36. Inter-school Competition
(A/N: Now, the shit will hit the fan real quick. Not in this chapter but soon, very soon.)
Alex slept as he once again came to the dreamland. This had started to happen occasionally, so he wasn't surprised.
"Welcome, Alex". Merlin smiled as she greeted Alex.
"Hi". Alex waved his hand as he smiled back and sat down near a tree in the dreamland.
Merlin came as she sat beside him and looked at him with a bit of longing. She wasn't sure of it herself but she felt really close and attracted to him for some reason. There was a bit of craze and conviction in her pupils when she thought of the hardships ahead of them in this dangerous world.
She was an orphan and lived everyday in despair but when she awakened her powers, she had some visions. Visions of companions that would stand with her and face all the dangers together.
(A/N: Shout out to Eroos for this idea. Thanks)
"Merlin-nee chan". Alex called her as he kept shaking her shoulder to snap her out of her daze.
"Hmm, sorry, I was lost there. What were you saying?" Merlin shook her head a little and apologised softly.
"Well, I bought you a present. See if you like it". Saying that Alex got a black gemmed necklace in his hand that shone with a purple luster to it.
"It's beautiful". Merlin said as she took the necklace from Alex's hands and looked at it admiringly.
"Let me put it on you". Alex said as he stood up from the tree side and came behind the sitting Merlin.
"Thank you". Merlin smiled gently as she leaned a bit forward to allow Alex to go behind her and put on the necklace.
"It looks good". Alex smiled as he came in front of her and saw the necklace.
Merlin had a bit of anticipation in her eyes and without waiting for Alex, she conjured a mirror and looked at the necklace on her chest.
"Thank you". Merlin picked Alex up as she kissed him on the cheek and said emotionally. Her voice was a bit choked.
Alex didn't know why Merlin was so emotional but he opted to soothe her by patting her head with his small hands. "Yosh Yosh".
Merlin calmed down and she blushed slightly although it wasn't all that noticeable on her face. She put Alex down as they chatted for a bit and exited the dreamland.
Alex woke up, fully refreshed and ready to go. He wriggled for a while and waited for the two to wake up as Grayfia had already woken up to attend to her duties.
"Ka-chan wake up, I need to go". Alex shook them hard and woke them up.
"Mua~, Good morning Alex-chan". Both of them kissed him on the cheek and got a kiss in return as they greeted each other.
After their daily routine and a bath together, Alex was ready to head to the school to attend the Inter-school Competition.
The inter-school competition was usually held in a shared arena that was near the Guard Mansion as people liked to call the Government's guild or association.
Guard mansion holds all the military and governs the Base cities all around the globe. The Guard Mansion has its own headquarters on an island that is the most safe at the moment and the rest of the countries have their own autonomy but can be taken away if the danger gets too much.
Guard mansion currently holds considerable power if only counting the number of armed forced or Evolvers/Fighters under it.
Super God Gene has the strongest human. So it stands at the top of the Guilds or organisations just because of this.
It is said that the strongest Human has the power to manipulate multiple elements under his control and most significant of those is the Space element as Time is too rare and no one has it at the moment.
Space in that regards is less rare and can be acquired if you have a good amount of luck. Although upgrading Space is very slow and you need a good amount of perception to get further is this element.
Fighters in this regards are quite lucky as they don't have to worry about comprehension till Tier 8 but starting from that level. Fighters have to comprehend an element or ability to go further as a fighter.
Evolvers have to start their comprehension of things as soon as they awake an ability. This puts constraints on them that tests your luck and comprehension.
This is where a lot of Evolvers get stumped or just fall short of ever going further in the tiers. Alex thought about all this as he made his way towards the school leisurely.
Alice was still playing with her model guns beside him that Alex had gifted her yesterday. She was practically inseparable from them and totally loved them like they were her babies.
On the way, they got Ye Lian, who was wearing the claw gloves that Alex had given her and was waving them around curiously and eagerly.
"You guys are so quiet today just because I gave you the gifts. Guess, I should give one to you guys, everytime you get bored of them". Alex said teasingly as he saw their behaviour, making the two little girls embarrassed.
After doing a bit of banter, they arrived at the school and met Hinata and Robin in front of the school gate.
"Hi Hinata-chan, Robin". Alex greeted them with a smile and continued. "Robin, I bought a gift for you". Alex said as he patted Robin's head.
"Hmm, what is it?" Robin asked with a small smile, unlike a girl her age.
"Here, a book on World War 1, it was pretty hard to find it". Alex said as he gave her an old book that looked in tatters but was very expensive when he bought it. Since, it is a collector's thing.
"Thank you". Robin hugged the book and said with a radiant smile on her face.
All of them then headed inside the school to organise and start heading for the competition venue.