Irritation

[The host is required to dribble the ball to the target without losing it for this part of the exam.]

His eyes flicked down to the ball. This was an easy task. Where was the hook? The question about where he was had completely been forgotten now. He was not going to question that. Not for now.

His foot was resting on the ball while he waited for further instructions. They didn't come.

[You may start now.]

He looked at the blue, glowing screen in the shadowed and dark green room. That was it? He was allowed to start and he wasn't being told of any difficulties. So, it was a rial and error process.

He gave the ball a gentle push and followed it without putting much efforts into it. There was a red-white target sign at the goal which he fixated. This goal wasn't that far away, either. Was he being mocked right now?

The display changed, showing something that looked like a gaming surface. He read it while continuing to push the ball towards the goal.

[Remaining lives: ●●●]

Three lives. This way way too easy in Nevan's opinion. He could easily pass this but all he could wonder about was why it was designed to be this easy.

[Remaining lives: ●●○]

His eyebrows furrowed and slight hints of annoyance started to bubble up in his chest. His eyes averted to his feet. The ball was gone. Where to? He looked around. There was nothing. No person, no changes, not even a trace of the ball he had just been poking.

It had simply disappeared without leaving any clue where it had just gone. He stood still as soon as he had realized it, almost like a statue.

[Try again?]

"Yes." He spoke. His voice echoed once more, making him more aware of the lonliness of this place.

Another ball appeared. This was his second chance. Just seconds ago, he had thought this would be a literal walk in the park but something unknown had happened to make him reconsider his thought trail and take steps back to continue in a more wary manner.

He dribbled slowly to ready to take action if something happened. His breath was deep, his eyes focused on the ball instead of the screen to avoid the same situation as before. He didn't even know what he was facing here. What was he fighting against and how did he have to defend the ball to get past that obstacle?

He could feel his pulse in his ears. It was eerily quiet. This was monotone. Too one-sided. His senses started to get calmer, there was no danger. His muscles relaxed. The tension started to lift off his shoulders.

And the ball was gone. He had just been staring at it, not even blinking much. Where did it go? It disappeared. Again. Could it be? There were 'holes' in the ground which swallowed the ball as soon as it got right at their location?

[Remaining lives: ●○○]

Before the same text appeared again, he took the chance. He was starting to get annoyed. The bubbly instructions, the non-existent explanations. "I want to try again."

[Disclaimer: This is your last chance. Do you want to use it?]

"Yes." His voice was laced with a sharp edge as his patience was getting thin. He took a deep breath to calm down and focused once more on the ball which appeared.

This time, he wasn't slow or lazy. He was fast and made sure to dribble towards the goal at full speed. He focused on the ground to be able to tell where he had to be more careful. And then, the ball was gone. Again.

"Are you kidding me?" He spoke in frustration. His hands clenched to fists. He loosened his grip soon after to run his fingers through his black hair.

[No remaining lives. Host will be teleported back.]

"Wait." His voice came out in a hasty and annoyed tone. "Does this mean, I didn't pass the exam?"

[No. You did not get qualified for the feature. You will be given more chances in the future.]

His breath came out ragged. He wasn't used to this. Nevan always managed to get through things without putting in any effort. Why was he unable to do it since he had been kicked out? Was this some kind of curse? "What did I do wrong? What can I do better next time?"

[Your 'PERCEPTION' level is too low.]

These words loomed over him in the air as he was catapulted back into the reality. His lungs filled with oxygen and he sat up.

"Ouch." It escaped his mouth before he comprehended these words. He rubbed his head. He had forgotten on which type of bed he was laying.

His eyes directed to the guy standing next to his bed, his index finger pointing in Nevan's direction while his mouth was agape due to Nevan's sudden movement. Both of his roommates were looking at Nevan.

Minoru's hair was wet which meant, he had just gotten out of the shower. A small tower was at his neck. Kento seemed to have been training some minutes ago. Minoru's expression was stoic. "We thought, you died. You weren't moving at all." His words sounded detached.

Nevan's eyes darted from one man to another. He was having a hard time to comprehend. The other one spoke after he had finally gotten back his composure. "Good thing, you didn't."

He rubbed his temples and let out a deep breath. "I need a bath." He spoke before standing up.

Then he simply collected his things and went to the bathroom. He didn't really care that Kento might want to do that.

The water enveloped his body as he found himself in the bathtub. He was more than happy to be able to take a bath and try to calm down. What had he gone through? Teleportation. He shouldn't be surprised. This system was too powerful.

"How do I enhance my perception ability?" He asked, deep in thoughts while keeping his voice calm.

[Would you like to have components in your tasks which target the ability 'PERCEPTION'?]

"Yes." He leaned back, resting his head at the edge of the bathtub and closed his eyes. He was taking this as a challenge now. To prove to himself that he was capable of achieving the qualification for the special feature.

[In the next trainings and tasks, at least one task will be focused on enhancing the selected ability.]

"Great." He muttered. He placed a somewhat wet towel on his eyes and closed them to just relax for a while.

His consciousness had started to fall into the darkness. It was rather pleasant after having been tensed for so long. Finally, his body seemed to relax due to the warm water. Baths had always been his favourite. In this matter, he had taken after his father. Using bath time to calm down and shut his thoughts for the day.

Time had no meaning in this very moment. It seemed like he had only closed his eyes a second ago.

Knock. Knock.

He pushed the towel off his face and took a glance at the door. He let out a deep sigh before standing up and drying himself off. After a moment, he had finally managed to slip into the same uniform and opened the door.

"Sorry. I took too long, I guess." He muttered to Kento and exited the bathroom.

"Woah!" The other exclaimed and stumbled backwards. "It feels like a sauna in there!"

Nevan didn't comment. He knew. This was his habit. At Sato residence, he had heard that too. And at his parents' house, of course. But no one complained there as his father had the same habit and everyone had their own bathroom so no one was disturbed by the other's habits.

"I actually thought, you passed out like earlier."

Nevan turned his head ever so slightly in the orange-haired guy. "I didn't pass out. Not now and not earlier."

"Yeah? You were just sleeping? That was a deep sleep, honestly." He really couldn't help but comment, huh?

Why was Nevan being so irritable? Usually, he had his emotions under control. Not as good as Dax but still good enough to be called stoic by many people.

"Yeah. That's a habit of mine." He lied. Soon, he would have a long nose like pinocchio if he kept lying in order to hide the system's existence. Yet, he knew, he could not let anyone know about it. Not yet.