Chapter
1
As she approached her new school, she saw vast towers that spiraled into the multi colored sky topped with shining onion domes. The buildings had polished stone rims with sturdy metal lining. She peered at the large school gates made of crystallized magic [[Essence]], and she couldn’t help but notice the boy she met years ago had flocks of people surrounding him. The group had swarmed in front of the gate, therefore blocking her path. She suspected that the crimson haired boy was from a high ranking family, seeing as he knew martial arts and magic.
It was natural for high rankers to be mobbed, so she chose not to talk to him unless she was willing to risk being trampled to death just to talk to a boy that probably wouldn’t remember her. However, getting through the school entrance was equally dangerous. “Please don’t trample me to death”, Spiral continuously chanted in her head as she weaved through the mob while clutching her backpack straps tightly. She got better at maneuvering through the crowd over time.
As usual when Spiral reached the school gate this morning she encountered the regular mob of girls, however, this time they were shrieking. “Don’t they have better things to do in the morning?”, she sighed while looking at the crowd. The tournament preliminaries had begun, which might have been the cause of all this ruckus. Just a few days ago, she had seen the same red-haired boy she used to know broadcasted via a large projection device in the air while she was working at one of her part time jobs.
One of the participants in the match was purely relying on her equipment, and was extremely hotheaded. When he defeated her in the PVP match that she challenged him to, the participant shouted to the boy “You cheated! No way you could have won with those mediocre equipment”. However, he didn’t even bat an eye to the girl’s outburst and left the stage .
She was stunned to find out that this boy was also “The Virgil Harp”, the son of the guild master of the largest guild in the entire world. That broadcast had made her think he had become selfish, spiteful, and pompous due to his status. However, she was delightfully surprised when she saw him treating the middle class staff courteously and she respected him for it.
Presently, while walking to her usual seat at school, she began to hear her spiteful classmates talking about her with obvious malice. They wanted to be heard by their smirks and loud chatter as they glanced over her. She didn’t mind most of the things they said about her and even if she did, she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of reacting to it. “This is why I hate attention. It’s never the good kind”, Spiral thought as she was taking her seat. The nicest thing people around her referred to her was “society reject”.
It was because she favoured people’s mentality and personality over looks. So, she didn’t care for large amounts of makeup, ill-fitting clothing, uncomfortable shoes, and useless accessories at all. “I heard that the freak would explode if IT wore anything stylish”, one of the chatterbugs said while looking at her with a nasty smirk plastered on his face. “This is why I hate gossip spreaders and idiots that believed groundless rumours”, Spiral thought angrily, but didn’t let it show and kept a blank face. She suffered worst from this cruel society.
Plus, Spiral knew that gossip isn’t always correct, as the views people had about the person in question could be completely different. She learned this when she heard some chatter from her schoolmates about Virgil being odd. Out of curiosity, she eavesdropped on a conversation her schoolmates had and found out that Virgil was being nice to the lower rankers on the street. Hearing this this made her respect for him grow. No one she had never known anyone in a high or mid rank to treat the low ranks with any respect at all. She wanted to be discreet about her admiration, as she didn’t want to be attacked by those so-called “admirers”, who stalked Virgil and sent him disturbing messages.
The thought of being attacked by those psychos was truly terrifying. Spiral’s life was hard enough with all the bullies, she doesn’t want anymore problems that she has to deal with. So, hopefully she could graduate in peace without any extra trouble. Then, the group started talking about the tournament and Spiral stopped eavesdropping on them.
She knew about the tournament despite being a low ranker, thought it was kind of hard not to know about it because of the worldwide broadcast of the second round and the rampant full year advertising seen everywhere from billboards to selling merchandise in grocery stores. The tournament was basically a place for the upper class to duke it out for the ultimate supremacy.
The lower class could never take part in the tournament. Although, some would try to crawl their way up the ranks by sacrificing everything, even their lives. The last part of her thought process reminded her of her parents back in the earth area, so she pushed it out of her mind and sat down in her seat. She sighed as the class teacher entered and the chatter began to cease. Thus, began another grueling day of school for her. Most of the teachers would favor the more capable students and wouldn’t even pay any attention to less capable ones. This led to the more weak spirited students giving up on schooling and looking for work.
Those students usually didn’t even get minimum wage and were condemned by society. Of course, the lower class had tried to obtain equality in the past but could never succeed, because of the huge gap. So, as time passed, more of the lower class and even middle class accepted their fate. That made the memory of her parents that she had initially pushed down in her memories gush out and that made her think about everything that had lead her to this point of her life.
Chapter
2
Spiral’s
home was a small place in the lower region of the earth area and it
doesn’t take a lot of footwork to cover her whole room. Her room
consist of a bed, a tiny study desk and a huge plastic bag for her
clothes. Even that was a tight squeeze and wondered if she should
move the study desk somewhere else. But then her mother shouted her
name and breaking her train of thought. She hurried to her mother but
still got smacked by her mother for being slow. Her father was
sitting at the dining table with the study belt wrapped around his
hand.
They
have been preparing her for her first day of kindergarten. Everyday
one of them would supervise her studying. She wasn’t allowed to eat
or sleep until she solved a problem. She would get whipped if she
answered wrong and get nothing if she answered right. Spiral was
confused when her parents dragged her out of the house to bring her
to an unknown place. That confusion immediately turned to horror when
she saw grilled doors and barred windows. Her mother shoved her into
a room and a cell door slammed in Spiral’s face. Her mother had a
strong look of disdain as Spiral cried out to her before her mother
left her in that place.
She
began to shake the cell bars and ugly cry because she thought she was
thrown into a children penitentiary that she heard her parents
mention sometimes during study sessions. She continued to cry till
she couldn’t cry anymore. Then, when she turned around and saw
other children looking at her, she pissed herself at the sight and
the adult next to her shrieked then ushered her to the bathroom that
was also the storage room.
