Standing in the familiar building, Rio kept walking around the hallways, he could still vividly remember everything, the year he spent here in the same halls, that time especially memorable as that was the first time he was alone and away from home in this world. Even some memories of earth and the time he left to live in the hostels, would come to his mind now and then.
"So you're really starting from here again?"
He heard a calm voice of a middle aged man behind him. He didn't need to turn around to see who it was, as he replied "Well, I couldn't leave you behind now, could I?"
"You just wanted to stay with the kids and show off. Afraid that your classmates would've beat you up." Elvis said with a sarcastic smile.
Without replying to his remark, Rio just scoffed and kept walking towards his room.
'Beat me up - I'm the destined villain. Is it so easy to bully?'
The man just smiled seeing his reaction and followed him to his room. He looked to be in his 30's. His brown hair tied in a single braid, which draped over his shoulder. His hazel colored eyes staring at the scenes with a subtle smile, hidden beneath his carefully groomed beard.
He was Elvis Clarke, a Limit rank hunter, widely known in the outside world by his alias, Umbra. He's a past graduate of the academy, who's now working as the warden of the Mirage Manor's boys dorm.
Elvis is from a commoner family living in the outskirts of Thidrol city, a small settlement called Cairus. The place is a barren land, abandoned by the Duke family, because of the LOOSE DUNGEON*1. Yet people live there since it's cheap compared to everywhere else.
He was just a passerby side character in the novel.
Since all the first years stayed in one building, it is naturally common that there'd be cases of fighting, bullying or ragging due to the difference between status and ranks among the students. Though the rules were made and breaking them would be a punishable offense, but that is only if one gets found out.
That's why every dorm building has a supervisor to stop incidents like that from happening.
Obviously the protagonist lives in this building, and he even had lower status than many of the childrens from royals, nobles and even elite families, he'd be getting into trouble often. Even more so, since he took the first rank now. Many of the students who would be dissatisfied with him would come to trouble him. And even if no one came to trouble him, he'd find trouble by snooping his nose in other's business - that's why the author wrote this warden as the support character for the protagonist.
Leon, at the beginning of the academy, hadn't seen the world outside his house at all. Though he lived a tough life after becoming a cripple for years, his family still shielded him from many things. So the best he suffered till now were just some petty gazes and whispering remarks.
But here he had no protection, and his rank and popularity put a target on his back and those around him. In this situation where the protagonist would end up doubting himself and the world many times, it is this warden who gives him counseling.
In a way, Elvis was the motivational support for Leon, in the first year of the academy. And since Rio knew that, how could he ignore this guy?
So when he joined the academy 3 years back, he tried to be friends with the man. Even though he didn't have any other role except being the motivational cheering up guy for the protagonist, Rio tried his best on his part. After all, who knows when one would be helpful.
Just like now.
Rio stood outside his old room, the one where he previously used to stay with Bernhardt and Charles when he first joined the academy. He had requested Elvis to get him the same room as back then and the warden had no problem with it.
"Thank you for getting it for me." Rio said, as he swiped his wristwatch over the scanner.
"Count it as a welcome gift from me. It was empty anyway." Elvis said, as he shrugged his shoulders.
Once the security scan was done, and the ID was verified, the door opened with a click.
No one, except the students living in the dorms, could enter the room. And if they wanted to, they'd need to get the permission of the roomowner or the warden.
<<The mirage manor had 10 floors. Every floor consisted of around 50 rooms. There was an 11th floor, which was locked for now. And would be opened after the first semester results are out. After that, the top 100 students would be transferred on that floor. There's no difference between rooms in the first 10 floors, as they're all exact replicas of each other. But the 11th floor made for the rankers is obviously different and better.>>
(There were many elevators made around the building, so one doesn't have to walk an hour to reach his room.)
Rio's room was on the third floor.
[Room number 317]
Looking at the empty room, it became clear that whoever his partner was, hasn't arrived yet.
Rio walked in and started looking around the room. It was still the same as back then.
Before every new session starts, all the dorms and rooms get redecorated to their original conditions, so there wasn't a single sign of life living inside. It was as empty as it could be.
Though he called it a room and it even looked like one from the outside, after entering inside, one would see its size was 5 times more than what it seemed from the outside. It had all the amenities one would ever need.
In one dormroom 3-4 students could live freely. It had 2 rooms, 1 big hall, a kitchen and one training hall. There was even a mana chamber, but the mana density inside was just slightly better than outside. And there was a restriction on a student about how long he could use it. If one wanted to stay there longer, he'd need to pay for it with his Merit Points(MP).
"My room partner hasn't arrived yet. Any idea who it is?" Rio asked.
Elvis shook his head and replied - "Nope. I don't make the records and I haven't checked them yet. I was busy with some other stuff."
"Well, let's hope it's not some idiot like last time."
Rio said, remembering a fat snotty brat whom he was paired up with last time. If not for Bernhardt constantly pranking him everyday, he'd have to share a room for 6 months with a guy who'd pray to gods in the morning for hours and then cover their statues with a sheet and indulge in God knows what shit he was fuming on.
Hearing his words Elvis smiled too. As he remembered the constant complaints he got for a month, before he changed his room. "Don't forget, he's your senior now."
"I'm surprised he's still here in the academy. How'd he even pass his exams every time anyway." Rio was really curious. The top academy in whose exams even geniuses get a headache, that guy is somehow always able to pass on the borderline.
"Maybe he's lucky, like you." Elvis smiled and said meaningfully. "Heard you caused quite the commotion on the ceremony by entering like that."
"Well, I had to show up someday. What better way than to come out when there was a stage already." Rio replied, while walking towards the window and opening it.
Letting the air pass, the empty room felt too stuffy even though it was empty. Breathing the fresh air was really right.
Elvis kept staring at Rio, to see his reaction and trying to read through his thoughts. His cheery personality and smile now gone, as he focused on him.
Rio looked at Elvis's expression in the glass reflection and smiled. This was his real personality. A guy who acted nice and social to get close to everyone and let them drop their guard. His happy helpful nature is what helped him become the first year's warden. So he could guide them and help them adjust to new surroundings. His kind words towards everyone, projected a face of someone who was nonchalant, yet he was the perfect warden. Even now he was probably thinking about the chaos Rio's entry would set off and if he'd create any troubles in his dorms.
'He's really the perfect spy.'
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*1 << Loose dungeons are dungeons which have been pulled into Arcadia, but haven't fully opened yet. They seem like a crack in space, which constantly radiates the otherworldly energy or the radiation.
Since the dungeon hasn't been opened yet, it can't be accessed and solved, thus the energy would keep poisoning the land all around until the space crack widens and the dungeon fully integrates itself with Arcadia. This is why it's dangerous to live near them as there's the risk of radiation due to constant uncontrollable exposure of energy, and the threat that the dungeon can open any time, any day and no one would know.
There are many loose dungeons all over Arcadia. Many people have tried jumping into the spatial crack, closing it with space magic, widening it with magic attacks - but none of these things work. The ones who jumped inside, died horribly due to the difference in environment and unstable space gap between both worlds. Healing and attacking it are also useless, as the cracks either repels the energy attacks if its not compatible with the world energy of that dungeon. And if it's similar, the cracks absorb the energy and the situation remains the same.
So people of Arcadia just let them be, instead of trying forcefully to open them. As no one knows what lies beyond. The whole dungeon might crash and people would lose the profits brought from the dungeon. Or it might explode, killing everyone in the nearby radius.>>
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A/N - guys please post 5* review for me. I need them.
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