We went on with our days waiting patiently for our equipment to be ready. We were told it could be finished by the end of the day. The gear and specifically the armour was personalised by our instructions. The armour could be merged with our mere clothing meaning that it's lighter to wear. The biggest problem with full body armour is slowed down movement. The last thing you want in a fight to the death is being unable to outrun your opponent and die. We need the perfect middleground between protection and speed. Too much protection and we're slow and die. Too little protection and we still die. The swords however have less personalisation with only our names engraved on. Metal work is easy and cheap in this world due to magic which is why it's even possible to merge fabric and metal to begin with.

Kath's equipment had almost zero metal work. She has a wooden staff and a cape. That's all. The staff has a magic crystal which can focus and concentrate mana. And the cape is actually special. It's a magical item that was created through mana which allows extra magical defense. The cape converts the mana stored in it to magical defense which flows  into the body however it can also substitue for regular defense thus she doesn't need armour. However the reason we can't get one is that if you lack the proper magic and even the class it will not work. It needs a body that can handle it.

The time got later and later until we decided we should go back as it should be finished. We can now take on stronger monsters. Who knows how strong we'll be now. That's why this is so exciting. We don't know how much it'll improve our abilities.

"I was expecting you three to come back. Your stuff is ready."

There was an atmosphere of excitement as we got 2 swords in their sheaths. Our names were on the bottom of the blade and it was well crafted. The quality is similar to a good sword in our world. I assume as I've never seen a real sword before death. Kath got her staff which was a long piece of wood that was only a few centimetres thick. It's only 1 inch thick from what I can see. It carries on going like that until the top where there's a clear crystal attatched to the top. The wood curves behind the crystal looking sort of like a scythe and it returns to the crystal and ends an inch beyond the crystal. The crystal is held in between the beginning and top of the curve.

Now time for the interesting part. The armour. As I stated earlier the armour is merged with the clothes. I put on mine as soon as I got it. It was much heavier then it looks but that's because of the metal. I looked at the mirror to the side and...

IT LOOKS SO COOL!

The right shoulder is armoured and connected to the arm however the left is empty. The armour is normal for the right half and the left half is normal clothing. However in the middle there's a sort of metal shield on top. And it looks awesome. I'm surprised he got it as I imagined even though I sort of gave a bad explanation. Basically it's armour cut in middle that merges to the clothes however on the centre there's a metal shield like piece.

Leon did something different. Both shoulder protection pieces were there however in the middle the armour goes like a triangle to the center of his abdomen and then it joins up with a band of metal that goes around him. This is true for both sides.

Kath has got a blue cape. That's it. It's a long piece of cloth however at one end there was two bits of metal that could clip together to connect. Other than that it was a cloth. There was some writing sewn on and it also had the symbols of the four elements sewn on at the back. The writing was just her name but the picture was cool. It had the symbols of the four basic elements of fire, water,earth and air.

We were finally geared up and were ready for anything. Probably. We only have everything made of iron with Kath's gear based mostly on the quality of the mana in it. There are stronger metals out there. The strongest metal on Earth that is used in both worlds for armour would be steel. After that it's all fictional metal. Then it would be mana iron which is a mana infused iron alloy? Can it be called an alloy as it's only infused with mana. I'll just call it a metal still. Then would be mana steel. Then mithril. Then charged mithril which is basically the mana metal equivalent of mithril however the main difference is that it also requires life force to form. Meaning a monster has to die on top of the metal somehow for it to form. So it's extremely rare. Mithril has the special ability to absorb life. And then the last metal is dragonsteel. It's steel infused with dragon scales which are apparently one of the strongest materials out there. Normally you kill a dragon from the underside where there are no scales. There is no mana dragonsteel as dragon scales already contain mana. There are more metals that are inbetween such as dragon iron however these are the common commercial materaials. They are also the metals used in guild ranks.

After thanking the man who's named Mr. Crimgrad.
Not a fan of the name but can't do anything about it.

We went off to the guild, the next day. Going home was weird as it seems my family also thinks my gear is cool.

We need another quest that is actually of our level and not that stupid slime quest. We were looking through quests again and found one that was really interesting.

Special Quest: The Curse: Someone's pet bear has gone rogue. It was taught magic and it has created a cursed area in the town of Goldire. Only children, any below the age of 16 can enter. The reasons are unknown however some speculate that it prefers to feast on the flesh of young. Only adventurers below the age of 16 can accept this quest.
Estimated level required: Unknown. Predicted level required: 15+
Minimum people needed: 1
Reward: 125,000 dracons

Pet bear? A pet bear? What sort of person would want to own a pet bear.
This quest has some odd backstory but the reward is so good. That's around $8333. Amazing!
The level is a bit high as we're barely over that but we can grind on levels on the way to the town.

"Miss Zaydrey! We want to have this quest!"

She started to laugh without even looking at the quest

"I see you got new equipment but I doubt you'd be able to do the quest."

"You didn't even look at it."

"Fine. I'll look at it...
No. I can't send kids to fight a literal Bear."

"We've already fought Bear in the forests."

"This one can do magic."

"We fought mana Bears."

Sorta. Bear cubs are different from adult bears. This is way more apparent in mana animals.

"No. It's in another town miles away from here. Why would I let 3 kids go out in to the world by themselves."

"Just give us the quest. You know your job is to give quests. Not give advice."

After arguing for at least 10 minutes she gave up when she realised that she couldn't change my mind. Maybe she thought that if I got an experience of the real world I'd come back with an apology but we ain't that weak.

"Fine! I'll do it. However if anything happens I can't be held accountable."

"No problem as nothing will happen."

We got the quest! Finally after much argument she gave in. My charisma isn't even high yet I got it. Why does that stat exist? Well I guess it's based on your mind so I for some reason expected it to have charisma thus it does have charisma. The system is werid ok.

We were gonna leave the town for the first time in our whole lives. Travel is only limited to the town you're born in for most people. Travelling to other towns is very difficult because horses and carriages are expensive so it's only walking. This will take at least a few days as we have to walk for quite a long time just to reach the town. We went looking for a map because we had no idea where it exactly was. Goldire was stated to be a few miles away but what does that mean? What does few mean? 5? 10? 100? Few is too vague so obviously we had to look for a map. And it costed money to buy a map. 200 dracons for a map. Thankfully this is after the printing press and magic exists or else that map would've been looking at the thousands. Each map would've been hand drawn so why would they price it at only 200? We may thank the inventor of the printing press in this world for allowing cheap books and anything else that needs ink.

Goldire seems to be 35 miles south east! That's a lot more than a few. That's like 56km. It'll take at least a few days just to reach it.

"It seems Goldire is 35miles towards the south east of Morvay so it'll be a long walk."

"B-b-but that's like over 50 km. Why'd you accept the quest."

"You 2 also agreed with it so I'm not solely to blame."

"Leon! Think about it. We're going to another town. We've never been to another town. Didn't you always want to see the ocean."

Kath is right. This is an opportunity. What a nice dream Leon has to see the ocean. The ocean is something people rarely ever see in this world unless you're rich or just live near it.

"So how far is the ocean from here."

"About 1200 miles south."

"I WANTED TO RIDE A SHARK THOUGH!"

Oh. That's why he wanted to see the ocean. Not because it's the ocean but because he wanted to ride a shark. A SHARK OF ALL THINGS.

I can't believe that I have to take care of these two children.
How'd life become like this?
A few years ago when there were adults around I could handle their stupidity as the adults could deal with it but now I'm the adult in this situation.

Let's hope that travelling can't make this any worse.

Xaltrey, a world that will soon fall into the grasps of cataclysm. 

Yet a hero exists, a being who reincarnated to this world.
The reincarnate is called Alex, a loser to society. He contributed nothing. He was nothing in the eyes of others.  Until one day he got killed.

He met the goddess of the Xaltrey asked of him to defeat the evil demon Yazuro however the problem is he has to start from a newborn child in a poor family and has to work his way up to the strength required by age 30 or else the demon will win. 

A journey of magic and monsters, evil and good, heroes and demons. Starting with nothing, he has to conquer the ways of this world. 

Yet there are greater evils yet to be discovered.

