Green

Ten days passed by. Every single person who'd been staying in the hospital had been released, and for now, it seemed like the school wasn't planning on making them do anything crazy for the foreseeable future. Some people were terrified. Others were encouraged. But every single person felt a burning desire to train.

That was what KGS was searching for in the third entrance test. People who would convert terrifying experiences into pathways for getting stronger. And out of all the classes, Class 10 was the best in this aspect. Unfortunately, they didn't have the talent to match their temperament. Well, most of them didn't.

"Hahh...hahh...99...hahh...100" Bang! Ethan let go of the dumbbell as it fell to the floor with a loud clang. "Hahh...hahh...hahh." He breathed heavily as he lay on the floor with his arms outstretched, trying to recover.

The first month at KGS-June- was almost coming to an end. Soon enough, a couple of students would be promoted to Class 9, while some unlucky folks would fall down to Class 10. However, Ethan wasn't one of them. He didn't have nearly enough merit points to get out of Class 10. And anyways, for now, he didn't need to draw attention to himself by getting into a higher class.

"Hahh...." He took a deep breath as he glanced at his watch.

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[Name: Ethan Miller]

[Age:15]

[Status: Awakener(Physical)]

[- Stats]

[Rank: G-8]

[Strength: G-7]

[Agility: G-7]

[Stamina: G-6]

[Mana: G-6]

[Magical circuit: G-6]

[Personal stat(unnamed): G-5]

[- Skills]

[Mirror Blade (G)]

[Mana Sense (G)]

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He'd reached G-8 rank in a little less than two weeks. The worst awakeners in Stone House usually needed two weeks to increase their ranks by one stage. So, by the standards of Dust House, his progress could be considered outstanding. But it wasn't enough.

Ethan sat up as he stared at the numbers on his watch. He needed to be faster than Stone House in order to catch up to them. The disasters that would happen in KGS in the future were far, far larger than something a mere Class 10 student could handle. So being able to take part in those events required a whole other level of strength.

Creak! Ethan stood up, getting ready to leave the physical section. He wanted to practice fighting against some monsters in the simulated section . Tap...tap...tap. He stepped into a large room full of hundreds of VR capsules arranged neatly into rows. Most of them were empty for now. But a couple of hours from now, there would be almost no empty capsules.

"Ethan! You're here!" A lively, high-pitched voice called out to him. Ethan frowned slightly. Why was Luna here? He was going to enter the G rank tournament in the tower today with Star. He wasn't expecting to meet her here. "Hi! What're you doing here?"

"Uh...you said that we would play a couple of games in the Tower today. Right?" She tilted her head slightly. "Shit," Ethan muttered. "What?" Luna smiled at him. She hadn't heard what he said. "Uh...nothing." Ethan had completely forgotten about her. Luna had been asking him to play in the Tower with her for the past two weeks, and he'd been making up an excuse every single time.

It was partly because he didn't trust her. A popular girl who acted overly friendly, trying to get close to him- his life as a watcher practically screamed that she was planning on having fun at his expense. He sighed. Well, she had given him the Mana Sense skill card, after all. Maybe he could give her the benefit of doubt.

"Ethan! Who're you talking to." Ethan heard a heard voice behind him. He turned around to see a boy with emerald green hair and shining green eyes. "Star!" Well, this was awkward. Ethan had invited two people at the same place at he same time. He didn't quite know how to explain this.

"Ethan! You...you're already friends with somebody. I...I..." Luna stuttered, as if she was terrified of something. "Star. This is my...friend, Luna. She's in Class 10, just like me. Luna, this is Star." Star glanced at her. "Hi!"

"You...you...are you from Dust House?" Luna otherwise happy face had completely shrunken away as she stared as Star in fear. "Nope." He smiled. "I'm from Pebble House. Hopefully, I won't stay there for long." Suddenly, Luna's terrified expression disappeared. "Ah, I see."

Ethan frowned slightly. Most people would be terrified when they met somebody who's House was higher than theirs. But to the contrary, Luna here was happy to meet somebody from Pebble House. Or to be precise, somebody not from Dust House. Ethan clenched his fist in anger. He knew it! Luna was definitely trying to use her looks to rise in KGS's 'social hierarchy'.

