Alex's parents worked in the main palace of the capital, which was why Alex got acquainted with the Princess in the first place.
His father was one of the gardeners and his mother served as a maid in the palace. Alex often went to work with them and had a very close relationship with his parents until a few years ago.
Then, a year ago, when Celestria returned to the Capital with Edric but not Alex, for some reason, their behaviour suddenly changed.
Celestria wanted to show Edric the capital and Alex had to stay back in the academy to finish his assignments.
Alex's absence beside Celestria and Edric's presence made them believe that Alex was no longer as close to the Princess as he was before. As such, they lost hope in their child.
Alex was well aware of his parents' behaviour. Through the memories of the ex-owner, he could see how his parents always focused on his visits to the palace and always encouraged Alex to be in Celestria's good books.
But now, after they have heard that Alex was caught in an act which could grant him a death sentence and also affect their jobs, the first thing they did was write a declaration that they no longer have anything to do with their child.
Alex looked at the letter and felt his heart rate elevating. However, on his face, there was a smirk of mockery.
Crumbling the paper in a ball he threw it away and finished his food.
Seeing such nonchalant behaviour, Jullie couldn't help but ask, "Did you not understand what was written in that letter?"
"I do, Professor, "Gulping a few mouthfuls of water, he said, "I just don't care about what they think anymore."
Jullie's lips parted in shock, torn between the feelings of grief of what that letter contained, and shocked because of how indifferently he brushed off the matter.
She knows Alex enough to expect his reaction to the news of getting abandoned. But right now, this was far from what she expected.
Alex heaved a sigh before telling her, "Ma'am, I have already realised my parents' true colours. They loved me because of my relationship with Cela. And until now, I was also just keeping up the act in order to not make my relationship bitter with my only blood-related relatives. But now that they have decided that this should be the point where we part, I have nothing to say against it."
Jullie bit her lips in annoyance. Which parents love their children for their selfish desires? She knows how much Alex has suffered in these twenty hours, and instead of sympathy, they outrightly severed their connection with him.
'What a fucked up world is this...' Getting up from her seat, she stepped forward and knelt before Alex.
Taking his hand in hers, she spoke in utmost sincerity, "Alex...I know I can never take your parent's place, but if you feel like sharing something...want to vent or cry, do not hesitate to approach me, okay?"
Alex stared at the woman blankly. As Ceaser and Alex...this might be the first time someone reached out to him not because of some interest or because they were burdened under some responsibility.
There was nothing Jullie could gain from being so kind towards him. Even last night, she was risking her job and reputation by feeding an accused. And now, she was getting angry in his stead.
A smile lifted the edges of his lips as Alex slowly nodded, "I will, Professor."
Jullie soon left since she had to accompany the Princess to the capital along with the Headmaster. After what happened in the morning, she has to make sure that the Princess reaches her home before the Headmaster informs the King about the whole situation.
And now she has the chance to visit the capital...she surely would meet the two shitty humans who dared abandon such a sweet child as Alex.
....
After Jullie left, Alex rested for a few hours and allowed his body to recover. In the afternoon someone arrived to check on him and gave him his lunch.
Once Alex finished the lunch, he felt himself back to full energy.
"Now, let's see..." Standing in the middle of his fairly big dormitory, he closed his eyes.
He could feel the strange, warm energy inside him, which, as an earthling, he had never experienced.
This was a familiar sensation since Alex felt it back when he ate the cookies in the jail, as well.
The warm sensation inside him is the Soul Energy. The power which manifests from one's soul.
With every attack, spell and damage taken, one's soul energy decreases. However, through enough rest, one could regain their soul energy.
'Hmm...the primary and the only skill Alex possessed was storage....' It wasn't any simple skill; Alex could make anything his spatial storage, and based on how much soul energy he spent on the object, he could expand the storage area within the object.
To maintain the spell, he needs to continuously feed his soul energy to it...but in the long run, it can be harmful.
"Garesta," Alex called out cluelessly, unsure if it will work. But fortunately, it did.
A book, his grimoire to be precise, came into life and began levitating before him.
A grimoire is like a status panel for everyone in the world, which only the user can look at.
And currently, Alex's stats look like,
[Name: Alex]
[Age: 17]
[Str: 25] (Avg: 30)
[Spd: 32] (Avg: 30)
[Int: 81] (Avg: 25)
[Skill: Storage, Sword Arts, Rapid regeneration, Heightened comprehensibility.]
[Soul Energy: 383]
[Upper limit: 500]
[Lower limit: 25]
.
Ignoring everything else, Alex focused on his upper and lower limit. These limits are determined at the time of awakening.
The upper limit is the threshold after which the person grows their stats significantly. And the lower limit is the last line of warning. If one's soul energy drops below the lower limit, they start exhausting their life energy and start losing their years of life.
As of now, Alex's soul energy was quite average and based on that he could rank himself around E or something. However, thanks to the knowledge he retained from his previous life, he would now gain more soul energy and grow his stats within the time he has left.
And the best way to increase soul energy?
'Battle.'
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A/N:- The world system would take some time to completely unfold. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. Save the book in your collection.
The academy returned to its former routine once again. The Soulless incident made a big impact on students' mental state about how near they could be brought to danger, and for that, they always needed to be prepared.
