Reaching the end of the page, Arthur slowly closed the book as he stared dazedly at the title. He was still contemplating what he just read, trying to figure out what this feeling was. He really didn’t understand why he was this affected by this story.
Perhaps because Arthur saw himself in that hero. That desire to be an adventurer, to explore, and to live life to the fullest. That was also Arthur’s dream and something he wanted his entire life so when he saw the hero working toward that goal, he cheered for him silently.
Yet, the hero’s dream ended tragically and he couldn’t even die without any regrets. That was not easy to swallow. What if Arthur ends up in the same situation? What if all his dreams would come to an end in an unexpected manner?
Whether it was in the Divine Realm or the real world, everything could happen and Arthur wasn’t immune to mistakes. In fact, Arthur had made a lot of mistakes throughout his journey and he learned from those mistakes.
But, the serious problems haven’t arrived yet. He didn’t take any major steps in his life even after all of this. So, was he truly ready for these steps when the time came?
Slowly, Arthur remembered the words the founder said to him a while ago. Those words were too vague for him to understand at the time, and they were still vague even now but something was telling him that he was bound to understand them very soon.
“I will have to make that choice… huh?” He muttered as he stood up with a long sigh. Arthur’s mind felt a little clouded, but he didn’t let that take over him. There was no time to be all sad or philosophical, he had a lot to do.
‘There are a few more hours before the end of the day.’ He thought to himself. Then, the young man put his book in the shelf and then left the library.
“Let’s see if some people are open to fighting me.” He muttered.
***
Then, for the next few hours, Arthur spent it in the Duel Hall, either watching Duels or searching for people to fight. However, sadly, apart from three lower-class students who fought him, he didn’t find any strong opponents.
So, in the end, Arthur didn’t increase his points by much. Still, he was satisfied with the current number and decided to keep it that way for the time being.
Eventually, the bell rang, announcing the end of the day, and while students could stay inside the institution to Duel even more, some decided to go back home and one of them was Arthur.
He didn’t bother waiting for the others as he frankly didn’t have the heart to meet them at that moment. He was truly shattered by the realization of his true position and wanted to just focus on himself rather than trying to build relationships. That never and will never help him at all.
Reaching his dorm room, he walked inside and quickly went to work, taking a shower and making a light dinner for himself before he finally changed his clothes and entered his capsule. He didn’t want to waste any time as there were so many things he had to do that day.
Logging into the game, Arthur found himself in the capital again. Blinking slightly, he looked around him for a second before he turned around and started walking. However, he didn’t head to the Guild headquarters as one would expect and instead had one destination in mind.
‘I need to learn more about Elemental Oblivion before going back to the tower. That ice ability it has is ridiculously strong and it ain’t even the only thing it can do. I need to learn more about it.’ He thought to himself.
This inconspicuous sword completely shattered his expectations against Lamenter and showed him a level of power he didn’t even think was possible.
What made it even more shocking was that it didn’t even use any mana to create all that ice and destruction, it simply used the mana he gave it to activate the ability. That alone would make this sword a priceless possession.
‘I wonder if it gets stronger as I infuse it with more mana.’ He thought to himself. Staring at his weapon, Arthur felt a thrill and excitement in his heart.
With that in mind, Arthur reached the training center and rented a room for himself. Walking inside, he was welcomed by a familiar scenery.
Putting his hood aside, Arthur stretched a little as he got ready for the training session.
“Let’s see… I will use 30 minutes of training and then leave. I can’t waste any more time here. The rest of the training will happen in the tower.” He muttered as he stretched his legs. “The time is running out.”
Arthur had only a few days before the deadline and he had to pick up even more pace.
***
Meanwhile, far away from where he was, in the real world. Find adventures at My Virtual Library Empire
“AGH! My back hurts!” Herculia muttered as he cracked his spine with a groan. “I didn’t find any real good fights, to be honest. Everyone was so weak.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to find any strong opponents yet,” Emmy replied as she walked next to him. “I didn’t even need to use any of my new spells. What about you Danny?”
“…” The young man who was still waiting for Isla. “I only did a dozen Duels or so. No one was worth my attention.”
“So cool.” Herculia’s eyes twinkled with excitement.
“Where is Isla, by the way? Wasn’t she behind us?” Emmy blinked. This particular day, Isla had been acting rather odd. For the entirety of the afternoon, she was quiet and exceptionally colder than usual.
They tried to ask her about it, but she simply gave them her usual ‘I’m fine’ and ‘Nothing to worry about’ responses. However, they weren’t some strangers to believe that, they were aware that something bad had happened and she didn’t want to tell them.
The one who was worried the most was Danny who tried to speak to her privately only to end up with nothing.
“And Arthur too… I haven’t seen him ever since he left with that girl. Don’t tell me… Did she kill him?!” Herculia exclaimed.
“Of course not, idiot! Look at the ranking! He had been busy Dueling the entire evening. He’s number 1 currently.” Emmy replied.
“Oh… As expected of Arthur, he won’t settle down for nothing less than number 1.”
At that moment, Isla appeared in the parking area. Walking slowly, she stopped in front of them.
“There you are, Isla.”
“We have been waiting.”
The girl nodded her head. “I had some stuff to do. Let’s go.” She said coldly and put her Hoverboard up.
“…”
The trio stared at one another for a second before they nodded and the group finally left the Institution. The trip back was rather silent and awkward. Nobody could find the words to speak or say anything. The tension was palpable in the air and they could feel it as clear as day.
‘What is happening here?’ Danny frowned as he looked at Isla. ‘Did something happen between her and that kid? Something is off.’
Danny’s suspicion was on Arthur more than anything else as he was the only one who made Isla react this strongly to anything. Yet, that boy was nowhere to be seen.
‘Tsk, you better have not done something stupid, bastard.’ He clenched his teeth.
Eventually, the group separated and each one headed to their dorm room. Their farewells were colder than usual.
Isla rode her Sonicboard to the building and then walked inside silently. Her expression was neutral until she reached her room and closed the door behind her. Standing there for a second, her hand slowly fell to the side as she rested her forehead against the door.
Slowly, her expression crumbled into oblivion as she gripped her shirt near her heart. She was feeling a very strong sense of suffocation.
Slowly, she tried to calm her breathing but her erratic heart was beating way too fast.
Then, she picked up her phone and opened it with a shaky hand. She pulled up her contacts and then to the very first one. Staring at it, she hesitated to tap it and call. She stood there for a minute, then two minutes without doing anything.
Eventually, she clicked her tongue and closed the device. Looking up, she tapped her fist against the wall.
“Dammit…”
Isla felt completely bad, especially after what she said to Arthur. Mentioning her past, she found herself panicking and ended up saying something she never wanted. She knew that she had made a huge mistake.
‘I was a coward… A pathetic coward…’ She clenched her teeth. She struggled to face Arthur and tell him the truth.
“I will talk to him when I log in… I need to face him.” She muttered.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3