a vase on her and the lucky bitch came out unscathed. That must have been one hell of a scary experience.

"You are going to attend college here? Which year? What department?"

"Uhm… I just graduated from high school last year, so I'll be starting as a freshman. I'm going to try engineering as it interests me a lot." There were stars in Mei Qingyang's eyes when she started talking about her college life. She had only been home schooled during her high school years, so she was really looking forward to attending college with peers.

Yu Tian put his hand below his chin in a thinking pose. "That makes me your senior then. I'm a second-year student in the engineering department. If you ever have any concerns or questions, you can come to me anytime."

"Thank you, senior Yu Tian!", Mei Qingyang folded her hands in a fist and gave him a slight bow as she had seen in the historical dramas. She had no real worldly experience, especially when dealing with people. Only people she had dealt with were in the Ministry of Education, when she took one year internship there after graduating from high school early. 

This school did not have any restrictions on age for college and welcomed genius students of various ages at any time. But her foster dad, Jiang Nuo, wanted to have her some real-life experience before she stepped into this cruel school. She did gain quite some understanding about scheming and all since she was introduced to political world right after high school. And after working in the Ministry for one year, her dad thought she was ready to start her college.

Yu Tian could not help but smile at her little gesture. It was also nice to hear her calling him 'senior'. Mei Qingyang was seeing him smile for the first time since she met him yesterday. Given the frosty look he always had on his face, she had assumed that he just didn't know how to smile. It was breathtaking. If only this guy smiled a little more. No wonder every girl in the hall was talking about him yesterday.

They had reached the farthest corner of college campus where all other dorm buildings were. These dorm buildings were more like homes than the modern building they were living in. Yu Tian explained to Mei Qingyang that these dorms were more homely as they were for students till high school. The teachers and professors were also housed in some of more luxurious apartments nearby. 

Whenever they encountered any people on the way, Mei Qingyang was definitely gaining stares of envy from other people. Yu Tian was voluntarily talking to a person, that too a girl. Who was this plain looking, shabby girl to gain his attention? Everyone wanted to know. 

It didn't take much time for the news to spread all around with different versions. People were even sharing pictures of them together. They all were blurry pictures because no one wanted to gossip about Yu Tian upfront.

Some said Yu Tian was being forced to go around with that girl and he looked really unhappy. But most of them said that he was with a poor girl, so he might have finally decided to take a servant.

What happens when two cold as ice people cross paths? Do they form Antarctica around them or do they melt each other's hearts? What made them like this in the first place? What secrets are hiding in their past lives?

Mei Qingyang has joined the elite school of M nation as a part-time worker and a student. However, she is here on behalf of Education Ministry of the country to uncover the dirty operations that are rumored to happen here on day to day basis. That is when she meets the cold and aloof Yu Tian, the heir to the owner of the school and one of the richest families in the country. 

But what is up with the gloomy demeanor of this guy? He was born into riches, he has everything he can have in this world. While his one glare can haunt anyone for life, just what is he so scared of? What kind of secrets is this school hiding? 

And what is the real story behind Mei Qingyang entering this school? Despite being one of the most intelligent people in the school, with even great computer and  martial arts skills, why did she need to enter this dirty world? Will their fates make them stand on opposite sides or will they happen to solve this mystery together?
--------------

"Will you leave me now that you know of my secret?", he looked into her eyes, just to get a hint of what she was thinking.

She took his right hand in hers and delicately wiped the blood from his wound. "You should understand one thing here, it was not your fault. There is no way my feelings will change for you after this. You are mine and will always be."

"That's my girl.", he beamed from ear to ear and kissed her forehead in his elation.

"Ye Sheng and Aki, the strongest combination of young people in the executive department. The headmaster's arrangements should not go wrong."

"Nor is he blameless, such as... Ten years ago." The man said faintly.

"It's been ten years, don't take it too much to heart. Although we lost a lot, we still won."

"But only I came back alive." The man shook the beer bottle.

