Arcade - 644

The test had barely lasted an hour, and everybody once again entered the lecture room.

The Imperial Scholar made an announcement. "It will take longer to grade all of these tests due to open-ended answers and only one reviewer, but I will have it done by tomorrow. In the meantime, consider the rest of today a free day."

Without another word, the Imperial Scholar left the room.

Skymender got up and left.

A free day wasn't necessarily a good thing since there wasn't much to do, but after thinking he felt that he might as well do something.

Over the past few days of studying space, Skymender had amassed two more points, for a total of five points.

This really wasn't a significant amount and barely opened up any locations, but there was one that Skymender decided to go to.

It was known as an arcade.

There were games to play there and food to eat. Essentially, it was a lounging area with a lot to do.

Skymender had nothing to study and no meaningful activity to take part in, so he wandered around and once again located the arcade.

As he stepped inside, he noticed multiple stands with people standing at them. When they saw him, they visibly perked up.

"Finally, a new person."

"It's been ages since I've had something to do."

Skymender heard murmurs from multiple vendors.

He looked around as he walked down the middle aisle.

These vendor stands had mini-games, and he assumed that the things around them were prizes.

He looked at a few, and since he had nothing to do, he played some games. Some of the games were throwing rings on bottles, or catching fish with thin paper on a stick.

Some used weapons to test skill. He won a few prizes, and found himself carrying a variety of soft, fake animals.

He walked past the vendors and found a larger area with multiple lanes. According to the sign above, this was a bowling alley.

Someone stood to the side, and upon seeing Skymender, spoke. "Hello, sir. Would you like to learn how to bowl?"

Skymender nodded. He had never heard of this game.

The lady went on to demonstrate the goal, as well as how to keep score.

"If you want, I can keep score for you while you play. Although this is usually a multiple person game, playing solo is possible."

After hearing everything, Skymender grabbed a bowling ball and slid it down the lane. The first throw missed completely, landing in something called the gutter.

The second throw landed better, knocking off a few pins. After that, he got the hang of it. Strikes and spares were a common occurrence, shocking the lady keeping score.

"You are quite talented, sir."

Skymender just nodded. After all, it was hard to talk with his throat injury.

Eventually, he completed a game.

"Very well done sir, I've never seen such high scores on a first game. You should consider being a professional. From what I understand, this game is slowly gaining popularity in the Imperial Capital."

Skymender just shook his head. "Thank you for your assistance."

With that, he began to move on.

Suddenly, he heard clapping.

Looking to the side, he saw a familiar face. It was one of his fellow students, a woman with black hair, red lipstick, and a red dress.

Skymender looked at her once before ignoring her. 

However, she spoke, clearly having no intentions of letting him leave peacefully.

"You're good, for a first timer. What do you say we play a game? See who's better."

Skymender looked at her again and spoke. "I'll pass."

He began to walk away when she spoke again, her voice different.

"Please just play a round with me. Nobody else comes here and I'm forced to compete with only myself. Come on. Just one game."

Her tone was completely different, nearly pleading.

Skymender, seeing the distressed look on her face, sighed. He had no interest in playing at all, but he felt that he would be in for more and more talk if he disagreed.

"One game. Don't talk to me anymore regardless of the outcome."

She nodded quickly.

Skymender turned around and stood at the entrance to one of the lanes.

The lady to the side was clearly excited. "Finally, a competition. I thought the day would never come."

Skymender started first, bowling a strike on his very first turn. The girl went after him, similarly bowling a strike.

On Skymender's second turn, he hit eight the first time and two the second time for a spare.

On her second turn, the girl bowled another strike.

They went back and forth, their scores staying quite similar. Finally, the tenth turn came. Skymender was down by 4 points, a tiny amount for his second game, especially since this girl had clearly played a lot.

The tenth turn was different than the others. If he bowled perfectly, he could score three strikes in one round.

He threw one. Strike. Another, Strike. The last, seven pins.

The girl was clearly nervous. She threw one. Strike. Another, five pins. Another, spare.

She stomped her feet. She had lost.

Skymender began to walk away. The girl wanted to say something, but she had reached an agreement with Skymender. She swallowed her loss and started a new game by herself, determined to practice.

Skymender walked deeper into the building. He found multiple games and multiple different sports. He played around for a while before eventually returning to the entrance. He played a few more games at the vendor stands and ate before returning to his room with his hands full of soft, fake animals.

Skymender quickly fell asleep from all the games he had played. He kind of had fun, but most importantly, he had passed time quickly. The next morning, he woke up and silently made his way to the Education building.

Though everyone arrived, the room stayed in complete silence.

Only when the Imperial Scholar came in did everyone begin to focus.

He wrote the names from the bottom up.