Arena Twenty-Nine: Foul Restrictions III

"Oh? That's surprisingly a good skill."

I commented, but Quin just groaned. Curious, I decided to ask about his thoughts.

"Why? Are you not happy with the skill?"

"Of course not, fool. How dumb can you be?"

The sharp rebuttal put me off, but his next words somewhat made sense.

"I am a technician, I don't need space-related abilities... Besides, this isn't even a storage-type skill. It just destroys things and creates vacuums."

Quin grumbled under his breath. I understood where he was coming from, though. Too much fighting had changed my way of thinking.

Now that I thought about it... I hadn't done anything as a [Technician] so far, had I?

Sighing, I put on a smile and congratulated Quin.

"Even if you think it's worthless, it's still an S-rank skill. There's gotta be something that makes it a high-ranking skill, right? So don't lose hope, your skill might turn out to be useful."

Hearing my words, Quin's frown deepened.

"What do you know? And besides, what's even your skill in the first place, Arnold Tilgen?"

"Ah... That..."

I hesitated to answer that question.

"Ah, I was curious about that too."

Julius joined from the sides, looking at me. The others also turned towards me. As I felt their stares on my face, I decided to go with the previously decided scenario.

"It... It lets me summon weapons and anything related to them out of nothing."

"Ah, was that the one you used with Jeffery Valentina?"

Lara asked, leaning forward.

"Yeah... people still talk about that?"

I asked, slightly frustrated. Lara chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, they do. Jeffery can't be beaten by any normal means, so you standing up to him and knocking him out has become a famous story. Pretty sure you'll get some glares and whispers when you go to your class today."

"Ah... On that note, the classes formally start from today, don't they? Have you guys made any friends?"

I asked, deciding to change the topic. But unlike what I had intended, no one answered me. Instead, they all averted their gazes, seemingly embarrassed.

"Ah... That..."

Lara smiled wryly but didn't elaborate. Well, I could more or less guess why.

"None? I mean, I get why Sebastian and Quin might find themselves in a pickle, and I myself haven't made any, but you three should be able to make friends easily, right?"

"Hey, what do you mean by 'You get why I don't have any new friends'?!"

Ignoring Quin's protests, I looked at Julius, Lilian and Lara.

"Well... There are reasons."

They seemed to be reluctant to elaborate, so I decided not to pry further.

"I see... Well, it's fine. The classes only have started, so we don't need to rush."

I smiled to reassure them, but they just smiled back stiffly, not agreeing or disagreeing with me.

It felt odd, to be honest.

...

I left the dorm with Julius, Lara and Lilian. Quin seemed to be waiting for Sebastian to join him. Didn't know that they were friends.

The walk passed in silence, with each of us enjoying the peaceful morning. Soon, we reached the academy buildings, which were buzzing with students and staff members.

"Well, I'll be going to the third building. See you guys later."

Julius was the first one to go on a separate path. Soon, Lilian and Lara left too, leaving me alone in front of my own academic building.

"Well then..."

I hadn't been able to enjoy a normal academic life due to this and that for the past few days. Thankfully, I hadn't missed any lectures so far, but I really hoped that I wouldn't have any obstacles in the foreseeable future...

Though that was probably not going to happen.

...

As soon as I entered the classroom, the whispers and buzzing died down. I could feel countless gazes on me, but unlike before, they weren't full of indifference. Some were hostile, some were curious, and some were gentle. It seemed that my reputation exceeded me.

Sighing, I decided to force a smile and sat down on the front row.

The people around me kept glancing at me, so I decided to approach them myself. Looking at the girl on my right, I smiled and introduced myself.

"Hey, my name is Arnold Tilgen. Nice to meet you. We'll probably be in the same class for a while so let's get along."

The girl stared at me blankly, before hurriedly smiling.

"A-ah... M-my name is Jennifer... Nice to meet you, Arnold."

"Yeah."

And that's where the conversation ended. I had no topic to talk about, and she seemed too flustered to continue it herself... It seemed that it would take me a while longer to make any new friends.

...

The homeroom teacher, the same guy with an unkempt beard and hair from before, entered the room. Thanks to him, the awkward air in the room dissipated, and all of us focused on his words.

"I had forgotten to introduce myself back then, so I will do it now. My name is Kain. You can call me teacher, master or just, Kain."

Kain said to us, before turning towards the screen behind him.

"Well, we won't go over a heavy topic today. I'll be telling you about the laws regarding the Elliots and the Stigma, just to make sure you guys don't do anything weird in the future. Understood?"

He looked over his shoulder, and when everyone nodded, he continued.

The screen in front of him turned on as he started explaining.

"The laws regarding the Elliots and the Stigma, known as the [Ikaras's Laws], were first proposed by the first Divine Emperor around a thousand years ago. But due to the miscommunication and mistrust among the countries, it took two hundred years just to get it established across the main three countries. The laws stated how to deal with potential crimes in Stigma, as well as the rights and the judgement of Elliots who turn into criminals."

Saying all that, he stopped for a moment. Then, he continued.

"The rule is ever-changing. Every year, more clauses are being added and the old ones are being reformed. Which is why it will be beneficial for you guys if you study it every now and then."

"Now then. While the clauses change a lot, there are a few core laws that you need to remember. These clauses are protected by the Imperial Family, so no one can change them, no matter how absurd the law might be."

"These laws are the following."

Kain stepped to the side and showed us the screen.

"Mind that by Elliots, they mean both the Elliots and you guys. All related personnel, in other words."

Saying that, he gestured towards the screen, where the core seven laws had shown up.

"1. All Elliots must be registered and monitored by the Imperial Family.

2. Civilian interference inside the Stigma is prohibited. Any civilian found traversing Stigma without any proper reason for doing so will be put down.

3. Any loss of human life inside Stigma will be compensated.

4. Nobles and higher-ups are not required to send their children to Stigma as long as they help maintain the centres and academies, as well as facilities associated with the Elliots in some way or another.

5. If any person commits a crime inside Stigma, whatever it may be, they will be judged separately. Depending on the severity of the crime, they may be put over twenty years in prison. However, the death sentence will not be applicable there.

6. The final judgement for the punishment of all crimes occurring inside the Stigma will be in the hands of the Imperial Family.

7. Under no circumstances can Elliots or any related personnel can take the law into their own hand."

I frowned reading the laws. They seemed off for some reason. It was as if these laws were tailor-made for someone... Though whether that someone would benefit from these laws or not was an entirely separate question.