Then,
threw shabby pants at her and told her to change into it before
leaving. Spiral changed into the scruffy and oversized pants. Then,
Spiral thought she could stay in the bathroom forever. But the adult
came back and ushered her out and seated her next to a boy. The boy
was scribbling some colorful patterns on paper using color pencils.
Spiral
watched the boy until her mother came to pick her up. Her mother
pinched her so hard, it caused her arm to bleed during their walk to
the car. The drive home was short but filled with loud screams of her
mother discontempt. She got out of the car after her mother. She
walked on the narrow gravelly asphalt road to her house that was
smooshed in between other houses of the earth area.
She
went inside and saw her mother holding a much thicker and larger belt
in her hand. Her mother began to whip her with the brass buckle. Her
mother whipped her harder when Spiral began to cry in pain. After
that, she was warned to not cause anymore incidents like today and
was sent to her room with no dinner.
The
next day in kindergarten, the kids began to taunt her. She held back
her tears in fear of the punishment for crying. School days continued
like this for three years until one day her teacher announced that a
winter festival will be held in the town plaza in two days because a
public figure will be attending.
Her
parents were lowly servants to high rankers of the earth area and saw
the winter festival as a way to raise their ranks so her parents
warned her not to misbehaved and painfully fussed over her. When her
parents dragged her to the winter festival, she wanted to make some
good memories. She went to booths managed by plants and lurkers and
tried her luck at the games. She managed to win some decent prizes.
She got hungry so she put her prizes in her item box and headed to a
booth selling food but then a group of boys surrounded her. They
demanded she hand over the prizes she won. Spiral refused because
those prizes proved, she was not a complete failure of a human being.
Magic
began to surround one of the boys. Then, the boy used his bracelet to
summon a crystal and ordered it to pelt rocks at Spiral. The crystal
began to make pebbles out of thin air and launching them at Spiral.
While, his lackies used stones from the ground to throw at her.
Bystanders did nothing to stop them and just watched as the boys
relentlessly pelted rocks at her. She hated the cruel world she lived
in, where everyone only cared about themselves. But then a boy with
crimson hair and pale skin knocked out the group leader and his
lackeys scatter instantly.
He
then introduced himself as Virgil while helping her up he offered to
teach her a way to defend herself in this harsh world. She happily
accepted his offer and they went to a more secluded area. She asked
if he could teach her magic but he told her that magic can’t be
taught in such short amount of time because it is very complex. So he
began to teach her a few basic self-defense technique and before he
left he advised her to practice as much as possible. She began
practicing in secret at home and it helped her avoid getting horribly
beaten by bullies in her kindergarten and her parents at home.
Following
Virgil’s advice, she would study her opponents when they attack
her. It sharpened her senses and helped her avoid getting stabbed by
a pencil from one of her classmate but it managed to scrape her arm.
Her classmate doesn’t look like she was going to stop. Spiral
looked at the teacher for help but the teacher was ignoring the
entire thing completely. At that very moment the girl lunged at
Spiral, Spiral stopped the attack with her hand. The pencil went
through it and it began to bleed. The girl was grossed out by the
scene and let go of the pencil. Spiral pulled out the pencil from her
hand and blood started to gush out from the wound. The kids that were
surrounding them had begun to scream and cry which got the teacher’s
attention.
The
teacher kept pushing Spiral until she was outside. The teacher
ordered her to clean herself up. So she put her hand under the water
faucet to wash away the blood but her hand wouldn’t stop bleeding.
She told her teacher that and the teacher called her parents. When
her father came to pick her up, he had a strong disapproving look on
his face. He dragged her to the car and threw her in the passenger
seat. Her father screamed at her the entire ride to the clinic. When
they arrived, he smacked her head when she got out of the car. Spiral
got her hand stitched and endured her father screaming the ride home.
He went back to work after dropping her off. She took the rare
opportunity of time alone by herself to hatch a plan.
Later,
she managed to get her parents’ permission to go to a library. She
did intensive researched using the library computer and would
practice fighting in secluded places near the library. The bullying
got worse as she gets older. Her stuff gets stolen and her parents
would beat and blame her. She began experiencing sexual harassment
from her male classmates at the age of seven. There was no one for
her to turn to for help so she began to distance herself from people
and hid in secluded areas of the school. Soon, the boys began to
forget about her and move on to other girls. She would have moments
of peace during recess. She would use that time to work on her grand
escape plan.
She
knew her parents would not report her missing, fearing the bad press
and the school wouldn’t even notice if she was gone. Now she just
have to find a good opportunity to run away. She almost gave up but
an opportunity presented itself when she was ten, her parents was
invited to a gala and hired a lousy babysitter. She used that
opportunity to sneak out the backdoor with a backpack filled with
stuff she needs to survive. She managed to stay hidden on a train
only the higher class can use to travel between areas through the
straw tubes.
She
lived in the streets for three years doing odd jobs before she
managed to find an affordable studio apartment in the Metro that was
walking distance to her new school which was convenient for her
because she can’t afford the bus commute to school if she lived
farther away. Plus, the landlady doesn’t ask too many questions and
it was normal for children from the lower and middle class to start
working at a young age to survive. Some try to crawl their way up to
the ranks like her parents but she has no such intentions. She just
wants to live a quiet life.
During
her first day at a new school, she coincidentally met the boy that
saved her years ago. She couldn’t talk to him because there would
always be a herd of people surrounding him. She doesn’t want to be
trampled to death just to talk to a boy that probably doesn’t even
remember her but getting through the school entrance was equally
dangerous. She got better at maneuvering through the crowd over time.