"Momo... hurry up!!.... we're going to be late!!" Yelled Linda, as she rushed towards the newly constructed building within the school premises.
Little Momo and her, were on their way towards the chemistry laboratory.
Today, they were taking Chemistry 3.
Ever since the beginning of April, they had been taking 6 main courses:
•Biology 1 (Classes of living organisms)
•Math 4 (simple variable math, like find X)
•Chemistry 2
•Chemistry 3 (introduction to lab science)
•Physics 1
•Phyno 4
Apart from these ones, they also had other fun and creative courses that occurred once a week... like:
•Arts & Craft 1
•Ethics & Morality 1 
•Health & Hygiene 1
•Literature 1
•Music 1
• And Physical Education 
Another surprising thing for the students was that this year, the school had created a Student Council body based on the votes from the students.
Also, each class had a class monitor and deputy class monitor that's entrusted in assisting the teachers in class, aiding the weak students, roll call... and so on.
No matter what amongst the 2 leaders, one had to be female and the other male.
Generally, once the winners for both the Male Group and female group emerged.... the students would then vote between the 2, and choose who should be the class monitor or deputy class monitor.
For the biology class, the students were taught the basics like: cells, microbes, plant systems, animal systems, invertebrates and vertebrates.
In short, they were taught about all the classes of living organisms.
Of course for Math 4, they focused on simple variable math... like 5x=10, find X.
In that class, they focused on understanding one to two variable equations..... which were usually linear equations.
For chemistry 2, the students would still focused on reactions, atoms and so on.... but now with the use of calculators, they had begun learning about calculating molecular weight and so on.
Of course just so that the students could breathe a little, music, literature, physical education and arts & craft were essentially a must.
In short, this semester was a busy one.
Today, Linda and little Momo were heading towards the Chemistry Lab in the new school building.
Once they got in, they immediately climbed the stairs until they arrived at the 3rd floor... where they were greeted with a large group of students outside the lab.
The area was bustling with busy students.
Friends greeted each other with hugs or playful punches, while others had their eyes glued on their books as they continued doing assignments that were due in the next class.
Some already had their lab coats and safety wears on, while others were busy wearing theirs on now.
In fact, everyone was doing their own thing as they waited for the class to begin.
Instantly, the duo opened their bags and quickly pulled out their neatly folded lab coats and safety items.
For this class, everyone was required to wear their lab coats, gloves, rubber boots, and goggles.
Linda looked at her watch and knew that it would soon be time for them to go in.
And right on queue, Mother Kim and teacher Gophen opened the lab doors from instead and ushered the students in.
"Morning Teacher Kim!"
"Morning teacher Gophen!"
"Morning teacher...."
"__"
Everyone greeted their teachers, as they walked in and immediately found their usual spot.
The Laboratory was massive, with several working slabs, cupboards with equipments stored in them, and a small storage room at its front.
Linda and Momo immediately spotted their other group members, and rushed over to join them.
Ever since the beginning of the semester, they had been put in groups of 5.
Apparently, these people would be their lab partners throughout the entire semester.
"Alright.... before we begin, you all know the drill.
In front of each group, are 5 question sheets.
You all have 7 minutes to answer them.
Remember, no cheating and no copying.... these small tests make up 20% of your final grade.
Now.... Begin!!"
Linda immediately flipped her question sheet and got to work.
For this Chemistry 3 course, they had 1 theory class on Tuesdays, and 1 lab session on Thursdays.
And at the beginning of each lab session, they would have mini quizzes that would test them on what they had learnt in their Tuesday classes.
Chemistry 3 was a course based on Laboratory work, so they had to know about the equipments in front of them, safety lab hazards and so on.
In fact... Ever since the students knew that these questions were 20%, they had taken them seriously
Linda filled her name and school number on the question sheet, before proceeding to answer the questions.
The questions were straight to the point, and easy to answer if one was paying attention during lectures.
And just like that, time flew by quickly... 7 minutes later, the quizzes collected back by teacher Gophen.
And the papers were collected, Mother Kim began distributing the Lab manual sheets for today's experiment.
.
"Alright.... before we begin our Laboratory experiment, let's recap on what Teacher Winnie has been you all in Chemistry 2." Mother Kim said.
The students immediately took out their books and writing materials.... While others flipped the pages of their books to the last pen-filled page.
It was important for the students to know about what reactions they were going to perform today, hence it was good for them to recap on what they were previously taught.
"So as usual, let's look back on what you all have been learning so far.
I need a few examples of chemistry around us... anyone?" Mother Kim asked, as she waited for the students to raise their hands.
"Yes Filipa?" She said, while pointing at a little girl at the front of the room.
"Air is essentially chemistry, because it's constantly undergoing a chemical change.
For example, we breathe out carbon dioxide and take in oxygen... so air is always changing.
Also... air undergoes changes whenever smoke is released in to the atmosphere by burning, hence it's part of Chemistry."
"Correct!!.
Any other examples of Chemistry around us?" Kim asked.
"Our bodies."
"The ocean"
"When we make bread."
"__"


Chu Yi dies in a car crash and becomes Landon Barn, the illegitimate son of king Barn, ruler of Arcadina. Because his mother was a maid and the king’s greatest disgrace, his father had always despised him. The same could be said for his half-siblings. 

When he turned 15, his father had announced that the city of Baymard would be given to him, and would no longer be under the empire's control. It was a well known fact that Baymard’s lands were barren, and poverty stricken.... For god’s sake, this was banishment.

His deadbeat father had indirectly banished him from the empire.

Chu Yi woke up in a carriage, on his way to Baymard with a system

"So what if my father hates me? So what if I’m banished?.... I will turn my territory into a modern society"

  
.
.
Author here, thank you all for tuning in..... english is my second language... so I promise to try my best.

P.S, please dont compare my Novel to others... not all world development novels have to have the same format.

Adam proudly showed off his car and Abby felt her heart burst. Too cute! How was she supposed to handle a cuteness attack of this level?
Katie mock whispered, "He shows it to everyone he likes."
It was official. She melted into a puddle of sentimental goo. Her nephew liked her right off the bat! He was very trusting considering his mother barely told him they were family, which proved he was a happy and well-adjusted kid.
What kind of childhood did he have living out here in the middle of nowhere? Katie had obviously commissioned that toy for him but what about his other toys? Were there any picture books? What sorts of things did little kids even do in this world in the absence of a playground?
"Who made it for you?" Abby asked, gesturing to the car.
Katie was a bit embarrassed. "Ah, I got one of the carpenters who moved here from Rowenhilde to do it. He made a few others toys like this for him and other kids started wanting them too so now there are wooden cars all over town. We even started selling them in bulk to the merchants who pass through here after one of them bought one on a whim for his grandson."
Wow. Such a small thing ended up widespread because she wanted something familiar for her son to play with. Abby couldn't help but wonder exactly how much influence her sister had managed to have on this world by accident.
She was very curious about Katie's life here and wanted to know more. Seeming to sense this, Katie excused them (Al and Blaise were still deep in discussion) and showed her around the house.
In addition to a modern bathroom, there was also a fairly modern kitchen. There wasn't a microwave or a proper fridge but Katie explained that there was an ice box of sorts in the cellar outside for keeping things cold.
Adam had a few more familiar toys as well. His wooden car wasn't the only vehicle he had. There was also a wagon pulled by a wooden horse and a rudimentary truck. He had a teddy bear too; stuffed animals did exist here though bears weren't the most popular. Most children had stuffed rabbits for some reason.
There were also wooden blocks to build towers and bridges with. Everything else appeared to be carvings of various animals found in the mountains, such as deer.
"You guys use a lot of wood, don't you?" Abby asked dryly.
Katie shrugged. "We're surrounded by trees; lumber is one of our best resources. Wait until you see the wooden playground I convinced someone to build! All the kids in town love it."
She was fairly certain she knew what kind of playground her sister was talking about. When they were younger, they visited a historical park where the playground was almost entirely made of wood and shaped a bit like a castle. They used rubber and plastic a little bit for slides and rope courses but that was it.
Her sister wasn't the most creative person in the world by any means but she was full of a lot of random knowledge. Getting other more talented people to act on that knowledge had yielded quite the results and she had hardly seen anything yet.
"What other things have you convinced people to make for you?" Abby asked in awe.
It was a lot more than expected. Katie told her how this started when she was still back in the palace because she wanted sweaters and fuzzy pajama pants to get through the winter. While she was still there, she also commissioned a hat loom to be made so she could crochet.
Abby already knew that because of the novel, as well as the attempts at pizza and hamburgers. What she didn't know was everything that happened after coming to the Kanta region.
Since coming here Katie had worked together with a variety of people to create street lamps, light bulbs, a hydroelectric generator, children's toys, swing sets, different types of handy kitchen utensils such as oven mitts, and more. She even managed to improve on the makeshift snow clothes she had made back in the palace.
She also created the concept of a public library and recruited a few talented minds to help her create fun little picture books for children. The children's books that existed here were almost entirely of the educational variety, aside from a few traditional stories that were meant for older children to read on their own.
When she realized she was pregnant not long after moving here, Katie refused to let her child live in a world without age-appropriate fiction. She found a few people who were good at drawing to turn traditional oral children's stories into book form.
Under her guidance—apparently she had read a ton of Wikipedia articles about the history of crayons, colored pencils, and markers out of boredom while laid up in bed several years ago—a few innovators had managed to recreate those as well.
The first books made solely for the Kanta were painted or colored in with markers or crayons. but once they began mass producing them and had to use a printing press they were all too bulky. Once the traders found out about these books and wanted some for their own children, the business grew. 
There was now a full printing press/publishing office set up in town. They used engraving plates to mass produce illustrations and had to use colored pencils to color everything in by hand because they were the thinnest tool available. 
Katie confided that the Kanta became much more involved with the outside world largely because they needed to trade for materials to help recreate things from home but that it had ended up benefiting everyone involved. Unbelievable. An entire economy set up because of the desire for some kids' books.
Abby was astounded by how much she had accomplished in such a short time. A mind like hers had been wasted back in their world.
She majored in political science because it was one of the shorter programs and her health made taking on more than twelve credits per semester difficult. She had no idea what she wanted to actually do with her life and ended up taking the first part-time job she could find post-graduation.
A benefit of working in a school is that you have a lot of time off. Three day weekends, spring break, Christmas break, summers… Katie admitted that she went with that job in no small part because of all the time off for doctors' appointments, physical therapy, and plain old recovering from exhaustion.
Her time was entirely consumed by going to work, going to the doctor, and consuming as much media as possible. Because she was a curious soul, instead of wasting all of her time on Netflix like some people she primarily focused on nonfiction.
Her memory for details was incredible. There was no way Abby would have been able to remember enough about random things like crayons and markers enough to actually make one later.