"Well, Ethan invited me to play a couple of games in the Tower today." Star creased his eyebrows slightly. "Oh, is that so. Well, funny, he said the same thing to me." Ethan felt two pairs of eyes staring at him. "W...Well, you know..." he stuttered, trying to find an excuse.

"The tournament! Yes! There was one spot available, so I thought we could take Luna to play with us." Luna beamed at him. "But you said that we'd just take some random person in our team." Ethan screamed internally. This thick-headed fool wasn't getting it.

"Uh...Luna wanted to come along. So I thought she'd be better than some random kid we've never met." He glared at Star, trying to communicate silently. Suddenly, Star's eyes widened, as if he'd realised something. A mischievous smile appeared on his face. No. No. No. That's not it. What the hell was he thinking?

"Cough...cough...ahem. Alright. We can take her along if you want us too." He turned around, walking towards a VR capsule mechanically as he hid his face from Ethan. "Alright! Sweet! Let's go!" Luna smiled at him.

Ethan waved a fist at Star in anger. That idiot had completely misread his signals. He sighed. Whatever. He'd have to deal with this problem later. Shhhhh! He pushed open a VR capsule, staring at the black, leather-bound seat inside.

A gust of cold air ran past his face. All VR capsules were extremely futuristic, laced with small mana crystals, making them the most expensive piece of equipment Ethan had come across. Every time he saw this machine, he'd feel a bit of awe. His 'primitiveness' as someone partially from the 21st century hadn't disappeared after all. Shhh! The capsule closed above his head, enclosing him in darkness.

Beep!

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[Logging in...]

[Welcome to the Tower]

[Authenticating user profile...]

[Name: Ethan Miller]

[Rank: G-8]

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Ethan's eyes lit up as the Tower's lobby appeared in front of him. Beep! Beep! Whoosh! Suddenly, all five of his senses were assaulted as the VR capsule's reality correction kicked in. He cracked his knuckles, taking in the feeling of the capsule.

Beep! Suddenly, two figures appeared next to him. "Alright," said Star, unsheathing his dagger as he prepared to fight. "Let's begin."

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Whirrrr! Smash! A spear smashed through a goblin's skull, destroying its head by the sheer force of the blow. Clang! Luna removed her spear from the corpse, banging its butt against the ground. Splat! Blood flew from its tip, sending blue flecks flying through the air.

"Nice job," said Star, avoiding the projectiles as he complimented Luna. Ethan glanced at the pile of corpses behind her. He had to admit, she was pretty good. Luna's spear skills were amazing. Ethan had seen her weaving her spear through the goblins as she skewered them perfectly. Every moment, it seemed like she was on the verge of being defeated. But then, she'd somehow manage to win, killing the goblins in a single blow.

Clat! Smash! Ethan's kusarigama flew out, beheading a goblin that was sneaking up behind them. "Nice kill." Star gave him a slight fist-bump as the round ended. "I still think you should use a dagger, though."

Ethan shook his head. "I think the kusarigama suits me better." He looked up at a floating screen. "How many kills did we get?" "75," said Luna. "Nice job. By the way, you're pretty good with a spear," said Star. Luna smiled. "Thanks. I've been practicing."

She turned towards Ethan. "But you're weapon was cooler. I've never seen somebody use a weapon like that. It's so cool!" "Thanks," said Ethan. Star glanced at both of them in a confused manner. He had expected Ethan to go all simp-mode on Luna, trying to talk to her at every moment he could. But the exact opposite was happening.

Luna was the one trying to talk to Ethan, while he was acting cold towards her. Suddenly, it dawned upon him. He'd knew a word for this. What was it called? Tsundere! Yes! Ethan was being a tsundere. A weird grin appeared on his face.

A shiver passed through Ethan's spine. he had to talk to Star as soon as he could, or he didn't know what wild fantasies would pass through his brain. He clenched his kusarigama tightly. A burning desire to sing it at something green lit up in his heart.