She
had to go to school while working after school at various places to
support herself. She took some time off to settle in her new
apartment and did a little happy dance once she was done. She made
herself a simple dinner then she prepared everything she need for
school tomorrow. She would double check to make sure she has all her
back ups and she has friends from the street to help her through all
the secret routes if needed. Before, heading to bed she would made
sure everything was locked and secure. In the morning as she walked
to school, she would hear the hushed whispers of the people in her
neighborhood. She heard some of them saying "the plain girl",
"miss boring" and so on as she walked past them. Spiral
usually ignore them and sometimes roll her eyes at their words unless
they crossed a line with their remark.
Back
to the present, Spiral was thankful that the teacher didn’t notice
that she wasn’t paying attention or else the teacher would take
great pleasure in publicly shaming her. However, she wasn’t
paying attention in class so it would be much harder than usual to
keep up. She quietly groan in agony at her predicament.
Chapter
3
At
the Harp manor, Virgil was finishing up his morning obstacle training
filled with traps, mazes and odd terrains when an elegant and
sophisticated female plant came to inform him that he was about to be
late for school. “Thank you, I will not need any assistance
preparing for my departure”, he said knowing how fussy the servants
are. He quickly prepared himself for school and courteously waved his
grandmother goodbye as he went into the car.
He
looked outside of his limousine window and saw the multi colored sky.
That was caused by the amount of magic gathered in a single spot
affects the environment and the creatures that live in it. He read
once somewhere that the sky was only a single color during a time
before the war.
“What
was the color?”, “Was it a simpler and kinder time?”, “Did
people care about status or power or wealth like they do
now”…Virgil’s
train of thought continued along the ride to school. As the car was
nearing the entrance, he was snapped out of his thoughts abruptly by
the small tremors he felt inside the car.
He
assumed it was an attack but his driver assured him that it was
merely a mob of girls screaming at the school entrance. “Do you
need to be escorted inside, Sir?” the formless shadowy driver asked
while looking at the crazed girls outside. “I will be fine”, he
said as he got out and was hit with the deafening screams of the mob.
He
sighed heavily and swiftly made his way through the crowd. He managed
to get pass the large silver school gate and in front of his school
vast golden towers spiraling into the sky, topped with shining
droplet shaped tops. The buildings were of a polished stone rimmed
with sturdy metal linings. This school is considered to be one of the
many elite school in the world. His grandmother would never even
think of public school.
Then,
he felt a familiar non-threatening presence moving through the mob.
He smiled knowing who it was. He remembered the day he had first met
her. He had saved her from a group of mean boys that were harassing
her at a winter festival around ten years ago. It was around that
time, his mother had dumped him off to his grandmother. So that she
could handle the “scandal” his father created back in water area
before the news could spread to other areas.
It
was a mandatory event which his grandmother made him go to. Virgil
was allowed to wander around the festival streets without escorts
when he spotted a boy that was illegally using his bracelet on a
nonparticipant. He decided to help the nonparticipant because he
doesn’t want this to turn into a huge mess. He easily defeated the
boy and his lackeys.
Virgil
took a look at the nonparticipant stats using one of his skills to
make sure she wasn’t heavily wounded and saw that the person has
high resistance to everything. He was intrigued and offered her some
defense moves. She didn’t hesitate to accept his offer which made
him think she was too trusting.
After
he left her, he completely forgotten about the entire event until he
saw her again at school entrance. That was certainly surprising but
he didn’t let it show on his face. Only the middle and high class
are able to move between area. She didn’t look like someone from
either class.
The
only conclusion he could come up with was that she moved up in the
ranks. She doesn’t act like a new ranker, that would constantly
flaunt it around. Guess she doesn’t want attract attention to
herself. He understands that but couldn’t achieve it. He learnt her
name through the school gossip mill, it can provide some useful intel
once in awhile. The day was more hectic than usual and he just wanted
it to end.
Chapter
4
The
last bell rang signaling it was time to go home. Spiral decided to
stop by a convenience store on her way home because her supply of
food was running low. As she was selecting items to buy, a group of
meddlesome women began to glance at her and whispered among
themselves.
She
wanted to leave the store as fast as possible because it was tiring
being gossiped about by strangers. So, she quickly bought a bunch of
canned food for herself. She didn’t randomly buy the canned food
without looking at it. That be a waste of time and money to buy
inedible canned goods.
As
she was exiting the store, Spiral heard a loud thump coming from a
nearby ally. Her body stiffened in shock and caution. She looked
around nervously and saw nothing but she was on guard because there
might be some creep skulking around to prey on weak and defenseless.
Spiral
went to check the cause of the noise despite her immense fear. There
might be someone that need help. She cautiously peek into the dirty
alleyway and saw Virgil on the ground unconscious. In a panicked,
Spiral dropped the canned food in the small plastic bag she was
holding.
Alerting
the assailant of her presence, Spiral was frozen in fear."Che,
are one of his fan girl?" he asked in an irritated tone. Spiral
shook her head. The guy smirked while shooing her away in a smug
manner. "Why did you hurt him?" Spiral asked in a small
frighten voice.
"The
bastard deserve it, he made my girlfriend dumped me!" he
exclaimed. She gathered all her strength and punched the egotistical
guy. She sent the human scum flying, knocking over some trash cans
and knocking him out. She heard Virgil groaning in pain.
She
was about to help Virgil when a dark figure crept behind her and
stabbing her. Everything went black and during the time Spiral awoke
she was covered in bandages, in a futon floor mattress and in an
unfamiliar room. Suddenly, an old lady with an icy glare burst into
the room and quickly explained everything to Spiral in an icier tone.
Then, another lady came in and she looked intimidating.
"My
beloved new niece!!" the lady shouted while giving her a bear
hug. "I will be your aunt from now on!!” the lady said
excitedly. "Okay, time to fix your look", the old lady in a
traditional yukata said while looking at her up and down.