Katie Pullman, a chronically ill girl who spends her life immersed in fiction, suddenly finds herself inside a novel she has read. Thrown right into the thick of things, she desperately tries to keep the plot intact but happy endings aren't always as they seem...

"Meet me at the park on the south side near the river tomorrow night at midnight. I'll be waiting. If you don't come to me, I'll be coming to you. ~H.S." I reread the rough writing again and again, just like I did with the last note. Who?! Who could it be?! I seriously don't know that many people and I don't pay attention to anyone but the twins at school! My head was starting to hurt. I rubbed my temples and sighed, flopping backwards on my bed. Was that last part a threat or just a warning? How could my life get twisted so much in one night? I don't know how this could even be possible. And why me? I've always tried to be good, besides my attitude. Okay, so I'm no angel, but still. I don't get into that much trouble. I try to avoid it as much as I can. 

Speaking of trouble, that's all that Hunter is. Plain old trouble. Lots and lots of trouble packed into that hot, muscular, sexy, moody, tall man. How is someone like Mindy, who's fun, hyper, crazy, and wild, be siblings with THAT? It doesn't make sense. At all. I rub my face, and cast a look to my alarm clock on my bedside table. It's midnight. Great, just great. It really took me two hours to eat, take a shower, get dressed, and read two notes? Seriously? I am so bad at time management. My headache is starting to get worse. My head is all over the place. But the one thing that my thoughts are stuck on clearly  is Hunter. I replay what happened tonight. My stomach starts twisting again and heat courses through me as I think of Hunter. It's nothing like I've ever felt before. What is this feeling? 

I know I said I'm no angel but I'm still pure. Make sense? No? Well, that's me in a nutshell for you. What I'm trying to get at is, I've never had my first kiss, never had a boyfriend, never got asked out or had feelings confessed to me or anything at all. I think I can understand why. I'm pretty weird, and I don't normally pay attention to or attempt to ever talk to those around me. Ruby tries to convince me that it's because I'm just so pretty and I intimidate guys with my beauty. I roll my eyes, yeah, right, sure it's that. My life consists of school, the twins, and my mom. That's my world. And now, all of a sudden, it's been flipped upside down in just a couple hours. 

But back to Hunter... He's the most attractive guy I've ever seen. His cold piercing grey eyes that stare deep into my own plain brown eyes, his noticeable muscles, his soft looking hair, his high cheekbones, his long lashes, his height and how he towers over my small figure, his smirk... Oh god, his smirk does things to me that make no sense to me. I'm so inexperienced in 'that' field of things, that you could put me next to a young teenager. Not that I don't know what things are or how things work, and stuff like that, it's just that I've never physically done things. Gosh, this is awkward to explain. I immediately stop thinking about it. Would Hunter want someone like me? Who doesn't know things like that? Judging by the alley, he likes things like that. But I shouldn't judge him just by that. Mindy said he's a squish ball, even though he looks mean and tough. Those two things don't exactly mix... 

I wonder what his tattoos actually look like in the light when they're more visible. I wonder if there's meaning behind them. I want to know about him and know what he's like, not what he puts out to everyone, but who he is underneath. If his sister can describe him as a squish ball, then I'm sure his demeanor and how he acts is like that for a reason. I've decided that I want to find that out for myself. Just who exactly is Hunter? What makes him tick? What happened to him? I want to figure him out. Thinking back on when I first saw him, I realize that that might not be the safest thing to do. And didn't I tell myself to stay away from him? But right now, my mind just can't stop thinking about him, and I don't really care if he's dangerous or not. He's made me too curious to resist. Picking up the notes I received tonight, I look at the initials again. H.S. That has to be Hunter. I don't know anybody else who's name starts with H. I'm going to meet whoever this is, even if I have to go to the bad side of town at midnight. And if it's not Hunter, maybe he can be my Batman if I get myself in trouble again. 

I yawn. My eyes start to water and burn from being open all night. I should get some sleep. I really really should. It would do a great disservice to the twins if I snap at them all day tomorrow on our only second day of school from lack of sleep. I look at the clock and notice I've spent hours thinking about this boy, and I only have a couple hours left to catch some sleep. I groan out loud. Get a couple hours of sleep and risk over sleeping, or stay up all night and have thoughts of Hunter plague my mind? I've thought enough of this boy, I need to stop thinking of him. Honestly, it's unhealthy to think of someone this much that I don't even know. Who even does that? Nobody normal, I don't think. I flip over to my stomach and pull the covers up to my chin. I snuggle down deeper into my warm plush bed, and close my eyes. Did I remember to set my alarm? Ah, who cares. I'm too lazy to get up and set an alarm on my phone and I'm sure my mom screaming at me to get up tomorrow will be enough to wake me up like she did today. My mind is still up thinking of Hunter as I slowly drift off to sleep... 

--- 

"Owwww" I groan as I feel my whole body in a dull pain. I squint my eyes open against the blinding sun and rub them, attempting to wake myself up a bit more. I've fallen off my bed. "Great way to start a day", I think to myself. I brush my hair out of my face and untangle myself from the blankets that was wrapped around me as I had fallen off the bed. After a bit of a tussle, I throw my blankets onto my bed, and stretch my arms over my body, my body starting to awaken. Oh god, my morning breath was absolutely awful. I make a face and pad into the bathroom, grabbing my toothbrush. I sway from side to side, a song in my head. After brushing my teeth, I was more awake. Noting that I should be a lot more exhausted from only a couple hours of sleep, I look to the clock in my room and wished to high heaven that I was still asleep. My clock read five past noon. Noon!! 

It's too late to even think of going to school. It ends in a couple hours. I hope my mom called me in because I was not about to get an in school suspension for missing my second day of school when I just had a detention yesterday, and I promised Mr. Blackferd that I'm not one to be truant. I hesitantly walk down the hall and peek into my moms room. Nobody. I walk down the stairs and check the living room. Empty. The blanket is neatly folded with the extra pillow placed on top. I check the garage and see her car gone. I should've just checked there in the first place. I walk into the kitchen and plop down onto a chair at the kitchen island with my head in my hands, thinking of how stupid I was not to set an alarm. I raise my head and see a bright neon yellow sticky note on the counter, and my heart spikes, remembering last night. 

I pick it up and read: "Good afternoon, Honey! Thank you for taking care of me last night. I tried waking you up this morning but you were dead asleep. I called into the school and excused you today. No need to rush, take your time and relax even though it's only the second day of school. Text me when you're up! Love, Mom." 

I trudge back up the stairs and grab my phone, shooting my mom a good morning text to let her know that I'm finally up. I'm about to text the twins when I see I've already got several missed calls and texts from them. They're much worse then my mom, and she's my parent! I smile and read the many messages demanding where I could be on the second day of school, and various threats of using black magic to bring me back from the dead and I laugh at those ones. These guys have one big imagination. But what if they could actually use black magic? Could they tell me who followed me home and stuck those notes to my window? Okay, okay, now who has the big imagination? I roll my eyes at myself. I am so weird, I think with a snort. Well, if I got about full twelve hours of sleep today, then I shouldn't have any problem staying up tonight to sneak out of my window to the park at midnight. My mom is usually a really deep sleeper so I never have to worry about her waking up when I sneak out on random occasions. She confesses to me that she has trouble waking up most mornings too. She's half a teenager and half an adult, I swear. 

I'm eating cookie cereal for breakfast and the chocolate is starting to make my 2% milk into chocolate milk. I'm not much of a big cereal fan, but it's noon and I'm not really hungry, my nerves are bouncing around for tonight, my appetite suppressed under the butterflies. I'm not one to take big risks like this, meeting an unknown person in the middle of the night. Should I tell the twins at least so that they know where I am in case I don't come home and I'm kidnapped? No, I think to myself, I should be fine. Everything will be fine. 

I might as well get ready for the rest of the day and at least do yesterday's homework considering I never got the chance to last night. I get up and I put my cereal bowl in the dishwasher. I turn and I walk out of the kitchen, down the hallway and up the stairs to my room. I open my closet and search for something to wear for tonight. 

I have to remind myself several times that it's not a date with whoever it is. They followed me home, I have no idea what their intention is. I settle on dark blue jeans, a dark plum purple tank top, with my black leather jacket. I put the jacket on the back of my door on the coat hanger, and turn to my mirror. Makeup or no? Hair up or hair down? Jewelry? This is NOT a date, I repeat, it is NOT a date, Daisy! Jeez. I go with a simple smokey eye look, with red gloss on my lips. I'll have to reapply it by tonight, but I like how I look. I throw my hair up into a straight sleek ponytail. I take a few hairs from the front and frame my face with them. Deciding to see what the whole look is put together, I grab my leather jacket and turn to stare at myself in the wall mirror I have. It's the whole length of the wall and is extremely useful for times like this when I need to assess my whole outfit. 