"We're all looking at you like the good old days!" EVA put her hand on the man's shoulder.

Several top-down lights appeared at the same time around the man, and in each of them stood a translucent figure. There was a leather girl with short red hair, an indifferent boy with dark glasses, a man in black with priestly faces, a charming girl with long, crooked hair, and EVA. There were six of them, all of whom put their hands on the man's shoulder. They happened to laugh together, like the smile on an old photo, it's still as bright as before after many years.

The man bowed his head and drank in silence. He did not look at them or speak.

"EVA, don't play this game, ok?" The man shook his head. "They're not here. They are sleeping under the ice sea thousands of miles away, in those metal diving suits… Not to die, but never to return."

The rest of the beam had disappeared, leaving EVA, who put out her empty hand and stroked the man's cheek.

"Any news from 'the prince'? "The man asked.

"If he had lived, he would have been 'the emperor'. But I haven't heard from him."

"Of course he's still alive. I can still smell his rancid smell. And if he dies, how am I going to kill him myself?" The man uttered the cruellest words in the coldest tone.

"If the only way to reassure you is to kill him," EVA whispered, "then... Kill him. I'll wait for your news."

The man nodded and pulled his hand away from the void. He was holding the air before. He drank his beer and went out. Infrared, invisible to the naked eye, but dense as the spider's web went off, scanning system shut down, the camera system automatically shut down, the red flash warning lights went to green, high voltage walkway ground was cut off… The security system entered a brief sleep state again.

"Oh, the thing about Lu Mingfei, no problem right?" He remembered the incident and turned around.

"No problem, just covering up for a new student. I've done more bad things for you than that," EVA smiled. "but can I ask you why?"

"Looks like a good kid," the man smiled. "I have other reasons. I'll tell you when I prove myself."

He turned away, took a couple of steps and stopped again, He went to Adams in the corner, crouched down and said, "Hey, buddy, can you give me two coins to let me buy a coke... I gave you all the money... You see, money is just a toy to you, and there are no supermarkets or coke machines... "

Adams's expression changed. He clutched the coins tightly and showed the classic stingy look.

"Adams, give your brother two coins," EVA said.

Adams' expression changed again, and, aggrieved, he carefully selected two old ones from those coins and handed them to the man.

"What a niggard!" The man slapped it hard on the head. Unable to withstand the force, the alchemical framework of the puppet robot crumbled into a pile of metal batons and pellets.

The man tossed two coins and drank his beer. EVA silently looked at his strapping and lonely figure. Compared with ten years ago, his back was not so straight.

The metal door opened and closed, and the man was gone. The girl in the beam shed tears silently.

The stick and the ball rolled together, and Adams took shape again. He ran up to EVA with the sound of "hip hip hip hip". Seeing her imaginary tears, he was stunned. After a while, it suddenly raised his hands over his head waving, shaking his body to do an ugly dance, shouting, "EVA, happy! EVA, happy! EVA, happy!"

The coins clanged on the floor, and the girl's tears fell onto the metal floor in a glistening blue light.

"A freshman, in one day, took six of the top ten headlines of the day, which was really unthinkable before."

"He shot Caesar and Chu Zihang, if his gun had been filled with live ammunition instead of Frigg bullets..."

"Shocking news, 'S' class student Lu Mingfei has no resonance for the dragon king incantatory text, the school is looking for the reason!"

"To whom does the crown of the day of liberty belong? Who blew up Caesar and then blew up Chu Zihang?"

Professor Manstein shook his head and shut down the discussion board page of the Cassel academy network. Tonight is probably a sleepless night, the number of online rushed to a new peak, the whole college students and even the pseudonym of the teacher are discussing the new student named Lu Mingfei. Does a new 'S' bring hope, danger, or just a joke?

Manstein was also a little confused, the white king guess may not be reliable. After all, it is just a guess, so far there is no record of white king generation being found.