"No”,
she bluntly challenging the old bitter woman. "It is not your
choice to make", the old lady said coldly. "Why not it is
my body!" she retorted the old lady with as much ferocity she
can muster at the moment. "You insolent child!!” the old lady
shouted in frustration while glaring at her. "You can glare all
you want I am used to it", Spiral answered saucily with a smug
look on her face.
The
old lady refused to admit defeat so she grunted and stormed out the
room with her cane thumping loudly on the wooden floors. The lady
beside her was speechless and blinking in shocked. A plant servant
came with food and refreshments. The lady beside her cleared her
throat and said they would continue this discussion tomorrow. She ate
her food while harboring the feeling of great confusion.
After,
she finished a plant servant came to take away the empty plate and
cup. She thanked the plant servant and the plant servant looked very
surprised at that. She can understand the reason for the reaction.
Most of the upper class treat the lower classes horribly.
Chapter
5
It
was proven moments ago by that old lady. She laid back down and began
to think of the events that led to this situation. She was saved by
Virgil’s kindness once again, he could have left her to bleed out
and die in that alleyway. But he didn’t, she would work hard and
prove that his actions were not in vain. She then drifted back to
sleep from exhaustion.
After
school, Virgil was called out by a guy. He thought the guy was a
contestant of the tournament. However, when he met up with the guy in
a garbage filled alley, that guy accused him of being the cause of
his girlfriend dumping him. Virgil tried to calm the guy down and
have a civilized conversation.
However,
the guy knocked him out with a dirty blow to the stomach. Virgil
regain some consciousness when he heard trash cans falling. Virgil’s
vision was still blurry but when his vision became clear Virgil saw a
sight that made his blood run cold. Spiral was passed out in a puddle
of her blood.
He
quickly picked her up and ran as fast as he can to the manor
completely forgetting his own injury and pain. At the time, Virgil
reached the manor he pleaded frantically to a lurker servant “Get a
doctor”, in a helpless voice. The lurker servant was hesitant at
his request that infuriated him.
Then,
he told the lurker servant in a forceful and venomous voice “Fetch
a doctor this instant or you will be dismissed from your duties
permanently”. The lurker servant scurried away, then plant nurses
came rushing in taking Spiral away for medical attention. "What
is all this fuss!!" his grandmother's icy voice echoes through
the manor from across the hall with a loud thump of her cane to
emphasize her anger.
He
escorted her to one of the rooms in the mansion so he could explain
the situation. His grandmother walked in a dignified manner as always
but he could feel the anger seething out of her. Once they have
settle down in the room, he began to explain everything to her, his
grandmother was staring daggers at him while scolding and lecturing
him.
He
did not listen to a word of what his grandmother was saying because
his mind was only focus on Spiral's condition. After, his grandmother
was done with her tirade and left, he began to pace back and forth
nervously in the room. Hours later, the doctor came to inform him
that Spiral would recover with some rest. Virgil let out a breath of
relief that he was not sure when he started holding.
On
the way to visit her, he saw his grandmother stormed out of Spiral's
room mumbling angrily. Alice then explained that Spiral had defied
his grandmother. A smile crept onto his face as he thought “Not
a lot of people dare to defy his grandmother”.
"Whatever are you thinking?" Alice asked and snapping him
out of his thoughts. A slight blush tainted his cheeks as he walked
off, leaving Alice very intrigued.
She
went after him out of concern and care. “Hey, V you okay?” Alice
questioned him as she caught up to him. “I’m not sure”, he
answered her tiredly. “If this is about the girl, you know I can
help”, she said with a smile while putting her arm around him and
ruffling his hair. He smiled back and thanked her. “My bed is
practically calling me with the day I had”, he said while escaping
from her hold. “Bathe first cause you stink”, she said playfully
while waving her hand trying to fan away the imaginary smell.
Virgil
went to bathe and then tiredly went to bed but he couldn’t sleep.
He toss and turn but sleep eludes him. He began to brood the cause of
this sudden insomnia. He came to a conclusion that it must be the
overwhelming worry for Spiral. He needs to get some rest, if not he
would be weak and unfocused tomorrow or any time an enemy decides to
attack. He groaned in frustration and tried to force his body to
sleep. It was a restless night for him.
Chapter
6
As
the sun rises on the horizon, a plant servant woke Spiral up very
early in the morning. Spiral got out of her futon and stepped on the
cold hardwood flooring. The plant servant direct her to a room
separator. "I can undress myself", she said politely. The
plant servant bowed and waited for Spiral to finish undressing.
The
plant servant then led her to the bathing area and there were six
other plant servants waiting in the bathroom. It took Spiral by
surprise how big and luxurious it was. "Miss we need to clean
you and re-bandaged you", stated the plant servant beside her.
Spiral just nodded still in shock. "The
bathroom was the size of her small apartment”,Spiral
thought to herself.
The
plants servants began to wash her with herbal water, which felt quite
disturbing. After, Spiral was all cleaned and re-bandaged, she was
led back to her room where another group of plant and lurker servants
waited to dress her. She let them do their job because it would be a
waste of time arguing with them.
The
plant and lurker servants dressed Spiral in her new set of black long
sleeve school dress with white buttons, collar and cuffs. Then, they
put on Spiral’s school vest which was grey with a collar, black
outlines and a small black ribbon strings to tie it together. Spiral
then was brought to a huge and lavish dining room where the old lady,
her supposed "Aunt"
and
Virgil was sitting and waiting for her.
Virgil
seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her. Spiral thinks
it
is because Virgil feels guilty in some way that she was hurt. “You
look so pretty!!!" exclaimed her supposed aunt. The lady opened
her arms indicating she wants a hug thus, she gave the lady one.
“How
are this fine morning?" the lady with right-sided shaved brown
hair and heterochromatic eyes, with a gorgeous mocha skin asked in an
abundant cheerful tone. “I am well", Spiral replied as she
took a seat beside the lady. "Your awfully quiet Virgil",
stated the older lady in her usual icy tone. "There is nothing
for me to say", Virgil responded. Their breakfast came and they
ate.