I nod in approval at my reflection. I like how I look. For once, without Ruby's help or clothes, I look hot! I never try this hard. This isn't even a date, I remind myself with a good smack to the forehead. Why do I need to keep reminding myself that? I take the jacket off and sit down at my white oak desk. I pull out my homework from my bag. Yes, we have homework on the first day. Not a lot, just a few classes. My math, chemistry, and creative writing class decided that we were already "behind" on the first day and had to assign homework. It's barely anything and doesn't need all my attention focused on it. 

Instead, I try to think up of an excuse on why I look like this, because I know my mom will definitely be asking when she arrives home after work tonight. She works as a personal assistant to a tech company. It's called Fix-4-You. Ever since she got hired to that job a year after dad passed away, she was strangely happy. Not that she didn't deserve to happy, I just thought she would mourn longer. I have a feeling that I'll find out why soon enough. 

Half focusing on my thoughts, and half focusing on my homework, I let go of the time and my surroundings. Three squared plus five cubed divided by two equals? Excuse excuse excuse. Hmmm.... 

-----

What would you guys do? Would you meet this mystery follower? Would you do something about your appearance for a meeting with him/her? Or what would you do with the notes when you got them? Would you spend this much time thinking of the person? Would your parents ever excuse you on the second day of school? Have they before?

Updated Daily 
---
A mixture of thrills, action, adventure, romance, secrets, and two lives from opposite seeming worlds coming together... What is the outcome? Can everything only crash and burn like an uncontrollable fire, or can it bloom like the loveliest flower? Read to find out. 
---
Meet Daisy: short, outgoing, wild, 18 year old senior, attends Washington High School in Virginia. She's never had a boyfriend and isn't exactly what you would call popular. Okay... so she has two friends. She focuses on her studies, wanting to make her mother proud. Nothing exciting had ever happened in her life... Until she met Hunter one dark night...

And now meet... Hunter: tall, moody, cocky, dangerous, college dropout, 23 year old. He's never up to any good. Ever. He works on classic cars in a run down garage, and made decent money that way to support his mom and younger sister, Mindy, who attends the same high school as Daisy. Sometimes that money wasn't enough, hence his side job. Here's the catch... His side job isn't exactly legal...
---
What happens when two polar opposites meet? And just HOW exactly DID they meet?? When two World's Collide, nothing good can come out of it... right?

2 weeks passed. Aariv was back in Patliputra. He had defeated the Chera and Pandya kingdom. He once again took away all the administrative rights from the royal families and just let them live with some personal guards. They weren't allowed to hire more than 5,000 men.

He was currently writing books. He knew that soon his kidnapped philosophers will arrive and will want to see what they were offered. He buried himself in work and wrote more than a thousand books. He had created a small paper making factory for this purpose. 

He also felt that the city was too cramped for making all the new workshops and factories. Hence he decided to start planning the city out. Also according to the history, the river would change its path in the future, submerging the whole city.

He needed to make cemented riverbanks to stop that from happening.

After writing books about every field that was withing the understanding of the current humans, he put them in a library. The library was quite big and a major part of it was underground. There were separate cabins for people to site and do their work without getting disturbed.

He also finished writing the constitution. Now he needed to promote it to people. Most of the population was illiterate so he needed to use Kautilya's men and people from local administration around the country to announce it to the public on a regular basis.

He hired stonemasons to make big stone edicts in hexagonal shape with their faces having the constitution carved on it. On the top of it was the Mauryan emblem, 4 lions sitting with their backs touching each other and their faces looking in 4 directions. The edicts were 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. 

He put them in each town center or any other public gathering in the empire. The constitution laid down the framework demarcating fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. It also stated the fundamental responsibilities of the elected government.

It promoted JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY above all. He also wrote the book of law, It was a comprehensive book intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law.

He was going to bring democracy in some years but still he didn't abolish his own powers. He wrote a special case in which if the state fails to fulfill the fundamental duties and has become corrupt then Aariv Maurya has the right to dissolve the government and take things into his own hands and no one can remove this clause from the constitution by any means. He knew that in some years when he disappears from the public eye and starts acting from behind the scenes, the people will forget about this clause. 

He limited the special right to himself as he didn't trust all his descendants to be good people. There was bound to be a rotten apple every once in a while.

This was going smoothly but as more people found out about the constitution, trouble started to come.

Aariv had not mentioned castes or gender in the constitution, he had just used words like 'mankind or humanity'. The people from lower caste were very happy with this. This meant that they would not be treated differently but there existed some people from Brahmin and Kshatriya caste who disagreed with it as it decreased their status and authority.

Hee was sitting with Kautilya, Chandragupta, and Black in the private meeting room.

"What should we do about the possible riots?" Kautilya asked with a tense face.

"I am sure that there are some people who are trying to influence others and start riots. Just arrest them and trial them according to the book of law. We will increase the surveillance and guard patrol. It will probably take some years to let them accept all this." Aariv said.

There was no social media so it was not easy to organize a riot or a protest. He was not going to introduce internet and communication devices to the public till things aren't back to normal.

He left the meeting and looked for Surupa. He was going to give him books to let him study architecture and he was also going to hand him the job of extending the city. The first thing which was going to be made was the huge palace, the palace would not be just the residence of the emperor but also have administrative block, courts and stuff. It was going to an administrative hub.

He found Surupa in the library.

"Your highness, this is unbelievable... all this knowledge and to think that a single person wrote all this," Surupa said. He was overwhelmed by the knowledge Aariv had.

Aariv smiled and sat down on a chair. 

"This is just a small branch of a big tree. I know many more things, but current people cannot digest all that... that aside, I've come here to assign you a job," he said.

Surupa straightened his back and asked about the job.

"I want you to design a big palace, with courts, halls, and many offices. It will not just be the place where I will live but also the place from where the administration will work. The residential part should not be accessible to the other areas...." Aariv said, he also told him about his other requirements like he wanted a very big basement.

Aariv then got up and took some books with him and gave them to Surupa. These books consisted of knowledge about constructing big structures. He then introduced him to bricks, cement, concrete and how to make a strong foundation for a building.

he knew that he would need to do many new things to make the construction easy as he understood that the whole empire will heavily invest in building infrastructure in the future.

He also established the world university and started the first class. Anyone could enter the courses free of cost and they must complete the studies. The courses currently offered were very few and were mostly professional courses that would prepare people for new upcoming changes and jobs.

Aariv was going to introduce heavy machinery such as Excavators, Backhoe., Dragline Excavator, Bulldozers, Graders, Wheel Tractor Scraper, Trenchers, Loaders. But he was troubled because he didn't want them to run on fossil fuel. He needed to start working on his fusion reactor.

...

2 months passed and Aariv worked in his room, he made the frame of the fist-sized fusion reactor. Now he just needed to go out and try to get it struck by lightning to jump start it. Once it starts, then it would be self-sustainable. He had also selected 10 men with exceptional intelligence, they were all introduced by Kautilya. He taught them about the basics of electricity and how to lay lines and connect the whole city. 

He then ordered them to lay wires underground around the city. Juno was also continuously working on making things with the help of her matter manipulation. Now that everything was ready he just needed to go out and find a thunderstorm.

While he was working on a fusion reactor, things in the empire were drastically changing. Many arrests were made and people were punished. Most of the people understood that there was no going back now. They had no other choice but to accept the constitution, however, the discrimination was still rampant. Seeing that Aariv created the department of police. He reduced his army and changed them to the police.

He believed that the army should not aim for quantity but quality. Hence the new department was made, many new people were appointed, rule books were issued and finally the police started to do their jobs. The citizens were told that they could go and report any crime to a policeman and the police were obliged to help them.

All this required a lot of money but money was the least of his worries. 

The world college was also working efficiently but the college lacked infrastructure. He called Surupa to start designing universities, prisons, police stations, and hospitals. Aariv's main goal was to improve the living standard so that people could focus on other things than just surviving.

Surupa came to Aariv's office to show him the designs for the palace/office.

"Your highness, this is what I designed," he said and laid down the designs.

Aariv meaningfully looked at it and was quite pleased with it.  He knew that it was not possible to make a skyscraper yet as he lacked skilled labor so he had to make amends with what he got.

"Very good. I like it, you can start organizing workers," he said. 

[Pictures of how the palace will look are in discord]

Aariv had already set up sites for making bricks, cement, and other necessary things for construction. 

He then headed out to start up his fusion reactor, after all, he still needed to make heavy machinery. 

He headed east, where the thunderstorms were ongoing. He ran as fast as possible. He could feel that the more he used his powers the stronger he would get but the rate of increase was very slow.

After running for a day he reached the place. The sky was covered with dark clouds and it was raining heavily. The deafening sound of thunder could be heard multiple times every second. He knew that his fusion reactor was very conductive in nature but still he needed to do something to make sure that lightning struck it.

