LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 12: Shyveon
My body felt neither heavy nor light as I got out of the comfort of my hotel bed. Still thankful for their midnight accommodations, I was able to freshen up before the inevitable.
'Status,' I commanded, with my hair still dripping wet.
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Name: Arcine d'Vyde
Race: Shadow Demon [F-Rank (0/3)]
Age: 15
Gift: Level the Playing Field [F-Rank (0/3)]
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TRAITS
> Author's Authority: N/A
> Angelic Light (Elemental Affinity): F-Rank (0/3)
> Shadow Demon Body (Physique): E-Rank (6/9) [Hidden: E-Rank (0/9)]
> True Shadow (Racial Trait): F-Rank (0/3)
> Eight Senses (Unique Trait): F-Rank (0/3)
PHYSIQUE
> STR: E-Rank (7/9) [Hidden: F-Rank (1/3)]
> DEX: E-Rank (7/9) [Hidden: F-Rank (1/3)]
> RES: D-Rank (3/27) [Hidden: F-Rank (1/3)]
MAGIC
> INT: F-Rank (0/3)
> FLUX: F-Rank (1/3) [Hidden: F-Rank (1/3)]
> M-RES: F-Rank (0/3)
MISC
> LCK: F-Rank (0/3) [Hidden: F-Rank (2/3)]
> PER: F-Rank (0/3)
> CHA: F-Rank (0/3)
> WIL: B-Rank (47/243) [Hidden: D-Rank (12/27)]
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IP: 1150
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Looking at the hovering screen, I knew I was nowhere near being prepared. Perhaps last place was my destiny as even my Gift could only last for a minute.
"Oh well,"
A wry smile appeared on my lips. I had to make do with what I had.
I just needed patience.
After all, I had my eyes on the big picture.
Walking out of the hotel, dressed in all black despite the rising sun, my hands felt light. A realization dawned upon me just then.
Right.
I forgot something important.
"...I don't have a weapon,"
A bad premonition engulfed me. Fighting? I had zero experience doing something like that. I spent more of my time dying in a hospital room than walking.
Shit.
With every step closer to the Hero Academy, my premonition grew worse.
***
Shyveon, Vircadia's one and only Hero Academy, was located in a subspace — a world of its own. The entrance was an obelisk that pierced into the clouds, matching the skyscrapers around it and standing firm with an innumerable amount of runes carved into its marble make.
Pulsating with a blue hum, this obelisk, despite its fame, had a markedly low amount of foot traffic. Hover vehicles weren't allowed within a kilometer, and the area was subject to strict security.
In a sense, it was a desolate place where only a select few were allowed to roam free.
The skyscrapers around the obelisk were the many dormitories that housed students, faculty, and staff alike. It was the Academic City, where magic was abound.
While Arcine walked through, he spotted more mages here than anywhere else in the city. Almost every resident worthy of being here had attainments recognizable by the entirety of the race.
It worsened Arcine's premonition even further than it already had. His mood dropped as the stinging sensation in his gut turned into the cold horrors of finding oneself in a pack of wolves.
"Geniuses, from young to old, running around like damn lunatics," He muttered under his breath, dreading the examination to come.
When he had written this part of his novel, it was very lighthearted. A beautiful school with a talented main cast and the wonders of magic. The chapters were jolly, cliche, and basic.
Now, however, all he could feel was a sense of defeat. A passing glance at the complexities of magic being displayed made his stomach churn. From mages who could fly to the sleeping, dormant auras of masters walking by.
They were all terrifying existences who would've killed him on the spot had he failed in his high-level evolution.
After all, he wasn't among those talented people. He was but a human-turned-shadow-Demon with very weak early-game power.
"Sigh, I have no choice but to power through."
If he wanted to survive what was to come, Shyveon would prove to be an invaluable asset. A bastion against the horrors of the outside world.
The price of course would be his sanity within its confines. He dreaded the cliche bullying by itself. Now that the world was real, he was terrified of the possibilities.
Especially when magic was involved.
All of the horrors he had written had a chance of happening to him. A front-row seat to suffering.
***
I calmed myself down by the sheer force of my B-Rank Willpower. Walking towards the obelisk, I went past guard patrols and geniuses without meeting anyone's gaze.
Yet my gait still bore a sense of confidence in them. I had to avoid looking like prey in front of my peers.
Standing before the obelisk, the sight of Shyveon's uniform caught my gaze. A few student volunteers were receiving the soon-to-be first-years. After confirming their Acceptance Letters, they would send the excited kids on their way.
So, I fell in line. It didn't take long for the length of the line to grow even further. Glancing behind, I even spotted what might be one of the characters in my story, laughing with his friends as they stood in line.
Although there were other candidates as well, that red-haired boy at the center of the group seemed to be Eris Grey, who was somewhat of a class clown.
Chuckling at his display, I turned my focus back to the task at hand.
Just in time as well.
"Next!"
As it was my turn, I switched on my phone card and shared the hologram of my acceptance.
"Good morning," I said with respect yet void of any friendliness.
Despite my intonation, the student volunteer still smiled and nodded in reply, "Good morning as well."
She then scanned the bar code included in the holographic email. With a beep and a moment of silence, she confirmed my spot as a student.
"You're free to go."
After gesturing behind her, she looked towards the student behind me, "Next!"
"Thank you," I said, walking into the stable dark blue portal that lingered like a stain in space.
***
"...That feels absolutely horrid," I wiped my eyes, strained from the sudden brightness after walking through the dark portal.
Stepping into the portal was like diving into a quagmire. I had to relinquish control over my body to facilitate the movement and reduce the subsequent wave of nausea. A small mechanic I had added to the novel for flair.
Had I resisted, like everyone else who walked into such a portal for the first time...
"Well, I'd look like these idiots right now."
I stepped over a few collapsed students. Their minds were still reeling from the sheer dizziness that engulfed them upon their re-emergence.
Groans could be heard from the first years on the platform.
"...Which fucker vomited on the floor?"
Scrunching up my nose, I hurriedly vacated the scene. Those who knew how to relinquish control over their body and their instincts were with me, all disgusted by the sight around us.
I even spotted Kael among them.
'...Isn't he supposed to be from a different world?'
Why was he acting in exactly the same way I had written him, sucker-punched by the spacial movement?
A flash of suspicion flickered in my eyes, however, I inevitably placed those thoughts at the back of my mind.
I looked away as if he never entered my sight in the first place. A grin tugged at my lips.
'How off-putting,' I thought before joining the crowd.