Familiar Faces

There was a long line in front of the administrative building. All of the students had to come here in order to measure their levels. I sighed.

"Lily, must you hold on to me?" I looked at her.

"Yes! I haven't seen you in days, and when I finally do, you're half dead!" She pouted.

She was worried about me, but her childish behavior pissed me off. I guessed I'd let her do her thing for now.

"Indeed, I was surprised when Lady Aurora informed us that you'll be busy. I never expected you to be so drained from it though. What form of training did you do?" Donkor chimed in.

I turned to him. Most of us came here around the same time. Only Bodil, Irene, and the twin sisters weren't there.

"I was studying," I answered.

I was too tired to even entertain their surprised looks. I tuned them out as they asked question after question. They eventually stopped after they realized that I wasn't going to answer any of them. When I looked up, I saw Sonia with a face of expectation. She shot me a thumbs up and just yelled 'Remember your promise!' Say that without hiding behind Donkor's back.

"We have time to kill. Donkor, what are your plans after you graduate from the academy?" I asked him.

Everyone was surprised, not by the question, but by the fact that I was interested in someone.

"Why didn't you ask me?" Lily finally let go of me.

"Because I know you don't know," I answered.

"I'm not quite sure," Donkor began his answer, ignoring Lily's crocodile tears. "I would like to go back to my homeland, but I also want to see the world.

"You could always join my clan," I smiled. "After all, I'll be the head of it soon. Wealth, fame, power, women, all of it can be yours," I offered him.

"That's a… tempting offer," He was just being polite. "But I have no interest in any of that, and I only plan to marry one woman," He shared his desires. 

"Cool cause I wasn't gonna give you any of that anyways," I shrugged.

"I don't understand you sometimes," He sighed.

"Have anyone in mind? Or a type at least?"

When I asked this question, Sonia turned red. She began playing with her fingers until she realized my real intentions behind this conversation. She smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. Of course, Donkor didn't see this.

"Hmm… Perhaps someone who is honest and loyal. I would also like her to have her own ambitions as well. I believe that women that hold themselves to a high standard are attractive," He told us.

"I see…" 

"What about Son…" Lily tried to interrupt me before I my hand over her mouth.

"As for me. I prefer women who aren't lazy bums. Or weak. Or pathetic. Or useless," I thought for a moment. "Actually... most women aren't capable of living up to my standards."

"Smarus… That doesn't surprise me…" Donkor shook his head in disappointment.

I could feel an uncomfortable mood in the air. Female students who overheard my statement were glaring at me. Some even backed away. This wait was gonna be a long one. 

"Smarus! Why did you cover my mouth?" Lily said once she finally moved my hand.

"There's a skill called read the room. You should learn it," I sighed.

"Huh? Really? How do I learn it?" She was a little too excited.

"It was… never mind," I gave up.

We waited in line for an hour before we were even in front of the door. A tall and tanned-skinned man walked out of the building with two beautiful women behind him I recognized him immediately.

He was Arlo Malik, from the Land of Beasts, Nachodia. He was royalty, but since he was the youngest son in his family, he always did what he wanted. He wore traditional clothing that had golden accessories on it. Bro was the definition of flashy. He also had two wives. The more mature and dignified woman was Vida, and the cuter, more tomboyish, was Gricelda. Vida was a commoner, and Gricelda was a noble.

Why were they important? You guessed it! The Hero can take one or both of them in the game. Arlo was a playboy, so he wasn't very faithful. Gricelda was easy to manipulate into leaving him, while Vida was much harder. She was one of the hardest people to get into the Hero's harem. It was a very sad and disturbing portion of the game for me. I won't go into details.

Ever since coming into this world, I noticed that this world deviates more and more from this world. I was glad to see another example.

"Arlo! I love you," A random student yelled.

Arlo's face scrunched up and he looked in the direction of the voice.

"Piss off!" He kept on walking without even giving a second glance.

