Weird development

"How much for the ticket?" I asked.

The man replied with a professional smile, "A hundred points." he said and I almost had a migraine.

A hundred points? Just how much did low-rankers even earn monthly? A little over a hundred and fifty.

I could have taken the mana train there, but…

...well, since Selena decided to transfer a thousand points, it wouldn't hurt to splurge on transport. At least I'd save time since I'd get there instantly.

Hmm.

"Alright, I'll pay," I said.

He nodded and asked, "Where would you like to go, sir?"

"Sector 14," I responded.

He began inputting something into a relic that resembled a laptop back on Earth.

"Please place your hand on the scanner," he said.

I complied, sliding my wrist into a slot that attached itself to my meta-watch.

"Ryan," he said, glancing at the relic.

I nodded. I'd changed my name from Lorelle to Ryan before attending the academy. It was some name-change form I had to fill out. Anyway, as far as the school registry was concerned, I was Ryan now.

"Alright," he said. The device released my wrist, and I withdrew my hand.

A notification instantly popped up.

[Notice]

[A transaction for 100 points has been established.]

[Do you accept?]

[Yes] [No]

I tapped "Yes," and a clicking sound followed.

The man moved to another device beside the relic-laptop. A card emerged, and he walked back to hand it to me.

"It's a one-time use card. It will expire in the next 24 hours," he explained.

I accepted the card and stepped out of the line.

Tsk.

This is so goddamn expensive. That means I'll need to spend at least another hundred points to return.

I headed toward a spatial relic, where I noticed some soldiers flanking it. They were scanning tickets for authenticity before letting people through.

"Ticket," one of them demanded.

I handed it over. He placed it in a device, and the screen glowed.

[Verification successful]

[Authentic]

[Not expired]

"You may go in," he said.

I walked forward, gazing at the swirling veil of mana before me. A flicker of anxiety surfaced as I considered the dangers of spatial distortion. Still, I stretched my hand forward.

A strange sensation washed over me as my hand passed through, and then I stepped in completely.

"A forest," I muttered when I opened my eyes.

Ahead was a gate, and the metal fence stretched endlessly in both directions from where I stood. It seemed to completely encircle the forest.

I walked forward, approaching two soldiers holding mana guns.

"Name, class, ID number," one asked almost robotically.

I presented my watch, which displayed the required information.

"A first-year," the other muttered. "You're not permitted to go beyond Area 1. Got it?"

I nodded.

"And you have only three hours left. Come back before your allocated time ends, or you'll be penalized," he added.

I nodded again.

Suddenly, I felt a slight vibration on my wrist.

[Notice]

[A sense-tracker is about to be placed on your device. Do you permit it?]

[Yes] [No]

I glanced at the soldier typing into another laptop-like relic. He turned to me and nodded.

I pressed "Yes," and the notification promptly disappeared.

The other soldier opened the gate.

"In case you encounter a sticky situation, use your graphto-watch to signal us. We'll respond promptly," he added before shutting the gate behind me.

"Alright," I muttered.

"Where do I find you, Fery?" I thought, a sinister smile curling my lips.