He started throwing it in the air again and again, in the hope that it would attract lightning. He kept on doing that for a day and when Strom started to move away, he followed it.

After 3 days Aariv was starting to grow impatient, he screamed in irritation and jumped in the air with the reactor in his hand. Just then an eye-piercing light came close to Aariv, His last thought was.

"F*CK ME"

Then everything blacked out. The lightning struck Aariv. Although he had the strength of 100 men, he was still nothing compared to the mighty lightning. He wasn't seriously injured but the top layer of his skin had burnt down.

He fell down on the ground and groaned in pain. His body was constantly healing itself, draining his energy. After 3 hours, the pain finally stopped, leaving Aariv energyless. He knew what happened to him and started to channel natural energy from outside to his body, trying to recuperate the lost energy.

After half an hour he stood up, full of energy. He looked at his body. He felt significantly stronger than before. He had a feeling that he was near a breakthrough. 

Aariv cleaned the remaining bits of his clothes and searched for the fusion reactor. He looked around and finally noticed a blue light on the ground.

"HAHAHAHA... YES...YES"

What if "THE GREAT FILTER THEORY" was real and the filter was not something supernatural but a WAR.
.
A war that spans the whole universe.
Only the strong and advanced can survive.
.
(The Great Filter theory says that at some point from pre-life to Type III intelligence(galactic civilization), there’s a wall that all attempts at life hit. There’s some filter in that long evolutionary process that is extremely unlikely or impossible for life to get beyond. That stage is The Great Filter)
.
In the year 3500A.D humans had colonized all the moons and planets that could harbor life in the solar system. But then the Earth was attacked by an extremely advanced civilization and all human life in the solar system was destroyed.
.
Aariv Hector, the last human to die, was reincarnated in 320BC as son to an Indian Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya. With his old memories and newfound powers, he is to shoulder the great responsibility of saving humanity. 
.
But what would happen if the ancient gods and mythical monsters were real too and how will Aariv deal with them?
.
He has 3800 years remaining before the Doomsday.
---------------------------
After chapter 56 I have uploaded a long chapter with the whole plotline of the novel till the end. 
---------------------------

At least read till chapter 40. Starting chapters aren't very good.

----------------------------
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patreon.com/misterimmortal
or
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or
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----------------------------
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https://discord.gg/drcz5yS

Hearing Sky saying like she doesn't belong to the Barton family, he couldn't control himself. He knew she never would want to leave them but he just couldn't stand knowing she even thought to ask it that way.
Jai had locked himself in his room till the next day until he got to know about Sky.
She had no strength to even move after crying for hours hence Loran took her to the room and laid on her bed thinking she would sleep. When he had gone out to get water, Sky had locked her room.
Sky was locked herself for straight three days without eating or drinking. She had just cried whenever she got little strength. She had heard everyone knocking and calling her but she didn't respond to any of it.
She had locked her balcony door and closing the drapes which left the room dark even during the day. She even heard Jai knocking her french window of the balcony but she didn't open.
On the third day, Jai had to break the window glass and entered inside. He had to coax her for a very long time saying she would stay with them and without his permission, nobody could take her away.
After wiping her face clean which had lost the life and looked ghastly pale after seeing her in light. He regretted not entering the day before. Since she had cried, he gave her bland porridge but she threw up due to a sensitive stomach.
She threw up for two days and lived on liquid rejecting to go to the hospital or letting the doctor visit her. Then she got adjusted to porridge for a few days before returning to her normal appetite.
But she would lock herself if she was getting to know there was somebody downstairs and would only open the door if she was hearing Jai's voice.
Her nights were worse. She was haunted by nightmares of David taking her away without caring about her and Jai couldn't do anything about it.
Seeing her not sleeping at all, Jai even consulted a doctor and gave her low dosage sleeping tablets but after a nightmare, she would still wake up and cry.
When they increased the dosage, she had screamed and cried in her sleep which was worse than seeing her awake all nights so they stopped and took her outings but she never left Jai's hand.
Since he had a tournament in the capital, he took her there thinking it may divert her a little bit but after seeing 'Harley corporation' on their way, panic attack started saying 'I want to go home', 'I don't want to stay in the capital.'
Jai who routed back to town A was stopped again by her saying he had a match and she would be fine staying in the capital.
That's when she understood her fear of losing them shouldn't be high than the priority of her or their life. After the match, they returned home.
Loran who had tried every way to make her happy nothing worked on her and she was just giving a faint smile before sitting expressionlessly. He couldn't take it anymore and left the town A alone on his bike writing a message to Jai that not to worry about him and he would come back soon.
Jai didn't worry about him because he knew Loran was good on roads and navigation. To avoid lying about his reason to Sky, he took her to Eugene's manor and stayed there for sometime before returning home when he got to know Loran was back.
--
"I had learned many things about horticulture there hence I wanted to write about it in the diary but I ended up writing that."
"My dairy was to write about what I enjoyed, where I went or what I learned new and exciting but not for sad. So I stopped writing in that dairy. After some time I bought a new one which you saw in the craft's room. And... That is also the beginning story behind me and Dad's fiasco."
Arlo who had dried her hair and had carried her to bed. He was leaning on the headboard as Sky was in his arms the whole time.
Sky initially wept, gradually she stopped and just said it as her past. Arlo kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly. "Sorry, I reminded you about it."
When he had got to know Sky got the complete family to love her unconditionally, he never thought her biological father's visit could bring her so much pain that she literally lived in hell for more than a month.
Sky who heard his voice didn't feel like his usual self and raised her head to see his eyes red. She raised up and hugged his neck, "Sorry sorry, I didn't want to make you sad."
That was the second time he had tears in his eyes. After his parent's death, he had turned so cold that nothing could move his heart. Even when he lost his grandfather, with a poker face he had finished all rituals.
But when he lost his control behaved abnormal with Sky and after seeing her that night, the first time he had an urge to cry. he had controlled leaving his eyes red and moisture back in his eyes.
The second time, hearing her now. Her heart-piercing past with her way of saying it naturally filled his eyes even when he controlled.
He was sure she could live a rich life without the Harley corporation as she had various talents that he was impressed with where none of his employees could even impress him or Ryan even after getting paid for it.
Since she had given him a complete team member's bonus for resolving the Network traffic issue, he canceled creative team members bonus who designed the logo which was eventually replaced by Sky's designed logo and sent them to her account saying 'it was a bonus for his personal secretary for working hard.'
He patted her first and diverted topic. "Are you seducing me by showing off your flawless delicate shoulder?"
Since the bathrobe was big for her, when she raised up to hug him, it had slid off and his chin was resting on it and he stroked his finger on her skin. She punched him but he bit on her shoulder making her tremble before pulling the robe back on her shoulder.
She already had many marks on her body, now one more added up. Seeing her blush spread till her neck, he stroked her cheeks, "Little seductress"


Secretary Andy asked Sky, "Miss. Sky, why do you come here often? What is so special about this place?" 

Sky looked at him and asked unemotionally, "Are you asking as a secretary or as... as an old friend?"

Andy hesitated for a movement and answered, "A... A friend." and he looked forward to listening to her. 

After a minute of silence, "A few years back I came with a guy, I was so happy to be with him here, I miss those laughter n smiles. Just by standing beside him, accompanying him was making me happiest and cheerful. I liked spending time with him. was I too greedy?" she looked at him with an expectant look. 

Andy never expected Sky to be emotional. he tried to analyze what she said and he was dumbfounded by his thought. 

'Was.. was it me?', he doesn't want to think about it. 

--- 

"Sky! Come here!" He waved his hand to call her near controlling his surge of anger. 

Sky frantically shook her head and removed her heels seeing him coming towards her. 

He breathed out through his mouth slowly and asked patiently, "Who told you that I'm..." He gritted his teeth before saying, "Gay." 

'I will make sure that person regret all his life.' He thought to himself and saw Sky. 

She climbed on the bed and moved towards another end of the room as she replied, "Didn't Dad say it in front of you about you and Ray?" 

It was a bombshell to his poor heart. He stared at her. 

She was holding her heels and looked at him in horror. 

'This dumb woman thought me as gay from day one.' He thought to himself. 

"Sky! Let's sit and talk. Come here." Arlo called again patiently. 

Sky shook her head hysterically, "I would have never allowed you in my room if I knew you are bis..." 

He didn't let her finish and grunted "Sky!" 

--- *** --- 

This is an original story. 

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Another novel: Livid Guardian's Endless Coddling

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Zara has never really been out of country…the idea of travelling alone itself was out of question.  But after living in the shadow for nearly thirty years without achieving nothing more but a degree, getting in and out of different jobs unable to find the right one, she thought it was high time to put her timidity and fear aside and accept the invitation of her brother to come and visit them in London.  She was set to take the plane to the UK in December with a stopover of three days in Dubai all by herself.  The thought itself makes her stress level go from zero to one hundred real quick but for now she preferred not to think about it.  She was still two months away from taking the big leap from South Africa to the land of her majesty.