After
that, the lady brought her to another extravagant room. “I’m
Alice”, the lady introduced herself. “In the past magic was a
common practice but as years went by, it began to diminish. People
began to question the necessity of magic which sparked the war
between magic and technology. So our creator Kyle made a tournament
to settle the dispute.
Only
the rich, famous and powerful can enter. The contestant consist of
humans, hybrids, critters, automatons, nightmares, and slimes. The
weapons allowed to be used are a sword, whip, war hammer, chakram,
scythe, and breaker gloves. Usually the reader gives a contestant a
bracelet then, the observer explains everything to the contestant.
Metro
is usually a neutral ground. There are the embassies for other areas
such as fire, ice, water, earth and grass. The contestants need to
meet certain requirements to go the wilderness of each area. They be
able to train at the embassy to level up their skill tree. In the
wilderness you be able to catch plants, crystals, lurkers, fluffs
with a soapy.
These
creatures usually lose their desire to battle after getting captured.
The creatures appear in every area in the wilderness but only able to
catch in certain areas. Different level of fluffs will attack
contestants’ home or town from time to time. The limit of people
allowed in a team is five. If you have more than five creatures the
rest will stay at home.
Plants
can grow herbs or make potions or cook meals. Crystals make jewelry
or armor or star balls. Lurkers are good for building or guarding or
fixing or sewing or cleaning. Fluffs can cast protective shield
surrounding the area that can reflect or deflect an attack.
An
observer or adviser will be the referee for a single or group fight.
The winning player gets a percentage of wealth, fame and power from
the losing player”. “Why are you telling me this?" she asked
Alice feeling utterly confused. “Because the doctor told me that a
contestant attacked you thus, you automatically must take part of the
tournament.
“Why?”
She sighed wearily. “Because it is dangerous if you don’t have
any training or equipment", Alice replied. “It is okay, I
would not make any drastic change that you’re not comfortable
with", Alice said in her usual cheery tone. "Alright",
she said halfheartedly.
Right
after, she gave her answer a group of beautician dashed into the room
with their tools and equipment. Finally, after two hours they were
done and Spiral then was introduced to an etiquette teacher. The only
time she was free now was when she was in school.
She
had moved in with Virgil for safety and convenience but it is causing
the hateful glare from the girls in her school to increase. She
wanted to tell Virgil that she is grateful for everything he has done
for her but it seems that he is avoiding her both at home and in
school. That irks her a little bit but she assumes that is his way of
protecting her. So that the glares would not escalate to bullying.
Chapter
7
He
did not sleep well last night because his mind was flooded by
thoughts of Spiral situation and his incompetence for not being able
to handle it better. That morning, He had to drag himself out of bed
and listlessly did his morning routine. Thankfully, most of it is
done by the plant and or lurker servants. The lurker servants dressed
him in his school which is a grey button down collar shirt with a
black tie and grey trousers.
At
the moment, he saw Spiral in a dress he was taken aback and his
tiredness was completely forgotten. He was completely mesmerized by
her beauty. He never noticed her short silky floral white colored
hair, her perfectly tanned skin or that she has the largest achingly
exquisite blue-grey eyes he ever seen. He was snapped out of his daze
by Alice's shouting.
He
avoided looking at her as to not be spellbind by her big lovely
blue-grey eyes. "You’re awfully quiet Virgil”, stated his
grandmother in her typical icy tone. "There is nothing for me to
say", Virgil answered his grandmother. When, their meals
arrived, he direct all his attention on it.
Trying
to forget that there is a very alluring woman mere feet away. He
knows that one of the ways to survive the tournament is having good
looks. It’s still doesn’t make things less complicated. He had
unintentionally dragged Spiral into this mess up way of life and
feels guilty about it.
Thus,
he avoids her at home and especially at school while thinking of a
proper way to apologize for ruining her life. He sighed heavily
hoping that in the second stage he does not have to fight her.
He
really does not want to cause any type of harm on her. He is also
very concern about the other candidates, all of them will not go easy
on her. They would take the opportunity of an easy win and
mercilessly beat her to death.
The
only thing on those self-important people mind is gaining more power,
wealth and influence. “What
should I do?", "How could I protect her?”
his mind was overflowing with worry for Spiral's safety.
When,
he saw her being glared hatefully by the other girls and her ignoring
them effortlessly. He thought with a large smile on his face "She
will be fine”, “She can be quite a feisty girl”, “She can
defend herself when she wants to". He
knows all that but he still worries about her.
He
needs to prepare her for the tournament but he doesn’t know any
other way than training her. Training can only help her a little in a
battle but outside of it, she has to rely on herself. Of course she
is independent but this is whole different matter.
Virgil
was too busy brooding about Spiral that he didn’t realize the
teacher was calling him. Which made the teacher scold him in front of
the whole class and him being publicly humiliated for the first time
in his life. This was beginning to be an awful day.
His
tiredness came back with a vengeance, he couldn’t fall asleep in
class and risk another public humiliation. So through great
perseverance he got through first period. The next class was P.E. and
he was going to take the opportunity to sneak away and get some rest.
He eyes felt like they are about to shut at any moment but then
something caught his attention and forcing him awake instantaneously.
Chapter
8
The
first bell rang and the next class was P.E. so Spiral went to change
into her gym clothes in a private and safe area. She learnt from past
experience of harassment that the bullies would use any opportunity
to wreck her things and luckily she manage to find a place to change
her clothes in peace.
Once
she finished changing, she went to the school stadium. As she enter
she felt a different type of glare from the usual disgusted glare of
her schoolmates commonly female. Thus, she turn around and spotted an
unfamiliar guy glaring at her with hatred or anger or both.
