Chapter: 9

What a weird guy," Nitish muttered, watching the Aldric walk away.

Karl raised an eyebrow. "What's weird about him?"

"He looks like someone from a noble household, but he just awakened… and yet, he looks older than twenty," Nitish replied, still deep in thought.

Karl shrugged. "Maybe he just looks older but is actually sixteen or seventeen."

"Maybe." Nitish wasn't entirely convinced, but he let the thought go for now.

Karl suddenly changed the topic. "Anyway, you're a Riftstalker, right? That means you can teleport. I want to see it in action."

Nitish smirked. "Alright, but it's my first time, so I'm not too confident. Here goes nothing."

The moment he finished speaking, his body flickered, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from his spot. A split second later, he reappeared a few steps away.

Karl's eyes widened. "Whoa. That was insane."

Nitish grinned. "Yeah, but it didn't feel as smooth as I expected."

Curious about his abilities, he opened his status bar and stared at it for a while, absorbing all the information displayed. As he studied it, he suddenly phased through the floor, vanishing beneath Karl's stunned gaze. Moments later, he emerged back at his original position, standing as if nothing had happened.

"This is crazy," Nitish said, his voice filled with excitement.

Karl chuckled. "I guess Riftstalkers really do have some broken abilities."

After that brief demonstration, the two continued walking toward the infirmary, where most of the newly awakened students had gathered—at least those from the same district as them. It was obvious that there were many more students from different parts of Soltarin, all arriving in waves.

As they entered the infirmary, they spotted an executive, one of the academy staff members responsible for assigning rooms to the students. After confirming their identities, they were handed their room keys.

Nitish held up his key and grinned. "Looks like we each got our own rooms. Man, imagine if there was a room shortage and you had to share your room with four or five girls." He chuckled mischievously.

Karl rolled his eyes. "Get your mind out of the gutter. Stuff like that doesn't happen in real life."

"Haha, just kidding," Nitish laughed. "Besides, there's no way I'd share my room with a girl.

With that, they went their separate ways to their assigned rooms.

By the time Nitish entered his room and settled down, it was already 7 PM. He sat on the bed, exhaling deeply. "It's been almost twelve hours in this new world," he muttered to himself. "I wonder… if I sleep, will I wake up back in my original world?" He laughed at the absurd thought. "Yeah, right. That would be way too easy."

As he lay back on his bed, another thought crossed his mind. "I wonder if the system gives us an inventory to store items."

The moment the thought formed in his head, a new panel materialized before him. His eyes widened in surprise as he read the text at the top: Inventory Panel.

Rows of small squares filled the screen, each containing different items. Nitish scanned the contents, his jaw dropping when he recognized familiar objects from his previous life.

"No way…" he whispered, leaning in closer.

His bike, his phone, and his backpack were all stored inside.

Excited, he hastily selected his backpack, and in an instant, it materialized in front of him. He unzipped it and rummaged through its contents. His heart raced as his fingers brushed against something familiar.

"A pack of cigarettes…" he murmured, pulling it out carefully as if handling a priceless treasure.

He stared at the pack for a few moments, lost in thought. Just as he was about to open it, a sudden knock on the door snapped him out of his trance.

Quickly, he stuffed the cigarettes back into his backpack and went to answer the door. When he opened it, Marco was standing outside.

"Hey, let's go to the cafeteria. It's almost time to eat," Marco said.

Nitish nodded. "Sounds good. Let's invite William and Karl as well."

Marco gave a short nod, and the two set off to gather the others.

A few minutes later, the four of them arrived at the cafeteria together. The large hall was already bustling with students, some still excitedly discussing their awakenings while others were simply focused on eating after an exhausting day.

As they sat down with their trays of food, Marco suddenly glared at Nitish.

"You better shut your mouth and let me enjoy my meal in peace," Marco grumbled.

Nitish and Karl exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

William, who had been silent the whole time, furrowed his brows in confusion. "Did I miss something?"

Nitish wiped a tear from his eye. "Nah, it's just Marco being Marco."

Marco clicked his tongue and focused on his food, ignoring their teasing.

As the group ate, they slowly began to feel the weight of the day catching up to them. It had been a long, overwhelming experience—awakening their abilities, adjusting to a new world, and trying to process all the unfamiliarity that came with it.

Nitish leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "I still can't believe all of this is real. Feels like a dream."

Karl smirked. "If it is, it's one hell of a detailed dream."

"Yeah," Nitish muttered, his thoughts wandering back to the inventory panel and the items from his past life.

Just what else was possible in this world?

He had a feeling he was only scratching the surface.