For the time being there are many other topics that are way more important to think about like the wedding of her best friend Isabella who is getting married in one month time.  "Good Lord, please give me strength", She said with a sigh. Among some of her problems there is also the fact that her love life is practically chaotic, with dating the wrong guy, getting cheated on, and being left broken hearted, she has been single for quite a long time now not being able to find her soul mate.  To be honest it has been so long that she is on the verge of giving up in finding the love of her life and accepts her ill fated situation.   Zara cannot stop thinking about how all her friends are getting married one after another and moving on with their life while all she is doing is just…attending their weddings.  Though she is very happy to do so she nevertheless wants to experience and enjoy some good days too just like them. "How pathetic my life is", she said pitifully.  But then again let's focus on the important thing.  The wedding!!

Since she was jobless and had nothing to do, the task at hand was to look for a wedding caterer as soon as possible.  The one that was booked by her friend Isabella cancelled a few hours ago.  How can she forget the moment she got a call early in the morning with Isabella on the other side of the receiver freaking the heck out.  Zara thought the worse had happened.  After fifteen minutes of nonstop ranting, Isabella assigned her the task of finding a caterer.  She did not even get the time to respond with a positive answer that there was a dead silence on the other side.  Yes, Isabella just hung up on her but this was no time to hold grudges, the poor girl was obviously panicking.  Preparing a wedding was indeed a big responsibility.  

Zara spent the entire day searching the internet and calling wedding caterers.  But it seemed that everyone was already booked at this time of the year.  One person even asked if she booked one year ago as if this was really something that people would do.  Or maybe it was really a thing, how could she know, it's not that she is married or going to get married.  She has no experience of how to prepare for a wedding whatsoever.  "Jeez!! This is exactly the type of thoughts that I do not want to have, it make me pity myself, let's focus, come on".  She sigh and took a deep breath and started dialling that one last number on the list she made of all the wedding caterers she could find on the internet who operate in Cape Town.  After a few beeps, someone picked up and within few minutes of talking, and negotiating, she ended the call with a relief.  Finally, the job was done.  Isabella has got herself a wedding caterer.  

She then texted Isabella to inform her that everything was under control and that she could tick off finding a wedding caterer from the list of to do things.  Isabella replied her back with a big thank you gif and added she is going to pay back when her big time comes with a wink emoticon.  This made Zara giggled and she said: "I hope that day come soon".  She really wanted to have someone who was going to take care of her like a woman needs to be taken care of, care for all the little things that concerned her, love her to the moon and back, to look at her with so much love in his eyes that one can melt like a candle and to think that she was the most important and valuable person in his life. At times, she thinks what it would be like to really have someone like that in her life, how life changing that moment would be but then she brushes the thought off thinking that it only exists in movies or in those online books that she writes.  She is a full time writer who writes fan fiction and romance fiction online just so she could earn some money to survive.  But it also is a way for her to put her thoughts into words when it becomes too difficult  to express them verbally.

She would write about her ideal man in some of her stories knowing very well that it just could not be true in real life so she comfort and make herself happy by writing about him.  She often describes him as being very tall; having a lean but muscular body, short spiky hair with a good personality, noble character, successful and trustworthy. Zara did not care much what he does for a living, as long as he has a decent job it's all good or even how good looking he must be.  She always believes that inner beauty is more important than anything else.  As a matter of fact, she would not consider herself to be that beautiful, she is just moderate.  Coming from Indian descendants, she was born in Cape Town, South Africa where she has lived and spent her entire life.  She is herself tall, slim, with layered long dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and slightly fair in complexion, the reason why she wants to have somebody just like that in her life.  But then again, it is not like you are going to get everything exactly as you wanted it to be in life.  The irony of life itself is it hits you with something you have not been expecting.  

It is something that Zara knows very well as whatever she has expected so far, life has thrown something way different on her path.  So now she does not expect, she go about and accept everything that comes her way without fighting it.  Needless to say let's wait and see what life throws at her next.

Born in the beautiful city of Cape Town in South Africa, Zara is currently living a nightmare as she is still jobless at the age of thirty and while all her friends are getting married, she has been cursed with the life of a single for a long time.  After attending her best friend Isabella wedding, she decided to travel all the way to the UK on her own for a change of atmosphere.  
This journey was about to be a turning point in her miserable life when she accidentally bumps into a handsome stranger at the airport just when she was starting her trip.  
Little did she know that this handsome hunk was the heartthrob Daeshim, a famous South Korean actor that every Korean girl dreams of!  Was this a meaningful clash of fate or was it just another incident at the airport with an unknown person?