She
was about to go ask the unknown guy who he was when the coach blew
his whistle. While, she was heading to her class group she kept on
wondering "Who
was that guy?", "Is he a new student?"
and
so on.
She
decided to stop this meaningless pondering and focus on P.E. No one
knew that she was really good at sports because all of them assumed
that she was a closed off bookworm from appearance. She loves outdoor
activities but none of her classmates or teachers ever chose her to
be in any type sporting event.
She
struggles hard to learn, thus the constant studying to barely keep
up. The coach told them to run ten laps around the hundred meter
field. A lot of girls were only able to do two or three laps and some
barely pass fifty meters because they do not think about exercise.
They
take the easy and expensive way which is surgery to make themselves
look good. As she ran the seventh lap the girls from her class gave
her the regular repulsed glower. She pay no attention to them as
usual and finished her three remaining laps.
She
went to grab a drink of water as her classmates ridicule her. "It
is not her fault that you girls are terrible at running", said
an unfamiliar voice. All of them looked around and at each other.
"Who
said that!" demanded one of her female classmate. There was only
silence, then the coach blew his whistle and dismissed them. Everyone
in class was very intrigued on the mysterious male voice.
"Could
it be that guy that was glaring at me?", "It could not be
he was glowering at me", "Why would he defend me?"
Spiral mentally debating with herself. After a few minutes, Spiral
stopped because it was insignificant to debate with herself.
She
went to her safe area and changed back to her school clothes then
head back to class for an arduous math class. Her brain felt like it
was going melt trying to at least comprehend her teacher’s
explanation.
She
just copied everything the teacher wrote on the whiteboard and will
rack her brain later to figure out the answers. She can’t ask the
teacher for guidance because all the teachers in the school wouldn’t
even spare her a second glance.
Her
class and school mates wouldn’t even get close to her. She can’t
afford a tutor either so she has to intensely study for subjects that
she is especially bad at. She make sure to buy quality and reasonably
priced books or else she won’t have any money left for other
necessities.
She
works as a part-time juicing at some health restaurant. She also
recycles to get some extra money and she keeps a little bit of money
on the side for emergencies.
Chapter
9
During
P.E. class as Virgil was sneaking off to find a place to rest he saw
a menacing guy glowering at Spiral. He was overcome with panic.
Virgil quickly grabbed the guy by the collar and pinned the guy to
the wall. The coach whistle was heard from afar, as he locked eyes
with the guy.
"Why
were you glaring at Spiral?" Virgil asked the guy in a low
menacing voice. The guy grinned while saying jokingly "I was not
glaring, I was looking at her and imagining her in her undergarment".
Virgil
lost his grip on the guy when the image of Spiral in her undergarment
popped into his mind, the guy took that chance to escape. He was
flustered and trying to not think about it. When his classmate called
out his name, he went over to his classmate and ordered his classmate
to tell the teacher he had stuff to do . His classmate nodded and ran
off to the class group.
Virgil
called a person he knows from a surveillance company to get
information on the guy and his whereabouts. “Coming
from an influential family has it perks sometimes"
Virgil thought to himself while looking for that guy with the
information he was given. Virgil spotted the guy lurking around one
of the stadium entry way looking intensely at Spiral running.
Virgil
tackled the guy to the ground. “Why did you come here?” Virgil
asked the guy in a deadly tone. “I came to asked Spiral to go on a
date with me", the guy said in a sickening perverted way.
"Spiral would never date a pervert like you", Virgil said
to the guy angrily. “Well you’re a pervert too cause you thought
about it too and don’t deny it cause it’s was obvious”, the guy
mocked.
He
was infuriated and decided to punch the guy. The guy smirked while
dodging his punch and punched Virgil in the face in return. Both of
them then heard Spiral's classmates jeering her. The guy shouted "It
is not her fault that you girls are terrible at running", he
then ran away. Virgil kicked the dirt on the field enraged and went
back to class in a foul mood.
His
female classmates swarm around him supposedly "worried"
about him. He did what Spiral commonly does, he ignored them. He
might have shoved a few more clingy girls because he was in a bad
mood and not well rested. No one dared to approach him after that
because they got the message he didn’t want to be disturbed. He had
to endure the rest of the school day or he would suffer his
grandmother’s wrathful lectures once more. He was elated when the
last bell rang signaling the end of the school day. He took a quick
nap in the car and ordered the lurker to wake him once they reached
home.
Chapter
10
When
Spiral arrived at her new home she immediately went to take a bath
because she was sticky from the sweat. The weather became warmer as
the day became noon. During the time, she entered the bathroom she
saw a very scandalous sight. Virgil’s tall, lean-built body with
light skin and smoky grey eyes. His usual spiky hair red hair was wet
and messy, with strands framing the sides of the face and hanging
between his eyes, as water droplets dripped down from his hair to his
body.
She
can see the glimmer of two silver captive bead rings on top of
Virgil’s right ear. There was another unseen one on his right
eyebrow. Spiral gulped and awkwardly moved backwards as inconspicuous
as possible. Once, she was out of the bathroom she ran to her room
and shut the door. She felt her cheeks burning, her body was all hot
and tingly from the adrenaline. She knew he exercises and does mix
martial from the idle chatter of her schoolmates but she never
expected that he would have such a lean body.
She
expected a bulky body probably with veiny muscles. She jumped in
surprise when there was a sudden knock on the door. “Miss Colori
the bathroom is empty if you wish to bathe”, said the lurker
servant. “Thank you, you may go", said Spiral. Spiral was
taking a bath while pushing the thought of Virgil’s body out her
mind.
