3. In The Flying Castle!

When vision returned to me again, I found myself sitting inside the infamous 'Flying Castle'.

There was no mistaking it, I really was inside of AAA! Does that mean I really do have a Mana Core now?!

I had never been inside the Arcane Arts Arena but even I knew about the infamous 'Flying Castle'.

'The place where your journey begins' they call it.

However, now that I'm here I don't think that the gossip about this place does it justice.

No, this place is far more magical than what I imagined it to be after hearing the talks.

You see, it's not just a flying castle, no. It's a floating island.

From on top of the castle's open garden, I could see the land of the Floating Island stretching as far as my eyes went.

"Magical isn't it?" The girl in front of me spoke.

We were sitting around what seemed like a tea party table. 

The teacups that were neatly placed in front of us only further testified that it was a tea table.

'Who is she?' I asked mentally.

"Want some tea?" The girl spoke and snapped her fingers. 

As soon as she did that, the teacups that were empty till now magically started filling up with dark brown color liquid, and the aroma of richly brewed tea invaded my nose.

'She must be a mod.' I told myself.

Mods were the people who were granted authority to enforce rules on the players in the game.

They have some special powers which can only be used here and not in the real world. 

However, I've heard every mod is a one-man army be it here in this world or the real world.

"Please, do join." 

She gestured for me to join in as she lifted the teacup in front of her and elegantly sipped the contents inside.

Honestly speaking, I wasn't able to hear whatever she was saying. I was dazed by her beauty.

Her blushing red cheeks, her dark abyssal eyes that could enchant anyone, her long silky black hair that reached up to her waist, and even the elegant way she was sitting on the chair with.

Everything, every single thing about her was out of this world.

-Clank 

After taking a long sip she put down her teacup on a silver coaster.

"Oh boy, it seems like you're not a tea lover," She said while lightly giggling. "Or perhaps did my «Enchantment» ability work on you?"

She elegantly placed a hand in front of her mouth as she let out a soft elegant giggle again. 

-Snap

"Disable" The black-haired girl whispered softly before snapping her fingers.

This time however when she snapped, I felt my heart, which was racing just by the sight of her before, calming down.

"Wha-What was that?" After getting out of my daze, I voiced in panic.

"Hehe, calm down newbie, I was just messing with ya!" 

Dropping her previous elegant demeanor, the black-haired girl laughed as if she had just pulled the prank of her life.

"Your face! Hahaha! It was beet red! Ahahaha!"

At this point, she was laughing so hard that the tears started coming out from the side of her eyes.

"Ahhh, I'm sorry hun but I'm already taken~" 

The black-haired girl stretched out her hand and coquettishly touched the side of my face with her index finger.

I, who was beet red with anger and embarrassment by this point jerked her hand away and spoke;

"Don't touch me you thot!" 

"Ahahahaha! It's official, you're my favorite newbie!" My reactions just made her laugh more.

Just when I was about to burst out in anger once again did she open her mouth to speak.

"Okay okay, jokes aside, because of my prank we don't have much time left. So shall we get to the character creation part?"

Startled, I frowned my eyebrows in confusion.

"Am I really in Arcane Arts Arena?"

"Ahh, yes of course. You did click on the [Arcane Arts Arena] on your system, right? So where else would you be?" 

The black-haired girl shrugged and spoke in a 'isn't this obvious' tone.

"And the requirement to log in is to have a Mana Core, right?" I asked to reassure myself.

The girl in front of me tilted her head in confusion. Her thin eyebrows knitted together in a furrow.

"By any chance, were you high when you clicked the log-in button?" 

"I- No…"

"Sureeeeee~"

"I was not!"

"Yeah yeah, I believe you man!" 

"Then why are you slowly moving your seat back away from me?!"

"I'm not! Look I'm right here!"

"You stopped when I caught you!"

"Hehe~" The girl couldn't help but let out a small giggle at my reactions again. She was really playing with me huh.

"Okay, as cute as you are, I can't let you ask any more obvious questions because we don't have much time." 