It all began the day before my father's death. I remember our last conversation as clear as day. I admitted to him my lack of confidence in my desired profession. I told him I want to become a writer but that I lack the ability to be truly creative. I lack the ability to see it in my mind. I just want to be an author and create something new and admirable. When I spoke of my worries to him, of my faltering conscience, he only laughed. It made me angry, but before I could speak on it, he spoke to me. 
"I know you, Gracie, and I believe you can do whatever you put your mind to." He held my hand and squeezed gently. As much as I knew he was trying to comfort me, it didn't help as much as I wanted it too. He's been telling me this my whole life. 
"I don't know, dad. I think I'm in over my head.  I want to live many different lives. I only get one chance at the one I have now and the only time I can really get out to the world and make friends and create things that others could never do is through words." Feeling tears come at this admission, I let go of his hand. He didn't look hurt and my irritation flared some. I have a slight temper problem sometimes. It can be an upsetting development in certain situations because nobody knows quite what to do with me. It's one of the other reasons I want to escape this world. I'm not sure I could really live with how people look at me. Disgust. Fear. Upset. The only people who ever understand me is dad, Timmy, and my mom. My dad is an old soul and very clumsy. He's always breaking stuff. Timmy is only a small child. Well, he was a small child. My mom is a very quiet person. Though when she does talk, she's a very chipper woman. I think I got my temper from my grandpa. He died about two years back, but I knew him well enough to keep my distance. 
"It'll all work out. I just know it will." Dad said to me. It was a small comfort, knowing I had his support. 
The next day, we ate dinner at the table together. Timmy was eating his Macaroni and cheese with his hands and sitting in his high chair. Mom hadn't realized what had happened until much later and I was locked inside my own mind, traveling around the depths and corners, still trying to distinguish and organize everything in there.
At first I thought the clump sound I heard was Timmy throwing his bowl again, so I paid no mind. I wish I could go back to my 13 year old self and tell myself to pay attention. Maybe it wouldn't have ended that way.
It's been fifteen years since that moment. I remember that distinct sound, that CLUMP! that ended all the normalcy of my life. It was a heart attack, we were told. I don't ever remember heart attacks ever causing someone to be in a coma for six years. Mom eventually gave up and signed the paperwork to pull the plug. He's gone now. They told us after his first examination that if we had gotten him to the hospital even a few moments before, he would have had a better chance at survival. It was all my fault then. Mom was hysterical and her first instinct was to run to him and hold his spasming body. How I couldn't even notice him right in front of me, having a seizure of some sort, I have no idea. I guess I was just too absorbed and too busy being selfish. 
I'm twenty eight now. I finished a four year college on literature, journalism, and the fine arts. I figured learning about creative things would give me some real creative ideas. After graduating, it was difficult to find a decent working job. I found a company called "If Life Was a Book" and applied there. The company was created specifically for aspiring authors. They allow me to write my stories there and have them edited and published. The more popularity, the more money goes into the company. It's only a new place, but I'm sure it will be prosperous. It's almost always half full in the main writing room. I find the typing on the keyboards to be pleasing.
I remember Timothy's reaction when I told him I finally found the perfect place to live out my dream profession. He was playing video games in his room and there was a girl in there. I honestly think he could do much better than that. The girl looked like a slutty hippie, with those really high Mexican style heels, the short, tight, shiny shirt and the lumpy skirt with soft looking fabric. She had her hair up messily and I realized what had occurred after a moment of thinking. There was even a used condom on the floor. 
When I told Timmy of my accomplishment, he barely said anything to me. I'm sure he heard me because he nodded in my direction. I learned later that the girl's name is Lizabeth, but most people just call her Beth. 
Mom's reaction was none too similar. Ever since dad was first induced into his coma, mom killed off her twenty two years of sobriety. She was always drunk. This time, when I came to her with the news, she just laughed at me. 
"Oh Grrracie, Gracc—," She laughed an amused laugh and stumbled forward a bit. "Do you really think he's cheering you on right now? No, he's not. He's wondering right this second as he watches his daughter just why he helped birth you. He wonders why you try SO hard to accomplish something you'll never be able to have. He would be ashamed to find you still groveling to everyone around you. He would be ashamed to know that you aren't even doing this for his family. Wouldn't it be sad if he knew why you're really doing this? How do you think he would feel if he knew you only work at that dumb company because you're still in denial that he's gone." She let out a snarky laugh. I've gotten used to this type of behavior from her. It's become almost normal. 
Before I know what's happening, I'm in her face, blood boiling and face scrunched up in anger. I huffed into her face.
"And I bet he's turning over in his grave watching you be such a wonderful mother." Sarcasm so strong it could break through titanium leaks out dreadfully. The words are cruel, I know, but I couldn't keep them in. Her eyes fill up to the brim with salt water. She slaps me, something I didn't see coming until I felt the burn on my face. She's seething. She's said all these things to me and when I get mad, she rages. I'm not even sure what she was expecting. I let out a dark, humorless laugh and walk out the room. 
I don't allow myself to cry as I leave that house. I needed to go back to my book. 
I've been working at the company for three years now. I've written a few books since then. Only two, but I never thought writing would be so time consuming. I wrote a book about a girl gaining special powers from her father who happened to be the King. She didn't know that until the end though. The other book was about a girl who is constantly being chased by her own nightmares and one day the Nightbringer welcomes himself into the dreams and turns them into reality. It was almost a reflection of my life. That was probably why it was such a successful book. "The Nightbringer," I called it. It was only so successful because it was very detailed and reflected my emotions. I had to add the story of my life in the acknowledgements if only to help people understand me better.
That moment three years ago was the moment I realized I couldn't stay in that house anymore, so I left without saying a word. It wasn't worth staying anyway. I got an apartment on one of the quieter parts of town. The city shuffled everywhere all the time, always moving. Maybe that's what kept the city alive. It doesn't matter though because I'm used to it by now.
I walk through the door of my home after a long day of tapping keys. I made it to about two hundred thousand letters today and my fingers ached. It was definitely more than I usually write. Even sticking the keys through the doorknob was difficult. My hands shook and it took a whole six and a half minutes to finally get the door open. My neighbor lended a hand after hearing me struggling with it and then walked back inside his apartment. Inside was cold. The cold air had been turned on this morning. I woke up sweating because of the heat and turned it on this morning. If seems as though I forgot to turn it back off again. It feels like a blizzard rolled in unannounced. 
I'm so stupid, I think to myself. Why am I such an idiot? And so forgetful? You'd think I'd have learned by now. Mistakes being made seems to be a habit I've had recently. I just can't help it. I've been trying to quit, but nothing seems to work. I sigh as I set down the keys. I'm so tired I could sleep for ages. It's a Thursday though, so I can't expect anything nice tomorrow except more writing early in the morning. I get paid tomorrow. I'm ready to hurry up and get these damn bills paid for and done with. Great. Just great. I've begun cursing in my own head. A humorless laugh escapes me. I seem to be having a good bit of those recently. What the hell am I supposed to do. 
I jump as I stand there. I hear a vibrating sound along with some sort of alarm and my heart skitters and jumps. Then I realize the buzzing and alarm sounds are coming from my phone. 
Once again, I feel a wave of self-totally-not-appreciation. "Yunoka" the ringer said. Yuno is my best friend if not my only friend. She's Japanese but definitely knows her English. She's taught me the basic of Japanese and I tend to educate her on Spanish sometimes which I took in high school. 
I press the green call button and bring the phone to my ear. As I do that, I begin removing my shoes. "Hello?" My voice is tired and I hope she doesn't notice. 
No such luck.
"Oh my goodnessers, Gracie, are you alright? You sound like someone just karate chopped you in the throat and then stole your voice, chopped that, too and gave it back in an unsuccessful surgery." I let out a rough laugh, and my throat was sore. Yuno can always make me laugh.
"Oddly specific." I mutter after my laugh.
"For good reason, girl, trust me. Anyway, I was calling to see if you could edit my article for the newspaper."
"You're still working on that thing? Don't you know that nobody reads those except old people?"
"Hey, one day we will be those old people reading these papers. Be respectful to your elders, Gracie because one day those elders could be you." I laugh again.
"Yes, ma'am." I joke. All of a sudden Yuno's voice is serious. 
"Gracie, on a more serious note, how have you been feeling? I know your mother isn't doing too well and Timmy is still being a man hoe and failing at life, so I want to know if you've been alright. You haven't been pushing yourself too hard, have you?" I don't have to think of my answer too long. 
"Have no fear, Yuno, everything is fine. As for my mom and Timmy, they've made their choices. I'm just caught up in work and deadlines right now although I definitely passed it today."
Yuno's voice is sincere: "I know, honey. Maybe you should take a leave of absence for a little while. You know, kind of relax. Take a deep breath and think about things. I know how you can be sometimes. It can't possibly be healthy." Now I just really want to end the call. I hate talking about serious stuff. It bothers me on a very severe emotional level. 
I have always told Yuno that my home life isn't something I like to talk about so hearing her talking about it to me like it's some normal thing we do all the time is annoying. 
"Yuno." I reply sternly. "Good night. I need sleep. It's the only relaxing I'm going to get anytime soon." 
I swiftly end the call and take a shower. The water on my back is more relaxing than any lousy breaks. My work is what keeps me sane and alive. Yuno doesn't understand me at all. I'm still going to try to fit in editing her article into my schedule, but I'm still not happy about her intrusion on my personal life. 
I hurry out of the shower and into my bed. It's definitely not the most comfortable thing in the world, but's it's better than home. No, I tell myself. This is my home. 
But in my mind, a distant saying circles my brain and hounds my thoughts.
"Home is where the heart is." 
I wish that were true.

Twenty-eight year old Gracie Pierce wants to be a writer. With her father dead, her mother as a drunk, and her little brother addicted to video games and girls, she has persistent urges to write if only to escape her home life. One day, Gracie is so captivated by her own story that she gets entranced and trapped by it and becomes a literal character inside her book. In order to return home to her family back in the real world, Gracie must become the hero of her own creativity. However, Gracie begins to wonder if she truly wants to leave the fantasy world at all; especially considering all that she has to go through in the real world. Warning: Not much romance here. Told from Gracie’s point of view. Support for this book is greatly appreciated. The more support is equal to the amount of motivation I have to continue writing! Thanks! :) (Light Fantasy)

I am not that pleasant to the eye. I have these forever tiny pimples that take shelter on my face. And I think I have gotten big over the years of stress-eating. 

This guy in front of me does not think so though. 

/"I was wondering if you wanted to grab some dinner later."/ 

Or maybe he is just making fun of me and this is some kind of prank he is trying to pull off with his jock of a friends. I have seen this guy and he is the new member of the basketball team of Moordale High. I have not known him that much, but I know the basketball boys were assholes. 

This guy standing in front of me is a sophomore and it sucks that he is taller than me. He has brown curly hair, black eyes, and frickeled cheeks. And I think he is pleasant to the eyes, too pleasant. 

/"I was wondering if you wanted to grab some dinner later."/ 

Too straightforward to even be believable. I look boringly back at his eyes, which showed nervousness. He glances at something behind my back. The jockholes look like they are snickering. 

I grab the books from my lockers and look back at him.

"Trust me, you don't wanna be like them." I walk away from him and towards my first period. 

You see, the basketball players at my school hate me. They hate me for accidentally finding out their secret. I never meant to intrude but they were just not that careful. That's why they left me alone, sadly my proof was shattered by them, my phone, and now I had nothing against them. Just kidding, I backed it up on my laptop. I am not that fucking stupid. One more dirty move, and their parents will know that their precious innocent sons are actually not that innocent anymore. 

Wednesday is the best school day. Creative Writing is first period. And I love the subject. And I get to be with Atlas in the same room. 

I quickly go to my seat and write my thoughts and feelings of the day. Mr. Harrington has this idea of writing down what we are feeling and I don't know for what purpose. 

/I think I will be fine./

He has not yet arrived. I roll the paper and put it in the box of his table. 

I turn to my seat to find Atlas already sitting and writing down on his paper. He is 7 seats away from me. He is in front while I was at the back.

In no time, the students filled the room and Mr. Harrington started his lecture of the day. I listened to him properly but my mind keeps bringing me back to what happened this morning.

/"Your mom is coming here tomorrow, please clean your room."/ I hear my dad's voice. It was not my mom, coming to the house, that was bothering me. It was my dad. Sure, he changed. But everything was awkward at the house, he is always early for work and arrives so late. He does not look at me when he says something. We don't eat together. It's like we are two strangers living in the same house. Like housemates that are supposed to get along. We don't get along. He barely even talks to me. It has always been like that. I was always the one initiating the conversation when we eat together, which barely happens. I tell him about school and he would reply with words that are blank and I ask him about work and he'll say it's okay and the conversation ends.

/I think I will be fine/ I snap out of my thoughts and look back at Mr. Harrington who has started reading the rolled papers. 

"Whoever you are, remember that it gets better. Your day might have started badly, does not mean it ends badly, do something fun, something you want to do. It's a bad day, not a bad life." Mr. Harrington was good at motivation and making students feel better. I wonder why isn't the guidance councilor when he was better than Mrs. Yuan. 

"I beat off three tim..." the class is in hysterics, including me. "Now, what did I say about this stuff?..." He rambles on and on about the use of language and then continued to read the other papers, which of course, had plenty more unclean contents. 

I look back at Atlas, whose back I can only see. He is laughing along with the class, his broad shoulders bobbing in the process. 

He is good at poetry as well. He is good at everything he does. He is this perfect student, this perfect jock, this perfect son, this perfect boyfriend, but he will never be a perfect friend. 

Suddenly, I am so angry. Angry at him. Angry for what he has done. Angry that he gave up on our friendship. Angry that he blamed me for his parents separation when his parents actually had reunited and stayed a perfect family in town. Angry that he did not even reach out and try to recompense. Angry that he chose to be friends with assholes. Angry that he is unattainable. 

