1.13. Distracted From Studying

As Shin, I find that being part of a family is troublesome. From what I've experienced, trying to change from a poor student to an exemplary one isn't only about changing oneself.

Yes, changing oneself is the only thing one can do as the only person we can change is ourselves. However, staying consistent with that change long enough so the others in our surroundings change is what is difficult.

What I'm I getting at here?

I'm being negatively influenced by Avner's very own family.

There's a need to protect myself.

"What are you doing big bro?" Lia peeked across the couch.

"Listening, and drawing."

Listening to inspirational stuff. Anything that I can to flush out the dark dismal illusions of the real, bright, world.

With technology at such an advancing stage, opportunity is everywhere. Most people don't see it because they attune their minds to the hopeless and bad.

Take for example the current NtBM epidemic. It's everywhere on SNS.

And while the death count and infection count is rising, I just learnt that the second generation Mars colonists have emerged.

Mars. Can you imagine? People have actually successfully colonized Mars in this universe. Not to be mistaken with the chocolate energy bar.

Not everyone would understand the significance of attuning their minds by listening to the positive. It isn't something you do once a week. It's something you have to do every day, for years.

SNS and the new networks attract attention by digging into a human's most primitive nature: fear and threat. That's how they sell ads. We humans love fear, that's why we intentionally tune into political scandals, gasp at the horrors of war between two countries, keep telling others about the ever increasing inflation and watch horror movies.

Yes. Human nature.

That's why it's important that we use our brains to outsmart our primitive conditioning.

"Big bro can draw? I didn't know that."

"It's not that great as you can see."

"You call this not great?! Are you blind?!"

Finger painting is about the best I can do. With AR glasses, the way people draw has evolved. I did some research, and though there are a number of artists who recommend using drawing pads to create digital art out there, there are also those that find convenience in drawing on air.

3D art is more developed in this respect. Which led me to finding this product known as the air haptic drawing stylus for both 2D and 3D art.

As I'm an illustrator. All I need is my glasses, a flat, white surface and the stylus to create artworks.

The big issue is, I won't be getting a stylus any time soon.

I should consider asking for one. Though, my obstinate grudge is holding me back from doing so.

Lia reached out and drew a few strokes on my shabby art.

It ruined it, or did it?

I analyzed my own work with a fresh pair of eyes, and realized how queer what I created was. My drawing proficiency shouldn't be this high. How was I able to create an entire scenery in just a few strokes? This should be beyond me.

Or was this my cheat for this world? Every character drops into a world with a cheat code cliché.

So better art is my cheat?

Though I feel kinda disappointed, I will admit that I'm happy now that I'm better at drawing.

As I was stuck in thought, I felt Lia touch my neck from behind.

"Lia?"

"Did I scare you?"

"Yeah, somewhat."

Xe drew closer. I could feel hirs breath on my neck.

What's this?

I was ready to push hir away at a moment's notice.

Lia never did appear in <Cookie Cult> despite being in the same school as Avner. I have no info on hir when it comes to the main storyline.

"You're not a vampire, right?" I asked, keeping calm.

"Not a chance. I want to know why you changed so much, there's no bite mark. Did you get a girlfriend?"

"Not a chance."

Oh, so she wanted to see if there were two holes on my neck. Too bad Novelle wrote that the nanomachines would heal the wound in seconds.

"There's no way, the big brother I know is like this."

"I'm both your big brother and some guy who ended up in his body."

"Should we tell father to take you to the hospital? I heard that people that get infected aren't aware until it's too late.. I'm scared."

I should really go get a check up, shouldn't I now? Is there a chance that I came into Avner's body because I was bit by a vampire?

The prologue of <Cookie Cult> began with a layering poly-narration where Rurita was bitten while the MC died from overwork.

"Just kidding."

Lia's light hearted voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

Xe showed me hirs SNS feed. Went into the bookmark and grabbed one of the posts.

It's surprising how much social media platforms have evolved these days. The current trend seems to be quick videos or images which you snap alongside a short commentary to be sent to a circle.

Each profile can create one circle, and the person from the circle can link different circles to create webs. The way the algorithm works is that it picks out posts from first, people closest to your circle before venturing out further into secondary circles, then tertiary, quaternary, and so on.

"What do you see?"

The algorithm of the SNS is not what Lia has me focus on here.

It's a post from one of my classmates. I didn't know who recorded this, and wasn't too happy with how my privacy was breached.

It was a clip of me and Pu'er, in the morning when I was busy with my homework.

"It's not what you think."

"Oh really? Even when xe hirself testified to it?"

"What.."

Lia zoomed in on a comment left by a person by the username [❁SUNFLOWER❁], which was Pu'er's account. Xe joined in on the conversation it seems.

[We don't have that kind of relationship.]

[Really? I thought you two were close?]

[I noticed that he's been hinting that he likes you.]

[I saw him hit on some girl in the bakery club. I really don't have that kind of relationship with him! Here: /{LINK}]

Where did Pu'er get that clip? I was sure no one was using SNS when I was at the baking club. Or perhaps it's from one of the members? The angle of the video looks like it was shot from the inside.

"That's relieving to know."

If Pu'er is being so blatant about it, maybe it is true that xe doesn't like Avner.

At this point in time at least. Who knows what will happen once xe becomes an angel fledgling?

"Who is this girl? She looks like she's our senior, who is she?"

"Lynda.

"Oh~"

"It's not what you think, alright? The reason why I contacted her was because she could become a victim of NtBM."

"What? How do you know?"

"I just do."

Lia wasn't able to find another excuse, seeing how resolute I was with my reply.

"I know, but I'm also hoping it might not happen."

I've already warned Lynda about the possibility of someone turning her into a vampire. It was stated inside <Cookie Cult>, Lynda got bitten one night. Just one sentence. The details are too vague to make a conjecture.

That said, I wasn't sure if she paid any attention to my message because she didn't reply. It wasn't related to the baking club, so she could've deemed it as spam.

"I think I get it now," Lia nodded as if hitting on something big.

"Of course you don't. You can let your fantasies run wild, I don't care. It's not like I'm going to get into a relationship so soon anyways."

Starting a relationship with some other elf or girl that wasn't Novelle just felt crass.

"Being friend-zoned must have hurt. That's the reason why you changed so much the past few days, isn't it? But, don't you think it's a little early to find someone else to chase?"

I looked at hir.

Xe looked back at me.

What did this elf just say?

===

dotturndot: What do you think? Could Avner be unaware that he's a vampire? Why the hell am I even asking this. It's like I'm trying to spoil you and not spoil you at the same time.

P.S. I had to recheck this episode, especially the milk part because the source of the info I got from (Food Theory) got some severe backlash (his video about milk). Fortunately I didn't write anything too wrong.