As such, after two days, it was announced that the duration of practical lessons would be elevating. The students with the current system of education would only become academically strong, not physically
It was the decision of the Headmaster after he realised how weak the students of this era had become that under the presence of Abeth, they were losing consciousness.
He regretted the decision to allow Abeth to regulate the education system.
As such, after two days of that incident, students could be seen currently gathered in the third training hall to sharpen their abilities and also, prepare for the tournament that would be taking place the next year.
Celestria was escorted back to her home, under the protection of Vermillion and the Headmaster. However, Edric was still worried about her, given how many things she had gone through.
"It's not your fault, you know." Hearing his lover's voice, Edric heaved a sigh.
The light green-haired girl who goes by the name Amanda Lockwood could sense how Edric was feeling concerned about his best friend; however, there was nothing he could and should do about it for now.
"She chose to not trust Alex, not like she should be forgiven easily," As blunt as ever, Amanda stated.
Naturally, being close to Celestria through Edric she knew what conversation Celestria had with Alex when she went to meet him. And that's why after witnessing the trial, Alex's indifference towards Celestria was quite understandable.
"I know ..but still, I feel bad for Alex and Cela," Edric sighed, "Only I know how much they adored each other and because of a third person, a massive crack appeared in their relationship."
Hearing those words, the green-haired raised her brows, "In a way, you also are responsible. After all, it is true that after meeting you Cela has been spending most of her time with you, and Alex mostly remained all alone. You know how shy he is, so it is understandable why he never made any other friends."
Edric slowly nodded as his eyes went towards the silver-haired youth who was running around the field without bothering to care about the numerous people murmuring about him.
It was strange that despite how many things happened he was willing to join the training. And his demeanour was different from the past as well.
...almost like he was looking at a different person.
Turning his gaze towards his girlfriend, Edric asked, "So do you think I should stay away-"
"Hey, look at that." Suddenly Amanda frowned and pointed towards the court.
Edric also turned his attention and found his gaze widening.
Alex, who was running around until a moment ago, was currently surrounded by students and faintly, Edric could see Alex being confronted by a female student about something.
'Isn't she...Celestria's roommate? What is she doing?' Edric walked forward to listen to the commotion, as he heard Alicia shouting,
"You are a murderer! Someone who should be executed right away! Not only are you jealous of Edric you even falsely accused the Vice-headmaster, forcing him to take such a risky step!"
Edric's eyes widened upon hearing that, and he instantly ran towards the crowd.
However, before he could have reached them, suddenly, a loud reverberation of a slap echoed; turning the whole crowd silent in an instant.
Edric slowly paused with his eyes widened, as the person who got slapped wasn't Alex—which one could expect given his usual attitude of being a submissive person—rather, it was Alicia who had her head turned to the right and a glaring red mark on her cheek.
Edric was flabbergasted and so was Alicia, as she slowly turned her eyes back on Alex with her eyes stretched wide as she asked, "What did you jus-
"Listen, girl, if you shout at me ever again, I am so gonna slaughter you just like your beloved sugar daddy, understood?" His voice held that edge which made Alicia instantly close her mouth and even nod in agreement. The other students have also stepped back seeing that ferocity in Alex's eyes.
Alicia then realised what she heard just now, making her eyes widen. However, before she could have said anything, Alex told her,
"If you are so angry about Abeth's death, then go on and challenge me for a battle. If you win, I will do whatever you want."
Alicia smirked; this was her chance.
Crossing her hand on her chest, she said, "Are you fucking nu-" However, she had to seal her lips instantly once she remembered what had happened in the common hall.
That attack Alex launched was not something that even Abeth could dodge...and here she was only a Two-star mage.
Taking a strong gulp, she glared at him and said, "You will pay for this one day "
Alex rolled his eyes and turned around to leave. Just as he thought, this girl can only bark. And not like she can offer much Soul points to him in the first place.
Seeing the crowd dispersing, Edric ran toward Alex, and while jogging beside him, he asked, "I never believed that you would ever hit a woman."
Alex already sensed Edric approaching him that's why he simply answered, "I got sensitive ears...someone shouts, I get pissed."
This was the first time for Edric to hear about it. Edric came into Alex's contact regularly, so it was no wonder he was surprised.
"Hey Alex, "Suddenly Edric brought his hand over the silver-haired's shoulder, urging Alex to pause as well before he heard the Protagonist asking,
"Can't you...forgive Celestria? I mean-" A hand which Alex raised, stopped Edric from continuing as the raven-haired heard the other one asking,
"Who do you care about the most in the world? Like you can't imagine a life without them?"
Edric blinked and absentmindedly responded, "My...mother..."
"Yes, so one day, what if she says that you no longer exist for her? And that you two should pretend to not know each other. Will you listen to her or try going against her wishes?"
Edric was speechless. Although he knew exactly what he was talking about, he couldn't say anything to make Alex forgive Celestria after hearing those words.
Alex nodded, "I think now you understand. So let's focus on ourselves from now on, since, at one point we would be standing all alone to deal with the devil."
Edric was taken aback hearing that, unsure why Alex said that last line. However, before he could have asked him, Alex turned around and strode away.
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A/N:- Thanks for reading.