Heroes of the Confederation. (Part 3)

As the nightmares begin to dissipate from my mind, I'm finally starting to relax in this room. Following the pattern of the sound made by the cube, I started closing my eyes. The door suddenly gets knocked and open before I could react or answer, so I just decided to continue sleeping.

As someone enters and says, "Excuse me."

That voice... It is the voice I have heard for almost my entire life. It is my childhood friends voice May, turning my head a little to see her still in her novice gear. As soon as she saw me turns my head, she begins to dash to me once more and jump to hug me while I'm still lying down.

"Waah Ma-May, seriously? can't you just let me enjoy this a little longer," I said in shock.

Only to be replied with, "Sova, thank goodness you're awake! You've been out cold for more than an hour you know. I and sis are very worried about you. It seems sis doesn't know that you're afraid of heights, and I guess sorry for no-"

I interrupted her saying, "Yea, Yea, it's okay, we rarely get to be with sis Rubeca. So did you take the exam first then?"

"What no?!" Said May shockingly, "I'm taking the exams together with you, we promised to do it together remember? Please say you're joking" May saying it sounded disappointed.

I look away saying, "Maybe..."

She suddenly hugs me tighter rubbing her cheeks on mine saying, "Punishment!"

"Wah!" I scream in surprise.

She looks at me face to face once more as our nose almost made contact, "And besides after you fainted, sis carried you from that room until Central Guild, right here. As we are Getting you a room to lay down, we meet that military uniform lady, before sis was interrupted and was told to be somewhere else. So she asks her and me to look after you. I don't know why sis didn't just ask me, but being with her is really awkward she is just too quiet and emotionless sitting there-"

At that point, I just cut her off saying, "Wa-wa-wa-wait, sis carried me from that room until... Here, you said?" sounding baffled, as the thought of me thinking multiple reasons, so does that mean everybody we passed see me being carried by sis across the streets and seemingly no one interrupted or questioned it oh wait... They probably don't care. YET, there is still just too many things to ask.

May smiling innocently answered, "Yeah and?" sounding puzzled to continue saying: "Oh wait we did enter a transporter called a train and the-"

I interrupt her again saying, "No, no, no, no, no, there are so many things wrong there to explain," I retorted back.

To she replies still smiling innocently saying, "Don't sweat the small stuff."

I quickly answered, "What small stuff!"

May hugs me tighter as she almost chokes me saying, "The important thing is that you're awake, and now we can go meet sis and take the hunters exam. Sis said that we should meet her on the first floor since the preparations will be ready when you're awake."

As she starts to get let go of me, I was finally able to breathe, phew. May gets off the bed and stands up. I removed my blankets to get off the bed and stand up too, taking and folding the blankets while tidying the bed and rearranging the pillow.

May look at me and said, "Making sure to tidy everything up after you use it huh. Still as diligent as ever~" says May sounding sarcastically.

So I replied, "Well at least this is what I can do to pay it back for letting me sleep in this nice bed. Besides the memory of aunt giving me a drill and nagging when she found my room to be a mess... "To clean and tidy up after using something" Is pretty much ingrained in my very soul now, probably."

"He he he," May chuckles to reply, "Yes, me too. I wonder if sis Rubeca ever gets scolded by Mom, I kinda can't imagine that," says May puzzled while holding her chin.

Yea I kinda wonder about that too sometimes. As May starts to open the door and go out first, I followed after her as she went outside. Outside the room is a lavish hallway, with golden colored walls full of patterns, above the floor, are red carpets stretching as far as the eyes can see, accompanied by multiple doors with craftsmanship spread across the hallway in a systematized way, with room numbers place on top and plants beside each door.

I really went into a very opulent place didn't I. When May look at me she asks, "Sova what is with that face?" sounding puzzled.

"So where are we exactly? from the looks of it we're in a place that we shouldn't or not worthy to be in, and what's with the room difference! There is a huge gap of differences with the room we just exit and this hallway!?" I ask in a bewildered manner.

May reply calmly saying, "Well right now, we are in the Central Guilds 3rd floor the so-called "Residence Floor", it is the place where people of high importance use as their temporary resting room. So each room is design with however they want personally. The room you sleep just now is sis Rubeca's room when she was a still a High Ranking Hunter, that's what sis told me."

"Say I've been wonde-" as I was asking.

May stops me and says, "Let's ask questions and answer as we walk okay? This place is humongous."

I replied softly to her saying, "Okay."

As May begin to walk to the right I followed her and begin asking, "So I want to ask where my equipment is?"

"Well after you fainted in that room and sis carried you here, removing all of your equipment and brought it with her before handing you over to that lady."

She answers calmly, I quickly reply, "So you're telling me now is that after sis Rubeca carried me to the Guild, Coryn carried me afterward..."

"Well yes, wait who is Coryn?"

I sigh heavily and said, "It's the lady in military uniform... Oh yeah thanks for helping me after I collapse in that room May, I guess I never did thank her."

"So, she told you her name but not me. Well that sneaky lady, to think she is-" sounded annoyed.

"W-w-wait May, She told me her name because I introduce my self first."

To be quickly replied with, "Oh, I never knew you were such the lady's man."

"Ah no, there was a reason why ahhh... You know what never mind that."

She pinches my cheek saying, "I would mind that you dummy," May retorted angrily.

As she lets go of me I rub my cheek in pain. I think of something to change the subject and ask, "I gotta admit this place is humongous huh," May looks at me with a blank face.

Finally saying, "... Yes, we've been seeing pretty much a lot of new things, except you who fainted in the lift."

I ask, "What's a lift? As a lift taking something up or something?"