I let out a laugh as I saw this. The Arlo I knew wouldn't have done that! At least his wives won't become victims to Ace since it seemed like they had a stable relationship. Arlo turned in my direction and smiled once our eyes met. He walked over to where we were. I took the time to scan all of their stats.

Name: Arlo Malik

Age: 17

Strength: 6

Intelligence: 5

Agility:4.5

Charisma: 7

Magic: 6

Class: Dragoon

Mana: 3000/3000

Name: Vida Malik

Age: 22

Strength: 3

Intelligence: 5

Agility: 3

Charisma: 5

Magic: 4

Class: Mage

Mana: 1500/1500

Name: Gricelda Malik

Age: 16

Strength: 5.2

Intelligence: 3.5

Agility: 3

Charisma: 2

Magic: 3

Class: Knight

Mana: 1000/1000

Arlo truly was a beast! He could easily take us all in a fight and win!

"Hey Heyy! You're that kid that picked a fight with the hero, yeah?" He pointed at me.

"I'm Smarus Dragonborne. It's a pleasure to meet you," I respectfully bowed.

"Arlo Malik," He gave me a fist bump instead. "And these lovely ladies are my wives, Vida and Gricelda."

I was sure he recognized my name, so why was he so casual? It must have been because he was confident in his strength, or maybe because his homeland was bigger and more powerful than my own.

"Loosen up Smarus! We're all first years, and status doesn't mean much here!" He laughed.

"Still, we should still be respectful of each other. And technically we aren't students yet since there will be a tournament for our placement," I sighed.

Along with telling the students to come to be measured, the board also informed the students about how the tests would be conducted this year as of this morning.

"Are you really that timid? I would've thought that the Hero's rival would have more balls, but I guess not," He shrugged. "After all, I know full well that I'm winning this tournament thing!"

"I didn't say that for my sake, but for yours," I smirked. "After all, if we face each other, it is clear that I will be the victor."

Crap! I instinctively challenged him!

"Ho?" Arlo smiled as he crossed his arms. "Now that's more like it. I look forward to it, Smarus Dragonborne."

He walked away while laughing. His two wives followed him. After a moment, Donkor spoke up.

"Smarus, you have a bad habit of creating enemies."

"I think it's a reflex for me to belittle people at this point."

"You are hopeless," Donkor sighed.

"I believe Smarus could beat him," Lily crossed her arms.

"Thanks. Too bad that means so little," I shook my head.

We were finally able to enter the building. I wanted to get my magic measured and then go to sleep. Upon entering, I saw Luna talking to a group of girls, and she was using a poor soul as a chair. Why am I seeing a lot of people today? I tried to look away, but she saw me already.

"Smarus?" She walked to me. 

"It's the big-boobed princess! Smarus, she's back," Lily pointed at her.

"Lily, I feel like that's rude to refer to someone as big-boobed," Donkor chimed in. "And don't create any more enemies Smarus."

"When did you become my dad?" I looked at him

"Hey, stop ignoring me," Luna tried to cut in.

"I'm not your dad! You're just near unbearable sometimes," Donkor snapped back.

"Huh!? You got something to say, Egyptian?" I raised my eyebrow.

"What the hell is an Egyptian?" Donkor was getting heated.

"Um… Donkor, you should calm down," Sonia was tugging at his shirt.

"Guys… I'm still here." Luna was much more quieter.

"My apologies, Sonia. Sometimes, speaking with Smarus is just… It just tests my patience," He sighed.

"Yeah, imagine being provoked by someone who simply speaks what's on his mind!" I instigated.

This only made Donkor even angrier. We argued for a few more minutes. When she realized that she was only going to be ignored, Luna walked away with her head down. Lily tapped my shoulder and pointed at Luna.

"Big boobs left…"

Ding! Lunafreya's character log updated!

Shit! That was not what I wanted to do, but I guessed it was too late. I suppose I could find time to talk to her later. Well, last time I thought that, it didn't go so well. I sighed.