A Double System (1)

When I opened my eyes and saw I wasn't in my dorm room, it only took a few seconds to determine what was going on.

'I'm dreaming.'

I couldn't decide whether to feel relieved or scared.

[Ah. Here we are again.]

The place looked familiar, and I realized I was probably in the Atan mansion, being that I was sitting at an incredibly fancy table with the double sword crest I'd seen on the carriage, and was a few chairs away from the woman in purple, who was now in green, and Daro. Several servants stood at the edges of the room, waiting to be called.

Silverware clinked, filling the silence. I glimpsed down to find my food untouched. My mouth was dry, but I didn't touch the glass of water.

"Daro," The woman called, dabbing her mouth with a napkin, "Did Lord Ilios take well to your plea? It would be good for you to get rift training before the start of next year."

Daro smiled, putting down his fork.

"Yes. He has allowed me to go with the Ilios Knights through a mid-level rift to the Frozen plains next month," He recounted, swirling the wine in his glass, "He was surprised to hear I had already reached a mid-level dispersion, given that it's about the level of some of his elite knights."

"Of course he would be. Will Henry accompany you to the estate?"

"Most likely. I will be bringing a lot of equipment."

"Very well," She nodded, finishing her meal and standing up from the table, "I'll tell the butler to make arrangements."

"Thank you, Madame." Daro stood up from his chair and bowed, before sitting back down. Just as the door out of the dining room opened, her footsteps stopped.

"Estelle." She said.

"Yes, Madame?" The words came from my mouth involuntarily, thick and unsure. Her words seeped through my skin, causing me to tense.

"Iona informed me you weren't at practice today."

My heart thumped, trying to burst from my chest."It was because of my hands, ma'am," I pushed the chair back, standing up to face her, "The blisters had burst so many times I couldn't-"

"Enough," She stopped me, a hand raised, not bothering to look in my direction. "I didn't ask for an excuse. You will work twice as long tomorrow. That is all."

She walked out of the room and the door shut behind her. I thought I heard Daro laugh before he too began to head towards the exit, but not before bumping into me, hitting me hard on the shoulder. As he left I gazed over at my full plate, and then down at my hands. They were covered in bandages protecting bloody wounds and scars that were excruciating to touch.

I could barely move my fingers, much less pick up silverware to eat.

My vision darkened, and the dream ended.

***

Upon waking up I had immediately checked my hands for signs of scars. There were some traces of calluses, but nothing as brutal and bloody as in the dream. If the dream was a memory, it was from a long time ago.

June wasn't around all morning, and I thought I saw a glance of her on my way to testing, but I couldn't be sure. I didn't see any sign of Li. After leaving the dorms Charlie had flown off and had yet to return, leaving me alone to head towards...I couldn't remember.

'What was the name again?'

I tapped open my IED, sliding a few pages to the left to where I had stored the orientation schedule and map.

[Hawksthorn building floor B., located in the Teacher's village.]

"Well if you remembered then you should've just said so," I grumbled, finding the location on the map and double-checking it with the testing schedule. The Teacher's village was where the professor's lived, and it also served as a place for students to shop, sign up for jobs, transport to major cities and locations, etc. Or at least, that was the sentence description on the map legend. It was located around and behind the main dorms and the 'Ranker' dorms, which were, as the map stated, for 'qualified students.' I figured that would not ever apply to me, so I ignored it. In the distance, the town was already full of people, students, and workers alike wandering through shops and carrying bags. A group of boys had huddled around an enormous bow in a store window, so shiny it was blinding to stare at. Other's had taken wooden practice swords from a nearby barrel and were sparing in the street, attracting the attention of a particularly pissed looking man in uniform. Upon seeing him, they scattered.

There was so much to see that I found myself glancing back and forth, spinning to catch every sight and sound to the point where I got dizzy. I almost forgot I had a destination, and that it was already 8:15.

[Estelle! In front of-]

"Hmf?!" As I turned my head to face forward I ran directly into something soft and squishy. Stumbling back, I tripped and fell onto my backside.

"Oh my." A soft, sing-song voice cried.

Gazing up I saw a blue-haired woman with equally blue eyes, wearing a sleeveless dress that left no room for the imagination. She had a mischievous smile on her face and there was a glint in her eyes that reminded me of a predator. Her voluptuous hips and breasts were dizzyingly hard to ignore, and I could feel my face going red, realizing what I had run into.