"I'll tell you about that when we arrive," looking to the sign that points left saying restroom and the right saying emergency exit and Elevator.

"Were almost there," May says softly.

As we continue to walk in silence. After a few minutes, we arrive at a metallic two-door entrance with the sign on top saying Elevator. As she took out a red card with black lines in the sides similar to the one sis takes out during our time in the Bridge Gates. And then I realize something.

"This door... Wait don't tell me..." panicking and as I'm losing the feelings of my arms. May holds my hands, feeling the warmth of her hands gives me back the feelings of my hands back.

"No it's okay Sova, do not worry this one doesn't have any window or glass panels to the view outside, so it will be okay. Okay?" May ask, trying to calm me down.

"So is there no other ways at least," I ask

May looks at me, staring for a while before she smiles and says, "There is none," That is definitely a lie!

Holding my hands tighter she says, "Don't worry Sova it will be okay I'm by your side!"

Hesitantly I nodded.

She then place the card on the black spot in the wall, the door opens to reveal a room almost similar to the one in the bridge, but this one is lit by a golden light while having the upper half of its wall replace with mirrors and a hand holder below it, while below the holder the wall is also decorated the same as the hallway, and so is the floor. This room can only fit about 5-6 people almost half the size from the one in the bridge. May enters pulling me while still holding my hands as I enter inside, pushing a small round bulge in the wall.

As the door closes. I see above the door is a box showing number 3 and the room begins to shake, holding May's hand tighter. I look to the mirrors seeing my self terrified when noticing that nothing changed.

May looked at me. smiled and says, "See everything is okay," as I relax and loosening the grip on Mays' hand.

She then continuous to say, "Sova the question you ask a few minutes ago well this room is what you would call a lift or an Elevator. It is a contraption used by the Aologi Empire to move or transport people up and down from really high places and even underground... Speaking of Underground it seems sis haven't explained to you about the structure of this city yet huh..." as she starts to ponder,

I Begin to ask, "Say May don't you want to know more about these things? Usually, when you see something new, you begin to go excited and kinda crazy, telling people close to you to explain?"

"Hey, I have my own reasons okay, it's just kinda a bad habit of mine that is quite hard to die out. Sis explains to me the gist of things that I saw during the travel here, most of the stuff here are imports and gifts from the Empire for being good friends and allies after their internal trouble and at least treating the Owlians like normal citizens. And most of the contraption here doesn't use magic at all, but science and logic more specifically physics."

May hold her chin saying, "When she told me, I kinda got a headache from all the formulas she told me then it kinda hit me, that sis is actually a pretty smart person. Maybe it runs in the family, and so she told me that if I wanted to learn more I should go to the Aologi Empire, to be more specific the biggest and best academy in the world Grand Ancient Lunor Academy," said May.

"Wait, May you want to be a teacher right? If it's the best place you should totally go there," I said excitingly.

May holds my hands tighter and begins to look down. Making it hard to see her expression and she starts to explain, "I do, but entering there won't be easy, to enter there you must have vast riches of a nobles and royalties to actually take hold just one seat, and if you try to enter free using skills and points of tests you'll be competing against 100000 people per seat. Even if I did enter surviving there will be hard you must show achievement, prestige and great skills, there is even rumors and reports I read thanks to sis Rubeca's help that some people actually committed suicide because they went down the rank. You will need the mental capability as hard as adamantium and will stronger than the Alpha Lion to survive there. After all, that place is one of the Aologi Empire's foundations and head research institute of the science institute responsible for the growth of the empire itself.

But it's not all bad, survive to graduate you will become a world figure having ties and influence to make nobles obey you, maybe even bow down before you and knowing that is kept deep in the repugnant abyss that is humanity's history and incomprehensible understanding that no normal people can think of. To boot it all of, they only accept 10000 free applicants per year it is almost nigh impossible for royalties and special persons to enter especially normal commoners like us."

I Let go of her hand and grab her by the shoulders saying, "May when you said that you are a normal commoner. I think you're wrong, unlike me who keeps falling asleep during mundane expositions and info dumps you're very diligent, a good listener, and very smart. It may just be me but I always saw you study and train harder than everyone else to achieve your goals, and yet you sometimes sacrifice your time to socialize with your friends and study more so that you can come and teach me, telling me news about everything you know to me, so that I wouldn't be left behind. Your patient enough to repeat everything again when I don't understand." Gripping her shoulder tighter I continue to say, "If you ask me, I think your someone very special and amazing to me," I say in full confidence to cheer her up.

"Eh?! W-where did that come from," hearing her sounded surprised. And seeing her face goes full red, pulling her hands to cover her face and turns her back on me.

Feeling puzzled I ask her, "Is there something wrong with what I said. I mean I could still see your face through the mirror," I say in worry.

Turning her red face to mine, looking a bit frustrated. She then grabs my cheeks and pulls it as much as she can, looking quite annoyed.

The shocking pain and burning feelings I feel spread across my cheeks, made me scream in pain, "Eeaa o ow ow ow, Weh le he ga. An solry ef e hat ya," trying my best to speak to her saying sorry.

"This is punishment!" She screams with her face still red.

When the lift suddenly open, May look to the door still pulling my cheeks. I followed where she is looking while she is still pinching me, I see the number 2 in the box above the door.

A slim man/women probably in his/her teens. With its face covered by both the uneven black hair that looks like it is going to the sides and white mask with patterns engraved on it, a dark blue t-shirt, a metal breastplate, black rubber-like leather guard, black leather pants, and a black boots. Sticking out more than anything is the blue scarf that he/she is wearing that covers the neck whole, pretty long enough that it sways till the knees and a metal like right arm that looks pretty inhumane.