And I am angry at myself, for not being able to let go. For messing things up. For not being able to save my parents' marriage. Angry at my mother for leaving. Angry at my mother who has built a new family and they are probably talking and not awkward with each other. Angry at my father for cheating. Angry that he isn't proud of his faggot of a son that he could not even talk to let alone look at. I am angry that I chose him. 

I am angry at myself for being the way I am. I am angry that as I sit here, my eyes blinking back tears, looking at Atlas' back, I realize that I am jealous of him. That I have always been. And I hate it. 

"Mr. Jones, are you okay?" I look back at my 6'4 teacher who is now standing in front of me. I know all eyes are on me. They are probably looking at me weirdly, including Atlas. But I don't look at any.

I clear my throat.
"Um, yeah... I am okay sir."

I will always say I am okay.



/Even when it is obvious that I am not./

Summer is in love with Atlas. Atlas likes Summer, but no, not in that way.


boyxboy

City E National Academy was a prestigious institution that has given birth to outstanding individuals of various occupations. Among those few were skilled hunters. 

Countless young students desire to enter this school, most of them aims to qualify for a place in the famous Mana Sciences. This was the department that trains super humans, capable researchers and other personnels contributing to campaign against the monsters.

Unfortunately, the requirement were almost unreachable for ordinary person. Only those with good grades and sufficient funds are accepted. 

Those born with talent are accepted directly.

Young people, fresh from elementary gathered at the entrance of the academy, accompanied by their parents.

A young man walked towards the gate. He wasn't accompanied by anyone. This young man possessed a mature and elegant vibe, separating him from his peers. 

He had black hairs and blue eyes, wearing silver rimmed eyeglasses for fashion. A thin smile hung on his face as he walked towards the school. 

His black uniform with red stripes at the edges drew the eyes of everyone. They stepped aside and allowed the young man entry.

This was still the enrollment period, wearing a uniform could only mean one thing, the young man was a specially admitted student. The color of his uniform also indicates his department, Mana Sciences.

Young man walked quite a while before he entered a large gymnasium. A few people had already gathered inside. They saw him and called out.

"Areth, what took you so long?" 

Areth looked at his watch and he confirmed that he was just right on time.

"I'm sorry, I have to bring my siblings to the school." 

Seven years have passed peacefully. During those years, he spent his time most participating  in the Guild activities arranged by Anne, bullying his siblings, and teasing Leyfin.

When they graduated at elementary, Richard's father, their sponsor, suggest that they enter the National Academy. Areth had no problem with that, and the others were brimming with excitement. Because they have been training since childhood, their skills are incomparable to their peers and they were all accepted as special admissions.

The school allowed them to use the their facilities even before the school starts and have already reserved their rooms in their dormitories. It could be seen that the school's expectation towards them was high.

Anne had grown gorgeous. Her black hair was tied to a ponytail, her red eyes were gazing with composure. She simply stood there with an imposing aura, wearing a confident smile.

"Have you decided which course to take?" Anne asked them. Hey start to discuss their courses as school would start tomorrow.

All except Areth chose the mana manipulation and combat related courses. These techniques are fundamental for aspiring hunters like them.

Meanwhile, Areth's choice was not surprising to them, as he have been brainwashing them since a long time that he does not want to fight in the frontline. 

Hence, he chose the monster studies, rift geography and ecology, and other courses dealing mainly with information.

Anne had been opposed to his choice as she knew that she had the mysterious mage in the ring to teach him, it would be a shame to not become a hunter. Nevertheless, after spending a long time, she had finally been convinced that they needed someone who could take care of the planning and logistics.

Anne took out a stack of of paper with the words Retribution Guild on the front. Anne's face flushed slightly as she distributed the papers to to them. Even Areth felt some shame at the name of their guild, because it really sounds too edgy. The other kids did not mind it though, instead, they thought that their guild name sounds cool.

"Listen, I have registered a club so we can recruit talented students. School officially starts tomorrow, that would be the opportune time to publicize our club. What do you think?" Anne said.

Sheila spoke. "Sounds cool, however, I heard that our seniors already formed many clubs. The competition would be fierce."

Anne smiled fiercely. "Of course, all we need to do is to show off. Lian, Rachel, you two are the mage here. Prepare some tricks tomorrow."

Lian replied confidently. "Sure."

Rachel also nodded.

"Alright, I suppose everyone has no problem with their courses? Good, let's begin training."

The school gymnasium was vast, and possess the most sophisticated training equipments for aspiring hunters. Since they have the status of special admissions, they naturally took advantage of this.

Areth excused himself and returned to his dormitory. It was a room shared by two people, but currently, there was no one.

The ring in his hand glowed and projected Leyfin's image.

"It feels good be out again!" She floated around the room.

"Anyway, why did you not take the class for mage? Did you seriously intend to become a receptionist? It would be a waste of god's gift!"

"Don't worry, if a strong monster came, it would be the time for me to destroy it." Areth said as he jumped on his bed.

"Hhmp! So confident. You have yet to completely master the different variations or my fireball spell."

"Alright alright." Areth said. "I promise to learn it master."

"Child, don't get overconfident, if the demons found this world, it would be over."

Leyfin was intent on lecturing him, but she found that he had already fallen asleep. Pouting, she could only sigh and return to the ring.

Areth entered the virtual cube in the dream world. Compared to before, the bar was now surrounded by many islands. Needless to say, this was the result of him spreading the method to craft the virtual cube.

The lonely dream world had somewhat turned into a small town. He could see people strolling around.

When he entered the bar, he saw many people indulged in drinking. There was no one in the counter so anyone could just take a bottle freely. The contents would never ran out as it was an illusion. 

Areth was also contributing to humanity in a subtle way. One of his accomplishment was the library. 

Behind the counter, there was a door that leads to the library. Areth waved  a golden badge to the door and it opened.

The badge was distributed by him as Mr Adam to a select few. Only those who possess it could enter. The people drinking at the bar turned sober upon seeing the mysterious person walk inside the door. 

Having earned the right to access the dream world was a sign that they were capable and decent people, nevertheless, the library was the most mysterious place in the dream world and it was off limits to them. 
 
They only knew that it contains vast knowledge regarding magic, sword arts, fighting techniques, and all kinds of mystical knowledge. The largest organization in the world has allegedly worked together to compile their knowledge into the library. These organizations include the Light Temple, the Burning Clan, Mystery,  the guild Guardian as well as some of these higher ups in the Hunter's Association.

Areth entered the library and saw people browsing the the shelves. All of them were presumably VVIPs in the real world. Those inside adhered to a rule of non-interaction. No one would ask for someone's identity or anything of the sort.

Looking at his work, Areth felt accomplished. The first people he invited to the dream world confirmed the existence of demons and they reported it to their respective organizations. These organizations found out the threat demons possess towards mankind. They then set aside their differences to create a global organization to unify their efforts against the demons.

Dalia suggested that they use the dream world as the headquarters and let it be known only to a select few. They also agreed to combine their knowledge.

With Areth's help, they were able to create this vast library and fill the books with helpful contents. It took many years to make these books.

They have also established a system similar to the Hunter Association in the real world. They offer missions from the dream world, but all the missions were related to demons, which is currently a top secret information.

Some books containing precious martial arts or magic would serve as rewards, those who earned enough contributions would be granted the golden badge and would be able to access the library.

It could be said that the dream world has become the most powerful force in the world due to this.

Areth looked around and found a long desk. Several hooded figures were seated on it, holding small cubes in their hands. The books lying in front of them originally had empty contents, but a few moments later they would be filled with letters.

These people were the scribes from the various organizations supporting the dream world. Areth could be considered one of them since he was also transferring knowledge to the books.

Manual writing would not work on the dream world as it was already fixed, just like how the bottles of drink in the bar would never run out of contents. The only way was to use virtual cubes to create new illusions and engrave them on the books.

These scribes were dressed in the same way as him, wearing black robes and black mask that covered their faces. Everyone has different emblems on their attire, Areth's emblem was a set of interlacing circles, creating an image that resembles a flower. In some culture, it was know as the flower of life.

Areth say down and began his job of saving the world. 

When Areth was learning Leyfin's fireball spells, he never slacked. He memorized them and even asked Leyfin for permission to distribute them.

She was excited about it, she agreed as long as the authorship was named after her, she had long wanted to pass her legacy of thousand fireballs and of course, she wanted to be remembered as the one who pioneered the development of the spell.

Areth naturally complied. Fireball spell was not much of a use for him, but it might be different for others who are weak. Fireballs have low requirements, it can be easily learned and used. It was a very suitable spell for war for its long range and fast cast speed.

Leyfin's fireball spell might as well be the most precious spells in the library. Areth sincerely admired the young lady who persevered in developing such humble spell into something really powerful.

He carefully materialized the formula for the Burning Heavens Fireball and other variants in the book. He added Leyfin's name in the cover and placed it to the right section.

"Job done." Areth smiled.

A powerful wizard who was reincarnated on a foreign world decided to retire, and perhaps return to his original world.

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