Completed Quest?
DING!
[The Quest "Virtual Endangerment" has been completed.]
Lillian opened her eyes, the feeling of weakness no longer coursing through her.
She stared at the threatening paw of the titan-sized bear—frozen in place.
The world around her then began to morph and shift before soon shattering like a world of glass.
The terrifying bear that gazed motionlessly at her with an open maw cracked like a statue made of ice before turning into pixels.
Her vision then darkened. The world went dark. Distant voices soon echoed through the now suddenly trembling world.
Lillian opened her eyes once more to see that she was being fished out from her highly advanced "Coffin".
"Are you alright, Miss?"
Lillian looked around dazedly, her mind still slightly trapped in the virtual world.
An array of people stood around her pod, from students to workers, to teachers, and even the Headmaster.
'What an audience to my return...'
"Y-yes... I'm fine..." She reassured the worker.
With their help, she got to her feet. Unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury of standing, for she was then tackled onto the ground by an overly touchy Heroine.
Lillian groaned as she laid flat on her back, squinting her eyes due to the bright light on the ceiling. (2)
After adjusting, she stared at the grinning Heroine who welcomed her back to reality.
"Woohoo! I knew ya would win! I must say, when I was told after I exited my pod that your pod was malfunctioning, I was super worried..."
Lillian smiled softly, "Are you worried now?" (2)
"Ehm... not now, obviously! But I really was a few minutes ago! And how'd ya know there was a bear anyway?" She tilted her head with a questioning look.
"Hm? Just a lucky guess... some clues as well..." Lillian vaguely answered, "By the way... do you not mind pulling away your hands from my chest?" Lillian glared at the mischievous fingers sinking into her chest. (2)
"... I would, in fact, mind if I pulled away my—" Lillian kicked Millis off of her. After Lillian pushed herself off the ground, she was suddenly bombarded with praise and questions from the surrounding students.
"You're really strong!"
"How did you know that type of honey would attract the bear?"
"Why are you so good with explosives?"
Lillian began to feel flustered from the persistent questions, 'These people watched me?!'
A warm feeling then washed over her. She gave a low cough.
As she was about to begin answering some questions, a familiar, irritable, yet elegant voice resounded from the back of the crowd.
"Must you all crowd around her? She had just exited her pod and is most likely still receiving the side-effects from exiting the virtual world plus more due to the malfunction."
Everyone turned to face a woman with long black hair and slight blue undertones. Beside her was a tall man with fiery red hair and a strangely pissed-off expression.
It was Testrie and Xander.
"Please have the common courtesy to allow a woman to have some space," Testrie remarked, pushing against the bridge of her glasses.
"You all heard her! Now, back off, you bunch of extras!" Xander exclaimed with sudden hostility.
The students then immediately backed away from Lillian, revealing Millis on the floor, trampled by them.
"You know... this wasn't what I felt being stepped on would be like." She mumbled, soon being helped back to her feet by Lillian, who smiled wryly at her. (2)
Testrie glanced towards Xander—particularly at the glowing red teardrop-shaped earring with gold accents. She then tapped it, causing Xander's peculiar hostility to fuse like a balloon losing its helium.
Xander then scratched the back of his head with an apologetic look, "Sorry, sorry! Just got back my item."
Everyone gazed at him weirdly before shrugging.
"May I all have your attention then, everyone?" The Headmaster exclaimed, drawing the adolescents' gazes towards him.
The old man was still stuck in his artistic robe that was covered in splashes of paint.
"Since the exam is now finished for today, I shall be handing you over to my lovely assistant here to show you all where the dorm rooms are held!" The Headmaster gestured towards a woman with blonde hair styled into a bobcut.
She raised an eye to the old man but sighed, "Very well..."
The Headmaster then snapped his fingers...
"Hm?" He then looked around awkwardly before snapping it again, this time around making a portal appear, "Ah, here we go! Off you go, children! And may you all receive the results you wish to receive!"
***
From the portal, they appeared before two massive skyscrapers that were very luxurious in design. They stood opposite to each other and were separated by a single path that led to another much smaller building.
'It's even more bright in person...' Lillian shielded her eyes from the light reflecting off its polished surface. (3)
"Wow! This sure is luxurious, huh, Lillian?" Millis nudged her with her elbows.
Lillian nodded, "Can underestimate such a place, right?"
"I guess not!"
"Alright, everyone, this will be where you all will be staying during your time at the academy." The Assistant stood at the front and began to explain the details.
"You're free to do whatever with these rooms as long as they aren't for anything morally wrong. If we catch you disregarding this one rule, you'll be cast out of here and even arrested. Do you all understand?"
A cacophony of "Yeses" resounded. The Assistant nodded before pointing towards the small building between the skyscrapers.
"That is the reception. They deal with all matters regarding both the male and female dormitory. The male is on the right. And the female is on the left. Now then... are there any questions?"
A few hands rose from the crowd. The Assistant quickly answered them. Lillian blocked off her ears before one question caused her to jolt anxiously.
"How do we find and get into our rooms?"
"Your room number is the last one, two, or three digits after the fifth digit on your student ID number. The way for you to enter these rooms is merely by scanning it on the scanner."