Arena Zero: Irregularity Zero

[What is an irregularity?]

[How do you define one?]

[To some, anything out of ordinary is an irregularity. To many, it is something to be loathed, something to be hated.]

[Yet, they fail to realize one thing.]

[What if, the society itself is the irregularity, and the irregularity they see is the normal?]

[Mankind is prone to excuses. They would deny anything that doesn't fit with their values.]

[And how unsightly that can be.]

.....

"The Elliots then beat those barbaric Omegas back, and the boy retook his country, creating a mighty empire that still holds the glory."

The woman closed the book in her hands. The title, written in a golden print, shone as the sunlight fell on it.

[The Tales Of The Alpha Empire]

"Grandma, are the Elliots really that strong?"

The child asked, his eyes full of stars.

"Yes, of course they are, dear. They make sure that we can stay happy."

The old woman smiled, her wrinkly face looking much older.

"But..."

"Hm?"

"If they are making sure that we stay happy... Then why can't we all stay together? Grandma, me, mom and dad..."

The child asked, looking at his ancestor.

"... That's... That's because grandma is old, and she doesn't like the hustling-bustling of the inner city, dear."

The woman smiled again, but this time, her smile seemed troubled.

But the child didn't notice. A barely seven-year-old couldn't notice such subtle changes.

"Arnold, we are leaving!"

Another woman called out to the child, which made him turn towards the door.

"Coming, mom!"

He stood up and pulled his grandma outside.

"There you are, Arnold. You shouldn't bug your grandma that much!"

A woman with a gentle face chided the boy, who just smiled brightly. The man standing beside her ruffled the child's hair.

"We'll visit again, mom. And Happy Celebration Day!"

He bowed towards the old woman, who kept smiling.

"Yes, I'll look forward to it."

She said with a gentle smile.

The family got on the hover car waiting for them, and left.

That was the last time they saw her.

The next day, Alpha lost another battle, and the area disappeared.

---------------------------

[Eight Years later...]

"Don't block the area, please move forward with the line."

An officer chided me as I got out of my daydreaming. I couldn't help but notice his perfect smile. It seemed eerie to me.

"Ah... Sorry."

I bowed in apology before stepping forward. I stepped inside the blue building, which seemed to be made entirely out of glass. Sunlight shone through the glass panels, giving it a crisp and bright look. Countless screens hovered in the sky, showing the statuses of the recent battles, as well as the current number of sectors under Tarra and other general news.

A beautiful white orb was glowing just in the middle of the building, hovering slightly above the ground. A silver fence surrounded it, separating the orb from the people around it.

A Legacy Shard. An object given to mankind by the Neura.

"Welcome to The Alpha Shard Centre. Please head towards Counter 27-B. Your co-operation is much appreciated."

A voice called out inside my mind. I pressed the button on the white device around my neck. A pointer appeared in front of my eyes, directing me towards the counter I was assigned to.

The centre was enormous, but it still felt packed with thousands of teenagers like me going in and out of the building. Just like me, countless other teenagers were getting their 'classes' sorted out today. To see whether they had the potential to be humanity's saviours... or not.

Talk about wasting your youth. Though, as I had already entered the building to check my own class, I couldn't blame them much.

Sighing, I walked towards the counter, treading through the crowd. Just at the same time, cheers erupted from a corner. The countless screens hovering inside the building immediately showed the face of a young boy.

His class, Elliot, was written under his name.

I turned and looked at the new "hero". His combed hair and glasses gave him a nerdy look. He seemed insignificant, yet the people around him were treating him like a celebrity.

Another "hero" was born. Another scapegoat was created. Another sacrifice had appeared.

Shaking my head, I stepped towards the counter. The receptionist there smiled at me while pushing a screen forward.

"Please place your hand on it."

I nodded and placed my hand. I felt a connection forming between me and the Legacy Shard. A flow of information rushed towards me.

Countless scenes appeared inside my mind, with an enormous amount of information pouring in inside my head.

I felt an intolerable headache. My face turned blue in pain. I gritted my teeth and looked at the receptionist for help. But all she did was smile at me.

Like a robot. A hollow shell.

"Damn... It..."

I hissed as the pain increased. My senses became dull. My view blackened out. Tears spilt out of my eyes, as I let out a pained scream.

But suddenly, my view came back, as if the pain before was just an illusion. Panting, I looked at the receptionist. I didn't register the sympathetic gazes around me. Instead, I asked in a hoarse tone.

"Why didn't you... Tell me... About the pain?"

"Please understand that the pain differs from person to person, but most of the time it's not that much, so we don't warn about it to the applicants."

"But you saw... That I was an exception. Why didn't you help me?"

I hissed, glaring at the woman.

"The more pain you feel, the better resource you will be."

The receptionist explained without breaking her smile.

"That still doesn't..."

I tried to argue, but seeing her smile, I decided to stop myself there. These people from the empire... They were always like that.

Lifeless, emotionless.

Hearing a bell sound in my mind, I looked at the screen in front of me.

[Match Success. Access to Arena granted.]