"Uh, ah, I'm so sorry- I wasn't looking where I was going and-" I stuttered, waving my arms.

She cut me off. "Aren't you adorable, Here," She said, reaching out her hand. I grabbed it and she pulled me up with such force I almost ran right back into her. I noticed her arms were toned with muscle. "First years are always so much fun. Where are you headed, love?"

[She looks mature enough to be a professor. I don't remember seeing her at the Plateau yesterday though.]

I took a step back.

"Hawksthorne, floor B, ma'am" I said, trying to hide my face with my hair.

"Pfft-" She started to laugh, before covering it up with an 'ahem.' "Apologies, but I'm a student, so call me Mei. Would you like me to walk you to Hawksthorne? Testing starts in..." She paused, tapping her IED, "10 minutes."

"Ah!" I yelled, "Yes please, if that's alright...Mei."

She smiled and began to walk further into the village. I jogged to catch up.

"Are you not a first-year?" I asked, still embarrassed but unable to quell my curiosity, "I thought only first-years were on campus."

I hadn't realized at first, but for such a large campus it was suspiciously empty, leading me and Angel to assume that first-years moved in a few days before everyone else came back.

"They are, however, I had special permission to come back early. Not because I am a third-year though. My dear Luna was in desperate need of repairs, and Ms. Monique, the blacksmith here, is a miracle worker," She giggled, starring off with a dreamy expression.

[I suppose Luna is a weapon.]

'Is she an augmenter?'

[Only an augmenter would get that attached to a weapon.]

"Is that Miss Go?" I heard a voice call, before a symphony of "shh!", "Don't yell at her!", and "Shut up!" rang out. Looking towards the sound I saw that many of the students on the street had stopped, shooting glances in the direction of Mei. A large portion of the male students staring had red cheeks and a longing look in their eyes.

Mei didn't react to their calls, so I decided to ignore them as well. I wasn't going to risk being annoying by asking too many questions to the lady who had forgiven me for minor sexual assault and was helping me.

Two minutes passed in polite conversation before we arrived at Hawksthorne. There was a sign above the door and one facing the road, so I would've found it eventually, but probably not soon enough.

"This is it," She smiled, looking down at me, "Testing is on the bottom floor, but someone inside should show you to the stairs."

"Thank you so much. I'll owe you for this."

"Don't worry, it was in my best interest too." She admitted, and upon seeing my confusion, elaborated. "You are Lady Estelle, correct? Heir to the Earldom of South Fellheim?"

[Heir?]

"Yes, I am...she," I replied, trying to appear competent. I failed, however, because she giggled again.

"That means your brother is Sir Daro."

'So he is my brother. But why would I be the heir if he is older?'

[It's possible your family line is matriarchal.]

"Yes."

"It's a long story, but to put it plainly..." She trailed off, lost in her thoughts.

[Are they in a relationship?]

"I hate his guts." She finished, smiling radiantly.

[Nevermind.]

"And because I hate his guts, I don't want him to have an opportunity to take the Earldom from you. I don't care if he's a better augmenter than, well, me, but I would much prefer if a cute young girl like you took the job. I know you haven't awakened yet, it's all the talk of the southern nobles, so my hopes for you today are high."

'Is June a southern noble too? Is that why she hates me?'

"I will do my best," I assured her, not at all assuringly.

"It's okay if you don't awaken. It just might prevent your dear brother from ending up in an...unfortunate accident." She mused, before giving me a wink and turning around, beginning to walk back towards the dorms.

[That was only slightly less subtle than 'I'm going to murder him.' Not that I care. Murder away!]

My eyes widened, and I decided to never get on this woman's bad side.

Just as I moved to open the door, I realized I had one more thing to ask her.

"Miss Mei!" I called, causing her to look back at me, "How did you recognize me?" I asked. I then realized we could have met before, and although it didn't seem like it I may have just blown my cover. "If we've met before I'm sorry I forgot, I've been busy with, uh, swords lately and I-"

"Your lack of awareness is adorable my Lady," She shook her head, cutting in, "The Atan House, while most prominently known for producing powerful knights, is also widely renowned for their stunning and unique beauty. When I saw those features of yours I was sure you were an Atan. And it helped that you, sadly, resemble that sibling of yours." She sighed, pitying me.