The
time, Spiral arrived in her room there was knock on her door. “Come
in”, Spiral said. The door slid open and the unfamiliar guy with
toned skin, blue eyed, blonde Mohawk with green colored shaved hair
guy on the side was standing in front of her. “Who are you?” she
said timidly. He heard her and answered "I’m Kage, very nice
to meet you Spiral”. “How do you know my name?" Spiral said
terror-stricken.
“Everyone
in the tournament knows about the rare gem of opportunity", Kage
said while grinning. Spiral shivered in fear at his words. “Some
might recruit you and backstab you in the future while most would
just use you for their own gain from the start”, he continued. “I
won’t let anyone use me because I will get stronger”, she
retorted with a hint of fear in her voice.
“That
be fun to see", Kage said before disappearing. Spiral slumped to
the ground, “What
had I got myself into?"
she thought while shaking in fear. Then, she heard Virgil calling
her name. Virgil showed up at her door out of breath and he looked up
at her with concern in his eyes. Virgil hastily wrapped his arms
around her. "Ummm...” was the only words that was able to come
out of Spiral’s mouth. Virgil moved away from her while fumbling
around. "Goodnight", Virgil managed to say in his
disconcerted state then he left in a hurry. She merely watched him
leave as she was still reeling from everything. With her homework
completely forgotten she went to bed. "This
has been a nerve-racking evening”,
Spiral thought before she went to sleep.
Chapter
11
He
managed to get some sleep the moment he got home because he was
exceedingly tired. If it wasn’t for his astounding endurance he
would have collapsed in school. Once he recuperated, he began to
agitatedly brood in his room about the possible ways Kage could hurt
Spiral and that a date is mere a pretense for a trap. After few hours
of intense brooding, Virgil decide to clear his head so he went to
take a bath. As he was bathing he felt a gaze from behind. It wasn’t
filled with killing intent so he assumed it was a servant.
Once
he finished bathing, Alice came into his room to tell him that there
was an intruder moments ago. The description matched Kage’s and
Virgil began to worry about Spiral’s well-being. Alice noticed it
and informed him that Spiral wasn’t harm in any way. “Is there
anything else?” Virgil questioned. “No, that’s all for now”,
answered Alice. “Alright, you may leave”, Virgil dismissing her.
After
Alice left and he got dressed, Virgil brooded once more of Kage’s
intentions. Finally, he came into a conclusion he will spy on Kage to
get more information. Virgil called upon Foz a fly critter for help.
“How may I be of assistance milord?” Foz with a green bow tie
and trouser questioned upon arriving. “I need you to follow this
person”, Virgil showed him the picture of Kage on his phone that he
got from the information company.
“I
understand, I shall be off now milord”, Foz said before flying off.
He was too agitated to sleep so he went to do some training in the
family’s training hall. After a few hours of beating a wooden
dummy, Virgil calmed a little bit and then he took another bath
before heading to bed and hopefully get some sleep. Meanwhile at an
abandoned building site, “You were a decent fighter for a bug”,
Kage mournfully said before crushing Foz’s head with his foot.
Back
at the Harp manor, Virgil’s bracelet glowed alerting Virgil that
Foz has reincarnated which meant that Kage detected Foz and had
defeated him. Foz was not a weakling, he has incredible fighting and
espionage skills. “Damn, Kage unfortunately has skills”, Virgil
grumbled before restlessly stare at the ceiling. After an hour of
staring an idea came to him, Virgil decided to go to the dark area.
The
area was bleak, twisted and filled with traps. Each area has their
own level of difficulty, if an individual skill tree is too low or
don’t meet the required level to survive an area they would
instantly die upon entry. Thus, the embassies exist for each area so
that an individual could get the proper clearance to enter an area
without the threat of dying immediately.
It
is basic facts that is known by every civilized creature in every
area. Only a high level contestant would be able to enter the dark
area without dying instantly. After hours of walking around in the
eerie and lifeless forest while dodging traps and killing various
creatures, Virgil finally encountered a lurker.
After
weakening the wild lurker, Virgil threw a soapy at it. Thankfully, it
was caught on the first try. His bracelet glowed and a lurker trinket
appeared. He never relied on creatures before because it was a hassle
taking care of them. However, the situation has changed so he must
adapt quickly to for his and his companions survival, as much as this
is out of his expertise and comfort zone. Alice did say that
sometimes one needs to get out of one’s comfort zone to find
something new and remarkable.
And
Alice was right, he is learning to be more approachable to someone
that was not born into the life of the upper class. Since, he never
actually interacted with someone that was from the lower class that
wasn’t trying to win his favor except for Alice but that was an
entire different case.
Chapter
12
Alice
came pouncing on Spiral on that bright and early morning. "Alice,
why did you jump on me?” Spiral asked in a groggy voice. "Today
you’re going to meet the reader", said Alice excitedly. “Who
exactly is the reader?” questioned Spiral.
“The
reader is a being made by Kyle. The same is applied to the adviser
and the observer”, answered Alice. “Do they have special
abilities?” Spiral questioned while rubbing her sleepy eyes. “The
reader has the ability to fully analyze a person skills, weak points,
fears, faith and et cetera”.
"Come
on we have to get you ready", said Alice while literally
dragging her out of bed. After, the preparations are completed Alice
and Spiral went to a humongous and extravagant building by expensive
looking car that Alice summoned.
Once,
inside she saw scary looking beings with big blank black eyes
intensely looking at her. "Do not worry they are just the
observers", said Alice. “They observe, report to the advisers
and most times deal with rule breaking contestants”, explained
Alice to Spiral.
When,
they arrived at a huge doorway Alice told Spiral "You have to go
in there alone”. “Okay", Spiral replied Alice and went in.
She saw nothing at first because it was completely dark, then there
was a glimmer of light.
She
head towards it and as she got closer it got brighter. She could not
believe her eyes, there was a one eyed mummy holding a bright orb in
its right hand. "Are you the reader?" Spiral asked politely
so that it would not think she was hostile and attack. "Yes, are
you intimidated by me?” the reader questioned her.