He could only feel instinctively worried about Lu Mingfei who shot Caesar and Chu Zihang.

He turned off the light, sat alone in the dark for a while, and turned on his cell phone to make a call -- "father."

The forum continues to refresh at high speed, and the message keeps moving.

"Maybe tomorrow he will suffer in 3E. I think he is not very good, maybe the headmaster misjudged his level." Someone left a message.

"Maybe he has no dragon blood, so he is not afraid of the golden pupils of Chu Zihang."

"His greatest strength is competitive games. What a funny specialty?"

"Hey! Why don't we make a bet, who would wager Lu Mingfei can't pass the 3E exam?" With the administrator's logo on his message, Fingel's presence created a buzz. This is a waste student who can't graduate in 8 years. He is a popular figure on the website of Cassel College's website. He is in charge of the news channel and can always produce some hot news.

"I think there'll be a few people on his side. So, I would like to have a good start. 100 bucks, bet he can pass the exam!" Fingel launched the theme of the voting area.

"Fingel, are you going to bet all your chances to pay your loan back on your roommate?" Some people laughed.

The stakes on the "No" side shot up to more than $20,000, while the "Yes" side still only had Fingel's $100. In a single night, the background information of Lu Mingfei was dug up. Funny high school grades, never has a girlfriend because no one took a fancy to him, has no sense of direction, the only specialty is playing games, was detained dozens of pirated disc in the custom… No matter how they analyze it, he's not like the "S" students who are said to have the greatest potential for bloodline purity.

"Doesn't anyone have a little gambling spirit? You can't play like this," Fingel complained. "you're going to win my 100 bucks. The odds are 1 to 130 that he can't pass the test!"

"I bet $500 that Lu Mingfei can pass the exam." The person whose ID is "Murasame" left a message.

For a moment, the discussion area was silent. That was the ID of Chu Zihang. The silent Lionheart President, known as the "A+" grade boy does not like the garrulous discussion. But he made an exception to gamble, bet 500 dollars bet on Lu Mingfei can pass the exam.

"I bet $5,000." Someone with the ID "Dictator" left a message.

"Caesar! "One person wrote to exclaim.

"Bet he can't pass the examination." When Caesar finished, he went offline, leaving a frozen discussion area temporarily.

It was the beginning of another competition. If there is such a thing as natural enemies in the world, Caesar and Chu Zihang must be. The two of them never agreed on anything in the students' memory. But one thing finally happened today. After "freedom day" was magically ended with two shots from the freshman, the student union and the Lionheart club both announced their approval of the result.

They all admit they lost to a bum? Lost one year's use of the NORTON and the right to pursue any girl in the college without being rejected? The students all felt that the two men had been a little too generous. Of course, they two need not worry about the problem of the schoolgirl, Chu Zihang is silent and incoming and kept single, he seems has no interest on any of the girl, while Caesar had had famous Nuo Nuo.

Caesar, holding a wireless keyboard, lay on the sofa in the AMBER hall, watching the huge projection screen as the stakes rose. He logged in as "Sonic" after logging out of his "Dictator" ID, which remained silent in the corner of the online list.

Nuo Nuo was leaning against the wall behind him, holding a cup of iced coffee. "You do care Lu Mingfei."

"Yes, I'm not sure if he will pass the 3E exam tomorrow." Caesar confessed, "I bet he can't because I never bet with Chu Zihang on the same side."

"I know, 5,000 dollars is nothing to you." Nuo Nuo put down the coffee and grabbed her bag, "Gotta go. I'm taking Professor Manstein's class this semester. I have to read lots of books. Call me if there's something."

"Wouldn't it be crowded to read in such a small dorm with Susie? And she gave you a shot in the middle of the day... She can do anything for Chu Zihang." Caesar stretched out his hand as if to stop Nuo Nuo. "Stay here. Amber Hall is more comfortable than Norton Hall."

Nuo Nuo turned at the door and rolled her eyes at Caesar.

