After closing his phone, Arthur stood up and stretched his limbs. “Ok, time to actually get serious. I don’t have much time left before the test. I need to revise everything I learned so far.”
With that in mind, Arthur sat down on the chair and pulled out his device before putting it in the assigned socket. As the holographic screen popped up, Arthur quickly opened his documents and other necessary study material and then cranked his fingers.
‘Let’s see how much my intelligence and focus had increased after a while.’
Then, Arthur started reading the content attentively, making sure to memorize everything he could. Almost immediately, the boy realized something… He wasn’t having any major trouble understanding the study material at all. In fact, as he continued reading and recalling everything he learned so far, he found himself quickly memorizing all this information after reading it twice or three times at most.
His brain felt clear and light, ready to store heavy information as if it were nothing. Arthur couldn’t believe it. His stats had truly pushed his mental capacity to a whole new level and it wasn’t even close. He felt smart and focused.
‘Well, I’m still stupid so that is not entirely accurate. But, if I can understand all of this so easily, it isn’t going to be that hard after all.’
This new revelation made Arthur even more motivated to study and so quickly, he got engrossed in work.
Time passed slowly and the night quickly passed as the sun started rising. During that time, Arthur went through every single thing he studied in the academy and even things he had studied in previous years. A few hours were more than enough for the boy to feel fully ready for the test.
‘I was so terrified of this test. But, I’m really getting too smart! Hahaha! There is no test that will terrify me anymore!’
Resting his back against the chair, Arthur smiled widely. “Ok, time to get ready for school. If I don’t ace this test, then I should just leave this academy.”
After preparing himself and eating a quick breakfast, Arthur took his Sonic Board and headed to school. Since it was getting closer and closer to winter, the morning was very cold so Arthur had to wear a scarf to cover his neck and the lower half of his face. He also wore a beanie to cover his hair.
‘Damn it, I hate that this body can’t handle cold as good as my game character. I hope I get completely immune to the temperature at some point.’ He thought to himself as he adjusted his scarf to cover even more of his face, leaving only his eyes visible.
With that, Arthur reached the platform and parked his Sonice Board. It was still very early into the day so not that many people had arrived there. Not even his friends as they were probably still preparing themselves.
Stopping on the stairs, he looked around him. The place was very quiet and serene so he took a moment to breathe the fresh air.
‘I wonder if snow can fall on this island? The city would look mesmerizing with snow covering it.’ He thought to himself.
After a few minutes, he finally turned around and walked to the elevator to get to the next floor. One of the elevators was pretty much empty so Arthur walked into it.
‘It’s weird being alone on an elevator this big.’ The boy shook his head with a dry smile as he rested his back against the glass and took his device out to scroll through random things. However, as the gates were about to close, he heard a few footsteps approaching him. Looking up slightly, he noticed that someone had walked into the elevator.
‘Oh well, so much for being alone.’ He rolled his eyes as he continued scrolling through the device, not bothering to even look at this person.
However, weirdly enough, this person stopped in the middle of the elevator and stared directly at Arthur for a few seconds.
‘Hm? Are they staring at me?’ He frowned as he slowly looked up, intending to ask if they had a problem. However, when his eyes landed on this person, he froze for a second.
That person was very familiar to Arthur unlike what he expected.
‘Wait, isn’t that… Isn’t that the creepy guy Isla warned me about? What was his name again, uh… La- Lamenter! Right! That’s his name!’ He thought to himself.
Arthur didn’t forget the boy who appeared next to him a few days ago when he sat down to eat lunch. He had left a deep impression on Arthur.
‘Is he staring at me because he recognized me?’ Arthur frowned subtly before he slowly looked down at his phone, trying to pretend as if he didn’t know who that person is. ‘My face is completely covered, there is no way he recognized me, right?’
Optimally, Arthur wanted not to talk to this person as he took Isla’s warning seriously. That girl rarely feels a threat and yet she specifically warned him not to even look in Lamenter’s direction. If that was not enough to tell him that he was a huge problem, then he didn’t know what did.
A few seconds passed and the tension grew heavier and heavier between the two. Arthur tried to stay relaxed and pretend he was completely clueless about what was happening while Lamenter simply stared at Arthur.
‘Come on, can this elevator go any slower?! Dammit!’ The boy cursed inwardly.
But, eventually, the elevator reached the last stop and it opened slowly. So, Arthur took that opportunity and tried to leave as quickly as possible while pretending like nothing happened.
‘This guy is too creepy. I don’t even want to know what is running through his head. Goodbye, bastard.’
However, as he was about to step out of the elevator, he heard Lamenter speak. “How is Isla doing?”
“…” Arthur frowned as he stopped for a moment. ‘Great. He knew exactly who I was! Do I look that obvious?!’
Inhaling a small breath, Arthur continued walking, not responding to Lamenter. ‘Just do what Isla said, no need to put your nose in a matter that doesn’t concern you. I just need to mind my own business for once.’
Arthur kept repeating those words in his head like a mantra. He knew that if he stayed there for another second, he would get too curious for his own good and end up talking to that guy when he shouldn’t. So, his best bet was to simply leave and not respond at all.
However, nothing was preparing him for what Lamenter was about to say.
“Knowing her, she probably told you not to talk to me. She’s very much as cautious as ever.”
“…”
‘Don’t turn around, Arthur! Just continue walking, you moron!’
“However, did she really tell you why she doesn’t want you to talk to me?”
“…”
That question immediately made Arthur stop as he looked over his shoulder. Looking at Lamenter’s face, all he could see was a casual, relaxed look as if he had figured out exactly what Arthur was thinking.
The two made eye contact for a few seconds before Lamenter continued. “You probably are curious as to why Isla hates me or perhaps… Who am I in the first place? I can tell you my side of the story if you want.”
“…”
Lamenter examined Arthur’s expression and he could see a hint of curiosity flash across his eyes. He immediately understood that he had gotten Arthur hooked.
“I am not really as bad of a person as you might think. Me and Isla simply have our differences and we will soon reach an agreement that satisfies her and satisfies me. In the meantime, I’m simply trying to fix my image so that people don’t misunderstand me. So, what do you think? Do you want to have a small chat?”
Then, it was complete silence for a few moments. Lamenter waited for Arthur’s reply.
At some point, he heard Arthur exhale a small breath before he turned around and walked toward Lamenter until he stopped right in front of him, staring directly into his eyes.
Lamenter squinted his eyes, waiting for the boy to speak.
“If you think…” Then, Arthur opened his mouth and whispered.
“Hm?” Lamenter raised an eyebrow.
“If you think that the nonsense you planned to spout will make me suddenly change my mind about you. Then, you’re underestimating me a little too much, Mr. smart ass. Keep your stories to yourself.”
Then, Arthur tapped Lamenter gently on the shoulder before he turned around and walked away, leaving the boy completely stunned in his place.
‘…’ His mouth hung open as he watched Arthur vanish somewhere. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure. But, surprisingly, Lamenter didn’t seem offended at all. Instead, a small smile appeared on his face.
“Interesting… Really interesting.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3