With that, she waved back once more and continued on her way. I blushed again. Was I pretty?

[For Olyntheo's sake...]

'Let me have this.'

[It is 8:28.]

I spun around and flung open the door, dashing into the foyer of the building. There on three couches were about nine students sitting around a table that had plates of scones and nuts on it. I could feel my mouth begin to water, but before I could go sit down and grab a handful, a man burst through a door to the left. He was older, with graying hair that stuck up in every direction. His tie was coming loose, and his pants frayed at the seams.

[Is this what they refer to as the nutty professor?]

"Lady Estelle? Is that you?" He questioned me.

I nodded.

"Wonderous! That makes ten of you then. If you would so kindly follow me to the testing facility." He bowed, before heading back through the doorway and down a set of stairs. The other students got up to follow him, and I made my way into the line.

"Ten is a bit less than usual, but not by much," He rambled, flipping light switches as he went "Though I suppose that just makes my job easier!" He roared, hand on his stomach. As we continued further down the wooden design from the first floor and village above began to change to metal, and bits of wiring and dents could sometimes be seen through loose plates.

"Is this place safe?" One of the students asked, eyeing the wall with unease.

"Oh yes, I can assure you of that," The old man replied, "This metal is aluthanium, a special Etheria absorbing compound. Super expensive, yada yada. It is usually used to house high-level System users in prisons, by forcing rapid dispersion, but here it helps to redirect any damage that comes from a particularly violent awakening. It is dented because you, the student, are not!" He laughed again, but no one looked any more at ease.

[This place would be uncomfortable for any awakened person, due to the aluthanium. But because only unawakened people come down here, it works wonders.]

We arrived at the bottom of the staircase where the man opened a thick metal door, leading into an elaborate underground facility. In the center of the room was a circular chamber, surrounded on all sides by a variety of machines. On its' floor and ceiling were two simple magic circles, whilst the machinery outside was covered in a variety of far more complex markings. The walls of the circle chamber appeared to be thick glass mixed with tiles of a different form of metal.

[That metal is commonly called King's maker. That's because it, while highly malleable and low in conductivity, does not absorb Etheria at all. This makes it useful for, unlike aluthanium, creating a high saturation of Etheria in a given space, forcing awakenings.]

'It's good to know that if I get a test on this, you'll be great at helping me cheat.'

[...]

"Oh, that's right!" The man called, "I completely forgot. I am Mr. Han'baijaim, Dr. Blighten's assistant in the study of Etherial dispersion and Rift formations. You may refer to me as Mr. Han to avoid the mouthful. The Doctor would usually perform these tests, but he had to take care of some fieldwork today, so I will be taking his place."

[Too bad. We could've confronted him about his devil child.]

'I'll take that into consideration should we meet him again.'

[Hmph.]

"If you all would just sit over there," He gestured to a row of seats against the wall, surrounded by the same thick glass with aluthanium edges. I followed the other students over to sit down. Mr. Han hit a few buttons on the machines and checked a screen before walking back towards us.

"A few things to note before we begin," He said, standing in front of our protective barrier, "Standard procedure, even if you've heard it before. Any Etheria based enchantments or items must be removed before the start. This means IED bracelets come off. Secondly, it would be easiest to do this test naked, but the higher-ups have nixed this idea so I ask that you at least take your jacket off before going in. Third, you must stand in the center of the circle until I open the doors to the chamber once the procedure is over. A powerful system awakening could cause damage, and having you as far away from the glass as possible increases our chances of nothing breaking." He took a deep breath and looked at each of us, seeing if we understood.

"Lastly," He began again, "this may very well hurt. Forced system awakening is not something everyone does, or I recommend everyone do. Because you all are of noble bloodlines with a history of Systems, your Etheria tolerance should be high enough that you don't feel anything, but if it isn't then the increase in saturation could cause discomfort. The only other case in which it will hurt is if your system awakening is particularly high level. This probably won't be the case, however."

'Why isn't that the case?'

[Because the stronger the System the more likely it is to awaken on its own. A forced awakening usually means someone was on the brink of not having enough Etheria to form a system naturally.]

After checking to see if anyone had been scared off by his warnings of pain, Han opened the chamber doors, typed something into a monitor, and glanced back at us.

"First come first serve!" He smiled, giving a thumbs up.