[Name: Arnold Tilgen]

[Class: Technician]

[Grade: SSS]

[Type: Unreliable]

[Threat level: A]

[Mental Fortitude: SS]

"This is..."

The receptionist's eyes widened, finally showing some emotions.

"What the hell..."

What was with that threat level? And why did I have a threat level? And unreliable? Me?

"This is hilarious..."

I snickered as I saw the receptionist pulling out a taser gun.

The next thing I felt was an intense shock, and my view became darker.

...

"Are you awake?"

I opened my eyes hearing those words. Groggily looking around, I found myself in an unfamiliar white room.

A glass panel was covering one wall, while a steel door was across it, etched inside the opposite wall. The room had no furniture except one table and two chairs, one of which I was sitting on at the moment.

"Where am... I?"

I asked the man who was sitting in front of me.

He was wearing a black suit with black sunglasses. His hair was brushed back, and his body was stout enough to knock me out with a punch.

The man smiled at my question and warned.

"Whoa, young man. I'll be the one asking questions here."

Hearing his words, I tried to argue, but then I noticed the metal clasps binding my body to the chair. Fear and confusion seized my mind, more than it seized back when I was tased with the gun.

"..."

Taking my silence as a yes, the man kept speaking.

"What do you know about Alpha, our homeland? You can answer this one."

After gulping down my fear, I answered.

"It's one of the three remaining habitable countries of Earth. A thousand years ago, it was established by the holy maiden Helian, and the first Divine Emperor Alfred."

"That's right. Do you remember how exactly this glorious empire came to being?"

"Well... According to the history books... The first emperor destroyed the major powers of the previous era, liberated the imprisoned and mistreated Elliots, then calculated the equation and relations between the sectors and the areas of Earth... And established this empire."

"Well, to be more precise, he hid the remaining Elliots of that era, and used the assaults of the Neura as a bargaining chip to establish Alpha. Then it became the first country to treat the Elliots with the respect they deserve."

"..."

I didn't answer. I didn't have anything to add to that.

"Then he found the Legacy Shards, and used that to create a system for the Elliots, Technicians, Managers and the others related to the battles. Due to his absolute powers, the Shard of Alpha accepted him as its sole controller, and took the role of the protector. Do you know how it did that?"

The man stared at me, while I kept silent.

At this point, it was obvious that this had to do something with the threat level I saw. And this man in front of me was a government agent.

Seeing me keeping my silence, the man smirked.

"It created the threat system, which let us know whether the applicant was a threat to the empire... Or not."

The man said, smiling. He then took a sip from the coffee in front of him, and pulled out his phone from his pocket. But my next words made him freeze.

"That's impossible."

I muttered, looking down.

There was no way in hell a Shard would submit to a Terran.

"What do you mean, boy?"

The man whispered, his voice cold.

"The Shard is a technology left behind by the Neura. It answers to them, not the Emperor."

"..."

I heard the chair being pushed away, and footsteps approaching me.

The next moment, a heavy punch made me fall down on the ground along with the chair. I felt like losing my consciousness. My cheeks were burning with pain. Tears came to my eyes before I could realize it.

The man pulled me up by my collars, and removed his glasses.

His blue eyes were full of hostility and anger. For some reason, I felt happy seeing that.

"Listen here, bastard. If you were a normal applicant, I would have killed you long ago. The only reason you are alive is because of your grade level, and your mental fortitude. Got it?"

I didn't reply. I just glared back at him. Seeing that, his anger rose to its limits. He pulled back his free hand, and decided to punch me again.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain. But it never came.

"I thought we were explaining things to the boy."

Hearing a new voice, I opened my eyes. A man in his late fifties was holding the suited man's hand.

"S-sorry, sir. I got carried away."

"Get away from the boy."

"Y-yes, sir."

The man stepped back, and the one who seemed like his superior, crouched down in front of me.

With quick hands, he unlocked the clasps, letting me free.

"Arnold, was it? I'm Grey. Sorry for the behaviour of my subordinate."

I glanced at the frightened man behind Grey, and then sighed.

"It's alright. Can I know why I am here?"

"Ah, yes."

He stood up and extended his hand. I grabbed it and stood up.

"Having a threat level A is unheard of, you see. We don't actually know what it refers to, but usually, it never exceeds D. Yours was the highest."

I kept silent, letting him continue.

"We don't know how to deal with threat levels like yours. The only thing the first Divine Emperor told us was to secure anyone with a higher threat level than C."

"How does securing translate to arresting and beating someone up?"

I hissed, clenching my fists. Seeing the situation turn to my advantage, my fears were slowly dissipating.

Grey smiled wryly hearing my words.

"Well, as we said, we don't know what the system refers to as a threat. We did send a message to the Imperial Castle, but the Emperor refused to accept it for now. The Prime Minister told us to detain you, explain things and keep an eye on you for now."

"... The Emperor refused to accept the message?"

"Yes, don't ask me why."

Grey shrugged and gestured towards the door.

"This isn't a good place to talk, shall we go to my office?"