Hidden in Plain Sight

Alex woke up the following day feeling very relaxed. The previous night he and his family stayed up a bit late to celebrate, talking about the future and other small talk. They did have a serious moment when his parents tried to talk him out of getting involved in dangerous stuff like he had done earlier that day, but they stopped when Alex told them that, if he could do something to stop someone from committing a crime, he had a responsibility to do so.

The first thing Alex saw as soon as he woke up was two messages from different numbers. The first number was from the WHO, telling him that his Awakened Certificate would be sent to him both digitally and physically by the end of the week; and the second number was from an unknown sender, but it was probably the most important of the two. The message itself was short, but it claimed that the info he had given to the American branch management through Subin was true, and that the president himself would like to congratulate him. 

"This is too much to think about first thing in the morning." Alex muttered before getting up to tidy himself up and get ready to go to school. 

After donning his uniform, Alex ate breakfast with his family like usual and left for school. This time though, there was a particularity, Alex's sister Lizzy was with him. The reason of her company in the journey to school was, while necessary, annoying for Alex himself. His school was hosting a meeting between new applicants that were in their last year of elementary school and high school seniors who were about to graduate. Thus, Alex had to take his little sister to school, since she would be attending high school at his own school. 

The most annoying part of it all was that Alex had to attend the meeting, since he was a senior himself, as well as one of the top students in his year. He would've been the top student, if it hadn't been for Subin Lee's sudden appearance into the world. She had stolen the top spot from him and, while a bit salty about it, he had no intention of trying to get it back. While thinking about that, Alex looked at his sister who seemed to be walking without a care in the world. 

"Listen Liz, this isn't a recreational outing ok?" Alex started explaining to his sister. "You are coming to school so that you can see if you like the place, the environment, etc. Ok?" 

"I know bro! I'm just happy to go out with you!" Lizzy answered honestly. "It's been too long since we've gone out together!" 

When Alex head what his sister said, he was genuinely surprised. When he thought about it carefully though, his sister seemed to be completely right. They hadn't gone out as siblings since Lizzy was around ten and he took her out to see the fireworks during the summer festival, which ended in him having to buy ice cream for her and playing goldfish scooping –which he sucked at. 

While their relationship was very good for siblings, Alex did feel a bit bad about his negligence towards his sister. Thus, since they still had plenty of time to reach his school, he started straying from the straight path to school they were walking. They soon arrived by a convenience store.

"Wait for me here for a bit, will you?" Alex asked his sister Lizzy before going into the store. 

A couple of minutes later, he came out with a double popsicle, the same one they had shared that one time in the festival. As soon as Lizzy saw it, her eyes widened in realisation. Her brother still remembered something as minuscule as that. Alex, seeing her reaction, smirked and opened the package.

"Here, grab it before it melts, dummy." He told her while motioning her to grab the other half of the popsicle so they could resume their trip to school. 

Lizzy excitedly grasped the other stick and, while trying to break it off, accidentally broke her half and left a piece of it on Alex's. Seeing his sister immediately become dejected, Alex couldn't help but laugh at her a bit. 

"Here, bite it off before I decide it is mine." Alex said while placing his half of the popsicle in front of her mouth. 

As if possessed by a ravenous spirit, Lizzy ate the piece in a show of inhuman gluttony. Alex laughed at her once again and, now while eating their popsicles, they resumed their trip. While walking down to school was just as normal as any other day, Alex was constantly using Scrying on every object he could see and, as if the laws that dictate luck, coincidence, and causality had ordered so, he found something weird when using his skill. 

[Common Rock (Multi-Elemental Gemstone)

STATS+5 upon use

The Multi-Elemental Gemstone is a rare item dropped by some Elemental Construct-type monsters and it is known to enhance all aspects of the human body. For some unknown reason, this stone ended up being covered in dirt for such a long time it now looks like a regular rock you would find on the street.]

"Lizzy could you do me a favour, please?" Alex said while looking at the stone. Once he saw Lizzy turned to look at him, he continued. "See that stone over there, the small grey one by the lamp post?" 

"Yeah, what about it?" Lizzy asked very confused, still enjoying her popsicle. 

"Could you pick it up and give it to me?" Alex requested. Lizzy was very weirded out by her big brother's request, but still acquiesced. After all, it wasn't something she couldn't do. 

Having the stone now in his hands, Alex truly felt like fate itself was somehow plotting in his favour. He had read many stories in which the character received unbelievable help from the most unexpected places just because of fate or, in a layman's terms, plot armour. While a lot of people would complain about the unexplainable factor such moments carried with themselves, Alex was in a very different position right now. And you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. 

'I must probably be one of the luckiest bastards on this planet right now.' He thought before putting the item in his backpack. Right in front of them was the school's entrance.