The black-haired girl lifted her index finger and uttered. "It's night so many new players are logging in."

"Now then, let's begin your entry. From your reactions, I know it already but I shall ask just to confirm, this is your first time in AAA right?"

The girl in front of me inquired while leaning back on her chair, to which I only nodded my head in answer.

"Okay good. Now then, do you have a name in mind?"

"A name?" I frowned lightly.

"Yes, you know, Arcane names. The names that people use in this world in place of real names. Like Starlight, Helios, Megaboy, and all those big shots!" 

The girl replied passionately with sparkling eyes.

"Am I… supposed to know who they are?" I asked with a blank face.

"Oh boy," She couldn't help but heave a sigh at my response. "I see, you're a total newbie. Haven't you watched any tutorials or videos online before entering?"

"I- uh… I actually entered by accident." I replied earnestly.

"Ha! See! You were high, weren't you?!" She slammed the table and spoke with a wide grin.

"Not that kind of accident!" I retorted, a twitching nerve appeared on my forehead.

"Fine fine~ So anyway, as I was saying, you need a character name to enter. Think of a really super duper cool name!"

"Ahh okay," Placing a hand on my chin, I quickly started brainstorming some good character names.

I wasn't ready when I was thrown into this game, and I never thought I would get a chance to enter the world of AAA so I never thought about such stuff.

Actually, that's not true. When I was little I was obsessed with AAA.

I used to buy magazines and watch talk shows about AAA. 

One thing that I never did was, watch live streams and videos. Because I wanted to experience it all firsthand.

People in this world are born with a Mana Core. But it is not until one is 14 years of age do they start to absorb mana.

In simpler words, even though you have a Mana Core from the start, it will take you 14 years to actually unlock it.

There's no way to check whether one is born with a Mana Core or not until they are 14 years of age too.

As you need Mana Core to enter AAA, if you don't have a Mana Core and will still try to enter, you will experience an organ rendering pain as I did earlier.

And that is why the minimum age to enter the world of AAA is 14. 

You know where this story is going right?

2 years ago, the only one out of the two of us who was given a system and was able to teleport into AAA was my brother.

On that day, my parents, who are among the few of the strongest beings from the Human federation, got to know that their child was Manaless. 

And that marked the start of my 2 years' worth of suffering.

Two years of pain, torture, daily beating, shame, and what not!

Today was not the first time I tried to end it all. I tried many times and I failed them all.

It's not like my family was always like this towards me, no.

We were just a normal family. I had caring parents. A loving big sister and my twin brother. The brother I would've gladly given my life for if needed.

But that day… On that day everything changed because I couldn't log into AAA.

At first, they thought there was a mistake, so I was made to go through all kinds of tests.

When the result came in negative for a Mana Core in me, my mother went into denial, and slowly she changed. Everyone changed…

My brother, my sister, my friends, and even my hero, my father…

"Are you done thinking cute boy?" 

Resting her head on her hand, the girl who was looking at me with a weird grin shook me out of my thoughts with her melodious voice.

"I mean I would love to look at your cute face all day long while you ponder over what to choose as your Arcane name, but sadly we don't have that kind of time."

"Ahem!" Letting out a dry cough I focused on the task at hand again.

What to choose as my game name?

"I know," 

Yes, I remember. I remember the first name I thought of when I was little. I dreamed of people cheering for me with that name.

I thought of people calling me Starboy.

But that name is for heroes and I am no hero. 

Everyone around me made sure of it. They broke me long ago, first my body then my will. 

After all, I was just a disgrace.

"Tell me," The black-haired girl leaned forward on her chair.

Looking at her with clear thoughts, even without whatever the spell or skill she was using earlier, I can confirm she is pretty as hell!

"Disgrace. I chose my Arcane name as Disgrace."

"Disgrace huh? Cool name," she said with a bright smile. "I approve!"

As soon as the girl in front of me announced that, the words [Disgrace] appeared on top of my head, startling me in the process.

"Fufu," The girl couldn't help but chuckle lightly at my reaction. "Now then, before you spawn, what class do you want to register in?"