Rest

I sat down on the living room floor, trying my best not to mind the surveillance at the side.

A week had already passed, a week where I had spent all my time training.

The facility didn't quite reach the standards of the academy, but it was still adequate for my needs, with the exception of not having a time chamber.

This meant that I had no way of practicing my Art or my skills without injuring my body if I didn't restrict myself.

I felt myself slip into my inner space, interacting with my purple energy once again.

It had grown a lot from when I noticed it the first time. It was no longer a sprout, it was now more of a small cloud, spreading its sparks around it.

A familiar feeling started to grow, and the cloud began to transform into another form.

'Hello again...'

The purple me was standing in front of me, but this time it didn't reach out his hand. Instead, it started to morph once again, this time gaining a more feminine form.

Even with its indistinguishable face and undefined characteristics, I could still feel it being something of the other gender.

This time, it took my nonexistent face in its hand and kissed me.

We fused, and it was more intense than ever.

My body felt currents starting to course, filling me with energy and revitalizing my core.

"-I'm sorry..."

A small whisper could be heard from within, a female voice speaking to me, an apology stemming from something unknown.

Suddenly, another voice rang out,

"Miren!"

I was met by my purple energy dancing around my body and Sophie's legs standing in front of me.

Looking up, she wore a complicated expression, seemingly trying to determine if I was a danger, or if I was in danger.

Hurriedly I took control of my mana and extinguished it.

"I'm fine. I just had a breakthrough."

Her face was skeptical, "What kind of breakthrough would make your mana start to rampage in the form of your element? I don't think the conversion would just happen like that."

Sophie didn't know about my weird constitution where I didn't have a pool of pure mana, there was only lightning-elemental mana inside of me.

There was no need to inform her of this, as it would most likely only make her even more confused.

"Don't mind it. Anyway, how much longer will I have to stay here?"

Getting to my feet, she started to squirm a bit, and when I looked up at her face, she appeared to be a bit sad, "Well, it's probably going to take quite a while... It seems that you do indeed have someone backing you, but even then it will take at least a couple of months. I'm sorry...."

'Why is my abductor acting like this...'

This whole week she had acted like she felt incredibly guilty about kidnapping me, trying her best to make me feel as comfortable as possible.

Now I had gotten my own bed, unfortunately still in her bedroom.

It was quite awkward, sleeping next to the amazon with amazing curves. Even more so because I still felt a sense of familiarity around her.

'If you're going to feel guilty, don't kidnap me in the first place!'

The situation itself was bizarre. A no-name student randomly got the number one ranking among the freshmen, which caused me to be kidnapped by a soft-hearted giant who is now treating me as a dear guest.

"Haaa... It's fine... I just wish I could contact Misa and say I'm fine..."

She flinched a bit, and a smile emerged,

"Misa? As in Misa Laise?"

A bit confused as to why she knew my girlfriend's name, I had to ask, "Yes, that's right. Why do you know her name?"

Her whole being lit up a bit and she uttered the most unexpected words I could imagine,

"She is a part of my group! She is one of the lobbyists that I managed to get inside of the justice department!"

'What the fuck is happening?!'

Everything was a mess. Suddenly my girlfriend was a part of this unknown group of mana-less who had abducted me.

"Then, shouldn't she already know that I'm here?"

"Not necessarily. It's almost certain that the academy and the politicians want to keep the kidnapping a secret in order to save face. Most likely they are trying their best to keep it out of the public ears."

"That makes sense, I guess... But then, is it possible for you to let Misa know I'm here?"

"That's no problem at all! I will let her know immediately!"

She ran out of the room, leaving me with my own confused thoughts.

Nothing made sense right now, but, for some inexplicable reason, I felt quite content with the situation.

Maybe it was because I felt like Sophie was an innately good person, or maybe it was because I no longer felt the stress of having to prove myself.

At this point, it didn't matter. Just knowing I had a few months where I didn't have to interact with other students felt like bliss.

I went back to meditating for a while, sensing the amplification of power that had just occurred inside.

It felt even more smooth to circulate my mana now and the energy surging through me felt a lot more potent.

I hadn't really had the chance to appreciate the fact that I got the chance to live in a fantasy world, where it was possible to use magic and see all kinds of wonders.

'I want to see the world with Misa at my side...'

I had only seen a fraction of this world, not even the full scale of District 5, yet there were four whole other districts as well.

Thinking about the proud mountains, the silent forests and the vast sea made me feel excited again.

The only reason I stayed at the academy in the first place was to gain the power to make a life of my own. It wasn't because of getting along with my classmates, nor was it to impress the teachers. These were all just byproducts, and although I didn't feel like they were unimportant, they weren't necessities.

Having yet another breakthrough in my M.G. led me to a bit of clarity. I was on the right path, getting stronger every day.

****

The class of 1-A was sitting quietly, as their homeroom teacher would finally return after a week of absence.

"He is fine, right? There's no way they would hurt him?"

A worried Sarah was sitting next to Arthur, talking about their abducted classmate.

Arthur's face was cold, showing no signs of the merry youngster who yearned for adventures,

"Yes. He is going to be fine..."

Even though he knew Sarah was looking for comfort, he could only give her a curt answer.

Seeing her crush acting like this, her worry only started to spread to him as well.

Slowly, she put her hand on his shoulder and suddenly their roles were reversed,

"Yes, surely he is going to be alright! He is strong after all!"

Her obviously fake enthusiasm was the only noise heard in the room until another person joined the conversation,

"Isn't it good that he is gone?"

Both of them turned their head toward the rude remark, their eyes landing on Bayyan.

"You said it yourself Arthur, he isn't fit to be an adventurer or a hero anyway. Better he stays gone rather than our fellow students having to fear for their lives."

His face didn't show any signs of contempt, it was as if he was just objectively stating the facts.

Arthur soared out of his seat,

"Don't say that! You don't know anything about Miren!"

To his challenging aura, Bayyan also took a stand,

"Oh, really? But you do?"

"I know he isn't a killer! I've seen him struggle to even take a goblin's life!"

"Doesn't that just mean he values the life of a monster more than his own classmates?"

The golden boy walked right up to the gray-haired youth, standing no more than a meter in front of him,

"I know that he isn't like that!"

Bayyan still didn't back down,

"So what is he like then? Do you know this, so-called, Porter family, because I sure as hell don't? Admit it, no one knows anything about him, for all we know, he is some kind of demonkin!"

Arthur's mouth tried to say something, but nothing came out.

It wasn't a lie to say he knew nothing about Miren, other than that he was an orphan.

In this world, where genetics determined your fate, what kind of family were the Porters? Where did Mirens proficiency come from?

There were too many questions that didn't have an answer, questions that would probably not be answered either.

His attempt at saving his friend, after having seen how broken he was after the dungeon dive, had gone astray.

Guilt had been building up inside of him. He didn't necessarily want to force Miren to be his friend, but he did want to make sure Miren knew what he had planned.

With a crude smile, Bayyan concluded the discussion,

"Nothing to say, huh?"

Arthur clenched his fists at his words but truly didn't have anything he could say, at least not without risking letting the truth behind the duel spread.

"To your seats!"

Their teacher had arrived.