Chapter 35: Early Arrival And

"What happened, Jacob? Come on," Maya says while turning back to look at me.

I ignore her and just keep staring at the school gate.

An Elf!? Here!? Now!?

What the fuck!?

I mean, I know about the student exchange program and all, but for Elves to come here this early? I thought it would take at least a few weeks before they show up.

"Are you alright?" Maya asks, a bit concerned now.

"Why is there an Elf!?" I ask.

Maya's body jumps up a little from my loud question.

"Don't scare me like that! Wait… you saw an Elf? We were informed that they had arrived at our school yesterday, but I don't think any student has seen them yet…" Maya says.

"You know about the Elves already?" I ask in even greater hock.

"Yeah, even Layla know, but as you were sick the whole day yesterday, we decided to not disturb you," Maya answers.

"Damn… Anyway, so?"

"So what?"

"So, tell me why are Elves here already?" I ask, exasperated.

"Oh, not only the Elves but people from many other races are here as well. Though for now, only the teachers have come to see through the accommodation facilities. The students will come here in a few days," Maya answers.

"Other races as well? But I thought these people would be arriving weeks later?" I ask in confusion.

"Oh, I forgot you don't know about that as well…" Maya says while sighing.

What the fuck?

"Okay, how many things I don't know about?" I ask in disbelief.

"You were sick, okay? We couldn't disturb when you are getting rest. You know how important you are to m—"

*Cough*

"A-A-Anyway, you remember the p-pink lightening which surrounding the WST like a barrier?" Maya quickly asks, trying to ride over what she accidentally slipped out.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, the color of the lightning was changed to black the day before yesterday," Maya tells me.

A sudden and strong fear grips me.

"R-Really? I-Is the lightening black now?" I ask stutteringly.

"No actually, it turned back to pink after an hour or something. But I saw in today's news that it happened earlier today as well. It turned to black and then pink again after some time," Maya says.

"…"

Fuck…

I cannot even give any more pathetic reason to convince myself that this phenomenon with WST is unrelated to my broken system anymore…

"Well, as you said, the Student Exchange Program should have started later this month, but many people are guessing that due to this black lightning phenomenon, the leaders pulled all their resources and powers to do this as fast as possible. I even heard the teachers are transported to the school using magic," Maya continues.

M-Magic?

Shit! I am feeling a bit scared now, to be honest.

I really don't want to acknowledge but things might turn out really bad for me if the WST is somehow affected by my system.

I know I thought that these magicians might help me, but what would they do to me if my system couldn't be repaired?

"Anyway, let's get inside fast or they won't let us enter!" Maya says urgently while grabbing my arm and pulling me forward.

Getting inside the school premises, I see no sign of the elf woman from before. She must have entered the building already.

But still…

"Why is no one outside?" I ask in confusion.

There are no students around the entrance of the school building or on the grounds. It is quite unusual as the classes should not have started yet.

"Oh… well, make the things you don't know three, will you?" Maya says with a nervous laugh.

I just glare at her.

"Okay, okay. I forgot this one. Today is actually our half day. We were informed that the teachers from the other races will be introduced to us and there is also going to be an important announcement today," Maya tells me.

"Wait, we won't have classes?" I ask.

"Nope. And you can see, no one is here because they are all probably in the auditorium already," Maya informs me.

Woah, this is actually good news. I don't like to study much!

Though, to be honest, I do like to attend a few classes for a certain reason… Fufufu.

"You look creepy laughing like that… Anyway, let's go," Maya says before moving sideways and dragging me towards the auditorium.

True to Maya's words, the auditorium is jam-packed with students right now. This auditorium boosts to be the biggest one in town, being able to accommodate more than a thousand people in it.

Hmm… No one is on the stage right now?

It looks like they have not started yet.

"I am going to my friends. See are you later! N-Not that I want to," Maya says while turning a bit red before jogging away to the front seats.

*Sigh*

When will this girl learn to act better…

Now, where are those guys sitting?

I look around here and there, trying to spot my friends in this sea of people.

"HEY! JACOB! HERE!"

"LOOK BEHIND!"

Suddenly, someone yells my name from behind.

I look back and see my two friends calling and waving at me from the last row of the auditorium.

The one standing on the right side is a lanky guy with brown eyes and hairs so short that he is effectively bald. His name is Ryan.

The one standing beside Ryan is another guy having around the same height as me. He is wearing thick glasses above his murky green eyes. His black hairs are extremely straight and lay flat on his head. His name is Leo.

They both are my best friends.

I quickly move to the back row and reach towards them. It looks like they have saved me a seat in the middle of their own.

"Hey, guy! Everything alright?" I ask while sitting down.

But before I could even properly settle down, both of them starts speaking to me furiously.

"What the fuck man? Why didn't you pick up your phone after the System Ceremony?" Leo asks with a glare.

"We thought you died of a poison or something," Ryan says while shaking his head sideways.

My phone…

"I-It was having some problems before. I couldn't find that time to get it fixed," I lied.

"Couldn't find the time? Are your tasks that tough to do?" Ryan asks with his eyebrows raised.

…

"Y-Yeah, they kind of are…" I say with a nervous laugh.

Both of my friends give me a look of sympathy.

"Don't worry, buddy. I know you will be fine. Well, I got off easy but…"

Suddenly, Ryan's voice turns really heavy with emotions as if he will start crying at any moment.

"… It isn't a sex-related one."

He places his hands on his face and starts to cry in a fake sort of way.

Ahh~ yeah, we all wanted to have the systems where we can do perverted stuff to gain points. Well, I got one but…

Damn it! If just my system wasn't broken and glitched on top of that, I would have bragged so much here.

"Hahahaha"

Suddenly, Leo starts laughing in a funny sort of way.

"You think my pain is a joke!?" Ryan asks incredulously.

Oh… he is crying for real.

Leo looks at both me and the crying figure of Ryan and gives us a smirk.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… You both will remain kids forever. Sex is not a big deal, guys. At least not for mature people like me," he says smugly.

What the fuck is this ugly bastard trying to say?

"Fufufu, I think it's time to reveal it to both of you… I am not a vir—"

Suddenly, a collective gasp leaks from everyone in the auditorium and drown whatever Leo was going to say.

I look up towards the stage in a jerk…

"What the…"