Arena One: Irregularity [I]

I followed Grey out the door. The man from before followed us closely, but didn't glare at me as much as before.

"Where am I?"

I asked as I looked around. The walls and the grounds were coloured pristine white. The lights emitted a faint blue glow, while the ventilators on the ground released cold air periodically.

"It's an imperial facility called A.R.M.A."

"A.R.M.A? I don't think I've heard of such a facility."

"It's full form is Alpha Regulatory Monitoring Association."

"Monitoring... You don't mean..."

"We are the spies, yes. Also the assassins. Which is why you never heard of us."

Hearing the word "assassin", I felt my body freeze. Somehow, I managed to speak up.

If they hadn't killed me yet, they wouldn't do so in the future. That was my reasoning.

"A-are you sure you should be telling me this?"

My words made Grey look back. He stared at me for some moments, then shrugged.

"Even if you know about this, there's nothing you can do."

His casual words sent shivers down my spine. Ignoring my pale face, he continued walking forward.

"Move."

The agent from before pushed me forward. I stumbled behind Grey, following him to his office.

The office was neatly furnished, clean to boot.

"Take a seat."

Grey said pointing at the chair in front of the table in the middle of the room. He went around it and sat on the chair behind the table.

I sat on the chair carefully, observing my surroundings. Grey watched me for some moments before speaking up.

"What do you know about grades?"

I turned to him and answered after pondering for a bit.

"Not much. Just that, the higher it is, the better."

"Well, that's common sense. But do you know that only technicians get that?"

"What?"

I asked, surprised.

"Elliots don't get assigned to any grades, they are evaluated at grade S by default. Other personnel don't actively participate in the battles, so they aren't graded either. Only technicians can be graded by the Legacy Shard. And even among them, after the first Divine Emperor, there hasn't been any SSS grade technician."

"Wait... The first Divine Emperor was a technician?"

I had always thought he was an Elliot, judging by how the history books perceived him. Though I had to admit that they only recorded his deeds, not his personal specifications.

"It's not recorded anywhere, which is why people naturally assume that he was an Elliot. But if he indeed was an Elliot, he wouldn't have been able to establish this empire."

"But... If that's the case... Then what's up with my rough treatment?"

"... That was a mistake on our part. The receptionist didn't notice your grade level due to the threat level on your data..."

"That's absurd!"

I hissed, but seeing Grey shrugging, sat back on the chair again.

I took deep breaths to calm myself down. After that, I looked at Grey and asked the most important question.

"What will happen to me?"

"Well... We'll be in charge of you for now. You'll be given a specialized Neura-link, and will be monitored 24/7. Of course, monitoring here only refers to your location, not your speech or other personal information."

"So basically, I'll be enslaved?"

I growled, but Grey shook his head.

Neura-link, or the collars all of us wore around our necks, were the virtual reality machines that enabled us to access the world of Stigma. But before reaching a certain age and gaining sufficient qualifications, one could only use it for news and other mundane things.

But Neura-links were connected to our brains directly, which meant controlling them would control the humans wearing them. But Grey denied such thoughts.

"Not really. While you'll have to stay with us and your location, as well as your behaviour in public spaces, will be monitored, you'll be given free rein on other matters."

"You'll take me away from my family and will restrict my movement, what free rein will I have then?"

"Well, I mean your relationships with the fellow peers at your academy, as well as your vacations and other things won't be hampered. But outside of those, you'll be under our jurisdiction."

"Wait... Academy?"

"Yes, the Academy of The Divine Will, the top academy of Alpha. Or, the First Academy, according to the common people."

Grey smiled, leaving me dumbfounded.

"W-wait. What?"

"What?"

"You don't mean... That Academy, right?"

There were five academies in Alpha that dealt with the people accessing Stigma. They were like normal academies where you had to take an exam to get in. Though Elliots didn't have to go through that process, they were assigned to an academy by the Imperial Castle.

Only technicians and other personnel needed to compete to get into a higher ranked academy.

While it was true that the number of Elliots and other personnel were quite a few considering the total population of Alpha, it still exceeded over a thousand per year.

Even besides them, countless people wanted to join the regular military and expedition forces. For joining those sectors, profound knowledge in the Neura-link was necessary. There were also people aiming to be researchers, so the competition was quite fierce.

"Yes, that academy."

And here, Grey was telling me to get admitted into the highest-ranked academy without a shred of worry.

"Uh..."

"We'll handle the admission procedure. You'll just have to follow what we say."

"That..."

"Not that you have a choice."

"... Alright. It's not like I can refuse."

"Good. Then we'll start the procedures."

"Before that, I have a request."

I looked at Grey, who nodded.

"What's the current time?"

I asked. The facility didn't have any windows, nor it had any clocks. The temperature was always maintained, making it hard to guess the time.

"It's around 4 P.M."

I had entered the Shard Centre at 11 A.M., meaning it had already been over five hours. Mom and dad would surely worry. Not to mention, the news of my capture was probably now spreading everywhere.

But even so, I had one more job to do.

...

The crows cried out in the distance as I got down from the car.

