Quiet first day

In the morning, Michael made sure that the newly available ability, Enhanced Sense of Balance, was too expensive for him. Without his mother to take care of, his measly glory points for working hard and taking care of himself weren't enough.

Michael left his apartment and walked to school. It was his first day. So many things to do, so many people ignorant of how their future would change in a month.

"Glory, what are the chances of collision again?" Michael inquired grimly.

"Estimated chance of collision is 38% with 24% possible error."

The boy stopped in his tracks. Fortunately, the traffic light signaled red, so his behavior didn't look weird.

"You're telling me the chance of collision is lower than yesterday?"

"Today the object is closer to host's planet, so there are fewer variables to account for."

Perhaps the chance of collision would go lower and lower every day? If that's true, then Michael had nothing to worry about. Of course, these otherworldly objects appearing on Earth painted a bad picture. First Glory, then this thing – will there be more?

Waiting for the green light, Michael looked around. Now that he was in a better mood, he was eager to share it with someone. Next to him was a short old lady with white hair and a slight hump. Her wrinkled face looked tired.

"Ma'am?" Michael volunteered, "Can I help you cross the road?"

"Ah, young man," she smiled, "Why not? Lead the way."

She took Michael's elbow with her soft aged hand and spoke, "Young people these days should be more like you. My grandchild is the same age as you, but you are so polite and earnest," she sighed.

Michael realized that the old woman was likely a relative of an EIS student. Why else would she be headed in the same direction as him? There was nothing but the school's territory up ahead.

"And you are so handsome, too. Would you like to go on a date with my grandchild?" the old lady smiled craftily.

"Ah, thank you, ma'am, I'm not looking for a relationship," Michael mumbled.

"That's all right. My grandson likes girls, so it would've been hard to pull off."

Michael was floored. That old fox!

As they crossed the road, "Ding! 5 glory points earned for filial piety. Host is a good junior. Please, work hard in the future" sounded in Michael's mind.

The old lady didn't need help, as it turned out, because when they entered the school grounds, she let go of his elbow and left. Her speed didn't yield to Michael's one bit. He also noticed that she had an employee pass, meaning she worked here. However, he had never seen her before.

At his first class of the day, Michael sat with Anna as usual and showed off his knowledge of Chemistry. True to his word, he surprised everyone with his all-advanced classes schedule. Anna matched him in Biology, Chemistry and a few others, but opted to keep a lighter timetable.

Michael was happy with her decision, too. He dared to take the workload only because of his accumulated knowledge. As for Anna, she would have to study day and night to keep up with him. He also encouraged the girl to sit with Sofia in class if he happened to be in another group. Anna needed to learn to make friends.

The day passed without incident. Michael's preparedness and smarts didn't draw too much attention. Anyone could handle a day of classes – the real challenge was to do all the homework and get good grades on tests.

After the classes were over, Michael found Jerry at lunch and sat next to him.

"Hey, Michael! Where's your girl?" the taller twin grinned smugly.

"Right there. Hey!" Michael waved at Anna.

"Seriously, why is she always following you?"

"We're just friends. You and your brother always hang out together too, right?"

"Nope. Do you see him? He's not here," Jerry shrugged.

"Oof! Found it!" Jack crawled out from under the table at that moment, holding a fork.

Michael graciously refrained from putting Jerry down. Jerry was so touched by this magnanimous gesture that he put his hand on Michael's shoulder and almost teared up, 'A true brother!'

"Jerry, buddy, I need a favor."

"Name it," the taller twin smiled. His brother also listened in, ready to repay Michael for saving Jerry from being expelled.

"We will choose our rooms later tonight in the dorms. I need to occupy a room by myself. It's fine if it's small, I just want to live alone."

The twins exchanged a look and turned to Michael with wide smiles.

"Of course, buddy. We understand, you are a real man," whispered Jerry. Jack imitated a movement with his hand.

Michael flushed red and checked what Anna was doing. The girl was ignorantly munching on her salad. He punched Jerry without using force, "That's not it!"

"Sure it isn't! Sure! Real men understand each other," the brothers nodded vigorously.

"Whatever." How was Michael supposed to explain to them that he needed a separate room to cultivate in the evening and at night, not to touch himself like those two scoundrels?

Later that day, when Anna said her goodbyes and left to look for a room on the girls' floor, the boys already had a plan. When the dorms' caretaker allowed everyone to occupy their beds one by one, the trio stood back and waited. Finally, when only a few rooms were left, the caretaker suggested they take a room for three people, but Jerry objected.

"Sir, my brother and I would prefer to live separately from him," he pointed at Michael, "That guy is famous for loving himself loudly at night."

Michael didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The plan was for the twins to point out they were a family and ask to live without strangers. Then, Michael would agree and live by himself. Now, those untrustworthy brothers started spreading rumors.

The caretaker smirked at the twins, "Compared to him, it's you two who look like you engage in forbidden love with each other."

Jerry was angered so much he almost choked on his own spit. Seeing that his brother was silent, Jack kept his mouth shut, too. The caretaker treated their silence as consent.

"You two can live together, I don't mind. You," he looked at Michael, "will have to live alone then. The other rooms are all either empty or full. Is that all right with you?"

Michael took the chance to turn the tables on the twins, agreeing quickly and hiding in his room. When Jack and Jerry came to their senses, it was already too late to chase him. The twins impotently shook their fists and gave up.

After he was done with the move, Michael left his room and went to the library, which was in a separate building between the dorms and the classrooms. Unlike other schools, the library at EIS was always packed with people, not only because of inquisitive youths but because it had computers.

Planning to retrieve his laptop from home the next day, Michael checked his mail, sent his mom a comforting message, made sure North Academy was up and running and logged off. He would have to record and post videos for his fitness and gaming channels soon if Glory's estimations of collision kept going down.

With his "business" on the right track, Michael took out a pen and some paper and began drawing Angry Birds levels he remembered. After three dozen professionally constructed levels, he kept on ruining paper with his own ideas. It was already evening when he completed ten levels he was happy with.

Finally, young cultivator returned to the dorms. His room was small and simple. With two beds, two bedside cabinets and a large wardrobe, it was cozy enough for him to treat it as a home. The boy moved the furniture around until he was happy with the layout.

He freed up a large space in the center of the room for cultivation. Nobody occupied the second bed, so it presented a naked mattress with no bedding. Michael closed the door, laid out the mattress on the floor and started cultivating. With every attempt to enter the meditative state smoother than before, his training sped up greatly.

Going at this speed, he would reach 5-star in just a few days.