Talent Awakened At Age Fourteen

His eyes shot open in haste as he reeled out from the labyrinth of unconsciousness— the dream world. Ever since Ace was a kid, he had had only three dreams reoccurring over and over again and each molded an aura of looming atrocities he couldn't quite wrap his finger around.

One of the dreams was the same vision he had in the dungeon when he blacked out from the wall's attack on him. The same dream that Anya had appeared to him, alongside the presence of the faceless divine being.

Taking short breaths, his eyes instinctively surveyed where he suddenly was. The dungeon walls seemed to dissipate into nothing and the warm embodiment of white walls lined with stripes of paints calmed his nerves a bit.

The sun flashed its sparkling teeth at his face, forcing him to flinch, covering his eyes with his arm to protect himself from the assault. He could see an IV drip bag with its roots plugged into the vein in his hand, the constant beep of a heart rate monitor reassuring him he was still alive.

"What the hell happened down there?" He shrugged, swatting his fingers through his hair.

The picture of Dawn lying almost lifeless on the cold dungeon floor rang through his mind. The wolves, the sand demon, the mage hunters who had suddenly flooded the floor. 

It wasn't a dream— he was sure of that, but how was he suddenly in a place that harbors safety? A soft plush bed massaging his worn out body with fresh sheets warming him up and not hanging like a torch in the dungeon wall?

He could vividly remember his encounter with the dragon. The surreal feeling he has felt when it bowed to him and then, the system's update about the system second tier.

"Syste—"

The door opened with smooth precision, granting entrance to the one who had initiated its opening. Standing in the doorway, a little bit surprised as they froze with two bags of chips resting in both arms was Armin.

For a moment, he stood that way, staring at Ace like he had just been resurrected from the grave or something had happened to his face. Ace felt irked by this, but he continued to watch the dump expression flatten further on Armin's face.

"Is everything okay, Armin sir?" A nurse who was trying to gain entrance into the room asked, a patient board resting in her arm while being guarded by her fingers.

She peered over Armin's shoulders to see what was making him stand in the way and her curious eyes landed on Ace who was now seated up with an indifferent look hinged on his face.

"You're awake, sir!" She marveled, her eyes glistening as she pushed her way through, forcing Armin aside.

She dropped her tab and did a little cross examination on him, checking if there were any abnormalities.

"You shouldn't be out of bed yet. Your body still needs some rest." She addressed with minimal concern. "How do you feel now, sir?"

Gracing his response with a slight nod, he said, "I'm a bit sore and have some slight pains, but overall, I'm good!"

"You'll need to rest a bit longer and let me check your vitals." She added, taking a tab of his progress.

"When can I leave?" Ace asked, his eyes hinged in an awkward stare with her glazing bant. 

She took a deep breath in, clamping the butt of her pen before pushing it into her chest pocket as if she was tired of being asked the same question from most of the students from the academy.

They were always in a rush to step out of the hospital upon recovery, except for one student who had only been sent to hospital for passing out after an abrupt allergic reaction. He has swollen up in the hospital beds even after his doctor had filed him up for a discharge, but his plan was to stay still and lazy in order to ditch classes.

This truant was none other than the guy with the chip bags— Armin.

"Once your IV drip is done, you can leave." She replied. "I'll hook you up with some supplements from the infirmary and make sure you don't slack on them."

After she had walked away, Armin finally found his way in, the dauntless expression still sitting in his eyes.

"Did you bring those chips here to cheer me up to life?" Ace questioned, pulling the sheets away from his legs.

"No…" Armin shook his head, tossing a bag at him while keeping the other for himself. "I came to watch take your last breath."

"You really are a strange kind of person." 

"No…" Armin retorted, bursting the chip bag open. "You are the strange one here."

"Eh?"

"Tell me why you will suddenly wake up on the day you were brought here, grab the nurse who was supposed to swap your clothes into the patient's clothes and say; 'don't you dare touch my body, you mortal'." He said, mimicking Ace flawlessly.

Taking a proper look at himself, Ace realized he was still padded in his academy's outfit. 

"How long have I been out for?"

Crack!

"Just three days, and for our successful adventure, the academy gave us three days to ourselves which unfortunately has expired while you were having your beauty sleep," He shot towards Ace, brushing his shoulder against his arm while playfully raising his brows. "Not to worry, this friend of yours has paid for an extension for you which ends in six hours from now."

Ace pushed him away, clearing his throat as he ripped the injected drip out of his vein like he had seen actors do in the movie, but it wasn't a sweet ordeal.

'We've been lied to!'

"So, who are you visiting?" Armin asked, munching hard on the chips while taking his place in the bed Ace had just gotten up from.

"My grandmother."

* * *

Brushing his way through the comb of students, Ace made his way quickly towards the academy's gate. Time was running out fast and he knew the journey to the welfare home his grandmother was would be lengthy.

After all, she was still behind the walls of district II. He needed to get to her before he could try to garner answers to what had happened in the dungeon.

"Ace!" A melodious voice shot at him from nowhere and he needed not to be told who it was.

Six.

She rushed at him, grabbing his arm like a cute little kid who had been starved of her brother's affection for eons of years. With her eyes shooting lovely stars, adding an ethereal compliment to her cute self to garner his whole attention, Ace returned an indifferent look.

"Stop playing this lame game with me already, Six!" He said, yanking his hand away from her hold.

She paused, her lips folding up in a pout.

"What do yo—"

He stopped her mid sentence, casually tucking his hands in his pockets. "I know you're not a student of this academy, Six. Why don't you do us both a favor and show me your true self?"

Breathing in slowly, Six forced her eyes close, ready to succumb to his request. She took a step further towards him and placed her right palm on face, covering his eyes for a moment.

"Enou—"

He was forced to stop as she lowered her palm, her true form unfurling into existence, forcing his mouth to hang in surprise as he watched.

'Come to think of it, the useless talent I awakened at fourteen seemed to have altered my reality a little. I could see beyond the physical with my affinity and that is why… Six—"