"No,
I am more curious than afraid", she told the reader honestly.
All of the events so far has made her immensely tolerant to
particular things and immensely curious about the life of the rich,
famous and powerful. The reader laughed at her. "Did I say
something funny?" she asked befuddled and feeling a little
insulted by the creature. The reader did not answer her, the reader
merely handed her the glowing orb and disappear into the darkness.
She
used the orb to get out of the dark room. When, she was out of the
dark room the orb popped and a bracelet suddenly appeared on her
wrist. "The trinkets on your bracelet represents your weapons",
Alice briefly explains to her. Then, Alice’s three row spikes rivet
stud wide cuff leather bracelet glowed once more to summon the
expensive looking car.
“Why
your bracelet looks different from mine?” she questioned Alice. “I
changed it to fit my taste but its super costly so you have to save a
lot if you wanna change yours”, Alice explained enthusiastically.
She didn’t bother asking Alice about summoning the car because it
probably is costly too.
"You
will be training with Virgil from now on", Alice stated after a
moment of silence. Spiral’s face had a hint of a blush when Alice
told her that. “The training would not be easy", Alice stated
while looking at Spiral curiously. “I will do my best", Spiral
said to Alice enthusiastically. "Alright, let us head home so
that you can begin your training”, said Alice. They got in the car
and she enjoyed the peaceful silence before the awkward training
session with Virgil.
Once
they have arrived at the Harp manor, a servant informed them that
Virgil was at the dark area. “Guess you’ll be learning magic from
me”, Alice shrugged with a cheerful grin. “Lead the way”, she
said trying to contain her excitement. At the Harp magic training
hall, Alice spent hours teaching Spiral the basics of magic such as
tactics, stances, countermeasures, and escape plans. Alice explains
to Spiral once her level is high enough she add or change her job.
She would have to pay the necessary fee for it if she does.
“Not
bad but you need to be great or even greater than your opponent to
survive in the tournament”, Alice told her in a solemn manner.
Spiral’s body tensed at Alice’s statement and requested for more
practice. “Sorry sweetie, you got schoolwork to do and the cranky
old lady would flip if your grades are not up to standard”, Alice
apologized with a sympathetic look. “Well I’m going to get clean
up first then tackle my schoolwork”, Spiral sighed and Alice wished
her the best of luck.
Now
Spiral was faced with her worst enemy, math. Spiral groan in pain and
frustration. She knows that math existence is important but it is
beyond her comprehension. A thought came to her “Maybe
I can ask Virgil for help, but he has his own things to deal with. I
can’t burden and bother him more than I already have”.
She
groaned in frustration once more because she was stuck in a dilemma
with no solution at the moment.
Chapter
13
The
next day Virgil came back to the Harp manor, then he collapsed on his
bed due to exhaustion. Nightfall came and he groggily woke up. Once
he was fully awake, he started to think of Spiral. Lately, she is the
only thing he can think about because threats are beginning to
appear. He needs to find a way to secure Spiral’s safety.
He
never had to worry about someone else’s safety before. All his
actual friends are capable of defending themselves and only call upon
him during emergencies. While, he was thinking of a way to protect
Spiral, an issue appeared. Some arrogant contestant challenged him to
a fight. He was furious and decided to take his anger out on the
challenger.
As
usual an observer came as the referee and judge of the fight. The
challenger offer was pitiful but as expected as a noob. He offer up
his own items so they could get it over with already. The observer
made sure each party understand the stakes and then gave the signal
to begin the fight.
He
had hoped Spiral would not come anywhere near the fight but she did.
Virgil needed to end the fight quickly so he equipped a powerful
scythe from his gold tone black spade bracelet. He doubled his
efforts when he spotted Spiral on top of a building. He didn’t
notice Alice was with Spiral. The challenger was a newbie which made
him think of Spiral even more. At the corner of his eye he saw the
look on Alice concerned face.
He
decided to end the fight immediately, after the surroundings when
back to normal Virgil headed towards Spiral and Alice. "Hey, are
you two alright?" Virgil trying to sounding casual. "Yeah
we are fine", answered Alice with a slight smile. “Why are you
two here?” questioned Virgil. “We went to buy some personal items
that Spiral needed and I received an alert you were challenged into a
fight”, Alice answered.
“I
can take care of myself and if I needed back up, I would summoned
you”, Virgil snapped at Alice. “I asked her to take me here”,
Spiral interjected. “Please worry more about yourself Spiral”,
Virgil requested wearily while patting her head. "Your clothes
changed?" Spiral questioned abruptly trying to cover her
flustered state. "Yes, our clothes and the surroundings changes
when we fight", Virgil answered Spiral not enjoying her
reaction.
"There
is much for me to learn", said Spiral while nervously looking
everywhere. "While we are on the subject Virgil, Spiral is going
to start training with you from now on”, said Alice trying to ease
the tension with a smile. Virgil gave a thankful smile towards Alice.
“I hope that would not be a bother you Virgil”, Spiral said
guiltily. “Not at all”, Virgil said trying to comfort her to no
avail.
“Should
I summon a vehicle or would you like to Virgil?” Alice question him
seeing as the tension between him and Spiral grew. “I’ll summon
one”, Virgil answered then summoned a stylish car. Virgil used to
be in his own bubble, figuratively and literally. Back when he lived
in the water area, his parents left him a mansion with servants to
care for him. He didn’t see his mother until “the incident”,
his family have dubbed it.
Adjusting
to a new environment wasn’t that difficult because there wasn’t
that much of a difference from his old environment. However, right
now he was having trouble adjusting to Spiral living with him and
there is a huge awkwardness during their ride home. He looks at Alice
with a silence plea for assistance and she merely smiled at him. So
for the first time in his life, he was breaking out in cold sweat.
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