Caesar threw up his hands in a rush of innocence. "I mean... Guest room! I have many guest rooms!"

"In fact, the last thing I like about you is that you rent a villa on campus. Don't you think it's empty?" Nuo Nuo said, "I don't like your Bugatti Veyron either."

"The good news is I lost it today." Caesar shrugged.

"Ok." Nuo Nuo took the door and left. Caesar put his finger into the brilliant golden hair and scratched his head with a helpless expression.

"Three more minutes! If you have not placed your bets, please place them immediately. All bets must be paid into my account before the 3E exam tomorrow. I will manage them for you." Fingel was curled up on the couch in the activity room of the No. 1 dorm, his fingers bouncing on the keyboard. A dozen students stood around him, looking serious and staring at the screen.

"The power of news is immense! I first put out the message that Lu Mingfei could not resonate with dragon language, and then bet on whether he could pass 3E." Fingal clapped his hands and exulted, "And then the backroom guys bet Lu Mingfei can pass, we can get at least five times profit, I was moved by myself. Are the stakes ready?"

"Ready." The mathematician boy replied.

"Be sure to place your bets near the end, or they'll find out."

"Understood. 34 seconds to go! I have synced to the system time!" Elite members of the campus loan sharks opened the countdown software on their laptops and gave their answers with the rigour of a scientist.

"Three to four seconds in advance, the disk is locked, the last few seconds should be the most concentrated time for capital injection, the network may be a little slow." Someone reminded.

Bets were being placed on both sides at high speed, new bets were being added every second, the closing time was getting closer, and everyone's heart was beating as fast as traders on a stock exchange.

"10,9,8,7,6,5,4," the countdown member said, licking slightly dry lips.

"Go! Lock the entrance!" With a sweep of his hand, Fingel was striking.

"0." The countdown shouted, "Capital injection successful! We won!"

"Wait a minute! The amount of money bet on Lu Mingfei is... 39,400. At the last second, someone added 20,000... "A voice trembled.

"20000!!!!!" Fingel exclaimed. "Log on to my admin ID and find out who he is!"

A minute later, Fingel stared at his laptop. The inputted ID clearly displayed on the screen, under his real name and without disguise -- Gard Rudolph Manstein. And then there's the title: "Professor."

"The chairman of the disciplinary committee take part in... Didn't he catch cheating?" Fingel got cold sweat on his head.

At this moment, Lu Mingfei is copying the answer sheet left to him by Fingel under the lamp, one stroke at a time. Fingel said he didn't want to disturb his efforts, and went out with a big smile on his face, leaving him alone in the empty dormitory. It was less than four hours before dawn, and within four hours he had to copy and memorize all eight pictures. The lines were like a forest of branches, not meant to be remembered.

Remember, though, that weariness crept up like rising tides.

Are those right or not? Maybe this $2,500 answer sheet is bullshit? Where in the world has tests the language to paint? What reason could he have for believing in the sometimes off-line and sometimes devious Fingel? He took advantage of him from start. His mind was a mess. But what happens after 3E? Can he crawl out alive in a genius academy of popular reptilian lineages? What about crawling out? All over the world slaying dragons?

At this moment in distant China should be morning, Chen Wenwen wearing white skirt should hold hands with her new boyfriend, walking on the road that goes to a normal university?

The night Nuo Nuo drove him up the highway, he thought he had found his way out, but he turned out still to be a tiny firefly, flying aimlessly with the others.

He sat on the bed with his knees folded. He thought for a long time.

Just wanted to see her, no matter what happened.

(Note: This is a Chinese translate novel)

When Lu Mingfei was applying for a foreign university, he received an invitation letter from Cassel College, a private university in the outer suburbs of Chicago. Under the call of mystery, under the choice of love and dream, he resolutely chose the unknown future. Black helicopters flew across the sky, the gate of a strange country was slowly opened to him: The door of becoming a dragon slayer.

Another name for this novel is:
Dragon's Raja

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