Chapter 32: Simulation start
[Cadet Victor, in light of the Simulation trials taking place tomorrow, afternoon lessons for today are hereby cancelled for all first-year classes. It would be in your best interest to use this time wisely and prepare for the trials ahead.
Note: if you require any specific materials to combat your burdens, be sure to send the request to the contact linked below. The same applies to weapon requests (no guns allowed).]
[Cadet Victor, for the purposes of the trial you will be paired with the following cadets: Maki Sato and Lily]
[Hello, Slumrat664. Are you perhaps in a tough spot? Do you need to make some quick cash? Then come on down to Shank’s Organ Flippers. Special deals now only...]
Ignoring whatever the hell that third one was, I focused on the messages in front of me.
"You got them too right?"
Shin sat before me, hands still holding his utensils as he gazed distantly at seemingly nothing.
I sighed before swiping the notifications away.
"Yeah, I did."
The boy blinked, turning his gaze back to normal before looking at me.
"You don’t seem too happy about it though, got an awful pairing or what?"
I rubbed my head in frustration.
’It’s not like I didn’t expect it.’
The plot had already changed. In the novel Maki had been paired with Rowan, but now she was paired with me.
Though, I already had suspicions this would happen. Especially given what Kaito had told me.
I didn’t recognize the other name though.
But something about it did stand out.
’She doesn’t have a surname.’
Another orphan then.
There weren’t many of our kind here in Bastion.
’I wonder who Rowan got paired with?’
Shin broke my train of thought.
"Looks like I got teamed up with that Rowan guy."
I could only give the wolfman a deadpan stare.
’Well isn’t that an interesting coincidence.’
They certainly hadn’t been paired together in the novel.
’All the original pairings were probably mixed up too. Why the hell did Evanka have to meddle in this?’
I had a feeling it was her suggestion that messed everything up.
"Lucky you then, even though he’s a commoner. I hear he can handle himself pretty well in a fight, not to mention his potential."
While he wasn’t at the same level of technical skill as people like Maki and Alexa, his powers helped him circumvent that gap.
He’d only grow stronger.
"He really is that impres—"
I interrupted him.
"Speak of the devil."
At the corner of my vision, I saw a familiar white-haired boy enter the cafeteria. Beside him was a particularly gloomy girl.
All of a sudden he paused, turning to look in what was suspiciously close to my direction. He said something to the girl beside him.
Then he began walking towards us.
’He’s not coming here right?’
When he was close enough, he began waving.
’Oh, he is definitely coming here.’
The gloomy girl followed closely behind him.
’Yay... Racheal’s coming too.’
I rubbed my head in frustration before weakly returning Rowan’s wave.
Soon enough, the boy stood before me. From behind him I could feel Racheal’s gaze boring into me.
"It’s been a while, Victor."
"That it has, dear Rowan."
"Why do I have a feeling that you’re mad at me for some reason?"
"What? Me? Mad at you? That’s crazy talk."
I flashed Rowan a strained smile before pointing towards the chairs.
"Come on, have a seat. You too as well, Lady Racheal."
"No, don’t sweat it. I just stopped to check up on you, and..."
He turned to face Shin.
"You’re Shin Tae-young right? I think we’re in the same team for the Simulation."
The wolfman extended a hand towards him.
"To think even you’d know about me. It’s nice to meet you."
Rowan looked a bit shocked at Shin’s clawed hand before accepting it with an awkward chuckle.
"You’re... quite distinctive, it’d be hard not to know you."
Shin just shook it with a laugh.
"I guess it would, wouldn’t it?"
While the two were busy buddying up, I was left alone to withstand Racheal’s burning gaze.
’I really don’t want to get in contact with her this early.’
Scratching my collar, I extended a hand towards her.
"Lady Racheal, it’s an honor to meet you."
She caught it smoothly with a gloved hand.
"The honor is mine, Victor."
Through the glove, I could feel the heat emanating from her palm. It was warm, unnaturally so.
Forcing a smile, I naturally released her hand. The girl, however, kept a straight face, still staring at me intensely.
Soon enough, she broke the silence.
"What are your thoughts on nobles?"
’She really doesn’t waste time, does she?’
Before I could even reply, Rowan, who seemed to have gotten wind of what she was saying, stopped his conversation with Shin and grabbed her hand.
"We’re not doing this again, I really only stopped to say hi. You can try recruiting them some other time."
He began walking away, dragging her with him.
"Come on, we’re leaving now."
The boy paused a bit, turning to face us again.
"Also, I’ll catch you guys later, yeah?"