Pulling my hood over, I stepped inside the fenced area covered with trees and ivy.

I half-expected Grey to not follow me, but the footsteps behind me said otherwise. Not giving him attention, I went deeper and deeper into the statue filled park.

Finally, I stopped in front of a dull-white one. The statue, which looked like a Queen chess piece, stood imposingly in front of me. Then countless same-looking statues around it seemed like they wanted to suffocate me by their sheer pressure.

"Here lies the martyrs who lost their lives on this day eight years ago."

I crouched down and placed the flowers I held in my hand. The cold breeze of the night made me shiver.

"Who was it?"

Grey asked silently from behind, his voice betraying no emotion.

"My grandma."

I answer silently as I stood up.

"My condolences."

"Hmph. As if you care."

I spat out as I turned away and glared at the old man.

His perfect facial features remained unchanged. His grey hair swayed in the wind as his black eyes stared at me with pity.

"We do care. Every human life lost is a great loss for the empire."

"If you indeed cared, then the empire wouldn't be separated into three cities, nor it would force the old people to live in the outer city."

"It was necessary. We couldn't lose the children or the working adult. In return, we agreed to take care of the elderly, don't you think it was a perfect settlement?"

"... So who is to blame for my grandma's death?"

I asked, disgusted with his logic.

"The Omega. They are the ones who killed your grandma. And the Neura."

"No, you're wrong."

I laughed as I started walking. As I passed by him, the words came out of my mind like poison.

"It was the Elliots. It was their fault. Because they were weak, my grandma died."

"..."

Grey didn't reply, nor he looked at me.

He silently stood there as I walked out of the graveyard.

...

"Arnold!"

My mom rushed out of the house and hugged me while crying.

"Glad to see you're okay, son."

My dad said, eyeing Grey and the agent behind suspiciously. He was more level headed than my mom, who was bawling her eyes out.

"There, there."

I patted my mom on the back to make her let go. She wiped her tears away and turned to Grey, waiting for answers.

"We should get inside first."

He replied, looking around. Our house was inside the middle city, which was why it was moderately monitored. Even now late at night, one or two drones could be heard buzzing nearby.

"Alright."

My dad nodded, narrowing his eyes. He gestured us inside. Mom took me by hand and brought me inside the house, while Grey followed behind closely.

"So, what happened to my son?"

Dad went straight to the heart of the matter as we sat down in the dining room. Both mom and dad on my sides gave out an imposing aura, while Grey, across us, sat calmly.

"So.. Well..."

He hesitated for a moment, but then noticed the glare of my father, and sighed.

"Alright. I'll tell you, but you'll have to swear absolute secrecy."

Half an hour later...

"I see..."

Dad looked calm, while mom was clearly frightened. He glanced at me, then turned to Grey.

"Will my son be safe?"

"That depends on his actions, and the will of the Imperial Castle."

Grey neither guaranteed nor denied my safety.

"That's too vague... I can't let my son go like that!"

Mom raised her voice, but one glance from dad made her close her mouth.

"Would you at least guarantee a fair and good treatment?"

"Of course. All his needs will be taken care of, and he'll even be given an allowance. But he'll stay in the academy dorms, and we can't provide any luxury on that matter."

"That's fine with me. Arnold, are you okay with that?"

Dad turned to me.

"... Not like I have a choice."

I shrugged.

Grey glanced at me once, then looked at my father again. At this point, I knew Grey wasn't really a bad guy.

If he was, he wouldn't have gone through such hassles to meet and inform my parents, nor he would accept the outbursts and demands from them. He had the ability and the authority to kill my whole family and hide them, yet he took the long way.

If I went along with his demands, I would be safe... Probably.

"If Arnold is okay with it, then so am I. But we'll get to meet him regularly, am I right?"

"Well, it will depend on his schedule. Even if he is only fifteen, his grades along will force him to mature up and go to the Stigma well before his peers. If he gets vacations and such, he can visit his family if he wishes to."

"That's..."

My mom looked at me, but I nodded. I didn't mind the setting.

At least, it was better than my whole family getting annihilated.

"Fine then. We'll pack his baggage."

"No need. We will provide everything."

"Then I'd like some alone time with my family."

My dad's stern words made Grey freeze, but he laughed and nodded. He left the house soon after that.

As I heard the door close, my dad grabbed my shoulders and stared at my eyes.

"Listen, Arnold. Never trust anyone besides yourself."

"Uh... Aren't you supposed to say protect your friends and all that?"

I tried to joke, but dad shook his head.

"No, your friends come later. Your life is more precious than anyone else's. You can try your hardest to save your friends if they are in danger, but if you can't, run away. Blame me for their deaths, but still, run away."

"I'd never..."

I tried to argue, but he continued without listening.

"Emotions change with time, so do people. Your only ally is yourself, not even us. Got it?"

"..."

"Tell me. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, dad. Got it."

"Good."

He patted my shoulders and let go. My mom then turned me towards her, and hugged me tightly.

"Come back safely, okay?"

"I will."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

She gently kissed the top of my head, and let me go. I stood up.

It was time for me to go.