Then he left, along with Racheal. Though the whole time she kept her gaze fixed directly on me.
And sure enough, just before I lost sight of them, the message I’d been dreading popped up.
[Do you wish to save Racheal Solaris as a contact?]
> [Yes]
[No]
’Well fuck...’
Now I had two options.
I could either accept it, giving her the opportunity to continue pestering me. Or I could decline, forever shutting her down and rejecting an olive branch given by THE Racheal Solaris.
Regardless of how much I didn’t want to participate in whatever game Racheal and Varic were playing, I’d much rather allow her to pester me about it than shut her out completely.
In the end, she was the main heroine here.
Sighing, I reluctantly accepted the request.
Shin broke the silence they left behind.
"Rowan seems like a really cool guy."
"Nah, fuck him."
He gave me an amused look.
"I thought you said you weren’t mad at him."
"Yeah, I lied."
That guy brought Racheal along far earlier than I thought I’d meet her. Now she had her eye on me.
’Hahhh... I suppose it doesn’t make much difference in the end.’
Having Demigod-level potential would have already attracted her attention to me, it probably already had. It was likely the reason she just straight up asked me about my opinion on nobles.
Rowan just fast-tracked a process that was already happening.
’Ugh, enough of this.’
The Simulation was tomorrow, and I had to get as much training as I possibly could in before then.
Even after that, I still had to go over my plan with Song tonight.
I already had a growing headache thinking about it all.
I sighed before turning back to my food.
’This is going to be a long day.’
---
We stood in front of a massive metallic door, all hundred and twenty-something cadets neatly lined up in columns.
Before us stood Alice, still wearing her iconic large wizard hat and a dark witch’s gown to match.
Her eyes scanned us lazily as she gave out instructions on how to use the dream engines.
I only kept half an ear open to her though, I already knew most of what she was talking about after all.
Instead, I kept searching through the crowd, looking for Song.
Soon enough, I found her.
She stood in one of the back rows, her gaze trained completely on Alice. However, it held a weariness that spoke of a lack of rest.
’Still much better than before though.’
As for me, given that I’d skipped my morning exercise today, I felt in much better condition than usual. I had to be in top shape when I entered the Simulation.
Soon enough, Alice was done with her speech.
"You’ll find out more information regarding the Simulation, its tasks, and requirements when the trial begins."
With that, she stepped aside, and the massive door behind her gently slid open.
Behind it was a large hall, with numerous doors packed into its walls.
"Now you may proceed forward, in an orderly manner. One cadet to one room."
And soon enough we were moving.
It wasn’t hard to find a room for myself.
Stepping inside, I found a chamber designed to have only enough space to comfortably fit the massive device within it.
’It looks even stranger in person.’
The dream engine lay at the center of the room. A large, metallic, coffin-like structure with multiple tubes from the walls entering and leaving its body.
A colorless, transparent liquid filled its interior.
Projectors and screens on its body displayed stats and holograms that I couldn’t even make heads or tails of.
Still, regardless of how complex the device was, using it was rather simple.
All I had to do was strip and submerge myself in the liquid. The engine would handle the rest.
I gave each corner of the room a suspicious glance, checking for cameras before I took my clothes off.
I stripped to my underwear, packed the rest of my clothes, and dropped them in a corner.
Standing at the edge of the dream engine, I couldn’t help but feel hesitant as I stared at the liquid within it.
It was specially designed to allow humans to breathe just fine within it.
Didn’t make it feel any less weird though.
Not like I had anyone to blame but myself for that. After all, I wrote this damned novel.
I sighed before dipping my feet into it, shivering as its chill seeped into my skin.
’It’s safe. It’s safe. It’s...’
Going from down up, I gradually submerged the rest of my body into the liquid.
Soon enough, it was just my head above it.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and submerged it too.
’Cold.’
An all-consuming cold wrapped around my body, seeping into every inch of my skin. Drowning me in a state of simultaneous discomfort and numbness.
The growing pressure from the breath I held in my chest wasn’t making things any easier.
Cautiously, I forced myself to exhale.
The moment I did, the cold seeped in through my nose, down into my lungs. Each breath felt heavier, thicker... colder.
The sense of numbness overtook the discomfort, and like lights going off, I began losing feeling in my body.
Everything darkened, and I found myself floating within a senseless abyss. There was no up, no down, no sight, no smell.
Just an impenetrable, unfeeling darkness.
Then I heard it.
A faint, then growing whistling.
Then I felt it.
A deep, harrowing wind cutting across my exposed skin. Leaving it even colder with each passing second.
Then I opened my eyes.
And found myself in an icy wasteland.